A Little Catch Up

I didn't mean to stay away for so long,  but I am trying to get back into some sort of routine.

In October we celebrated our daughter's wedding in regional Victoria. They married on the groom's parents' property under their 150 year old oak tree. The day was wonderful and the weather didn't disappoint.

In July Susan sent me this gorgeous little zipper purse as a gift. It is now the home for the pearls that I bought for the wedding. They seemed like a perfect pairing.

As for sewing, there hasn't been much. Some health problems bowled me over.

I did finish my little "Pear" quilt, from a pattern by Gail Pan. Loved appliquéing those little pears and I hand quilted the background.

Major Milestone # 2

And I finally added a label and let my daughter take home her "Tea Leaves" quilt.

Major Milestone # 1

Excursions have been limited too. Started wandering a little bit further from home. Last week end the girls drove me Linda's barn to see the annual exhibition. Loved the display and we were able to get lots of hints and advice from the lovely Jo Morton who was visiting from the US.

Her beautiful display of quilts.

I bumped into Miriam who posted a great selection of photos.

Earlier in the month we ventured out to Gisborne for a little early Christmas celebration. The company was great and the swap gifts were of the highest standard as always.

Our quilt group had an exhibition earlier in the month, and it was a great success. It always amazes me how such a small group of quilters can produce so much work. I wasn't able to be as involved as I might have liked,but I did manage to get there on the day.

Hoping my next post is a little sooner than this one.

Gisborne Gatherings

Last Saturday we ventured out to "Patch N Quilt" in Gisborne for a special event.

Irene Blanck was signing copies of her beautiful new book "Focus On Appliqué". We also organised to meet up with the Gisborne girls, Tania, Marg and Tracee.

Marina and Irene in front of Irene's newest project, "A Paradise of Birds".

Of course there was shopping and Anne was trying to convince Marina to share her voucher. And do you think that she would?

Of course I bought a book. With 13 beautiful projects, how could I resist?

We ended the day with a very long and leisurely lunch, and made plans for another get together in the near future.

We last saw the Gisborne girls at the Sunbury Stitchers Quilt In on June 13th.

The Sunbury Quilters always put on a fabulous event.

I was trying to get a photo of Sue while she wasn't looking.

The Quilt In was just after my swap pincushion arrived from Fiona, so of course it had to come with me so that I could show the girls.

Prior to this outing, we all met at the Gail Pan sewing day on March 28th.

Shez was there too.

 I suppose some one had to be the teacher's pet.

A final photo to remember our day in Narre Warren.

I bought Gail's "Pear" pattern and here is my version waiting to be quilted. 

Mini milestone #4

Pincushion Swap and MSG

Oooops, life got busy again, throw in a few computer problems and days turned into weeks turned into months.

Recently a special parcel arrived. I was part of a 'Pincushion Swap' organised by Susan and I was very lucky to receive a much anticipated gift from Fiona.

A small parcel it was not!

Inside was this beautifully made pincushion with the lot!

Delicate little heart pins decorated a pretty wool applique panel with a ladybird for good luck.

A hexagon panel featuring a small needle case with the smallest little bee button I have ever seen.

Another side held a new and very sharp pair of scissors and my final surprise was a cute little pocket full of goodies in the care of a sweet little mouse.

Thank you so much Fiona. I assure you it is being used and has been shown off to all my sewing buddies. 

My swap partner was Sue. I joined 5/16" hexagons into a pear shape (Gail Pan pattern) and appliquéd them onto a linen background. I was relieved when Sue emailed to say that it had arrived safely.

Thanks Susan for taking the time to organise this swap.

My pin cushion was inspired by the quilts I saw at an exhibition of the work of Margaret Sampson-George and her students at Linda's barn in late March. 

Here is a very small sample of the work on show.

Beautiful baskets.

Lots of shapes in vibrant colours.

Two of the pears that caught my attention.

I bumped into Shirley's friend Rosemary who was visiting from England and Sue-Anne, also admiring the beautiful work on show.

It was a wonderful exhibition and we all left bursting with inspiration.

If you want more, there are some wonderful photos to be found on Broderie's blog here and here.

A Day With Irene

This year I have set myself two goals.

One was to attend a class with Irene Blanck.

I will reveal the second if it happens.

So, last Saturday I headed off to Patch N Quilt in Gisborne for my class with Irene.

Irene's clamshell quilts

The class was an opportunity to work with Irene on one of her projects. I wanted learn how Irene plans and makes those beautiful quilts so full of colour and lots and lots of appliqué.

Having many UFO's on the go already, I couldn't commit to another big project. So, Irene kindly drew me one of her little birds and at different times during the class, she shared her sewing secrets with all of us. I managed to finish my little fabric picture for a small needle case cover.

Irene suggested some hexagons as a finishing touch.

So that evening, at home, I started playing with some ideas.

There has to be a spotty border.

No final decisions yet but I enjoyed myself immensely moving out of my comfort zone.

And of course, there was the compulsory shopping.

Thank you Irene, and fellow work shoppers, for a lovely, lovely day.

Stars, stars and more stars ...

Another little milestone achieved - 

15 more hand pieced stars to add to the collection.

Mini Milestone #3

I was inspired to start this project mid 2013 after seeing Susan's beautiful star quilt.

I wanted one too.

I have made 85 stars so far.

I will need about 120, so it might be time to start thinking about the setting.

I was originally thinking about this setting .....

..... or maybe on point.

Then I saw a photo somewhere on the internet and thought that this might work.

Yes, I think this might be the one.

A Surprise and Mill Rose

The most delightful and unexpected little surprise flew in from Susan. This little bird is so tiny and very, very cute.

A big, big thank you Susan, he will oversee all sewing projects from now on.

On the weekend it was time to travel to Mill Rose again.

A much quieter day than normal with a few absentees.

The gifts were of the highest standard as always.

Christine with her gift from Marg.

Helen with her surprises.

Kim with her gift from Christine.

Marg's gorgeous picture from Anne.

Lastly, Shez showing us her selection of gifts.

Lynn's show and tell was her gorgeous hexagon quilt.
So many stitches and hours invested in this beauty.

Another wonderful day that finished way too quickly.

 No milestones this post, but another block to add to the sampler.

 Hope to keep the slow and steady progress going.

A Little More Progress

Another Mini Milestone has been completed.

Mini Milestone #2

It may not seem like much to you but take into account that this block took over 2 years to complete!

This was a sampler that I started early in 2012 and introduced it here. I intended to work on this one last year but not a stitch was sewn. Now this UFO is alive again and growing slowly.

Progress so far .....

Funny, when you put a UFO away for awhile, it doesn't sing to you anymore.

I know Christmas is over but I didn't show you the lovely decoration that Marina gave me.

I also found room on the tree for the cute little bird that Shez made just for me last year.

We recently celebrated my husband's birthday and the caterer did not let us down.

We were happily eating paella for several days after the event.