Replies

1. 
   Ckbklady | Oct 02, 2007 07:15pm | #1

   I was just wondering if anyone had seen the new issue yet. I've been looking on US newsstands since the 24th - dopey me, I didn't preorder.

   Has anyone in the US seen it for sale in bookshops/sewing stores? If so, what coast are you on? (I'm in the Pacific NW, where things seem to come out a little later than everywhere else anyway).

   It's the start of summer in Australia - lucky. We're heading into the dark and rainy season here. Ah, well, I'll just stay in and sew!

   :) Mary

1. 
   Cherrypops | Oct 03, 2007 01:23am | #2

   One member here Soie has seen it on the shelves somewhere, but was gone when she went back. You can still order it online. http://www.taunton.com Threads hompage.

   Yes it is our hot, hot, summer, and bushfires have already begun. I stayed inside yesterday due to the smoke smell blowing over.

   Enjoy your winter. make some wonderful items.

   Anna

1. 
   rodezzy | Oct 04, 2007 11:55pm | #4

   Wait a minute, hold the horses, it's summer in Australia? 

   And while I'm being uneducated about your area, does it get cold there and how low does it go?

1. 
   user-217847 | Oct 09, 2007 05:24pm | #10

   hi there rodezzy,  

   I live in Newcastle a couple of hours away up the coast (north) from where Cp. lives, we are just into Spring, summer does'nt start until 1st December, having said that we have been given a taste of whats to come with the temp. reaching into the high 30's Centigrade. As for Winter we can get to almost minus temps during the night and as low as 3-4 degrees during the day. Inland Australia experiences much higher temps and much colder temps than we do here on the coast. Winters are colder the more south you go, Tasmania can get cold also. We have snow but not here on the coast. I hope this tidbit of information helps.

   Regards,

   wombat

2. 
   susannah_sews | Oct 12, 2007 04:08am | #11

   Hi Rodezzy

   just adding to the other comments on the australian climate - I am from Tasmania, an island state to the south of the mainland.  At about latitude 40 degrees south, we are a bit colder than the mainland.  Hobart, our capital, has a reputation for cold weather and rain, which is not well deserved (it is actually Australia's second driest capital, after Adelaide, but gets its rain spread more over the year).  We have cool winters, but the overnight minimum rarely gets below zero degrees centigrade.  Winter maximums are around 10 degrees.  Summer months are warmer, with average days being somewhere in the twenties, with occasional hot days when the temperatures get over 30 degrees.  I live on the lower slopes of Mt Wellington, the mountain behind Hobart.  The mountain is aproximately 1200 metres high, and my suburb is on the 400 metre contour.  We sometimes get snow (maybe once or twice a winter) but it is rarely an inconvenience.

   We do get bushfires - last summer about 20 houses were destroyed on the east coast of tasmania just before Christmas, and we had some quite serious fires in some hobart suburbs.  Where I live is very close to the bush, but our last serious fires were in 1967 (the house I live in was rebuilt after the '67 fires).  We have a firefighting plan, which includes an escape plan for very serious fires, and make sure the insurance policy is updated every spring.  One of my ongoing concerns is that, if we have to make a claim, the insurance company would never believe how much I have invested in my fabric stash!!!

   regards

    

   Susannah

1. 
   rodezzy | Oct 12, 2007 05:52pm | #12

   I had to laugh at that last comment concerning your fabric stash.  Most of the sewers/crafters/needle arts people I know have a mini store in there abodes.  We could probably take out small business insurance for the all of the stuff we own not to mention tools and equipment we've invested in.  I have three sewing machines, a serger and tons of small appliances and tools for everything from sewing, crocheting, knitting, quilt making rulers and tools and supplies for all.  And mine is no where near as large as the people that have homes with whole basements/rooms devoted to their hand work of choice. 

   Are there any Tasmanian devils there.  I had to ask (giggle).  He was one of my favorite cartoon characters.  It sounds beautiful and I would love to see it.  Maybe one day I'll get out of the USA and see some of the sights.  Now that I've been on Threads, I would feel more at home visiting some of the places that the people I've met are from because I would have some contacts to help with the lay of the land.

   Thanks, I really appreciate your post.

2. 
   susannah_sews | Oct 15, 2007 01:54am | #13

   Hi

   Yes, we do have Tasmanian devils.  They aren't much like the cartoon character in appearance, but they are quite fearsome little chaps.  They hunt at night, and will eat just about anything.  They are also scavangers, and will eat 'roadkill'.  They can also be a nuisance at lambing time in farming areas, and a nuisance to people with poultry.  Having said that, they are a protected native species, and are currently under threat from a cancerours facial tumour.  The disease is spread by fighting (and possibly other means as well) and is considered to be very serious - possibly threatening the species with extinction.  The local parks and wildlife service is experimenting with setting up some isolated populations (the devil only occurs in the wild in the mainland of Tasmania), including some captive breeding programs, but things are not looking good.  

