Thursday 21 June 2012

Sydney Quilt Show

For those of you who didn't know, the Sydney Quilt & Craft Show was on over the weekend.

 

The 5-day show is the biggest in Australia and is on in June every year.

 

As usual I had a lovely time catching up with friends and getting to know some of my customers.

 

It was surprising how many New Zealanders I ran in to during the show.



I was lucky enough to have a number of helpers on my stand this year. My friend Karen Merseides, a keen quilter, came down from Brisbane for the first two days. On Friday and Saturday Doreen, from Rolleston NZ and Denise, from Blenheim NZ. For those of you who are from the Blenheim area you may know Denise, she works at The Quilter's Barn. I owe an eternal gratitude to my helpers, at the the big shows I couldn't get by without them.
 

Once again I did the Mariner's Compass Workshop. And it was wonderfully received, so much so I had another 25 bought over on the Friday.

 

For the second year my stand was next to a couple of super guys, Wayne and Peter. For all you keen embroiderer's out there, they specialize in cross stitch and needlework fabric. Peter has also invented an amazing self framing system for all embroidery and cross stitch needs. He demonstrates it on the stand. They operate a mail order shop on their website.

Check out their website here Click Here

 

The most popular item I sold over the week was the Stargello Pattern. Keep an eye out because over the next few weeks I'll be showcasing the pattern on the blog.

 

Check out more pictures on my Flickr Account Click Here

 



Wednesday 13 June 2012

Jewel Box Class at Whangarei Quilters Group

Over the weekend I went up north to teach a class at the Whangarei Quilters Group. I have sold the Jewel Box for a number of years now, it has been vey popular at the shows. I created a class which I have taught at a number of quilt groups around Australia and New Zealand.

The Jewel Box is a tool created by Phillips Fiber Art. The tool creates quilts that are not quite like anything else out there. Its popularity is largely due to its simplicity, a quilter of any skill level can create something beautiful and unique. As you'll see in the pictures below; although the pattern is the same for all the quilts, colours and patterns are used to create unique quilts. Fussy cutting can create something else altogether, check out the first quilt below, Sue fussy cut the fabric for the borders.

There are a number of patterns that accompany the Jewel Box tool. The class I taught over the weekend used The Swirl pattern. I'll have a link to my website at the end of this blog, you can see the different patterns available. Also in the last 12 months Phillips Fiber Art have released new sizes for the tool. Check these out on the website too.

The best thing about this tool is creates a quick and easy quilt that can be completed in ONE DAY!!! One of the ladies finished her quilt top during the class and the others finished theirs at home.

 

 

Here are the links to my website:

The three tools and various patterns can be found on this page Click Here

This will take you directly to the Jewel Box Tool Click Here

This will take you directly The Swirl pattern Click Here

 

Lastly just another reminder for those of you in Sydney. The Quilt & Craft Show started today (Wednesday) and finishes on Sunday. Come visit me at Stand E-12.

Here is a link to the show website for more details Click Here

 



Sunday 3 June 2012

Quilt Market in Kanas City

It's been a few weeks since my last blog, between the show in Brisbane and heading off to the United States there hasn't been much spare time for writing blogs.

 

This is more of a photo post, to show you all some pictures from my trip.

 

I had a great time in America with my friends Gary & Cheryl Philips (from Philips Fiber Art). Most of my time was spent in Kanas City, Missouri. It's not exactly a tourist destination but this was the location for Quilt Market this year. For those of you who don't know, Quilt Market is a huge trade show held twice a year. Manufacturers exhibit their latest designs and products to buyers and retailers.

This picture just doesn't show the sheer size of the show, Australian & New Zealand shows are tiny in comparison.

Next are some of the booths that were there.



Check out my pink quilt on the right hand corner, Cheryl is currently writing a pattern for it "Castle Walls".

The quilt on the left hand side is Stargello Pattern using the Gem Thirty Tool

Below are the "promo" girls for Michael Miller Fabrics

Below are some of the people I met

Gary and Denise

Gary Phillips and Denise, from Baltimore, she creates clothing out of quilts

Kay from Serendipity Studios, this is the cutest lady I've ever met, and she had an equally cute husband

Cheryl and Virginia Robertson, Quilter extrodronaire and writer from Colorado

Some of you may be familiar with the X blocks, this is Patricia she created them

Denise, Kathy from North Dakota, Becky from Colorado, Me, Gary & Cheryl

 

Since Kanas City and Grand Junction aren't really tourist places I've included some pictures of the areas so you can have a look.

KANAS CITY


GRAND JUNCTION

 

Wherever I go away I'm always on the look out for quilting inspiration, and I found some while in America.

This was one of the doors at Tiffany & Co in Kanas City

This was the roof of the convention centre where Quilt Market was held

I had a great time while I was in the US, I have more photos on my Flickr account Click Here


Lastly for all you people who live in Sydney, the Sydney Quilt & Craft Show starts on 13th June. Click Here for more details.