Category Archives: 2013

Festive Sale and end of year happenings…

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So it’s all over for another year…

Food and presents were great, a nice quiet day with family.

It’s Boxing Day now. Mum’s reading, Dad’s watching the cricket and I’m about to do some sewing.

Working on a few quilts that will be up for sale in the new year along with a few magazine pieces. I’m also getting a head start with the 55 Fox Fiasco projects. The girls and I are very excited about the launch.

If you head over to the STORE tab and do some shopping, when you get to the checkout make sure you enter FESTIVE2013 into the coupon code box to receive 25% off your purchases (excluding kits, patterns, sewing baskets and quilting hoops).

Make sure you don’t miss out on these bargains as I love to encourage you to create while you are on holidays – relaxation aids inspiration. 🙂

Any orders placed will be posted as soon as possible, as with all of the public holiday days dotted in amongst this time of year makes getting to the post office a little more tricky. So allow a few extra days delivery.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, are enjoying their Boxing Day and looking forward to the New Year.

Marni x

Hurtling…

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And so here we stand a mere week out from Christmas 2013.

I’m not quite sure I believe we got here as fast as we did – it really does seem like a blur. Especially since we had so many big things happen in the last 12 months –

– The shop front closing and the restructuring of the business

– Dad being home for more than a year!

– New directions with the 55 Fox Fiasco

– And all the other random good stuff that happened.

Also in that time I started a new job… I’m doing some freelance work for the College of Law which is the complete opposite of the work I do in the shop. I’m working on word documents, behind a computer all day, not behind a sewing machine. My brain is finding the balance a little hard to come to terms with but the work is important as it is legal information for up and coming law students.

Nothing will take me away from the shop permanently, I’m just doing this job to help them through their busy time as I have the necessary skills and the flexibility with my time.  🙂

So to catch you all up with what’s happened since I last posted a blog entry (eep! the 21st of October) here’s a quick montage of pics –

I think that about covers the majority of what happened.

I’m not closing over the holidays – so if you need anything please feel free to ring, email or place your order through the shopping cart. I’ll only be going to the post office on non-public holiday days so please allow a couple of extra days for your deliveries.

 

NSW and the Golden Haze

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Sitting in my craft room today writing up magazine project notes and I look out the window to a hazy golden glow that the world has had for the past few days. With Summer not even truly here we’ve already had the worse bush fires in a decade and seemingly the worst is yet to come.

The flames surround us in every direction – North, South and West – with smoke hanging in a thick, choking pall over the city, being blown in every direction by winds that no-one wants.

I know people living in each of the key fire locations. I’ve had friends evacuate, leaving behind everything they own bar a few irreplaceable items. I hear stories and I’m keeping a close eye on things via social media. I’m now helping in the only way I really can – by sewing.

I’ve been in touch with WIRES to see what they need in terms of animal carer support – nappies, slings and pouches for injured animals. If you would like to help make pouches click on these links for instructions –  macropod pouches making possum pouches.

The rescue operations are now well under way and the teams urgently need new, flat (not fitted), 100% cotton sheets. If you can help with this please email support@wires.org.au once you have sheets ready to send.

Other ways to help –

1. BlanketLovez are collecting quilt tops, finished quilts, wadding and monetary donations to make quilts for families who’ve lost everything. See the link for more details.

2. Pillowcases for Oncology Kids are collecting pillowcases. Follow the link for more information. Pillowcase Instructions.

3. A MESSAGE FROM WILDLIFE ARC: Wildlife ARC are doing a search and rescue tonight. Members will be looking for injured animals from the bushfires. If anyone would like to join the hunt, they will meet at the Shell Service Station at Doylo at 6pm on the 21st October. “We are also putting out food and water for the animals,” a spokeswoman said. “We are asking that if people come can they bring any sort of plastic containers, ice cream containers etc please.”

4. Truly Scrumptious is collecting for a crafty lady who lost her home based business.

5. Pet Barn is collecting donations when your purchase goods for your pets.

There are many people out and about helping in whatever ways they can. If you can do something, even just a little, it all helps.  🙂

 

Confusion

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It has come to my attention over the past 48hours that some of you believe that I have simply closed down.

To clarify – I have shut down the physical shop that I had over at Gosford. I changed the shop into an online and machine quilting only business to get some flexibility back into my family’s life so I could look after dad and help mum more.

There were tough decisions to be made but it was the best decision for me and my family. Since shutting just over 6 weeks ago it has made a massive difference to how things are at home.

The shop is still here and still on Facebook – but you can’t just pop in and see me, there are no classes. I am doing mail orders, machine quilting and a selection of markets (next market Handmade Craft Market – 30th November, Scholastic Stadium, Duffys Rd Terrigal).

I’m not sure where the confusion has come from but please if you have questions contact me. I don’t bite. Promise. 🙂

frankensteinsfabrics@hotmail.com

0416 023 637

 

Three months till Christmas…

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So over the past couple of weeks besides unpacking and working out the new system at FF HQ I’ve also been working on something for next year.

