The Truth is Out There

No, it's not an episode of the X-Files, it's an aerial shot of crop circles....kind of looks like lots of green fabrics, maybe some of those beautiful rich Kaffe Fassetts and Colour Rythmn greens we've had in... like this?


It's a new MO quilt, Crop Circles, for Quilter's Companion's Great Australian Quilts edition due out soon. Strange and unexplained resemblance, don't you think Scully? Kits available! Sarah

Fun Links

Gina at Quilters Buzz recently posted this list of excellent blogs from a crafty friend who has become blog-addicted. I have to say that after touring extensively around them all I'm just a bit blog-addicted myself! Check them out, not only is my personal fav. Wee Wonderfuls included but some other great ones as well.

Wee Wonderfuls
Posie Gets Cozy
Whimsy
Pink Chalk Studio
Elisalou Designs
I'm Knitting as Fast as I Can
Yarn Harlot
Angry Chicken

And while I'm at it, I'll add some blog/site recommendations of my own....

Design Sponge
Whip Up
Fun Quilts
Denyse Schmidt

and that should keep you all busy for a while! It amazes me every time I go further into the "blog world" how connected the community of bloggers is, and how they all inspire each other with their ideas, stories and designs, and most of all just how many talented and inspiring people there are out there in the world. Don't forget to comment on anything you see that you like, the best thing about having a blog is reading the comments from like minded visitors! Happy blogging.

Bursting...

Material ObsessionI come from a land of winters full of snow, ice, pink noses... and central heating. Winter in Sydney is mild in comparison but I have never gotten used to being the same temperature in the shower as I am outside. I hibernate all winter and quilt to stay warm under one project after another.
So...when the first signs of spring literally burst overnight it is always a thrill that can't go without a celebration. The earth parties in it's own way as evidenced by the snowbells and daffodils someone planted in our grass a long time ago. They pop up and declare that the time of the warming breeze is delightfully near. I finished a pinwheel quilt in 1930's graphics and floral prints this weekend. It signals the approach of the bluest skies as a backdrop for the pinkest pinks, lavenders and yellows of September.
We got acrylic templates for this fun wagon wheel pattern made which are available for $15 at the shop. It is a super fun project with a touch of hand applique and much easier than it looks. The borders are vintage Sanderson, a gift from my friend Kathy who was visiting from the States a few years back. I have been lovingly saving it for just the right moment and this is it...and so was the skirt I made with it and the bag....still more to come.
So, take a deep breath and enjoy the freshness! kathy

Another Amazing First Quilt

What a lovely email we got yesterday from Saffron, who has just finished her first quilt for her daughter, using fabric she bought at Material Obsession. She sent us the pics for you all to enjoy, and what a great job she did. Congrats Saffron, and enjoy making the next one! Don't forget to send us a photo of your finished quilt, and we will do our best to get it up on the blog for you. Happy quilting! Sarah

Little House in the Big Woods

Or at least, Dove in the cabin Window. When I was a little girl, like every other little girl I read the Little House series, in which Laura Ingalls has many escapades as the daughter of an American pioneer. Amongst many other things Laura also hand pieces a Dove in the Window quilt with her Ma and her sisters in front of the fire. Whe I was a little girl, my greatest wish was to make a Dove in the Window quilt of my very own.
My Mum was a beautiful quilter, who taught me how to quilt. Over the years I've looked for and found many different versions of a Dove in the Window block, but there seem to be so many that I wasn't sure which one Laura had been making, or how to go about finding out.
Silly me, if I had just thought of the internet (durr....), I would have found out ages ago. But it wasn't until last week I decided to Google Laura Ingalls Wilder, and happened upon the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home website, the museum of Laura's actual house in Missouri. I excitedly scrolled through all the Laura pens and book sets for sale and found......

....a pattern for the Dove in the Window quilt that Laura made in the late 1800's. I just about cried. I was so excited I immediately wrote an email to the cuator of the museum telling her how blown away I was, and ordering the pattern. Apparently I'm not the only one! She gets at least one email a day from people who have discovered the website and want to visit the house.
A week passed, and the pattern duly arrived in the mail, and the amazing thing about it was....

.....in my sewing room was this book by patchwork legend Ruby Short McKim, who was writing patchwork patterns when Grandma was a girl, and apparently had a liking for traditional old blocks. This book was first published in 1931, and contains a Dove in the Window pattern which I had just decided was probably the one Laura made, if only because it was quite detailed and old fashioned. So I had already begun this.....

