Addicted to Fabric - Canberra

Addicted to Fabric is a wonderful store owned by Jenny and Noel in Canberra. It is filled with the most beautiful range of fabrics for both quilting and dressmaking and is managed by Kerry and Samantha. The class was filled with very enthusiastic students. I was amazed at how much they accomplished and how different all their work was.

Jenny had an amazing assortment of ribbons and buttons which many of the students used in their blocks.

Some worked in cottons as well as stitched them creatively on the machine.

I loved that each student started with a different block. It was very inspirational and many ideas were collected throughout the two days.

Some worked with hand dyed velvet and silks as well as embellishment yarns.

Judy has worked up many of my patterns over the years and also teaches some of my quilts. I was delighted that she brought this great quilt of hers to share. She made her quilt out of her own hand dyed wools.

I love to see other variations of my designs. This Flowerbed quilt was made by Judy from

Canberra.

And this Folklore quilt was made by Annette from Sydney. She took the main theme and gave it her own personnel twist. I just love what she is came up with.

It was a pleasure to meet many people I have communicated with via email and now can put faces with names.

I was very fortunate to see Kerry's wonderful quilt all done on the machine.

I thought Jason would be very envious to see what we got to ride in each morning.

Many thanks Jenny, Noel, Kerry and Samantha for making both Wendy and I feel so welcome.

Our visit was short but we will have fond memories.

Creative Stitching

Sue and Wendy

Living it up in Melbourne

We have spent a couple of lovely days with Jenny. Yesterday she kindly took us on a day trip down the great ocean road. We loved the views of the pristine beaches and did have a little walk along the beach. The sand was so soft and the weather could not have been better.

We stopped for a fish and chip lunch and then headed down to the ferry which carried us across the bay. The woolies had to come out for the ride across but the views were great. The fur seals made a brief appearance alongside the boat. A great day of sunshine and fresh air.

The day before Jenny and her husband took us to the Healesville Animal Sanctuary where we enjoyed the local and very sleepy wildlife.

The koala was cooperative but the kangaroos refused to stand upright. I think it was way too hot to expend any energy. We enjoyed looking at all the mammals and marveled at how different they were from the African animals we know so well. When we were driving along the great ocean road we were rewarded with a lovely site of a family group of kangaroos. This time we saw them just in time before they settled for a snooze under the trees.

Of course you cant forget the birds and we loved this guy, the Kookaburra.

We finished the day off with wine and fine dining. The vineyards of the Yarra Valley were beautiful, lush and green. A reminder of the recent bush fires scar the hills in the distance. It was a very humbling experience.

Thinking of you all.

Wendy and Sue

Happy Easter from Melbourne

Happy Easter from Down Under. It is a beautiful morning here in Melbourne. We are having a wonderful few days off taking in this beautiful city. Yesterday we spent the day walking around town. Even though it is fall here there is still wonderful color everywhere you look, a little contrast from winter in Ohio. It reminds me so much of South Africa.

There is a large French influence here. Wendy and I stopped at a French Bakery for a latte and could not resisted this small chocolate mouse cake.

As you know I love polka dot fabric and had to have this cake which reminded me of the Japanese honeycomb dot fabric I just bought at Amitie the day before.

Here is another glimpse at the wonderful architecture in Melbourne. There are many arcades and ally ways that have many cafes and stores. Each one has great character. Here we found a great glass roof and mosaic floor in the same arcade.

Around the corner was another ally way full of graffiti.

Today we are off to the museums and an outdoor market. Wendy has been educating me about Australian jewellers so as you can imagine I am in big trouble as many pieces I have seen have needed to return home with me. The style is earthy and organic and very appealing.

Speak to you soon

Sue

Melbourne

We moved into a self catering apartment in the city center of Melbourne today where we get to stay till Thursday. It looks like we will be enjoying the many art and craft venues that this city has to offer. Today we had a nice walk around town and stopped in to see the beautiful tile floor of St Paul's Cathedral.

This sculpture caught our fancy and reminded us of the critters we left at home.

A few people had told us that this city is known for its streetart and when we came across this area we could see why. We enjoyed the scale of it and loved the mass of color. Of course we thought of Jason and how much he would have loved all this as we meandered through the streets. I loved that even the trash bins were covered.

Tomorrow we are off to a craft market and I am sure we will be inspired.

Thinking of you all.

Wendy and Sue

Amitie - Melbourne

We were met at the airport by Jenny Kingwell, director of Amitie in Melbourne. We arrived just in time for lunch and a quick visit to the store which is lovely. It was not long before Sue had acquired a new little stash of fabrics to take home with her. Jenny has a beautiful selection from which to choose. After settling into our B&B we had a nice Vietnamese dinner and got ready for Day 1 .

On the first morning we were welcomed by 18 enthusiastic quilters. All were ready with their large stashes of wools, cottons and linens to begin cutting and reassembling a block into their own color palette.

They all concentrated on appliqueing their block so we could have a foundation to embellishment the following day.

Here is a fabulous color selection from Gina and Amanda.

Carol worked on doing bullion's and Lynn work with velvet and mastering applique.

Kelly added her own elements to her block.

As you can see the blocks were stunning. All very individual and quiet unique.

Wendy caught me here trying on my new cardigan I purchased from one of the girls in the class. I just adore her work and also love the fact that it is all wool!

Jenny the store owner is a very talented lady and I had to post a picture of her new BOM which she has been working very hard to finish. This will be available on her website in the next few weeks. http://www.amitie.com.au/

Having fun in Australia!

Sue and Wendy

Material Obsession Visit

Today we spent some time at the store in Sydney called Material Obsession and Sue was able to meet some talented quilters. We got to see some of the quilts from Material Obsessions book one.

Another one from their about to be released book two.

We also got a sneak peak of a quilt Kathy is working on for a new pattern. This one might finally turn me into a quilter! Maybe I can put that pile of dyed wool scraps to use.

Sues Ginger Grove was hanging on the wall, a spectacular rendition done by Kate out of Japanese fabrics. Hanging next to it was a quilt composed of some of Sues blocks interpreted by Kathy's friends and given to her as a fiftieth birthday gift.

It was wonderful to just hang around, to meet you all and to share all your wonderful work.

We hope someday to see you all again.

Wendy and Sue