'Behind the scenes' in Craft Land Workroom

Long Arm Quilter

Hello everyone from Christel and the ‘behind the scenes’ team, Amir, Jocelyn and Ailyn, in the My Craftland workroom. We are based in Al Khor, where we make some of the items for the shop to help inspire fellow crafters.

Latest Quilt hanging in Jumeirah hop
 

For the quilting ladies, we prepare the Layer Cakes, Jelly -, Mini and Maxi rolls and some of the beautiful quilts you will see hanging on the walls in the Jumeirah shop.
 
This is also where we sew quilt top, batting and backing together on the long-arm quilting machine for our customers and at a request can finish the quilt by sewing the binding.





Jocelyn and Amir making Jelly Rolls for the shop
 




Another part of our responsibilities are to assist Danielle and the teachers in the shop by making kits for the clubs on Wednesday mornings and also more Embroidery kits that you can choose to buy in the shop and either make at home or come to a class or clinic.



Amir has inspired us all with this quilt he made mostly by hand stitching!



Bunting Tutorial

This blog post is written by Reesha Almeida Coutinho, Craft Land sewing instructor and owner of Prêt à Papier, Custom Printables and Event Stationery.

Let me take this opportunity to briefly introduce myself to you. Ever since I can remember I have been interested in all kinds of artistic and creative activities, whether it be painting, sewing, crafting or interior design. I am very fortunate to be able to make my hobby my career. I hold a Bachelors Degree in Visual Communication from the Goa College of Art, and that has helped me gain a wider knowledge of the principles of design, colour, textures and form. These are principles I now use almost instinctively in any creative work I do.

I recently joined the Craft Land team of teachers as a sewing, quilting, machine embroidery teacher and designer. I have been obsessed with Craft Land ever since it first opened in Dubai. You can only imagine my excitement when I was offered a position as a teacher and designer here. Craft Land hosts a number of classes, workshops and clubs to help the residents of UAE develop their creative side. The store also offers a plethora of sewing and crafting supplies that inspire creative minds on a daily basis.

When I wanted to redecorate my daughters room which is also my craft room, I didnt have to look very far for inspiration.

I was instantly drawn to the new range of Lecien Fabric that we carry at Craft Land. These are lovely 100% pure Japanese cotton which seemed perfect for my vintage chic aqua & red themed vision. I chose some  florals combined with polka dots, which allowed the scheme to be girly and playful whilst not being too childish at the same time.

For my first blog post, I would like to share with you a tutorial to make a fabric bunting. It transformed the room and added that special whimsical touch.  I made 4 buntings with with 4 triangular shapes each and hung them over each large window in the room.

BUNTING TUTORIAL

To make 4 bunting strings with 4 different patterned triangles on each

YOU WILL NEED
1/4  metres of fabric from 4 different co-ordinating fabrics
5 metres of bias binding tape
4 metres of Rick rack tape
Scissors
Pins
A rotary cutter(optional)
A ruler
A tape measure
Sewing thread
The bunting template (Download here)


INSTRUCTIONS:
1.Download and print the bunting template according to instructions on the printable. Cut it out along the outside dotted line.

2. Fold one of your fabrics right sides together along the long sides. Place the template on top of the folded fabric.

Cutting the template

3. Using the template as a guide, cut out the triangles by placing the template opposite to each other every time, to use up the fabrics in the most economical way. Cut up all the triangles in this way. You should have 32 triangles.

4. Take two of the triangles from the same fabric and place them with the right rides facing each other. Sew down the two long sides of the triangles with a 1/4 inch seam. Leave the top open. Snip off the corner. Do this for all your triangles.

5.Turn all your triangles right side out. Iron them so that they are flat and snip off the excess fabric at the opening.

6.Cut out your bias binding strips into 4 pieces each 1.5m long.

7. Pin your first triangle 25cm away from one end of your bias strip. You should be able to fold your bias binding in half lengthwise so that you have a neat strip with no raw edges showing

 

8.The raw edge of the top of the triangle needs to be encased within the center fold of the bias binding tape.

9. Pin in place, repeat by attaching the rest of your triangles equally spaced along the length of your bias binding strip. You should leave about 25cm of bias binding free after attaching the 4th triangle.

Placing the triangles 

.