   Susannah

3. 
   rodezzy | Oct 15, 2007 10:08pm | #17

   I'm so sorry to hear that the little animals are having a hard time, I hope something is figured out to revive the species.  Good Luck to them.

    

4. 
   katina | Oct 15, 2007 01:14pm | #14

   Hello Rodezzy

   Yes, having contacts does make things easier. I wonder if any of our friends from Gatherings have ever met in person as a result of the conversations we have here?

   I enjoy reading your posts.

   Katina

5. 
   Cherrypops | Oct 15, 2007 01:26pm | #15

   Hi Katina,

   yes they have...i will try and find the thread.

   6392.1 there is a photo here.

   cherrypops

   Edited 10/15/2007 6:34 am by Cherrypops

6. 
   katina | Oct 15, 2007 01:54pm | #16

   Thanks - you are always sew on the ball, or should I say as sharp as a needle!

   Greetings

   Katina

7. 
   rodezzy | Oct 15, 2007 10:11pm | #19

   Was this sewing expo in Washington?  There was a sewing expo in St. Charles, IL just this past weekend, I couldn't make it, but my bestest sewing buddy did.  I haven't had a chance to talk to her since, but she took her daughter in my place.  I'm going to make sure I make it next year.

8. 
   Cherrypops | Oct 16, 2007 01:39am | #20

   Yes WA.

   I would love to come over there.

9. 
   rodezzy | Oct 15, 2007 10:09pm | #18

   Thanks I enjoy reading all of the posts that I have and meeting all of the people that I've communciated with. 

2. 
   Ckbklady | Oct 07, 2007 07:31pm | #5

   Allo Cherrypops!

   The bushfires sound serious - please be careful and look after yourself!

   The magazine still eludes me, but the big fabric and crafts store chain JoAnn's is having a big Columbus Day weekend sale today so I may slip away from making lunch and have a look-see.

   It's officially the rainy season here - the kickoff was October 1st. We're supposed to have a very dark and heavily rainy day today - all the more reason to go shopping!

   Thanks for your encouragement to sew my way through the winter - I needed that! In a fit of determination in the last couple of days I've pinned a randomly strip-pieced Indonesian batik quilt top and have the pattern cut out for the 60s car coat. It's hard to work up the enthusiasm to go much further, though. I sew in the kitchen, and the set-up and take down daunts me frequently and I end up instead making cakes or pies. I wrote your words on a slip of paper and taped it to my serger - that'll get me going, I hope! Thank you so much!

   :) Mary

1. 
   Gloriasews | Oct 09, 2007 12:23am | #9

   Oh, I can remember vividly sewing at the kitchen table years ago!  I commiserate with you fully.  What a nuisance, eh?  It seems like you just get going, then you have to put everything away for supper!  Bummer!  But, on the other hand, famous people (Paula Nadelstern of Kaleidoscope Quilts fame) says she sews at her kitchen table in her NY apartment (& has fabrics stashed all over the apartment), so you're in good company.  We sewists sew wherever we can, at/on whatever situations exist.

   As for the Gifts To Make, I haven't been able to get my copy yet, either.  It was supposed to be on the newsstand on Oct. 7, but they weren't put out here yet.  I'll just have to be patient & keep checking every couple of days - they'll eventually be available.

   Gloria

   Edited 10/8/2007 5:25 pm by Gloriasews

2. 
   amapola | Oct 03, 2007 07:39am | #3

   I have been looking for it also inthe stores but have seen nothing. I live in the Inland Empire. I preordered mine but it has not arrive. I sometimes suspect the mailperson(woman) reads it before I get it. Amapola

1. 
   Ckbklady | Oct 07, 2007 07:36pm | #6

   Our postie reads our magazines - he freely admits it and I just remind him not to crease the heck out of them. He likes the Canadian lifestyle magazines (which are hopelessly exotic here) and my husband's Fine Woodworking magazines. The rest he leaves alone - Threads is safe! I hope your magazine shows up and in not-obviously read condition.

   I'm off to JoAnn Fabrics to check for the magazine today - we're usually the last of the lower 48 states to get such things (or at least it feels that way) but I'll report in when I've tracked it down.

   :) Mary

    

1. 
   amapola | Oct 08, 2007 03:17am | #7

   Yesterday, Saturday, I received the magazine and it was worth waiting for it. It looked ok. There are several projects that I am going to make. They look so easy. As always all of them are really so stylish.  I live in a small town,Post Falls, Idaho. So everything seems to take so much time to get here; other than that, I think it's a great place. Only fault is that it does not have lots of fabric shops just Joann and Hancock and a two quilting shops. The nearest big city Spokane, WA  is about the same.  Have fun reading the magazine. Amapola

    

1. 
   Cherrypops | Oct 08, 2007 03:34am | #8

   I am pleased to read you now have your copy. there are a lot of 'goodie's to make. I will be making the corsets, when i have a spare min or two...enjoy!

2. 
   AmberE | Nov 20, 2007 02:02am | #21

   thanks so much!