Last Saturday  a group of lovely ladies got together and spent the day cutting and sewing and ended up with two completed (almost!) quilt tops.  These are made from left over fabric from our Bushfires Quilts and are destined for a Women’s Shelter.  It’s such a fun way to spend a day!  Thanks girls to all of you for joining in.

Thanks Susie for the photos (I forgot my camera!!)…..sorry I can’t post more but can’t manage to make them small enough in size to load quickly.  But you can find other accounts of the day here and here.

PS.  We missed you Bron (and a few other blogless girls who usually come along) but are planning our next get together on May 1st when we will be making children’s quilts for the Royal Children’s Hospital, so mark it in your diaries!  If anyone else would like to join us you are most welcome – please just email me to let me know.

…I was sipping champagne and getting to know the other 6 girls at our workshop at Sewjourn whilst Kellie entertained us with the story of her quilting journey (and showed us her gorgeous quilts and cushions…….up close!!)

It was the start of an amazing weekend. Lara summed it up beautifully. It’s sometimes hard work learning a new skill. And for me who is used to precise rotary cutting, sewing straight lines and matching seams and points this was out of my comfort zone! But Kellie is a fantastic teacher and her patience and encouragement nutured us all towards producing pieces we could be proud of.

We appliqued…..

And quilted….

And watched and listened….

And unpicked….

And practised….

And stayed up very late………

Needless to say I was absolutely exhausted by the end of the weekend between concentrating hard on learning and cooking for everyone as well.  But it was worth it!  I came away inspired by Kellie and by the other 6 lovely ladies who had joined us. By early afternoon Sunday we were at the stage of hanging the fruits of our labours on the new design wall. 

It always amazes me to see the different color combinations that people come up with……they were all so different but all looked fantastic!

These are the faces behind the masterpieces…….

Back L to R: Me, Kerry, Mary (one of the gorgeous girls who made the drive from Canberra to join us), Kylie, Donna (Mary’s travelling companion)

Front L to R: Lara and Leah

What a creative group of girls………and hopefully they all had the chance to relax and enjoy as well.

And here’s some close ups of my first attempt at raw edge applique and free motion quilting………..there’s lots of room for improvement but it’s not too bad (especially when it’s home here and not sitting next to Kellie’s exquisite work!)  The plan for this weekendis to make it up into a cushion……and then there’s the Pretty in Pink pattern to start on……..

because it’s only one more sleep until Kellie’s workshop at Sewjourn!!  Along with 6 other girls I’ll be spending the weekend sewing, learning and eating!  I’ve gathered together all my threads and fabrics and I’ll be heading off in the morning.  Can’t wait.  So come back next week and hopefully there will be lots to tell……..and who knows even some photos of finished projects!!!

Meanwhile last weekend we had our Giveaway Day at Sewjourn.  A few friends and I spent the day chatting and sewing along with 6 other creative ladies.  Here’s a few photos…………

And Saturday we spent the day doing this!  We’d always planned on having a design wall here so finally it’s ready to go…….just in time for this weekend’s workshop!

Finally.

Big box.

Lots of bubble wrap to play with.

Loads of instructions, cords, plugs etc.

Hopefully loads of good photos (certainly loads of good fun!)

The girls REALLY, REALLY wanted to go.  Parents (especially the male one) were a bit more dubious – especially as it costs almost as much as the camping site for the week AND it’s 90 minutes drive from Byron Bay. 

BUT, I’m pleased to report, we DID go and the most amazing day was had by all. 

In fact, I say, all FOUR of my children has an absolute ball.  Even the youngest who is only 7 went on all the extreme rides! I was very proud of them (particularly as their Mum stood and watched for quite a few of them!)

Lots of fun, great company, catching up with friends, delicious food…….oh, and a really worthwhile conference too!

….inside at least with these gorgeous daffodils. 

Outside the weather has not been ideal for school holidays but at least the tanks are filling up and the gardens are looking revived!  This afternoon the sun has poked through the clouds and it does feel like spring after all. Today has been an ‘at home’ day and everyone has had lots of fun – the girls just ‘playing’ and me just sewing…….some goodies to show you soon.

It’s cold and wet and windy in Melbourne but that didn’t stop us from taking a trip into the city on Friday and visiting the Art Gallery (it DID mean everyone was a little bit tired and cranky by the time we got home though).

But Saturday I was glad that we were watching the Grand Final on TV not sitting in the hail and wind at the MCG!  (Although not everyone was interested in staying inside for the afternoon)

It also meant we could all get to cuddle a gorgeous little girl.

What a lovely surprise awaited me when I went to clean Sewjourn earlier this week! about two months ago (that’s how long it has taken me to complete this post!!)  This collage from the talented Tinniegirl. 

Thank you SO much Cath, I just LOVE it.   In fact I love it so much that it’s come home with me to sit in my sewing room for a little while before it’s hung up at Sewjourn (which I know is where it’s intended for).  Now we have the relax, create…….just have to work on the enjoy!

You can buy similar collages here anytime or here this Saturday.

…..well they flew past with so much going on that I didn’t even have time to do a blog post!  But here’s a quick snapshot.

A nice surprise waiting for me when I went to Sewjourn to clean.  (More about this in another post….)

A few lovely relaxing days at the end of the school holidays spent in Ballarat with special friends……staying in her dad’s amazing house which is like living in an Art Gallery!  Eight girls, lots of laughs, heaps of olden-days fun, a catchup with some uni friends and a quick visit to a favorite shop.

(Don’t let the blue sky and sunshine fool you…..it was freeeeezing cold!)

My ‘baby’ turned 7, was bubbling over with excitement and had a fantastic pyjama party to celebrate.

A bloggy dinner, a beautiful wedding, a great netball win (I am so proud of the Angels who will make the finals next week in their first ever season of Junior comp!), some more gymnastic medals and ‘Christmas in July with some dear friends helped this weekend whizz by.

Back to school, work, cleaning and all the other activities this week.  Off to the Craft and Quilt Fair for the next few days………I’ll be helping out Karen on Somerset Patchwork and Quilting’s  stall so if you are planning on coming drop past and say ‘hello!’  And next week is off to Tasmania for a few weeks training for a new job I’ll be doing until the end of term.  So I’ll be back posting when I can…….but don’t expect too much crafting!  (Have just signed up for this swap though).