Done at last!

Over the past two months we have been building a garage/workshop/studio and updating the pool area and I have also been preparing for the opening of a pop up shop in Hornsby called The Artists Loft. A group of 15 members of ATASDA have been working hard to put this shop together and last night was or opening. It was a great evening with lots of visitors and a good number of sales.

My little quilt has been a fun adventure in something new for me both in matters of design and machine quilting. I am of two minds whether I want it sold or not. The next month I will be working at the shop once or twice a week an hopefully making more things for sale.

If the shop is a success we hope to do it again in April.

I hope also to spend some time relaxing by the pool in our lovely new area.

Bye for now.

Machine Embroidery

This is a photo of my leaf picture that I made in Meredith Woolnough's workshop. I was very pleased to be able to finish this piece and frame it at the workshop, thanks to Meredith's great teaching and encouragement.

My next workshop is screen printing with Lin Wilson tomorrow. I am really looking forward to this workshop and have possibly too high expectations of what I might achieve. Time will tell!

Life is hectic

Life is hectic! Sometimes I don't know where the time goes! Over the past couple of months we have been doing lots of things, some interesting, some ordinary, some exciting. A new car was the first project involving lots of research, test driving etc. I finally decided on a Ford Focus which I love. It is zippy, slightly sporty and lots of fun - it's great to finally have a reversing camera, sensors and a temperature gauge. After 12 years of driving the Camry, it is quite a change.

We have done some travel as well, going to both Canberra and Newcastle for weekends, and Ballarat for five days. These trips were lovely and we saw some interesting things wherever we went, met some interesting people and generally had a great relaxing time.

The machine quilting has been on the back burner a bit but I have finally finished quilting a quilt for Leah's new baby due in March - just have to bind it now. It was an interesting process as I did a different pattern in each square and Baptist fans in the border. It is by no means perfect but it is ok. There is a pile of quilt tops waiting beside the machine and I will gradually get them done.

A weekend away in Blackheath with my patchwork group was great - a lot was achieved and a lot of inspiration was gained from the work the other ladies were doing. I started to piece together an art quilt which I hope to sell - that is another story!

While this has been going on, I have also started babysitting my granddaughter Rachel while Sarah does a course. This has been a lovely time to bond with Rachel and watch her grow and change.

Our garage has been undergoing a transformation over the last week - or should I say a demolition and rebuild. It will eventually be a place for the tools and lawnmower as well as a studio for felting, dyeing and glass work. It is very exciting watching it progress. A deck around the pool and a pergola will complete the job. Can't wait for it to be finished and christen it with some felting and dyeing.

Last weekend I attended a workshop with Meredith Woolnough who taught us machine embroidery and resin with a view to embed some work in resin and some framed. It was a great workshop and Meredith is a great tutor. I will try to add a photo of the finished products soon (something I'm not good at doing). I am keen to use some pieces to add texture to both felt pieces and quilts.

My next task is to be disciplined enough to set up the studio well and get working on some pieces for sale at The Artists Loft at Hornsby, a pop up shop run by a group from ATASDA. We have the shop for a month from 25 October. There will be lots of interesting things for sale, the members of the group have many and varied talents from jewellery to clothing, scarves, painting, mixed media works etc. Check out the Facebook page to see what's happening - The Artists Loft NSW.

So, life has indeed been hectic. I look forward to some creative time and a bit of quiet relaxation at home once the building work is finished. Perhaps I will even get to post more regularly!

Holidays!

Relaxing in Mollymook, looking out over the ocean as it gets darker and darker. The surf has been filled with board riders this afternoon - a bit too cold for my liking.

Yesterday I attended a paper making workshop at Primrose Paper. It was great fun, although I'm not sure I will take up this hobby!

This was embossed with a doiley! I thought it was lively though possibly hard to write on.

We are off to dinner soon - out into the cold and wet but I'm sure the food will be good.

Fun times ahead

I think my life has finally quietened down enough that I can spend some time relearning blogging and post something interesting perhaps.

Today I took delivery of an HQ Sweet Sixteen to do some free motion quilting on a pile of quilt tops waiting to be finished. I attended a class at AQC in Melbourne with US quilter Debby Brown higheredhands.blogspot.com. She was an inspiration and a very giving teacher. We used the Sweet Sixteen in class and I was hooked. There was a great deal going so the machine I used was put on layby and we picked it up today. I am looking forward to becoming more confident and learning new designs and putting them to use in my quilts.



This quilt, Easy Street, was the mystery quilt designed by Bonnie Hunter that I started in November last year and finished ready for Eastwood Patchwork Quilters exhibition in April. It was then, of course, ready for the Sydney Quilt show at Darling Harbour, pictured above. It was quilted on an HQ Avanti 18 Long Arm Machine at Hobbysew Top Ryde. I learnt how to use the machine before going to AQC so that I could compare the two machines before purchasing. Needless to say I chose the Sweet Sixteen.  I just hope I have plenty of time to get to know the machine well and produce some quality quilting.

 

 

 

A Photo at Last!

My first photo upload! thanks to my dear IT expert.

This is a Sudoko quilt I made with fabric purchased in Millthorpe when I attended the Quilters' Guild of NSW Inc. Away Meeting in Orange. It was a great weekend away and this is a great memento of that time.

All I have to do now is quilt it! I am waiting to do a class with Debby Brown, a quilter from the US, who is coming to AQC in April. I am really looking forward to this class and am hoping to learn heaps before I think about purchasing a Sweet Sixteen.

I think I have had enough playing with the computer for tonight - time for bed.

Busy Busy!

Life has been hectic over the last few weeks. Christmas has come and gone in a rush. I have been participating in Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street Mystery Quilt - what a great thing and fun to boot. A new instruction was added each week for 7 weeks and a large number of people all over the world have been busy stitching strips, squares, triangles to make the bits that make up the quilt. All of my bits are sewn and about 2/3 of the blocks are now done. I have not finished it yet as we have had other things happening.

Last Saturday we had a baby shower for my daughter Sarah, organised by her very capable sister, Leah. It was a great afternoon despite the rain. Leah spent a lot of time making signs and bunting and generally being the hostess with the mostest.

We all thought that Sarah had at least 3 weeks to go before the birth of her child but the baby wasn't having any of that - Sunday morning and Sarah's waters broke and Monday morning she was induced. Lovely Rachel arrived at 4.38 on Monday afternoon. They are both well and seem to be settling in well together. Rachel is a real cutie and we are very proud of our daughter. Our next adventure is the learning to be grandparents.

I also spent the best part of Monday and Tuesday doing a workshop making a book in a box thanks to the expert tutor Peter Stanford. It was a really fun time and I enjoyed book making - not that I need another hobby to add to the list.

Now all I need to do with my time is work out to add photos to my blog! Maybe tomorrow.