Another Year Has Come to Pass

As I reflect on the year that was, I am amazed at how many life experiences have touched us this year.  It has been a year of extreme happiness and intense sadness with everything else in between.  I am hoping for a year of less ups and downs next year, but most of all, I want my boy to come home safe and sound.

 

I wish all of my blog friends a happy, safe and prosperous New Year.

 

Sue-Anne xxx

Christmas Greetings

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, hope the man in red delivered!

Sue-Anne xxx

Extremes.......

 

This past month has been filled with the anticipation of a trip to Sydney.  We were there to celebrate a very special achievement by Nic.   It was a wonderful day, full of ceremony and auspiciousness (not sure if that is a proper word) and I am just bursting with pride at the moment.   As part of this special weekend, we decided to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  What a wonderful experience!  The views were spectacular and the engineering side of it was very interesting too.  I felt totally safe up there and could have spent the entire day on top, watching the world go by underneath.  I totally recommend the climb to anyone who is interested.

 

 

Another exciting piece of the weekend was visiting Adriano Zumbo patissier at Darling Harbour.  Amy and I had a great time, trying to decide on what to purchase, what to eat there.  I came home with the V8 cake and I think nearly every flavour of macaron that was available.

 

 

I have been a littled obsessed lately with macarons (those are mine pictured above) - I have lost count of how many I have made, trying to get them perfect each time, so to visit and taste test the master's was pure joy.

 

About the only serious sewing I have been doing has been on Phebe.  I have the applique border all sewn onto the centre and am now just finishing the applique in the corners.  There is no way this quilt is going to be finished by Christmas (maybe Christmas 2013??).

 

 

One thing I have made was this big sewing bag.  The applique design came from Quiltmania's Vintage magazine.  It was a cushion so I redrew it to the size I wanted and with help from Jan, made it into the bag.

 

After the extreme high of last weekend, we had a extreme low through the week.  Our home was broken into in the middle of the night and we were robbed whilst we were asleep.  Unfortunately Buddy (the not so "wonder dog") was asleep too and didn't hear a thing.

 

Sue-Anne xxx

 

I have had to turn on the comment verification as I have been getting heaps of spam.  I am sorry for the inconvenience, fingers crossed it will all die off soon and I can turn it off again.

 

 

 

QUILTS IN THE BARN 2012

They say a picture tells a thousand words so I will post the pictures because they say it all.  What a fantastic exhibition - Linda and her helpers have once again put on a wonderful show.

 

 

 

 

Sue-Anne xxx

 

Chester County Criswell Quilt

 

Last Friday, I was lucky enough to be invited to an Antique Quilt Viewing in Melbourne.  This quilt was the feature quilt of the day.  Sharon is the owner of this quilt and it has been passed down through her family.  The quilt is a Bridal quilt, made for Mary Criswell of Chester County, Pensylvania in 1852 by her close friends and family.  Sharon is reproducing the quilt as a BOM and you can follow the progress, learn about the individual blocks and the people who made them and sign up to participate here.

 

 

 

We were able to view the quilt up close and personal and I was amazed at how precise each signature was - I don't think I would ever be able to write that small and neatly on fabric.

 

Another point I found interesting was the quilting.  Each block was quilted once each around the outside and inside of the applique with no extra quilting over the background, quite different to how things are done today.  Many thanks to Sharon for sharing her quilt with us and also a big thank you to Linda & Bev for organising such a wonderful day.

 

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I have been sewing with a lovely group of ladies on Saturdays and at the beginning of the year we all had to name a quilt that we would have finished by the end of the year. I nominated "Phebe". I was feeling very confident seeing as Irish Circles was all but done and I wasn't going to let the 140 plus stars intimidate me - once I had the applique done, it would be a piece of cake - HA! I have just begun appliqueing the last border around the centre and I haven't even started a star....

 

 

The problem is that there are too many beautiful quilt patterns out there and I want to make them ALL.  I decided that I would make a couple of blocks from Irene Blanck's Floral Beauty pattern.  The trouble is that now I have started, I don't want to stop!!!  And because Quilts in the Barn is quickly approaching, I am inspired to make all the blocks in red and white.

 

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 Finally I want to say thank you to everyone who left a comment on my last post, it was a great comfort to me.

 

Sue-Anne xxx

 

 

 

 

Margaret "Peg" Burns

15.05.30 - 26.07.12

There's magic in a mother's touch

and sunshine in her smile.

There's love in everything she does

to make our lives worthwhile.

We can find both hope and courage

just by looking in her eyes.

Her laughter is a source of joy

her words are warm and wise.

There is a kindness and compassion

to be found in her embrace,

and I see the light of heaven

shining from my mother's face.

I love you Mum xxx

Where to Start ....

Michelle, Helen and I took ourselves to the Sydney Quilt Show.  This was a first for me and I had so much fun, I can't wait to go again next year.   The quilt display was fantastic and here is just a snippet of what was on display.

  

I am in love with the Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses quilt.  It is amazing how different each block looks with the use of fussy cutting and colour.

I could not come home without a few purchases.  It was so hard to choose which book to buy from the Quiltmania stand - I wanted all of them but settled on these.   I also found this beautiful piece of antique linen which will be perfect for the centre of the Hertfordshire Quilt by Megan Carroll.

Of course, no Show is complete without meeting fellow bloggers and look who I found on the way out at the end of the day!  Alison, Dzintra, Maree, Joy, Donna - it was great finally meeting face to face.

Buddy has celebrated his 6th birthday and has been very busy supporting my football team (Go Tigers!)

 I have been doing some sewing but not a lot to show as it is all fairly slow going.  I am in the middle of adding a blue row to my honeycomb quilt and I am still working on Phebe's applique borders.

Yesterday was the bi-monthly meeting of the Castlemaine Applique Group.   It was a wonderful day spent sewing, laughing and looking at the most amazing Show & Tell.  Here are a couple of photos from the day.  I apologise for not having information on who made them or what each one is called but as you can imagine, the quilts were coming out thick and fast and there was just too much oohing and aarhing.  Also, my photography skills were really really bad yesterday so there isn't a lot to show.

This quilt is called "Stevie's Garden".  Don't you just love that French General red on the border!

I don't know who made this quilt but there is a beautiful story that goes with it.  Each bird reminds the maker of a special friend from her quilt group.

This quilt is called Floral Beauty and is designed by Irene Blanck.  I did not catch the name of the lady that made it because I was too busy admiring it.  I bought this pattern a couple of years ago and now I really really have to make it.  The quilt was stunning and the photo does not do justice to the colours.

 Annette Blake from Fragrant Cottage was the guest speaker and shared her wonderful collection of quilts with us.  The above quilt celebrates and reflects on 25 years in Fragrant Cottage.

This quilt is an antique and I just had to show this to whet your appetites for Quilts in the Barn exhibition of red and white quilts in October, can't wait for that one!

Just imagine all the Show & Tell from the Castlemaine Applique Group in the one hall on display for everyone to see - wouldn't that be something!  Keep your eyes and ears open, something may be in the wind for next year....... that's all I am saying for now.

Sue-Anne xxx