esmes

Stitched by Me

2012-02-18T22:36:00.000-08:00

I achieved a lot in January, finishing many projects. I managed to complete all the stars in the border of this quilt and quilted it myself. A great feeling. I am hoping to have many more finished projects this year.

Happy Australia Day

2012-01-25T16:45:00.000-08:00

Hope you are enjoying your day. I have today off and got up early so that I could fit in some sewing time.
We are now going out for a bbq lunch which is going to cut short the sewing day I had planned.
Above is a photo Terry took of last nights fireworks display. Quite speccy.

This is a quilt by Vivian Robinson that Kim has just finished called Carpe Diem. I will show you another photo when we get it quilted. It's quite pretty and the applique and stichery are just lovely. Well done Viv and Kim.

After finding a large stack of UFO's at Christmas, I made the decision to finish a project a day for January.

I started the month really well and finished off 15 projects, before slowing up. I went back to two block of the months that had stalled, Peacocks Garden and the Adelaide Floral Sampler. I had only finished two blocks each of these quilts and felt it was time to really put an effort in, so I have now almost finished block three of each . Does any one else under estimate their time?

I have been a bit restained and only started two new projects this year.

These two blocks are from a new free block of the month by Craftsy . It seemed the perfect way to make a quilt from some wonderful Kaffe Fasset fat quarters given to me by Rebecca some years ago. I am using different white tone on tones for the contrast and as you make two blocks a month, I will use one of Rebecca's fat quarters and one of mine from the shop.

The other project started is the 12 days of Christmas again by Viv Robinson. I will show photos's soon.

Here are a couple of finished items, my owl cushion and a childs quilt using a panel.
Must go now, look out for heaps more finished projects and new fabrics--- orientals, Twirl from Me and My Sister, Rouenerries Deux, lot's from P&B textiles, plus more -not sure where I'm going to fit them in!!

Handmade Christmas

2012-01-21T20:52:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be nice if the girls and I swapped a handmade gift at Christmas. Above is what I received from Leanne, a lovely bag, an ornament and an owl. So lovely, wasn't I lucky. And the bag is just the right size for my new project from Figs n Berry. Below is the bag I made for Kim. It also has a small purse inside, I forgot to take a picture of that.

Happy Holidays

2012-01-16T23:43:00.000-08:00

I have been enjoying some time off and feeling bad 'cos I haven't put these photos up. I am very slack with my posts, but if one looks at the number of posts over the last couple of years, I am improving. If I can repeat the almost 50% increase from last year, I should soon be getting to a reasonable level.

The photo above shows some fabric that came in last year. I gave a piece each to my Thurday girls and challenged them to make something by Christmas and five of the girls came up with a finished article.

Thank you Lynice, Cheryl, Derrise, Nicky and Lorinda.

I am currently working on finishing off many projects. More on that soon.

Busy, busy, busy

2011-11-03T03:20:00.000-07:00

The past couple of months have been very busy for us, hosting evenings at the shop, a Christmas function off site, a breakfast/morning tea fundraiser for breast cancer and working on the Quiltaid 2011 project.

So I am heaving a great sigh of relief at putting these events behind me. All have been a very successful, enjoyable and great learning experiences. Above is a photo of the girls hard at work on Saturday at the Christmas Gathering. We had a wonderful day with Helen Stubbings from Hugsn kisses, working on two new projects. See more pictures on Kathy's blog and Jo's blog .

Watch for our next gathering with Helen in July 2012.

This pink strippy is a fundraiser for Breast cancer. We have been making a few of these very easy quilts- called 1600 or 800 quilts. The name relates to the length of the strips used. Add 4 1/2" accent pieces to the end of each of your strips and join all strips to make one continuous length. This length is then cut in half and joined together. Repeat a few more times and this is what you will end up with. It makes a very quick top. If you would like to win this quilt, make a gold coin donation and guess how long it took me to piece the top. Hint-between 35 and 120 minutes.

For more photos of our morning see Leanne's blog.

And here is my finished Quiltaid 2011sample - aka Secret Squirrel. It's no longer secret, but I think the name has stuck! Big, big thank yous to Helen for all her work - a mamoth effort in putting it all together and for letting me take part. Also many thanks for my fellow piecers - Marian, Leanne, Helena, Kim, Sue and Raelene. Thank you to Leanne for helping me to quilt it. For more information on the project go to http://www.quiiltaid.com.au/

And finally a photo taken at Bridport on Sunday. A little bit of time out.

Now to write up all the patterns I have been putting off.

Lots of news

2011-10-12T14:18:00.000-07:00

Here are the two blocks we are selling for Quiltaid 2011, designed by Bronwyn Hayes and Natalie Ross.
I have been working frantically to get the quilt top finished. It is looking really great. Hence no time at the computer.

Below we have a couple of pictures of some projects from the Asian night. We had two wonderful nights, many thanks to those that came along and to Marian and Terry for the great support.

Next function will be a Christmas Gathering on Saturday the 29th of October with the wonderful Helen Stubbings from Hugs n Kisses. I am taking names and promise to put all the info up real soon.

As well we have organised a Pink Breakfast on Wed 2nd Nov. More details very, very soon.

Quiltaid 2011

2011-09-19T03:21:00.000-07:00

A small peek at one of the new quiltaid blocks. More to come soon. Get in early so you don't miss out.