...which is the exact block, from the exact same page of Ruby Short McKim's book that the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum posted me! A long and winding story, but you can now all be assured that my Dove in the Window quilt is finally underway after 28 years and I'll keep you updated on its progress. Happy Quilting! Sarah

Happy Birthday Down Under

Down Under Quilts is celebrating it's 100th birthday, and the stunning 100th issue is out soon in newsagents. The lovely quilt on the cover, above, is made by our friend Erica Spinks, who also happens to be the DUQ editor! Featured are quilts by past editors, some terriffic projects by quilters from all over Australia, including Liberty Fields by our very own Kathy Doughty!

Also featured is a story about Wagga quilts, including the one below by our very talented accountant, Kathy de Palo......................and City Windows, by me!
This really is a gorgeous issue, you should pick up a copy and have a good look, we think it's great. Well done Erica and the DUQ quilts team, and Happy Birthday! Sarah

Fanciful Flowers

Remember the block we showed you a few months ago, using Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy fabrics? Well here it is, all finished, photographed and ready for the magazine. Unfortunately the pattern won't be out in Quilter's Companion until November, but all of you get a special sneak peak! Don't forget, if you want a kit for this quilt, you need to order it NOW because by the time the mag comes out we will be out of quite a few of these gorgeous fabrics. Send us an email or call the shop for details! Sarah

Fluffy Strawberries

This is Kate Breslin, on of our Monday girls, with her version of MO pattern Fluffy Stars. Kate's made this quilt for her 8 year old daughter, and used the most gorgeous Japanese strawberry linen that we have in stock for the star centres. A slightly more feminine take on the original, below, which belongs to my 6 year old son, Oscar. Pretty pretty.....


Fluffy Stars Mach 1.......
Also, just a quick message for all the people who have contacted us about Brigitte Giblin, Sue Cody and Karen Cunningham's quilt patterns.... sorry but they don't sell their patterns outside of their classes at this point, but if this situation changes we'll let you know! Sarah :)

Wee Wonderfuls

Look what I whipped up today!! Blogging around the place I happened upon this fantastic website, www.weewonderfuls.com where the very talented Hillary Lang is making her wonderful, whimsical dolls and animals. I couldn't resist and ordered myself a pattern, which arrived on Friday.... Kitty and Bunny are in the works, but here's Bear for your entertainment. You should all check out Hillary's site, it is really fun and there are some great free patterns to download too. I used our wool line for the body, and a Kaffe Fassett print for the dress. Bear is on her way to a friend's baby, and Kitty is for my god-daughter..... maybe Bunny might be for me! Sarah

The Promise of Joy

Material Obsession We have two terms that signal important deliveries which some of you may know. The fabric dance today was quickly followed by the promise of joy which is a term I use to describe a pile of new fabric begging to be cut up. Today this promise came in several boxes of Bohemian and Field Study Glimmer: two gorgeous lines that can only mean exciting projects to follow. Bohemian is a delicious new color palette with divine graphic movement that takes us back in time to days of writers and artists, gypsies and the unconventional from all fields... Field Study Glimmer shimmers with wetland images that splinter the sunlight on the catfish and cattails (bullrushes to some), swans and dragonflies.

The lovely Sheena helped get the range on the wall exclaiming the whole time "Isn't this one lovely....oh look at this one..." I don't know who is going to get any work done until some of this is cut up and sewn back together. I do know Sarah has her Field Study Glimmer design done already and it's a stunner....we'll keep you posted on how the joy unveils. kathy

Star of the Night

Material ObsessionThe Tuesday class was as per usual full of stars but our Saturday Sally (Hamming it up in the photo)hit the bright spot with her version of Rocket Man upsized to a king single for her son. This quilt is super nova fun to make and uses up heaps of bright scraps. Check it out...er space! k

Madness in Morpeth

OK girls, we're getting to the business end of our retreat to Morpeth. With the trip under five weeks away, we are looking to fill the last few spots and lock in our guest list! If you're interested in three days away, quilting, laughing and eating chocolate, then give us a bell in the shop right away and you could be one of our final guests. We have girls coming from all over the country, which we're really excited about! Dates still available are:

Friday, September 22 - Sunday, September 24 - Booked out
Monday, September 25 - Wednesday, September 27 - 1 space
Wednesday, September 27 - Friday, September 29 - 4 to 6 spaces
Friday, September 29 - Sunday, September 1 - 2 spaces

The way the retreat works is this - arrive after lunch on the first day, sew all afternoon, have dinner. Sew all the next day.....eat, drink and be merry, stay the night and leave before lunch on the third day. Several of the girls are taking the opportunity to do a Material Obsession kit that they need help with, and others are simply bringing projects they're working on. Kathy and I will be doing demos and talks on things here and there, and we have some fun games planned as well.
Two nights accomodation, food and Kath and me (obviously the most important part - not!!) will set you back $350, or $320 if you have a friend to share a room with. If this sounds like you, give us a call and book now before those spots run out! S.

