Stand-up quilter

I had to share this pic from my last class at The Vintage Patch - Betty the stand-up quilter (she's pretty comic as well!) Betty is quite short and does a lot of her work standing up - whatever works I say. This is her 3rd? quilt and her work is beautiful. She jumps in at the deep end and her quilts are huge. One will be on show at the Springwood High quilt show this weekend.

Please try and come up to the mountains Fri, Sat or Sun and take a look at over 150 wonderful quilts by local quilters - you will be very impressed I'm sure. Ten trading tables and a great cafe run by the students - it'll be worth your while.

On the subject of the show I have been making a quilt for The Vintage Patch to sell kits for at the show. It's a good one for the male in your life and a looks great in red and navy reproduction fabrics. The pic hasn't had the final border added yet.

Off to start quilting a Three Sisters wallhanging for Jeanette and her church - wish me luck!

Had a lovely day at Bathurst again. They are gearing up for Sue Spargo's workshop at the end of the month and by all accounts it should be very exciting.

Some pics here of the NYB blocks the gitrls are working on for their Reproduction Beauties quilts - cats, florals, repros, pretties - you name it they are doing it. And very happily too. After a few glitches with the foundations we are well on the way to completing their versions of my quilt and the raffle quilt for Swd High quilt show.

157 entries and the hall will be chocka-block our exhibition organiser - also known as Marilyn - tells me.

The theme of the show is Oriental Journey and Sue in my Swd class is doing my quilt-as-you-go Noodle box using great oriental prints. Foundation pieced with flying geese around an octagonal block. Very easy to quilt and put together.

I'm having a stall at the show selling patterns and kits for them. I've been busy cutting and packaging - reducing the stash quite well to make room to buy some new stuff. Isn't that how it works?

Would you believe I spent the afternoon sitting on the verandah waiting for a red-bellied black snake to come out from underneath. WIRES had no interest in catching it so I called a neighbour who arrived with a broom(!). It has been eating tadpoles from a nearby water feature we think and after lots of beating the bushes we think it has been scared away. Thank goodness - I hate the rotten things.

Anyway - fun classes on the weekend at Folklore and Hobbysew. Most girls are doing my Mariners quilts and don't they look fantastic.

I have the privilege of quilting Vicki's beautiful reproduction version of Mariners Garden - "can I have some feathers please" she says! I have quilted around six of them so far - you'd think I'd be sick of them by now.

Guess what - I won a prize at the Katoomba Quilt Show on the weekend with my Reproduction Beauties quilt. Runner-up in the traditional category so I missed out on the Bernina machine as 1st prize but that's OK. Great exhibition I hear - maybe a bigger venue next time?

I've just had the privilege of being this month's Friday showcase at the NSW Quilters Guild. How exciting it was to go into their office in Pitt St with a selection of quilts and talk about them and myself. It's a lovely setting if anyone's in town to go and look at quilts or use the library. I was well received I think and look forward to knowing more guild members at set-up day for the show.

Saturday it was off early to Anni's at The Home Patch for the monthly class - a few new faces and some regulars with a bit of fabric shopping while I was there. Hubby spent the day sailing on Ben Chifley Dam. Most girls have done or are doing the Mariners Madness quilt with a few starting the Reproduction New York Beauties one of mine very similar to the Springwood High raffle quilt.

The raffle quilt is out and about at the moment, currently at Glenbrook then to Patchwork Heart, Bernina Patch, Patchwork Mania then the Vintage Patch in Springwood just before the show. It's a really beautiful quilt so try and grab a ticket if you can - you never know your luck!

We are expecting visitors from Sweden soon - mum and dad and twin girls aged 2years - won't that be fun for us oldies! I can hardly wait.

Can't wait

Had a busy weekend with classes Sat and Sun. Great to see all the regulars back for the new year at Folklore and lots of new faces at Hobbysew. What a nice shop that is at Kings Park - heaps of fabric, haby etc and everything for the scrapbooker too by the look of it.

Things are hotting up for the Springwood High School quilt show with only a couple more committee meetings til the big weekend. Hope we have covered all bases but it's not til the last minute that it really gets hectic - it's really a fun experience beibng involved in all the behind the scenes planning.

Lots of beautiful quilts to look at, great stalls for retail therapy and the cafe run by hospitality students is THE place to eat. Tryt and come along over the Anzac weekend.

Some more of my quilts with patterns available - just contact me or see my stall at the show.

Some more quilts in my collection - patterns available - just contact me via email.

Big weekend

Saturday was spent in Bathurst at The Home Patch - our first class back after Xmas. All the usual happy faces and lots of lovely fabric for their new project - reproduction new york beauties quilt. It is the second version opf the raffle quilt for the Springwood High School quilt show on the Anzac weekend in April. Do try and come along to see over 200 local quilts and lots of local shops. Demos, cafe - it's bigger than Ben Hur (well almost!).

Here is a pic of the raffle quilt in oriental fabrics made by several members of the committee and quilted by Suzie Anderson of Leura - it is more beautiful in the flesh.

My classes have started back at home too with lovely new tables to work on and room for more students. Some girls are STILL working on their Jane Austen quilts and some are starting new projects.

I have picked up classes at Hobbysew at Kings Park (Blacktown), Camden at Patchwork Mania ans Berrima for the second half of the year - hubby looks so forlorn when I leave him every weekend but that's life isn't it. We all have to do our bit and really the working week is seven days long these days.

News of the devastation in Victoria is so sad isn't it - it could be any of us here in the Blue Mountains - our thoughts are with them all.