One Weekend - Two Quilt Shows (Part 2)

As promised, here is the post about my trip to Maleny in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Not very sunny today but at least we didn't have any rain while we were out.

The drive there was beautiful.  So much scenery to take in but nowhere to stop and take photos. I took this through the windscreen hoping to show how steep the area is.

We had a bit of a nasty incident  when we got into Maleny which threatened to spoil the whole day but we got over it. All I am going to say is that there is someone out there who definitely needs anger management classes.

Eventually we found the showground pavilion and the quilts were well worth the drive.  Apart from the difficulties taking photos (the aisles were so close together), there was lots to photograph. Several collages to follow.

so much stitching in the bird on this pic....and there were about 12 different varieties of bird on the quilt

the baskets above were paper pieced and each one was differently pieced.  some were the tiniest little squares....and so neat.

I loved the cat quilt in this selection but gave my viewers choice to the William Morris Design. The applique was exquisite and I also loved the colours.

The Lynette Anderson "home sweet home" quilt  above was very sweet and I think I might source the pattern and do it myself

I really loved the stripped quilt above.  It was so eye catching with the bright spring fabrics and I thought the addition of the ruffles was very clever and different.

The optical illusion quilt set in caleidoscopes was amazing and I awarded this my 2nd viewers choice award (which really belonged to Hubby). It was so well done that I struggled to see how the blocks were pieced together.

Yes, I really had a good time at this show.  Hubby and I had a toasted sandwich and coffee in town and I took some photos of this gorgeous little cottage garden outside the shops.

sweetpeas

foxgloves

And then back home with a detour to admire the scenery

Extinct volcanic plugs making up the Glasshouse Mountains

my "ticket" to the quilt show

I hope you enjoyed my journey.  The next quilt show will be at the Brisbane Convention Centre, mid October and that will be the last for the year.
 

Sunday Beauty

I am off for a drive to Maleny today for more quilting yumminess. Hubby is going along for the drive so i am going to pack a few sandwiches for us to eat at one of the many off road picnic spots up there and we can make a day of it. Hopefully the rain holds off during that time.

In the meantime, I am going to leave you with some photo's from my garden.

We have never planted Petunias in our garden but the neighbours across the road and two houses up have a whole flower bed full of them.  Seems some of the seeds have flown over have moved in here.

I just love this pretty little pink trio soon to be joined by a few more blooms.

 There are also daisies growing in our front lawn which is new aswell.

Hope you see the beauty in your Sunday.......till later,


 

One Weekend - two Quilt Shows - Part 1

What a weekend to look forward to with two days of lovely quilty goodness! I headed off to the Nundah Village Group Biannual quilt show this afternoon.

At one point I wasn't sure if I was going to make it as there were a few obstacles, one of which was being unable to back my car out of the garage, but my boys came home eventually and parked themselves in front of the telly to watch the AFL Grand Final  (Go the Hawks!!) and I found the opportunity to do my own thing.

Not far to travel today and infact the church hall where it was held is only a street away from where I work. I really thought this quilt show was worth while and there was lots to see and quite a few that I swooned over.  Due to the number of photos, I have collaged them for you.

 There was one that really caught my attention - a) because I am planning a similar design for a layer cake that I have been hoarding; and b) I recognised it as possibly being done by someone I know.

 Yep, Maureen made this quilt to showcase her Japanese fabrics. She used a quilt as you go method to join them and her quilting looked lovely.  I gave this quilt my "viewers choice" vote.

Tomorrow I am driving up to Maleny which is a hour + journey but a lovely drive so hubby has been convinced to go with me.  Catch up wth me tomorrow for some more quilty goodness.
 

Sweet Angels of mine

When I was looking for applique items to photograph, a few days ago, for Asked and Answered, I came across these little blocks.

Back in 2007, during the time I was still part of the Kelly Girls Quilting group, we had a swap.  Each participant was given an angel pattern which is really three hearts (one for the wings, one for the body and one for the head) which we then embellished any way we wanted, added a little saying and our name. We had to make one for each person who was in the swap.  At the end of year Christmas party each participant was given their angels and could use them however they wanted.

Here are a couple I had left over from the ones I made, I guess I overestimated the number I had to make but then at least I get to include the ones that I made with the ones that I received.

 And another couple of my very favourites from two of the sweetest ladies I have ever met...Audrey and Kay.

I think it is time to sew them together. I am going to make a very simple little wall hanging without sashing but I will be sewing some rick rack along the seams to separate the blocks.

 All done, now what about a small border.  I was thinking about  one with small pink and purple pansies and then I remembered that I had this one....A whimsical stripey fabric.

 Now for a bit of FMQ, I haven't done this for awhile so it was a wobbly start but I really enjoyed it once I got back into the swing of it.

All finished and look, I folded the rest of the stripey stuff back onto the mini bolt and put it straight back on the shelf.

