road trips

This time of year is a really busy time for me, it's ballet season, birthday season ( we have seven birthdays in August in our family and extended family), summer school quilting underway plus a few roadtrips to Melbourne for doctor's visits and a few trips to Sydney for work. Somehow everything gets done and I enjoy the time to myself in the car, to ponder over what I am planning to make over the next few months.
I make many quilts in my head, few ever happen!

However, I am zooming along with my summer school quilt "The St. Neot Band Sampler". I am totally enjoying making it. I hope to have it almost completed when I go to Essendon Quilter's quilt in in two weeks time- Saturday 3rd September. I am the guest speaker and looking forward to it.

When I was in Sydney a few weeks ago, I said to Karen Cunningham, I was a bit stressed about getting two new quilts completed for summer school, but at this stage, I think its possible, so I hope to get started on the other one in about two weeks time. It will be just handpieced, no applique.

Meanwhile, Pleas, Christine's sister from New Zealand has emailed a picture of her finished "Little Sparrow Quilt". I have not touched mine since summer school. I'm jealous!

summer school

Firstly, Christine and I are both alive and kicking! Christine has her daughter and granddaughter visiting from Dubai at the moment. We meet most Saturdays at the Aspect school in Albury to sew, with lots of other girls who regularly came into our classes at the shop.
I have been doing a bit of sewing, a bit of knitting and lots of procrastinating over what I would make for summer school this year.
Karen Cunningham is running summer school this year in the Blue Mountains. We met up at the Sydney quilt show and discussed lots about what we were sewing etc. Karen is much more organised than Christine and I ever were. Summer school is going to be great!

I have made at least 100 quilts in my head for summer school but finally started putting my hands to some fabric the other day. I know lots of girls are wondering what I am making for summer school( I was too!!!) but I actually have done a bit of gluing this morning, so I have something to photograph.

The quilt is just a small quilt "The St. Neot band sampler". It will be in pinks and blues with little bits of greys and stone. I am hoping to get lots done over the next few weeks and will keep updating.

life after the shop

It has almost been a month now since we closed the doors of the shop. After a few days of cleaning out the old building and filling up our houses with everything, a new life has started. It feels quite strange for me. I had the first two weekends heading to Melbourne but this week I have got stuck into the cleaning up. The living room is so full of "stuff" even Douglas, one of our dogs couldnt find me in there a week or so ago. My deadline for cleaning up this room has been Easter, but somehow it might not get finished today.
meanwhile I have been doing quite a lot of knitting, but not a stitch of sewing. I have been thinking though of what I might do for summer school.
Karen Cunningham is taking summer school to the Blue Mountains. How exciting! Christine said to me the other day, she thinks she will go up and her sister said she thought she might fly out again. It will be like old times, without all the work, so we are very excited!
I have enjoyed my quilt thinking time and at this stage have several ideas, so as soon as Easter is over and the house empty of visitors, I need to start.
Christine's little granddaughter, Lucy broke her arm again a few days after we closed the shop, so she has taken up a bit of Christine's time as she missed the last bit of school, but when I went over to Christine's a few days ago, she also had some time off from sewing, but was about to start making some stars.

This month in Quilter's Companion magazine, is the special Civil war edition with the pattern of my little Civil war baby quilt. It is a great edition of the magazine with some really lovely quilts included.

Today I am going to try to sort out the problem of all the quilts I have at home. I need to have something built to house them!

happy easter and happy sewing, Susan 

new templates

Christine and I have been frantically trying to get everything done before we close our shop in a month's time. As that date approaches, I have been madly thinking of things I want to make in the future, and what I might need for the projects.
Last week I had to go to Melbourne to the doctor, so I made the most of the trip and had some new window templates made for fussy cutting.
I loved the little clamshell from the V&A museum quilt, so I had one of those cut to size, then a tiny little tumbler as I may as well cut out one of those quilts when I cut out the clamshell. Tumbler quilts make great hand projects.

