The Thread

Hello, Welcome to October's Thread newsletter. The exciting news this month is the addition of Kellie Wulfsohn's Don't Look Now gorgeous pattern range to the fionamarie.com store. Kellie's designs have recently featured in the Australian Homespun magazine where they caught my eye and I'm sure you will agree they are real stunners. The featured block of the month pattern set is the perennial favourite Leanne's House quilt designed by Leanne Beasley. This quilt has been around for a while now and has been stitched by discerning quilt makers the world over. It is one of those quilts I intend to make myself one day. Rosalie Quinlan fans will be pleased to learn I now have her new book A Stitch in Time on sale. Like her first book 'Gift' it is beautifully presented and full of great projects to stitch. This month we also bring you a great pattern giveaway, a new free pattern for The Great Global Christmas Swap participants, an update on my Gingham Girls quilt and the Christmas Swap, and a run down on what's coming soon. To find out more please read on or if you are short of time use the quick links below.

October's Featured Block of the Month Quilt Leanne's House By Leanne Beasley This 10 pattern block of the month quilt combines stitchery and needle turn appliqué in a pieced patchwork setting. It is an heirloom quilt with an old world feel reminiscent of springtime in a country cottage garden. The central block is stitched with "May your heart make you grateful for the simple things." - More -

October Giveaway! 15 Christmas stitchery patterns to give away!!! These stitcheries have been designed by Rosalie Quinlan Designs and include a photo, instructions and an iron-on transfer that can be used a number of times. There are 5 different designs or "Christmas Blessings" in total and these have now been released in a one pattern format that will be available for purchase next month. In the meantime I will be giving away my stock of little individual patterns to the next 15 customers who purchase one or more patterns from the store.

	Don't Look Now! Kellie Wulfsohn's designs are bright, modern and funky, perfect for a pre-teen or young adult. The appliqué is fused and secured using a machine blanket stitch or you can try using a free motion stitch. I have included a Helpful Hints printout on Kellie's machine techniques for more information and guidance. - More -

Rosalie Quinlan Designs A Stitch in Time - This 52-page book contains over 15 projects for you to sew. This is Rosalie's second book and she has stitched the samples using fabric from her first fabric collection called 'Grandmother's Flower Garden'. "My inspiration came from memories of childhood visits to my Oma's (Grandmother's) house, and the sense of childlike wonder that I experienced while wandering through her beautiful flower gardens." - Rosalie Quinlan I have included a copy of the Contents page for you to view a full list of the projects enclosed. - More -

Christmas Swap

The Christmas Swap now has 137 participants from 15 countries.

I have just added a new Christmas pattern to download on the swap link page. This pattern is called An Angel at my Table and has been designed for The Great Global Christmas Swap by Kookaburra Cottage.

I have also updated the list of participants. Visit this page by clicking on the link under the world map and see if you recognise any of the names listed. (These pages are only available to the swap participants using the special link they have been sent.)

The swap will be open for registrations until the end of November so there is still plenty of time to put your name down and join the fun if you haven't already. $1 from every registration fee goes to 'Camp Quality', an organisation bringing fun and laughter into the lives of children living with cancer through annual camp experiences. I would love to reach $200 to give to our charity by the end of the swap.

Go to the last word section below to hear some stories sent in from previous swap participants.

The Gingham Girls The girls are off on retreat. What could be better than a few days of freedom from domestic responsibilities and family duties to stitch your heart out ... yippee!!! I am now working on the stitcheries in block 10 of the Gingham Girls quilt. The flickr Gingham Girls Stitchers Group continues to grow with 60 ladies joined up. I have one more block of stitcheries to go before I return to block one and start piecing the blocks together. I have decided to piece the block by hand - and NO I'm not insane ... I just really like hand stitching and piecing at night in front of the television. I know it will take me a while to piece by hand and I will continue to keep the group updated on my progress. I am hoping to have the top finished by the end of 2009 and have booked myself in for hand quilting lessons next year. If you haven't visited the page yet you can have a look at all the photos here. P.S. It's great to see some other members adding their photos to the page!

Coming soon! More new release patterns from Leanne's House, Lynette Anderson Designs, Natalie Ross, The Janelle Wind Collection, Melly & Me, Rosalie Quinlan Designs….and I'm working on getting a new designer on the pattern pages - Libby Richardson of Artsmart Craft Cottage. I am still putting together a little competition to have fun with over the Christmas holiday and will let you know more soon.

I love Christmas swap time .. of course not everyone gets the perfect match ... and there can be communication glitches even with modern technology ... and sometimes you might have to wait for a partner which can be frustrating ... BUT ... it is well worth the effort and it always brings a big smile to my face when I hear stories like the two below. I send a big thank-you to Yvonne Hamilton in the States and Rachel Ward in Singapore for writing in and sharing their swap experiences with us.

"Carol Burgess, from Wanganui, New Zealand, was here ... in my house ... in Renton, Washington, this year. What a treat that was! She spent several weeks with us, and we had a wonderful time, visiting and seeing all the sites (which included, of course, lots of quilt shops). I've attached a photo of the two of us, taken at the top of the Space Needle, in Seattle. That's Carol on the right. Thanks so much for organising the swap. I've made a life long friend - which is the best gift of all!" - Yvonne Hamilton (United States)   "I took place in your last swap and my swap partner, Julie, and I still keep in touch and continue the swap tradition at Christmas time. We have met in person, Julie and her husband Kirk (and his Mum) came from the USA to Singapore for a cruise holiday and we spent some lovely time together while they were here. They met my husband and boys and I even took Julie to visit my favourite quilting store in Singapore." - Rachel Ward (Singapore)

Have a fantastic month and make every stitch count!

Fiona Marie Clark

P.S. To find out what's happening more regularly, visit me at my blog.
I update it as often as my workload allows and would love to hear from you.