Spent a night in Sydney on the way home last week and these were some pictures of the view from the top floor of the hotel. And no, I didn't try the pool.

A little holiday

2011-09-09T01:30:00.000-07:00

Having a lovely break in Coffs Harbour, enjoying the beach, sunshine and a little rain.

Working occasionally on some small projects for our Asian Night, at the end of September.

And I did finish the last block of Stitched by Me, before my holiday, only the borders to go now.
Just as well cos I hear Lynette has a new one!
Hope Leanne is having fun without me!

Piecing and Pizza Night

2011-08-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

Our piecing and pizza night was a huge success. Thanks girls and Terry for a great night. I didn't know what to expect when I decided to have this night but it was so greatly received that we will have more. I just hope I can be a little more organised. Here are some photos from the night.
Coming next is our Asian Affair.
Esmes website with shopping cart has gone live! http://www.esmes.com.au/
Needs a newsletter -it's coming soon.
And facebook - www.facebook.com/EsmesPatchwork
Now to get some more projects finished.

Raelene's doyley bag

2011-08-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

Raelene brought her new bag in to show us last week. Made from old doyley's, it was a wonderful piece of artwork. A lot of the embroidery was newly worked by Raelene. Well Done!

A quiet Sunday at home, finishing sample projects for our Piecing and Pizza Night on Friday. Will put up photos later.

And playing with Terry's new camera. Last weekend there wasn't a sign of blossom in my garden and yesterday my plum tree was covered. Hidden in amongst the blossom were several cobweb's covered in dew. This one has disappeared today.

This week

2011-08-11T01:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a big week for me. I finally bit the bullet and signed up for facebook. Why , you may well ask?
I needed to have a presence for the shop, so it was time. What a huge learning curve!
I'm not really liking it but I guess that will come as I get more familiar. So I am posting here tonight for a little normality. When I learn how, I will put up facebook logo (page?) for those interested.

New fabrics in this week - Sophie by Chez Moi.

New quilt that I've been putting together this week

Finally finished the first part of Helen stubbings Stitching Sunday sampler, I'm way behind.

Block 5 Stitched by Me

2011-08-02T15:45:00.000-07:00

I have finished another block from Lynette's BOM-only one to go!
It must be nearly spring, I have been tidying up the shop and putting up new quilts.
We have a sale table with lots of good specials and great sale bargains on Janome machines.
Plus 20% off all flannel for this month.

New fabrics, antique machine, hexagons, plus.....

2011-07-24T01:14:00.000-07:00

Many things have happened this week. New Kokka fabric arrived , as well as Christmas fabrics and more Can Can yarn. This yarn is just flying out the door. Sorry, I forgot to take photos of the yarn and the scarf I finished .

This lovely little machine was bought at auction this week by one of my students, so she just had to bring it to class and show us. Lucky girl.

And here are the hexagons I have been working on this week. They just have to be sewn together and used on the last block of Lynette's "Stitched by me" block of the month.

This lovely cushion was stitched by Leanne from Lynette Andersons design. Well done Leanne.

And last, but by no means least, Gina and Dana, checking out Gina's prize at the Dear Jane "Christmas in July" meeting on Saturday. They both love Christmas, so a very fitting prize.

Gina is working on a Christmas Dear Jane and below are some of her finished blocks.

Dear Jane Group

2011-07-12T15:27:00.001-07:00

Esmes Dear Jane group will meet this Saturday at 1pm. All are welcome. Please bring a small plate to share and your Dear Jane to work on. This month will be Christmas in July theme.

Below are two photos from the last meeting. If you can identify the owners of these hands on the day we will have a small gift.

Look forward to seeing you there.

A big month

2011-07-10T00:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still here. It has been the busiest month that I can remember. In June we managed to stay in three capital cities. A record for me. We spent a last weekend in Hobart with Lauren before she moved home to Launceston. We are already missing her little place.

Next trip was to Sydney. How lucky was I that Terry had to go to a conference on the same weekend as Quilt Expo. I spent a lovely day catching up with some friends, including Gail ( above). On Sunday we took the ferry to Manly and it was a beautiful day, felt like summer.

We also had a few days in Melbourne at the end of the month. Found a few craft places and saw the wonderful Tutankhamun exhibition. The worst thing about travelling has been catching a couple of colds. I can't wait to feel normal again. Can't remember the last time I took time off for a cold! And I have to learn how to be sympathetic to those around me who have been very nice to me lately.

And the best thing happened today - we finished stocktake! I managed to put it off a week this year. It's all done til next year.

Look out for our big news soon - we are part of Quiltaid.

New website up and running

2011-06-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

We have finally gone live with our new website. Big thanks to Terry and Hayley.

Still a few things to be sorted and heaps more stuff to be added.

Such a lot has been happening over the last few weeks, I hope to catch up soon.

I have finished four blocks of Stitched by Me, only two to go.

Heaps of Brenda Ryan patterns came in today, shall take pictures tomorrow.

