Welcome to Precious Time

More from Quilting on the Downs.....

Lynne Callaghan brought in her Reproduction Beauties quilt from last year’s class she attended.  Not only did she finish it but she also machine quilted it herself – wait there’s more.  She also made Mariner’s Madness as well as Deauville, a quilt designed by Chris and featured in The Quilter’s Companion.  While I stood speechless at her outpouring of work she then confessed to also finishing her Circles of Fun, her class with Sue Ross from last year’s Quilting on the Downs.  Lynne didn’t bring the quilt with her but has promised to do so this weekend when she attends Bev’s Trapunto Quilting class.  I can’t wait to see it – unbelievably she made two, because she cut too many pieces, and then proceeded to quilt them back-to-back.  I will definitely share the photos of the quilt with you after the weekend.

 

 Photo above - Lynne's version of Deauville and below her quilts from last year........

So Lynne wasn’t the only busy beaver in Chris’s class – all the girls worked extremely hard to complete as many blocks as they could.  Liane won the tidy desk award......

And here are some blocks from all the ladies quilts........

  

My apologies to Kyleigh who was making Chris's Mariners Madness - I know I took a photo of your gorgeous quilt but for some reason I am unable to locate it on the camera.  I will have to share it with you later.

Chris is a wonderful tutor and we have asked her to return to Toowoomba to continue her teaching of foundation piecing.  She is in such high demand to teach her stunning quilts that there was only one weekend that was free for next year - unbelievable.  So make a note of this date in your diary - June 9 & 10 2012.  Chris has so much knowledge and a load of fantastic techniques to share that this is a class not to miss.  For those of you who are wondering about the pattern for Lots and Lots of Dots it will be available early February - all going well.  It is a huge workload for Chris to get the blocks into a pattern with over 60 pages of foundation patterns - sorry didn't mean to scare you.  Not for the faint of heart. If you would like to see more of  Chris's  quilts and images from classes please pop over to her blog - if I have managed to achieve this you should just be able to click on the underlined linky thing.  Good luck

Next post later today I have some new fabrics to share with you all........keep watching this space.

Lisa

 

Saying goodbye to new friends......

It seems like a lifetime ago that we were in class enjoying the delightful company of Marg Sampson and Chris Jurd and it was with sadness that I delivered them to the airport to return home.  Marg inspired us with her gentle nature, which filled us with the knowledge and confidence to carry on with the whimsical quilts we started with her.  All of the ladies were thrilled with their efforts and have already chosen their next project when Marg returns to Precious Time.  They all worked tirelessly ensuring they had a strong understanding of colour, scale and contrast, which will enable them to continue working on Fly Away.   I asked Marg if I could have floating birds on my quilt and I was quickly and firmly told that they would have feet and they would not be embroidered.  This quilt is not for the faint of heart.  Slow and steady – not sure it will win me the race but I will be on the journey with friends. 

 

Jane has decided to make only one block so Marg helped her come up with the following

Bernadette and Lyn were busy selecting fabrics and securing them ready for stitching

 

This block belongs to Fiona from the Sunshine Coast

 

Katrina was making sure that Bob (the bird) held centre stage

 

This belongs to me and I was absolutely thrilled with my block and spent a good part of the second day working on my hexagons which I enjoy - it is very peaceful even when there is a lot going on around you.

 

This beautiful block belongs to Lyn who travelled all the way from Bundaberg to share in the fun.

 

There is still more to share from the classes so please keep reading but for the moment I will leave you with these lovely words from Marg Sampson

Toowooomba Quiltweek  - if you weren’t there I’m sorry girls but you missed a great week! Not only did Toowoomba give us beautiful weather but Lisa also provided us with a great venue, great food as well as the lure of all that fabric! The girls in my classes were an absolute joy  ……….not only were they all competent and capable but they were open to suggestions and willing to go for anything new. I’m looking forward to hearing that they carry on and complete their projects..

I have absolutely loved my week….Lisa and her girls could not have done more for all the tutors. Lisa and her husband Roland made endless trips to Brisbane ferrying us back and forth, and our accommodation was excellent.  It was ALL GOOD!

