Quilt Encounter

last week I had a wonderful time at quilt encounter catching up with old friends and doing two very exciting workshops. The first was 'Handbags' with Olga Walters, which was a very freeing class by an entertaining teacher with a lovely relaxed anything goes approach, she made the class so much fun and we used different and interesting techniques. I was very pleased with my effort.
The second workshop was two days with Jacqui Karl making 'Layered Leaves'. Jacqui is from New Zealand and it was very enjoyable to hear the familiar accent and mannerisms of my home country. Her workshop was very interesting teaching several different ways to make 3D leaves using some techniques I had not tried up till now. Again I was very pleased with the results.
Regards Elizabeth.

A workshop with Mariya Waters

Mariya's workshop at The Sewing Sanctuary was very inspiring and I learnt some very exciting new techniques. I enjoyed it so much that I continued with the project when I went on a weekend retreat with friends immediately following the workshop. I have almost finished the project and will certainly use the technique in future quilts. Mariya gave us some very useful tips as well and I am looking forward to her return visit next year.
Next on my agenda which I am also very much looking forward to is a few days at Quilt encounter to learn some more new techniques.
Regards Elizabeth.

Trip to Sydney

I have just returned from a wonderful few days in Sydney which nearly didn't happen because of the ash cloud. I missed the first day of the quilt show and the awards ceremony because of it and arrived Wednesday evening so was able to attend the exhibition on the Thursday. I had a lovely time looking at all the beautiful quilts, some of them were simply stunning. It was such a thrill to be awarded two 2nd places with my entries "Baby Rose of Sharon" in the miniature category and "Fantasy Seed Pods" in the Art Quilt category. You will find photos of both these quilts already on my blog. I had an enjoyable few days with friends at the show and also sightseeing around Sydney with beautiful fine days adding to our enjoyment. On Friday evening I attended the dinner put on by the NSW Guild and had a lovely time catching up with friends from past quilting occasions and meeting new people. Now it's time to come back down to earth and get back into work routine.
Regards Elizabeth.

umbelliferae

This is the name of my latest small wall hanging. It is based on the queen Anne's lace flower from the umbelliferae plant family. Umbelliferae are plants with stalks nearly equal in length springing from a common centre and together forming a flat or curved surface, for example parsley fennel, and dill. I had a lovely piece of fabric from McKenna Ryan's range with these flower heads on it and was inspired to develop my quilt on this theme with this fabric as the background. I have embellished it with interesting things like macrame rope, hessian, embroidery and jig-saw puzzles. I will show you a photo when it is finished.
Regards Elizabeth

Mitre Peak landscape quilt

At quilt encounter 2009 I enrolled in a painted landscape class with Gloria Loughman. My project was based on a photo of Mitre Peak which is in Milford Sound, New Zealand. It is a much photographed NZ scene and one I have always admired so when the opportunity arose to do this workshop I chose this for my landscape. The sky and water were composed of painted, cut and pieced fabric. The lupins in the foreground were very bright so I covered the bottom part of the quilt up to the water with mauve colored net to give a subdued effect more suited to go with the evening sky. I have called this quilt "Mitre Peak at Dusk".
Regards Elizabeth.

Baby Quilts

I have recently finished the 'Nursery Friends' quilt from Michele's new book as a sample for the shop where I work. Thank you Michele it was a delightful project to work on.
I have made several baby quilts, usually made in a hurry as a special request so they are quite simple designs. One of the brightest ones was at my daughters request for her teachers new baby. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of that one but I do have photos of two others made at various times in the past.
Regards Elizabeth.

Spring Evening in Japan

I have just collected the fabrics for this new Block of the Month. I have had the design ready to make for several months now and am keen to get started on it. The colors are clear and fresh with a soft misty look about them reminiscent of a spring evening, hence the name. This quilt is the forth BOM I  have designed exclusively for Patchwork by Sea and they are proving to be very popular. If you are a patchwork retailer and would like the advantage of exclusive rights to a BOM design why not contact me so that I can design one especially for you.
Regards Elizabeth.