Mid week drama

2011-05-19T15:29:00.000-07:00

We had a bit of excitement on Wednesday. Having a two story house makes it a little difficult to wash the outsides of our windows so we arranged for Jason to clean them. Luckily he was nearby when an electrical spark ignited a birds nest in the eaves. Fortunately there was very little damage, his other job is firefighting, so he new just what to do. We had a fire engine turn up, three firemen, two police cars, two policemen , one policewoman, one Aurora man and an electrician. Such a lot of people for one little fire. And apparently Win TV turned up as well, but Jason sent him away.
Many thanks to Jason for preventing any damage and saving Number One Son and my quilts.

I have finished the second block of Peacock's Garden and two from the Adelaide Floral Sampler.

Sorry, this one is sideways.

We had a lovelyDear Jane Day yesterday, very relaxing for me, and I even made one and a half new DJ blocks. I will show pictures soon.

Catching Up

2011-05-14T21:34:00.000-07:00

I have been doing some catching up lately. I finally finished the last border of Rebecca's Friendship Round Robin. It has been posted to her, so I think I can show you now. Hope she likes it, cos I did deviate from the pattern somewhat.

This is another piece that I am working on, using Helen's centre stitchery. It was going to be a cushion and I did enter it in the exhibition, but alas it didn't get finished. Now I can't decide whether to finish it as a cushion cover or keep going and make a small quilt.

How are your Gidday Quilters stitcheries going? The shop hop has finished but if you missed out there will be a pattern released soon. And final results for the giveaways will be known when Helen gets back from Salt Lake City. This beautiful bag was made by Vicky from the platypus stitchery.

Here are two finished stitcheries made by Kathy.

I have finished two blocks from Monica Poole's new block of the month 'Peacocks Garden'.

This is the first, I haven't photographed the second, and I have finally received all the fabrics and started cutting so I am now set to go.

We have some new samples and patterns from Sally Giblin in the shop (the doll isn't hers, she is just adding to the display) and Marian is busily making up more new samples of her patterns as well.

The new header is a close up of the centre of a basket quilt I made in 2000. I will show you the whole quilt next post.

Terry has been very busy adding heaps of photos and info to our new website, so hopefully you can expect to see an announcement real soon.

A lovely surprise

2011-04-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

I had a lovely surprise, yesterday, when I went to the Craft Fair. My Dragonfly Ninepatch won 2nd prize in the Non-Traditional Quilts section of the Quilt show. It was beautifully quilted by Leanne. The fair is on again today and tomorrow, so if you want to see some wonderful quilting go along. The quilts are amazing, can't show you here, but I will direct you to a site soon.
Best of Show is a stunning quilt of applique, trapunto and machine quilting. Just beautiful and a great story as well. I am going back for another look tomorrow, and to help out with the white gloves on, and to spend my gift vouchers. Oh, and I did buy a little bit of fabric- :) .

Christmas blocks and Easter

2011-04-24T23:55:00.000-07:00

Hope you had a great Easter. It has been wonderful not to have to go anywhere or do anything.
I have caught up on a lot of things. I can't remember when I have had this long a break at home.
The garden is starting to look a bit more respectable, lot's of weeds pulled, plants cut back and woodchip layed.
On the patchwork front we have been very busy. Kim has finished two blocks from Christmas Fun.

I have made a top using Kate Conklin's pattern that was in Homespun magazine a couple of months ago.

And Leanne quilted my Kitchen Capers quilt. It has been entered in the Island Threads exhibition next week along with two other quilts. Hope you had a great Easter break.

More cushions, bags and quilts

2011-04-09T21:07:00.001-07:00

Once again a lovely weekend. Especially so on Saturday when we had a family get together at Punchbowl. The day was just lovely, with the expected rain holding off til late afternoon. I achieved a lot this weekend. New displays put up at the shop on Sunday morning. So much more can be done with the doors shut. I finished off the set of bags shown above. They used part of a honey bun (1 1/2" strips), I think I still have half left. I put the binding on two quilts and finished the embroidery on Rebecca's round robin. I also put this quilt top together. It uses a panel of A is for Annabelle and some 8" squares. Now I need to put borders on it. Trying to work out what sort of border, if any, to put on this little quilt, designed by McKenna Ryan, and then how to quilt it.

A cushion finished last week using Clare's owl pattern from her new quilt "Best Friends".

It's hanging in the shop. Couldn't get a proper photo of it, but here are some closeups.

And last, but not least, my dresden plate cushion, using a Lilac Hill candy bar.

Embroidered Cushions

2011-04-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

I have been finishing off a few pieces of work lately. Above is a cushion I made from Helen Stubbing's friendship round robin from last year. I can only claim to have worked the centre embroidery and the finishing off. The second border was worked by Rebecca, the third by Leanne and the fourth by Kate. Thanks girls, In love it. I will put up links soon. Too pushed for time at the moment.

This cushion features the emu on my website from Helen Stubbing's Gidday Quilters Shop Hop.

And I am working on this piece of Rebecca's. I don't know if she will make it into a cushion cos we differed on our opinnions of cushions. I'm nearly finished Rebecca, sorry it has taken so long.

Winner

2011-04-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Kate, you have won my 50th post giveaway. Thank you to all who entered and for your helpful information. I am starting to put it into practise.

Lynette Anderson's Designs

2011-03-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

I am a great fan of Lynette's patterns and books. We were very excited yesterday to receive her latest button club-"Christmas Fun". You buy Lynette's beautiful handpainted buttons and she very generously gives you a pattern free. We still have some places left if you wish to join. We are also giving away a pack of fat eighths that would be great to make up using this design. Scroll down to a previous post to enter.

