Archives for 2014

After a very busy day at work, I finally arrived in Melbourne on Friday night for AQC. My 6.40pm flight from Adelaide was delayed and eventually took off at 9pm arriving at our destination at 10.30pm local time. My loving sister and her husband were patiently waiting to take me home for a much needed rest.

On Saturday morning I caught the tram from St Kilda and headed off to AQC to see all the beautiful quilts from around Australia and to stand proudly next to my quilt. Wow what an honour!

The challenge quilts were amazing. The theme was ten as it is AQC’s tenth anniversary. The winning quilt was “10 Together  Equals Teamwork” by Alison Withers. So clever, her ten men in a boat looked like skittles supporting each other as they navigated past obstacles.

The display of quilts by the 2013 Rajah Award winner Jenny Bowker was awesome. We have all seen her beautiful quilts on her website however to see them in real life was amazing.

I was looking forward to attending the Gala Dinner on Saturday night where awards are presented and we get to catch up with friends we have made over the years but rarely see. Wow, was I in for a surprise. The night started with a bang. We had a drum band performing on stage and that was followed by wait for it…a Kylie Minogue impersonator and two gorgeous pink winged angels!

Then came the highlight of the night! The awards.  Janet Treen from NSW was awarded the Bernina National Quilt Award for her Best of Australia quilt “Rings and Roses”

Excitement in the room as Gary spoke about the 2014 Lut-Da winner. Wow our very own Faye Packham! The South Aussie table were on their feet for a well deserved win. Congratulations Faye you are an inspiration to us all for your fun loving nature and dedication!

The came the prestigious Rajah Award. How could the South Aussie table contain themselves as Gary began describing our beautiful Michelle Hill! The look on Michelle’s face as her name was announced was priceless. Congratulations Michelle! So well deserved.

I know it has only been a few days since I posted, I must be getting the hang of this blogging! Anyway, the group I belong to, The Gawler Quilting Circle, participates annually in The Biggest Morning Tea which is a fundraising event across Australia to raise money for cancer research. This will be the second year that I am teaching a mystery quilt. I just love sharing skills and techniques. Those of you who knew me in my pre quilting days will know that I taught Folk Art for many years from home and in local shops. So I get a great thrill in helping these lovely ladies at Gawler unravel the mystery of the quilt during a one day workshop. We all have heaps of fun and eat yummy food while the foot is on the pedal to get as much sewing done in the day.  For those of you doing this workshop, sorry, I am not about to let the cat out of the bag. I am happy to share my fabric choice with you.

I purchased some of these beautiful fabrics by Marcia Derse from Hettie’s Patch some time ago and then I was very privileged to meet Marcia in person at Houston International Quilt Convention in 2011. How could I resist… had to add to my stash. I have been saving this fabric for something very special and this quilt just begged for it. Marcia hand dyes her fabric and uses items from nature to inspire her patterns. Her website is worth a visit as she regularly releases new ranges. Lorraine still carries a good range at Hettie’s Patch. I used the black as my background fabric to showcase the beautiful colours Marcia uses to create her unique fabrics. The requirements list asks for a minimum of 16 x 1/4 yard cuts across the width of the fabric but the more the merrier! Visitors not doing the workshop will have to wait until the end of May 2014 to see the finished quilt. There will be a special quilting rate for edge-to-edge quilting of this quilt which I will release at the workshop.

Happy sewing until next time

Helen

Wow, here we are half way through February already, how time flies. I keep meaning to post blogs and then get waylaid with other activities. I did spend Australia Day weekend with my friend Chrisee in Port Lincoln. She has a long arm quilting machine like mine and needed a bit of assistance so a quick 40min flight on a plane and I was in relax mode. This is Chrisee standing behind her LA. Sadly Chrisee and Jeff’s home was destroyed in bushfires about four years ago and they are now settling into their new home.

Jeff has recently finished building a wood oven so I was treated to some yummy wood oven pizza and amazing bread. Jeff has a great set up and devotes most of the day to getting the dough and ingredients ready and firing up the oven.

Port Lincoln is one of South Australia’s main fishing ports and is famous for it’s tuna farming. You can see the large white circles in the ocean as you fly in and out of the town. These hold the nets suspended deep into the water that contain hundreds of tuna.  They are harvested by very strong men who swim amongst the fish, catching and tossing them up into a nearby boat. Amazing. Anyway, on the weekend I was there they had Tunarama which is when the town celebrates by having a parade and festivities. One of the activities is the tuna tossing competition (on land). They use rubber tuna these days. The main event was won by a young Japanese man who travels around the world with his friends entering these types of competition. I guess you could call him a professional tosser, Lol! He was a very nice man and fun to watch as he hurled these big fish down the beach. The parade was heaps of fun with vintage cars and tractors and lots of dress ups. These are Chrisee’s two grandchildren dressed up for the parade.

The local ladies also got involved…either hopeful or runaway brides! Love the thongs and sunnies ladies.

So, did we solve Chrisee’s problems with her machine? Not quite but it was great to catch up and meet all of the family. I left Chrisee with some problem solving homework which she is doing diligently.