Friday, but not quite finished.

On Friday I spent a lovely day doing a workshop with Marg Low at the Patchwork Apple in Woodside.

We started the day with a little trunk show of Marg's designs. It was so nice to sit back and be dazzled by pretty things. Here is a little window into the lovliness....


A wee table-topper made from sawtooth stars in reproduction fabrics. I have in mind to make something similar using Ohio Stars.

A sneak peek at a project Marg has designed for the Red Club. It was very gorgeous. I am a sucker for hexagons.


Here are some super cute Christmas stockings sitting on a miniature quilt again designed for Red Club.


How gorgeous are those sweetheart birdies? I bought this pattern from Marg on the day and am keen to make them to hang on the door handles. The button is from Theadora Cleave. She makes truly lovely things.

Vicki fondling Marg's wares...

We went to next door to the Lobethal Bakery for lunch. As you can see I enjoyed highly nutritious, fat free fare. But how can you resist happiness in a can, a bolognaise pie and what are seriously the best jam berliners I have ever eaten (and believe me I have done some research into the matter)? You can't, so I capitulated and enjoyed every calorie laden morsel.

So what did we actually do with Marg? This....



Rhonda's finished journal cover

Kris's bookmark.


My half-finished journal. I was so happy because Marg taught me to needleturn applique which is something I have wanted to learn for ages. Cop the birdie! He's appliqued!

As usual I have come home, uploaded my photos and realised that I was too busy talking and didn't get pictures of everyone's projects. So I'll just leave you with another bird picture. Did I mention that he is appliqued?

Leapin' Lizards! I'm in Homespun!

Volume 11.4 is on sale now at your local newsagent.

This exciting moment has been a long time coming...I made this quilt during our quarrantine last June. I am so pleased with the gorgeous layout that the team at Homespun put together.

I have got a couple of other exciting things in the pipeline that I can't wait to share with you, but for the moment I am going to celebrate being published in this fabulous magazine with a cup of tea and some more little houses.

A new obsession

I love the American Better Homes and Gardens Creative collection and I especially enjoy Quilt Sampler magazine. You can see by the top right hand corner that this edition has seen some lovin'. What I love about this mag are the editorials about the quilt shops they feature. They are choc full of great photos of the shops - a wonderful source of inspiration and the shops featured provide a pattern for the magazine.



In the Fall/Winter 2009 edition there was a feature on a quilt shop in California calledTemecula Quilt Co. If there wasn't a large ocean between us I would love to visit this store. It has a focus on reproduction quilts and the photos from the magazine spread have been drooled over by me on more than one occassion. The quilt pattern that the store provided (it's on the cover) features little houses. I am in love! I started making some last night before bed and have done 3 already. I am going to make a chunky cushion out of them (there is just such a cushion in the photo spread). The houses are only 4.5" finished so they are made up of lots of tiny pieces. As a result my first one was a little 'how's your mother' but I have got the hang of it now.



I have a bundle of binding to do so those little houses are the carrot I am dangling in front of myself. I have got three more cut out and ready to go as soon as the last stitch is put into this quilt.


Ok, off to bind now. Must resist houses.

Chevron Quilt Tutorial

A few weeks ago one of my very favourite people had a pretty impressive Friday Finish of her own. My friend Alex gave birth to her first baby, Connor.


This is the quilt that I designed and made for him and today I finished stitching on the binding.




You can download the free tutorial for this quilt HERE


When I was thinking about what to name this quilt I got to thinking about pop songs, poems and romantic love - heavy stuff, but bear with me. A few years ago I saw an episode of Oprah (it always comes back to Oprah!) in which the songwriter Diane Warren was talking about the inspiration for her songs. The song which I want to talk about here was "Because You Loved Me" which was sung by Celine Dion and was the theme song for "Up Close & Personal". The movie was a very gushy, romantic film and I am sure that couples all over the world danced their bridal waltz to Diane Warren's song. However, this song was not written for a lover but for her father who had encouraged and supported her. This got me to thinking about how many other seemingly romantic love songs are not written for a lover at all, but for a friend, a parent or a child (Steal My Kisses by Ben Harper is a perfect example - written for his son).


So in my mind, Marvin Gaye's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is the perfect anthem for a mother to her child and that is what I named Connor's quilt.



Remember to drop by Amy's and check out the other fab Friday Finishes. Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Sleigh bells ring....are you listening?

Join us for a festive two day retreat at Mannum, South Australia to celebrate Christmas in July!

When: We have two weekends available -

Friday 2nd of July - Sunday 4th of July

&

Friday 16th of July - Sunday 18th of July

Where: The Pumphouse at Mannum on the Murray River

Getting There : Mannum is just over an hour's drive from the Adelaide GPO and is situated on the Murray River. Don't drive? No problem - let us put you in touch with your fellow retreaters to arrange some car pooling.

Accommodation : We will be stitching in the historic "Pumphouse" situated in the grounds of the Mannum Caravan Park where you can enjoy FREE accommodation in the bunkhouse in a dorm-style share room, sleeping 4 in bunk beds. Alternatively, we can arrange for you to stay in a deluxe cabin with an ensuite - this type of accommodation will incur an additional cost.

Catering : the weekend will be fully catered, including breakfast, lunch, morning and afternoon teas on both days, non-alcoholic drinks (BYO welcome) and dinner on the Friday night - we've booked a table at the riverfront Pretoria Hotel for a traditional Christmas dinner on Saturday night.

Projects: There will be 3 yuletide projects for you to choose from: A gorgeous Christmas Sack, an Advent Calendar or a lovely Table Runner (pictures will be available in early June). Or you can feel free to bring your own projects and get a head-start for your Christmas giving.

Don't quilt? No problem, we are open to retreaters of all craft denominations - bring along your projects be they knitting, scrapbooking, card making or whatever and enjoy the time to relax and create.

Shop : What is a quilting retreat without a bit of retail therapy? Patchwork on Parade will have a shop on site with a wide range of tempting fabrics, patterns, nifty notions, giftware and more.

Cost : This retreat is $200.00 all inclusive (with the exception of dinner on Saturday night). Contact Sharon on 0411 268 924 for more information and to secure your booking.


Click HERE to download the retreat information PDF to share with your friends.