Friday frills!

Frills just make me happy, don't know why! Working on this bag.And just one more Dear Baby Jane block; this is B10 Jud's Trophy. I am totally converted to the freezer paper method for foundation piecing. If you haven't given it a go, do yourself a favour! Tutorials for this method can be found here and here.

Chasing Dear Baby Jane

Trying to catch up with the Dear Baby Jane group again.B8 Water Lily - This block just about had me beaten. Had lots of trouble with the set-in seams. My first go was a disaster. I ended up stitching the seams by hand, something I have never done. And of course, I made the whole thing much harder for myself by choosing stripes! I think I would have given up the whole Dear Jane thing if I wasn't part of an encouraging group - thank you to all who have left comments for me, both here & on Flickr! B9 Tinker Toy - This came together much easier than B8 for some reason. It stretched a little in the centre along the bias seams, but it has pressed up OK. Just 2 more blocks to catch up on before Anina hits us with the first triangle - scary!

Stitching 'withdrawal'

Not much to report on the stitching front in the last few days - everyday life stuff has taken over for a bit. I am keen to catch up with my Dear Jane blocks ASAP. This is the only one I have done recently, B7 World Series:I am hoping the next few days will be less 'full' & will allow a little more stitching time. I find I get a bit 'edgy' (read 'psycho'!) when I don't get to stitch for a few days - it is definitely an addiction! I will leave you with some late-autumn 'Monsieur Tillier' roses from my farm garden.This rose has a long history, being first introduced in France in 1891. It is an old-fashioned tea rose, & has a unique salmon pink colour, unlike any modern rose I've seen. Another of my favourites!

I want one toooo Muuum!

What to do, when your mother creates a drop-dead-gorgeous quilt & you don't have a garden to photograph it in? Pop down to the local park, drape it over anything you can find & hope no-one is watching!Mum has been working on this single Irish chain quilt for a couple of years now & has just finished stitching the bind. It is for her own bed. This is the first quilt we have had professionally quilted, and the quilting is really beautiful - stippled all over, with a feather border. Photos of quilting detail here. Would make sleeping on a park bench quite classy, don't you think? Congratulations Mum - a beautiful quilt - don't forget to label it!

Unexpected famous person!

On arriving in Nundle last Friday we promptly headed out to Kerry's shop, Cottage on the Hill, for some desperately needed supplies - not! We walked through the door, and who should greet us but the lovely Janelle Wind! A few of us were commenting before the weekend on how fantastic it would be if Janelle were to come, being a good friend of Kerry's etc, but we decided that would just be too good to be true. Janelle is another well-established designer of Australian stitcheries & quilts. She previously designed under her label 'Simply Homespun' but has recently released a new range of patterns under 'The Janelle Wind Collection'. Her patterns are meticulously presented & she has a very fresh, uncluttered & modern style. Here she is, with Leanne Beasley & Rosalie Quinlan on either side.I have long been searching for a copy of Janelle's Frilly Dilly bag pattern. The search ended at Kerry's, closely followed by the purchase of suitable fabrics to make said bag!But the most exciting thing is that Janelle was on hand to help me choose the fabrics! We had a lovely time auditioning stripes & florals & spots & checks. She is a very warm & generous person, keen to help in any way. It was a delight to meet her. The fabrics are from an Australian range called 'A Day in the Country'. Janelle has used this range to make her new 'block-of-the-month' quilt which we were lucky enough to see 'in the flesh' at Kerry's shop. It is the most gorgeous thing - stitcheries & birdies & flowers, just beautiful. It will be released in shops soon.

