Everything old is new again

I love Tuesdays.  For years in Brisbane it was my quilting day, either with Schoolhouse Quilters Kenmore or with seven close friends, we eight making up the group Loose Threads.  Of course I miss them so much, but Tuesdays still remain my quilting days here in Sydney.  St Ives Quilters have been most welcoming and this year they celebrate their 30th anniversary.

Yesterday we were asked to bring along quilts created over twenty years ago.  I was pleasantly surprised as members came forward with their quilts.

They had well and truly passed the test of time and could easily have been made this year instead of twenty years ago.

This magnificent quilt took my breath away.  Apologies for the slightly blurred image, but I was carried away.  Renowned quilter Judy Day (r) fell in love with the original at the Victoria & Albert Museum all those years ago and set about creating her own version.  It is entirely hand pieced and hand quilted.  It would look stunning on my bed, but I couldn't convince Judy to part with it.

And that brings me to a lovely story. Quilter Heather Watts heard through her daughter that a young mother with a three year-old child recently had the most horrific fire accident involving a frying pan.  The burns covered much of the front of her body and it was witnessed by her little girl.  She is pregnant and is due to give birth this week.

Heather was so moved by the story that she made this gorgeous quilt, not for the new baby, but for the little three year-old who has been so traumatised by recent events.  

That's why I love quilters and Tuesdays.

Christmas Angels

What do you do when you are handed a black plastic garbage bag containing two wire coat hangers, some tinsel, two white garbage bags, a toilet roll and some ribbon?  You make a Christmas Angel - what else?

It's the end of November, which means the round of Christmas parties has commenced.  Yesterday Schoolhouse Quilters' day group held their party, with the usual games, gift swaps, much laughter and at the end of the day a heart-warming story.

A veteran of twenty of these events, I was cunning enough to avoid acting as a model/victim in the Christmas Angel game, choosing instead to help create the vision above (of course, our team won).

Mind you, we had some stiff competition!



Representative of the McIntyre Centre (l) accepting cheque from
Schoolhouse Quilters' president Alison Campbell (r)
























Our charity quilt raffle this year raised $2,600 for the McIntyre Centre, a horse-riding academy for the disabled.  This centre is not far from where I live and I know that it carries out a magnificent job in teaching disabled children and young adults to ride, giving them such self-confidence and pride.  Some pupils have represented Australia in the Paralympic Games.  Sadly, there are over 250 children on the waiting list, a five year wait for most of them, but as the Centre has to rely mainly on donations to keep running, these poor children will probably wait in vain.  Government bodies waste so much money on some pretty silly schemes - here is a truly worthy cause, so I hope they are listening.

We were asked to bring along a photo from our teen years and it obviously taxed our brains figuring out just who was who.  I brought along a picture taken when I was 15 and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when everyone picked it straight away.

Time for a sumptuous lunch and the opening of the Christmas swap gifts.

And the heart-warming story?  I noticed an elderly lady who I had never seen before.  She was soon joined by a group of quilters and I assumed that she was mother to one of them.  It was only later I was told that she is local to the area and suffers from dementia.  She usually wanders into the hall to see what's going on that day.  One of our members recognised her and took her under her wing.  Word was sent to her husband that she was in safe hands and she sat down and enjoyed a lovely lunch and watched our antics with amusement.  Then she was taken safely home. 

True Christmas Angels.

Happy Birthday Schoolhouse Quilters

Twenty years ago I joined a fledgling group of quilters.  This small little band was formed by Sharyn Hall and we returned to Brisbane after an absence of four years in time for me to attend the third meeting in the staff room of Kenmore State School.  Like Topsy, we have grown.

Today was our twentieth anniversary celebration (a month late) and also our Annual General Meeting.  A lot of water has passed under the bridge in the intervening years, but among this group of quilters are some of my closest friends.  We have supported each other through the good times and the bad and I know I am truly blessed to have such wonderful companions.

And what's a special celebration without cake?

Schoolhouse Day President Alison Campbell presents our celebration cake

The honour of cutting the cake went to five Schoolhouse members who were at the original meeting in September 1990.

Original Schoolhouse members Pat Burgess, Robyn Mallett, Kaye Tanner, Denise Barbero and Sharyn Hall

Fresh cream and strawberry topping.  Mmmm ...

It didn't last long.

Next month, let's all wear green.

Muffin Rowlands' Liberty bag with work in progress

The day ended with Show & Tell.  Wonderful. 

To top off the joyous occasion, we basked in the reflected glory of several Schoolhouse Quilters who took out major awards at the Craft & Quilt Fair held at the Brisbane Convention Centre over the previous week.

I'm planning on being around for the 30th anniversary and have already ordered my walking frame.  Happy 20th Anniversary Schoolhouse Quilters.

... Perfect the Next

True to its word, Brisbane turned on the most beautiful Spring morning on Saturday.  The birds were singing, the sun was shining and the crowds came out for a day of fun at the BrisStyle Indie Designers' Market.

There was music ...

wood-fired pizzas...

... and lots of lovely people out to enjoy the early Spring weather.

Inside the hall we set up our stalls full of tempting goodies.

My next-door neighbour was Catherine of Made by Maisie.

Opposite me was Holly of Pannikin with her delightful badges, cards, etc.

The crowds obviously liked what they saw.

Outside the sun kept shining and the people kept coming.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
These gorgeous bracelets by Sophie of Strat Designs were good enough to eat.
 

