Back home

I have been tripping around the past week. Last week I went to Sydney and then on the weekend up to Toowomba to "Precious Time" teaching.
The girls were working on a variety of things, but a large group were commencing my BOM quilt"Stonefields"
I am nearing the end of it, a few blocks left to applique,two borders of the flying geese to make and a few more hexagons to make. All going well it should be ready to send off to Ireland at the end of February as planned.
I am borrowing a few photos from Lisa's blog at Precious Time

Lisa had a brand new design wall, so we christened it with the Stonefields blocks

Trish brought along her Ann Daggs. I had quilt envy as I have a few days of applique to finish mine. This was a quilt I did as a BOM several years ago.

I arrived home with finishitis so decided I will finish my "Little Sparrow" quilt for summer school. I have just a few pieces left to applique so I am planning on having it appliqued and quilted by January for our show and tell.

Meanwhile I am making my two quilts for summer school.
After a year of nothing but quilting, I am looking forward to a year when I can do a bit of knitting and crochet again next year. There are some beautiful knitting patterns around for children so the little girls I knit for, Mabel,Clemence, Imogen and Audrey might all have something special next year.

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!

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.