Fat Quarterly Retreat 2013

Next week Leanne and I will be travelling down to London for the 2nd Fat Quarterly Retreat.

Looking forward to a weekend of meeting up with old and new friends and maybe a bit of sewing too!

Those of you who are going will probably know that Saturday night is market night and Leanne and I will both be taking our wares in a suitcase Del Boy stylee.

I shall be taking some bundles and precuts and will have a stack of Klona solids swatch cards that will be free instead of £2 at market night. 

Leanne has been printing like a crazy thing and has lots of her gorgeous designs available - including her new prints. I know I am famously Leanne's number 1 fan but seriously, however gorgeous they are on screen, in real life they are stunning.  

There is a discount code especially for attendees at FQ retreat. Enter FQRLONDON  for free delivery and I will bring your order down with me.

http://patchfabrics.co.uk/

Look forward to seeing you there :) 

Inside....

 Inside Patch changes often. I am NEVER satisfied with how things look. But after almost a year there are parts I can honestly say, yes! this is why I wanted a shop....this is how it was supposed to look.......

Now in colour order...I glare at Leanne and Georgia to make sure they put them back in the correct place ;)

The growing collection of oilcloth is now stored on very nifty stands

buttons..I really didn't want one of those cage like stands to display them - in fact didn't want these tubes either but they work!!

plain cottons (Klona) - obviously there are more than this pic shows, I am adding to the plains with some non Klona plains in the search for the perfect Orange!!

lampshade (30cm size) in the 'workshop' window

other window

Happy New Year

This blog has been the poor relation of my shop venture....I had planned to use it to showcase all the lovely fabrics we stock, show off our makes and share our workshop fun.....but as my last post was in October I think I can safely say it was a big fat fail!!

 
Anyhoos new year, new start and hopefully I can share more of the goings on at Patch.
2012 has got off to a good start, we have started a quilt club, every other Saturday a group of enthusiastic crafty ladies will be getting together, sharing their ideas and jollying one another along. The response to this has been amazing, and we are now full for this session, so we will be starting a second quilt club during the week (Wednesday the most likely day).
We have a new Workshop programme for January to March(that can be found here), and we are getting the list ready for April to June right now.
Katy is coming back to play at Patch in February. Her Jelly Roll workshop is full. But you never know if we are nice to her she might come back and play again ;)

Alex will also be returning to Patch for the 4th time, this time to teach Machine Embroidery with appliqué and paint effects, there are just 2 places left on this workshop, but Alex will be back again in April with workshop number 5!

2012 will be the year that the Patch website gets some tlc. Long overdue tlc. In fact there will be a shiny new website with better search facilities out in the www before the end of February. We have lots of gorgeous fabrics in the shop that haven't made it onto the website, and tons of new designs due to be delivered over the next few months, all of which will be available on the new site. It's proving to be one of those jobs that needs more time than is available, the launch date of pre Christmas has come and gone but I am confident about the February (self imposed) deadline!!

 (Riley Blake Daisy Cottage available in the shop now...and on the website v soon!)

We are still open everyday except Sunday from 9.30 til 3.30, you can't miss us....pink door and half a sign!! (thanks to this weeks east coast "hurricane"!!!)

We are open!!

We opened our doors yesterday morning at 9:30 and I drew breath just before 4!! Well more like 5 actually as I had to do my online orders before I went home!!
I couldn't have asked for a better response to my shop - so many positive comments, and I lost count of how many times people told me that this was just what Lowestoft had been waiting for.
Thank You so much if you came to support us in person , and for all the virtual support I received both here and on facebook.

We were in the paper on Friday...the write up was excellent, wasn't keen on them using a pic of me - but seen worse!

There was a lot of enthusiasm for the workshops and classes I am planning, so I will pull my finger out and develop a programme as soon as I can.

I am off to enjoy my time off before we reopen on Tuesday. Its our 2nd wedding anniversary today, we can't go out - we feel like all our babysitting credits have been used and don't want to ask anyone!! And I am shattered!!

