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Coast & Country Crafts and Quilts Newsletter
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Injecting some colour into your cheeks!
Who else has been ffffrrrrrozen this week? It's such a shock to us living in Cornwall when the temperatures drop to freezing. We know most people have it a lot colder than us but I was still wearing flip flops two weeks ago, so when I say the temperature drop is shocking, it really is! We hope that, if you have had snow, it has been fun and not painful or inconvenient for you. It is such a novelty in Cornwall that, at the tiniest flurry, we all hasten to make a snowman from less than a 1/4" of snow.
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Anyway, despite ice, snow and seemingly incessant rain, we do have some brighter moments of sunshine and we can still have lots of cosiness and colour during this cold spell. Of course it is also perfect sewing weather. Hunkering down to sew, when venturing outside is difficult and slippery, is a great way to stay warm. Especially when rustling up projects using our soft flannel fabrics or bringing a big burst of sunshine when sewing with colourful prints. We take a look at our flannels this week, along with the bold and beautiful Kaffe Fasset collections and delicious Aurifil threads.
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We have been sorting out our next term of workshops and are adding more this week. We have a new tutor joining us - Claire Houghton, Caroline Michelle is back with a new offering, Mandy is running a Quilt as You Go class and Michelle will be teaching needle felting and wet felt making. Full details below and on our Workshop area of the website.
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May your days be filled with warmth, love and laughter. We look forward to helping you with everything sewing related both online and in person.
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Best wishes
Sally & the girls
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We are excited to welcome Claire Houghton when she comes to teach her Coastal Flowers workshops for us on February 26th, with another opportunity on May 22nd if the February doesn't suit you. With Claire`s guidance, you will create your own glistening seascape textile art, embellished with embroidered flowers inspired by the local coastline.
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Mandy made a delightful quilt using Chelsea Garden fabrics and a Quilt as You Go method. She will be sharing and teaching her quilt on Wednesday 19th February.
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Michelle is back teaching two felt workshops. Both use luxurious merino wool tops. One for needle felting on March 11th where you will learn the basics and then create a brooch or a character or both! There will be plenty of inspiration from gnomes to pumpkins, mermaids to mice! On the wet felt workshop on April 8th you will start by making some beads and littles balls to perfect the technique then you will make a felted bowl. The process for both of these is magical as you watch the 100% beautifully soft merino wool transform into solid items without sewing a stitch.
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Caroline Michelle has a brand new workshop for us. This time an introduction to thread sketching. This is on 15th February. During this class you will be shown how to
experiment with thread through a variety of simple practice exercises, including how to transfer images into textured stitch as well as using different colours to produce a beautifully textured artwork through various stages from an initial photograph to finished piece. This looks simply stunning.
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Sarah has had a tidy up of the Kaffe Fasset fabrics and it looks so delicious we had to share it with you. In the photo you can see all of the print fabrics as well as a rainbow of the Shot Cottons, two extra wide fabrics, some of the Kaffe Precuts and bundles as well as a jacket made from a Kaffe layer cake, lined with an end of roll fabric for some fun. Also visible is a Camden Bag made from batik fabric and Reef Block pattern by Beth Studley of Love From Beth.
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There are several books by Kaffe Fasset that are packed with divine quilts. So many bold patterns and colours that just work together to create works of art.
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Aurifil Threads are a delight to use and come in a huge variety of colours that work so well with Kaffe Fasset fabrics. There are even two sets of Aurifil Threads dedicated to him. We sell individual reels of 40, 50 and 80 weight threads from naturals to greys and a myriad of colours, as well as the Colour Builder Boxes of 3 reels of 50 weight thread. This is an excellent all round sewing thread and the box sets are great value for money.
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We love flannel fabrics at Coast and Country. They are super soft and warm without being too heavy and although they look like wool they are 100% cotton so no itchy scratchy issues. We have Farmhouse Flannels III which has the cheeky sheep motif and shades of browns, slate and charcoal, Lakeside Gatherings in shades of blues and creams, Winter Days, cutesy bears and birds in soft pastels perfect for a snuggly quilt or blanket for little ones, or indeed, the young at heart. We also have a few brighter flannels too including reds, greens and butternut orange.
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The lovely Yuletide Star was originally made in Yuletide Gatherings Flannel but would like magnificent in any of the other flannel ranges too.
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With a large range of panels in stock there are lots of ways of making a quick gift. We have panels to make quilts, playmats, bunting, flags, books, wall hangings, advent calendars and toys.
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We also have just received more of the Sunshine and Lollipops Stitchery panels by Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched. These images are used in her quilt of the same name that featured in Homespun magazine last year. They are great to use for patches or your own quilt design, or we are sure that the pattern will be released at some point in the near future.
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