2017 is pretty much locked in

Each year, December and January is our theoretical slower time.  A time to review, organise, plan and recharge.  This is the period each year where the craft shows are not on and generally the teaching program winds down.  In truth, it is often a busier time as I generally plan to do a lot in this available time.  New classes are organised, proposals submitted, stock is counted and organised, the dyeing and manufacturing schedule is set up and all the day to day admin that slips through the cracks gets caught up.  This year has been even busier as there have been some big things to work through and sort out.

By mid January each year, the year is usually fully booked and locked down.  This year is no exception with the show schedule finalised for the year.  I will still slot other events into the spaces and have availability for teaching in and around these events, but here is where you can expect to see me this year.  I first is less than four weeks away, oh my.

Toowoomba Craft Alive – 10th to 12th February

Knitting and Stitching Show Olympia, London – 2nd to 5th March

Dubbo Craft Alive – 9th to 12th March

Rockhampton Craft Alive – 17th to 19th March

Canberra Craft Alive – 5th to 7th May

Bendigo Craft Alive – 16th to 18th June

Wodonga Craft Alive – 7th to 9th July

Sewing Stitching and Needlecraft Show Adelaide – 14th to 16th July (to be confirmed)

Festival of Quilts Birmingham – 10th to the 13th August

Tamworth Craft Alive – 8th to 11th September

Knitting and Stitching Show Alexandra Palace, London – 11th to 15th October

Quilt Festival Houston – 1st to 5th November

Craft Alive Logan – 10th to 12th November

 

In addition to the places you can see us face to face, we have our online classes. Enrollments are open now and introductory exercises are currently live in all three classes.  I have three starting in the next few weeks.

 

 

Stunning Surfaces – a comprehensive surface design class – starts February 4th

http://www.uniquestitching.com.au/p/9109063/online-class—stunning-surfaces-art-cloth-2017.html

 

 

 

 

 

Tremendous Textiles   – an Art Quilt workshop – starts Ffebruary 18th

http://www.uniquestitching.com.au/p/9144486/online-class—tremendous-textile-art-techniques-2017.html

 

 

 

and

 

Almost Alchemy – a very comprehensive fabric dyeing class – starts 4th March

http://www.uniquestitching.com.au/p/9122334/online-class—almost-alchemy—dyeing-for-the-traditional-and-art-quilter—2017.html

 

 

 

In addition to this, I have the great honor of being part of a second international collaboration.  I am part of the second Fiber Art Connection with four other amazing textile artists:  Desiree Habicht, Lenore Crawford, Lisa Chin, and Libby Williamson.  I will share more of this as we get closer, but check out the details here:  http://www.fiberartconnection.com/

If you are part of a group or guild that would like me to come and run workshops or a talk, please contact me, particularly if I am already going to be somewhere near you.  All of my face to face classes can be tailored to the individual group needs.

See you somewhere soon.

Cecile

Perth Craft and Quilt Fair May 21st to 25th 2014

See us at this show on Stand F30 (not E30 as previously published).  We will have four great classes available daily at the Pop Up Classroom; some fabulous new products and great Show Specials.  For details on some of the Show Specials, see the attached flyer below.  I am only bringing one pallet, whatever excess luggage I can get away with plus a load of deliveries going straight there, so some stock will limited.  Don’t miss out on some great prices and one off promotions.

Here is my Perth Specials flyer:  Perth 2014 specials

See you there.

 

20 Ways to find Unique Stitching in 2014

Here is my event schedule, as it currently stands, for 2014.  Come and visit at an event near you.

