Gumtree Quilters Glow

Today is a quiet one resting in the Hill house while feeling a little like a "stunned mullet"!! My stamina seems to be waning as I grow older - three days nattering has quite tuckered me out! But what a wonderful three days it was. Gumtree Quilters of Bordertown held their biennial quilt show and what a show it was. I had the great honour of opening the Exhibition and I was also thrilled to be asked if I would share some of my work. The committee also gave me a table to sell my books……that was a great thrill………

 In the entrance was a wonderful seating area with the daily newspaper just for the men….and I snuck out there from time to time too…………..

 I was most embarrassed to be right at the entrance but of course it meant I couldn't hide in the corner so instead greeted people!……….

 I am always so nervous before opening an event but was glad to have Pat the President close by………..

Opposite me was a small display from the Bordertown Embroidery group and I loved it. So interesting to see the history of each technique………….

 This dress took an incredible 35 metres of fabric and took two years to make……….

Some of the Bedford Mystery quilts for you Faye, Lessa and team…………. 

 The quilt show was huge and with just 51 members I think it is a testimony to their talent. Below I've put the quilt maker and info beside each photo (and remember by clicking on the photo you can scroll through - and see a closer view)

 Judy loves pink and is the talented machine quilter you will see featured on many quilts………..

 Both Vicki and Pat used some Morris deigns in their "Back to the Border" challenge quilts……...

 Mignon is a very special lady that we all adore and I was thrilled that she received Viewers' Choice…...and especially as I had also voted for her stunning hand pieced quilt - well done Mignon xx……...

 There were so many more quilts and photos but the blog would not cope with close to 150 quilts!……….

 I always feel warm and fuzzy when I am in the country…..such giving unpretentious folks who are so giving of their time and talent. I am in awe of people who live off the land as I know how hard life can be, especially when they depend on the weather so much. On Friday I was interviewed by the local weekly newspaper and sadly 'lost it' with tears as I talked of the struggles I know farmers have, so I will be interested to see how that is written up! So my heartfelt thanks to all of you on the land - you are the backbone of this country. My heartfelt thanks also to Gumtree Quilters for not only your wonderful quilts but also for looking after me so well. A special thanks to those of you who made the journey - I know you enjoyed the show too - not to mention the amazing food like I did too!! (And thankyou so much to all of you who bought my book too!) Finally a huge thanks to our special friend Judy who opened her home and spare beds to a few of us…..you are so appreciated Jude x 
We have a busy couple of weeks ahead as we prepare for our own quilt show - more of that later. Meanwhile I will finish with a sad photo of this dear little deceased bird we found lying by our back door this morning………

 Such a pretty little thing………we were not sure if it was a honeyeater or finch but Mr Google tells us it is an introduced European Goldfinch. It is now resting in a padded box where Larry and I can have the pleasure of him or her before we decide what to do. Meanwhile Mrs Fairy Wren sang to us this morning…...we are just waiting for her beautiful blue mate to drop by soon….thankyou for dropping by too!

Wacky weather!

Funny how weather is the constant source of conversation in our lives. My late mother was obsessed with it and all her life she recorded the max and min temps every day in her diary (and it also included the rainfall and barometric pressure stats!) In fact the first thing Larry ever heard when he arrived to pick me up on our first date was a booming voice down the driveway as my late Dad called out to Mum….."weather"! The whole house had to stop in its tracks when the weather came on the TV each night at 7.25pm!  So I will continue this obsession and simply say the weather is extremely wacky at the moment! On Monday we drove the long 10 hours home from Melbourne (with a couple of stops), where the temperature peaked at 39C (102F) and in a couple of days it was back down to 18C (64F)…and it is only Spring! But with Spring comes my first roses………..

 The little ones are growing fast and are always a joy despite the post childcare fatigue! Beau has learnt quickly that the safest place to play trains is out of reach of young Maisie……..

 Meanwhile I am stitching away at the Beatrix Potter projects. The large quilt is coming along well but in between I am tackling some smaller projects too. Below left was a drawing that Beatrix did of some plaster work (see V&A link) when she was only 15 and to the right is my interpretation which of course has inevitably become a bit 'Morris' like……...

Some progress of a project based on her home at Hilltop which will be covered in some wisteria embroidery…...

 And the felted wool ball waiting to be stuffed when I find a bell to put in it…….

 Yesterday we had a lovely family lunch and then headed to the Art Gallery where we met a lady from Queensland who had been longing to meet me! We had a wonderful couple of hours together where I shared a little of our Morris collection and then I was delighted to spend time in the rest of the gallery as well. I had no idea that the  gallery owned so much old Australian furniture and it was wonderful to see it displayed with the paintings this way. I did not take my camera but was glad the phone could record these few……

Thanks so much for emailing me Wendy and making our time together possible. This weekend I am driving a few hours south to Bordertown where I will be opening the Gumtree Quilters' exhibition. I hear there are over 150 quilts on display so if you are in the area do drop by and support them - I'll be there for the entire show stitching…and possibly a bit of nattering too??!!  But good old Larry will be stuck at home collecting quilts for our annual exhibition in a few weeks! So once again I say thankyou for dropping by and sharing in our lives x