Popular Patchwork

A while ago I was at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham and met the editor of Popular Patchwork Magazine. We got chatting about my wee shop and she really liked the sound of it so said she would write a piece for the magazine. I wasn't sure if I should believe her or not, my wee shop is not full of thousands of bolts of fabric like many you see in magazines, only a couple of hundred (at the moment - *hears my husband groan*). I didn't think there would be enough to write about, but she did come over to Barony HQ to do an interview and take lots of photos. I still didn't think she would really put it in the magazine, but the December issue is now in the shops, and there is a little piece on me! It features some of my Moda Flurry Christmas Fabrics and some Christmas Bunting featuring letters cut using my Slice Fabrique. I've never been in a national magazine before (although, I was once on the centre page of the Daily Mail for standing on a plinth for an hour!). A big thank you to Jane.

Kona Solids

It's been a very exciting day today. I've had a delivery of some Kona Solids plain dye fabric. I'm not sure plain is the correct word as they are anything but. I have nearly 40 colours all through the rainbow and have chosen them to match my Riley Blake and Moda ranges. It took me nearly a whole day to decide which of 219 colours in the range were the best match, much to Dave's annoyance as I kept asking for his opinion, not that he was much help. Plain dyes have been the most requested thing from my customers so it is great to finally have some. They are great for backings and edgings and can add extra interest to project when used along side patterned fabrics. I also got myself some Robert Kaufman Metro Living fabrics which are very bright colours with white circles on them. They are another great addition to my range. You can see them all in the photo below, or why not pop in for a closer look.







Crieff and Comrie Quair Special Offer

I've just seen my ad in the October edition of the Crieff & Comrie Quair, it looks really bright and colourful, just what I hoped. If you're in the Crieff area pick up a copy and bring it to the shop during October and I'll give you a 10% discount when you spend over £25.



Stop Press.......

Earlier this week I had a visit from Nicole from The Strathallan Times who came to write a piece on me for the paper. The Times runs a regular feature entitled Shop Local which showcases independent local businesses in each issue. I picked up a copy (well 3 actually to show my family) tonight. I was a bit nervous about what it would be like but is was a really good full page colour spread with lots of photos. They even included a quote from one of my customers who was in the shop at the time which was really cool. It's not quite "As seen on TV" but I need to start somewhere!

Click the picture to zoom in and read the full article.

Scottish Quilt Championships

I paid a visit to the Scottish Quilt Championships at Ingleston in Edinburgh at the weekend. I saw lots of lovely fabrics and quilts including one by Brian from Beechwood Quilting which had some fabric from my shop in it. It was great to see my fabric being used this way. While I was there I also attended a demonstration entitled Creating hand look needle turn effect applique by machine given by Eileen Blood. Eileen was very nice and showed us how to create a notebook cover. At lunch I got chatting to ladies from the St Fillans Quilters Club who were there for the day. All in all a great day out with lovely fabrics, quilts and people all round.

Website Changes

Dave's been working on the website tonight adding a page for our fat quarter bundles. He's added photos of each bundle in a slide show. I can't decide if I like it but Dave seems to. You can check it out here and let us know what you think.

Christmas is coming!

OK, I know it's only September, but if you're planning any handmade Christmas presents you need a bit of time to make them. We now have some great Christmas fabrics in stock, Moda Flurry and Riley Blake Christmas Candy. Both are fantastic ranges, ideal for Christmas projects and presents. I think I might use some to make a Christmas Stocking. Why not come and visit and check them out, in the mean time here are a couple of photos to whet your appitite.

Riley Blake Christmas Candy

Moda Flurry

Still Open

Well, that's Open Studios over for another year. I've had lots of visitors this week which was really great. Thanks for all the nice comments about the fabrics, I'm glad so many of you like them.

Open Studios may be over but I've decided to open the workshop regularly. I'll be open 10 till 4 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday every week and the 1st Saturday of every month. See you soon.

Open Studios Day 2

We had another busy day today with lots of interesting visitors all with varying levels of quilting experience but all with that recognisable obsession with fabrics and everything crafty. It's always exciting to see who will walk through my workshop door.

A couple who really took me by surprise was Brian and Carole from Beechwood Quilting. They came for a look round and we had a good long chat about long arm quilting and my slight fear of it (not wanting to ruin a carefully pieced quilt top with a pitiful attempt of LAQ). I've had their website on my 'Favourites List' for a long while now and always promised myself to contact them to get some tuition. Having met them face-to-face I know their classes will be superb, They have lots of quilting experience and are really easy to talk to. Hop over to their website for the full run down of what they can offer. I'm already planning a visit to see their studio and get some tips. I also had two commissions today, one from one of the neighbours for a quilted teapot stand, the other for two fabric boxes. We only had one person try the Singer who did quite well due to his wool spinning experience and Dave ate more cakes than yesterday despite me using the till all day!

P.s. I forgot to mention yesterday I met Yvonne from Marshmallow Moon. Yvonne is a needle felter who lives about 7 miles away. I've a couple pieces of her work which I bought from a great gift shop, An Cnoc, in Crieff but had never met her until yesterday. Hopefully she will be doing the Perthshire Open Studios 2012.

