New Items over the last month

There has been a number of new items added to the Cotton Patch site over the last month.

Firstly I have made a new area for Amy Butler fabrics, books and patterns. There are some new bag patterns, the Midwest Modern range and we also have the Nigella range of home decor weight fabrics. There are three books by Amy including the new title 'Little Stitches for Little Ones' that I mean to dip into for my new little one. See also Ellie and Liz's Amy sewathon

We have expanded our range of batik fabrics with sixteen new fabrics with the By the Pool and Streaks and Splodges ranges.

There are also sixteen new Oriental style fabrics with the Shanghai Gold and Kyoto Garden ranges

For a cute little project we have a new kit from Rachels of Greenfield called Baby Bear.

There are lots more products in the pipeline with Kaffe Fasset kits and fabrics, some wondeful new Free Spirit fabrics, new notions from Clover, new books and Calendars for 2009. We also have a major project that we are all working very hard on for the website.

New arrival is reason for absence

James Harrison Sewell with his bionic arm and Project Linus Quilts

Well, I must apologise to everyone for not posting any Whats New updates for a while and the main reason is the arrival of James, my newborn son. He is now a healthy and increasingly heavy seven weeks old and dominating our lives totally. When he was five days old then we had to take him back into hospital and he stayed for four days as a precaution. This was very much a rollercoaster for my wife and I but whilst in hospital then the nurses made James a little nest from Project Linus Quilts to sleep on in the hospital cot. Liz has mentioned before the great work that Project Linus do of providing quilts to hospitals. Having now been on the receiving end of these quilts then I would just like to say what a difference they make. Hospitals are by inference cold and clinical places and having something that is bright, cheery and a reminder of home can really make a difference to how you feel.

James now has a Winnie the Pooh quilted playmat made for him by his Nanna Jean and is quite tired out from his exertions, allowing his father some time to blog away.

Gutermann Sulky Stabiliser Starter Kit

Gutermann Sulky have produced an excellent starter pack of Stabilisers (9723, £11.25) to help you sample their range of stabilisers. There are 10 different stabilisers to try such as Tear Away, Heat Away and Solvy on 25cm x 42cm sheets.

Mother Earth's ABC - Sieglinde Schoen Smith

Sieglinde Schoen Smith's wonderful Mother Earth and Her Children has been followed up by Mother Earth's ABC which is a small illustrated story book. The book is has an alphabet of beautifully illustrated letters and there is also a CD and photo transfer sheet pack (9717) to help you recreate the Letters.

Summer Newsletter

Our Summer Newsletter is now available and if you have not received a copy through the post then you can download a pdf of the Newsletter from our website and peruse it at your leisure.

Country Garden Quilts by Kaffe Fassett

As we arrive at The Festival of Quilts in August 2008 we will be taking delivery of Kaffe Fassett's new project book Country Garden Quilts. This sumptuous collection of quilts with a floral theme marks a decade of partnership bewtween Kaffe Fassett and Rowan. Country Garden Quilts is photographed in the wonderful gardens at Great Dixter in Sussex. The 20 quilts feature the latest fabrics from Kaffe Fassett and Philip Jacobs. Each project has detailed instructions and diagrams.

Kaffe Fassett will be signing copies of the new book on our stand at the Festival of Quilts and if you are not going to be there and would like a signed copy then we are taking pre-orders now. Our Kaffe Fassett book page has further details on how to do this.

Celtic patchwork and quilting fabric

We featured intricate designs featuring Celtic knotwork back in 2006 and they were very popular. The current range of Celtic designs contrasts teal blues with warm, rich earthy tones, and highlighted with gold. Above is one of two designs from the cushion panel strip.
There is a cushion panel, a mini strip and four coordinating fabrics. Celtic illustration is a favourite of mine and I have always admired the work of Jim Fitzpatrick and the Celtic inspired works of Lloyd Alexander were a favourite when I was younger.

Daiwabo Japanese Fabrics

Daiwabo have produced a stunning range of Japanese fabrics with exquisite texture, detail and design. These are beuatiful fabrics and are available as a range of fat quarter packs or by the metre at £15.40 per metre.

Organ Sewing Machine Needles

We have supplied Schmetz Sewing Machine Needles for some time and last year successfully trialled the Quilting Needle Pack from Organ. We have now extended our range to include a variety of different Organ Sewing Machine Needles packs. There are specialist needles for Jeans, Embroidery, Metallic Thread and Embroidery, as well as Quilting. We also have some Titanium Sewing Machine Needles for extra wear resistance.

There are a number of Universal Sewing Machine Needle Packs with 5 needles. The Specialist Needles are available at £2.50 per pack of five whilst the Universal Needles are £1.50 for a pack of five. We also have available value packs of Universal Needles with 100 Needles for the great price of £22.95.

Oodles of Noodles and Bundles of Homespun

Three new Strip Rolls from Fabric Freedom, £17.95. There are 50 Indian Batik Fabrics cut to approximately 2 1/2" by 43" fabrics on each roll. All three rolls are also available as a Summer Offer for £50.

We also have five new Homespun Fat Quarter Bundles, £11.95. Each bundle contains 8 different homespuns cut as fat quarter yards, 45cm x 55cm (18" x 22"). The bundles have some beautiful really subtle colours. There is also a Summer Offer on these Bundles.