Welcome

Life moves on at a rapid pace with the end of first term and Easter been and gone. It is amazing that sometimes time can seem to take forever to pass and at other times it is gone in a blink. At the end of March we had our Second Birthday! We are also happy to say that Robyn and Pamela are back on deck and both look a picture of health. Read more...

What's In Store

Products

From Rare Additions - Ponchos and Scarves pattern book.

From Rare Home - Cushions and Throws pattern book.

An ARTicle... Samm Menzies Did you know that when you purchase a bottle of Matisse Polymer Gloss Varnish and Gloss Medium (PGV), you are getting way more than what you pay for? One little bottle of this fantastic acrylic medium has a million and one uses additional to the one stated on the instructions! PGV can be used as its name suggests—as a glossy varnish for your artwork and as an additive to your Matisse acrylic paints. When used as a varnish, PGV can be used neat or watered down and can be layered to produce a non-yellowing, non sticky and strong film. Not only does it protect acrylic paintings but it can be used for decoupage applications—both as the glue and the finishing varnish. In a mixed media scenario, PGV is a fantastic product for transferring photo images to both paper and fabric surfaces. When added to a non-porous surface (ie glass, tiles) PGV allows Matisse acrylic paints to adhere to the surface therefore extending the paint range even further. The finished product in this case is waterproof although not dishwasherproof. It may also be added to polished concrete as a surface primer or to a painted wood surface as protection. So, as you see, Matisse Polymer Gloss Varnish is a very useful little product to have in your toolkit. Available from our store in 250ml jars. Want to know more? Why not join Samm's Mixed Media Group—a Friday afternoon group starting 11 April?

Check out these items:

The Beast - Cloth Doll Pattern - Pam Grose
Make this doll with Pam in her The Masculine Doll workshop in May!

• Unison Pastels are now available—as you may be aware, there are a vast range of colours so whilst we build up stock we will happily take orders and give you a 15% discount for March and April
• Procion dyes
• Moroccan silk & Japanese fabric packs
• Treasure Gold waxes
• Pam Grose doll patterns (see right for one example)
• Beautiful new silk products and dyes
• Eucalypt-dyed yarn
• Klasse' - full range of machine needles
• New rayon machine embroidery threads
• Hand-painted threads and textiles
• Clover products such as beading tool, knitting & crochet supplies, and quilting & sewing accessories
• Art Spectrum has just released a range of extra soft pastels in various tints of white

Contact us about any of the above products if not yet available to purchase online.

Books & Magazines

Check out these fantastic books by talented dollmaker Patti Medaris Culea:

• Creative Cloth Doll Beading
• Creative Cloth Doll Couture
• Creative Cloth Doll Faces
• Creative Cloth Doll Making

Also available:

Patti Medaris Culea cloth doll pattern booklets. Never Too Many Handbags - A Guide to Creating Your Own Original Handbag Using Freeform Knitting & Crochet by Prudence Mapstone.
Cloth Paper Scissors - Issue: Mar/Apr 2008	Quilting Arts - Issue: Apr/May 2008	These full colour magazines provide you with instruction and inspiration to create a myriad of pieces you will enjoy keeping or giving away. Limited back issues may also be available - please contact us.

Latest Classes, Workshops & Groups

As you will see from our list of classes, there is no rest for Pamela Farmer—she will be running a number of Master (ie more advanced) classes along with some that were cancelled last year due to her illness.

As I noted in our recent update, we are negotiating with a number of interstate artists to run classes here in Dromana. We have to cover all their costs from door to door—this includes all airfares and accommodation costs along with class fees, etc. It is pulling all the costs together and hiring larger venues that takes time and increases the cost of the classes. There will be a number of these classes over the year. In order to assist people with the cost, we are happy to keep a running sheet and allow you to start paying them off well in advance. All monies of course will be returned if numbers are not met and classes are cancelled.

The Art classes (as opposed to textile art or mixed media classes) introduced last year went extremely well and as you will see we have extended them this year.

View Tome Pattern Pages

Unfortunately, Patti Culea who was scheduled to come in June has had to cancel due to family commitments. She hopes to see us again next year. However, in the meantime you can join Patti Culea's Tomes Group which has been great fun (see our Gallery for examples of participants' work). The group will be repeated (there is already a waiting list). Don't forget that we also have Patti's Tome patterns, stamps and doll patterns.

We will be running a lot more groups over the year as many people have expressed a desire to have an ongoing class so they can continually extend their skills base. The groups have a leader and provide some tuition, but it is also an opportunity for people to come together and share their skills. The Blue Days Group is back and will run regularly throughout the year along with the other groups.

For those of us with a love of knitting and crochet Jenny Dowde will be visiting in August. You may have seen her wonderful articles in Textile Fibre Forum or one of her many great books. We also have a myriad of other classes by Ken Smith and Leah Jones. Check out the profiles and/or websites, where available, for some of the teachers on our Classes page by simply clicking on their name.

As discussed in my update from the Manager, in the best interests of all, I have decided to make our workroom a perfume-free environment—please read this update for full details. As I have a lot of allergic reactions to chemicals and perfumes, I use environmentally-friendly products in my home and as much as possible at work. I also make my own soap and natural face and body lotions. A couple of people have asked if I will teach them how to do it, so if anyone else is interested I will gladly run a session or two. Just let me know.

There are many more classes happening in the coming months - take a look for full details. Hope to see you soon.

Unleash your Creative Spirit!