Two of my friends and I have start The Fifty-Five Fox Fiasco. It’s a collaboration project for 2014 with foxes being the main theme. We haven’t released all the details yet but if you would like to stay in the loop please follow us on our Facebook page.

The girls and I were inspired by a random conversation we had and a mutual love for all things crafty. It will be an exciting 12 months and I can’t wait to get started.

In other news my christmas cockatoo project is on the front cover of the newest issue of Patchwork & Stitching magazine.

PWS 14-9 button

I also had the fortune to be involved in the Fashion Week Central Coast. I submitted one of my quilts for their gala night auction. The quilt sold on the night and some of the funds from its sale will go to the RSPCA – my chosen charity. 🙂

Measures 187cm x 200cm

  Measures 187cm x 200cm

I’m having a small sale over on my Facebook page. All the fabrics in the album are only $10 per metre. Heaps of bargains to be had and the sale will end on Tuesday the 1st of October.

I’m heading to Sydney tomorrow to catch up with friends and then I plan one sewing for the rest of the weekend and Monday when I’m home looking after Dad. I am making pillowcases for Patchwork & Stitching magazines Pillowcase for Oncology drive. I have a big batch of really awesome Dr Seuss fabrics that were donated to the magazine and Melinda (assistant editor) sent out these fabrics for us to whip up pillowcases.

I’m also playing around with some more magazine commissions and a few personal projects – pics to come.

With so little time before the silly season I’m working hard now so that I can have time off this year. We cancelled Christmas last year because none of us really felt like it seeing as we’d just gotten Dad home and things were still settling down. I think Mum wants to do something special this year so I’m making sure that we have at least a few days together, relaxing and enjoying life.

Enjoy your weekend!

Marni x

 

Packing and an emotional tangent…

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Out of all the things in life packing and moving has to be one of the most hated. Top 5 at least – after public speaking….

I don’t like moving – it’s time consuming and I usually end up lifting everything and moving the things myself to the point of exhaustion. Packing is good though because you can sort and discard, condense your belongings and ensure that when you unpack you are starting afresh.

This move has been one of mixed feelings.

Changing the shop to online and machine quilting only was a big decision but it was one made at a time when all the pieces fell into place (space to move into, lease ending, mum needing more help with dad, 2 years at the shopfront) so it was an easy decision to make because it was simplified. The time was right, so we took the chance.

I love change so this is good for me and my outlook on the business. It gives me flexibility and time to hone my machine quilting skills more, in turn providing a better service for you, less overheads means more savings – so more stock and time to hunt down new and exciting things and best of all I’m around for dad.

Many of you know dad – he was in the shop from the start – he built all the cupboards and the kitchen area, the benches and the classroom tables. He was there every day with me, working on some of his own things, or helping me with shop things. He was there at all those shows and markets, lugging and carting things around for me. The last twelve months (from the 19th of August when it all happened) has been hard for my family. Watching the trauma that he suffered, listening to doctors tell us he wasn’t going to wake up and hearing the horror stories and fatality percentages made us close ranks and shut out the world. Being in the shop and continuing to quilt saved my sanity and held me together. I was able to be strong for my family – we had to keep going, knowing that’s exactly what dad would have expected of us.

What happened to dad few survive. Most die within the first few hours. Dad was incredibly lucky. We don’t know why or even how because according to all of the medical team who looked after him during those 3 months said he ticked all the wrong boxes. He was, in their eyes, a write off.

I personally think dad was lucky for three reasons – 1. He is a stubborn man and a survivor. This isn’t the first traumatic thing he’s lived trough. 2. He had reserves to loose. The excess weight he had been carrying kept him alive while others wasted away to nothing in the bed beside him dad still had colour and looked reasonably healthy. 3. He had us. Even though we were prepared for the worst because that’s what we were led to believe was happening we still hoped.

I won’t go into all the details but after three months in hospital we got him home. The first few weeks were tough for mum and I – especially through the nights when dad was restless –  we were lifting him in and out of bed. But he got better. The physical stuff coming back quickly, his balance is still a little random but he’s doing well. The mental and emotional stuff – well that takes far longer to heal.

Dad and I are not the same. We’ve lost whatever bond we had. I lost my drinking buddy, my companion in mischief… but it’s weird because he’s still there.

And this is why the shop had to change.

My family comes first. The shop as much as I love it and all of my customers is second. You all know that and you all have expressed to me the same sentiment.

So from now on, we are all to live much happier streamlined lives. Mail orders are easy as pie to place. I love seeing orders come in and wonder what you are all up to.

I will be updating new stock and information as I unpack. There are some new products arriving at the end of the month. To stay in touch with all the details please sign up for our newsletter or find us on Facebook.

 

I will be around all over the place over the last few days of this move so if you need me please send through an email (frankensteinsfabrics@hotmail.com), ring/text 0416 023 637 or message me via Facebook. You can also leave comments on blog posts.

