peace please

as we approach the end of our trading year I thought it best to pop our holiday break schedule here to be seen:

Balmain

close 5pm saturday 22nd december, re-open 10am thursday 3rd january

Mosman Park

close 5pm saturday 22nd december, re-open 9.30am thursday 3rd january

this silly duffer is hobbling around with a sprained ankle - just in time for the christmas festivities.

I know I had been given many messages to slow down and because I didn't listen a wonky ankle was in order, forcing the issue.

please don't wait for such an eventuality...  try to relax, treat yourselves to a cuppa and spend time making and creating. 

let's keep this christmas season real, maybe ditching some of the excessive expectation and make choices that work for you and your closest loved ones.

tif fussell's (dotti angel) got it right here:

'do feel a little crafty at least twice a day'

itsy bitsy

we have had some itsy bitsy bikinis made for the junior set.

all Liberty, and all fun.

sizes 2-3 and 4-5 available.

visit in store for the selection of fabrics available.

inoui for christmas?

beautiful inoui scarves are back in store...

just in time for Christmas!

 

(thanks lexi and scout, gorgeous)

Mrs Smith will be receiving our book package as the winner of our christmas crafting competition.

we were all wooed into a melancholy moment with her simple handmade christmas gift desire...

"I am not sure it counts as homemade, but my longed for gift is a love letter. My best friend's husband writes her a letter filled with love every Christmas and I think that is the best gift anyone could give."

thank you to all who gave us contributions

shimmer

we have a selection of true vintage ornaments for your tree... to shimmer and shine

and many gift ideas.

one of my favourite words... shimmer.  A word of beautiful connotation.

an early gift from we here to you ...

Shop Small

Christmas Giveaway

It's not quite December, so I'm thinking that there is still plenty of time left to do some Christmas crafting.  Christmas to me has always been about the handmade, ever since I was a little girl.  My Grandmother was quite the talented maker of many wonderful things.  It was always with anticipation that we opened her presents, hoping like crazy that this was the year that you would receive the gift that she had been working on for months.  When I reflect, I can think of many of these gifts, but many I don't remember specifically,  but, I do remember that her heart was full of joy and love and she loved creating and giving something special to all of us.  Remember that when you are making something for someone special - it will be loved and it will create lifetime memories for them.


So, it's still November and I thought it only fitting to encourage and inspire you all to get cracking and embark on some Christmas projects.

Photo source: Sharyn Cairns

The Christmas edition of Country Style is out now.  Can I tell you that it is Divine to say the least.  Please note that capital D. And it's not too late to get that advent calendar done before the 1st.  Imagine!

Photo source: here

Here is another advent calendar to rock your socks off.  Be sure to check out Hello Sandwich for other great crafty ideas.

Photo source: here

Here is a quick and clever  Christmas tutorial from our very own Kate.



Giveaway: To get you on your crafty way, we are giving away a pack of  Christmas craft books which are choc a block full of ideas.  If you would like a chance to win this book pack, please leave a comment, telling us what your favourite handmade Christmas gift would be - given or received.

Double or even triple your chance if you like us on our two Facebook pages here and here. Yes! We have two.  Double inspiration from both sides of the country.  So, quick enter now. Entries close Friday  30th November at 6pm.  Good luck!




Terms & conditions:
- There is one pack of books to be given away.  Totally prize pool $60.00.
- All winners MUST be contactable via email.  We will announce the winner via the blog and both our Facebook. 
- Open to Australian residents only.
- Competition is open from Thurday 22nd November at 9.20pm until Friday 30th November at 6.00pm.

New Pieces

Today I have added lots of new Sophie Digard pieces to our shop.  Take a peek here.

around the corner

we are always working on new ways to inspire...

today I am just going to post a few shop pics from Mosman Park.

There is a funny, crazy and social season just around the corner, but for now I am liking calm...

you too?

Calico & Ivy Balmain Now Hiring

Calico & Ivy Balmain is looking for casual employees to join our retail team.  Working at Calico & Ivy Balmain is an opportunity for you to work in this creative space with great people.  We are looking for super friendly, enthusiastic people, who love serving and have a passion for all things creative - fabric, sewing, stitching, yarn, knitting, crocheting and the like.

The most important part of the job will be to help our wonderful customers with choices and suggestions, as well as restocking, processing orders, keeping the store looking wonderful and of course adding your creative touch.  Ideally we would love you to be able knit, crochet or sew - all 3 would be great!

We will be accepting cv's until Wednesday 7 November, 5pm.  If you would like to apply please send your cv to calicoandivy@bigpond.com and we'd love it if you included a photo of some of your work.

A Common Thread

After a conversation with a customer this week, she reminded me of the movie, A Common Thread. A french film about a teenage girl, who at 17 and pregnant goes to work as an embroiderer with a lady who sells her work to haute couture houses in Paris.  This lady is grieving the loss of her son. 

