Melbourne Quilt Show

image of Banyan Tree Medallion

I’ve been away for a few days at the Melbourne Quilt Show.

This year I stayed down in Melbourne for three nights so it was a mini getaway. And very nice it was too :-)

image of Southbank Melbourne

Winter in Melbourne, so pretty

Karen at Somerset Patchwork has Quilt Station’s  Banyan Tree Medallion Quilt on her stand this year with the patterns for sale.

image of Banyan Tree Medallion

Banyan Tree Medallion Quilt

It looks great (if I do say so myself LOL) on her stand, it’s a while since I’ve seen it in the real as it belongs to my friend Brenda, Thank you Brenda for the loan again.

I really have to get on with my version two but I keep starting new things.

The Banyan Tree was my quilt design which my LQG The Goldfields Quilters made for our 2010 Exhibition.

Our newest quilt for our 2012 exhibition is called Entwined in Time and was designed and made by our members.

We were thrilled to see it get second place in the Group Quilt Category.

image of Entwined in Time

Entwined in Time by members of the Goldfields Quilters

Jennifer’s quilt Leannah, aka Texas Rose Baskets looked wonderful on display too.

image of Texas Rose Baskets

Texas Rose Baskets ~ detail, by Jennifer Murray

I know that this has been a long project of Jenn’s so it’s fantastic to see it finished and hanging.

A quilt I quilted was awarded second place in the Two Person Traditonal Category (amateur/professional)

Pattie is also a member of my LQG and I was thrilled to see her get a prize, hehe I get a ribbon too :-)

image of Persistence

Pattie's version of Nearly Insane, called Persistence

One small quilt that absolutely blew me away is by Julie Adamson.

image of Applique Paisley detail

Detail of appliqued paisleys, silk and batiks by Julie Adamson.

 The detail in this small quilt is incredible, I kept going back to look over and over.  The work in it is very fine indeed.

Thank you Julie for allowing me to show it.

There really are some fabulous quilts on display, it’s still on for today and tomorrow.

Linda at Quilts in the Barn has some wonderful photo’s too so have a look here too.

I am just about to head off to teach a class in Gisborne so I will keep moving.

til soon

Margaret

A Facebook page

image of Banyan Tree block prep

You may have noticed the new Facebook icon under the Quilt Station header logo

Yes Quilt Station is on Facebook so if you’re a facebook user, please click on the icon and have a look.

I’ve only done one post so far, it’s about a new quilt Jennifer and I are doing together.

I think this will be a great way for me to post and keep in touch more instantly while I am away, but I will still be blogging in the States.

I’m meeting up with a few of you and I’m really looking forward to that :-)

I’ve organised my sewing projects for the trip.

I wanted to get on with making another Banyan Tree Medallion Quilt, so at first I thought I’d prepare the Hexagons for one of the borders,

even tho I haven’t finished the centre yet.

I spent an afternoon choosing and cutting all the hexagons required and then bagged them in to the 24 blocks.

image of oodles of hexagons

oodles of hexagons

Then I even started to create a few and that’s when I thought

“keeping track of these fiddly bits while I’m away is going to drive me mad”

so I went to plan B

image of Banyan Tree block prep

Banyan Tree Medallion centre block

I figured I should “just get on with the centre block”

so I gathered the appropriate threads ~ the colours I only need a little of I wound on to cardboard.  I have an empty floss container for a thread cutter on the plane, so that’s ready to go in the cabin bag.

The new quilt Jenn and I are doing is another Maltaville Album Quilt, but this time much smaller.

It’s only 25 blocks and it’ll be Red and White, as we hope to have it finished for Linda Collins’ Quilts in the Barn exhibition later this year

Jenn came over last week and we made some more decisions about it.

image of Red and White Maltaville Quilt planning

Further planning for the new Red and White Maltaville Album Quilt

We had previously done a couple of mock ups on EQ 6, with blocks that represent blocks in the quilt, really just to see we had a balance of block types.

But because months can go by without doing anything on it, we’re always trying to figure out which block is what and where we were up to.

We’re a bit hopeless and impatient when it comes to too much preparation, well I am anyway.

Image of Red and White Maltaville Block

Red and White Maltaville block

I prepped a couple of blocks and will try to get them done while away

image of Red and White Maltaville Block

Red and White Maltaville

There’s only 2 full days til I leave tho,

eeeek better get a move on if I want to prep another block.

til soon

Margaret

I’ve been just a little bit preoccupied…

image of Steam Train

I have had several posts swimming around in my head and two have even made it to drafts.

And now a month has got behind me.

At least it wasn’t ten years that got behind me like the Pink Floyd song ‘Time’

but I have felt like their lyrics

…and you run and you run

to catch up with the sun

but it’s sinking,

racing around

to come up behind you again…

could have been written for me these last weeks.

Yes, I just wish there were more hours in the day, or that I could function on four hours sleep a night…that’d do it.