At summer school Karen Cunningham was making beautiful little stars with her class, and it reminded me I needed a template to fit the 1 1/4" diamond, so I may as well get a 2" diamond template also, then the only one I didnt have that I use often is the 1/2" hexagon. So now I have them all, and maybe I might become fussy cutting addicted! There were so many wonderful little fussy cutters at summer school. BTW we do have these at the shop now in sets.

I also had a set of large circles made on three sheets. The sizes range from 1 1/2" to 5 1/2".
One of our most beautiful customers just made a gorgeous quilt for her granddaughter appliqueing circles onto 6" squares. She joined the fabric for the back of some of the squares and it looks divine, all in citrus colours. Christine and I are very tempted to copy!

....and some really gorgeous quilts

I am still going through the cd of the show and tell of our summer school. These are a few more of the gorgeous quilts we viewed

It is very nice as a teacher to see one of my students have this quilt all completed. "Stevie's Garden" is a huge task! But then again, I know of a few girls who have made two.

"The Wickersham Quilt" was such a wonderful quilt to make. We made our Wickersham quilts in a class over two years.  I still have to put my quilt together and applique a few of the side blocks. Its one of my quilts at the top of my list to finish this year.

Karen Cunningham brought out some of her quilts from past summer schools. "Bluebell" is one of the loveliest quilts we had at out summer schools

And this one "Yorkshire Dales" made from one of Karen's classes two years ago was a real stunner!

Happy quilting, Susan 

and more show and tell

I just have five minutes to spare so I will add a few more show and tell from summer school

Christine made this quilt and its a gorgeous scrappy quilt I think!

over the years in the shop, we have raised over $50,000 for different charities and great causes with raffles of different quilts. This fun and bright one is our current raffle quilt. we will draw the winner on the last day at the shop in March

and this circle quilt is part of Christine's addiction to circles following her "Eggs on Toast" quilt. The japanese border fabric is divine!

and some more show and tell

I dont think anyone remembered these old quilts "The Westtown Quaker Schoolgirl" quilts. This was based on antique family quilt and I love it. Christine loves her blue one. I wouldnt mind making this quilt again in something modern.

My "Sausage dog" quilt was made years ago for a bit of fun for an exhibition. I did not make a pattern and I have been astounded how many quilters own dachshunds and have asked for a pattern.

"Sweet Pea" was a popular quilt we had classes with a few years ago, but lately we have had quite a few  being finished. One person's finished quilt inspires another.

to be continued....

a bit of show and tell

Summer school is over forever and I think we have all almost recovered. It seems as if it were ages ago but I had to remind myself it was just last week.
The show and tell on the Wednesday night is a lovely opportunity for Karen Cunningham and I to see what the students have made with our patterns. Its also very inspiring for all there.

Because it was our last summer school, we brought out some of our old quilts that had been requested.

I will post a few here and update over the next few days

The first quilt is "The Mississippi Marriage Quilt", brought along by one of the girls. The middle quilt is my quilt, made about 10 years ago, and featured on the front of the pattern

and the third one, a summery version of this lovely quilt, again made by one of the attendees.

an era ends

It is so long since I have posted but life has been a bit more than hectic, with getting ready for summer school and I have been ill which has lead Christine and I to make the decision we are going to close the shop at the end of March. It has been sad telling everyone as they have arrived for summer school but Christine has wanted to retire and be free to visit her family a little more often, and at the moment I need to retire to deal with my health. But as we have told everyone, I will still do some teaching, I will still continue to make new quilts and I will still sell patterns and there will be hopefully some more time for blogging! Christine tells me she will be my "roadie" so we hope we can still get to see so many of the dear friends we have made in the shop over the past 11+ years.

Summer school is underway at the moment, Karen Cunningham arrived last night with some gorgeous quilts, old and new and the show and tell from the girls was wow! I hope to get some photos from one of the keen photographers, so maybe some show and tell on line in the next few days.

I have been teaching classes with my clamshell quilt, Swan Lake, Bird on a Wire and my new quilt "Little Sparrow". I managed to get it joined in the nick of time, all bar two sides of the sawtooth border.  I love it so I am looking forward to a few weeks of applique to complete it.