Lots of pics today from recent classes.....

Bronwyn's lovely Mariners

Bonnie's very patriotic NYB's

We had a special guest last Saturday class - Alice's grandson Brayden joined us and made a start on this beautiful tablecloth for his mum. Well done Brayden you're a keeper!

Margaret has been busy with two versions of Emperors Wheel - what a great eye-spy quilt.

Jenny's camp project all done.

Marrianne's Mariners quilted and bound - beautiful.

QAYG Noodle box blocks



This is Bev's from Toowoomba - love the different approach to the outside scallops and the quilting is amazing.
Bev was one of the tutors at Quilting on the Downs.

Linda sent me this You tube link about sewing machine needles - take the time to look, it is very interesting.

http://youtu.be/4U48srIlnWg
On the 3rd Thursday of each month I have a class at the new Hobbysew store at Top Ryde shopping centre. It's a great venue with tons of fabric and a cafe in store. If you're in the mood for a fun class come along. You can do any of my quilts - ring the store for details.
On the Hobbysew front I also have 2 days of workshops at Hobbysew Belconnen on 29-30 October.
Come and make a basic mariners compass block or some New York Beauty blocks - both are an introduction to foundation piecing which I'm sure you'd enjoy.

On the road

I've just come back from a weekend workshop in Wagga at Simply Stitches. What a great shop.

It's in part of the old David Jones building and is two stories high. The bottom of the shop is classroom with plenty of room for students. I had 14 over the two days and there were no problems at all - just what the teacher likes! Upstairs is all the fabric, heaps of knitting wool and a longarm machine tucked in one corner.

The girls worked really hard on their large Mariners centres with one busy student getting to the sewing-together stage. Faye looked after us wonderfully and a good time was had by all I think.

I got to do a bit of op-shopping in Cowra and Beechworth and picked up heaps of doilies - more on them later.

This is Judy's from Tuesday class - yum!

Sonia's beautiful embroidered centre

This year at the quilt show there was a break from tradition and we all got to pin our rosettes on our own quilts. Nice idea I thought.

19 more sleeps!

til xmas that is. It's hard for me to get in the mood - it just seems we are forced to buy presents for people who don't need them, which they probably won't like anyway. I've already gone the "I've bought you a goat" or "here's your composting toilet" idea so it's back to presents. Oh well - that's xmas.
Anyway one thing that's lifted the mood is this from Di at Snippets and Scraps - scroll down to the video and take the time to watch it please.

How's this for a lust-after bag. All the girls in the class wanted it but Jeff has made it for his cousin for xmas. The pattern came from his NZ holiday and the result is to die for don't you think.

Cathie planned this in EQ to be surrounded by lots of storm at sea blocks.

Tho she is new to the program it is worth the effort I think.

Bev might need her sunnies when this is on the wall. She's a head down, pedal-to-the-metal kind of girl and has done a fantastic job on these 6" NYB blocks! She's now started on a bigger version.

Nancy's beautiful Mariners Madness

Pam's start to a NYB quilt with that wow factor.

Looking for some holiday sewing? Sewmamasew has a grocery bag challenge going on and there are lots of patterns for making cloth bags. Use up some of that stash maybe?

Classes are winding down for the year with xmas parties happening all over the place. Hope you're enjoying some too.

We just need 2 weeks of hot sunny weather for our holiday on the Central Coast - here's hoping.

Spare a thought for the people of the Central West with all those flood waters for the second time this year.

What's on my design wall

This is my latest "playing around" project. I've always liked the dahlia quilts and this is my version. The plan is to have different blocks in a circle all around the centre and then see what happens. It's fun to play with all the blocks in EQ7 - some are good and some just don't work so I guess I'll make heaps and then choose.

A few pics from Berrima over the weekend.

This is Chris's NYB quilt but she has gone outside the square with the border. Why didn't I think of that!!

Fantastic work! Those geese have a very narrow bound edge and are appliqued onto the border - too easy.

She's also quilted her Mariners Madness - it looks even better in the flesh.

Better join the guild girl and get them into Darling Harbour next year for alI to see.

Lovely muted colours in these NYB blocks.

Wish I could say this was from class but it's a coat worn by Jimi Hendrix - isn't it wonderful and wasn't he a trendsetter. How cool are those hexagons.

I'm off to Toowoomba on Wednesday for Quilting on the Downs - can't wait. Hope those Qld quilters like foundation piecing! We're continuing on to Noosa for a week so I'll be back in a little while.

What do you think of this block? Just a sample from my new project yet to be quilted.
Wouldn't it be great as a 30"+ centre medallion!
I found it in the new EQ7 and with a bit of tweaking it's in my Circle Sampler

A pic from my latest class at Berrima Patchwork. Pity about the sun in our eyes but it was a FREEZING day outside the shop.
One more class for these girls and they're well on the way to finishing their Mariners.
I still have a few Japanese kimono fabric packs for sale in my on-line shop. Click on the Sewnsell button on the left to have a look.

Clever girls

Here's a selection from a few recent classes. You'll be amazed at how different but spectacular these quilts will be when finished.

This beauty was sent to me by Annette from Port Macquarie. She entered it in the recent Timeless Quilters quilt show and was awarded the runner-up prize for her efforts. What a beautiful interpretation of my Oriental Journey pattern. Well done Annette - we all know how exciting it is to win a prize!.