Unique Stitching 2014 Show Schedule

See us at the following Craft Shows

• Christchurch NZ Craft and Quilt Fair – February 13 to 15 – Pioneer Stadium, Christchurch NZ
• Palmerston Nth NZ Craft and Quilt Fair – February 20 to 22 – Arena Manawatu Palmerston Nth NZ
• Melbourne Scrapbook and Papercraft Show – February 21 to 23 – Royal Exhibition Building Carlton Gardens
• Rosehill NSW Stitches and Craft Show – March 6 to 9 – Rosehill Racecourse, Rosehill NSW
• Brisbane Stitches and Craft Show – March 20 to 23 – Brisbane Exhibition Centre Southbank QLD
• Australasian Quilt Convention – April 10 to 13 – Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton Gardens VIC
• Creative Textile Show – May 2 to 4 – National Convention Centre, Canberra ACT
• Perth Quilt and Craft Fair – May 21 to 25 – Perth Convention Exhibition Centre, Perth WA
• Scrapbook and Papercraft Expo – June 7 to 9 – Brisbane Exhibition Centre Southbank QLD
• Melbourne Quilt and Craft Fair – June 26 to 29 – Melbourne Exhibition Centre, Southbank VIC
• Sydney Quilt and Craft Fair – July 9 to 13 – Sydney Exhibition Centre, Glebe Island NSW
• Adelaide Sewing, Stitching and Handcraft Show – July 18 to 20 – Wayville Pavillion Adelaide Showground SA
• Hamilton NZ Quilt and Craft Fair – August 7 to 10 – Claudlands Events Centre, Hamilton NZ
• Art Is You Art Retreat NSW – August 14 to 17 – Mercure Port Macquarie Cams Wharf NSW
• Art Is You Art Retreat Victoria – August 20 to 24 – Novotel St Kilda, St Kilda VIC
• Art Is You Art Retreat QLD – August 28 to 31 – Novotel Twin Waters Sunshine Coast QLD
• Newcastle Stitches and Craft Show – September 11 to 14 – Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Broadmeadow, NSW
• Unique Retreat – September 19 to 21 – Canberra, ACT
• Unique Retreat on the Road – September 26 to 28 – Townsville, QLD
• Brisbane Quilt and Craft Fair – October 8 to 12 – Brisbane Exhibition Centre, Southbank QLD

July News from Unique Stitching

Hello!

well it is a cold, foggy, damp week in Canberra but there is a lot coming up that I want to share with you. We continue to have a range of new products every week, I usually forget to tell you about them and some never make it onto the website, so you can keep up with me on Facebook or see what is new at a Craft Show near you. The facebook page is www.facebook.com/uniquestitching

The first half of this year has gone by in a flash. We have done more shows this year than in many, many years and it has been great to see so many people all around Australia. Amidst constant negativity from our Government and the media about the perilous state of the world economy, it is lovely to see people face to face and talk to them about what they are doing, what they need and what they are buying. Retail is hard at the moment, but I continue to strive to provide fresh, interesting, entertaining workshops and classes to excite, engage and tempt you. So far this approach is working. So far this year, I have brought two International teachers to Australia – Judy Coates Perez and Jane Davila. This has been a heap of fun and I know those of you that have engaged with these two lovely ladies have had a ball. There is more on the cards and I am in negotiations with several amazing people for the remainder of this year and the beginning of next.

One set of new products I have created and launched at the Darling Harbour Show was the hand dyed wool felts. Oh my goodness, did these go OFF. I have now loaded these onto the website, but here is a sneak peak to tempt you. There are 30 colour ways in this range.

There are a number of reasons for Canberra people to be reaching for their calendars and for those of you interstate to plan a trip to your national capital (truely!). In chronological order:
Saturday 6 July 2013, 10.00 to 4.00 Unique Stitching Open Day / Garage Sale. Come by and browse. This is a rare occurrence when both the stock and I are at home. I don’t have everything, but I have most of it and I will have a heap of specials and demonstrations running all day.
August 3rd and September 20 to 22 2013. I have booked space in the Belconnen Art Centre to run some classes. On the September dates, I will have at least one International Guest teaching here. Keep an eye on this newsletter or Facebook for details as I confirm them.
May 2nd to 4th 2014. The Creative Fibre Festival. This is the old Textiles Show that was run in Brisbane and cancelled. It is back with a vengence and should be a fantastic, fabulous event. Again, I am currently negotiating with some awesome international teachers for this and AQC, but this will be an event not to be missed. It will also see me returning to doing a local Canberra Show, I still won’t be returning to the August Quilt and Craft Shows.

I hope that I see some of you on Saturday. If the event is a success, I will try to schedule two to four open days each calendar year.

