I'm back......

It's been an age! Last October since I posted to this forum....I have thought about it during that time, but until today I haven't put those thoughts into action.  Ah procrastination abounds in all facets of my life I think :) 

So...to recap a little ....I celebrated another birthday and then Christmas  with these legends.....

Love the out-take as well......Lenny had had enough and was making a break for it.....

Last time I posted I had just attended a class with Christine Vlasic at Millrose Cottage in Victoria ......and hand pieced the first block of Marrakesh......

A month or so ago the I finished piecing the top and got it on to my floor frame for hand quilting.....and I have been slowly working on it as time permits.....no hurry :)

 As you can see, Rose is ever so thrilled about it.....

So Spring and Summer came and went oh and so has Autumn......

 ...and we are now into Winter......with it's cold mornings and grey skies.....I am waiting on a garden guru to come and tidy up the trees out the front, they have sort of exploded and need a bit of a prune but they are always spectacular no matter what time of year I think....

Time in the sewing room has been limited...the weekends are busy and go fast and work takes up the rest of the week.....this time last year I visited my sister and bought these 10" squares from Ruby and Kate in Port Lincoln....

Which I made up into this the next day.......

As soon as I got home I put it together with wadding and backing and set about machine quilting it.....well, that didn't do so well, couldn't decide on thread colour or stitch or even how to quilt it.....I started a couple of times and unpicked each effort then left it hanging over the chair in the sewing room.....looked at it a few times.....and left it again.....until yesterday, I walked in, grabbed the nearest pinkish colour thread, marked some lines with the trusty Hera marker and a couple of hours later it was done!  Why I procrastinated so long on something that in the end was so simple I have no clue!  Binding on last night and a wash and dry this morning and it's done....ok....it's not perfect, a bit puffy in places but it's soft and light and I love it!

My other "go-to" projects have been mostly quick finishes.....some zippered pouches and cushions after going to a class at Hetties Patch for a crash course in attaching piping and inserting zippers.....

So whilst that doesn't cover all of the months I have been absent from blogland it does give a bit of a recap/catch up - time does fly by and the first months of this year have been a bit of a blur. 

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

Road trip - Part 3 - Ballan and Beyond......

When I received confirmation of my attendance at Stitch in Spring with Linda I thought to make good use of my visit I would look around to see if there were any classes on I could attend on the way home.....and voila!  I saw that Christine Vlasic was teaching at Millrose Cottage Quilting and Gallery at Ballan on the Sunday - perfect, and only a 2.5 hour drive, so doable.  I have long been a fan of Christine's work - details can be found on Instagram @clvlasic (and you may remember my Primavera quilt which was one of Christine's patterns......)

So we said goodbye to Port Campbell and another very enjoyable Stitch in Spring on what turned out to be the best day weather wise we had for the entire trip. 

Probably the three red doors have been photographed many, many times!

My sister wasn't coming to the class so after a coffee in the  cafe which is part of the Cottage she headed back to Melbourne to spend the day with her son and grandies......my good friend Kristin who I haven't seen in ages was enrolled in the class, so we settled in for a fun day! and I wasn't disappointed!  I had chosen the Marrakesh pattern to start and Christine was fabulous in giving her time to help me choose fabrics for the first few blocks.....

Mind you, you are spoiled for choice at Millrose....there are rooms of fabric and believe me, I explored every one of them :) it wasn't a great hardship! 

(I did stay out of the Liberty room - can't say I wasn't tempted....)

 A couple of Christine's quilts for us to savour.....Come in Spinner on the right and Celeste on the left....

we were also lucky to have Christine's latest quilt, Tussie Mussie in the house - just gorgeous!

The view from the classroom window was a little different to the sea view of the previous day, but lovely just the same.  Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea all came from the Millrose Cafe which was brilliant!

What a great day I had!!  and with Christine's help with some cutting I even managed to get a block together....not fully stitched but cut out and ready to finish!

It was back to Melbourne for the night before heading towards home on Monday......I say towards because we planned to stay another night somewhere along the Silo Art trail......but first was Gisborne and Mary's gorgeous shop, Patch n Quilt....too busy talking to take many photos (and I may have done some shopping.....)

Loved this display of some vintage sewing aids and patterns....I loved the bee hive tea cosy complete with bee! 

Had a wonderful visit with Mary and had I not had a local football grand final to attend on the weekend I would have been more than keen to stay around for a few more days for Irene Blanck's class on Saturday! Another time!

The next stops were planned to see the silo art which has fascinated me for a while...

First stop was Rupanyup silos....

A few spots of rain as we left for the Sheep Hills silos had become quite steady by the time we got there.....the art work and colours are just brilliant....

Given the now heavy rain we decided to find accommodation in nearby Warracknabeal and head up to Brim, Lascelles, and Patchewollock the next day......unfortunately there was no accommodation to be had in Warracknabeal so we started phoning places along the route home.....by the time we got to towns a couple of hours from home we decided to just keep driving and were home a couple of days earlier than anticipated!  Disappointed to miss the last few silos, but worth a trip back another time for sure!  There are more being added I believe, and here in South Australia the towns of Coonalpyn and Kimba have had their silos painted.

