HOLIDAYS! HOLIDAYS! HOLIDAYS! HOLIDAYS!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We certainly did!

Today was the last day of trading at Precious Purl for 2010!

We will only be open on Saturday 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th January from 11-5pm, while we take a break.
If you are desperately in need of some supplies for Summer Crafting or are visiting Melbourne from interstate and not able to get to Precious Purl on Saturdays, then give me a call on 0423 514 668 and you may be able to persuade me to be at the shop on some other day!! Maybe!

I am going to be doing lots of enjoying of my sister's lovely garden/pool in the Central Highlands area of Victoria. We have our caravan set up in this lush and private caravan park!

Lots of family members to enjoy this break with us and plenty of reading, eating, talking, knitting, shopping, swimming, walking, bike riding and sleeping to come. That's in between Mr Purly and I, tag teaming to give Insulin injections to our recently diagnosed, diabetic Burmese cat. She is much loved and absolutely worth the time and petrol spent to and froing!

Hope your holidays are memorable! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my blog readers and to all our lovely customers at Precious Purl!



Button Obsession!

This "Button Obsessive" has been lusting after the gorgeous button jewellery that I spotted the wonderful Maggie Beer wearing on Masterchef this year. That "eagle" eye had also noticed Maggie wearing "buttons" back in  "The Cook and the Chef "days on the ABC!
Well I finally tracked down the clever designer and maker - Kellie Christie of Brisbane and have persuaded her to supply Precious Purl with some lovely pieces just in time for Christmas.

Sorry, the Red, Black and White necklace has already been SOLD, but there are some other gorgeous ones to choose from and they are very reasonably priced.

Some very cute button brooches also.

Something to appeal to any button lover or anyone who loves a fun necklace or just Colour!

Please check my previous post that details our Holiday Trading hours and remember our online Sale continues until 31st December.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Holiday Trading hours

Great Christmas shopping is available at Precious Purl, with gorgeous hand made garments, accessories and jewellery and there is a great chance to stock up on your holiday craft supplies while we have big price reductions. Last day for sales prior to Christmas is Thursday 23rd December.

Merry Christmas and a Wonderful, Happy and Healthy New Year to all our great customers and friends.


Please make a note of  trading hours for Precious Purl during the Christmas/New Year/Holiday season.
Our regular days are Wednesday - Saturday 11 - 4pm .We are always closed Sunday/Monday/Tuesday.

 Closed:        Friday 24th December
                     Saturday 25th December
 Open:          Wednesday 29th December
                    Thursday 30th December
 Closed:        Friday 31st December
                     Saturday 1st January

During January 2011 we will only be open on Saturdays - 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th from 11am to 5pm.
Other times may be available by appointment. Ring to make arrangements 0423 514 668

Gorgeous Necklaces

Just arrived at Precious Purl, some beautiful necklaces created by Teresa, a highly talented Melbourne Artist! Only the highest quality sterling silver and 16 carat gold plated sterling silver fittings are used in creating these unique necklaces that really complement our lovely range of garments and accessories.

Onyx, amethyst, white turquoise, jade, Murano glass, shell fossils and obsidian, lava and coral are featured in these beautiful pieces.

This beautiful faceted onyx and Murano glass with gold plated sterling silver features has already SOLD.

Sorry!

This is a new direction for Precious Purl but sits so well with our current range of Artisan Garments and we are sure that visitors to our space will be delighted.

Bargains @ Precious Purl!

Starting Wednesday 8th December at 11am our online sale items will all be available at Precious Purl.
You can have a preview of these items at http://www.lara-downs.com.au/

In addition there will be many other specials in store, including
25% off Fibre Fusion prefelts, both Logs 150 x 200cm and Planks 35 x 200cm.
We have a large selection of colours for you to choose from. These are wonderful to felt with and I have featured them on this blog many times   (see 2nd Nov, 12th Aug, 25th Feb)
This is a rare opportunity to get Felbi prefelts at a reduced rate!
UPDATE: All Fibre Fusion Divine Wooltops 25% off also. This really is a bargain not to be missed!