 I really liked this reflectful film when I watched it many years ago now and was reminded of the different craftmanship that was depicted in the film, such as Tambour embroidery.   I hope my customer reads this blog as she was really curious to know more about this technique and the tools used.  Hopefully this helps!

If you would like to watch this film, it is now titled "Sequins".

Image from here

Happy Weekend!

a granny chic opportunity

in a very unusual scenario for us here in Perth, we have a few opportunities still available to join the next crochet for beginners class with Danielle.

starting this Saturday, and finishing the following one, you can learn basics and migrate through to making a granny square as required for a blanket like Lynnie's.

if 9.45am - 1pm,  $80 for both classes, and the opportunity of making new yarny friends works for you, call the shop pronto and make your booking (93833794)

Maybe to entice you a little more here are a few squares I have been making from our baby cashmerino...

velveteen

my verandah was looking a little tired, so a new lease of life was injected with new cushion covers and a simple tablecloth.

spring blooms were everywhere so I chose to compliment them with even more blooms!  

Anna Maria's velveteen was my selection for cushion covers, as it has the functionality of being hard wearing, plus being super cosy, perfect for snuggling into with a cuppa watching the world go by.

 

next was the table, so a little of one of my favourite designer fabrics, nani iro, was just dandy.

again flowers a plenty, and now the verandah sings, as I hope do our neighbours and friends as they pass by!

 

The velveteen is 140cm wide and sells for $40.50, just a couple of metres and some simple stitching and voila!

see on the web here

head start

here in perth we have kitted up Lynnie's bright and cheery crochet granny blanket.  

10 coordinated balls of yarn, a crochet hook, instructions, a piccy and a head start...

Lynnie has crocheted each kit a starting square.

and please meet my newest critter of adoration...Olive.

just a baby at 11 weeks old she sure keeps a smile on my face!

I have added a facebook page for Mosman Park very recently, maybe you would like to take a look.

Sarah is working on the Balmain facebook page at present also.

Bloomsbury

We've known that they have been in the pipeline for a long while now.  We saw and ordered them in June and now we have them!  The long awaited Bloomsbury collection of quilting weight cottons by Liberty of London.

Back in July, when Deb and I were in London, we managed to get to Liberty of London to meet up with Sholto Drumlanrig, the very talented artist behind this beautiful collection.  We were taken through the hallowed hallways of the creative department (there were piles and piles of Tana Lawn everywhere!) and Sholto showed us where his inspirations came from for this collection and his many sketches that go into making a complete collection.  It was so overwhelmingly amazing that we took not a single photo.  But if you head over here, Katy has done an amazing job at doing just that - I'll leave it to her!

We will have some quilt kits done up very soon - I'll be back to blog about those.  In the meantime pop into the shops and have a look or follow this link onto the website

Easy Makes

Betty Quilt
in the Perth Store

Happy Go Lucky Quilt
in the Balmain store

Both stores have the some new quilts that we have made into quilt kits.  They are quick and easy, and it's achievable to cut, piece, tie and bind within the weekend if you really want to.  If you can't get to a store, they are on the website, just here.

Vintage treasure

These are some snaps of a few vintage quilts I picked up at Rozelle markets on Saturday.  Very worn in many places, but will be very loved by me!

Am thinking of adding a few classes to the Balmain class list for next term - namely some classes using vintage bits and pieces together with shop fabrics to create small items to treasure (think inspiration from France) and perhaps throwing this in with an early morning trip to the Rozelle markets.  Anyone interested?

for the love of hand sewing

Can I tell you that sewing in France has really done it for me.  It's slowed me down, given me an appreciation for taking my time, to soak up the process, put the machine aside for a bit and enjoying the slow and steady process of a handpieced project.  Our trip to the farm, sewing in the sunshine saw me appliquing my hexies onto my backgrounds - some vintage, some new and available at Calico & Ivy.  It's so thrilling to see them slowly come together. And to plan what happens next.

recharging

Every once in a while it's good to skip town, head for the hills, leave the hustle and bustle behind and recharge.  A few weekends ago, this is exactly what I did with my little family and what heaven it was! We packed up enough food to indulge for the weekend, which included a birthday and Fathers Day, some really warm clothing for those evenings that headed into the minuses, some sewing supplies for me and off we went to a friend's farm,  a few hours west of Sydney.  

A view to die for.

 Phoeb's taking it all in.

 Some old farm sheds.

 We welcomed in spring.

Otto, loving the trip to the country.  So many new smells, and the freedom, oh the freedom!

Many, many just born spring lambs.  It's good to remember where your yarn comes from.  These sheep produce high quality merino wool.

Otto lazing in the sun.  Exhausted!

Collecting the eggs daily was a highlight.  Eating them was a bigger highlight.

All in all we had a fabulous weekend in the country.  And I managed to do a fair amount of blissful  sewing in the sun each day.  I will be back to show that soon.