Girls' Day in the Country

Apologies for being late in posting news of Nundle - lots of things to catch up on when I got home! Hope you're ready to make yourself a coffee as this post could be long!The little town of Nundle had no idea what it was in for when over 100 women descended upon it for Kerry of Cottage on the Hill's 'Girls' Day in the Country'. The early morning tranquility was short-lived as women from all over New South Wales & Queensland gathered excitedly for a day of stitching with Rosalie Quinlan & Leanne Beasley, doyens of Australian stitchery.Kerry & her band of helpers had decorated the local hall for us & spoilt us with hand-stamped name tags, coffee cups & wonderful bags of treats. Leanne & Rosie had prepared special projects for us to stitch. Leanne's was a very cute red work chook stitchery ...... and Rosie challenged us with some needle turn applique with her beautiful cushion:Rosie & Leanne were wonderfully warm & generous tutors, willingly sharing stories & their enormous expertise with us all day...... oohing & aahing over our versions of their patterns & happy to sign anything we asked them to! As if we didn't think they were wonderful before, doubly so now that we have met them in person! And then of course, we had a special privilege of seeing the originals of so many of Leanne & Rosie's designs. Wow, just beautiful workmanship & very inspiring. Detail of Leanne's amazing 'Flowers & Flutterbuys' ...... Rosie's beautiful punch needle designs ... ... intricate gorgeousness of Leanne's 'Butterfly Garden' ... ... and teeny weeny dollies, no more than four inches high of Rosie's. It was the most brilliant of weekends. I just want to stitch for the rest of my life! Thank you to Kerry for her faultless organisation of the event. And a big hello to the many friends, new & old, who made the weekend so much fun. To Leanne & Rosie, an enormous thank you for giving up a weekend with your families to be with a mob of stitching mad women. We have had the best time! I caught up with lots of blogger girls. It was great to meet Anita, Jodie & Jodie for the first time. Be sure to check out their blogs for their version of events, as well as Happy in Quilting, Day-Day, Dragonfly Crafts & Chookyblue. There were lots of funny times with these girls. Fiona has taken the 'what happened in Nundle stays in Nundle' stance - perhaps the safest! My wonderful mother selflessly stayed with my children for the weekend, when I am sure she would love to have been with me! Thanks Mum! In addition to keeping the bairns alive, she also put the final stitches in the bind of her beautiful single Irish chain quilt. More photos of this to follow. Best wishes, Bloom.

Striking it rich!

Well, wet anyway! Just a quick post to let you know we did indeed find some bore water this afternoon. We are very thankful for this as it means I can garden away to my heart's content independent of water restrictions. I am very spoilt! I will be back in a few days with lots of news of the 'Girl's Day in the Country' stitch-in at Nundle. Did I say I was spoilt? Look out Nundle, here we come - 'we' being Chookyblue, Dragonfly-Crafts, Happy in Quilting, Day-Day & Jelly Wares. Also heading to Nundle are a group of antique motorbike fanatics who are apparently a bit put out that we are staying in the pub & they have to stay at the caravan park! There could be stories!

Just one reason for my crazy week

You may remember I posted about our newly purchased town 'garden' a while ago? Well today is a milestone in its creation. We are drilling for water in our back yard! I know, seems insane, but the water restrictions are so severe here that a bore appears to be a necessity to maintain a garden. The drillers have arrived & I am playing 'foreman' for the day (a job that I hate). They claim they should strike water by this afternoon. I hope they are right. I have my reservations. Perhaps this caution is in my blood - my Dad sunk many irrigation bores in his time, & I have learned from him to never get your hopes up when it comes to looking for water underground! Will nervously wait & see what the afternoon brings!

More excitement!

I just received a lovely comment on my 'Spring is Near' bag from the designer herself, Lenna Green. For any of you interested in obtaining the pattern for this bag, it can be obtained from The Stitching Cow website. Lenna also has lots of other beautiful stitchery & quilting patterns available. And you can even save 50% on her designs & have them immediately if you purchase them as ePatterns! Pop over & say hello to her!

Can too much excitement kill you?

A crazy week here, too busy. But the week ends in huge excitement as I head off to Kerry's for her 'Girl's Day in the Country' stitch-in with Leanne Beasley & Rosalie Quinlan. These women are 'goddesses' in the Australian quilting scene, & it will be very special to meet them. Leanne has given us a sneak preview of the project she has prepared for us here - so beautiful! I'm thinking her project will go perfectly with this quilt so have found some snippets of time this week to keep stitching on it. I will lag behind on my Dear Baby Jane blocks for this week, but I did do K12 Doris' Dilemma using a brilliant method by Wendy. If anyone is foundation piecing, please give this method a go. It just might change your life!