Unpacking from the trip doesn't take long - although most of these bags are still intact in the sewing room.....it was a great trip and I hope to get over to Victoria again soon - although I think this weekend probably wouldn't be a good time to go with half of Adelaide trying to get tickets for the AFL Grand Final. The roads will be busy! 

Speaking of grand finals, the boys played in the local GF here on Saturday - they called in for lunch on their way to the ground - Unfortunately they didn't have a win but it's not all about winning....is it?!? Lenny was absent from this pic.....he was having a nap before the excitement of the game :) Ezra's little outfit was on the table (along with a s**t load of other stuff) ready for him to change into...

That's a wrap for the road trip.  We packed a fair bit into a few days!  back to work for me tomorrow - a four day week to ease myself back into it...then a long weekend.  Can't be bad!

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

Road trip ...part 2 - Stitch in Spring and beyond

Saturday morning dawned a bit clearer and sunny!  (and still cold.....)

Well, the sun came and went a bit.....I do love the sea and all its moods!

The waves coming in at all angles made for a washing machine effect around the jetty and cliffs......

The venue for Stitch in Spring is on the shore to the left of the pic....

Back to the motel to get ready for the day......and this was the view from the venue.....not bad!

Linda is a master of organisation and even without her usual assistants, hubby Russell who had commitments elsewhere and her daughter Hannah who was on bridesmaid duties at a wedding shower she had a great team around her helping....the tables looked very Spring-like - and the zippered bags made by Linda were full of treats - including of course chocolate from Gorge Chocolates (I think it's probably just as well we had run out of time to visit their shop on Friday!!)

The tutors for the day were Anni Downs - Hatched and Patched and Melissa Grant - One Day in May  - this is one of Anni's projects for the day......

I started on the second project which - Love to Be Home folder cover......which included  a stitchery and wool applique

Anni is very talented and I have long been a fan of her  work......she was very helpful and it's always great to have the designer of a patter on hand to give a few tips and tricks!

Some of Anni's designs on display.....see the little pin pigs on the box....the pattern for those cuties came home with me! 

Melissa designed a folder cover and rabbit zippered purse/pouch for the day....her work is beautiful and many of the patterns include 3-D applique pieces which really give the work another dimension (bahahaha get what i did there....another dimension - 3-D.....sorry!)

I didn't take many photos on the day...too busy stitching, talking and I may have done a little shopping.....a few of Melissa's projects on display......

Linda stocks Melissa and Anni's patterns should you "need" one ...or some :)

Sunday we were up at about the same time as the sparrows to head to Ballan....but that's a post for part three of the road trip trilogy!

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

Road trip.....Port Campbell and beyond - Part 1

Saturday 16 September was marked in my calendar as "Stitch in Spring" at Port Campbell in Victoria.  Linda from Gum Valley Patchwork hosts this annual event and it has grown from one day to two days in order to accommodate the numbers wishing to attend.  For me it's a little road trip - about 690kms (depending on which route I take - there are several options!) 
This year my sister joined me for the drive and we left on Thursday to ensure we had a day to explore the area a little before the weekend.  The weather was wet and wild driving over but the trip went well and we were settled in to our accommodation by mid afternoon. 

An early morning walk is a must in this beautiful part of the world.......

Friday we were back in the car and heading out along the Great Ocean road for some more sightseeing - it's a spectacular drive......

Looking inland.....the weather was still not great, but we managed to dodge the showers and carry on :) 

The GPS is always great for finding ones way around - and if you want to get off the main roads it is very good at finding ways for you to do that (sometimes you don't even have to ask!)  This was a little road we "found" which was near Lavers Hill.....it was beautiful (and I won't lie, a little bit scary in places) but well worth it for the scenery.

There were little areas to get off the road should something be coming in the other direction.....we didn't see a soul (or any traffic) which was probably not a bad thing! 

No trip to the area would be complete without a visit to see Lenora at Elm Grove Patchwork

This shop is beautiful!  There were also a couple of Max and Louise quilts on display and Lenora stocks their patterns.......if you are into repro fabrics this is a great place to visit - a huge range available (along with  many other fabrics of course.......)

On the way back to Port Campbell  we stopped in at a couple of the many areas set off the road for tourists to stop and check out the coastline.....the weather was still bleak, so the usually packed parking areas were almost empty....good news for us :) 

The walkway down to the Grotto.....

...The Grotto..... this pic doesn't do the boiling sea the other side of the Grotto justice....but I didn't stay too long as another heavy shower of rain hit....

We made it back to Port Campbell and bought some supplies for dinner and settled in for the evening.....Stitch in Spring and a class with Christine Vlasic at Ballan to be covered in the next post......

Til then.......Lorraine