Material Obsession

And so it grows..,organic Appliqué workshop with Maitland quilters was the beginning of lots of fun projects. Simple techniques…letting go…finding new paths to creativity. It doesn’t feel like work when surrounded by like minded people in a wonderful setting where the sound of happy chatting and laughs keeps us charged up. Thanks for having me to your 2024 retreat Maitland Quilters. I look forward to seeing your finished projects!

I am camped out at the Maitland Quilters winter retreat. The workshops I’m teaching are two days of 60 Degree Multi (great results!)and starting tomorrow Organic Appliqué. It’s a beautifully serene place filled with things I love… that view walking to class…the happy chatter of quilters discovering new ideas…communal hearty meals…a good bed, hot shower and lots of laughs! Lights out!

Sweet Aussie life…an interruption to my normal quilt life ranting for things I am loving..,our yardbirds, arty life, neighbourhood friends…a one day break.

Final day and wondering what I’ll add to my purchases! Loving my African Prints, new book by another quilter that loves prints, Pam Goecke Dinndorf and an embroidery panel. What will I find today???

Life is a collection of special moments. I can at times be heard to grumble about work but in truth…I love it all! The people that surround me make my life a joy. They push me forward and remind me to laugh. We have one day left at Darling Harbour and I’m sure it will be as fun as the last three. It’s been exciting to meet so many new quilters and to hear how far they have come! We are gathering again and loving it!!! Country towns (I could never spell)have been well represented as have far away cities…Darwin, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne Noosa, Bathurst, Newcastle, Goldcoast…multiple groups from New Zealand and the USA to see the Australian Quilts, experience the learning options and to meet our designers. Thanks for sharing your stories. Thanks from me to .31 and and our newest helper Kate! Your helping hands make work play!

The Craft & Quilt Fair is happening this week opening on Wednesday 10-4 and finishing Saturday at the Sydney Convention Center Darling Harbour. We have been busy behind the scenes to say the least. Visit booth A31 to check to find colourful Kawandi Kits, easy to make kits at good prices, stunning stitcheries, my Trade Winds collection projects and so much more. This show is looking good as not just a place to shop but one to experience workshops, seminars and Make & Take. Lots of displays and variety. Book on line in advance and bring someone under 30…they’ll get in free and maybe pick up a craft to entertain themselves! It’s also worth mentioning you’ll be supporting the businesses that strive to bring you the best on offer. Looking forward to seeing you!!! &shakers

Last year I hosted an Organic Appliqué workshop with my quilt group to get our raffle quilts started for our 2024 quilt show. The result was a room full of happy chatter as we all worked together making flowers, stems and birds to decorate the quilt we designed. Those that didn’t want to do the Organic Appliqué made pieced blocks so everyone had a hand in the process from start through the hand quilting. We are ecstatic with the results . To start we curated a mix of fabrics including neutrals and Cottage ginghams. There are two quilts, one more traditional and one a bit more modern. We have raffle tickets at the shop…let me know if you want to be in it to win it!!! Thanks to who was there from start to finish organising the process! Thanks to for their continued support of our group for over 30 years!!!quilters

Could you resist this request for a walk?

It’s all happening so be little bit at a time between dog moments. Prepping BoM’s on the way as well as quilting Where We Live is Home from this year.

Just a few picks of things coming down the pipeline for the first week in July! Looking for something new? We got it. Looking for something easy but engaging? We got that too. Lots of interesting makers will gather for four days of sharing. Come along and say hi…we’ll be waiting for you! MO BOM’s announcing soon! &take

A week has sewn by! I visited last weekend for two days of Organic Appliqué and since then have been buried in my studio working on new things. On the weekend we made quilt labels which is actually really fun. Everyone made great progress but I can’t share them all because someone got distracted walking around taking photos…hmmm wonder who? Anyway…as a result we decided to do Quirky Quilt labels as our Make & Take kit for this July! I’ll be doing sessions daily Wednesday-Saturday at the Craft & Quilt Show. This year the show is back at he ICC at Darling Harbour 3/7-6/7 which is exciting to be back in the city! Visit our booth to book in, get your kit which will have some fun things inside!!!!and to see all our new offerings and handy new gadgets for sewing like the new Oliso irons! &quiltfair &take .home

Some things seem to brew forever and then they are upon us! Soon all will be revealed regarding my Trade Winds quilt Block of the month with magazine. Look for details in the May edition with a full reveal in July. If you are interested in participating make sure you have signed up for the newsletter. Not in Australia? You can download the magazine on line. Kits and templates coming soon. Just a heads up for now!

Registration for has opened for 2025. It’s a great opportunity to spend five days creating while making friends that last a life time. My head is still full of happy memories from the recent sessions. I’m teaching my Soul Searching quilt with a few layout twists session 3. Session 4 is Windmill Picnic which combines an Organic Appliqué medallion with pieced blocks. As always…color and simple techniques are on the menu! If you’ve been watching from a far bows your chance to join in!

New Trade Winds Stitchery all stitched up and pressed down!

What a day! Organic Appliqué workshop is in full swing…in fact I’ll reveal the works tomorrow after our wrap up. But today we took a moment to visit the International Museum of Folk art. We were gasping in delight at the variety of crafts, textiles and exhibits. What I love is the naive approach to artistic imagery and interpretations of life around the world. Of course we hit the shop! Then an exhibition of Chris Roberts-Antieau thread paintings. Inspired by life the artistry was soulful and heart warming…and so is the company of stitchers on our last evening of the week in Santa Fe. Oh and last but not least happy birthday mom! Love you!