Please note that Black is only available in Plank size.

Another special, only available to instore customers, is 25% off our limited range of

Noro, Debbie Bliss,

 Eki Riva,Touch Yarns 4 ply & 8 ply.

Look forward to seeing you at Precious Purl!

SALE! SALE! SALE! SALE! SALE! SALE! SALE!

Our ONLINE SALE at  http://www.lara-downs.com.au/  will commence at 9.00am AEST on Monday 6th December and all items will then be available at Precious Purl from 11am Wednesday 8th December.

This annual sale has proven to be very popular and you will need to get in early to have a pick from the  60 lots available.

 There will be beautiful Hand Dyed and commercially dyed yarns in luxury fibres, some recycled Sari silk, fabric pieces, threads, embellishing packs, wool, mohair and silk top. Something to appeal to all fibre lovers.

Be early online or visit Precious Purl where you can also see all the beautiful hand crafted items we now have available in our Gallery space.     (see the last post for some of these!)
Coming very soon -  gorgeous jewellery!

Gorgeous Garments!

We have some beautiful pieces of work now available at Precious Purl that have been made by some of our talented customers. These would all be fabulous Christmas gifts or an indulgence for oneself!

I have my eye on this brilliant felted vest with removable flower trim by Helen French.

This beautifully felted scarf with gum leaf prints and using only natural dyes, is one of several in store from the hugely talented Pam Hovell.

This lovely summery wrap in palest pink silk with warm pink and green flowers is by Jan McGowan.

Another wrap by Jan and I love the way she has incorporated this beautifully embroidered and beaded piece from Precious Purl.

Come and visit! I'm sure you will find something that appeals!

We also make up gift boxes to your budget, your area of interest and favourite colour selection for those crafty friends and family, or maybe a gift voucher so they can choose for themselves.

Giveaway??

Thank you to those who took the time to visit and leave a comment about the gorgeous silk fat quarters I featured last post. Sorry I have been slow to announce the winner but a somewhat erratic heart meant yet another stay hooked up to all that beeping equipment!

And the winner is..... Leisurely Lesley! as drawn from the hat by Mr Purly!
Contact me Lesley with postal details and 3 of these beauties along with 2 sets of covered buttons will be on the way to you!

We are enjoying the extra space and wonderful natural light at Precious Purl after negotiating with our landlord and rearranging his Stuff!

So when a lovely Creative Arts group visited from Geelong on Monday, it was great to not feel "squishy" with all the extra bodies. Yes! we can open especially for groups on Mon/Tues when we are normally closed, just contact us to make arrangements.

 

More space means more beautiful products can be displayed!  

We have gorgeous Felted Hats and wraps, many made by our customers, to tempt you for Christmas giving.

Even a Christmas table featuring our products in colour theme!

Come and visit next time you are in Fitzroy or make a special trip. Great shopping and food guaranteed in this neighbourhood! 

Luscious Silk Fat Quarters!

I have added gorgeous Silk Fat Quarters from India to our ever expanding Textile range at Precious Purl.
These come in beautiful patterns and colours with more coming in late November.

I love this fabric so much, I have decided to share with a lucky winner in a Giveaway!

The prize will be 3 Silk Fat quarters of different colours and patterns along with 2 sets of covered buttons like those below and here's how to win!

Leave me a comment telling me what you would use the Fat Quarters for and I will choose a Random Winner next Saturday 13th November at 9 pm AEST. One entry for each comment and if you let me know that you are a Follower of my blog, you will receive 2 entries in the draw.

Don't you love the "Lustre" on this Silk?

The buttons will be this pair of 38mm and a pair of the same fabric in 28mm.

Good Luck!

Nuno Felted scarf

At our Felting Play Day on Saturday, I found enough time to make myself a scarf I had been planning for a while.
This gorgeous Turkish Red Felbi and the beautiful silk scarf were a perfect match for my Nuno plans.

