Last Chance!

This is the very last chance to be in the draw for our Birthday Give-away! The lucky winner will be drawn on Thursday 1st April at Precious Purl and the result will be announced on this blog and Lara Downs website. Here's how to be in it!

1.Leave a message here.

2.Leave a message on the website (see side bar)

3.Visit Precious Purl on Wednesday.

Good Luck!

Here are some gorgeous new products I have packaged that should tempt all craft- a- holics!

A combination of supersoft 19micron wool top in 2 coordinating colours, hand dyed muslin, silk loom ends, 20m of embellishing threads, silk georgette strips, and maybe a felt string or 2. All sorts of other treasures maybe added to blend with the colour theme. I have titled this delight, "Fibre Frolic." It is sure to appeal to Felters, and all those who love layered and textured Fibre Art. Around 40g and $14.95 these come in a large array of gorgeous colours.

Crocheted Necklace.

Not really a new camera but a big step up from the little basic one that I had. My son remembered (or maybe that was his gorgeous partner!) that he had this Panasonic sitting idle that "Mum" could probably manage to use, so along with a new whizzbang card reader cum USB,  there is no looking back for this Blogger now!

Virginia's glitzy neckpiece was made at Penny O'Neill's Crochet workshop last Saturday 20th March.

This was an introductory class where a few rows of crochet were turned into a great neck adornment with bits and pieces of "bling" stitched on. Penny will run more fabulous classes for Precious Purl, so if you want to be part of the fun, whether you are a beginner or experienced crocheter, contact us via email to be put on our mailing list for updates. 

The necklace looks great with one of Lara Downs Superfine Kid Mohair scarves to add colour to the outfit.

These beautifully lightweight, hand dyed scarves are available at Precious Purl for $39.

Birthdays and Crochet!

What a great week of Birthday Celebrations we have had!
Many of our loyal customers and new ones too, came in to take advantage of the 20% discount we offered last week. Much happiness for all!

As well as this, we ran a Crochet class with Penny O'Neill, seen here in full teacher mode, explaining the intricacies of "hooking"to Tricia.
Penny is a fabulous teacher with so many entertaining stories to tell and samples to inspire.
Customers in the shop were quite envious of the fun we were having, as was poor Holly, having to work downstairs at Calico House, but hearing all the laughter!
These 4 girls and more we hope, are coming back to do "Beanies or Berets with Lunch" on a date to be fixed. Stay Tuned! Sorry about the poor pictures, these are the last I took before my camera died!

Virginia is using basic chain stitch to create a neck piece which she then adorned with treasures from Penny's Stash! Fabulous!!
Will post a pic of the finished masterpiece when I  have a new camera!

Our Birthday giveaway is running until the end of March, (see posts on 3rd & 15th March), so be in it!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Us!
Happy Birthday to Us!

This week, one year ago, we opened the doors of  Precious Purl .
What a great year it has been! We continue to grow, thanks to our loyal customers and the many new friends we have made.
We can't guarantee cake, but we are celebrating with a 20% discount for all purchases over $30 (except for items already discounted)
from this Wednesday 17th March to Saturday 20th March.
A great chance to stock up on those knitting and felting supplies you have been promising yourself for the cooler, creative months ahead or maybe a gift for a special friend!

Don't forget our Birthday giveaway that runs for the whole of March.
All the details were posted on 3rd March! Just a reminder - You could win this gorgeous lot of crafting goodies by:
1. Leaving a comment on this blog
2. Sending an email by the website (see sidebar)
3. Visiting the shop in person (see sidebar)

Hope to see lots of you this week to help us celebrate and thanks for your support.
                               Wendy & Pam

Nuno Wrap

I bought this beautiful Nuno wrap at the Canberra Old Bus Depot Market. There were so many tempting goodies it was hard to decide just what to squeeze into my suitcase to bring home.
The beautiful work on this wrap decided me. I purchased it from Janette McGuffog who is a Painter as well as Felter.

It feels like a cloud around your shoulders!
The combination of silk, muslin, wool and Kid Mohair curls is luxurious.
Janette had some other beautiful wraps that featured  bursts of colour, some with gorgeous flowers.
Maybe we should add some to Precious Purl stock!!

Loved the dresses by Silksisters too. I can always buy one on line!!www.silksisters.com.au



We have had many requests for Felting Workshops at Precious Purl. These are in the pipeline, so stay tuned!
Don't forget our 1st Birthday giveaway!  See post on Wednesday 3rd March.

Amazing weekend!

What a great weekend! My Christmas present from my wonderful partner was a trip to Canberra to see the Post Impressionist Masters exhibition at the National Gallery. Unfortunately, as it was a long weekend many others had the same idea! Sunday's queues stretched for at least 400m with a waiting time, I heard from one visitor, of 4 hours! Not for me!
 We had lots of other wonderful things to see. All the touristy bits, Parliament House old and new, War Memorial, Telstra Tower etc.and what a beautiful place Canberra is! It's about 30 years since we visited, and looks even better now. The Old Bus Depot Market was a highlight for me along with the Glassworks.
I couldn't go all that way and not see the exhibition, so we braved the queue on Monday with only a 2 hour wait, some of it in the rain I might add! My awesome man braved the queue, with lots of interesting people from all over the country to talk to, whilst I went back and forth seeing all the other exhibits.
Finally saw the Masters! It took my breath away seeing these paintings that I had become so familiar with in 15 years of Art Teaching- worth the wait? YES!
Back home!!! We had been hit by the storm! One very dinted work car, a write-off,( those hail stones really were as big as golf balls, our neighbour had saved one in the freezer to show us) roof tiles broken with water running through the down lights on to the carpet and huge piles of debris to be cleaned up.Could have been worse!
No photos at all to highlite the happenings but I will post a picture later of the beautiful Nuno Wrap I bought at the Market. I couldn't go all that way and not buy something, could I??

Precious Purl's 1st Birthday!

During March we are celebrating our 1st Birthday at Precious Purl and the customers are receiving the gifts, or at least the chance to win this gorgeous basket of goodies! It will be loved by any crafter-knitters, crocheters, felters, spinners, weavers or sewers.  I even managed to squeeze some buttons into the basket!

There are 3 ways to get your chance to win:

1. Leave a comment on this blog,

2. Send an email via the website http://www.lara-downs.com.au/ asking to have your name added

3. Visit Precious Purl.

It's free! It will be drawn at the end of March and the winner will be announced on the website and on this blog.

Three Autumn Workshops

We have 3 great workshops happening at Precious Purl in March.

Your tutor will be the Artrageous Crochet lady Penny O'Neill,  pattern designer for Cleckheaton, featured on "Rove,"Alice Springs Beanie Festival etc. Read more about Penny and get enrolment details for workshops on http://www.lara-downs.com.au/

We have vacancies in all 3 workshops listed below, so contact us quickly!