Santa Fe delivers the creative spirit and provides the environment for another exciting week of Organic Appliqué. We all start wondering what will happen and then before our eyes the fabric starts doing it’s thing guided by our hands. Looking forward to seeing what happens tomorrow.

It was a whirlwind couple of days with hosted by Debbi. We used 60 degree rulers and a lot of fabric. Everyone made progress with choosing fabric and by the end of day two results were starting to show. Thanks for yet another fun experience! Today was travel to Santa Fe for Organic Appliqué! Another new group of quilters and more fun to come!

One of the heartwarming things about is Show Share & Tell. Those of us that teach here are always thrilled to see work finished from previous classes. Here are some examples from last year and I think they are awesome! It’s the last night before we pack up and go our separate ways. I have loads to share from this fabulous week of Into the Wild! Talk about taking control of your creativity! It was full steam ahead. I’ll share soon!

When walking with quilting teacher friends beware of gorgeous flowering trees. Love these marvellous people and their talents so generously shared.

It’s so much fun to work a flexible idea but harder to share 24 results. We had so much fun working different stash piles and letting the principles of colour dictate the result. Every single person did their own thing while marveling at everyone else. What a treasure of an experience! Thanks for the enthusiasm!

It’s the people. The ones that open their hearts and minds to each other that make a wonderful place to be. No time for lots of words as we have our wrap up of this week but suffice to say we are basking in the glow of happy people doing their thing! Thanks to for making such a fabulous Mariners compass quilt with my trade Winds collection. Thanks to for my beautiful jumper! Thanks to for being my “angel” this week and our morning walks and to all the rest of the Spiderweb people….what a web we have created! I’ve loved every minute of this week! Ready to start the next session!

Spiderweb Workshop at Empty Spools got us all tangled up in creative outcomes. It’s a block with heaps of potential. I’ll keep posting progress. I love finding a class where everyone starts in the same place and ends up in there own space!!! Thanks for being such great sports…for all the show and tell and hard work!!! More tomorrow…

Imagine my surprise last night when I was standing in line for my delayed Qantas flight to San Fran and I started getting congratulation messages about this! Thank you so much for everyone that made it happen. Special thanks to Judy Newman, Gary Fitzroy and their energetic team at Expertise Events. Every year they deliver premium shows that allow Australians to display their textile art and to be recognised by the community. AQC is always a spectacular representation of who we are as quilters. The show of quilts brings all of us together as one creative bunch. It was wonderful to see quilts from all over this vast country. I have been a proud member of this community for 30 years and relish every opportunity to share it with young and old, experienced or beginner textile lovers. Special thanks to John who not only works tirelessly to keep the Material Obsession team going but stepped up to give an acceptance speech on my behalf! Can’t believe I missed it! Anyway thanks…very much appreciated!

AQC brings Australian quilters together for four glorious days of celebrating our craft. I loved seeing the representation of quilters from every corner of this great country both in the quilts and on the floor. I didn’t get out of the booth much if at all but it was exciting to feel the vibe and watch everyone lap up all the goodies! John and I appreciated the generous spirit of the visitors to our booth. I have left him in his own for tomorrow so if you are still there check in on him to see how he goes! I’m off to Empty Spools tonight on a big jet plane! See you all again soon❤️

All set up and ready to go at AQC.

On the road to Melbourne with a truck load of treats for AQC! Last stretch of binding before my next project. Five hours down and four to go! Come check out my new line Trade Winds at booth 122 and all our other new stuff! See you there!

Our family gathers once a year for lunch on Easter. The day arrived with perfect weather for chatting on the verandah and for one day it looks beautiful. There are many wonderful cooks in the group that all bring something tasty to share. The table filled to overflowing before the plates filled and the table emptied. I marvel at how those tiny tots that once ran around the garden looking for eggs are now guiding the next generation to the colourful chocolates. This year we added Pickle ball to the agenda which was super fun for all! I won’t lie…it was a nice day but preparing the house was a big job! Now I look around at the space and am grateful that we can gather and share our lives in peace. In a world where so many live in strife I just wish everyone had a day of abundant food and smiles. From the lucky country…❤️

This wonderful feeling…the one that makes me visit the design wall just to experience the thrill of how my latest quilt came together again and again. First I got caught in the spider web of my stash and then!!!! All the colour set on the Tilda toile made me happy. Kaffe’s Paisley Flower and Brandon’s Combed stripe finished it off delightfully. I love it when in process I find myself wondering if it works and then decide to go with it. That surge of energy keeps me going when the lists are long. If you are joining me in in a few weeks this is one…just one…of the ideas you can work on.

Welcome to my latest collection Trade Winds which landed yesterday! Let’s get this party started! Although the boxes arrived late in the day it wasn’t the only fun happening! came to say hi. Although she offered to cut fabric there was no time for anything but a chatty catch up in all the good things happening! happened in with her latest project to share and pick out he next borders. A big day following a loud night of thedamnedofficial the night before where does the art! My tiny brain can only handle so much excitement so to relax I’m heading into my studio today to play with my fabric. Not that I don’t have to prepare for 32 guests for Easter, pack the shop for AQC Melbourne or do final prep for teaching and but no need to panic!!!! Keep the To Do list long and enjoy the thrills!

We arrived this morning and immediately got busy with all things Stitch by the Sea 2024! and are the hosts and creative techniques and ideas are on the menu all day for three days. The venue is operated by the most friendly and helpful staff! Our guests are on fire soaking up everything we can share with them in mini lessons going on all the time. If we know it we’ll share it! Hope everyone is resting up as there’s more tomorrow!