New patterns!

These patterns are finally available in my etsy shop 

Patchwork Fun.

Ancient Dahlia - Makes a double bed sized quilt 68" square.

Stunning foundation pieced dahlia centre machine appliqued to the background.

Features a small dresden plate centre and is surrounded by 16 6" circular sample blocks which are bound and appliqued to the background. Rated for the intermediate sewer  .

Faux Wedding Ring - Makes up to a queen sized quilt 74" square.

No curved seams for the blocks but easy hand or machine applique.

Foundation pieced sashing that uses up lots and lots of scraps. Rated  easy  .

Jacobean Star - Makes up to a sofa sized quilt 55" square.

Striking foundation pieced centre circle appliqued in the middle of a machine pieced eight-point star.

Surrounded by machine pieced setting squares and triangles and finished off with appliqued diamonds.

Rated for the intermediate sewer .

All patterns can be purchased using Paypal or credit cards - go have a look!

Out and about

These pics are from my Figtree class and Quilt Escape at Warriewood

Same centre compass but the result is entirely different because of fabric choices. I really like them both.

This is amazing isn't it! The outside of each block is actually printed fabric and we had fun fussy-cutting it to get that look. Who would have thought?

These belong to four different girls but they could be from the one project.

They worked really hard over the two days at Cottage Quiltwork's Quilt Escape and let's hope they continue the good work.

 Two doily fans chose this class instead.As you can see the blocks are coming along nicely - a bit of ric rac here and there and the more embellishing the better the result. Zoom in for a closer look.

 Who would have thought to collect doilies with Mexicans on them - I always pass them by but in this project they looked great. Add the right fabric and it all comes together - what fun!

On the subject of all things doily an amazing shop called Peppergreen in Berrima is sadly closing down.

Anyone who has been there knows it's a treasure-trove of linen, fabric, books, china - you name it they've probably got it. All stock is 50% off and I did some damage recently but got some fantastic tablecloths and other embroideries for future projects.

Happy escapees!

Have a look here at the EQ quilt gallery. I sent in the file for my Faux wedding ring quilt and it's on this months list. Scroll down to number 215 and look at all the other fabulous designs while you're there.

There has been a lot of interest in this design and the plan is to write up the pattern this week.

I'm off to Hobbysew Belconnen this weekend for 2 days of classes. Wish me luck as it was - 4deg overnight there yesterday!

It seems like ages since I've posted here but I have been really busy travelling all over with a swag of 2-day classes here and there. It's great to be home I can tell you.
One thing that happened before I went away was the swap-over of my Tuesday night group's mini border-go-round.
We have been working on these for the last six months with everyone providing their centre block and maybe some fabric. It was boxed up and passed around the group in secret with various borders added each round. A maximum of 4" border size was chosen but the quilts are really not mini.
They are absolutely stunning and each one is a reflection of the owner - how well we all know each other after sewing together for @ 15 years.
Zoom in and check out the details.

Lisa - sorry about the blurry pic in all the excitement!

Anni - interesting there were 3 blue and white quilts in the swap.



Bev - she now has to repaint the wall it was being made for.

Marilyn - it was such fun to choose fabrics and a design for each designated border

Robyn - says it all

Lyn - love that doily

And this is mine! Just perfect. Thanks guys.

 If you've never done something like this in your group give it a go. Not too many rules and it's a lot of fun and stretches one's capabilities too.

Did you see this book at the Quiilt Mania stand at the show - it's to die for if you're into antique quilts.

Lots of words and pictures to keep you drooling for hours.

I've even had a go at drawing this centre in EQ7.

WOW factor!

At my Hobbysew class yesterday the girls were really on fire! Lots of finishes and great show-and-tell.

This is Jenny's Oriental Journey and it sure has been a long one. Jenny traced 37 foundations onto interfacing to save removing paper at the end - that's a chore but she was happy to do it that way.

Zoom in on the quilt to see some great fussy-cutting close up.

The fabrics she chose are just so sumptuous it makes you want to dive into the quilt!

Last month we saw Laurel's quilt centre finished and this month it's the whole deal - mitred borders and everything. "I'm so thrilled" was her quote for the day. It's really beautiful.

 Check out Barbara's NYB top with partial borders. What a riot of colour and perfect piecing too.

These are all 6" finished size blocks and quite fiddly.

One of the pleasures of white-gloving at the Sydney Quilt Show is meeting so many friends and students.

I had the pleasure of also meeting the lovely Jenny Scott from Always Quilting, the Australian distributor of Aurifil Threads.

We had a lovely chat about Aurifil - Mako 50 is my preferred thread for applique, piecing and quilting - and about quilting in general.

Hop over to Jenny's blog and see a selection of quilts from the show whose makers all use this beautiful thread. She also has lots of useful information about which thread is best for which project.

Out and about

Last Thursday I went to the Epping Quilters for a one-day workshop. They meet in a wonderful space in the Epping Community Centre - huge room, great lighting - lucky girls they are.
There were eight different projects happening on the day and I had a really busy day crossing from one side of the room to the other - incidental exercise I think they call it. Anyway it was all good and here a just a few pics from the day.

This was from the scrap basket and came together really well and with great excitement from a newbie to foundation piecing.

Several students were doing NYB blocks and some were doing Birds in Paradise



So excited to finish a basic Mariners compass!

Saturday was my Bathurst class and their NYB quilts are coming together beautifully. Isn't this black-and- white-plus just a stunner!

More muted colours but just as graphic.

What a variety of blocks

Sunday at Hobbysew and Janelle's batik NYB's is getting closer to a finish. Hard for girls who are working full-time to do any homework!

This has been a work-in-progress for quite some time now but Marrianne really got her skates on and this is the result.

I am hosting the unveiling of our group's mini border-go-round tomorrow night so there will be some amazing pics to show from that.

Don't forget that Cottage Quiltworks is having a Quilt Escape with lots of tutors starting next Monday. Love to see you there.