Have a great week!

Marni x

Last week at the shop front…

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So this week is the last week with the doors open at the bricks and mortar version of Frankenstein’s Fabrics.

Unsure of what this week will bring as there is still so much happening outside of the packing, cleaning and moving.

We are open this week from Tuesday to Friday 9am -4pm and then on Saturday we will be at the Handmade Craft Market from 9:30am – 2:30pm.

Make sure you get in and grab some bargains as the sale will finish up at midnight on the 31st, with stock at the market on sale as well.

Some snippets of what’s available….

So now that I have my new video camera I’ve been planning what I will be doing for the first couple of tutorials.

Liz kindly requested a demo of French Knots and as I will be doing some of those on the project that I’m working on tomorrow I thought it was perfect timing. I will add in a few other stitches that also feature in the same project. In the video I will also talk about ways to make stitching easier on yourself – products I use and sell that aid in embroidery.

The second video will be on appliqué. The methods I use and how I approach it. Appliqué is a wonderful technique that can be used on pretty much anything you can imagine.

I’ve recently purchased some funky sewing baskets –

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Small baskets are $23 and the medium baskets are $27, plus postage.

I must admit I am addicted, like most craftspeople, to storage…. between my fabric and stationary addictions storage is right up there. Top 5. Wayyyyy up there.

I have boxes and bags, stackable containers, tubs on wheels, cupboards with little drawers and jars with lids that go ‘thonk’. You know the ones I mean…. Storage is something that I think calls to us, that makes us feel like we are achieving some glorious organisational utopia.

Being organised and creative don’t often go hand-in-hand. Due to the ‘creative process’ keeping things tidy and streamlined can be a struggle. I for one like to work in a neat workspace, so I tidy as I go, or do one project, tidy and move onto the next one.

If anyone has any storage tips feel free to leave a comment below. 🙂

Anyways, I’m off to bed shortly (after I get in a little more sewing), so I hope to see you all in store this week or online to celebrate the last four days in the shop.

Thank you all for your support and kind words along the way with this massive change.

Marni x

 

New Technology

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So over the weekend I purchased a video camera in order for me to start recording tutorials to replace the classes for when the shop is no longer a store front.

But I am a tad nervous to be in front of the camera, even though its my camera…. 😀

So what I would like to do to help me lessen the nerves is I would like to ask you to suggest what you would like me to show you in the tutorials – whether it be a technique, a query about something in one of my projects, how I design from scratch, how I choose colours…. just let me know and I’ll add it to the list that I’m compiling.

You can email me – frankensteinsfabrics@hotmail.com, ring me at the shop (02) 4325 2638 or comment below.

Thanks,

Marni x

AUGUST SALE!!

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To celebrate our last month as a storefront I am having a sale!

Follow this link to view all of the details.

When you purchase on the website store tab all discounts will be refunded to you after your order has been processed. I know its backwards but this is the easiest way 🙂

You may also order via email and phone order – methods of payment for these options are credit card, direct deposit and Paypal invoice.

Thanks to everyone who has expressed their well wishes to us in this new stage of business. It’s lovely to hear from you all. 🙂

 

Marni x 

We’re Morphing…

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As the shop nears its second birthday we have made some BIG changes.

From the 30th of August, Frankenstein’s Fabrics will no longer be a bricks and mortar store. We are restructuring the business to be solely online plus machine quilting so I can have the flexibility to focus more on my family, especially looking after dad and getting our family back on track after the traumatic events of the past 12 months.

We will still be providing the customer service that you have all come to know and rely upon however these changes mean that things will need to be more organised and structured to make it work for all of us. I will still be attending local markets and shows where you will be able to view and purchase our products in person. At any other time it will be mail order only.

Machine quilting will now be posted to and from using the PO Box for the business – unless you are near a market or show that I’m attending then that venue will be used as a pick up and drop off point. I am also investigating a local courier as a delivery option so that quilts remain safe during transport and I will advise when I have answers for you.

There will be no classes at this stage – things may change in the future but at this point it is not possible. There will however be more tutorials and BOM style projects done via the blog, email and youtube – some will be freebies and others you will need to pay to join in but this way you can still have access to classes without the physical classroom. There will also be demonstrations and classes at future markets (from November onwards) – see Handmade Craft Market for more information as the market draws nearer.

I would like to thank all of our customers who have supported us over the past two years, your enthusiasm for this craft has made the shop a fun place to work, but changes need to be made and I hope that you will stick by us through this time as we take Frankenstein’s Fabrics into it’s next phase.

On the 31st of August we will be at the Handmade Craft Market as usual. During the month of August we’re having a sale to celebrate.

If you have any questions on what is happening please feel free to ring me at the shop (02) 4325 2638, email frankensteinsfabrics@hotmail.com, leave a message via Facebook or comment below this blog post.

There will be a new phone number after the 31st of August (I will update that when I know) until then the current number will be in use.

Thank you,

Marni x