What's Happening Here - Not A Lot

The title says it all. We are in the middle of a heatwave here in north east Victoria and it is really sapping our energy. We are now into our fourth day of above 40c heat with mores to come, too hot to do anything. So in light of that, I have struggled to find photos to blog about but here goes anyway.

I have done a very small amount of work on Floral Beauty. As I have said before, I love working on this quilt.

I am still "going slow" with Phebe, lots of these dogtooth pieces to join together for the next border.

This is a block I purchased from Mary Koval when I went to Quilts in the Barn. I finally framed it and love how it looks on the wall.

My thoughts are with our fellow Australians inTasmania dealing with the terrible bushfires and I hope that wherever you are in this world, the weather is being a bit kinder to you.

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.

 

 

 

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

Where has the Time Gone?

It has been a month since I have blogged and I am amazed at how fast the time seems to be disappearing at the moment. 

Phebe has been consuming most of my stitching time and even though the progress is slow, I am loving every bit of it.

 I hand pieced all the dogtooth border and am now starting work on the next applique border.

See my fussy cutting?  I did a class with Di Ford at Threadbear last Sunday.  We had a fantastic day and I came home all inspired with renewed vision when looking at fabric.  I redid this flower through the week and have a couple more I want to change.  I was in "Phebe Heaven" as it was one of the quilts we got to study and she was hanging on the wall right behind my seat all day!!!!

I have been playing with a Sue Daley template.  A very cute little basket and I think I will stick to the red baskets.

This year, Jan and I decided we would join the Castlemaine Applique group.  We have a great time and get to see the most amazing quilts.  Meghan does a fantastic job of hosting and makes us feel very welcome.  

The above two photos are of the same quilt made by different quilters, Dorothy and Merri - absolutely stunning.

This beautiful quilt was made by Kerry.  The quilt is called "Queen Daisy" and is a design by Susan Smith, it is also another one I want to make one day.

I also finally got to meet Deb from "Needles Sticks & Hooks" .  We have been blogging friends for a while now and it was really good to finally catch up with each other.

We have also had a birthday this  month.  My beautiful big boy, Chris, turned 28 and here he is with his "Freddo Frog Ice Cream Cake", no pavlova for  him!

The weather has definately changed here and it is freezing.  These are the last of my roses till next Spring.  I love that striped one but I don't know the name, it always looks great in a vase with the other pink ones.

Sue-Anne xxx

Happy Easter & a Finish

 Irish Circles is finally finished! 

 Which now leads me back to Phebe.  I have conquered the Apple Trees and am pleased to say I have now finished the centre applique. 

 

I want to wish everyone a happy and safe Easter.  Our soldier boy is home for a visit and a well deserved rest so we will be having a quiet one, trying not to eat too much chocolate or too many hot cross buns!

Sue-Anne xxx

Slowly Settling Into The New Year

I am slowly getting back into a routine, sort of, after the hype of Christmas. I have managed to do a little applique - yes Phebe has reappeared and I am very proud of these little flowers! I have absolutely no vision when it comes to fussy cutting and even less patience with fiddly little pieces so I am sure you will understand how happy I was to get these little darlings stitched down.

I also made a cover for the ironing board.  When I had the Friday Girls over to make our little quilts (the I'm not going overseas quilts) back in October, I was very embarrassed at the state of the cover.  It has only taken me 3 months to replace it!  This is the first time I have made one and although it is a little rough around the edges I think it looks pretty good and next time I will have a better idea on how to have a better fit.

I've been sewing some clamshells too.  I think I only have about 7 rows to go so may decide to put my all into it and get it finished.  It would be nice to actually have something finished for a change...

I also managed a little fabric shopping at Needles & Pins at Warrandyte.  I had to go down to Melbourne on Friday with Nicholas to pick up his Drift car.  Its a bit of a long story but was down there getting a specialist tune up after the motor getting rebuilt.  I took him down, he was going to drive his car back  and I planned to do a bit of shopping before coming home.  Anyway, turns out there was a last minute problem with the car and Nic couldn't take it home so, off I headed to Needles & Pins with Nic in the passenger seat.  We get there and he says to me "Please don't be long, I have to be back home before tea tonight".  I replied "Don't worry, I don't know anyone at this shop".  I walked in and who do you think was there - Di Ford - of Phebe and countless other beautiful quilts fame!  We had a great chat.  Di and the Secret Sisters are featured in the next Quiltmania due out so make sure you get a copy.  

This week also saw the family get together for dinner to say goodbye to Nic.  He has headed back to base now after having a month off.  That's him above with Chris and Amy.  All major dinners in this family have to be a roast and Nic's favourite dessert is Pavlova.  Now I don't make pavlovas - my father has always made them and this Christmas there was a lot of discussion as to how to make the perfect pav.  I decided to give it a go and make one out of the Donna Hay magazine.  I was quite ambitious as it is a double layer pavlova (two cakes) but I was so happy with how it turned out, that I am claiming bragging rights for quite a while.

There was no beading or weeping, the crust was silky smooth, tasted divine AND

look at all that marshmallow in the centre of it!  I also made raspberry coulis (another 1st for me) and everyone had two helpings.  I hate to think how many calories are in it...

Even Buddy was wanting to see what was happening up on the table!

Sue-Anne xxx