I'm a cover girl...

...or at least my quilt is. Another photo I forgot to post. My quilt Psychedelic Peonies was chosen to be on the cover of Australian Patchwork & Quilting machine quilting issued in July. What a thrill! I doubt it will ever happen again so...

...here it is!!

amazing sunset

Isn't this the most amazing sunset? I took this photo a couple of weeks ago and meant to post it then. This is straight from the camera - no detours through photoshop.

Fuchsia Fantasy 3

I felt like doing some quilting on my little Husqvarna so decided to finish up this little quilt top that I made a few years ago. The flower was inspired by a class with Jane Sassaman, where we had to choose a photo of a flower, do a pencil sketch, erase most of the detail and exaggerate what was left. I really like the fat little fuchsia flower that I ended up with!

When I quilt on my domestic machine, I like to use squares of non-slip drawer liner instead of quilting gloves. I find the gloves make my hands too hot, and I'm forever taking them off and putting them back when I want  to thread needles, grab a mouthful of my cup of tea or whatever. I also put a square of it under my foot pedal to stop it sliding on the tile floor.

Quilts in the Garden

On the weekend of November 9/10, my local quilt group Devon Patchworkers and Quilters together with the owners of Hawthorn Villa in Carrick held an open garden and quilt exhibition to raise money for the MS society of Tasmania. This is the second year that Quilts in the Garden has been held. Hawthorn Villa is described as  2 storey residence built in the gothic revival style in 1875. The owners , Nicole and Innes, and Nicole's parents Judy and John, put in SO much hard work in the weeks leading up to the weekend as well as on the weekend itself. The members of the quilt group were also wonderful, not only providing so many quilts to display but also setting up and taking down the quilts, selling raffle tickets, talking to visitors and a myriad of other things. We had nonstop rain on the Friday and some rain on the Saturday, which meant that the quilts had to be displayed under cover. On the Sunday, which is when we went up to Carrick, the weather was just perfect! Beautiful sunshine, lots of visitors and the garden was just beautiful. I took lots of photos and thought I'd share some random photos here.

NOTE: this is a very picture-heavy post so it may take a while to load.

books for sale

I have amassed a substantial library of books over the 30 odd years I've been quilting. If I'm honest with myself, I know that I'm never going to use most of them. We've been on a limited budget for a few years now (since I have MS and my husband is my official carer) so if I want to be able to keeping buying thread and batting, I need to sell some of the unused things in my studio.

This is the (mostly) complete list of the books I have for sale. If I'm lucky enough to sell any, I'll take them off the list. PLEASE EMAIL ME IF YOU ARE INTERESTED. My email address is on my profile page. Please note that postage will be extra, and within Australia only.

applique

Three Dimensional Applique – Jodie Davis - $15

Quilts from the Smithsonian – Mimi Dietrich - $20

Celtic Quilt Designs – Philomena Durcan Wiechec -$20

Celtic Spirals – Philomena Durcan - $20

Replique Quilts (applique designs from favourite photos) – Chris Lynn Kirsch - $20