Linking in to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Pass It Forward Closure

Last week I posted about a parcel that I sent off to a PIF recipient. Well, that parcel has reached it's destination so I can blog about it now.

I sent this little gift off to Kaye from Kitten Stitching.  Are you wondering what it could be?

First I gave a big hint when I popped this into my post a few weeks ago

Then I showed a little peek of what I was making a week later....here's a reminder?

I

 Well this is what it ended up being

Kaye sent me an email today and she really likes her little surprise.  But wait, that's not all.....there were two little packages.  I found this cute little tin while out one day and had to add it

and this little notepad too

and to complete the package, I also popped in a fat 1/4 but forgot to take a photo of that.

This PIF was so much fun and I am glad I took part.

I don't think I am going to be able to fulfill my obligation to Jenny of Living, Crafting & Quilting.  I finished her gift back in July and have tried to contact her a few times for a snail mail address without a reply.  She hasn't posted on her blog since January so I am at a loss about what to do next.  I just hope she is ok. 


I am in the middle of quilting a little quilt tonight so till next time.....

  XXXXX

Good Old Blighty - Tuesday Treasure

I am sure I have mentioned it many times already but if you are new to reading my blog then let me fill you in. I am a dinky di Aussie these days but I was born in Yorkshire, UK and have a very deep affection for all that is English.

 London has to be one of my all time favourite cities. I love, love, love the street markets, the galleries and museums, the historical sites, the West End Theatres, travelling on the underground, the red double decker buses, red post boxes and red telephone boxes, traditional pub lunches and Union Jack bunting. I have lived in Australia for half my life now but good old Blighty flows through my veins and I think of that in itself as a huge treasure.

When there last year on holiday with Miss M, I decided to bring back something to remind me of these things that I love so much and evoke such nostalgic memories of times past that I have holidayed there.

   The phonebox is disguised as a teapot and the postbox is really a pencil sharpener. I love these two little treasures and they greet any visitors because they sit in the hallway with other little treasures from places I have been.

If you have a treasure you want to share, head on over to Melody's The House on the Side of the Hill and join in the fun.  

  xxxx

The week that was

What with the outing to Toowoomba and a lot of traipsing around last week to find suitable threads, fabric and tools to start on Betsy's Closet, it doesn't seem as if I achieved very much this week.

I am happy to announce, however, that block one of Betsy's Closet is complete.

I managed to do some stitching on block 5 of Edwardian House but I suddenly found myself without DMC thread # 3709 which will mean another trip to that dreaded Spotlight store.  I really wish my LQS stocked DMC.

 {not enough done to warrant a photo}

I have completed one line of the wording on the Bric-a-Brac stitchery and have really enjoyed doing something a little different such as lettering but still don't think it is exciting enough to be photographing just yet.

 {no photo}

Remember my Cherry Blondie post? Well I was saying that next time I try the recipe, I would use dark chocolate instead of white chocolate.  The opportunity came around sooner than I expected and I did exactly that, creating a "Cherry Brownie", for a going away do at work.  It got rave reviews and I had to pass on the recipe to a few more fans.  Fortunately, I know it off by heart now.

I hope you all had a good week doing whatever you love to do.

  Linking in to Sew Many Ways

Off to Toowoomba we go - Part 2

I love The Village Green at Highfields (just outside Toowoomba) on the range.  The Chocolate Cottage is where we had lunch, no chocolate involved but plenty of salad, and a cup of much needed coffee. All the shops on the Village Green are old timber buildings (queenslander style) and the inside of the Chocolate Cottage which is also a gift shop is furnished with tables surrounded by handpainted chairs.

Inside the Chocolate Cottage

If you are feeling a bit musical, you could always play a tune on the piano on the veranda for the lunch time crowd.

After lunch we wandered down to the Quilters Angel. This is one of my top 5 favourite quilting shops and it's one of those shops that is so beautifully set out that you don't want to leave incase you miss something.  I did buy some fabric for a little boy quilt that I already have a pattern for.

There are a couple of new shops at the Village Green since I was last there.  A lovely French inspired gift shop and doll shop as well as the other gift shop that was there before.  We had a browse through all of these shops, lingered more in some than others.......mmmmmm, OK, I confess.......I did buy a few more little goodies.

The Village Green sits on the edge of the range looking down into the Lockyer Valley.

bit of a hazy view today

Suddenly it was 3pm and time to leave so we could get home before dark.  Hang on....where are my car keys? I tip my handbag out on the nearest flat surface but definitely no car keys.....oh-oh, it's a long way for Hubby to drive with the spare keys.  Marylin suggested we ask at our lunch venue as I vaguely remembered that I probably left them on the counter when I paid for lunch. Ta-da....thank goodness, they had kept my keys safe and sound for me. No further incidents on the way home, so we got home within the 2 hour time frame.