QITB 2014 and Brenda - Patty workshops catch up!!

 

Post QITB, and its been a busy and incredibly exciting time the past 3 weeks.

 Trying to do a massive catch up before l head to Houston

tomorrow, for more Quilty fun.

 If your going to market of festival, say hello if you see me!

Or email if you want to catch up!

l have 2 quilts that will be exhibited in the Ruby Jubilee Exhibit and

I'm pretty excited to be able to stand in front of them and have my photo taken!!

So sit back, relax and enjoy our catch up!

 

 

Here we are, Meredithe, Brenda P, Glenda and myself wearing

our brand new aprons that Glenda made especially for us to wear!

What a clever girl! We had many compliments across the workshops and QITB weekend,

and many thought the blocks were real, not the cheater cloth that they are!!

 

 

The barn was packed to capacity for Brenda's lecture,

and many a rousing laughter almost raised the roof,

as she entertained the crowd, to their great delight!

 

 

 

A very happy bunch of ladies at the completion of the first Dear Jane workshop.

We had participants from near and far, some coming from Sydney and Adelaide

 to take part in the only workshops Brenda held in Australia.

 



 

These ladies enjoyed a workshop on Gracie's Garden,

 based on a new released pattern by Brenda called Susannah Culp.

 

 

 

These were the final lucky ladies who took Dear Jane with Brenda.

And because the numbers were low, Glenda, Meredithe and myself

were able to take the class!! Happy days!!

 

Below are some photos of completed blocks

 and WIP'S from across the 2 workshops.

 

 

 

 

 

These ladies enjoyed Patty Harants workshop,

Rebecca Kohler Crib Quilt and also had a wonderful time.

Patty, a huge thanks for making the trip to Australia.

The ladies in your class certainly enjoyed it,

 and are grateful to have had the chance to learn from you.

 

These are some of the results after the 2 days.

 

 

Of course, we kept them well feed, starting with tons of scones baked fresh every morning

 

 

Warm pastries treats, made by Glenda, Meredithe and myself,

 

Divine Gourmet bagels with Smoked salmon and cream cheese,

or chicken salad with rocket fresh from my garden.

 

And then the customary fresh fruit and cheese platter to drool over.

You can read more and see more photos over on Meredithe's blog.

She's been a much better blogger than me!!

 

In between workshops, there was also plenty of preparation happening

 behind the scenes  for the exhibition.

Here is Brenda and Patty D putting bindings on 2 of my quilts that

 Katrina had worked her magic on just in time for the exhibition.

( Go check out her blog, she does amazing work! )

 

 

 

Then the all important day rolled around!! The one we all work so hard for!

Here is the queue at just a minute past 10am, our opening time,

 and the barn already has many ladies inside!

 

There were many stunning quilts on display, enjoyed by all.

 

 

Lots more blogs to read about and see pictures of

the event's can be found here, here, here and here.

 

If you have done a blog post and shared photos,

drop me an email and l will add your link here, many thanks.

 

 

Brenda is in there somewhere!!

Her corner was always busy, meeting and greeting many devotes, signing books,

sharing stories , admiring quilts they brought along to share.

 

 

The Quilted Crow Girls were also kept very busy,

 especially as they had their new fabric and wools for sale!!

 

This bus made the long journey down from Wodonga,

and we also had the Essendon quilters join us on their annual trip to the  barn.

 

And we had a special visit from Narelle Birchall from Cooma in NSW,

who brought along her completed Love Entwined top,

 pattern by Esther Aliu, who was also here to see it.

There was quite a buzz, and we were thrilled when her hubby

 pegged it on the fence for us all to admire and take photos!

 

Then after all the quilts were pulled down, sorted into piles, some collected,

many returned to my house, all the chairs stacked, the tables folded back up,

 the final washing of cups and saucers, all the last cakes and slices tidied away,

the tea towels put in the wash, the props returned to their rightful places,

and many other chores that just magically happen, it was time for a QUIET drink!!

