Monday, May 13, 2013

It's Monday.....but it feels like Sunday....

I took myself off to a class on the weekend....it was yesterday...here ....I was going to drive over on Friday but was busy at work so left at sparrow's fart on Saturday morning ...arrived late afternoon and settled in to the motel with some stitching and a nice dinner.....not much stitching was done....and the footy game I was all set to watch hadn't even started when I fell asleep!  Sunday I headed down to the shop for the class with Margaret McDonald......I LOVE this shop...can you see why?  There is some serious applique happening on these quilts.......


 Just look at this magnificent quilt by the very talented Megan......I stood and looked at it for ages...the fussy cutting and fabric placement is just brilliant.....the pattern and starter packs are available and I was sorely tempted.....


Just contact the shop for the pattern....LOL....you know you want to :) 

**(btw no affils....just love this shop and all it has to offer!)


It took a while to settle us all down to work on our class project.....this is my work in progress....yes...that IS blue that I am working with......was going to go with my usual red/white or red/cream but thought I would have a change up......and thanks to Corliss for her help in picking the light blue....I had the dark blue and had thought white might be the go but it was too stark...so the light blue paisley it was.....


there were four of us in the class and we did have the choice of using several different fabrics but so I wouldn't get confused (it's way too easy to do that these days!) I went with the two colour option.....here are our completed blocks near the end of the day pinned over the "teaching quilt"  ........


I was pretty happy with the way it was looking so when I got back to the motel I set up the machine and kept sewing.....well for a while anyway......I had the drive home today so didn't want to stay up too late........


I tend not to buy a lot of fabric when I go to shops unless I am working on a project that I "need" some for......usually I look at the notions/patterns and books because I don't like buying books I haven't looked at...Corliss stocks these Max and Louise attern Co  patterns and I bought this one and another which has four more small quilts....love them!


I also found a Bonnie Sullivan book......which was a "must buy"


And....this.........I have doing some hand piecing at night and have been using a fine sandpaper board when I draw around the templates...it has been "eating" the leads in the pencil and they are just disappearing......this Matilda's Own soft non-slip design mat will be just the bee's knees!  I tried it out last night and love it.....(it also comes in A4 size and you can roll it up with your hand piecing inside if you want......)  I do like to find new (to me) things.......! 


so that was about the extent of my purchases....I thought these were worth sharing...the mat  in particular will be well used! 

I left to come home this morning in very dull conditions.....there was  nice steady rain during the night and everything looked better for it today.....it has been very dry and quite warm for this time of year so the rain was very welcome.......This is driving in to the town of Maldon........


My GPS and I have fun on these trips away.....she likes to take me off the main highways when possible ......I could see for miles in front and behind and checked to make sure the coast was clear before I stopped to take this quick snap.......(in fact I only saw one other car on this 56km stretch of road).


So it was a very quick trip away this time but as always it was great to visit Threadbear and Castlemaine!  Back to work tomorrow!  :)

'Til next time...............................Lorraine

20 comments:

Susan said...

Thread Bear looks like a dream destination. I think I need to do a very long Victorian road trip! And I will look out for that mat too.

Leanne said...

What a wonderful way to spend the weekend, your sewing looks great.

Kimme said...

Threadbear is an amazing shop! It looks like you had the best time. Isn't Margaret such a lovely teacher? That block you are making looks great. I love that drive through country Victoria, so beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Loz what a fun filled weekend,love those quilts and love your blocks,i hope to go to Maldon in the next couple of weeks.xx

Chookyblue...... said...

just a quick trip.........lol.........nice quilt your working on........

Fairy Floss Stitches said...

What a great class!...just love those blocks. Megan's quilt is amazing too....very tempting!...I'll put it on my list! Xx

Lenora said...

What a perfect way to spend the weekend.

Michelle said...

What a great weekend! I love the blues of the block you made, it will look gorgeous! that quilt shop looks gorgeous.
Michelle

Shay said...

Im kind of regretting I didnt take you up on your offer to come on this trip because it looks like that shop would be right up my alley.

Love those blocks. The blue is perfect!

Sharon - Lilabelle Lane said...

Sounds like a perfect weekend. hugs

Jeanette said...

Looks like you had a fabulous weekend. Thanks for the tip about the mat for hand piecing. Off to Google search no to buy one. :) Hugs,xx.

Googy Girl said...

Wow what a fabulous weekend away, I love the looks of that shop and the quilts OMG

Your blocks look great can t wait to see it all finished

Peg - Happy In Quilting said...

Looks like you have had the best weekend...lucky you..

Cardygirl said...

Looks like a fabulous time...love your block...love the look of the mat too!

Sarah said...

Wow lots of ks driven in a short time. I feel tired just reading it. Good on you though. How do you get your GPS to take you off the highways? Mine always goes the main way.

Leanne said...

It indeed was a quick trip but looks like it was very enjoyable. That mat looks interesting.

Lou - Max and Louise Pattern Co said...

We love shopping at Threeadbear too. I love my mat and use it all the time. Thanks so much for buying our patterns, we hope you enjoy making them. Lou & Lisa

Sue SA said...

Yikes you are a legend driving that far for a class! I have always wanted to go to Threadbear but never got there...but I think I had better make it a mission to do it THIS year! Class block is lovely, looking forward to watching it grow.

quiltygal said...

Wow what a post lots of news & some beautiful quilts Love the new garden want mine done now *sigh* that mat looks as if it will be really useful I'll get the details next time I see you might have to track one down :)

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