Embellishing Class

Today I taught my Enchanting Embellisher class for the first time at The Purple Patch in Sydney. We had a full class of eager embellishers, all of whom had needle felting machines but had not really had the opportunity to have a good play with them. Here are half of them hard at work.

We ran through a variety of techniques and then in the afternoon each student just played around with an idea or combination of techniques. Not one was similar and the variety was amazing. There was not one broken needle all day and fabrics and yarns and foils and rovings were tested with abandon.

These were my leaves done on water soluble stabiliser and then stitched with metallic thread in the bobbin.


Here are some of the wonderful pieces. I think I learnt as much as they did and it was amazing to see the change from the tentative first needle punches to the exciting whirring at the end of the afternoon.




There is another class scheduled for later in the year at Purple Patch but if you are interested in something sooner please contact me as I think there are lots of machine owners out there that would really like the opportunity to have a play and learn how to best use their new toy.

Back Down to Earth

After all the excitement I have returned to Terra Firma. Actually Peter laughed so much every time he looked at me in all that makeup that I washed it all off the minute I got home. But thanks for all your positive comments - you made my day.

Anyway while we were in Paddington (where the studio was) we needed to kill a little time on the setup day so had lunch in a garden cafe. This was the most pathetic lemon tree which was in the garden near me. It was only about 1metre high and well and truely had seen better days. Check the price tag!

We also went into Dinosaur Designs which has the most beautiful jewellery but I couldn't afford any of it - even on my dvd star pay! These are a couple of shots of bracelets in the window. They certainly know how to play with colour.

We finally went to the Australian Centre for Photography where there was an exceedingly depressing exhibition of people in Russia who had been affected by Chernoble and other radiation 'pollution'. They also had the New Scientist Eureka Finalists and they were really wonderful.

On the way home we were passed by this father and son team while we were stuck in the traffic. I think Dad was doing most of the work.

Exciting but Exhausting

Today I did something I have never done before.

I filmed a DVD for Quilters Companion Magazine about beading and hand dyes. I was excited to be invited to do it but of course very nervous.

I had the obligatory touching up of the roots and manicure done last week and a new project completed.

Armed with a pile of quilts and beads and fabrics we set up yesterday and today I was there bright and early for the filming.

There was a lot of setting up to do but of course the best part was having my hair and makeup done. I don't think I have ever had so much makeup on - even down to the false eyelashes.

We had a nervous start but once we started to ad lib I relaxed a little and hopefully it will come across as interesting.



You will have to wait till July to see it.

Dyeing Threads

A couple of years ago I purchased a selection of yarns to try out for dyeing but of course it was a bit fiddly so I put them aside. I did, however, get as far as tying them in even hanks and labelling them with tyvek. Unfortunately I bought them from Rooby's Web of Thread which no longer exists so even if I liked them enough to do more I am probably unable to find them.

Anyway - I had some leftover dyes and armed with a You Tube Video of yarn dyeing I thought I would give it a go.




Here they are rinsing


Not too bad - there are some white gaps still but they will be added to the pile of things to use sometime.

Seaside Village has Arrived

Just received the latest copy of Australian Quilters Companion which has my latest quilt Seaside Village featured as a project.

I really like this one - it is bright and cheerful as well as being dead easy. The issue also features a DVD of Deborah Louie demonstrating Machine Quilting so even better value.

I hope this quilt appeals as we have dyed lots of blues and greens for the kits.

What do you think? Comments appreciated.

Weekend Workshop

I spent the weekend with the Riviera Quilters in the lovely (but very warm) Victorian country near Bairnsdale.
We had a great couple of days and my beading class certainly seemed to enjoy themselves. We had students at all levels but they all created wonderful pieces. Here are some of them looking quite happy. How could you not enjoy this wonderful atmosphere in the Australian bush.



The venue was the Coonawarra Farm Retreat which had lots of great activities for families and more active people than us. The pool was quite popular in the heat but the horse rides and flying fox remained unused by the quilters.

There was a lovely view outside the workshop rooms - reminiscent of Tom Roberts classic Australian paintings. We were woken in the morning with the cackling of kookaburras and cockatoos which was then followed by the laughter of a lot of happy quilters.



A drive back to Melbourne into the sunset on Sunday topped off the weekend - I won't mention the 6 hour wait at Melbourne Airport on Monday.

Fabrics for Sale

The most popular style of our fabrics at the AQC are the result of a new technique which I developed recently. I lay out the fabrics on a large table and then paint them with concentrated dyes. I then do a very technical 'smooshing' technique to blend the colours into each other. I really enjoy making them and have created some really wonderful pieces of fabric. They are really suited to landscapes or whole cloth work as I cut them into 1m lengths (40" x 44"). These images are about 1/4 of the piece.

SOLD but others available from same piece

I can't really put them on the website easily as they are all so different even though I do 4m at a time so thought I would offer them here (regularly if they prove popular). They are AUD$25 (US$ 23/ Euro 15) each + post. Mail gets from here to the US in about 4-5 days.

Anyway let me know what you think. If you would like to purchase them contact me to arrange payment.

Finished Top

Today another milestone was reached - I finished the top for my next large quilt. I can't show the quilt yet but here are some leftover blocks to give you a taste.

It is called Bushfire Sunset.


These are the fabrics which were sorted into their respective batches. It has been a wonderful exercise in colour.

Now it is off to be quilted by Nic.

Ok - now onto the next deadline which has lots of beading.

Paducah Acceptance

I was very excited to hear today that my quilt Squared Up has been accepted into Paducah. It was quilted brilliantly by Nic Bridges and is still my favourite quilt at the moment so I am very pleased that it will get to travel across the sea to Paducah.
Having checked out the list of other semi-finalists I am thrilled to be in such brilliant company including many friends.

I have to thank Jamie Fingal who helped me beat the tyranny of distance and time for the entry form. The internet is a wonderful thing but these friendships created by it are priceless.

What not to do with a Passport

We needed to find Peter's passport yesterday but couldn't find it anywhere. Working backwards from his return from India a few weeks ago - we finally found it! In the pocket of the trousers he wore home. Unfortunately they were now very clean - which is more than we can say for the passport.

Note to self - take passport out of pocket before washing........