Houston Highlights...

Houston Quit Market and Festival have been and gone in a flash! There were so many things to see and so many things to do, the camera came out many times but unfortunately my internet connection wasn't as reliable as I would have liked, must work on that for next time!

It was Halloween while we were there and pumpkins were everywhere, they came in all shapes and sizes. These adorable ones were at the local supermarket and had a sign on them that called them 'fairytale' pumpkins. Very appropriate!

I found this mother piggy and all her little piglets on the 'Dude Ranch' the name given to one of the fabric distributors booth, they had a complete farm full of animals and other props all made from fabric! Every time you passed there was something else to see...

There was even a hen house full of chooks and their little chickens, spiders webs and giant cactus plants, I think you can just see the rear end of the horse here too!

And this mess.... Sue, Paul and I are dismantling from Market (trade show only) and re-jigging to present ourselves to the Festival crowd! Our neighbour had had enough for the moment and was having a little snooze... lucky him!

And a big thank you to everyone who called past to say hello, it was great to meet so many of our readers in person,

until next time,

Look at this!

Wow.... who has seen this gorgeous carpet before? For those who don't recognise it you can find it on the walkover from the Hilton Hotel to the George R Brown Convention Centre!

Don't forget to call past and say hello if you are at market or festival this week. You can find us at booth #1256!

See you soon, Karen

Houston here we come...

We are off to Houston Texas!!!

Sue, Paul and I are flying out on Wednesday to attend Fall Market and Festival. 

You can find us all at booth # 1256 for both events, call past and say hello if you are in town. 

Kim will be holding the fort at the shop while we are away and can answer any of your enquiries.

Please note the SHOP HOURS for the time we will be away

Tuesday to Friday 9.30am - 4.00pm

from Tuesday 22nd October until Monday 11 November inclusive

We will be CLOSED on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays during this time

Our badges arrived this week... that means its getting close! 

And these boxes left last Thursday and should be waiting for us in Houston when we arrive all ready for Festival!

Maybe we will see you there :)

The Mail's in...

The postman stopped by the shop the other day and brought in the latest edition of Down Under Quilts magazine. 

If you turn to page 28.....

LOOK what you can see :)

I think the pictures say it all! A lovely article and some fabulous photos. All in this magazine.

A very big thank-you to Linda Collins from Quilts in the Barn for letting the magazine use her photos taken at the 2012 Craft and Quilt Fair in Melbourne. If you would like a copy of this magazine... it is on sale now.

Until next time, 

Quilts In the Barn is on again...

This coming weekend (27th, 28th & 29th September) Linda Collins from Quilts in the Barn is hosting a spectacular display of original Antique Chintz quilts along with a large selection of Chintz inspired quilts made by local quilters. 

This special event is held at Linda's home in Wonga Park, visit here for directions!

How would you like to own this gorgeous Dutch Chintz quilt? Maybe you can - it is the raffle quilt for the event, 

tickets are available on the day with all proceeds going to Breast Cancer Research.

After seeing the beautiful quilts on display you might like to collect a copy of this book...

 'Chintz Quilts' from the Poos collection, 

jam packed and full of loads of inspiring antique quilts. 

The books will be in store very soon! Call the shop or email us to reserve your copy now. 

This stunning book is available at a cost of $90, stocks are limited.

And for a sneak peak inside...

I can't wait to get my very own copy of this very special book.

Sue and I will be at the 'Barn' on Friday morning, if you see us there come and say hello! We love meeting our quilting friends,

I hope to see you there,

From this to that...

It has been a very productive day today! I have taken my work space from an extremely disorganised mess to a relatively sorted, organised, clear table surface. There was a recent trip to Ikea to thank for a lot of it, and a bit of nagging from those who live here with me...... Most of that 'stuff' you can see belongs to current creations in varying stages of finish. Tonight I feel that I will be able to 'finish' something very soon. So keep watching!

Just look what I found underneath that mess! I haven't seen this gorgeous thing for quite awhile. This beautiful table was designed and hand made by my son Brenton for his year 12 (final year) high school project in Design and Tech a few years ago. Wasn't I a lucky girl! Lets see how long it stays nice and clear.....

Now back to my stitching,

p.s. I am very glad you can't see the floor in the photo, it still needs a bit of work... :)

A long overdue 'Show and Tell'...

I know its been a while since we had a really good 'shop' Show and Tell. So... here we go!

'Honeycomb' by Lynne

A very organised 'Dear Prudence' by Jane

Beautiful 'Mrs Billings' by Joan

English Paper Pieced 'Lozenges' by Margaret

A colourful 'Irish Chain' from Ann

Reverse applique basket by Julie

And the first reverse applique border on Julie's quilt.

And.... I do have some more to show you soon! Until then, keep stitching...

Dunroamin...

I am back at the shop now for a few weeks, I feel we have done enough travelling for a while, next stop Brisbane in October. We have finished roaming (Dunroamin) and are settling back in to shop life!

There were a few (I think that should actually read HEAPS of) deliveries this week. The first to arrive were 13 boxes of stunning Marcus Brothers fabrics, some special treats from Judie Rothermel and Paula Barnes were amongst them. No sooner had I started to undo them, when, another truck pulled up and unloaded 5 more! These 5 contained ranges from Windham Fabrics. - More History of Dutch Quilts and Promenade in a Dutch Garden by Petra Prins arrived too!

This little group came home for the weekend, I am supposed to be finishing 'something', but the temptation is to start 'something' new! A combination of Dressing Gowns, Summit Rose and a few old favourites mixed in. How strong can I be?

Dressing Gowns by Judie Rothermel

Hampton Ridge by Paula Barnes

More Hampton Ridge by Paula

Shirtings...

Villageware Toile by Renee Nanneman

Summit Rose by Paula Barnes

There is a Sunday sewing day on tomorrow, watch out for some 'show and tell',
until tomorrow,

Time off...

Today Paul and I had a little time off and what better way to spend it than a visit to the

 National Gallery of Australia to see the wonderful exhibition - 'Turner from the Tate'.

We had a lovely afternoon viewing these amazing masterpieces from Turner and here are some of my favourites... 

and YES we were allowed to photograph them!

These three watercolours on paper caught my eye... I know they are not traditional Turner works of art, 

but I think that in amongst the other large and small masterpieces they were magic.

In the forecourt of the gallery were these huge pears and giant sphere.

Tomorrow we will be 'on the road again'... and thank you, I now know that it was sung by Willie Nelson not Glen Campbell. 

We will be on our way to New Castle to the Stitches and Craft Show, if your are in town stop by and say hello!

Until next time,

On the road again...

On the road again... isn't that a song? Can't remember who performs it though!

Mmmm maybe it was Glen Campbell?

Paul and I are in Canberra for the Craft and Quilt Show this week. On the way we pulled off the road and into the local Macca's (McDonalds for the uninitiated) for a pitstop and found this sign. The car didn't turn right and head up the mountain to the Victorian Ski fields, but did continue on... we could have kept going to warmer weather! Very tempting.

It rained most of the way, so a very quick jump out of the car was all I could manage when we drove through Gundagai. Here is our famous 'Dog on the Tuckerbox'. I think I can hear another song coming along :-)

Until next time,