The canopy of Sophie's stall threw this dainty shadow of the Poinciana tree overhead.  What a beautiful day it was.

 
 

However, another day, another story.  Sunday the rains came and we battled the elements to get the Hot Fudge clothing into the exhibition hall at Schoolhouse Quilters.

 

 

The wild weather was soon forgotten once we stepped inside historic Brookfield Hall.  The quilts were absolutely stunning.

 

This masterpiece by Glenys Cheng took four years to complete and the hand quilting was breathtaking.

 
 

It was time to visit the refreshments room to sit quietly and contemplate the beautiful works of art before us.

Then a visit to the sales room to get started on some early Christmas shopping.
 
 

What a weekend.  It was, of course, Father's Day on Sunday, so we had a late celebration before promptly falling asleep in front of the television.

Ah Brisbane.  Beautiful one day, perfect the next, then a lot of rain.

Beautiful One Day ...

Well, this morning certainly is beautiful, so the old Brisbane tourism promotion line of "Ah Brisbane - beautiful one day, perfect the next" is what we are all praying for at BrisStyle.

The first three days of Spring have been stunning and if we could extend that into one more day, we would be overjoyed.  With nearly 60 stalls full of tempting Spring goodness from Brisbane's top indie designers, plus music, wood-fired pizzas, fresh coffee and cakes, St Augustine's at Hamilton is the place to be tomorrow.  There will be a good mix of your favourite stall holders, along with several new and exciting designers.  You can see them here.

I am extra excited (but humbled), as Kid Independent showed some of my clothing on their Fresh Baked Friday feature today. 

I put the finishing touches to the last of the shirred sun dresses yesterday, so all is in readiness for the big day out tomorrow.  And don't forget to visit the Schoolhouse Quilters' Exhibition over the weekend (details here).

Ah Brisbane ... where else would you want to be?

Spring Madness

Ahhh ... I'm looking out the window at the most perfect Spring morning imaginable. Goodbye Winter.  September is shaping up to be the busiest month of the year, starting with this weekend which features two events.

On Saturday 4 September it's the eagerly awaited BrisStyle Indie Designers Market at St Augustine's church grounds and hall, Racecourse Road, Hamilton, where I'll have some new Spring outfits on sale.  The hours are from 9.00am until 2.00pm, so mark it in your diaries.

There are knot dresses and romper suits.

This little dress is perfect for Spring days.  Imagine your dismay if you buy the Princess an ice cream cone and she spills it all down the front.  Head for the nearest tree, do the reverse trick and ...

... all problems solved.

There will be lots of dresses for the warmer weather (warm ... mmmm ...).  I'll be inside the hall at St Augustine's so please stop by and say hello.  Oh, and there will be tempting wood-fired pizzas and fresh coffee to keep up your energy levels, and scrumptious goodies from Enticing Icing.

On Sunday I'll be at the Schoolhouse Quilters' Biennial Exhibition at historic Brookfield Hall, Brookfield.  It's on all weekend from 10.00am to 5.00pm and the entry fee is $5 (children free).  I have seen some of the quilts which will be on show and they are stunning.  I'll be selling my goodies in the sales room on Sunday, so if you can't make the BrisStyle Market on Saturday, do come out to beautiful Brookfield and take in the exhibition - you won't be disappointed.

Meanwhile, Sydneysiders can have their own feast of the arts.  Our first-born Fudge (AKA Maz Dixon) is holding an exhibition from 21 to 26 September at Mary Place Gallery, Paddington. 

Not content with that, she is also taking part in the Sydney Fringe Festival  in the Electric Encounters exhibition at the Plump Gallery from 10 to 20 September.  What a gal.

But the talent doesn't stop there.  The second-born Fudge is part of the Mothers' Soccer Team taking on the Under 11s at our granddaughter's school presentation day on Saturday.  She's never played the game before, so it should prove interesting.  One can only pray that someone videos it.

Welcome to Spring.

Market Frenzy

My blog has been somewhat neglected, I know.  However, there is a good excuse.  On the weekend of 4-5 September I will be involved in two events.

First of all on Saturday 4 September there's the BrisStyle Indie Designers' Market and I am more or less permanently chained to my Bernina in the hope of producing new stock.

This is the back view of a little sundress I have made for the market.  It's a voile fabric I bought in Sydney a couple of weeks back at my favourite fabric shop, Tessuti. 

If you are coming to the market, please drop by and say hello.  I'll be inside the hall and would be delighted to see you.  It promises to be loads of fun and there will be music and food keep up your energy as you take in the exciting atmosphere.

The second event of the weekend will be Schoolhouse Quilters' 2010 Biennial Exhibition on 4-5 September at historic Brookfield Hall, Brookfield.

I have seen some of the quilts that will be on show and they are absolutely stunning.  The refreshments room will cater to your needs with delicious freshly made sandwiches, cakes, scones and slices, and the sales room will be full of beautiful handmade goodies created by Schoolhouse members.  You can read more about it here.

I will be there on Sunday (unless my split personality manages to manifest itself on Saturday as well) selling my children's clothing in the salesroom and again, I'd be delighted to see you.

I was a little amazed to discover a rush of views on my Etsy shop on Monday, with a few hundred hits on this little cushion, along with several hearts.  After some clever detective work I found that it was featured on Etsy's blog, The Storque.   You have to scroll waaaay down, but there it is - I do the dance of joy.  With all this attention, did the cushion sell?  Nup.  But at least I've had my 15 minutes of fame.