Thank You

Hi everybody, we just wanted to drop all of you a line to say a BIG thank you to everyone who participated in our sale over the last week. We know that times are tight... petrol is high, interest rates are up and wallets are disturbingly thin, and we really appreciate the overwhelming response we have had from our wonderful customers, both in the shop and through mail order.
While we're at it, thanks to all of you who support us in so many ways - our regulars, our students and all those mad creatures out there reading our blog at 3am on a Sunday. We love getting your comments, your emails, and best of all the pics of your quilts that sometimes float in from afar. Keep it up, and Thanks Again! Sarah and Kath

Ellen the Hand Maiden

A student of ours, Ellen Myer, recently expressed a wish to make some hexagons. Being a hand piecer at heart, we knew she would take to hexagons with a vengance, and I think you'll agree she has! This top is entirely hand pieced and appliqued, and Ellen is just in the process of appliquing the remaining hexagons around the border. It is Ellen's fifth quilt in two years, and every stitch in every quilt is done by hand. She doesn't even own a sewing machine, so we sew the binding down for her, and she sews it to the back. The quilt contains just about everything in her stash. The surrounding background fabric is a Kaffe Fassett, the wonderful border strip is one of a colour series, and both are available in the shop. Well done on yet another amazing creation Ellen!

Sue Cody at Material Obsession

If you think the quilt above is just too gorgeous like we do, you might want to give the shop a call and book a spot in Sue Cody's class, starting in October of this year. This once monthly class will include any of the talented Sue's quilts, including the ones above, below and many others. Those of you who know of Sue will be aware of her fifteen year plus history of teaching her wonderful quilts in and around Sydney, and of her reknown as an Australian quilter of note.

This stunner is quilt-as-you-go, believe it or not. The front is shown above, and the equally lovely back is below.
To see a full complement of these beautiful creations, pop in to the shop and the girls will be only too happy to show you what Sue has been up to. There are VERY limited places, so if you are in Sydney (once a month!) and think this is right up your alley, call us now or you may miss out. Especially since Kath and I have our eyes on a few of the patterns ourselves! S.

couples quilt

Material Obsession
It's a Couples Thing!
One Thursday a month Brigitte Giblin arrives at Material Obsession with a suitcase full of fabulous, quirky tops and quilts made with her French flair. She has a natural style with colour that is at once captivating. Whenever possible I sit in to learn a bit about applique and to absorb a bit of her interpretation of antique quilts. The Couples Quilt (loosely interpreted with love) pictured here is a result of these classes. It's still a work in progress but one I have to admit is growing on me as one of my all time favorites. Stay tuned for more on the quilts being done by the others in the class next month. k

Oh my Heavens, We're on SALE!!

SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE

Oh yes, we are on SALE starting Monday, August 7. All merchandise (excludes $10 wall, includes kits and patterns) is 15% off, to all customers.
If you are in a quilt group, wear or bring your group or Guild badge to recieve 25% off all merchandise in the shop, INCLUDING Kaffe Fassett, Amy Butler, Girlfriend and all your favourites.
Make sure you check on our daily specials, you never know what might discounted even further on any given day. We will post the next day's specials on the blog each night, so watch this space for updates!
If you are an internet/ mail order customer, recieve FREE POSTAGE on all sale orders over $100. Sale continues until and including Saturday, August 12.

SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE

Tuesday's Class

The gals in the Tuesday night class have been keeping their fingers busy and here's proof. The shy ones were hiding but I'll get them next week! First we have Kate perle cotton quilting on a quilt top from her pile of quilt tops which I am starting to think is very large...
Rachel fastidiously fussy cut a Jane Sassaman quilt design. When it was finished (finally) she had Kim quilt it with large butterflies which she is now embellishing with a variety of perle cotton colours which look fantastic! Rachel also had a go with the new Marti Michelle Log Cabin ruler and made a very sweet kid's quilt. Very square even if you see it sideways!
Nicole, affectionately known as "Grasshopper", hand pieced every stitich of this fabulous version of Kaffe Fassett's Courthouse Steps. We tried to get her to use a machine for the binding but she insisted there was no hurry as she was "enjoying the journey". Well done, hard to believe it was her first quilt! Good work girls, K

Fishy Fishy Fishy

Sarah and Kathy are doing a Row by Row challenge with the Hunters Hill Quilters at the moment. For those of you who don't know, Row by Row is a round robin where you make a strip of blocks or applique with a theme, put it in a bag, and the bag is then swapped with other members of the group six times until you eventually recieve your original row back, along with six other rows of the same size made to your theme. Meanwhile, you work on six other member's rows in turn. We thought we'd share with you Sarah's addition to the Row by Row... the bag she recieved had a row of cats appliqued on it, so she has added a little Denyse Schmidt fish skeleton for the cats to feast on. Yum, yum! We'll show you some others as we go along, and also the rows Sarah and Kath recieve back!