….Seems like a bit of a blur really.  Hard work but lots of fun.  I didn’t get that many photos because Kellie’s  patterns were such a hit that we were swamped with people at the stall almost constantly for the whole 3 days.

Starting with a blank canvas and adding hours of work and lots of changes we managed to transform the booth in something to be proud of.  We certainly received lots of positive comments throughout the show.

(There’s better photos of the booth but I can’t show them as there are a couple of Kellie’s patterns that have not been released in Australia as yet……..I’ll show you them next week)

Once it was setup we were straight off to Sample Spree which was crazy.  Hundreds of women lined up for ages to be first through the doors when they opened!  I managed to have a quick look around and pick up a few goodies which I’ll photograph and show you when I get home….

And then was THE SHOW.  Busy from start to finish.  But amazing to see the looks of wonder and admiration of everyone’s faces when they discovered Kellie’s quilts.  Anna was AMAZING crawling around the floor and doing a million trips back to the hotel room to restock pattern supplies – she’s ‘just darling’*.

(*Learning the American lingo…….incredible how many people here don’t understand what Kellie and I are saying…….don’t we all speak the same language??)

In the couple of short breaks we managed to get I did get to run up and down most of the aisles but didn’t take that many photos.  Here’s a sampling…

The gorgeous stall I got to look out on…..when there was 5 minutes breather that is!

Lots of effort went in to setting up many of the stalls – Micheal Miller’s stalls were behind us and they were gorgoeous – bright and funky.   They actually won ‘Best of Show’……can’t believe I didn’t get any photos of them 🙁

Lots of fabric companies I hadn’t heard of as well as the ‘big names’

Some divine new Heather Ross  prints to look forward to….that should make the Around the Block girls happy.

And some bright cheerfulness on the Echino stand.

And of course, this was one stand that I was dying to see….

And this one was just magic.

(But more on those last two special booths in the next post)

There were some other lovely Australian girls there too.  Sue was there from Queensland with her gorgeous paper piecing work.

And the lovely Leesa, an fellow Melbournite and her helper Emma were there promoting their patterns and Leesa’s new fabric range Under the Australian Sun.

Phew, if you’ve made it to the bottom of this post then you’ve done well………but there’s still SO much more to tell!  There’s a couple of other accounts of the show here and here.

This time last week I’d just finished helping Kellie at the Australian Quilt Market.  And what an amazing couple of days it was!  The response to Kellie’s designs was incredibly positive and the result is there are now loads of new stockists of her patterns – in fact you can now but them in every Australian state as well as NZ……along with a few existing UK and US stockists. 

Note the gorgeous tablecloth that Kellie made ESPECIALLY FOR THE SHOW!!!

You can read more about it here and there’s a few other reports of Quilt Market here, here, here and here.

And here’s a sneak peak of Kellie’s amazing new quilt which will feature in the December issue of Homespun.

……..from holidays which were fun and relaxing.

……..from enjoying the new car on the long trip.

……..from helping a very talented girl at the Australian Quilt Market on the weekend.

……..from celebrating birthday number 9.

………to FINALLY draw a winner for the giveaway.  Congratulations Selina – looking forward to having you come and spend a crafty day with us in January.  I’ll email you with the details in the next day or so.

……..to do my blocks for Around the Block and a Rainbow Swap.

………to do LOADS of washing.

………to catch up on some blog reading.

**More details and photos on all the above to come in the next couple of days.

at least you can say that.  But it IS hectic.  So apologies for the lack of blogging but ….

Quilt and Craft Fair was great.  Thanks to all those who came by and said ‘hi’.  It was exciting to hear great feedback about Sewjourn and good to be able to talk to even more people who hadn’t yet heard about it.  As usual Karen and Meredithe from Somerset Patchwork were totally inspiring.  My other favorite stalls were Sackville and Lane where I purchased a crotcheted scarf kit (my mum laughed and suggested I should ‘relearn’ crotcheting with some 8-ply wool rather than Perle cotton) and of course Kelani which was brimming over with fabric-to-die-for.  Now at least I have some more goodies to show for Sunday Stash.

Then my training in Tasmania went really well – Hobart is such a gorgeous city – stayed opposite the harbour but didn’t take any photos.  So I went along to the first day of 6 weeks of work yesterday full of anticipation because it has the potential to be really interesting BUT unfortunately today was exceptionally boring!  I kept trying to tell myself that I was getting paid well for being there but it didn’t make the 8 hours go any quicker……….today was a bit of an improvement but I hope it keeps getting better!  On the upside I am working directly opposite Darn Cheap Fabrics so will have to find some time to pop over there and have a peek.  There’s a few op shops around the area as well…….  And to top it off husband is in London as we speak – not what I had in mind for my first week of full-time employment in ten years!  But I know it wouldn’t be his choice either.  So the juggling begins.  I just hope there’s time to squeeze in some crafting and blogging to help keep me sane.