Remember - what we make with our hands we give with our hearts.......

See you soon.....lisa

 

Yesterday I drove Wendy to the airport for her return flight home – she had a wonderful stay in Toowoomba and was so impressed with the ladies in her class.  They worked hard with confidence in their choices and their quilts came together beautifully.  She wished that she had a few more days to enjoy the city, exploring the parks, shops and enjoying the wonderful homes – and of course spending more time stitching.  Wendy will be returning to Toowoomba next year and I know that she will definitely find an extra day or two to spend with us.  My sadness at having to say goodbye to Wendy soon turned to happiness as Chris Jurd arrived from Sydney.  Chris is with us for a few days for her foundation piecing class - we had a fun trip home catching up and of course solving all the world's problems.   

So Majella looked after the ladies in class yesterday as they worked on Marg’s Antique Baby Crib Quilt.  Unfortunately I can’t tell you what went on in class – I can tell you what the airport looks like and how horrendous the traffic was – but I am sure that you don’t want to know about any of that. Majella took lots of photos so here are some of them……

 

I have a feeling that this quilt may belong to Kay.......

I can't tell who the feet belong to............but a gorgeous start to your quilt......

Not sure but this could be the start of Melinda's quilt........

This one I know........this gorgeous quilt is the original belonging to Marg Sampson.

More to share with you tomorrow.........stay tuned.........lisa

 

Guest post from Wendy Williams

Doesn't Wendy look fabulous holding her new bag finished just in time for her visit.  Wendy kindly wrote a post about her visit to Toowoomba.  I hope you enjoy reading her comments.........lisa

What a wonderful time I have had in Toowoomba.  Marg and I arrived on Friday night, looking forward with anticipation to an exciting couple of days of workshops.

My workshop on Saturday started off with a quick lesson in curved piecing for the ‘pebbly beach’ group. Off they went with great gusto getting straight into the piecing. I have got to say I was so impressed with their enthusiasm and confidence. The girls were stitching  and completed blocks were soon on display.  The colour combinations were fabulous, and there was no agonizing over which colour to put where, they just did it and the results were amazing. It is so good to see everyone here so colour confidant.

Next we got into the ‘growing up’ quilt. How much fun was that, playing with beautiful colour combinations in the 9 patches and growing our garden with our bias stems, fussy cut flowers and giant ‘holy’ leaves. If everyone had half as much fun as I did then a good time was had by all. Again I have been thrilled at the competence and confidence that the girls up here have. My job was too easy.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Toowoomba and would be back in a heartbeat. Thank you Lisa for having me and looking after me so well and thanks to all the ladies that I have met, I truly had a great time.  I look forward to seeing everyone again sometime,

Wendy

 

Marg Sampson arrived on Friday evening with Wendy but her classes didn’t start until today so yesterday she enjoyed spending time at the shop smooching around finding fabric treasures to add to her stash, visited one of the prize winning gardens and then spent the afternoon in the unit overlooking the garden appliqueing and enjoying the peace and quite.  Both Wendy and Marg are in love with Toowoomba and can’t wait to return and spend more time enjoying all the city has to offer – which really means locking themselves in the unit for a whole week just so they can stitch, eat, shop and stitch and stitch some more.  They have even been hatching a plan to tell their DH’s they have classes for a whole week just to escape.  Sounds wonderful doesn’t it?  So a delicious Chinese meal, a glass of champagne and good friends was a lovely way to finish the day.  So after a good night sleep we were all fresh and bright eyed ready to start another day of classes. 

Marg began teaching her Antique Baby Quilt and the girls worked so quickly they choose fabrics with Marg’s help and before you knew it vases were being stitched down, stems and flowers were chosen and oval scallops were sewn together ready to be appliqued onto the background.  Marg has made this quilt with varying applique for all of her grandchildren and she delighted in telling us that her eldest granddaughter (13 years of age) still cherished her quilt.  She designed each of the quilts to commemorate their births.  They are simplistic in their design and reflect what was influencing Marg at the time of their birth.  Her thoughts have made some of us look and think differently about the type of quilts that we now want to make for our family and loved ones.