This is my sample of the first block in Lynette's latest BOM- Stitched by Me. After the success of Kitten's Tale I just had to do this one. I have used the Moda -Lilac Hill range of fabrics, shown below.

Here's Leanne's sample quilt of the last button club -My Garden, just waiting for it's border.

And the last photo for today is Kathy's wonderful cushion, from Lynettes book- It's quilting cats and dogs.

Patchwork and glue products

2011-03-20T01:48:00.000-07:00

Hi all, thanks so much to those who have posted comments recently, especially for my giveaway.

I am taking all suggestions on board and will try and give you what you are asking.

This post was going to be about something completely different. After a lovely weekend in Hobart, on arriving home, I went downstairs to find a backing for a quilt that Lauren had made for a friends baby and was distracted by the quilt top above. I haven't finished a quilt recently that I could put in the TQG exhibition and wasn't going to enter anything when I saw this top. It only needed another border to finish it so I pulled it out for a closer look.

The top was made many years ago before I owned a shop. I had made many round robin quilts with different groups and some of the girls from the Tuesday night group decided to join this one. I'm sorry I don't remember all the details but I think it was from the internet. People made their own quilts from the guidelines that were posted. We started with our own centre, then added a triangular border, next it was turned on point, then a chequerboard round was put on.

I'm not sure if the last round was stars or if it was my choice, anyway this was as far as I got with it before putting it away, til now.

The point I am about to make is that, if you look closely at the outside edge of the circle you will see some feint dots. These are dots of a well known glue that is supposed to wash away. Perhaps one is not supposed to leave it for 8-10 years before one washes it away. Cos after a very careful wash this afternoon the spots did not come out. I have always said I didn't like using glue on quilts, now I see why.

I have some thoughts on how to fix the problem, if I could just find that lovely floral (put away in a very safe place) I may finish another UFO.

If anyone out there remembers this round robin I would love hear from you.

By the way my 50th giveaway will finish at 7pm on the 31st March. So please enter soon.

Giveaway

2011-03-09T23:58:00.000-08:00

This is my 50th post. There have been times when I thought I may not get to this point, but I have and I think I am getting a bit better at it. To celebrate this occasion I am giving away a fat eighth bundle of the fabrics shown, as well as a button pack from Lynette Anderson. We are using these fabrics to stitch our sample of Lynettes new Christmas Fun block of the month.

To win this pack leave a comment on my blog telling me what you like about my blog or what you would like me to see here.

Put this photo up on your blog and link back to me I will give you a bonus entry in the draw.

If you don't have a blog and are having problems leaving a comment email me and I will make sure you go in the draw.

I will look forward to you comments.

And what a great weekend it was. The weather here couldn't have been better.

Vignette giveaway

2011-03-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

If you are quick there is still time to enter this giveaway. Go to this site and enter. Have you picked up your copy of issue 2 yet?
Iv'e had a lovely weekend. Friends came for dinner on Saturday and I gave myself the day off yesterday and spent the whole day cutting and stitching Lynette's Stitched by me. Pictures soon.

Vingnette Issue 2 now in stock

2011-03-04T14:10:00.000-08:00

These arrived yesterday afternoon. Lovely stitcheries, great recipes, hexagons and more.
We also have a couple of issue 1 left if you haven't picked one up yet.

And doesn't Raelene's doll look beautiful against my new piece of Kokka fabric. Can't seem to bring myself to cut it yet. What will I make with it?

Christmas Fun

2011-03-02T23:36:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun with Lynettes "My Garden" button club that we have decided to join her new " Christmas Fun" button club. The format is the same - you sign up to purchase a hand painted button each month for eight months and receive the quilt pattern for free. We have some lovely fabrics picked out to work our sample. Email me soon to sign up as places are filling fast. The first buttons will arrive this month giving us plenty of time to finish before Christmas.

Dragonflies

2011-03-01T13:11:00.001-08:00

From these fabrics to this quilt. I may not have been very good at blogging lately but I have been working hard at making new samples and kits. If you haven't registered yet at our great shop hop go now to Gidday Quilters to see what great special I have on kits.

Candy Bars

2011-02-07T13:33:00.000-08:00

New candy Bars have just come in. Featuring lots of fabric ranges- Antique Fair, Lilac Hill, Coll. for a Cause-Faith, Dragonfly Summer, Oasis, Lovely, Modern, Buttercup. I will try and get a sample together soon. Presently working on a Dragonfly quilt, should have it finished today.

All my classes have started this week. I was hoping to stagger them, but no such luck. Appolgies to those waiting to join a class. We should have more starting soon.

Sudoku quilt kits

2011-02-06T13:10:00.000-08:00

On Friday we had heaps of lovely fabric arrive, as well as these Sudoku packs.

They are in four colourways- Perennials by Kansas Troubles, Lovely by Sandy Gervais , Central Park by Kate Spain and Oasis by 3 sisters. have a look on Leanne's blog to see how she's getting on with her sample.

We also have some Candy Bars new in. Tommorrow I will show you what we are doing with them.