 10. Choose a thread that matches with your bias binding and top stitch down the entire length of the bias binding making sure the triangles are caught neatly within the stitches.

 11. All your triangles will now be attached to the length of the bias binding strip.

10. Measure and cut 4 pieces of rick rack tape into 1mm pieces.

11. Place the rick rack at the point where the first triangle starts. Fold the end in, and pin in place over the bias binding tape. Pin all along the length of the bias binding strip along the tops of the triangles.
The rick rack should end after the last triangle. Fold in the end. Machine stitch carefully to attach the rick rack to the bunting.

12. You now have 1 complete bunting, with 25cm free on each side of the triangle,s that you can use to hang your bunting. Repeat the above steps to make 3 more. Hang over your curtain rods and voila! Stand back and enjoy!

And the Winner is....! Quilt and Stitch Art 2013 - Round Up



Quilt and Stitch Art 2013 was a roaring success. We displayed 153 lovingly-made pieces (having received 210 entries – we didn’t have space for them all unfortunately) and offered the visitors to the show a wonderful display of quilted, stitched, knitted, crocheted, embroidered and crafted items – inspiration abound!

     

Assorted Images from Quilt and Stitch Art 2013

The Quilt and Stitch Art 2013 Prize Giving Ceremony, held on Saturday 25th May, was attended by a large crowd and there was much excitement as we awarded the viewers’ choice prizes and picked the winners of the entrants’ and voters’ draws.

Thanks once again to our sponsors: TKD, Almoe, Hairworks, Town Centre Jumeirah, Tulip, Addi, Pemin of Copenhagen, Di Van Niekerk, Prym, Madeira, and of course, lead sponsor, Brother Middle East.

Mr Murakami, MD Brother Middle East says a few words (right :Riana Auret, GM Craft Land)

And a big thanks to Dubai Quilters’ Guild for their support and to all the volunteers who helped us manage the show.  

Marietjie Englebrecht (right), Quilters’ Guild President says a few words

Here is a round-up of the winners!

Winner - Knitting

Winning Knitted Entry – Charlotte Chalkley’s Elephant

14 Year-Old Charlotte Chalkley walked away with our fantastic prize from Addi Knitting Needles. The audience were very impressed with her knitted elephant – perhaps not least as the yarn she used had been spun by her mother 24 years earlier! The prize is presented to Charlotte by Craft Land’s knitting tutor, Mel Wilson.

Mel Wilson (left) presents the Knitting prize to Charlotte Chalkley (right)

 Winner – Crochet

Crochet Winner – Anjana Bhatia and Knitting Tutor, Mel Wilson

Congratulations to Anjana Bhatia whose red and white crocheted bedspread won the most votes in the Crochet category. Anjana now gets to experience how wonderful Tulip pink crochet hooks are!

 Runner-Up Machine Sewing

Machine Sewing Runner-Up Cynthia Fernadez (right) and Sewing Tutor Steph Deaves (left)

Cynthia Fernadez won our Prym dress form and fabrics runner-up prize. Cynthia’s black and red stitched bag got a big chunk of the Machine Sewing votes. Cynthia is presented the prize by Craft Land’s sewing tutor, Steph Deaves.

Cynthia next to her winning piece, the red and black stitched bag

 Winner Machine Sewing

Hannah Evans’s Lily the Robot – Winning Entry for Machine Sewing

At only 12 years of age, Craft Land student Hannah Evans snatched the first prize in the Machine Sewing category. Hannah’s stitched robot, named Lily, got everyone talking (and some placing orders!). Well done Hannah! Hannah’s mum Hayat received the Brother Overlocker, storage cabinet and dress fabrics for Hannah on the day – Hannah had a dance lesson to attend – so many talents Hannah :-)

Brother’s Rone Auret (right) presents the prize to Hannah’s mum, Hayat Evans (far left in white).

 2^nd Runner-Up – Hand Embroidery

Our hand embroidery category covered all hand stitched works, including cross stitch and ribbon embroidery.

2^nd Runner-Up – Hand Embroidery, Mona Shamaa, Right (Left: Jennifer Haack)

Walking away with 2^nd Runner-Up prize, sponsored by Di Van Niekerk and Permin of Copenhagen, was Mona Shamaa for her Dream Cottage silk ribbon embroidered piece. Congratulations Mona! Mona receives her prize from Quilt and Stitch Art show organiser, Jennifer Haack.