I cut the silk into irregular shapes and laid them on the Felbi prefelt base, rather like crazy paving.

This is much closer to the real colour than the "raspberry" in the previous pic taken quite some time ago.

I had lots of help with the rolling as it is time consuming and takes its toll on my aging neck and shoulders.

The fabulous King of Hearts coat hanging in the background, was made by Catherine Byatt who was our Felter-in-Residence for the day. Her last exhibition, based on the Alice in Wonderland story  was "Awesome!"

The coat detail was made with the same Felbi I used as the base in my scarf. 

Here is the finished piece, (although I am thinking of adding a little black embellishment ) perfect for the wet and cold Spring weather we are having in Melbourne, but really meant to wear with my black coat next Winter. Not bad if I do say so myself!

The Felbi Planks approx 35x200cm and $18, are available from Precious Purl in a good range of colours.

Felting Play Day!

If you have been to Precious Purl, you may have wondered just what was behind the screen dividing the mezzanine space??
It was the accumulation of many years of hoarding by our Landlord!! With some gentle persuasion the STUFF was rearranged, not necessarily thrown out, to make a great space for our Felting Play Day yesterday.
So, in spite of the very wet weather, we had a great demonstration and play throughout the day with enthusiastic beginners of all ages. We plan to do this again if you missed out this time.
 A big thank you to Catherine of Feltazia, for sharing her expertise and enthusiasm. She even gave me a gentle nudge to do the Nuno felted scarf/wrap I had been planning for some time. I will show you the finished piece next post - it looks great!

Here's a shot to show you just how great that extra space looks.

It's on our wish list !

Hayley, planning to do Textiles as a subject for VCE next year, had a great time playing and absorbing as much info about felting as she could.This piece, in the process of being laid out, with merino/silk and lace embellishment turned out really well, a great sampler to be used next year.

If you would like to be on our mailing list to hear about the next event, just leave a comment here or send an email (go to my profile for the address) or see our website http://www.lara-downs.com.au/

An OPEN DRAWER!

A wonderful new venue for Textile/Fibre lovers and more, has recently opened at 1158 Toorak Rd Camberwell. (Mel. Ref 60 C6) "Open Drawer" is the brain child of Robyn Steel-Strickland and Prue Barridge and this promises to be a "must visit" venue if you are interested in sewing, embroidery, felting, knitting, crochet, jewellery, dyeing and more. This is a wonderful space with classrooms and gallery, along with the retail area where you can purchase distinctive giftware, garments & accessories, jewellery, homewares, art works and more.

 

Precious Purl products are available here and we wish the girls all the best with their venture.

I have more photos showing the lovely interior but I am having trouble with the new Blogger image upload! Is anyone else, or is it just me I wonder??

Big Birthday & Buttons

One of the partners of Precious Purl (and it wasn't me!) had a BIG Birthday celebration yesterday with a great family gathering in the Botanical Gardens. It was such a beautiful day, I think a large percentage of Melbourne's population was there also. We found a huge, shady Liquidamber under which we could celebrate with gorgeous Cake & Champers. The cake was Cointreau, lemon curd and white chocolate decorated with real Rose buds and made at The French Lettuce in Nicholson St -  just divine!

Happpy Birthday P!

But back to what's happening at Precious Purl! Gorgeous covered buttons, lots of them, are joining the amazing array of Vintage buttons. Some Liberty prints and Japanese fabrics among this lot.

Don't you just love the owls?

A reminder about our Felting Play Day, next Saturday. Come along and join in the fun.

See the post for 17th September.

A Mini Break.

Have had a few days to recharge the batteries! A sea view and falling asleep to the sound of waves pounding on to the beach, will always do wonders for me. A bit of tree top climbing and viewing was a bonus.

Are "the greying hair and the white-knuckled hand grip!" indications of just how high off the ground this magnificent Otway Fly Treetop walk really is? Yes! and it does move! Exhilarating none the less.