( did l really just say that?? ) and a wee celebration for a wonderful weekend!!

 

These ladies below,  including several husbands, and MANY  OTHERS

 who were not able to join us, are the light of my life!!

They pitch in when ever something needs doing, they are the first to volunteer

 when a task is too big for me to handle on my own. They distribute raffle tickets,

  they hang quilts, they help in the general setup for the weekend,

 they put up signs to help make finding us easy,

 they set up tables and chairs,  they help park multitudes of cars,

 they make cakes and slices, they make a million cups of tea,

they wash countless cups and saucers, they shop for supplies when needed,

  they sell raffle tickets and collect entry money,

they make thousands of sandwiches, no task is too big or too small,

and they work in amazing harmony, with no orders needing to be issued,

just knowing what needs to be done to make it all work,

 they laugh,  they share the good times,

they are each and everyone of them so VERY SPECIAL to me.

 And they all know l can't do it without them!

They are the QITB team!! l stand and applaud them!!

 

 

Of course, we also had the presentation of the annual

"Mary- Mother of Quilting"

award,  that is presented to an individual,

who goes above and beyond the call of duty

in the lead up and across the weekend of QITB.

 

Its one of my most difficult tasks to choose just one winner,

as there are so many deserving winners.

 But l can only choose one as there is only 1 trophy!

 

This years recipient, Glenda, became my right hand!

Right from the start, she volunteered for many, many tasks,

 and completed them always with a smile on her face,

 and an extra idea for the weekend.

 l love and appreciate

all she did to help make the weekend a success!

 

 

 

We also had many wonderful sponsors across the workshops and QITB exhibition.

 

Homespun Magazine donated 200 magazines, and everyone who

 attended the workshops received one, with the remaining sold

 during the exhibition to raise money. A huge thanks to them.

 

Betty McDowell Lingerie

( who do a lot of work with women who have fight Breast Cancer)

 donated 1,000  x $20 gift vouchers

 and several larger vouchers, and everyone who attended across QITB weekend,

 was presented with one. A huge thank you to them for an incredible sponsorship.

 Please avail yourself of them. We love to support those who support us.

 

Brenda Papadakis donated 60 Dear Jane books, which we sold across

the workshops and QITB weekend. Along with other donations she made,

 the total raised by her very generous donations was more than $3,000.

 A huge round of applause for Brenda!! A most generous woman!

 

A huge thankyou to Brenda for making the trip. l know she hesitated at first,

but l will be forever grateful that she did come. l know l have a life long friend

in you and l treasure the fun times we had together.

 Including my new repertoire of sayings!!

 

Not to be forgotten is our wonderful maker

of our raffle quilt.

Jenny Bear not only donated this years raffle quilt,

she also donated last years raffle quilt, and we are very honoured that

 she has chosen to support us and the work we do with her generous gifts.

 

The winner of the raffle quilt is Kelly Callaghan from Sydney.

Kelly attended the workshop with Patty Harants,

 so we were fortunate to get to know her. .

This is a photo of Kelly just after she took delivery of her prize.

l would be confident in saying she's pretty happy!!!

 

 

 

The total raised across the weekend, which will be donated to

 Breast Cancer Research was an incredible  $16,000

 

A huge thanks to everyone who came along and supported us!

Through your attendance, its certainly a team effort.  

 

My final thanks is reserved for my amazing family.

They offer so much support all year round,

when so many other distractions take my attention.

We share many laughs together, and l am so incredibly proud of them!

They give me so many reasons to be happy,

including the recent engagement of our son ( next to me) Braedon and Kara,

and other wonderful accomplishments l will share soon.

Thank you each and everyone of you! You have my heart!

 

 

And a huge thank you to you if you managed to get to this final chapter.

l know l don't blog as often as l should. Life has been a whirlwind this year,

 and its only going to get busier.

 

 l head off to Houston tomorrow,

and the packing is still waiting to be done, so l will sign off now.

Thanks for visiting.

Linda.