Mona Shamaa with her winning entry: Dream Cottage ribbon embroidery

Prize Winners Mona Shamaa (right) and Sadia Eltayab (left)

1^st Runner-Up – Hand Embroidery

Aliya’s daughter Anna (left) receives the prize from Jennifer Haack (right)

For her incredibly detailed cross-stitch of St Petersburg, Aliya Putsinina received 1^st Runner-Up prize. Presented by Jennifer to Aliya’s daughter Anna Dippenaar.

Winner – Hand Embroidery

The Winning Entry for Hand Embroidery was Vangie Tepace’s Secret Garden Cross Stitch

First prize – the person who received the most votes in the Hand Embroidery category, was Vangie Tepace for her Secret Garden cross-stitch. Well done Vangie – it’s a beautiful and very detailed example of cross-stitch - you must have a lot of patience!

Jessica Aldred displays her gold-work embroidery at Quilt and Stitch Art 2013

If you want to learn how to make beautiful hand embroideries, Craft Land can boast Dubai’s finest tutor: Jessica Aldred. Jessica is a star in the world of hand embroidery, having worked on the stunning lace that covered Kate Middleton’s wedding dress two years ago. Jessica – a graduate of the Royal School of Needlework, shares her passion for perfection with all our students, sign up for her classes at Craft Land.

2^nd Runner-Up – Quilting

Our biggest representation at the show is quilts and we are generously supported by Dubai’s Quilters’ Guild.

Sadia Eltayab – 2^nd Runner-Up Quilting, right (Left: Danielle Gallagher)

Taking the 2^nd Runner-Up prize, for her mesmerising quilt named Ecstasy, Sadia Eltayab was given a free long-arm quilting service with Craft Land worth AED800 and a bundle of amazing quilting fabrics for her future projects. Congratulations Sadia!

The Quilting prizes are presented by Danielle Gallagher, Craft Land’s quilting queen and Manager of our Jumeirah shop.

Sadia Eltayab’s winning quilt: Ecstasy

Annika and Lily take 1^st Runner Up for their quilt

Our 1^st Runner-Ups were the Mother-Daughter duo – a quilted labour of love that captured the spirit of crafting – something to be shared. With their very beautiful “Lovely in Pinks” quilt, Annika and Lily Sager won the second most votes for our Quilting category. Congratulations Annika and Lily!

Annika and Lily with their winning quilt: Lovely in Pinks

Winner - Quilting

Joan Young Winner of the Quilting category (left), Danielle Gallagher (right)

And the winner of the Quilting category, the entrant with the most viewers votes, was Joan Young for her vibrant quilt titled Starburst. Congratulations Joan! Joan walked away with a huge thread chest from sponsor Madeira, a long-arm quilting service from Craft Land, a cutting table and a bundle of quilting fabrics.

Joan Young with her winning quilt: Starburst

Winner – “Other”

Some people break the rules and refuse to be categorised! Failing to come up with a more creative name, we called this category “Other” :-)

Sabine Voege (centre) wins the “Other” category

The winner of this category was Sabine Voege with her cute and quirky “Wake Up and Smell the Coffee” fabric collage. Congratulations Sabine! Danielle presented Sabine with a beautiful mini thread chest from Madeira and a bundle of fabrics for her future projects.

Sabine and her husband

Brother’s Choice

Recognising the courage it takes to pick up a new skill and the focus required by kids to finish a crafting project, we asked Brother to judge the Beginners and Kids Creation categories.

Mr Murakami and his party diligently viewed the beginner and kids entries and were hard pushed to choose winners since the talent on display was excellent.  

Riana Auret (GM Craft Land) guides Mr Murakami (MD Brother), Rone Auret and Deon Barnard of Brother around the Beginner and Kids entries shortly before the prize giving…. Who will they pick as the winners?

Winner - Beginners

And the winner is:



Sophie De Court (right) – wins with Jingle Book

Receiving a chest of Quilters’ Paradise thread from Madeira and a bundle of fabrics, Sophie De Court captured everyone’s imagination with her wonderfully unique Jingle Book.  Congratulations Sophie! The prize is presented by Riana Auret, General Manager of Craft Land.