One of the posts that made it to drafts was a sort of ‘Ten things you may not know about me’

But then I thought if I told you those things you might wish you still didn’t know those things about me and it might ruin a beautiful friendship.

So I will tell you just one… I think this one’s safe.

Here’s a clue.

image of Steam Train

Love it !

I know it’s not fashionable but I’m a bit of a Train Spotter

Out of respect and admiration for all the dedicated Train Spotters around the world I will say that I am not as totally commited as they are…Basically it’s got to come right past my door, but when it does…I’m excited.

Over the years I’ve lived in a train station I’ve seen lots of these come through, but I still rush out and wave like a lunatic (much to DH’s embarrasment but I don’t care) when I hear that whistle blow, and the distinctive sound of a steam engine.

image of Steam Train

I'm taking a photo of you taking a photo of me taking a photo of...

She’s got to make it up Tunnel Hill so she’s under full steam, the sound is awesome.

My Dad was a truly dedicated Train Spotter, his dad was an engine driver (naturally in the age of steam) so what can I say…it’s in the blood.

I think of you Dad every time I see one of these and I’m waving feverishly on your behalf.

So, what have I been doing other than waving at Trains?

The last week I was at the computer…for the entire working week.

I had set aside some time to convert one of my patterns to a digital format.  I think that’s the correct term these days.

(And ended up basically re-writing it in the process, cos you know…things can always be improved)

It was just part of my Business plan/forward planning, waaaay too boring to go into.

By midday Monday (yep only four hours in) it became blatantly obvious that I didn’t have the skills to pull this off all by myself.

I think I wasted a couple of valuable hours muttering under my breath and getting extremely angry a little bit frustrated with myself.

Hasty phone call to techy Jennifer who dropped everything and came to my aid…She knew I was on a time limit with this one.

I have learnt *So Much* in that week.

One little sentence that doesn’t even come close to expressing what I (we) have accomplished.

Total immersion…that’s the only way. Like learning French.

Thanks more than I can say Jenn, you’re a totally brilliant teacher.

I’ve also been to Linda Collins’  Quilts in the Barn…Always a fabulous display.

There’s a nice group photo in Linda’s post, part of the joy is meeting up with old friends and meeting new ones.

I caught up with Linda again just week before last and she happily OK’ed me posting some close up photo’s of her old quilts along with the reproductions of the fabrics in them.  As you know, the fabrics are my special interest.   I’m always the one with the camera about two inches above the quilt, people must think I’m incredibly short sighted (or long sighted, never quite sure which is which)

So I promise I will post about those old and new/old fabrics very soon.

As well as enjoying the day, I bought some fabric from the Quilted Crow while they were at QitB.

image of Fabrics

I bought these for a quilt I have been planning since my last post.

This one … click here to see it

I have decided to progress with that quilt and develop it in to a Strippy, probably, unless I come up with another idea.

I probably should have broken this in to several posts because it’s getting very long, but…well I might as well keep going or another month might get behind me ;-)

Next.

As I am not in the least bit sporting minded…

yawn, boring…why would anyone want to watch people chasing around after a ball, often in the rain

…I am astounding myself by watching (and enjoying) the World Cup Rugby that is being hosted in my home country across the Tasman.

I check the RWC website and the TV guide, prep some applique in readiness and sit down in front of the Telly on Saturday and/or  Sunday for a few hours of  sewing and rugby watching.

image of Maltaville Centre

Maltaville Centre

During last weekend’s matches I nearly finished the Maltaville Centre

I would have finished it except I mucked up the second to last calyx and didn’t want to miss any action by cutting out a new one.

So I went on to finish this block instead

image of Block G2

Block G2

But there’s still more I’ve been doing…

On Friday night,

when I probably should have been resting my eyes after five full days of staring at a computer screen

and stretching my brain to the limit,

I started this

image of Banyan Tree mark II

Banyan Tree Medallion Quilt mark II

On my ‘to do’ list for a while has been to make another Banyan Tree Medallion quilt as the last one was raffled and I didn’t win it.

As I have produced a pattern for it, I decided I needed to have my own quilt.

A little while ago I had bought some very lovely cream sateen which I thought would be perfect.

I hope it won’t be a you know what to sew.

And by Sunday I had it looking like this, but I will still add a bit more to it I think…not too much

image of Banyan Tree mark II

Banyan Tree Medallion

Here’s what the first one looks like…

image of Banyan Tre Medallion quilt

Banyan Tree Medallion mark I

…and the new one will be pretty much the same.

But of course the centre has been revamped because of the fabric choices I’ve made this time round.

So that’s what I’ve been doing…

There is actually more, but my fingers are just about bleeding LOL, so I will leave that for another day.

Not a day too far away.

Later this week I’ll choose the next four blocks for the Maltaville BOM and show what I’ll be sending out.

Thanks to the Rugby there’s a few to choose from.