And so it begins!

Well, I made it! I was happy in my groove at home, enjoying my friends and sewing time, looking forward to the balmy autumn weather but no, it is time to travel. So, after procrastinating over packing and dreading a long flight Top Gear and I are languishing in Amsterdam. After all the angst, I managed to pack in a couple of hours and our flight was comfortable.......it helps that the second leg our plane was only 2/3 full and I got to lay full length over four seats!
Amsterdam is as beautiful as I remember it! It is a city with a bit of a vibe, old but modern, lively but quiet, busy but relaxed, traditional but stylish. Our hotel is just a few streets back from the main centre and overlooks a canal but it is quiet, just lovely. This is the view we wake up to each day......



The first day we just wandered.......taking it all in! We ended up at the Rijks Museum, perusing the art of Rembrandt, Van Gogh and their friends! When our legs got tired we took a canal boat home!



Day Two I was on a mission......I had walked past Den Haan and Waganmaker, the Dutch fabric shop, the previous day but it was early and still closed so I timed it better the second day. I spent a lovely hour or so perusing their shelves and chatting to the lovely ladies. It was impossible to leave without buying chintz........



so this kit is coming home with me!
Next stop was Top Gear's choice, so we headed of to the famous Gasson Diamond factory to see diamonds being cut. Apparently this old Jewish company are world famous for the quality and cut of their stones and jewellery. I may have made another small purchase here too......but enough said except "thank you, my darling husband!"
The day was bright and sunny and my day sparkled in so many ways.
It was a pretty afternoon just relaxing by the canals!



The next day we awoke to the sound of gentle rain and it was the day we had booked to go to one of the top destinations in the world.....The Kuekenhof Tulip Gardens!
Forget the rain, it was still beautiful. Although we were early in the season there were enough tulips to ooooh and ahhhh over. The gardens are immaculate



and the colours are spectacular!


There were swathes of colour at every turn!



I even got to be a little Dutch girl........well, the giant clogs helped with the "little"!




And yes, the sun came out just as we were leaving!!
Last stop for the day was the Amsterdam museum and I was quite taken with the carpet in the entrance hall......have to say I quite liked it!



Stay tuned for more adventures.......only six and a half weeks to go!
Happy Stitching!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Day trip to Avalon

What could be better than a day out with a friend, well, that would have to be a day out with a friend to a quilt show and a quilt shop!
Last weekend Cardygirl (sorry, this app won't do hypertext, so google it!) and I headed south to a beautiful part of the world to visit the Avalon Quilters annual show. It was a happy, easy day and lots of fun.
First stop was, of course, a lovely quilt shop....Cottage Quiltworks. It was necessary to stock up on some essentials, such as beautiful fabrics, a cute sewing box and some thread.



We then spoilt ourselves with a healthy lunch at one of the local cafés before heading off to the Quilt Show.
It was a good little show. There were a diverse range of quilts and it was easy to see these girls love what they do with individual style.
I loved the quilting on Jan Powell's beautiful quilt. She had made it her own with quirky appliqué and endless, meandering and doodling quilting.




I know the photo is not very clear but you can get the idea!



There was a little bit of everything, from quirky......



To pictorial...........



To traditional.........



This one by Kerry Dear of "Candied Hexagons" fame.
Even the sale table yielded some treasures. A new sewing pouch and nifty needle keeper came home with me.



We were warmly welcomed by the friendly ladies and even scored an invite to a sewing get together in the future! We'll hold you to that invite, Jan!
The whole day made me smile and I feel lucky to belong to the community known as quilters!
Happy Stitching!


Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A Generous Chance Encounter

You will have read from my last blog post that I have been on a road trip to Canberra. Along the way, Top Gear obligingly stops at any patchwork shops I want . One such stop was The Craft Depot at Pennant Hills. There I found a fat quarter of a bright, acidly, limey yellow floral. I wanted more, so with it clutched in my hand I proceeded to peruse the shelves for meterage. Alas, none was to be found and staff said the computer wasn't showing any left!
Up stepped Marianne! She had been eavesdropping on my search and went on to tell me she had about 2.5 m of it in her stash and that I could have it if I wanted. I wanted!!
She apologised that she had already cut it into four wide strips but it didn't suit the project she had bought it for and would probably never use it so she would send it to me.
I gave her my details but I honestly thought I would never receive the fabric.....she was just being nice.
She was truly nice. I arrived home a few days later to find a parcel waiting for me, just as she promised.



How very, very generous. Thank you so much Marianne. It has confirmed my belief that quilters are truly the best people on earth.
The red and white fabrics I collected on my trip have turned into a container of hexies!



I am thinking a simple Grandmother's Flower Garden project to take on the next overseas jaunt, looming fast! The background will be hexified too, but thinking......
maybe this........




Or this.........



I do like the yellow and I want it to be a bit out there, colour wise.
Sensible me, will probably choose this..........



I pondered green for a while but the blue draws me back!
Anybody like to help?


Decisions, decisions........ I think it really is all an avoidance tactic for packing clothes. Why ,oh, why can't we board a plane in our PJs then wake up refreshed at the other end with our bags packed with exactly the right clothes for the climate. I need to be 5 again, where all I had to do was pick my favourite toy to take ( now my sewing) and then Mummy does all the rest!!
Still a few days yet, no need to panic!!!!!
Happy Stitching


Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A Cultural Interlude

Last week Top Gear and I had a quick trip to Canberra. I can't say I was looking forward to it as it sounded a bit like a school excursion to me.
To soothe my cranky soul, he detoured via Berrima on the way to Canberra......but it backfired because Berrima Patchwork is closed on Tuesdays. I had to suffice with a luscious lunch at The Magpie Cafe.....with cake for dessert!
There was a full agenda in Canberra. Treasures of the Incas at the National Gallery, Ancient Maps at the National Library, the War Memorial, Parliament House, the Telstra Tower........the list went on and on.



The War Memorial was my favourite place. I even managed to find my grandfather's name on the roll of honour and left a poppy for him! It pleased me to report back to my 89 year old Dad that I had done this.
The Telstra Tower was pretty good too! It was good to get perspective over Canberra and surrounds.



The map exhibition was intriguing, maps from Dampier, Tasman and Cook and how they finally pieced our coastline together.......no photos allowed
To be fair, I did enjoy it but my brain got tired........but Top Gear knows how to fix that. Time out here was the perfect pick me up.



This shop has a great range of fabric...... I managed to add to my stash of red and white fabrics.



All in all, we had a great few days and to top it off Berrima Patchwork was open on our way home!
Happy Stitching!



Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Dreaming in Colour

This weekend was big......well, big for me anyway! It was the weekend for colour, fun, friends and quilty inspiration. This weekend was the Kaffe and Brandon Big Bang workshop in Sydney........ YAY!
First stop for the weekend was our regular quilt meeting, not to be missed because it was the first month of the Churn Dash swap. Ten blocks the same in and ten different blocks back.....a fantastic way to get a great variety of fabrics!



Job done and off to Sydney for the evening lecture on colour inspiration by the colour guru, Kaffe Fassett. It was just awesome to be in the same room with so many people whose work you admire!



Kaffe and Kathy to name just two!


Drinks and nibbles, book signing and rubbing shoulders after, with amazing harbour views.....my friends and I were very happy!



After a not so good sleep, hotel stuff up, long story......we were ready for the Big Bang
Workshop. It was overwhelming, awesome, tiring, inspirational, daunting, exciting, perplexing and just plain fabric fun!
We just cut and played, re- arranged and cut some more......no sewing, just working on design walls with Kaffe and Brandon offering suggestions and words of advice all day. I thought I was going ok because I mainly just got "okay" and " good job" from Kaffe and once he stepped in to re-arrange a few rows for a better result. Brandon would stop by to offer me his choices but blue just wasn't gonna work for me!