Winner – Kids

Encouraging creativity in this age group teaches life skills that become invaluable as we grow up – “measure twice, cut once” is a rule that can be applied to all walks of life! :-)

Charlotte Chalkley (right) receives Brother NV50 from Mr Murakami

Stealing the show with the seal of approval from Brother in the Kids category was Knitting Winner Charlotte Chalkely, for her Knitted Elephant – this piece is sure to become a family heirloom now! Well done Charlotte, you’re an inspiration to all young crafters out there!

Charlotte was presented this amazing NV50 sewing machine by Mr Murakami of Brother Middle East. 

Entrant’s Draws

By this point, the crowd had warmed up and got themselves ready for the excitement of the entrants’ draws!

Craft Land runs Quilt and Stitch Art as a community show, where the emphasis is on taking part – displaying your work and celebrating your achievement, even if you don’t win the viewers’ votes. That’s why we saved the very best prizes for the entrants’ draws – so those entering pieces to the show could win big no matter what level their skills.  

We ran 3 draws – one for quilted entries, one for entries that included machine embroidery on them (no matter if they were quilted, stitched, knitted…) and one draw for items that were not quilted (knitted, crocheted, embroidered and other entries).

And here’s what happened:

Winner – General Entries (not quilted)

Mr Murakami Picks the winner

Presented by Jennifer Haack – show organiser, the General Entries draw winner received: a sewing cabinet, a Brother P Touch label machine, AED500 worth of Town Centre Jumeirah vouchers, a free Bra Fitting and Bra Purchase with TKD, a Hairstyling session with Hairworks and a bundle of fabrics. A prize worth nearly AED5,000 in total.

And the winner is:

Amira Ayad (left) receives the basket of goodies from Jennifer Haack (right)

Amira Ayad! Amira entered the show with her Quilted Art Journal and walked away with this fantasic basket of treats. Well done Amira!

Winner – Machine Embroidered Entries

Brother sponsored the prize for this draw, a Brother V3 embroidery machine – a prize that truly made Craft Land staff cry that they could not take part in the draw! This wonderful machine – worth nearly AED10,000 – was an extremely exciting prize and the crowd waited with baited breath as Mr Murakami from Brother picked the name…

Mr Murakami picks again…

And the winner is:

Sinead Smith won the machine embroidery draw, here in front of her beautiful piece!

Sinead Smith!!! Sinead entered three pieces to the show – one that included machine embroidery; “Sylvie is Running Late” (above). Congratulations Sinead – we are looking forward to seeing your entries next year, now you have this fabulous new machine to work on! Sinead has already told us that her family will have to feed themselves from now on – she’s going to be busy!!! :-)

Winner – Quilted Entries

Like last year, our generous colleagues at Brother sponsor a trip to the Tokyo Quilt Show for the winner of our Quilted Entries draw.

Last year’s winner of the trip watched on as the draw took place – Mr Murakami reaching slowly into the draw box to pick the winner, you could feel the tension mount….

Mr Murakami just before he picks the winner…

And the winner is:

Linda Kaka – the lucky winner of the Trip to Tokyo, Japan!

Linda Kaka!!! Knocked back with surprise, Linda stepped up to receive her Tokyo suitcase from Mr Murakami. We know you’re going to have an amazing time in Tokyo next year Linda!

Linda Kaka won the trip to Tokyo just for entering her piece to the show

Voters Draw

And finally, we found ourselves at the end of a prize giving marathon, where the final draw, a draw for the Voters took place.

A prize sponsored by Almoe and Town Centre Jumeirah included a Brother P Touch label making machine and an AED200 Town Centre Jumeirah voucher.

We tipped the draw box upside down and Mr Murakami helped us find a winner:

Riana Auret, Mr Murakami, Jennifer Haack, and (right) Kay Bruce (Craft Land Marketing Manager)

Congratulations go to Jumana Federal who came to pick up her prize later that day at the Craft Land shop. Well done Jumana!

Voters’ Draw Winner – Jumana Fedoral

Enter Next Year
All we can say is – if after reading the above you haven’t rushed to your latest crafting project with excitement for entering next year’s show…. Well, you must be crazy! :-)

You have until April next year (2014) to work on your prize-winning pieces – or on labours of love that you are happy to share with the world – it’s the taking part that counts :-)

Please send any queries regarding Quilt and Stitch Art to kay@mycraftland.com or jennifer@mycraftland.com

See you next year!