Newsletter - July 2007

A warm welcome to all the new people we met at the Woolfest, held at Cockermouth at the end of June, and thank you to our existing friends who supported us there. There were crowds of people, despite the rather miserable weather over the weekend, all enjoying the great variety of products on show. We had a wonderful time and did a lot of chatting!!
Congratulations to Mrs Horner from Barrow-in-Furness who won a colourful Laurel Burch Bag in our prize draw.

Apologies for being late getting this newsletter printed, however the reason is very exciting!!!
We have finally moved into our new premises at Gubbergill, Holmrook. After a number of delays and lots of hard work it has been well worth waiting for and just needs a few finishing touches. Please note our change of address and telephone number: Fobbles, Gubbergill, Irton, Holmrook, Cumbria, CA19 1YQ, our new telephone no is: 019467 24764. This move means that we are no longer bag and box ladies!!!, having to cart our stock around the county to various locations for classes, etc! We will have all our stock on display at our workshop but please give us a call before you visit as we will not be there all the time or may have workshops running.

We have confirmed dates for some very tempting residential Retreats at Muncaster Castle in 2008 and we are busy organising some exciting classes and workshops to be held at Fobbles which will cover a variety of needlecrafts, and should have something to interest everyone. Please keep an eye on our Events pages as it will be updated as soon as details are finalised. We have found some good Bed and Breakfast places close by which we are happy to recommend, so do not be put off by the distance to our lovely corner of the Lake District.
This rather tropical weather has made us a very ‘green and pleasant land', now all we need is a little sunshine to appreciate it. It is well worth a visit!! We will soon have a page of information for those who would like to bring their partners or families with them. Whilst you do your needlework they can walk, swim, golf, fish, ride, visit the La'al Ratty (miniature railway) or Muncaster Castle and much more to keep them occupied.

Confirmed dates for our residential Retreats at Muncaster Castle for 2008 are as follows:

20 – 25 April Beadwork Retreat with tutor Elaine Peel

8 – 13 June Canvaswork Retreat with tutor Irene Coulthard

26 – 31 October Beadwork Retreat with tutor Jill Devon

These dates are confirmed and full details will follow very soon, however, if you are interested please contact us to register your interest as these weeks do tend to book up very quickly.

We had a fantastic week with Jill Devon at our Botanical Extravaganza Retreat in June, everyone enjoyed themselves beading, making new friends, exploring and just escaping from real life for a few days!

We have organized some Needlecraft & Beading Get-Togethers to be held on the following Saturdays in 2007: 4th August, 15th September, 20th October & 17th November. Come along and work on your current project or dig out one of those UFO's you keep meaning to finish: needlework, beading, patchwork or knitting! Swap ideas with like-minded friends, help and guidance given if needed. Join us for just an hour or stay all day, the choice is yours! Delicious home-cooked lunches available – please book these in advance so that we know how many to cater for. Get-Togethers begin at 10am and finish at 4pm; costs are £2.50 per half day, £5.00 per full day, £5.00 for lunch. Please ring if you require directions or further details.

We are holding a Christmas Ornament Exchange and hope you will all be eager to take part! Ornaments must be needle-made and can be embroidered, beaded, patchworked, whatever you like so long as a needle has been used! All ornaments must be brought to Fobbles or posted to us to arrive between the 19th and 30th November 2007, where they will be hung on our Christmas Tree. This should make for a spectacular display! We will then have an exchange for all of you who have sent in an ornament – this will take place at the Fobbles Christmas Party to be held on 15th December 2007 between 2pm and 5pm. Please do not let distance be an excuse not to join in, simply send us a padded stamped self-addressed envelope with your ornament and we will post your exchange ornament to you after the party. Please join in and help to make our Christmas Tree one of the best-dressed ever!

New products added recently include new sampler charts by Brenda Keyes and new thread keepers and scissors from Kelmscott Designs – these have been added to our website. Also newly arrived are a range of Guterman quilting and sewing cottons including a lovely range of metallics suitable for both hand and machine sewing, a wonderful range of English-made hand sewing needles from Mary Arden, Schmetz sewing machine needles, new books and we have just had a delivery of new Laurel Burch tote bags - these will be shown on our website very soon! We have also received more patchwork fabrics, with more due in September – let us know if you would like to come and see them.

I think that is most of the news for now, we are looking forward to the first Fobbles Embroidery and Beading Cruise, we leave on 1st September and excitement is growing along with the frantic preparations!

We look forward to seeing or hearing from you soon,

Happy stitching & beading

Beverley & Edna

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