Gidday Quilters

2011-01-30T23:45:00.000-08:00

I think I have managed to put up the logo for this great shop hop.
It will start tonight .
Have spent an anxious day trying to get info onto the website.
Over the next few days we should see some changes to the website.
So fingers crossed.

Great Aussie Shop Hop

2011-01-29T22:39:00.000-08:00

Exciting news- well it will be exciting if I can get things up and going very soon. As a lot of you know, many things get left til the last minute.

Helen Stubbings is running the Great Aussie Shop Hop. A great promotion to showcase our Great Aussie quilting stores and their websites. It is a free competition and gives you a chance to win some great quilting related prizes. You must register and find the hidden icons at the store websites and click on them to enter the draw. The more icons you find, the more chances you have to win.

Esmes will be taking part in this, so pop over to here to find out more.
Our logo should go onto our website this week along with a few updates. We haven't managed to get a shopping cart added to the website yet but we are hoping to have this available soon.

Above is my new version of The Best quilt using Maison de Garance fabrics. And here is Kims's first block of Leannes Vignette Mystery quilt.

New quilts

2011-01-28T02:00:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. I enjoyed the holiday and managed to have nine days off -thanks to Leanne and Kym- even if I did appear at the shop most days. We had some great days out -lunch at the Strawberry Farm at Hillwood, the Rasberry farm at Christmas Hills and a visit to the Latrobe markets and icecream at the Cherry Farm. We also went to the Taste in Hobart and had a very pleasant day.

This is my new class sample for beginners, beautifully quilted by Leanne. I have been able to finish a few quilts over the break, but the pile is not being diminished because I have also started a few more. Below is a small quilt made using some of the fabric from Central Park by Kate Spain. I am also using this fabric in my stitchery that I started in Helen Stubbings "Stitching round the block" and another very girly quilt. A layer cake goes a long way.

Here is a quick sample top I've made using the new "Spot" fabric. Must try and quilt it before Leanne comes back to work. And below is another simple table runner I made using 5" squares. Again very simply stipple quilted by me.

The best news is that I have finally finished writing up and packaging The French Medallion. Such a relief to have it all finished, and I won't be taking on another one for a long while. Thanks to all for your patience.
I am working on three new BOM"s for this year, Michele Hills-The Adelaide Sample Quilt , Lynette Anderson's -Stitched by Me and Monica Poole's -Peacock Garden.

Happy quilting

Zentangle class

2010-12-05T13:16:00.001-08:00

It has been very busy for the last two weeks, with visits to Hobart, birthday's, classes and opening on Sundays. Yes, I took the plunge and have opened the shop on Sundays from 11-3pm leading up to Christmas. I may continue after Christmas or I may not. So far it has been very good.
On Saturday we had a great day with Jane Monk learning how to draw and sew zentangles.
Above are our first examples and below is my unfinished second try. Yes it is now finished and I have also done a third. Thanks Jane for a great day. I am now addicted.

This is my first piece stitched. I just have to decide what to make with it. The Horizon was great to work with, even better when I found the open end foot and learnt to use the start button and not the foot pedal.

And here we are hard at it. Til next time -keep quilting.

Melbourne quilt market

2010-11-20T20:14:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful day in Melbourne yesterday catching up with old friends, meeting new people, seeing lots of great quilts and new products as well as buying a couple of pieces of fabric.
Here I am with Michelle Hill on the Lloyd Curzon stand and her beautiful new quilt, The Adelaide Floral Sampler, in the background. I wanted to bring it home but Jim said it would cost too much money :) Well I had just better get a wiggle on with my copy. If you get a chance to see it, look at the wonderful quilting. I have the patterns, kits and BOM ready to go.

Natalie Bird and I in front of her new Christmas quilt. It's just lovely, the patterns will be in shortly.

Bil Day and Wilma from Dayview Textiles and me.

Libby Richardson and me in front of her new quilt.

Saffron Craig and me in front of her lovely fabrics and yes, I did bring some home and more on order.

And that's enough of the photos of me. Thanks to Terry who took them and was so great putting up with me all day and carrying all the bags. I was only going to buy one pack-honest.
Happy quilting

Zentangles and colourful Fridays

2010-11-18T13:42:00.000-08:00

I saw colourful Fridays on Daisyquilts blog and thought it was a great idea, and maybe it will inspire me to post more often. It is chocolate today and I only have one photo so far, maybe more tonight. Below are a couple of examples of Jane's zentangles. She is taking a class at esmes on Dec 4. Only a couple of places left. So if you want to draw or sew like this email me soon.

Lots of news

2010-11-02T00:12:00.000-07:00

We have just received a new magazine "Vignette" by Leanne Beasley. This exciting new magazine is only available from quilt shops and features patterns, recipes and a block of the month. Kim is going to make up our shop sample and I think we will use a new range of fabrics from moda called Dilly Dally by me and my sister.

Here's my centre square and fabrics for Helen's free stitching round the block quilt. I have just started the first border for Kate's quilt. I am really enjoying this round robin so far, not sure if I will feel the same after the tiny hexagon's we are doing this round.

A new baby quilt that I have just finished binding. We have kits in pink as well.

Another of Clares quilts using different colours. Love Terry's legs, when I'm not so busy I will learn how to crop these photos.

