Here’s some of the sewing they achieved…… 

And Jetta made a gorgeous framed stamp picture and I am kicking myself that I didn’t get a photo of it.

I managed to get quite a bit done in the day as well.

A bit of ‘secret sewing’, followed by constructing my sewing bag and then some new cushions for the lounge room at Sewjourn.

 And as I type this out I realise that I didn’t show photos of my weekend at Sewjourn with some other lovely girls….way back in July.  (Wow, a whole term has passed since then but it’s been a busy one and LOTS of things have happened at our house…I’ll post about that in the week to come).  But this  July Sewjourn is where I started the handquilting on my little sewing bag.  It’s a Rosalie Quinlan pattern that I’ve had for years and from fabric I bought in Houston last year.  Really happy with how it looks.

And Meredithe and I both finished our Kaffe Quilt tops started at his workshop at Ballarat Patchwork way back in February.  It wasn’t at all competitive as we sat next to each other and zoomed away but there may have been smoke billowing from our machines they were working so fast.  And of course the gorgeous Miss M won the race! (And she even has hers quilted now and it looks fantastic!)

I think they both look great!  Can you believe that the blue used as the centre background is the same fabric in both of our quilts??  It’s amazing how different it looks surrounded by the different colours.

And then after this relaxing weekend I spent a couple of days in Bendigo where my mum showed me how to crotchet (again…..I DID do a whole blanket of granny squares when I was about 15…)  Learning to crochet was one of my resolutions at the start of the year.  And it’s great.  So far I’ve done a cushion in double crochet….which will also go into the lounge room at Sewjourn when it’s sewn together (hopefully in these school holidays).  Photo to come…….thought there was one on the camera but no!

And also during this last crazy term of school that seemed to fly by….. we had lots of gymnastic comps and a few cross-country runs.

And a couple of fun parties……but that’s another post.

There’s at least 10 people joining in the fun and you can see everyone’s progress photos in this flickr group.  It’s not too late to join in if you are keen – we have all of September to get the first border done and M will announce the next border at the start of October.

On Saturday I visited Quilts in the Barn which was great as always.  Linda does such and amazing job organising this great event which raises lots of money for Breast Cancer Research.  This year’s display feastured Jo Morton’s  gorgeous quilts.

And Sunday although it was Fathers’ Day I spent a HUGE proportion of the day at gymnastics comps.  The two elder girls both competed (which is why I was there for SO long) and both did a great job but the proud mother part in me can’t resist telling you how well Lucy did in her level 4 comp…..individually she won first on floor and bars and first overall and her team came third!!!  Well done Lucy, we are so proud of you and your hard work.

I’m using my Prints Charming  Panel as the centre piece…..

And this gorgeous fat quarter pack that I bought in Houston last year…….

With some other fabrics thrown in.

I want my Medallion Quilt to be fresh and modern and will be using a lot of white with the crisp greens and blues.  Meredithe is using the same centre panel as me but has chosen different colours to coordinate with it.

So, if you feel inspired please join in the fun.

And speaking of America…….I’m leaving tomorrow morning to go to International Quilt Market with Kellie!  Can’t believe how quickly it’s come around….just feels like we got back from Houston but that was 6 months ago!  I’m hoping to post whilst I’m away but won’t have my laptop with me this time so we’ll see……

Enjoy your week.

My yoyo count  is steadily increasing and I’m just about up to the number required to make the curtain for the Princess Room.

And I sewed all my Around the Block  pieces together into a quilt top which fits perfectly on the bed in the Princess Room.  It went together really well in a couple of hours one night last week up at Sewjourn.

I started a cute little sewing bag using a Rosalie Quinlan  pattern that I’d had for ages and some fabric from my Houston stash.  Now I’m up to handquilting the outside with some Perle thread.

Which reminds me that I haven’t shown my purchases from Houston. 

Fabric bundles from Sample Spree including  the gorgeous Sherbet Pips by Aneela Hoey, Quite Contrary by My Mind’s Eye for Riley Blake, Anna Griffin’s beautiful Carmen and Just Wing It by Momo, which is really special.

Anna’s divine stand was opposite us at Houston – so nice to look at for four days. 

Not that we had much time to look as Kellie’s patterns and stand attracted LOADS of attention as usual.

Including attention from two of the best – Kaffe and Brandon!  And speaking of which, the Kaffe Workshop at Ballarat Patchwork  in February was great fun…..more on that later but here’s Kaffe talking about my quilt.

I was lucky enough to spend the following day at Sewjourn with some lovely girls and so got most of my quilt top sewn together…..just need to finish the middle section but haven’t actually pulled it out since then.

March didn’t see me doing much sewing even though there was a short stay at Sewjourn during the holidays – I did make lots of Welcome Cards for the guests coming to Sewjourn though. 

Oh and I did go to a Sashiko Class at Kimono House  which was lots of fun…..I think sashiko could become quite addictive.

And in April I spent lots of time sorting out my stash and did make two cushions that I love.  I was especially happy with the way the zips worked out as I’ve had a bit of a block when it comes to zips…..but really it was very easy.

It would be nice if I could say at the end of May that a few of the half done projects were finished…..we’ll see as there is 2 weeks in the US and then planning (and cleaning) for a special birthday party at the start of June.

PS  Sorry for photo overload……you’ve done well if you have made it to the end of this post!

Love the design

But just not loving how it is all going together so far…….but the more I do the more I think I DO like it???

(Edit – I’ve done quite a bit more since these photos and it is growing on me……..I think??)

One very happy 7 year old daughter.

One 11 year old who thinks I need to start her quilt IMMEDIATELY!

NB: Photos taken with old camera – makes me realise how good new camera is!!!

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.

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……..