Kay just couldn't decide which piece to use so she ironed them all and was on her way back for guidance from Marg.

 

Wendy and her girls continued on with their applique panels and nine patches.  Beautiful stashes of gray fabrics were being chopped for set in triangles and the quilts began to come together. Wendy brought her two latest quilts with her to show the ladies in class – Hooterville and The Zoo.  They are absolutely gorgeous and all the girls are desperate to start them.  I wish I could find a way to stop time or better still slow it down so that I can make all the quilts on my list……it is getting soooo long.  Watch out Genell – my list might just end up as long as yours.  We will have the patterns for both of these and Wendy’s other beautiful quilts and bags including Growing Up in the next week or so…..we were thrilled when Wendy told us we were the first group of ladies to make Growing Up.

Bev choose to use LouLouthi by Anna Marie Horner for her Growing Up and her backgrounds were a little more muddy - it had a lovely warm feel to it.  One of the best things in going to a class is to see all the different selections of fabrics and how they come together.  

Katrina was in heaven choosing her 9 patch combinations............while Cathy was in full swing making hers......

Wool applique makes Hooterville a must have ........

 

and needleturne applique makes The Zoo a wonderful quilt for any little person in your life........that's my excuse to make it........I don't know what yours will be.......

Bev’s class were choosing fabrics for borders and set in triangles for their quilts today – they had decisions on whether to make prairie points or a pieced border .….do they add an outer border or scallop their first border………

Neralie kept working on her windows............

Bev also bought in a selection of her quilts for show and tell.  She has finished her Mariner’s Madness quilt that she made in class last year with Chris Jurd.  She also showed her Atomic Bloom by Wendy Williams which was made in Sunday Slippers at the shop. Her quilting is amazing and she quilted an orange spine into her feathers on the outside border.  So clever…… and just to confirm it, Bev made has made another Cathedral Window quilt from a Jelly Roll – she then quilted and coloured flowers onto the border – she is a wonderfully talented quilter.

it looks so pretty........

Chris will be delighted to see how Bev finished her Mariner's Madness quilt from last year class......and below is Wendy's Atomic Bloom bursting with happiness..........

I almost forgot the girls doing Pebbly Beach - Liane lined her blocks up along the table and they looked so gorgeous we were hoping that she might just leave them with us..........

and Jenny finished sewing her centre blocks so when she goes home she will be ready to sew the centre together in readiness to applique her circles ............

We also want to thank Jenny for bringing in two huge buckets of lemons from her tree at home - I don't know what it is about lemons that makes them look so tempting - maybe it is their colour - taste or both.  Whatever it is they are simply irresistible..........

So tomorrow I am off to the airport to drop Wendy off and collect Chris........

I hope that you have enjoyed seeing the work of the ladies from class......a big thank you to all of them for being so generous in allowing me to share their work.

Quilters affect eternity; they can never tell where their influence stops.

Until tomorrow.........lisa

 

Our first day

What a busy first day of classes.  There is an excitement in the air as ladies start to arrive and find seats – get settled – grab last minute supplies.  It is almost as if they are waiting for “ready, set, go”.

And of course there is no better way to start the day with hot coffee, delicious raspberry and cream cheese muffins and tomato & brie canapés.  Bernice took wonderful care of our tummies while Wendy and Bev filled our creative souls with new techniques, guidance with colour and scale and of course tips to make our quilting life easier and quicker.

 

So as promised here are some images from our first day…………

Wendy started the morning showing the girls making Pebbly Beach the technique for cutting and piecing the curves as well as some little extra piecing tricks that would make them look very clever.  

 

Margie was in full swing laying out her nine patches making sure she was happy with her combination of colours and prints......there were flower skulls, fruits, elephants and of course some delicious Kaffe to accompany her spots.  

by the end of the day Tracey had laid down her flowers and leaves on her first panel of type print.......it looks fantastic.