And lastly (is that a word?) for today but by no means least, we are holding a Zentangle workshop on Saturday 4th December with Jane Monk. It will be a one day workshop which will take you from beginner to confident intermediate. A great lunch from Peckish is included and it will be a fun, fascinating and relaxing day. Anyone can create zentangles, you don't need to be able to draw. Go to Jane's site and check out her work. I will put up more info soon.

Snibble finished

2010-10-31T01:25:00.000-07:00

I have finished my first schnibble. Leanne challenged me to do one schnibble a month and so far I am on target. It is hanging in the shop and you will notice that there is very little in the background. I have taken a lot of the displays down and hope to get more up next week. Maybe Leanne's quilt :). I was too busy on Saturday so here's hoping next week I may get something new up.
Terry and I had a lovely day at the Deloraine Craft Fair today. Despite the rain it was a good day. There were not a lot of people there so it was good to be able to see everything. The NZ Hoffman Challenge was great and it was wonderful to chat to Betty Twaddle, the organiser.

Ralph comes to class

2010-10-19T13:54:00.001-07:00

As promised here is Ralph. He was a special guest at our class last Thursday. Luckily all of us were dog lovers and there were no cats to chases cos he was supposed to be taking it easy.
Ralph lapped up all the attention and I think we may have to ask him to come again soon.
I don't think we were influenced by the cup cakes he brought. :) Doesn't he look stylish in his red sequins?

Notice the new icon on the side bar? Well, Leanne, Rebecca, Kate and I are participating in Helen's new free friendship round robin. I will put up more info soon. Click on the logo to take you to Helen's site.

Happy Quilting

My first schnibble

2010-10-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

This is my first quilt from the Schnibbles times two book by Carrie Nelson.
Leanne has issued the challenge to make one quilt a month for 12 months!
I used fabrics from the Sanctuary range.Just need to finish it by the end of
the month. If I can get her off the machine it won't take long.

We are a little excited today because Ralph is coming to class. Who is Ralph you
ask? Find out next post. Must not forget camera. Hope he's not camera shy.

More fabrics and quilts

2010-10-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

These new fabrics ( Hope - Collection for a Cause) came in yesterday during my lunch break. Yes, I took time out to have lunch with Terry. I doesn't happen often and it was a lovely lunch. Anyway Leanne just had to open them and she hopes to use one of these charm packs for her challenge next month. More on this challenge tomorrow. To see what we have started go here.

The Adelaide Collection Fabrics for Michele Hill's floral Sampler BOM.

A small quilt I have made using charm pack of Martinique.

A close up of Clares quilt "Alphabet Soup" using the new panel from moda.

Clares quilt 123, made by Kim using our fabrics.

New fabrics and a runner

2010-09-25T23:33:00.000-07:00

This is the tablerunner I made from the Park Avenue fabrics by 3 sisters from moda. I would like to have made a quilt from this range but I didn't have time.

Some new fabrics that have just arrived. Sorry they are sideways.

I have been very busy writing up patterns today. I haven't started sewing yet but hope to soon.

Did a little cooking yesterday and made chocolate brownies to take to a friends place last night.

They must have been good cos they didn't last long. It has seemed like a long weekend, because we had a quick trip to Hobart on Friday night, dinner with Lauren, back to the shop on Saturday and out for dinner with our friends. I also made a fruit cake yesterday and there is still some left, so the Monday night girls will be happy when I take some in for them. I will also take a piece for Leanne :)

The small photo above is fabric from the Adelaide Collection by Michele Hill. I am about to start sewing the first block in her new BOM.

Clare's quilts

2010-09-23T14:46:00.000-07:00

As promised here are a couple of pictures of Clare's quilts. Sorry they are not great photos. To find out more go to Clare's blog. She has lots more photos and info.

Keep quilting

2010-09-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

Here are two of my latest quilts. I've had a nine patch addiction for a long time. These are both variations of the magic ninepatch. Where you make simple nine patch blocks, cut them twice through the centre rearrange them and then restitch into new blocks. They will be available as kits very soon. I have some lovely quilts on loan, from Clare of Clares Place, on display in the shop at the moment. I will post pictures and details next post.

Keep quilting.

Where have I been?

2010-09-21T01:45:00.000-07:00

Winter is obviously very busy for me and this year seems to have been even more so. I did take last week off and we had a little holiday down south. A few days in Hobart and a couple on Bruny Is. This is the view from the lookout on the neck between north and south Bruny.
And a bit of late snow on Mt Wellington. I am so glad we live in the north, it is much warmer.

I have completed a few projects using nine patches recently so next post I will show you the results.

Keep quilting

What I have been up to

2010-06-19T02:45:00.001-07:00

We spent a few days in Hobart earlier this month with Lauren and these are the cushion covers I made for her.They took very little time to make using woollen blanketing and pearl thread in the bobbin of my very old Bernina that Lauren is borrowing. It was great that the old girl can still perform so well. The covers will look better when I get the right size inserts for her.

This was the Black Forest Cake I made for lunch with friends on the long weekend. It was from the Masterchef magazine recipe by Gary Mehigan. Supposed to take 40 minutes to prepare and one hour to cook. Well I don’t know how they did it in that time because it took me 6 hours all up, with a couple of breaks. It was very well received, but I don’t think I will be making another one for some time. And those plates I served it on were dinner plates not bread and butter plates. It was an impressive height. It’s good to know I can still cook because as most people know Terry does most of the cooking these days.