A Floral Affair – Jennifer Rounds & Catherine Comyns - $20

Cats in Quilts – Carol Armstrong - $20

Butterflies & Blooms – Carol Armstrong - $20

Everyday Angels in Extraordinary Quilts – Mary Lou Weidman - $15

Hearts and Flowers – Kathy Delaney - $20

Alphabet Garden – Nancy Halvorsen - $15

Heirloom Machine Applique – Harriet Hargrave - $20

Reflections of Baltimore – Jeana Kimball - $15

Classics in Plaids and Stripes – Becky Goldsmith & Linda Jenkins - $15

Applique – Dorothy Tucker - $15

Beyond the Horizon (Small Landscape Applique) – Valerie Hearder - $15

Medieval Designs for Applique – Eileen Campbell - $15

Red Wagon Originals – Gerry Kimmel & Linda Brannock - $15

A Bouquet of Quilts – Jennifer Rounds & Cindy Lyle Rymer - $15

Tea Party Time – Nancy J Martin - $10

Petal by Petal – Joan Shay - $10

Friends Gather Here – Leslie Beck - $10

Country Bride Quilt Collection – Cheryl Benner & Rachel Pellman - $10

Hot Fudge Sundae & Irish Eyes Quilt – Irma Gail Hatcher - $10

Angels All Around – Suellen Wassem & Debra Fritts - $10

Decorate with Applique – Diane Johnston - $10

Color Splashed Quilts – Carol Burniston - $15

Landscapes & Illusions – Joen Wolfrom - $15

Landscape Quilts – Nancy Zieman & Natalie Sewell - $20

Felines & Feathered Friends – Cindy Taylor Oates - $10

Collections from the Heart – Debbie Mumm - $10

Borders & Medallions - Elly Sienkiewicz - $20

Design a Baltimore Album Quilt - Elly Sienkiewicz - $20

Baltimore Album Quilts - Elly Sienkiewicz - $20

Baltimore Beauties & Beyond Volume 1- Elly Sienkiewicz - $20

Baltimore Beauties & Beyond Volume 2- Elly Sienkiewicz - $20

Dimensional Applique (Baskets, Blooms & Baltimore Borders - Elly Sienkiewicz - $20

piecing

Stained Glass Quilts – Liz Schwartz and Stephen Seifert - $20

Dear Jane – Brenda Papadakis - $20

Quilted Diamonds – Linda Franz - $20

Curved Piecing – Paulette Peters - $15

Simply Stars – Alex Anderson - $15

Symmetry – Ruth McDowell - $15

Bargello Tapestry Quilts – Marilyn Doheny - $15

Bargello Quilts – Marge Edie - $15

Colourwash Bargello Quilts – BethAnn Williams - $15

Sewing on the Line (foundation piecing) – Lesley Claire Greenberg - $15

Cutting Curves from Straight Pieces – Debbie Bowles - $15

Tradition with a Twist – Blanche Young & Dalene Young Stone - $15

Crazy with Cotton – Diana Leone - $15

Knockout Blocks & Sampler Quilts – Judy Martin - $15

Piece & Play Quilts – Judy Martin - $15

Cookies & Quilts – Judy Martin - $15

Quick Method Quilts Galore - $10

Casting Shadows – Colleen Wise - $20

Watercolour Quilts - Pat Maixner Magaret & Donna Ingram Slusser - $15

Impressionist Quilts – Gai Perry - $15

Easy Art Quilts – Christiane Meunier - $10

Quilt-a-Koala – Margaret Rolfe - $10

Go Wild with Quilts – Margaret Rolfe - $10

All Star Sampler – Roxanne Carter - $10

Square Dance (fancy quilts from plain squares) – Martha Thompsom - $10

Japanese

Omiyage – Kumiko Sudo - $20

Harmonies and Hurricanes – Kumiko Sudo - $20

Fabled Flowers – Kumiko Sudo - $20

Sashiko – Mary Parker - $20

Quilting

Surface Textures – Anita Shackelford - $20

Infinite Feathers – Anita Shackelford - $20

Heirloom Machine Quilting – Harriet Hargrave - $20

The ABC's of Longarm Quilting – Patricia C Barry - $20

Quilt Savvy (Simple Thread Painting) – Nancy Prince - $15

No Boundaries (fmq) – Jamie Wallen & Nichole Webb - $15

Fantasy Freehand – Nichole Webb - $15

Show me how to Machine Quilt – Kathy Sandbach - $15

embroidery, embellishment & stitchery

Beaded Embellishment – Amy C Clarke & Robin Atkins - $20

Painting with Stitches – Sue Dove - $20

Silk Ribbon Album – Jennifer Buechel - $15

The Art of Embroidery – Julia Barton - $15

The Artful Ribbon – Candace Kling - $15

The Magic of Crazy Quilting – J Marsha Mishler - $20

Crazy Quilting with Attitude – Barbara Randle - $20

Victorian Charm – Mary Martin Sist - $5

Free Machine Embroidery – Doreen Curran - $15

Machine Embroidered Landscapes – Alison Holt - $15

Machine Embroidery – Kristen Dibbs - $15

Machine Embroidery Stitch Techniques – Valerie Campbell Harding & Pamela Watts - $15