The pebbly beach girls were in full swing as well and Jan had two blocks complete and was hard at work on her third when "time" was called.....I can't wait for the circles to be added.  Not to be left behind were Jenny and Liane .......

We hardly heard a peep coming from Bev's room so I popped my head in to see what was going on and they were as quite as church mice.  They were all heads down working hard and I was beginning to wonder if Bev had threatened them with detention or worse still no afternoon tea.

It looks like the girls have a little bit of hand sewing to do before they come to class today.....

Today Marg Sampson's Antique Baby Quilt starts so a new group of girls will be arriving excited and ready to start this gorgeous quilt.  I had a sneak peek last night at dinner and of course it is now on my list of need to make.  It is darling.......(memories of Houston flood back).  Will take some snaps and share with you tonight or tomorrow morning depending on how the day pans out.  

Have to fly.........lisa

New fabrics arrive.......

Things are getting busy here as we get ready for Quilting on the Downs and Carnival of Flowers.  Ladies are ringing for last minute places in classes as word gets around that it is an event not to be missed. We are busy making up gorgeous kits that make the sewing soul fill with desire.  They are so yummy we wish we could eat them. 

We still have limited space available in Sue Ross’s Pickle Dish class, Chris Jurd’s foundation piecing class and Bev McClune’s, Cathedral Windows class.  All of these ladies are very generous with their time and enjoy sharing their vast knowledge with everyone in their class. I know that you will learn wonderful skills, tips and techniques from these tutors whilst enjoying the company of likeminded ladies.

If I have been able to tempt you to come along and take a class please give the shop a call and we will be only too happy to help you with further information.

So in amongst all this busyness the deliveryman is knocking on the back door – boxes.  Yeah!  I know – stop talking I hear you say – show us the fabric.

Here goes.

 

First is a very happy range of fabric from Summer House by Lily Ashbury. These gorgeous prints are   saturated with lush colours making them perfect for decorating your home for Spring.  Stephanie Carter started her career as an illustrator in her hometown of Vancouver, Canada.  Her illustration career has been varied and challenging taking her from illustrating children’s books to designing postage stamps.

Spring has definitely arrived with this range of fabrics.

 

Ready Set Snow also arrived - I don’t want to think about how many weeks it is until Christmas.  Jelly rolls and funky border prints go together perfectly to make wonderful gifts for family and friends for Christmas. 

   

Hometown Jelly rolls were also hiding in the bottom of the box of fabrics and the type print fabrics are gorgeous and won’t last long on the shelf.  We also have a splattering of fabrics from French General’s new range Paniere de Fleurs (basket of flowers) inspired by the rural gardens of France. 

I know that the Aussie Dollar is still going strong and understand that it must be very tempting to buy items overseas.  Please support your local shops – whether they are bookshops, shoe shops or gift shops (all my favourites).  They provide us all with inspiration, beauty and more often then not are an escape from our busy lives.

So with that busy reference I had better go, much to do and with Fathers Day just around the corner I will leave you with this quote from Bill Cosby:

Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope.

 

Keep sewing……..lisa

 

Romance, art, good food, retail therapy......

I have been missing in action for the past few days as my DH took me away to Kingscliffe for some romantic time together to celebrate our wedding anniversary.  He booked us into the Kingscliffe Seaside Guesthouse for the weekend and we arrived in a shower of mist and cool winds to enjoy a luscious afternoon tea with champagne…….all the romantic stuff that makes a girly girl very happy.  Our hosts Julie and Ian took wonderful care of us with sumptuous breakfasts while allowing us the privacy of an intimate weekend.  

While we were there we visited the Tweed River Art Gallery whose current exhibition is the Archibald Finalists for 2011.  The gallery is set into the hills of Murwillumbah and as you alight from the car you are immersed in green rolling hills and happy fat cows feasting beside a dam.  Sounds idyllic – all true – and have the picture to prove it.  We saw the most beautiful portraits of Hugo Weaving, Matt Moran, Richard Roxburough and Cate Blanchett to name a few.  Of course the winning portrait of Margaret Olley by Ben Quilty was hanging and it was obvious by the crowds flowing into the gallery it was a huge draw card.  I left the gallery feeling slightly emotional by the wonderful work that we were blessed to see. The exhibition finishes on 11 September so if you have the opportunity to cross the border to Murwillumbah I urge you to go.

