Welcome to Wednesday

Welcome to your Midweek Moments on this last official day of spring. There’s less than a month now to get all those gorgeous quilted creations ready in time for Christmas folks, not that we’re wanting to put the pressure on.

This week we have gift ideas and an exclusive offer you and your friends and family, so click on the "Send to a Friend" link above to forward on to them.

We hope you enjoyed Sew-vember this year and it encouraged you to keep quilting. Congratulations to Yvette Mayes, winner of the Sew-vember Facebook Competition, a $111 Blueberries Gift Voucher is on its way.

Don't forget to book in for the Blueberries End of Year Luncheon, which now includes Deborah Louie and Jenny Rofe, it is only $10 and includes lunch, afternoon tea and a bag full of goodies to get you started for 2012...and why not join the final Sewathon for 2011. Click here to register.

Exclusive Friends and Family Offer!

40% off ALL Fabric and Batting

This Friday 2 December Only

This is not to be missed for one day only this Friday 2 December we will have 40% off all Fabric* and Batting.

Take advantage of this special offer and visit the shop this Friday.

Click here to view our Fabrics and click here to view our Batting.

This offer is also available online*.

* Minimum cut 40cm and some fabric may sellout before we update the web on the day.

Do you love giving?

Browse some of our Gift Ideas

We have come up with a few Gift Ideas...(psst send to your partner as a hint)

Bernette 46 by Bernina
Was $249 now $199 with stylish free carry bag

Simplicity Bias Tape Maker
Normally $110 now $100 with a free 2 1/2" binding attachment

Triumph LED Lights back in stock
At the great price of $15

Plus more click here to browse...

Classes for 2012

Available online next week

Here are some teasers in the meantime

Information for all the 2012 classes will be online from next week. You can view the classes by visiting our Classes page or our online Calendar. Until next week here are a few teasers...

- Class available include Applique, English Paper Piecing and more
- Classes with Jackie Leybourne
- Classes with Karen Cunningham
- Classes with Monica Poole
- Classes with Deborah Louie
- Classes with Susan Carr
- Classes with Jenny Rofe and more

You can see the projects for next year at the Blueberries End of Year Luncheon on Friday 16th December

Big 'n' Bizarre

A road trip of Australia's fiberglass monuments

The Big Stockwhip

Is it possible to write about the world’s largest stockwhip without using phrases like “get cracking” and “whip around”? Let’s see.

(Damn, too late already!)

We’re about 60kms south of Darwin at Mick’s Whips homestead, a 20-acre whip-themed property where you can see the most spectacular whip-cracking demonstrations in the country. Professional whip maker Mick Denigan has been teaching ordinary folk how to crack like experts for years. He also exports thousands of hand-made whips to people including Bill Gates, actor Keeanu Reeves and former US president, George Bush. He also provided all the whips in Baz Luhrmann’s 2008 movie, Australia, placing both Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman at serious risk of being upstaged by their props.

And then of course, there’s the Big Stockwhip, which does a mighty fine job of upstaging all the real ones. This is a 7m high, 20m long steel replica of a real stockwhip that curls proudly over the main gates of Mick’s Whips. Cattle get nervous just looking at it. The structure is painted in the Territory’s colours of black, red and ochre and took three months to construct. It was officially unveiled in 2003 by former National Party leader and patron of the Northern Territory Whipcrackers’ Association, Tim Fischer.

As impressive as the Big Stockwhip is, it still doesn’t quite prepare people for Mick’s spectacular demonstrations, especially when he performs them at night with whips that are on fire. He also produces ‘whip art’, with paint-covered whips that are lashed at a canvas, and has written a novel called The Whip Cracker, which could well be the title of his autobiography. As a licensed crocodile harvester, Mick also once made a crocodile guitar strap for Bob Dylan, yet another famous name on his clientele list.

Compared to the other states, the Northern Territory is a bit thin on the ground when it comes to Big Things. Leave it to a performing, croc harvesting, whip-making artist to add to the modest list.

And the last word...

“Friends are like fabric - you can never have enough!”