Special Spring Offers @ Janome!!!

Are you looking to buy a new sewing machine or overlocker?

Well, now is a great time to buy with Janome! We are currently running of Sewing with Style Spring Promotion and there are some fantastic free gifts and discounts on our machines. If you click on the images, you can have a look at our great deals.... and also some of our wonderful Janome stockists from all over the UK.

For full information on our Janome sewing machines, please have a look at http://www.janome.co.uk/
and you can also find your local stockist, by looking at this page on our website.

Looking for inspiration...

Anne-Marie Read teaches regular patchwork and quilting workshops all over the Lancashire area, including our Janome stockist, Hobkirks in Blackburn.
Last year, Anne-Marie could resist the new Janome Horizon long armed quilting machine (she came on one of my Horizon Test Drive events) and had to take one home with her! This is one of her quilts she has made on the Janome Horizon, isn't it just gorgeous! All the fabrics are hand dyed and painted with stencil creams before being stitched together.
For more information on the Janome Horizon - click here, and to why not have a look at Anne-Marie's workshops at Hobkirks.

Susan Briscoe visits Bridlington!

Susan Briscoe is a well known textile artist and has written several books and teaches creative textile workshops around the UK. To see her full profile, check out her BLOG and WEBSITE. Susan is happy to travel to your quilting group and run classes just for you... on a huge range of patchwork and quilting techniques and fun workshops.

Recently, Susan visited Bridlington and Barbara from the Janome Sewing Centre in Bridlington attended her workshops and had a wonderful time!

John and Barbara are the main Janome agent in the area, and there shop is a haven for sewers of all types. Apart from Janome machines, they have a gorgeous selection of dress and craft fabrics, threads, buttons, trimmings and all kinds of haberdashery. So, if you fancy a nice day out to the seaside, and a bit of retail therapy... why not pop in? And if you get peckish... there's a fabulous Fish and Chip shop next door with the freshest fish you can find for miles!!

This is one of Barbara's creations and of course, all make on the Janome Horizon.... the best Janome machine for patchwork and quilting!

For more information on the Sewing Centre in Bridlington, visit them at 1, Queen Street, Bridlington or telephone on 01262 603057
Click HERE to see Susan's blog post about the Bridlington weekend and some of the wonderful quilts that were made.

Sew-ability takes delivery of new Janome CXL301 for their class room!

Suzette Slattery has years of experience in the sewing trade and set up her Sewing School a few years ago in Sutton Coldfield. She runs Sewing Leisure Club, where you can sign up for a few sessions or a few weeks and make your choice of clothing, soft furnishings etc.

Sue, seen here on the right, has created a wonderful working space for her students, and everyone has their own large table space to work on. Ideal for cutting out big pattern pieces.
In the sewing machine room, there is a Janome CXL301 for each student to use, (no sharing and waiting for a machine to be available), also Janome overlockers, and plenty of irons and ironing boards.

Look at this lovely space to work in!

She also sells a range of fabrics, backings, interlinings, dress patterns and haberdashery. So nearly everything you need for your sewing is right there and on hand.

For more information on Sew-ability, contact Sue on suzette13@btinternet.com or call her on 0121 321 3002

Look what I found yesterday....

Yesterday I went for a lovely Sunday lunch with all the family, and as I walked to my table .... I spotted some fabulous work on display. Oscar's Lounge and Restaurant has pieces on display from local artists from around the Calverton area (village north of Nottingham)... and I couldn't help myself, I had to get up and have a closer look! The work below is made by local fibre and textile artist Cheryl Herod. All hand felted and full of texture! (Although I didn't take wonderful photo's you can see me in the reflection of the glass!)

The three pieces sat perfectly against the pale sage wall....and I would have loved to take one home!

Cheryl is happy to undertake commissions and runs regular workshops. Please contact her cherylherod@gmail.com for more information

And why not visit Oscar's next time you are in the area! The food was superb and the venue... simply stunning!!

Fancy trying the Janome embellisher on Quick and Easy Workshops?

The Sewing and Knitting Centre from Southport is exhibiting at The Creative Stitches and Hobbycraft Show at Aintree Racecourse 20th - 22nd May. Sue, who owns the Sewing and Knitting Centre will be running regular workshops showing you how to make a simple mobile phone case, with weird and wonderful textures using the Janome FM725 embellishing machine.

She will, of course, have a range of Janome machines on her stand for you to have a demonstration... and maybe fall in love and have to take one home!

For more information on Creative Stitches and Hobbycraft click HERE

and to see more information on The Sewing and Knitting Centre in Southport click HERE

Janome quilted banner takes pride place @ Hobkirks!

Tatiana, Hobkirks resident sewer, has made this fabulous Janome banner for the Janome display area in the shop. Using the Janome Horizon quilting machine, Tatiana has used various quilting decorative and applique stitches, and of course the built in Acufeed to help with the quilting of the layers of wadding and fabric. I'm sure you'll all agree she has done a wonderful job! For more information on Hobkirks in Blackburn and Bury, check out their website Hobkirk.co.uk

Sandra Coleridge exhibits her work at Killerton House

Sandra Coleridge is a Textile Artist that loves to work with her Janome FM725 (embellishing machine), and Janome Horizon to produce the wonderful textured pieces below. She runs regular workshops on the technique, please see her website for more information. Sandra is currently exhibiting at Killerton House, near Exeter, in "For the Love of Stitch" exhibition with the Kingcombe Embroidery Group. The exhibition has a wide range of work to see (and buy) from hand embroidery, machine embroidery (both free machines and digitized work) and various works using embellishing machines. From small gift cards to large wall hangings and framed work.

The venue is simply beautiful....

Just look at this gorgeous room!

Display table with small pieces of work.

The exhibition is running until the 2nd May at Killerton House, for more information visit their website.

New fabric arrives at Fabulous Fabrics!

This week I have been to visit Fabulous Fabrics in Ashby de la Zouch.... and there new Spring fabric was filling the shelves.... it is so gorgeous... I had to share some with you! Look at the wonderful texture of this pink and black.... so unusual! Retro prints.... I love the buttons!

Stretchy embellished fabric.... ideal for evening wear?

More retro prints!

and more!

and more... I love the spots!!!

For more information on Fabulous Fabrics, check out their website HERE or follow them on Facebook?

To find a fabric shop in your area, look on this page of the Blog, or click on the Fabric Shops tab at the top of the page.

Win a Janome TXL607 to celebrate The Sewing Directory first birthday!!!

To celebrate the one year anniversary of The Sewing Directory, Janome have provided a brand new sewing machine, so new that it is not even on the market yet! The Janome TXL607 (RRP.£499) is a fully computerised machine with over 400 stitch options including a 1 step button hole and alphabet. The machine is due to be released on May 1st. To enter the competition to win the TXL607 sewing machine you need to send The Sewing Directory a definition of a sewing term to add to their sewing glossary. This term must have been written by you and not taken from a sewing book or anywhere on the internet. They will be building a glossary created by the entrants to this competition on the siteFor more information on the TXL607, please see the Janome website HERE For all the details of The Sewing Directory competition, please go to their website HERE

Sewing for Pleasure - part 4

Sheila May (on the right) owns and runs the Birmingham School of Sewing... and of course, has Janome machines in her class room. Her classes include patchwork, dressmaking, alterations, know your overlocker...

to more advanced workshops on corsetry, lingerie and bridal. ....

and advanced boned bodice class....

For full information on her courses and class list, check out her website

http://www.birminghamschoolofsewing.co.uk/

To find a sewing workshop in your area, check out Janome recommended class list

HERE