l should have known better!!

Its been such a long time since l've had a cold,

 l have forgotten how it can muddle your brain.

l drafted up this house block on the weekend, from an antique in my collection,

 as it will be featured as a project in an upcoming Australian Quilt magazine.

l always start with paper and pencil, before taking to the fabric.

You have to provide elements of the block with the pattern.

This part is the easy part.

Yesterday, just as my cold hit its straps, l, in all my wisdom,

decided, as the deadline is approaching, to make my first sample block.

l can see there are a few little  issues that need resolving!

A few minor adjustments.

Then it hit me like a bolt of lightning!!

l should have known better!!

Never use a rotary cutter and a sewing machine when under the influence of a cold!!

Back to the cutting board!!

Last week while my guests were still here,

 they requested a trip to Castlemaine to visit Threadbear.

 l took the opportunity to contact Margaret and Jenn, who live in the area,

 and arrange for us to drop in for some revitalising afternoon tea.

Rhubarb and Cinnamon cake,

 fresh picked and baked that morning.

And Margaret spoiled me with this delightful red and white cup,

to commemorate my upcoming trip to France.

Thanks Margaret and Jenn for the hospitality.

Thanks for visiting.

Off to make a lemon and honey drink.

Linda.

P.S. Its not to late to enter my giveaway here!

Sunday is fast approching.

A Gathering In The Barn 2012

Leonie and Deirdre from The Quilted Crow did a wonderful job

of transforming the Barn into a quilting wonderland.

Here they are introducing their projects for the day.

Four stunning quilts, just ready to inspire.

The ladies didn't waste time getting busy.

A motley crew!!

Sandra, Robyn, Margaret, Sharon, Jill and Liz.

Robyn and Sharon were kept busy behind the counter making sales.

Sue-Anne and Jan made the big trip down from Wodonga.

Here's Leonie, who thought she could hide!!

This beautiful bunch of roses was a gift form Robyn, who attended our day.

Thanks Robyn!! If only you could smell them.

There was plenty of yummy food to keep everyone happy.

Herb and cheese scones was just one choice for morning tea.

We also had scones with jam and cream, and date scones. Yumm!!

Lunch followed some stitching time, and we had a great selection of sandwiches,

with fruit platters and a cheese board. 

 Couldn't resist taking another photo of the cheese board!

Afternoon tea - choice of 2  cakes, (Bev's Rhubarb and Cinnamon and Jill's Lumberjack)
 and Berry Yoghurt Meringues. All Delicious!

There were several well know bloggers who attended.

Marian, Sue-Anne, Rosemary,( who came all the way from England) Elyte and myself.

Not only did the conversation keep us busy, but there were many

 temptations in the shopping department as well.

Loads of yummy goodies to tempt us. And tempted we were!!

Everyone was busy stitching.

This was the small project the girls gave everyone, and most were working on it.

Some even completed it, and moved on to larger projects.

All too soon, it was time to go home.

Some of us gathered for a group shot out the front.

Many had gone by now.

Huge thanks to Bev, Sharon and Robyn for being the best sandwich makers ever!!

And pitching in with whatever needed doing. You girls are the best.

A bigger huge thank you to Leonie and Deirdre for making this happen. You girls crow!!

A final HUGE THANK YOU!! to all the participants over the 2 days.

Without you girls, the day would not have happened.

And on your behalf,

$1,500 will be donated to Breast Cancer Research

They tell me we are doing this again next year!!

Bring it on!! Can't wait.

Thanks for visiting.

Linda.

P.S. If you haven't entered for my giveaway here, there is still plenty of time.

l have enjoyed reading all the comments, and many took me back to

  standing in the hall when we saw those quilts for the first time. Thank you!!

An Announcement!! or 2!!

12 months ago this Sunday March 25th,  the quilting world as we know it changed.

 Thanks to the generosity of one woman, Joanna S Rose,

 an exhibition of 651 red and white quilts were hung for 6 days in New York City.

l was one of the lucky 25,000 people who visited the exhibition.

Even now, 12 months on, l struggle to describe how that

 exhibit changed my life and the way l think about quilts.

Its inspired me and many l know to make quilts with simple beauty.

And so to commemorate that week, and to announce this years

Quilts In The Barn Exhibition, l am having a giveaway.

l have 2 bundles of red and white fabrics,

from my own collection, to give away.

There are 12 pieces in each bundle.

How to enter?

Simply leave me a comment on this post,

telling me how, or if,  your quilting has been inspired

 by the Infinite Variety Exhibition held last year.

If you are a follower, new or old, you will get 2 entries.

So don't forget to mention that.

If you are a  no-reply commentor,

 please leave an email address l can contact you on if you win.  

l will post anywhere in the world.

This giveaway will run till 30 March, which is when the doors

shut 12 months ago, on the Greatest Quilt Exhibit the world ( in my opinion) has ever seen.

Feel free to share this giveaway on your blogs.

And so, on to the BIG announcement.

Quilts In The Barn 2012.

Infinite Variety Revisited.

An Exhibition of Red And White Quilts.

5th, 6th, 7th October 2012

Also featuring Red And White Antique Quilts

by Mary Koval.

Yes, that's right.

Mary Koval is bringing a collection of Red And White

Antique Quilts to Quilts In The Barn.

And even better than that!

They will be FOR SALE!!

As you can imagine, we are pretty excited here!!

Red and White Quilts AND Mary Koval!!

Can't get much better than that.

So pencil in the dates, and make some plans.

Plane, Train, Boat or Automobile.

You won't be disappointed

This is going to be our best exhibition EVER!!

Thanks for visiting.

Linda.

l will be back over the next few days sharing my pictures from

 The Quilted Crow's  Gathering In The Barn,

that was held this past weekend, here in the Barn.

In the mean time, if you can't wait,

you can see the fun we had over here, here, here,  here, here and here.

Sewing at Sorrento.

Our first retreat for the year was last weekend,

and we certainly enjoyed some uninterrupted sewing time.

Margaret continued on with sewing these yummy red T blocks,

And by the end of the weekend, had made a start on putting the top together.

This quilt is going to be simply stunning!

Sandra made a start on her 9patch-snowball quilt,

And made it this far before running out of the red fabric.

Just waiting on the postie now for this quilt to become larger.

Chris brought these blocks along,

And before the weekend was over, had the top completed.

Hmm!! l think this would look great in red and white!!

She also completed this top, among other things not photographed.

She won the award for high achiever of the weekend.

Bev was hand piecing these Lemoyne stars. 

And made good progress over the weekend.

Jill was also hand piecing blocks.

This quilt is looking stunning.

Remember  l was sewing these back in January?

Over the weekend, l concentrated on this quilt,

Some of the girls took a walk uptown,

 and l had completed the top by the time they returned.

This is what greeted them as they walked in the door.

This was their response.

All camera's loaded and firing!!

Of course, they could see it still needed improvements,

So l set to work and added a final outer border.

l first saw this quilt over on this blog and fell in love with it.

l had a block left over from my cross quilt, so just added a border.

There were a few flying geese left over from my daughters birthday quilt,

so we had a little play, and came up with this.

l love using leftovers!!

No pictures of food this time, we were too hungry!!

We watched movies, laughed and sewed, shopped and shared wonderful friendship.

All in all a GREAT weekend.

Can't wait to do it again girlfriends!!

Thanks for visiting.

Linda.

P.S. l know l promised a giveaway. Its coming on the next post. Stay tuned.