Survived day 1

Well, that's the 1st day of Perthshire Open Studios over. Thanks to everyone who came to visit. It was good to have people in the workshop discussing things, thankfully no questions I couldn't answer. A couple of people did try the Singer sewing machine but no one's achieved the the expert standard of Dave's dad yet (including me). Biggest surprise of the the day was that Dave didn't eat all of the cakes, although he did get through quite a few Quality Street, he said he needed some reward for working the till. Off now for a relaxing night in to prepare me for tomorrow.

Perthshire Open Studios

Yippee!! We're open.

Perthshire Open Studios starts today and the workshop is just about ready. A few last minute touches this morning including putting up some bunting and setting out the all important cakes. I still have a few things on my to do list, hopefully nothing too urgent. All I need to make it perfect is some visitors, ideally before Dave has eaten all of the cakes, so come and have a browse and a chat, it would be great to see you.



Singer Lessons

I've had an old Singer sewing machine for a while which I bought mainly because it looks really nice. It was built in 1900 in Clydebank near Glasgow and is the type which you operate using a foot treadle. Dave's parents were visiting today and I mentioned that I was planning to let people have a go during Perthshire Open Studios which is now only a week away and that I needed Dave to fix the bobbin winder which has never worked since I've had it. Much to my surprise Dave's dad said he remembers his mum having the same model when he was young and how he was an expert user. He then set about figuring out why it didn't work. He and Dave spent about an hour mumbling to each other in a language only engineers understand while figuring out how each bit should work, surprisingly without any swearing. Anyway they did fix it and managed to wind thread onto the bobbin, slightly oily thread, but you can't have everything. Then it was my turn and of course I set off backwards and it all went wrong. After a few more attempts I did get the hang of it and wound some more thread on the bobbin this time minus the oil. I don't think Dave's dad was impressed with my technique but I think he has an advantage with his size 12 feet. I'm now trying to persuade him to do the demo's during Open Studios.

Back from the Festival of Quilts

I'm now back from the Festival of Quilts. We had a fun and interesting day checking out all the exhibitors and admiring the talented quilter's handywork. Much to Dave's relief I didn't spend too much, but did bring home a few metres of Amy Butler fabric which I plan to make into some lovely tunic tops.

Ready, Set, GO!

My long awaited Accuquilt GO! arrived today. If you've not seen one before this is a machine for cutting fabric shapes for quilting and applique and looks a bit like a mangle. You can select from a huge number of dies which cut a variety of shapes. To use you simply put your fabric on the die, pass it through the machine by cranking the handle and your shapes pop out of the other side. I've bought a range of dies and I'm having to resist cutting all of my fabrics into shapes all at once. It should make my own quilting quicker and easier and I plan to offer shapes for sale and a cutting service for your own fabrics. Look out for details of this service on the website soon.

Festival of Quilts

Well, I've just booked train tickets and a hotel for a little excursion this weekend. My mum and I are heading down to Birmingham to The Festival of Quilts at the NEC. Now everything is finalised I'm getting quite excited about it. I'm sure I'll come back with loads of ideas and hopefully a few bargains.

P-P-P-Pick up a Penguin

I've picked up a great pattern from Melly & Me called Penguin Parade to make... yep, you guessed it, Penguins! They're absolutely fantastic and look soooo cute. The only thing is, as soon as I do their eyes, I can't stop laughing at the look on their little faces. It's making it really hard to sew straight!

Don't believe me? Can you look at this photo without giggling?

Polly, Pippa & Pete waiting to get stitched & stuffed

Going round in circles

I've been going round in circles all week, fortunately all for a good cause. I've been working on a new quilt decorated with dresden wheels. This is the first quilt I have done with circles so I was a bit apprehensive when I started but I've managed to get the hang of it without any major mishaps... so far. The photo shows me sewing one of the nine panels which will make up the front of the quilt. The next job is to sew them all together. I'll post another photo when it's finished.

Barony Fabrics ebay shop

Dave has been busy this weekend setting up an ebay shop for me. All of the behind the scenes bit is done to get the set up right including all of the info we need to comply with the Distance Selling Regs. It all sounds a bit scary when it's written down but really all it means is that you have the right to return something bought online and get a refund. Everyone who sells online in the UK has to tell people about it on their website. It's actually quite surprising how many don't do it.

Dave is still working away adding our fat quarter bundles but it's starting to look really good. You can check it out at http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Barony-Fabrics

Making a clean break with a new fabrication

Hi everyone.

It's been a long time since I've posted anything, somehow life took over.

Anyway, during the time I've been away we have decided to give soap making a rest for a little while (a story for another day). But don't worry it's not the end of Barony Crafts. We have embarked on a new venture based on another passion of mine... FABRIC.

Dave has converted my soap workshop into a fabric workshop so I can spend my days making quilts, cushions and anything else that takes my fancy. I'm now also selling a small selection of contemporary quilting cottons and sewing bits'n'bobs so you can join me in a bit of creativity.

Dave is still working on the website but we will have some pics soon so you can see what we are up to.