You can find Patch and me at:    

9 Bevan Street

Lowestoft

Suffolk

NR32 2AA

Telephone 01502 588778

We are open Tuesday to Saturday 9.30 to 3.30

We still have a large range of our fabrics on the website - and will be adding the oilcloths and the new dena designs and riley blake fabrics just delivered in the next week.

Restraint

Whilst I wait for the keys to the shop, I am using the time to make sure we will have stock to fill it!
Its a tough job but someone has to do it ;)
This week I have been contacting new suppliers, placing orders (and pleading that they don't deliver for another couple of weeks until we are in and have somewhere to put boxes...otherwise I fear my husband will leave!) and  having visits from new fabric supplier reps.
The collage above shows most of the oilcloth designs that we will be stocking in the shop (and also online). They are made by Clarke and Clarke and are fantastic quality and just beautiful, I could very easily have ordered all 100+ designs had space and pennies permitted.
I stuck very closely to the amount of rolls of oilcloth budgeted for on the shops business plan (think page in notebook rather than spreadsheet) did not deviate at all...And then we got talking about the cottons.
Then it went a bit wrong.

So these 5 designs will be available in home dec weight cottons. 
Well, we had to get the beach huts being based at the seaside!!!

8 days and counting until my lease begins - the landlord repairs that need doing before this date are still outstanding (I may or may not be driving past frequently!) so I am keeping my fingers crossed that I am panicking unnecessarily - these things do usually find a way of working out at the eleventh hour! In the meantime I am meeting 2 sign companies at the property this week to talk about signs for the front and window graphics and trying to get organised at home because, as of next week I will be leaving the house to work for the first time in 3 and a half years!!!

The new Amy Butler collection 'Soul Blossoms' will be available at the end of the year. I think this collection is my very favourite of Amy's.

I have been trying to decide which of the designs Patch will initially be stocking.

I say initially as I am trying to show restraint. I am rapidly running out of space...when the space issue has been sorted then I can stock more,

including the fabulous home deco range and the laminated fabrics too.
Its not easy...I love them all...and I am trying to choose designs that compliment each other....

Sadly, the last word from my rep was that the gorgeous Amy Butler threads  (that are being advertised in some UK publications), are not going to be available through the UK distributor...but watch this space..that could change!!

Giselle

Three new designs now being stocked in the Patch Fabric Shop
These are from the Giselle collection by Red Rooster
Designed by artist Jessica Gonacha, Giselle is pink and flowery yet bold and graphic.
Red Rooster suggest that the prints are strong enough to make table covers, pillows or shower curtains, aswell as for dressmaking. The strong designs make them ideal for a simple dress or skirt pattern.

New Fabric ....

....now available at Patch.

We have increased our range of fabrics....we have designs by Tanya Whelan.....

 

Heather Bailey

 

                                                                          Amy Butler

 

                                                                       Kaffe Fasset

 

Anna Maria Horner 

All these new additions, plus the existing designs can be found in the fabric shop by clicking here

Boys Pyjamas

I had a productive half term, getting new stock listed on the website and some sewing at last!!
I wanted to make some pyjama bottoms for the small chaps in my life from the book Making Childrens Clothes by Emma Hardy.
Tracing and cutting out the pattern in the different sizes took the most time ( the pattern is in 3 sizes 2-3, 3-4 and 5-6 ).

They were the first thing I have ever made that somebody can really wear...and I used Michael Miller fabric for all of them....

I chose Kids Zoo for R's (age 2) jarmies...my favourite print.
I made C (age 5) his from Dino Dudes and couldn't leave out my niece(age 18m) hers were made from Whats the Scoop....

I didn't make tops - they all have a Tesco plain white tshirt!!! I'm not ready for buttonholes or sleeves just yet!!!
The pattern was very easy to follow, I highly recommend the book if you are, like me, a dressmaking novice. To be honest, like most things I find, it is more geared to those of you who have pink flavour children, the book has lots of gorgeous tops and dresses. But there are several pairs of trousers and shorts that although photographed in girlie fabrics, could easily be made boyish!
Next stop a dress for my niece and then I may be brave enough to make a top for me...I have some gorgeous voiles coming into stock soon  (beginning of next week all being well) by Anna Maria Horner that will be perfect for summer tops for me.......