On the way home my darling took me to Laura Ashley at Robina and I may have indulged with a purchase of one or two things…….I really needed some gorgeous cushions and ended up with the three pictured along with a wonderful wicker basket and footstool.  So gorgeous – they now sit alongside my sewing chair.

So my day today has been the worst – nothing but problems with Outlook on my computer.  I have done nothing all day except sit on the computer with the phone glued to my ear as I bounced between Apple and Microsoft.  It was a yucky day.  It has taken until this post to solve the problem and as my patience was definitely at an end I transferred the burden of my computer issues to my DH.  He came through…….yeah!!!! 

So one of the bright spots in the day was receiving the image of Sue’s pickle dish quilt for her class in September.  She has also completed another 18 blocks, which she has made in her usual mix of retro-kaffe-reproduction fabrics.  Sue has not sewn these blocks together so that she can show you some different layouts.  So exciting.  Sue always presses the envelope and moves us in the most unexpected directions.

We will be finalizing the classes for Quilting on the Downs in the next week so if you have been thinking about a class or two or three now is the time to confirm your place.  Wonderful tutors – great classes and likeminded ladies will ensure that you will have a memorable and inspiring time.  Oh not to mention the wonderful food supplied by Bernice and Chris…..yummy, yummy, yummy.

It is very, very late and the relationship with my computer is now on the path to happiness so time for bed.  I wish you all sweet dreams

Next post – New fabric – arrived today.

Sorry but have just realized my camera is sitting on my desk, so will have to post the images tomorrow when I arrive at work…….like I said before …….yucky day.

 

Till then lisa

 

 

A happy heart

I have finished hand appliqueing one block of my Lollipop Trees and I am celebrating – only 15 to go plus the border applique.  My chanting has come to fruition and my heart is light and happy and my fingers are itching to start the next block. There is something creative and calming about having stitching in your hands.  Needle turn applique seems to scare a lot of people and I am the first to admit that it took me some time before I started my first hand applique quilt.  Like many quilters I have made quilts and projects with buttonhole by hand as well as machine applique, but needle turn was for the most qualified and experienced of quilters.  I have taken classes with Robyn Pandolph  - so I have been taught by one of the best.  So what stopped me – the answer is simple - me.  I have persevered though all my lumps and bumps and my stitches have been improving and I am absolutely thrilled with my work. I know that there will be more bumps and lumps to conquer but I am really looking forward to the challenge.  I think  one of the scariest things about this work is that when you lay the pieces on the background they seem to swallow everything around them and you really wonder how you are going to hold it – turn it – sew it, but you just start and it is amazing what you can accomplish.  So I thought it might be nice to share a before and after with you so you can see the difference.  Have faith in your abilities and take the leap………..

   

Yesterday the post office had the most wonderful parcel that contained quilts from Wendy Williams for her classes in September.  Yeah!  They are so, so, gorgeous and I am truly excited by her upcoming visit.

     

Pebbly Beach showcases solids perfectly, often the forgotten fabrics in the shop but this quilt is a perfect example of how to use them.

    

Growing Up combines funky applique and simple piecing with shapes set over newspaper prints, which document and remind us of the events that happen in our world.  This wonderful quilt by Wendy was recently hung at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show in Oregon USA and it was such a lovely treat to open it and see the label and ribbon still attached.  Even after two days of walking past this quilt I am still finding quirky fabrics that I hadn’t seen before.  Growing up has never been so much fun……….

If you would like to join Wendy for one of her classes please contact the shop for further information.  A happy person who is a fantastic teacher ………a class you won’t want to miss.