On the issue of shows, I have a few coming up this quarter: Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair – July 25th to 29th at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre on Southbank. My Pop Up class schedule is now available to book on the website here: http://tinyurl.com/n9olmmn For more information on the show itself and others attending please go to: http://tinyurl.com/m4d5e3j

After that, I have the Newcastle Stitches and Craft Show August 15th to 18th and the Hamilton New Zealand Craft and Quilt Fair September 5th to 8th. We will finish the year with the Townsville Stitches and Craft Show (3-6 October); Brisbane Craft and Quilt Show (16-20 October) and a return to the Adelaid Craft and Quilt Show (7-10 November). I hope to see you at one of these shows, near you.

In 2014, the calendar is a mess and I want to just highlight a few bigger changes.
AQC in Melbourne will be early next year, pushed to the 10th to 13th April but a very late Easter; The new Textiles Show will be in Canberra from 2nd to 4th May; International Events such as G8s or G20s or something are messing with the Melbourne Craft and Quilt Show, resulting in it being VERY early from 26th to 29th of June. YES JUNE! And what about Darling Harbour then?? Well, as all Sydney siders will now, the Exhibition Centre will be a demolished building site by then and the show will be at the new Glebe Island event from 9th to 13th of July. YES, JULY!

Confused? me too, but together we will work through it. 2015 apparently returns to something closer to what we have had for the past 15 or so years.

That will probably do from me for now. If you have someone you would like me to bring out to Australia for an event or classes, let me know. I will see some of you on Saturday and most of the rest, I hope at the shows or my classes over the next six months.

Bye for now

Cecile

PS OOH, I nearly forgot! My first attempt to import on a ridiculous scale – pallets of Gelli Plates – has almost come to fruition. The Gelli Plates are clearing Customs right now. This includes a huge number of the new big 12 by 14 inch ones. I hope to have them for the weekend, but it might be early next week. HOORAY!

Darling Harbour Pop Up Classes

Jane Davila will be attending the Darling Harbour Craft and Quilt Fair as my guest artist.  She will have a lovely little Guest Artist space at the front near the entry and will be running some classes.  I will also have Jocelyne Leath and me running classes.

The Darling Harbour Craft Fair Friend is not up yet, but I can share the most important bit – my pages!

Click on the link below to download the details of what we are all teaching and please join me.  It will be fun!  You can book now at http://tinyurl.com/cqtaf2y

Darling Harbour Pop Up Classes Unique Stitching

 

2013 Show Schedule – Get out your Calendar!

Unique Stitching 2013 Show Schedule

See us at the following Craft Shows

Palmerston Nth NZ Craft and Quilt Fair – February 14 to 17 – Arena Manawatu Palmerston Nth NZ

Rosehill NSW Stitches and Craft Show – March 7 to 10 – Rosehill Racecourse, Rosehill NSW

Brisbane Stitches and Craft Show – March 21 to 24 – Brisbane Exhibition Centre Southbank QLD

Australasian Quilt Convention – April 18 to 21 – Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton Gardens VIC

Perth Quilt and Craft Fair – May 22 to 26 – Perth Convention Exhibition Centre, Perth WA

Sydney Quilt and Craft Fair – June 12 to 16 – Sydney Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour NSW

Melbourne Quilt and Craft Fair – July 25 to 28 – Melbourne Exhibition Centre, Southbank VIC

Newcastle Stitches and Craft Show – August 15 to 18 – Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Broadmeadow, NSW

Hamilton NZ Quilt and Craft Fair – September 5 to 8 – Claudlands Conference and Exhibition Centre, Hamilton NZ

Townsville Stitches and Craft Show – October 3 to 6 – Entertainment and Convention Centre Townsville, QLD

Brisbane Quilt and Craft Fair – October 16 to 20 – Brisbane Exhibition Centre, Southbank QLD

Adelaide Quilt and Craft Fair – November 7 to 10 – Adelaide Showground, Wayville SA

December Newsletter – It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

December already!  Amazing.  Where has the year gone? And why do we think this at this time every year?

