Another entry for Bloggers Quilt Festival

For my second entry into the Bloggers Quilt Festival, I thought I'd like to enter my Ella Bubbles quilt. I love this quilt and am excited to be sending it (her) to Kiama for exhibition in Australia's only Modern Quilting Show.

This is the first YouPatch pixel quilt that I have made incorporating half-square triangles (HSTs). They allow me to create smoother, rounder lines which is perfect in a quilt about BUBBLES!!!

QuiltCon - meeting all the quilty people!!

What an absolute buzz it was to meet so many wonderful people in Austin last month!! Many people I had corresponded with online, people who had made YouPatch quilts, so many people I have admired over the years!!

WARNING: there will be a LOT of photos in this blog post and I will be in most of them :P
So if you have had enough of seeing me and my pink hair, just focus on the OTHER gorgeous people in the pics ;-)

First up, the Aussies!! In the lead up to QuiltCon, I joined a FaceBook group called "Aussie QuiltCon Contingent". Such a gorgeous and supportive group of women. Some old friends, some new. We shared our travel plans, our excitement and of course much silliness! What a crazy bunch travelling to the other side of the globe to play with quilts and fabric!!!

Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair

I went to the Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair last Thursday. I didn't have particularly high expectations. In recent years the fair has become much less about the quilts and more about a range of crafts that are not really 'me'.

Lots of shops with an overwhelming impression of 'brown'. I don't mind a bit of brown but I do need a LOT more color in my crafting world!!

Also, the quilt show has had a tendency to show many of the same quilts over and over again which is frustrating.

This year was actually a very pleasant surprise. Still plenty of 'brown' shops but a great variety of fun and funky retailers including some gorgeous friends I enjoyed catching up with:

Jodie is always fun and so very sweet!!

This is a tiny corner of her award winning booth. She's on the Google you know!

Emma is also incredibly friendly and her new fabrics and quilt patterns are making a huge splash around the globe.
You should totally check them out!!

The lovely Melly was there as well selling her fabulous fabrics and softie patterns.

And so was her gorgeous sister Rosalie who has pretty new fabrics and patterns to share also.

I got to meet Morgan of the Crafty Squirrel and couldn't resist buying some of her vintage sheet goodness.

Emma was there from Treehouse Textiles showing off the gorgeous new BOM that she and Cathy have co-designed.

I also got to meet Leslie who is the very clever designer behind Maze & Vale. Such beautiful fabrics!!

And then there was Robyn and Buffy over at The Strawberry Thief selling the most divine selection of Liberty fabrics.

The quilt show had some lovely new (or perhaps new-to-me) entries.

I must apologise that I neglected to take down the names of the above quilters. :(

But I do know that this incredible quilt was made by the very clever Karen of Quilts on Bastings.

No surprises that she won awards for her machine quilting:

I had a play with a long-arm quilting machine (with my name written on the sign above ... meant to be ;-)  )

I'm no competition for Karen but I was pleased with my brief freehand efforts.

I also loved the wall of crafty poppies meant to commemorate the soldiers who have served our country:

Other than all of the lovely people I already mentioned, I got to spend the day hanging out with Judy, Melissa, Louise, Nadia, Marie and Helen. 

Great company! Much shopping! Much fun!

Andi xx

Super exciting news ... Quilt Monkey!!

That fabulous Ginger Monkey, AKA Katy Jones, is now officially a multi media superstar as she launches her new online show ... Quilt Monkey.

I can't wait to see her in action. But in the meantime, here's a promo for the show ....

Quilt Monkey from Artisan Media on Vimeo.

Go Katy!!!!

I hope you all tune in to watch the show as I'm sure it will be loads of fun and filled with fabulous color.

Much love,
Andi xx

Houston Quilt Festival - Part 2

Thought I'd share a post about the people (and creatures) of Quilt Festival.

With only one day up my sleeve, I knew I had to be selective about how I spent my time in Houston. I spent an intense morning viewing the thousands of quilts on display and spent much of the afternoon shopping and perusing the thousands of stalls. Of course, I had to arrange a meeting with this gorgeous lady who I have developed a connection with via 'Blogland' but have never met IRL.

She was so incredibly sweet and amazingly helpful and generous with her time. Thank you Victoria xx

Victoria introduced me to her wonderful friend Michele but I didn't get a chance to take a photo :(

I also got to attend a brief talk with Kaffe Fassett

And snapped a quick selfie with Ricky Timms

Apparently, Quilt Festival is a party!

But no one told these folks.

They were pooped after an exhausting day of shopping and perusing. I was too!!

But not too pooped to have an evening meal with this gorgeous bunch of Louisiana ladies that had adopted me the evening before in the hotel cafe.

They were so friendly and welcoming. Quilters are good folk!! :-)

And as well as the flesh and blood people I got to meet, there were some wonderful quilts depicting people ...

And of course there were the creatures ...

We quilters certainly to love our creatures!!

The only thing left to tell you about is the shopping I did in Houston. I'll be back VERY soon to show you the wonderful purchases I made. Yay!! Loot!!!!

Much crafty love to you.

Andi xx

With a little help ....

I've said it many times but I love the way this crafting community helps each other out.

I had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to help out my mate Mary who has been so very good to me before!

Mary and her friend (a newbie crafter) are making a quilt for a mutual friend's wedding gift. It is HUUUUGE!!!! Constructed as a massive quarter log cabin block.

The quilt is so huge I couldn't get the whole thing in shot!

These 2 friends are completely nuts ... in as much as they have decided to hand-quilt this big monster quilt so, of course, it needed basting!!!

That's where I came in ....

The back is also pieced and possibly even lovelier than the 'front'.

 

A truly reversible quilt!!

Meanwhile ... while all the basting action was happening on my dining room floor ....

 

 

Too sweet!!

Good luck with the quilting you two nutters!

Andi xx