As the year progresses we have already started working on our raffle quilt for next year's Springwood High School quilt show and we NOW HAVE A BLOG to go with it. Rachel and I spent a lovely afternoon setting it up and there will be regular posts from members of the committee about what goes into making the show happen. We hope you will call by often to check us out and please leave a comment to help us give you all the information we can concerning this wonderful community event.

I have some exciting news coming for anyone interested in fabric packs of Japanese kimono pieces. I have sourced them from Victoria and they'll be in my on-line shop soon! Stay tuned.

Time flies doesn't it

How can two weeks have disappeared like that? I guess lots of work makes it happen quicker!
Susan from my Blackheath class has been working on this stunner for such a long time. I'm sure she was ready to throw it on several occasions but perseverance has paid off hasn't it. It's basically a log cabin block with "flippy corners" in red. So graphic. For another graphic stunner have a look here.

This bodyless guy is Alan also from the Blackheath class. Alan is a recently retired primary school teacher and carer for his disabled wife. He's made this quilt (soon to be a sleeping bag) for his 10 year old grandaughter and it's beautiful. His sewing is amazing for a 1st-timer tho he has been making rucksacks and camping gear on an industrial machine for a while. Don't think there'll be any more quilts on the agenda but it was really nice having him join us for a term. He learnt all the proper terminology - fat quarters, suffolk puffs, stitch and bitch and he's such a handyman. Best wishes Alan.

Dawn's quilt top from the Bathurst class is so soft and pretty - an unusual example of the Mariners as they are usually much stronger colours. Lovely work and the border fabric was just right.

I delivered my quilts for Darling harbour today to our drop off lady Isabel. She will take them and lots of others from the Mountains to Sydney for judging on Sunday. Fingers crossed we can repeat our last two wins with the raffle quilt from our show in April.

I am working on instructions for two magazine quilts at the moment - maybe I can sneak a pic next post.

Really looking forward to the long weekend coming up - apart from a sewing day on next year's raffle quilt my time is my own. Yahoo! Hope to get in some bike riding and a picnic with daughter and her hubby if the weather is kind. Have a good one too!

William would be pleased

Back to my class at Blackheath today and look what was waiting for me. Laraine has been so busy over the Xmas break making this beautiful version of my Emperors Wheel quilt. William Morris applique blocks machine appliqued and the centre compass was her first go at foundation piecing. What a great job and a delight to look at. Maybe it will be quilted and bound in time for our quilt show in April? The way Laraine works I think so!

Workshop

Another Mariners centre but this time much smaller. These smiling faces are my weekend class at Quiltsmith in the city with their Mariners medallion centres. Lots of hard work and decision making later they were well on the way to making their own version - some will be way different from the original but that's a good thing. Each quilter's design choices were coming to the fore.

This arrived on Friday in the mail from the US - even better in real life. Aren't they beautiful and it will make a stunning back for something I haven't even thought about yet but like I always say - buy it when you see it and it will come in handy later.

Helen in my Friday class has used the wavy ruler to cut sashing for her quilt-as-you-go project for her grandson. Wish I'd thought of that! Click on the pic to see the lovely log cabin centres.

Another quilt show meeting is coming up and we are ready to take pics of the raffle quilt in preparation for lots of publicity in our local quilt magazines. Keep your eyes out for it.

Busy girls

Just had my Sunday class at Berrima

Patchwork and the girls have been very busy while I was away as you can see from the pics. How many different versions have I seen of the Mariners quilt and yet every one is beautiful.

The same class is continuing next month with my Quilt-as-you-go Noodle Box quilt (ring the store if you're interested) then a whole new year starts in February with classes every third weekend of the month ie. Saturday and Sunday. I will be sleeping over!

Click on the pic and check out the applique on the red and white Mariners - it is superb! I'm pretty sure it will be entered in next year's Sydney Quilt Show - if not I'll be asking questions!

I've picked up some classes at Ribbons and Rainbows in Blackheath, one of the longest running patchwork shops in NSW. Every Tuesday morning for the moment - maybe more later.

Call in if you are in the Mountains - it's a beautiful shop , jam-packed with all sorts of goodies. My friend Nerida is the manager and has been like a new broom to the place.

Catching up

Lots of pics today from classes before the big holiday. This is Ann's Mariners combination - Mariners Garden with a Mariners Madness border! This is the 1st one I've seen using both patterns. Well done Ann - why didn't I think of that?
I start back to classes tomorrow - it's been a long break and my head's not really with it yet.
I'm sure I will just pick up where I left off.

This is Carol's NYB quilt for her grand-daughter. I think she was a bit out of her comfort zone with this but she's persevered and I think it looks just right for a young lady.

I especially love the Kaffe border fabric. I wonder did Carol actually buy this one. It is perfect.

Caroline in my Friday class has been working on these blocks for quite a while and collecting fabric for the quilt for an even longer time.

Aren't they stunning. It's not til you can have a vertical look at some projects that you get the full impact. And of course when you stick with something for so long often you get sick of looking at it!

I think they are fantastic.

These guys are from my Berrima class - don't they look great.

Same pattern, so many different looks. The girls have done a wonderful amount of homework and I'm off to Berrima this Sunday to see them all again - they'll probably be finished the whole quilt by now having missed the September class.

PLEASE click on the SEWnSELL button on the left to take you to my on-line shop!!

I'm selling quilts that have been teaching samples and are now excess to my requirements and will have lots of patterns on there shortly.

Leave me a comment as to how you think it looks.