Quilts in the Barn 2013

We had a fantastic day on Friday at Quilts In The Barn!  It was so much fun catching up with quilting friends and once again Linda and her fabulous helpers did a fantastic job.  The theme this year was "All About Chintz".  The quilts were magnificent and included quilts from the Quiltmania book "Promenade in a Dutch Garden".  There were also some beautiful antique quilts but unfortunately no photos were allowed.  On the shopping front,  Mary Koval was there, Leonie from the Quilted Crow and Di & Megan were in charge of all the beautiful fabrics available from Petra Prins.  So sit back and I hope you enjoy some of the photos that I took on the day.

I was particularly interested in how spectacular the border fabrics looked and also how the chintz mixed beautifully with the reproduction fabrics that we all have in our stashes.

 This was the section of the barn where Mary Koval was selling her wares - very popular!!!

This was one of the quilts Mary had for sale and it was lovely.  You can see all the antique tops for sale on the table below.  There were lots of individual blocks for sale and the most exquisite fabrics.

 I came home with this piece of fabric, dated 1870.  The red in it is gorgeous and I have a plan for it too.

I am planning to use it as a central panel in a quilt.

I also came home with this applique block, dated 1850.  It is 12 inches square and is going in a frame and then will be hung on the wall in my sewing room.  

This is the dutch fabric I bought and I think I am going to have lots of fun with it, the colours are gorgeous!

After the Barn, we made our way across the suburbs of Melbourne visiting quilt shops along the way and the following is the result of that shopping.  I actually got a bit of a shock when I saw how much I came home with.

Sue-Anne xxx

Finally a Finish!

 I actually have a finished (for me) project to show you!  This year our Saturday sewing group has a challenge to complete a quilt made from 1930's fabrics and I am very pleased to say mine is DONE!  

 Since my last post, I have been on a couple of adventures.  I went to P!NK  in Melbourne and spent a couple of days with my best friend.

 Two weeks later I went to Brisbane with the girls to visit the V & A Quilt Exhibition at the Queensland Art Gallery.  What a fantastic experience to see up close and personal all those famous quilts - absolutely stunning!

There were no photographs allowed in the gallery but I did take lots of photos of this little guy who was sitting near us at lunch.  He was soooo cute, his colours were amazing and he was quite friendly and not bothered at all by all the people.

We had a short stopover in Sydney on the way home and my son met me there for lunch.  We both had our first ever "Krispy Kreme Doughnut".  OMG they are so nice!  Lucky there isn't a shop at home, but I did go back and get some to take with me so that Howard could enjoy the experience.

 I felt compelled to make a new bag to travel with and this is it.  I had started making another one in red and white linen but whilst looking in the cupboard for something else, I found this fabric and knew that it just had to be made into this bag.

 I took a class at Avonleigh Country Quilting to learn how to put together these cute little Applecores.

And another class with Shelley learning how to string piece and make her "Wendy's Tulips" quilt.

I have been having fun with hexagons and dabbling in a little bit of Fussy Cutting.  These are for Hertfordshire.

And these are for St Neots Band Sampler.

If you are in the area, don't forget about Quilts in the Barn!  it promises once again to be an outstanding exhibition and all proceeds go to Breast Cancer Research.

 It's a very lazy Sunday in our house today and its been so long since I did a proper blog update, it has taken me all afternoon to download and upload photos, update the laptop because its been so long since I've turned it on etc etc.      I took these photos of Milo and Buddy at lunchtime when I started this and now, 4 hours later, they are both in the same position!  

Sue-Anne xxx