By lunch time I had this on the design wall.......



I felt like I was going slow because the rest of the room looked like this........



One of us even needed to have a little rest and let the experts step in to help out!



By the end of the day I was happy! Kaffe's critique included words like "smouldering" and "hot" ( referring to my design wall, not me, of course, easy to confuse I know, haha). It was just the effect I was hoping to achieve!



It was a hugely fun day. I think I learn't a lot but I need some time to let it all sink in.
More photos of others people's Big Bang next time!
Happy stitching




Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Just pottering along!

Things have been quiet on the home front lately. Our youngest son has just started his first full time job as a civil engineer. He leaves early and gets home for dinner. I miss all the coming and going, needless to say the dogs get lots of attention!
On the sewing front I have just been pottering along. I am preparing fussy cut stars to sew on our next trip......we are off to Amsterdam in a few weeks.


I don't know what they are going to be made into, I am hoping inspiration hits as I sew along.
I have also been playing with fabric combinations in preparation for the Kaffe Fassett workshop coming up next weekend.
Which do you like?
I have a modern palette......



Or, a richer, darker palette



Or a more restricted but out there citrus palette?




I am having a lot of trouble deciding so I might just have to take ALL OF IT!
I am sure all this will fly out the window once I get there and if I am hoping to learn to be braver with colours.
Secretly I have been harbouring a desire to start Camelot by Trish Harper and I think the modern palette would be perfect so might have to stash that for a rainy day.....decisions, decisions.
I am also getting close to my first finish for 2014. This potholder quilt only has a few more rows to add and the last lines of quilting to be done.....easy peasy!



So the plan is to just keep pottering along and see where my sewing takes me for a while......
Happy Stitching!



Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

What's Hot!

So........Xmas successfully done and dusted, youngest child's 22nd birthday done and dusted, seeing in the New Year done and dusted, parent's 65th wedding anniversary done and dusted, brother's 62nd birthday done and dusted......that's it..... now it's time to sew!
My regular once a month sewing get together was on again and it was lovely to just relax, chat and sew!
Chris turned up with this beauty.



She has been beavering away on these sunburst blocks for only a couple of months but she seemed to get this border done in no time at all......all hand done! Just lovely and made mainly from her stash.....clever girl.
Wendy was quietly stitching binding when we suddenly thought to ask what she was working on.....and this came out from under the table.



All 2.5 inch squares and a few little blocks and nine patches left over from other projects. A fabric delight! The back was almost as good as the front, too.



There was even a little clever mending done.



Then to really get back into the sewing swing of things, one of the evil fabric sisters came up with a plan! ROAD TRIP!
Last week we headed to Albury to Carolyn Konig's Quiltworks. It was a mystery quilt centre block and a sit and sew day......really, to be honest, I should say a sew and shop day! The shop was full of fabric delight.



We also learnt to appliqué a new way using stitch and wash and a nifty new appliquick tool. Much easier on the hands than needle turn or using freezer paper.
The centre block of the quilt starts something like this:


It will be very naive in style and I have a plan for a sawtooth border and lots of nine patches in the surrounds. It will evolve! I learnt a lot, especially in the preparation of broderie perse and am keen to add some to my quilt centre.
We had a great couple of days even though the temperature soared! It was 44 deg at 5:30 on one of the afternoons. Thank heaven for air con. We just ran from one air conditioned space to another.
Here are my evil fabric sisters looking cool and happy at the workshop!


Now looking not so cool.......



Cathie still needs her socks to sleep in, even though the night temps never got below 30 deg. She must have the warmest heart EVER!



And Olga has a unique way to stretch her legs after driving for three hours......enough said!
It was an 8 hour drive to get there, 2 day workshop, then a day to get home....full on but great fun. Thank you my friends and especially she above, who did ALL the driving, a big effort, thanks.
Next quilty adventure......Kaffe Fasset.....so excited!
Happy stitching!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad