Welcome to Wednesday

The big news this week is the Autumn Flower and Quilt Festival, which is taking place at St James Anglican Parish of Wyong (27 Byron Street). The Festival is opening at 7pm this Friday 1 April and will also run from 9.30am to 4pm on Saturday 2 April. With an entry fee of only $5, there's no reason to miss it, especially as the door charge includes Devonshire Tea. Hop along and support this local quilt-related event.

In the mean time, here's your weekly dose of Midweek Moments craziness with all the usual goodies. This week's guest of honour in the Big 'n' Bizarre column is also a local resident, located at Central Mangrove. We'd love to hear from anyone who knows anything about the current status of this week's Big Thing.
 

Staff Profile

The stories behind the faces behind the counter

Name:  Emily Lamplough

How did you start working at Blueberries?
I was sick of my regular job so I sent Jackie an email explaining how I love sewing. Then about a week later when I was in the shop, she asked if I was Emily and offered me a job interview.

How often do you work?
I’ve been working there for about a month now, just on Saturdays, and possibly Thursday nights as well when night classes are on.

What do you enjoy most about working at Blueberries?
It’s such a great environment to be working in. It’s so clean and organised and relaxed. It’s a great job because you’re busy all the time but the work is so interesting, the busyness doesn’t matter. It’s fun.

How long have you been a sewer?
I was bitten by the sewing bug when I was about seven and haven’t stopped since (I’m 16 now). Grandma bought me a sewing machine for my 15th birthday so I’ve been doing even more sewing than ever. At school I managed to top the year in the final report of textiles. I love making my own clothes and stuff like that.

EQ7 for Beginners Class

Anne Sommerlad’s popular EQ7 classes come with a special warning, straight from the lips of Anne herself:

“Once you see what the program does, it’s so exciting and addictive that you could become a ‘virtual’ quilter, never taking your ideas beyond the laptop.”

And of course, the whole point of the EQ7 program is to do just that – take your ideas from the computer to the sewing machine, so Anne’s tip is certainly worth bearing in mind when you’re doing the class.

The EQ7 program may look a bit complex and daunting but it’s incredibly easy to use once you get the hang of it. “The class is designed to show people how they can actually utilize the program to get results,” Anne explains. “You don’t need any particular tech expertise. All you need is to have the program loaded into your laptop.”
We can provide a laptop for a limited few on the day, please email jackie@blueberries.net.au if you would like us to provide a laptop for you.

The success of the classes lies in the fact that it’s always a more effective way to learn something by having someone show you what to do instead of having to wade through an instruction manual. This is especially true of creative people. “The “ooh” and “aah” factor once people begin to see what the program can do is immensely gratifying,” says Anne. “People just love exploring the potential of the program, all the icons and features.”

The other thing about the EQ7 program is its incredible versatility. It’s good for a simple nine patch quilt, as well as something of incredible complexity, such as recreating the Elizabeth Jefferson Coverlet.

Upcoming EQ7 Beginners classes are on 9 April and 1 July. Click here to register.

To purchase EQ7 click here or to purchase the EQ7 upgrade click here.

Click here to find out about the EQ7 Advanced class.

Big 'n' Bizarre

A road trip of Australia’s fiberglass monuments

The Big Wine Bottle

This 7m high bottle of Tyrrell’s Long Flat Red has certainly seen better days and comes with an extremely potted and hazy past. This is pretty much how you’d feel yourself if you ever attempted to drink 850 litres of a smooth and nutty red wine in a single night in front of the telly, so it’s a strangely fitting connection.

But the mysteries surrounding its existence and career are very real. For a start, the Big Wine Bottle is nowhere near the Tyrrell’s winery in the Hunter Valley, but located in the grounds of the Mangrove Country Club on the NSW Central Coast, about 80kms away. But even more bizarrely, it first arrived under mysterious circumstances, appearing literally overnight as the result of an April Fool’s Day prank in 1974.

Back in those days, the Bottle bore a Penfold’s label and at the time of its unscheduled relocation had been lying forlornly in a paddock, ignored and unnoticed, after a brief career as a billboard for Penfold’s. Then, in the early hours of 1 April, a group of inebriated locals thought it’d be hilarious to move the Bottle to a new location in the grounds of the Mangrove Country Club. This would’ve been quite a feat, considering the Bottle’s 7m x 1.5m dimensions and considerable weight. Like the mysterious stone statues on Easter Island, no-one knows exactly how the bottle was moved or even who was responsible as no-one ever owned up to the prank.

In the morning, when country club staff discovered the bottle, instead of being annoyed and inconvenienced, they decided to give it a permanent home. They gave it a good once over with some Spray and Wipe, replaced the tatty Penfold’s label with a brand new Tyrrell’s label and erected the new look Bottle in a commanding position at the club’s entrance, where it’s stood ever since.

Unfortunately, the club was handed over to administrators in September 2010 and at the time of writing, appears to have ceased trading altogether. The big question is, of course, what will become of the bottle? Tyrrell’s don't want it, as they sold their Long Flat Red label to Cheviot Bridge in 2003. Country club staff have suggested using the bottle as their new clubhouse, but this was never a viable option, considering there’d only be room inside for one pokie.

However, all is not lost. It's April Fool's Day again this Friday, and there's always a chance that a group of mischievious locals will once again go on a nocturnal adventure. Who knows where the Big Wine Bottle could end up on Saturday morning?

And the last word...

"I'm a material girl. Wanna see my fabric collection?"