Lynette’s buttons arrived this week for her first block of her My Garden BOM. They are disappearing very fast. I can’t wait to see the sample Leanne is busy stitching.

And last but not least my first Dear Jane border triangle! I never thought I would be making these but the bug has bitten and this is the first and I don’t think it will be the last.

We had a great get together today and welcomed a new member, Val. She has moved to Launceston from St Helens and it was wonderful to get to know her and see the blocks she has made so far ( I forgot to take photos) and her carrot cupcakes were to die for. Kate’s cream horns were on an equal par, I should have taken photos, then you could have seen what you missed out on Leanne. Can’t wait til next month.

A productive afternoon

2010-05-23T02:47:00.001-07:00

This was my first success today. Despite making several mistakes and the loss of the last page of instructions I finally had a finished bag. Its called Bella by Melly and Me and it was supposed to be easy. Well it was I guess, but I just kept doing silly things. Then I put the borders on this BOM by Natalie Bird called Kitchen Kapers. I have been working on it for a long time. It's great to have it finished and I hope to have it quilted ready for the Scottsdale exhibition on the June long weekend.

This is a very old UFO and I have been working on the crazy hearts trying to get them finished. They will be appliqued to the quilt top after it is quilted. I did find the border fabric and hope to have it bordered and quilted soon.

This block using Rural Jardin fabrics was going to be a pocket for a bag, but I think it has turned out a bit too big. I will have to rethink it.

And this will be a quilt using the Eden range of fabrics if I manage to get it right. The 4th block in row 3 will have to be unpicked. Well no ones perfect, I will just keep trying!

The farmers wife and Dear Jane

2010-05-15T00:33:00.000-07:00

Today we had our Dear Jane meeting. Well I think we may have got our dates crossed cos there was only Leanne, Christine and I. Maybe we will do it again next week!!! I made two DJ blocks and still managed to talk a lot. The largest block in this photo is from The Farmers wife and is called Butterfly at the Crossroads. I also made this today. I know I haven't got time and I shouldn't be starting new projects but the fabric spoke to me and I had to make it. The heart block is part of a needle book that will be an extra project for my French Medallion BOM.

My Garden fabrics and machines

2010-04-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

These are the fabrics we have chosen to make Lynettes new quilt in. They look great with the threads that she has used. We still have a few buttons for sale. Can't wait til they come in.

New Janome machines in the shop. I have almost opened them all now.

Here are two of the owls Kim and I have made. They are from the moda bakeshop site.

Elephants

2010-04-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

We have gone a little mad over elephants. I asked Kim to make one for a sample for the shop and she loved them so much she made several. Then the girls in my class wanted to make some so we had a night and made one each. I even made one cos my daughter said she'd like one (don't know when she will get it though!) They are a Heather Bailey design. Kim also made a tortoise from the same designer.

My Garden

2010-04-16T01:17:00.000-07:00

As you will see I have just added a new logo to my site. (I am feeling rather clever.)
I am participating in Lynette Anderson's My Garden BOM.
Lynette has designed a nine part BOM and is giving it away with the purchase of a button each month from our shop. I will give more info shortly.

We have Janome sewing machines

2010-04-15T14:39:00.000-07:00

They have arrived. Our new janomes are still in the process of being set up in the shop. I have only opened half of them and I can't wait to get them all fired up. It was a big decision to take on a Janome dealership and I am looking forward to selling them.

Another re-organisation is happening and on Monday we should be fully operational.

I am still finishing quilts - and won't it be great to sit in the shop and sew? I only need more hours in the day!

French Medallion finished.

2010-04-09T23:13:00.000-07:00

I have finished the largest quilt I have made for many years. I fell in love with the French General fabric-Rouenneries. So I just had to make a quilt for our queen size bed. Mostly I make smaller quilts or samples and many have not been quilted.

It is shown here hanging at St Helen's over Easter in the Break O Day Stitchers exhibition.
And I even got a small viewers choice prize.
I did quilt it all myself even if it did say Leanne quilted it on the tag! Just a small goof but a lovely exhibition, congatulations to the organisers.
I think I am over this range now, after two bags, a cushion and two quilts. And that's a good thing cos Rural Jardin has just come in and another big quilt is in the beginning stages.

Back to blogging

2010-02-19T22:47:00.001-08:00

I’m back. Sorry for the big delay in posting. My computer collapsed and there was a wait til we got the new one. Then I had to get used to it. It’s hard to cope with new things sometimes and this one wants to do things automatically and it also hides things, very frustrating. Then there was Christmas and a sort of holiday. and I was embarrassed cos I offered a giveaway and didn’t follow thru, so if those people that did leave a comment would like to email me a snail mail address I will post some goodies out. I will try to get it right next time.

So what have I been doing, you ask.

Well, we have re organised the shop. A bit of a change around (seemed like a holiday!!) it has opened it up a bit and made it brighter . Started a lot of new projects, finished a couple, had a break in, they didn’t take much, just some scissors, small change and my most recently finished stitchery bag !

I had a lovely afternoon with the Dear Jane group today. A very small group, Simone, Helena and I, for the start of the year. I have been making my applique blocks using machine buttonhole stitch, I am not a traditionalist, haven’t got time for hand work, but I wanted to see if I could do needleturn by machine as well. I will post a picture and you can judge.