…..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).

The last two weeks seem to have been dominated by the Bushfire Quilts – that’s fine, it was great fun and SO rewarding.  (You can read other accounts of Saturday here and here also).  But a few other things have been happening around here too – OK so not much cleaning but catching up on tax (and vowing not to get so behind again…..),  netball (the Angels won by 1 goal after being behind by 6 at half time – all the parents are telling me it was the best game of the season – maybe they don’t need the coach there after all??) and gymnastics comps (both D2 and D3’s teams came first on the weekend – well done girls).

And thinking about Sewjourn.  Bookings are fantastic – better than we could ever have hoped for in our first year and we LOVE that you love it.  But it means that it’s getting more difficult for me to do all the cleaning myself.  For quite a while my husband and a few friends have been hassling me to get someone to help out but it’s hard……….it’s got to be the right person, I’m pretty fussy and it’s got to be done properly!  It’s not just the cleaning but I need someone who will do all the ‘special touches’ as well……..the beds need to be straightened properly, flowers, choccies…….we want it to have that ‘WOW’ factor when you arrive.  So if you think YOU could be the person I’m looking for or know someone who might be interested please contact me here.  (And even though I’m saying I’m fussy etc I really would be OK to work for!!!)  We would be looking for someone fairly local to Lancefield.

Also thinking about planning a few workshops for next year. Kellie has already mentioned one on her blog which will hopefully be running early 2010.  (For anyone who hasn’t seen Kellie’s work – it is exquisite -see below!)

If you have any other thoughts or ideas about what you would like to see offered please email me.  On that note, I had a weekend of ‘Christmas in July’ workshops planned for this year (last year’s were lots of fun!) but since I’ve been so busy and the added fact that we now have a wedding on the Friday night they won’t be going ahead this year…….sorry to anyone who was hoping to come, this has been a hard decision but for once I just need to accept that I can’t do everything!…….I am certainly planning on doing it again next year.  BUT the upside is that July 17-19 is NOW AVAILABLE FOR RENT!!  Please email me soon if you are interested in booking this weekend as it is the only one available before December.

And today I had lunch with a friend from school – it was so lovely to catch up.  Even though we don’t see each other that often we still seem to know each other well!  She gave me these lovely coasters as a belated birthday present…….aren’t I lucky?

A day late I know but last night I was recovering from 4 days of AQC.  I picked this up at AQC on the weekend – I was very controlled really considering I spent four whole days surrounded by yummy fabrics!  This is a Japanese fabric called Komachi and I bought it from Be Be Bold the gorgeous stall with lovely ladies opposite us……..I couldn’t look at all their goodies all weekend and not buy a few things……………

Also got to meet Jodie who was helping on Emma’s stall – can’t wait to see her new project!!!

…and only one more to go at AQC.  It IS lots of fun but it IS exhausting!!  The response to Sewjourn has just be fantastic though – talking to so many people who have already been there, girls who have heard about it and planning to go and then those who didn’t yet know about it but were really excited when they found out!  Thanks so much ladies, you have really given me a boost!

And of course being with Karen and Meredithe is always so inspiring – their knowledge is amazing. 

An added bonus is being opposite the Homespun and Australian Quilters Companion stall and having Kellie’s gorgeous quilt to look at all day.  It is going to be featured in the April edition of Homespun…..and I promise you IT IS BEAUTIFUL!  Kellie is so very talented.

We are also opposite Be Be Bold Japanese fabrics – delightful girls with stunning fabrics – a bit dangerous to be standing looking at them all day.  And not far away is Kimono Buttons – fabric set in resin and made into buttons – well worth checking out.

Actually , I make it sound like we have been standing around all day looking at other stalls which is not at all true as we have been VERY VERY busy.

These are some of the lovely fabrics on our stall.

The third one is Pink Chocolate by Nancy Gere and it only arrived in yesterday – it sold like hot cakes today – in fact so much so that my favorite fabrics in the range are not even in the photo – gone! – luckily there is some more at the shop

I always leave the shows full of ideas and ready to sew but usually by the time I get home I am just ready for bed.

I did manage to make this brooch for a friend for her birthday one night though.

And tonight was the School Bush Dance which was heaps of fun……perfect weather, great company, happy kids and a glass of champagne!