Stitched Verse – Christine Book - $10

Trees as a Theme – Jan Beaney & Jean Littlejohn - $10

The Stori Book of Embellishing – Mary Stori - $10

Simply Red – Bronwyn Hayes - $5

Keepsake Angels – Wendy Brigg - $5

Bless Them Stitchers – Barb Smith - $5

A-Z of Embroidery Stitches – Country Bumpkin Publications - $10

Encyclopedia of Ribbon Embroidery Flowers – Deanna Hall West - $10

Encyclopedia of Ribbon Embroidery Borders – Deana Hall West - $10

Ribbon Embroidery – Heather Joynes - $10

other

Quilt Savvy ( Fallert's Guide to Images on Fabric) – Caryl Bryer Fallert - $15

Tucks & Textures Two – Jennie Rayment - $20

Snippet Sensations plus Snippet Sensations Bouquets (two books) – Cindy Walter - $20

Round Robin Quilts – Pat Maixner Magaret & Donna Ingram Slusser - $20

Patchwork Rounds of Friendship - $10

Publish Your Patterns – Nancy Retuccia - $20

The Quilter's Companion – Katherine Guerrier - $25

Print Liberation (the Screen Printing Primer) – Nick Paparone, Jamie Dillon, Luren Jenison - $20

Colour Confidence for Quilters – Jinny Beyer - $20

The Art of Fabric Collage – Rosemary Eichorn - $15

Sensational Settings – Joan Hanson - $15

Threads of Time – Nancy J Martin - $15

Sculpted Threads – Janet Shipley Hawkes - $15

Quiltskills (workshops of the quilter's guild) - $10

When Quilt Designers Think Small - $15

Contemporary Quilts – Barbara Hallas - $10

Australia Dreaming - $5

Happy Endings – Mimi Dietrich - $10

Iron on Transfers for Quilt Labels (unused) – Barbara Baatz - $10

Fun with Folded Fabric Boxes – Crystal Mills & Arnold Tubis - $15

Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Bowls – Linda Johansen - $15

Fast, Fun & Easy Bookcover Art – Jake Finch - $15

Incredible Thread-a-bowls – Wendy Hill - $15

Dressed by the Best (wearable art projects) - $15

Fabric Artistry (pin-weaving,felting,texturizing & More) - Singer Designs - $15

Nature's Studio – Joan Colvin - $20

Colour Works (crafter's guide to colour) – Deb Menz - $20

Colour by Design (paint & print with dye) – Ann Johnston - $20

Colour by Accident (low water immersion dyeing) – Ann Johnston - $20

Scrapbooks on the Go (collect & create while you travel) – Jan Bode Smiley - $15

Altered Photo Artistry (turn images into art on fabric inc CD) – B Wheeler & L Marquette - $20

Before Quilting

Before I started quilting, this is one of the things I did. I taught myself to crochet when I was about 8 years old. I've made many rugs and scarves but what I really enjoyed making was table centres and doilies like these. Most of them are stashed away in a cloth bag in a cupboard. There is one sitting under a pot plant, just to protect the table that it is on.

For fabric painting?

I had a look through a local gift shop, filling in some time, when I saw these. They are felt placemats but I thought they would be great for printing on fabric with paint. I especially like the top one - it's like a double wedding ring quilt. I'm hoping that when summer comes and the weather warms up a bit, I'll still remember where I've put them!

connections

I made this for a quilt challenge several years ago. The theme of the challenge was 'connections'. I wanted to try using non-traditional embellishments so went shopping at the hardware store (that is FUN). I found all kinds of things that can be used to 'connect', like nails, screws, nuts & bolts & washers, split pins, chain and threw in some safety pins too.

 I used quite a few different techniques - machine piecing, machine quilting, hand applique, hand embroidery, beading. All the parts that make up the wall hanging are different sizes and shapes. I entered it in the Tasmanian Quilt Guild's annual show and was thrill ed when it won two prizes - overall Best Use of Embellishment and also Highly Commended in the Art Professional category.

trees

I don't think I ever posted photos of this quilt from a few years ago. It's my own design that originated from a challenge between my friend Judi and I. We each used a photo and traced some of the lines from the photo onto tracing paper, then simplified the lines even further by erasing some of them. We then cut a 1" square hole in a larger piece of cardboard and moved the cardboard over the drawing until we found a section that seems to have interesting design possibilities. The drawing takes on a completely different look when you can only see a 1" square section at a time. We had to expand the design from the little section we'd chosen, without referring back to the original photo.  It was a very interesting exercise. This quilt was the result. I did the quilting on my Husky rather than the longarm, as I didn't think I'd be able to do all the echo quilting as well as I would like on the longarm. I wrote up the pattern for it last year and it was published in Australian Patchwork and Quilting magazine.