We are all progressing with our Auntie Green all determined not to be the "one" who has not finished their centre applique in readiness for Sue's next class. So here are some progress photos so you can see how some of us are faring........   

   this beautiful centre belongs to our effervescent Katrina.  She comes to class filled with enthusiasm and a happy energy and the day is brighter when she has visited.

 Kay Haydon is the proud owner of this centre and she is nearly finished - all that is left is a few leaves to applique and then her oval vine.  It is amazing that we all started with the same starter pack but each of our quilts has their own individual look.

 this is my centre and the colour of the background fabric doesn't scare me as much as it did in the beginning.  The more I work with it the more I enjoy the colour Sue choose for me.

Kay brought her Floral Lantern quilt made from yummy chintz from Denmark for show and tell this week. Hand sewn and hand quilted it is absolutely beautiful.  She designed with quilt with Sue Daley from Busy Fingers - I had to take a photo of the backing fabric to share with you because it was so divine, lots and lots of oohs and ahhhs.....I know that it has now been added to some of the girls must make list.

   

The really happy people are the ones who can enjoy the scenery even when they have to take a detour........

Till next time.........lisa 

 

 

Bias and Blooms........

Sunday Slippers is a group of very diverse quilters that meet once a month to sew, share, laugh, eat and of course wear their slippers.  We may even indulge with a glass or two of champagne to celebrate birthdays and special events, which may be as simple as us all being together.  As a group the ladies decide on a project for the month (or two or three) and off we go travelling together - sharing tips and tricks, design options and colour choices.  The girls are always on the lookout for the next project and are currently working on a Michelle Marvig quilt using fabrics from Rowan and Sue Ross with some Kaffe favourites.

   

 

Our close friend Kyleigh has lent us her Atomic Bloom, which has just been quilted and bound. She is one of the most productive quilters in our group.  Wendy Williams from Flying Fish designed this stunning quilt, which was featured in Quilters Companion. Wendy will be visiting Toowoomba during the Carnival of Flowers to teach her quilts Growing Up and Pebbly Beach.  We are very excited to welcome her to Toowoomba for Quilting on the Downs.

 

We are not big fans of gadgets unless we have tried and tested them and know that they benefit quilters by making quilting easier and faster.  Today the Simplicity bias maker arrived and I was so excited to unpack it and try it.  We make a huge amount of bias for various quilts and classes in the shop – but applique quilts need bias by the kilometer, and when you are making several applique quilts the kilometers get longer and longer. So when we saw this gadget we thought it would be worth investigating. 

The machine comes with a 1” bias maker and additional bias makers can be purchased and sizes start at ¼” and go up to 1 ¼” for quilt bindings.  So here is a quick overview of the bias maker as I tested it today.  Highly Recommended.

First Step:  You cut your strips and wind them on the bobbin.  It has a slot through the middle and a small metal clip so that you can wind your fabric onto the bobbin so it is secure.  It reminded me of winding film onto my camera as a young girl.  

 

You then pass it over the roller and into the bias maker. The bias maker clips out so that you can change size as well as ease of use to slide your fabric through. You then pass it over the heating plate ready for your bias to be instantly made.

Ta Da.......... It happened so quickly.  I was thrilled with the end result. A lovely stash of sweet bias.  

My next test will be to join 2 lengths of bias and see how it handles the join.  

Keep watching this space.

 

Sue Ross has been visiting Precious Time and is now in her 4th year with us.  One of our original class participants is the lovely Margie Miller.  Margie is a huge fan of both antique and applique quilts and is our number one Auntie Green fan.  So I am sure that she won't mind me sharing one of her quilts with you - it is Birdie, Birdie - pattern designed by Susan Smith from Patchwork on Stonleigh.  Most of the ladies in the class chose reproduction fabrics but Margie stood alone with her choice of brights from Kaffe Fassett and friends.  It is absolutely gorgeous.......

Update on posting - the word that I was looking for the other night when I was sharing advice from the Dali Lama of quilting was Stickability.

So I leave you with this quote - "to quilt is human, to finish divine"

Until next time........lisa

P.S. - I will have to take some apple lessons on how to make my photos larger.  Any tips would be greatly appreciated.