I am running my Facebook 12 Days of Christmas Specials on the Unique Stitching Facebook page as well as the Santa please bring me…. promotion.  See below for more detail about both of those.

It has been a very full and exciting year at Unique Stitching.  We have continued to expand our product ranges, returned to many shows after a few years absence, run classes off the stand at all of the craft shows and had the opportunity to spend time with an amazing number of you.  I was able to go to Chicago to attend the Summer Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show and Glenn and I went to Houston for both Quilt Market and Festival.  The absolute highlight of the year was returning to New Zealand in September to attend the Hamilton Craft and Quilt Fair and then have a holiday afterwards.  It was the first holiday Glenn and I had, ever, without children.

Next year we will be trading at 12 Craft shows – two in New Zealand and ten in Australia.  It is going to be a big year.  The first show is the new Palmerston North Craft and Quilt Fair and I have finalised my studio teaching schedule over the last few days.  I am looking forward to running some new, fresh hands on workshops at this and future shows.  I will be loading the Palmerston North classes onto the website for pre-booking shortly.

Many of you are aware of the decline and the demise of the Stitches and Craft Shows.  They were run down and damaged as a brand by the time the third or fourth set of owners closed them down.  The Brand name has now been brought by Expertise Events, the company that brings you the Craft and Quilt Fairs and you can expect to see “Stitches” back, better than ever before.  I am currently developing the workshops for the Rosehill Show (7 to 10 March) and the Brisbane Show (21 to 24 March). Let me know if there is anything you would particularly like me to include and I will see what I can do.

And the final show I am currently preparing for is the Australasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne in April.  So much for December being down time, right?  I am bringing Judy Coates Perez to Australia for this show.  I am sponsor for the Friday night lecture, that Judy will be delivering.  This lecture will be very entertaining.  I can promise you that.  Judy is so much fun.  I am also supporting the new beginner patchwork and quilting classes, supplying cutting mats, rulers and rotary cutters for each student to use in class.  These are such a large outlay for someone who is not sure whether patchwork is for them and I thought that if I provided the tools, it might be an easier decision to give it a go.  Chris Timmins is running the classes so hopefully the classes will fill and everyone will be bitten by the bug.  If you know of someone who could benefit from these classes, please pass on the details and encourage them to take the plunge.  You can find out more details about AQC at www.aqc.com.au.  Judy’s classes are fully booked, but there are a lot of other options available.  AQC is an event that should be on everyones list as it is truely an event in every sense of the word.

I will be taking a table at the Gala Dinner again next year and will be looking for six or seven people to join Judy Coates Perez and I for dinner.  Stay tuned for how you could get a seat.

So Santa is clearly receiving your instructions from the Santa please bring me specials based on the orders streaming through.  I lost internet access for a few days this week and although I was able to read and process orders on my IPad, I was not able to update them.  If you have placed an order and not received a Shipping notification, it is not because the order has not shipped.  I am pretty much up to date, I just have not updated the computer.

If you want details of the Santa promotion, you can get it from: https://uniquestitching.wordpress.com/2012/11/08/santa-please-bring-me-2/

We are now on Day 2 of the 12 Days of Christmas specials.  This link will take you there:  http://a.pgtb.me/ZXp or you can go onto www.facebook.com/uniquestitching and select the 12 Days Tab.  Each special offer is available for up to two days and the savings are significant.  Over the twelve day period I am taking between 15 to 20% off most items and will be featuring books, online class, wild drum carders, foils, Ice Resin and accessories, some of the paint ranges, fabric flowers and so much more.  Please join me and share with your friends.

Facebook remains my most common way to contact people as it is quick, timely, social and chatty.  So I do encourage you to like and engage with the Unique Stitching page.  I have a large number of new products coming in from Houston and as they arrive, I will load them on the website, but I will announce them through Facebook.  So please consider joining me and the almost 3500 others on there if you have not done so already.

Well, this has been a long newsletter.  Please stay safe over the silly season and I hope you get time to relax and spend time with your family.  I will certainly be aiming to do a little of that.

