New Embroidery Classes

Hey folks, Jessica Embroidery here!

Today I just wanted to let you know that we have made a couple of changes to the embroidery class schedule. Some techniques always prove to be more popular than others so we have decided to replace a couple of our least popular classes with projects which you will hopefully love.

First off, we’re saying goodbye to floral fun (ribbonwork) and hello to monograms! Our monograms are pre-printed onto the fabric and include a combination of ribbonwork and freehand embroidery stitches. This class is suitable for beginners, you will learn a variety of stitches and we think they make the perfect personalised present for a loved one, unless of course you’d like to make a beautiful embroidery just for you.

Monogram in Ribbon Embroidery

Next up it’s farewell to canvaswork and howdy to our gorgeous Sarah Kay panels! Like the monograms these designs are pre-printed onto fabric and there are tons to choose from. This class requires a little experience of embroidery as it includes quite a wide range of embroidery techniques from trapunto padding and applique to freehand embroidery and ribbonwork.

Sarah Kay ribbon embroidery

Both of these new classes allow you to broaden your knowledge of embroidery while creating something fun and unique.  You can pick and choose your own threads, ribbons and stitches and really let your creativity run wild. The beauty of working on printed panels is that you don’t have to cover the piece in embroidery, although of course you can if you want to. So book now to avoid disappointment! Full details on our website at www.mycraftland.com.

And last but not least if you wish to take either of the discontinued classes or learn any other techniques don’t forget we offer private tuition. Pop into the shop or email our class coordinator for more information- sue@mycraftland.com.

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!

Pfaff Easter offers

Now's a perfect time to get the Pfaff sewing or embroidery machine you've been dreaming of! Craft Land has the premium ranges of Pfaff sewing/embroidery combination machines, sewing machines, and coverlocks, the and for the rest of the month of April you will receive a terrific bundle of goodies with each machine purchase!

The CREATIVE series of sewing/embroidery machines gives you excellent embroidery features with a high-end sewing machine. From the Creative 2 to the Creative Vision, choose the machine that's right for you and start creating beautiful clothing and home decor. Each comes with a unique gift; the Creative 4 and Creative Vision come with Professional 4D software to help you create your own designs to stitch, and all machine come with threads and other helpful accessories and tools to get you started. And as always, they all come with classes in our shop to help you learn how to make the most of your new sewing machine.

The EXPRESSION series of sewing machines offer a nice large sewing area, many beautiful decorative stitches and excellent sewing features, and all are equipped with the Pfaff exclusive IDT system -- a special feeder foot that helps you sew evenly no matter what fabric you are using. Stretch and fine silky fabrics, as well as thick fabrics will sew evenly and easily.

The Expression 2.0 and 3.0 machines come with a bundle including many specialty presser feet and sewing tools in a wonderful wooden sewing box, and the Quilt Expression 4 comes with a bundle of goodies to make any quilter swoon!

Pfaff overlock machines come in two sizes -- the Hobby Lock 2 gives perfect finishing for regular home users, and the Coverlock 4 5-thread machine offers many more stitch options, sophisticated operation, and an extended acrylic work table for higher-end users. Each comes bundled with many useful tools to get you serging right away, and each comes with our new Machine Overlocking class.

...and don't forget, Pfaff also has an excellent starter machine for younger users, beginners, or just those who want a reliable sewing machine for projects and repairs. The Hobby 1142 is a little workhorse, ready to take on various fabrics, quilts, and any other projects you might have in mind. For our Easter offer, it comes bundles with a fab starter kit of tools to get your sewing going!

We also have many accessories and hoops for the Creative 2170 series of embroidery combination machines. See our staff to get some ideas about how to add function to your machine!