Just a reminder about our Wet Felting Play Day on Saturday 30th October.

See blog post on 17th September for all the details.

Just leave a comment here with your email, if you want to be in it!

New Products for Patchworkers and Embroiderers.

Some lovely Japanese Yukata, the 100% cotton, traditionally indigo dyed fabric for everyday Kimono, is now available at Precious Purl. Great geometric and floral designs! I just love the fresh blue and white!

These will be available in packs of 5 different designs approx 25cm x 35cm each piece, and in packs of

3x (6inch)  15cm squares.

Not quite focused! Again! My poor eyesight and my camera don't always get together!!

Colour Delights!

After all the positive feedback to the gorgeous hand dyed fat eighths and extra goodies that I had in the Giveaway for my 50th post, I have finally put these together as Colour Delight packs in 2 different sizes.

The large at $24 have 1 hand dyed fat eighth,1 fat tenth, silk pieces, hand dyed embroidery threads in silk, cashmere, wool or mohair and coordinating buttons.

The small Colour Delight Packs at $11 contain 1 hand dyed fat eighth, coordinating buttons and hand dyed lace, ric rac, or trim.

These would make lovely gifts for the creative people in your life.

A REMINDER!!

Don't forget our Felting PLAY DAY on 30th October at Precious Purl!

See post on 17th September.

Blending and Carding! Carding and Blending!

This is what has been happening at Precious Purl lately! Gathering of gorgeous stuff - wool top, silk top, mohair top, mohair curls, silk fibre, threads and sparkle in colour ways that we love.
Some Smudge, Cumin, Mink, Bullion and toning silk fibre in this lot, pull it apart, mix it all up and feed into the Drum Carder.

Wind and wind, minding your fingers on those spikes!

Here's the first blending!! Looking good!

Back into the feeding chute and wind some more!

Nicely blended! Ready for Spinners and Felters and all fibre lovers!

Into a pack and ready for sale! 50grams for $9.95!

We have these in stock now in a range of colour blends, but just ask if you want a special mix!

That  large electric carder Pam is lusting after and has even ordered! - will make this fun task, even better!

Felting Play Day!

I mentioned this in my last post but here are all the details!
Are you interested in learning about the materials, techniques or the possibilities in Wet Felting?
Want to have a dabble in this exciting craft in a relaxed and fun atmosphere or just want to watch an expert at work??

Then this date is for you!!

Saturday 30th October 11.30-3.30 at Precious Purl.
Catherine Byatt of Feltazia will be having a PLAY DAY in Wet Felting. Come along and watch, learn, ask and see all the gorgeous Precious Purl supplies being put to work. 

If you would like to join in and make a small sample, then we ask for $5 to cover the cost of materials. You will need to let us know if you want to "have a play" and the approximate time you will be there, so as we can save you a space. Just want to watch? Welcome anytime!

Catherine has held several exhibitions that have featured her very theatrical garments and her speciality -HATS!

This is my very own gorgeous hat and matching scarf made by Catherine in Silk and Wool.

These gorgeous Nuno felted or laminated scarves, show Catherine's love of colour.

This will be a great opportunity to find out if Felting is for you!!

Hope to see you there!

......Happy Jan!!

It was great to have a Show and Tell from one of our customers last week. Jan is fairly new to Felting but she is doing really well.



This Salmon silk is finished with tone on tone wool and silk top.











This Cumin and Aubergine wrap uses our Fibre Fantasy pack.

A great colour combo!

Lots of lovely pinks from our Rainbow Threads and Silk Loom ends in this one.

Well Done Jan, and thanks for sharing.

If you are wanting to learn some of the secrets to felting, this craft that so many seem to be passionate about, then here is your chance. A date for your diary!!

A felting Play Day with Catherine Byatt of Feltazia at Precious Purl.

Saturday 30th October 11.30-3.30.

Come along, look and learn! If you want to play, $5 to cover materials is all you will need to pay, but let us know so as we can save you a space.