Until the new year, take care.
Cecile

Dyeing with Compliments

Through out 2012, I have been running workshops on creating a run of colour or a rainbow of colour, taking three colours and turning them into six or any larger multiple of three.  It has been fun and a lot of people have walked away with a much stronger understanding of both dyeing and colour theory.  One of the things I have always mentioned in these classes is that you can take any three colours and blend them to make more, but when ever you use colours on the opposite side of the colour wheel, you will get a brown or neutral colour.  This is never bad, just you need to know that is what is going to happen.  Today’s blog post is about that colour theory and how you can make really cool neutrals or browns simply by using the complementary colour.

So, I started with three colours: – Lemon, Turquoise and Magenta

From these, I created 12, blending the three to create secondary and tertiary colours.

From there, I matched the two colours on the opposite sides of the colour wheel and then blended them.  This resulted in six runs of some very interesting blends.  Here are some photos

Run A – Blending an Orange/Yellow with a Blue/Violet.  I did not start in the most logical of places, but have a look at a colour wheel and it will make more sense.

Run B – Orange to Blue.  This one has the straight Turquoise and the a secondary colour – orange.  I love the teal to brown this creates.

Run C – Red/Orange through to Blue Green – two tertiary colours blended.

Run D – Red to Green – again a primary and a secondary colour.  There are some reds here I could get very excited about.  It is amazing that they are made with green!

Run E – Violet Red to Yellow Green – two more tertiaries, but I like this run a lot.

Run F – Yellow to Violet – the final primary secondary run.  This is my favourite with all those glorious rust oranges.  Weird as I would not have though of yellow and orange being ‘MY’ colours.

If you want to have a play with this technique, it is part of my all day dyeing classes or you can attend the Dyeing with Complements workshops at the Quilt and Craft or Stitches and Craft Shows throughout 2013, starting with the new show in Palmerston North, New Zealand February 14 to 17 2013.

We also just got a new delivery of Colour Wheel Posters which are awesome.  If you want one, you will find them here: http://www.uniquestitching.com.au/p/4974716/studio-color-wheel-by-joen-wolfrom—poster.html

Cecile

Unique Fabric Art in Perth

The Perth Quilt and Craft Fair is only about four weeks away.  Running from 23 to 27 May in the Perth Convention Centre.  We will be there with the usual array of dyes, paints, fibres, felts, fabrics, magazines, books, silks and more.  This year I will have my new fabrics – hand dyed cotton Sateens and the some of the gorgeous 50%cotton, 50% silk Radiance as well as lengths of silk georgette and cotton scrim.

As part of my stand, I will have the Unique Stitching Studio.  The studio will have five textile art classes running each day of the show:  2 dyeing – one with Procion dyes and one with Indigo dye; 2 mixed media – one using Angelina and Lutradur, the other using TAP, Angelina, Lutradur and Kunin felt (shown); and one doing mono-printing with the fabulous new Gelli Plates.

You can pre book the classes on my website now at www.uniquestitching.com.au or you can book on the day.

For the fuller descriptions go to the website or you can find them here: Perth Studio Classes

If you join me, we will have a lot of fun and probably learn a heap too.

3 Day Sale on Books and Magazines at Unique Stitching.

Hello

this is a very very quick note.

Over the next few weeks I have a heap of new products coming and I simply don’t have the space, so I want to clear out some books and magazines. I am going to keep it really simple. All books and magazines currently in stock, including magazine subscriptions, will be 20% off from now until midnight Monday 27 February. If you already subscribe with me and want to take advantage of this amazing saving, I can extend your existing subscription. If you subscribe through someone else, you can nominate the edition you would like to start from. Just go to the website http://www.uniquestitching.com.au and click on Books or Magazines to see what is available.

We have a large range of fabulous books covering the traditional to the very very contemporary. Our magazines include Quilting Arts (QA); Cloth Paper Scissors (CPS); CPS Studios; Stitch; and specialist magazines such as Stitch, QA and CPS Gift; CPS Pages; and International Quilt Festival Quilt Scene.

Magazines include free postage within Australia.

You need to use a discount code at the point of checkout and that code is book.

I hope I will see you at Rosehill NSW between March 8-11 or AQC in Melbourne 12-15 April.

Cecile