The adventures of a Norwegian in Australia!

Its been a busy couple of weeks since Randi came to stay.

 Can't believe how fast its going.

 

Our first weekend saw us in Castlemaine for a

 workshop with Di Ford-Hall and Margaret McDonald.

This is Di's quilt we worked on

 

and this is Margaret's. Similar elements, different application.

 

 

Then it was off to visit our applique groups

( Castlemaine Applique Group) first ever exhibition.

What a wonderful sight the hall was bursting at the seams with quilts made by the members.

( more photos of the quilts can be seen here )

 

 

This was our delightful B&B cottage for the weekend, and the girls who shared it with us.

Randi, Bev, Dorothy and Moreen.

 

We also spied this charming wee cottage beside the road.

What a wonderful quilting studio this would make.

 

We also came across a clump of these gum trees with interesting bark.

Does anyone know what they are called?

 

 

 

Several days later saw us heading down to Fairhaven.

 

 

An afternoon stroll past this beautiful lighthouse and stunning coastline.

 

The next morning we were off bright and early for a day trip

 along the World famous Great Ocean Road.



 

There was time for a walk into the rainforest at Mait's Rest.







Our first sighting of the 12 Apostles.

 



 

Then we decided we were brave enough to

 take a chopper ride to get the best view possible!!

 

 

We were very glad we did!! Its spectacular up there,

and if you ever get the chance, do take it!

 Its not as scary as you might think.

That evening after our long eventful day we enjoyed a delicious meal

 at a local restaurant, and decided that it capped of a PERFECT DAY!

 

The next morning we discovered this charming cottage near the beach,

which was perfect for my latest quilt to have a photo shoot.

 



 

Back home it was time to prepare for a wonderful weekend.

Marg Sampson-George,  a Sydney teacher was coming  for a weekend workshop.

Here is the room ready for the attendees.

 

 

Marg  begins with a talk about the quilts she will teach.

 

 

then its time for a break, a cuppa and a chat!

 



 

Some progress on quilts across the weekend.

 

 

Plenty of focus!

 

And plenty of inspiration!!

 

 

This is my pile of fabrics waiting to become a quilt.

Of course, a weekend like this is always accompanied with food!!!

And there was plenty!

 

This is the closest we came to a group shot!!

It was show and tell time, and the paparazzi were out in full force!

 

 

Yesterday we took a trip into the city with Meredithe,

who l am sure will post plenty more photos some time soon.

 

Here we are outside the Hopetoun Tea Rooms,

were the cue was a mile long, and one can see why with these delicious goods for sale.

We played it safe and went elsewhere and

 enjoyed a wonderful shared lunch none the less.

 



 

Of course, no visit to the city is complete without a visit to L'uccello.

here is Randi with her beautiful bag that holds her purchases.

 My bag was only half the size. Just saying!!

 



 

There are plenty more fun quilty things planned for her remaining 2 weeks,

 so hope to be back soon with more adventures of a Norwegian in Australia.

 

Thanks for visiting.

Linda.

 

 

 



My latest stitching.

Just recently, l was asked to talk at a local quilt guild.

It was so nice to gather many of my quilts, lay them out on the bed for a de-wrinkle

and reconnect with them all. It was a walk down memory lane.

Here they are all piled up ready to go in the car.

One day l plan to take good photos of them!

There's an old saying "While the cat's away, the quilter will play"

 so when my hubby took off on a trip, l headed to my

 beach house for some stitching time with friends.

l was able to put the outer border on this quilt that l started recently. Its HUGE!!!

The girls are standing on the couch to hold it high enough to photograph.

 



 

l also put the outer border on this red one.

 l did the centre recently, and its great to have it finished.

The centre blocks are from a swap l did with an online group about 5-6 years ago.

l have been collecting signatures on blocks for several years

 now on  our overseas trips. Many memories are in this quilt.

There was a lot of stitching to get this top to this stage. l want to add a row on 2 sides still,

as there is a few more signatures l want to collect.

 Then l will be on the hunt for a nice blue fabric as its border.

l love how this is looking like a woven coverlet.

 



 

Sue, this one is for you!

 

 

Then finally l was able to make a start on our next swap blocks.

 

 

This block is called broken dishes, and l love it!

Because we are all using the same plain background,

we carefully  chose our fabrics, so no 2 blocks will be the same.

Once we have swapped, we will have 36 blocks, all with different fabrics.

Can't wait to see them all together.

Here is the progress on mine.

 

 

And now for something totally NOT quilt related.

We welcomed a new member in to the family recently.

A beautiful black baby  (Cria)  Alpaca.

The hunt is on for a name fitting her beauty.

 

 

 

Exiting times ahead.

 My dear friend Randi ( From Norway) arrives  on a plane tonight.

She will be here  for 4 weeks, and we have many quilty related adventures planned for her.

So stay tuned, and we will  share them.

 

 

Thanks for visiting!

Linda.

 

 

 

Sorrento Sewing!

 

 

Have just returned from another lovely weekend

 of stitching with friends at the beach house.

The one thing l didn't get done was a birthday gift for

 my great niece Lucy,  who is turning 1 this weekend.

So this afternoon while listening to the rain on the roof,

 l stitched up this little dolly Dresden quilt.

l sure hope she likes it.

 

 

Here are some photo's of stitching that took place across the weekend.

Margaret had her knitting needles, and whipped up these cute little

 teddy jackets, from wool she has spun herself. The cotton is for scale.

 

 

As a group, we have been swapping  paper pieced

half square triangles for about 18months now.

This is Jill's box full, just waiting to be made into a stunning quilt.

Expect to see some in the future.

 

Chris added the final border to this quilt.

Love the colour combination, so soft and pretty.

 

Then whipped these blocks up in what seamed like just minutes.

 

Jill continued to work on this top.

The 9 patch blocks are from a previous swap our group had.

 

Anne made good headway on these blocks.

Then turned her attention to making these super sized blocks.

Only 16 needed to make the full quilt.

 



 

Sandra loves to make miniatures, and was inspired by a quilt l had been binding.

Don't be fooled by its size. This took her most of the weekend.

Tiny piecing is time consuming!

 



 

Sandra also worked on making more blocks

 and adding them to this charming 30's quilt.

 

 

Bev spent the weekend working on these blocks,

which are for our current swap we are having.

Love these, and love the madder fabrics we are all using.

l wanted to start something new, and decided

to tackle a kit l had bought in America 2 years ago.

This is Collections For A Cause-Alliance.

 

And this is how far along the top was by the end of the weekend.

Just the outer border to stitch on.

Its BIG and l love it!

 

 

l also make more of these economy patch blocks,

 which started as a distraction to some sad news recently,

and have now become the beginnings of a new quilt.

 

Today has been a contrast in weather, which is so typical here in Melbourne.

Early morning sunshine brought me a friendly visitor to my sunburnt garden.

He is sitting just feet away from my front door.

 

 

And this afternoon, the summer heavens opened up and gave my

 poor parched garden a very welcome watering.

 

 

 

Thanks for visiting.

Linda.