I still need a lot more practice.

This is bag that was stolen. It’s an Ella and Skysie design from their Present of the Month range. It’s going to be easy to recognise because I changed the name to Esmes Antiques and if you look closely you will see that I didn’t finish topstitching the top of the bag. I was rushing to finish it one morning before going to the shop and the needle broke, I didn’t have time to change the needle so just took the bag meaning to finish it at a later date. I guess this will not happen now.

I have just been handed a lovely glass of sav blanc so I had better go and be sociable. Tomorrow I will find some photos of the shop and my new block of the month featuring the lovely Rouenneries.

Presents

2009-12-03T13:28:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Rebecca for the lovely flowers she sent me for my birthday. They are beautiful and still looking great over a week later.

And here is the bag Leanne gave me.

Thanks Leanne and I promise I won’t tell anyone!

Giveaway

2009-12-03T13:09:00.001-08:00

As promised I will give some goodies away to some lucky people. Just leave a comment here to be in the draw and if you link to my blog you will get two chances to win. I have charm packs of Aster Manor and Santoriniand a Moonshine bag pattern. Must remember to take a photo.

More quilt market photos

2009-11-17T13:02:00.001-08:00

Monica Poole from Moonshine design with new simple clothing designs, quilts and bags.

Anni Downes from Hatched and Patched and me.

Me and Libby Richardson with her new block of the month.

Bronwyn Hayes from Red Brolly, Kerrie from XLN and me (again).

Brenda Ryan and me with her new block of the month.

Photos were very kindly taken by Terry. I do thank him (I think). We did have a very wonderful time in Melbourne. It’s always good to get away ,catch up with and make new friends, source great fabrics and get new ideas.

In the next post I will be giving away some new fabrics so stay tuned.

AQM and great weekend

2009-11-16T02:08:00.001-08:00

As promised I am posting about last weekend. It was great. Caught up with so many people I hadn’t seen for a long, long time. Met some new people, and didn’t stop talking all weekend. Spent lots of money!!! Wonderful catching up with Rebecca, and her Mum and Aunt. We wont leave it so long next time and maybe she will recognise me!

Here’s Jo at the beginning of the show on Helen’s Pattern Press stand. Unfortunately I didn’t get back in time to take more photos of the stand and before you knew it this was the end.

All packed up for this year. But I did take heaps more photos of other stands, so I will post them tomorrow.

Long weekends

2009-11-11T13:06:00.001-08:00

I have been lucky enough to have had a four day break over the long weekend. We went to the Deloraine Craft Fair on Friday and then spent the rest of the weekend at St Helens. Deloraine was great, so many terrific crafts people. I even tried my hand at glass bead making but I don’t think I will change crafts for a while.

It was lovely to catch up with Annie at St Helens and to just rest and sew for the weekend.

I took this photo on one of my walks. I think a tree quilt might happen soon.

Saw the Harleys on the way home from a drive to Exeter last weekend. Were they not a magnificent sight!

And this weekend I will be in Melbourne at the AQM checking out all the great fabrics and designs and attending a lecture with McKenna Ryan and several great Australian designers.

Back next week with lots of photos from Melbourne.

More Rouenneries

2009-11-11T00:09:00.000-08:00

I'm back! Well I haven't been very far away but I have been very busy and computer stuff gets left to the bottom of the pile. But as you will see from the photo, I hope I can remember how to add it, I have made another sample from my current favourite fabric range. All the fabrics are in stock now and selling fast.

Rouenneries

2009-09-01T15:04:00.000-07:00

Another sample ready to be quilted, using fabrics from the French General by Moda. Fabric should arrive in October.

Blessings

2009-09-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

New fabric just in by Brannock & Patek for Moda

Teddy Portraits

2009-09-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

Just finished quilting this on the A1. A bit out of practice but some things you never forget. A great new quilt by Libby Richardson.

The Sewing Circle

2009-09-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

I have finally finished the centre block for Robyn Allen-Waters' quilt "The Sewing Circle". I just need more time!

Australian Dear Jane

2009-09-01T14:45:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the African quilt in Brenda's book I have made this wallhanging using Australian fabrics. It is yet to be quilted.

my dear Jane Blocks

2009-08-29T23:20:00.000-07:00

Just getting started, but I have put together eight blocks using aboriginal fabrics. I will take a photo of that soon to show you.

Dear Jane Day

2009-08-29T23:12:00.000-07:00

Here is Leanne hard at work on her Dear Jane block at our last get together.

santorini

2009-08-12T01:59:00.000-07:00

I finally managed to get a sample done before the fabric arrived at the shop.

This quilt was made using layer cakes and was so easy. The second sample may

take a little longer.

Look for more fabric soon. We have new orientals, soft florals and flannels. I will try and get some photos tomorrow.

It was a very busy day today and great to have a visit from the Oatlands girls.

Simply Sumptuous

2009-08-09T15:27:00.000-07:00

New quilt from Robyn Pandolph range beautifully quilted by Leanne.

Hobart weekend

2009-08-09T15:20:00.000-07:00

Just spent a couple of days down south. How good is this view.

2009-08-09T02:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new blog. I hope to be able to post regularly and update you on news from the shop.