Home Again...

Been away again,  catching up with family and to attend the  Queensland Quilters Quilt show for 2012 (you can see all the winning quilts by clicking on the link) and Stitches & Craft.  As always it's wonderful to go to these  shows, not just for the inspiration you receive from all the quilts but it's really great to see all the traders and their wares, not to mention catching up with the friends you haven't see for a while!

Here's my quilt all finished and on display -

I'm really looking forward to it coming home, then maybe I just might have to do a little redecorating in my bedroom.  Anyone else ever changed the room to suit the quilt?

I've long admired the work of quilter Robyn Ginn and someday everything is going to align and I will make it to one of her workshops!  In the meantime, I particularly loved this quilt - Welcome to the Village Green.  (Another of Robyn's quilts won second in the Professional category and you can find it via the Qld Quilters link above).

Slightly closer up -

 

 

Another of my favourites was a stunning little miniature by Margot Kitchen - Scraps Into Jewels.  This little quilt was I quess about 18inches x 12inches and I can't image the precision nor the patience you'd require to make it!

Most exciting at the show this year was finding two new (to me) patchwork shops located in Queensland.  The first Voodoo Rabbit is close to the CBD in Brisbane (well a short taxi ride anyway) and stocks a lot of fabrics you generally don't see, and the second shop is at Tallebudgera on the Gold Coast - Fifi's Fabricology.  With fabrics I like, I'm sure to find my way there in future.  Apart from my fabric purchases from them... some Reece Scannell shot cottons made their way home to join my small collection (yet another for one of these days....), new rotary cutter blades from The Scissorman and some stabilizer from Floriani ... and some lovely little Christmas stitchery patterns (that I now realize I've left at Mum's place).  I made the most of the day that I had there!

 

Heading West for Infinite Horizons

I hope everyone had as lovely a weekend as I did this past one!

The highlight was a trip to Barcaldine, 3 and a bit hours drive west of here to visit the Infinite Horizons Quilt Show.  This time I remembered to use the camera I carry with me  and this sight greeted us on entry -

 I can't tell you just how excited I was to be there!  These quilts are just delightful and I applaud everyone involved from the organisers of the collection to the quilt makers, the booklet producers with lovely stories from all the quilt makers to the helpers who have transported and displayed the collection in so many distant places with thoughtfulness and consideration.  You have all done a wonderful job!  Any money raised from the display of quilts goes to Aged Care in each of the participating towns.

I know the final display for this collection of quilts is to be at the upcoming Queensland Quilt Show at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from 17 to 19 October and I can only say that if you haven't already had the opportunity to view it, it is well worth any effort involved to see it.  Speaking for myself who happily travelled the less than perfect highway for over three hours to attend and has the luxury of two patchwork shops in the town I live,  I am in awe of the creativity, determination and generosity of the quilt makers.

I'd better also mention that whoever did the catering on the day also did a wonderful job as did Sandy's many volunteers who presented the show with such friendliness and enthusiasm and due to rain had to move it at the last moment!

 

 

At this stage I'd better confess.  I'm in the middle of the photo above with my great friends Peggy and Evol and we had the pleasure of working together to make this quilt.  It was only here in Barcaldine that we discovered we hadn't done quite as well as we thought we had.  In our haste to get it made and quilted in time to send to Mount Isa we haven't quite finished the quilting!

Of course a trip to Barcaldine wouldn't be complete for me without a trip to The Silver Thimble and Sandy graciously opened just for us!  I've already packed away most of my purchases so they don't distract me from what I've been working on, but they're calling!  In particular the two patterns I bought, and the wonderful collection of Christmas fabrics I need for my SSCS12 project.

Finally on the way home I stopped to get a couple of photos of the wildflowers.  Evol told us all the names (which I don't remember), and isn't this just beautiful?

I think the last bush is a hop, and it had a deeper colour than the photo displays.  I thought any of the SSCS12 participants from overseas might like to see the countryside!  Emerald where I live is about 3 1/2 hours west from the eastern coast of Australia along the Tropic of Capricorn, Barcaldine is about 7 hours from the coast!