Don't miss the next big show in Sydney - The Craft & Quilt Fair - June 14-18

Come along to the Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair and be inspired to try scrapbooking, learn crochet, start embroidery, paint a decorative artwork for your home, or any of the many creative experiences you can have at the fair. As well as inspiration, you can stock up on supplies from the retailers - it will be Sydney's biggest craft shop, open for just five days! The fair is jam-packed with good things to do, learn, buy and see!

BUY the latest craft supplies, tools and designs.
SEE divine displays and exclusive feature exhibitions, including the annual quilt show in each state.
LEARN new skills in free workshops - all day, every day
JOIN HANDS-ON Craft Circles to make and take a project home!
MEET guest artists from Australia and around the world and see their superb work.
ATTEND full and half day Craft Classes with expert teachers on the two days before each fair opens.
SAVE MONEY with fair specials and discover products you won't see in shops.

And don't miss the Material Obsession stand with fresh new fabrics and designs.

From Wednesday, June 14- Sunday, June 18, 2006.

Venue - The fair is held at the Sydney Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour.

Opening times - 9am to 5pm daily

Hunters Hill - a Great Success

As promised, having recovered somewhat from the Show, here is a more comprehensive report of the Hunters Hill Quilt Show at the weekend. We have to tell you all that being members of the Hunters Hill Quilters and participating in our show is a constant reminder to Sarah and Kathy of the amazing community and care shown to each other by this group, and of the talent, creativity and ingenuity of quilters everywhere!


The show began on Thursday evening, with the opening night a great success and enjoyed by all who attended. Our wonderful judge, world renowned fibre artist Jenny Kee, did a great job of giving the prizes and then was awarded a prize of her own - a wagga wool quilt the group made especially for her, containing appliqued blocks depicting things that reminded us all of Jenny - like her red glasses, knitting needles and paintbrushes.


Best in Show was won by Robyn James, with her amazing hand pieced quilt, The Challenge. When a member of the group showed Robyn a picture of an equally amazing quilt containing one inch triangles in a hexagon pattern, Robyn took up the challenge, and with the encouragement (and scraps!) from other group members, The Challenge evolved, eventually containing 10,240 triangles. Well done Robyn!


Ten other prizes were awarded as Judges Commendations, won by talented members Doreen Carter, Margaret Driscoll, Laurel Anderson, Alison Klein, Aileen Cowie, Susan St. John, Suzie Lord, Sally Moore, and our very own Kath Doughty, who won for the beautiful Liberty Fields, and Carolyn Davis, with Chrysanthemum.


Jenny found it very difficult to award only ten prizes however, so three extra mentions were also made of quilts by Robyn James, Margaret Driscoll and the group raffle quilt, Tickled Pink, which was drawn on the Sunday afternoon and taken home by a very lucky winner! Also announced on Sunday afternoon was the Viewer's Choice award, which was won by our Material Obsession machine quilter, the lovely and very talented Kim Bradley, who had not only her own quilt in the show but had also machine quilted several of the other entries.


Well done to everyone involved in the show, and a special thank you from the Material Obsession girls to the wonderful ladies in the kitchen, who worked like Trojans to keep us and everyone else who worked and attended supplied with lovely scones, tasty sandwiches and blissfully hot coffee, for which we are eternally grateful!

And so ends the best little quilt show in Sydney... and if you missed out don't worry, there'll be another one in two years, and each one proves better than the last.

Lady in Red

Here is a recent addition to Sarah's wardrobe - a lovely red woollen jacket made from a Betsy Ross design, one of several Betsy patterns we have in the shop. The pattern gives instructions to make the jacket in different lengths, and also in different sleeve lengths. Sarah was inspired by fabrics from the shop- our cherry red wool and an American Folk Art print - and went to work on the sewing machine. Voila....new jacket. All it needs now is to add the optional buttons (but that hasn't stopped her wearing the jacket already!!). If you would like to make this great pattern in wool or cotton, give us a call in the shop and we can send out the pattern and/or fabric to you. Remember our wool comes in 32 different colours! There is a range of Betsy Ross designs in the shop including a bag, skirt, dress and two jacket designs, at $20.50 AUS each. Watch this space tommorrow night for a full report on the Hunters Hill Quilt Show, which finished today. Going to bed now....... 'night!

Opening night fun at Hunters Hill

Hunter's Hill Quilt Show opening night was a great event. Here are just a few of the photos from the night. The first one is Sarah's dad, Geoff Cousins, Chairman of Cure Cancer Australia, speaking on behalf of our chosen charity. Then Sarah, Jenny Kee (world renowned wool and fabric designer and the judge for the show), and Kathy, in front of her quilt, that won an award (Liberty Fields - look out for our new pattern and kits). Then our gorgeous friend Judith and finally, Carolyn who works with us in the shop receiving her award. These are our special friends on our big night...and Kathy obviously delighted.

Hunters Hill Under Way

After a fabulous opening night last night, the Hunters Hill Quilters 2006 Show was open for business today. We had a fantastic turnout for the first day over 400 people through the doors! The Hunters Hill Town Hall is an amazing venue, and is stuffed to the gills with inspiring quilts both for viewing and for sale. Our shop was busy all day - lot of interest was generated by our new designs (released especially for the show) and terriffic new look patterns and kits. Antique quilt dealer Jenny Burton's stall was kept buzzing all day too, and all in all the visitors were smiling and full of scones by the time they left. Two days to go - the show ends at 4.30pm on Sunday, don't miss out on seeing the quilts and experiencing first hand one of the best local quilt shows you're likely to find anywhere. Stay tuned for more news and pics, and a more comprehensive report of the opening night when we have five minutes to sit down on Monday! Happy, happy quilting......

A radiant New York beauty.

This top was made by one of our clever students, Kelly, some of whose quilts you have seen before. She wanted a project that would keep her busy for a while.... well we tried, but this foundation pieced masterpiece only took her two months. Kelly used Civil War reprodutions and a variation on a pattern in Valori Wells' book, Radiant New York Beauties, to make this wonderful top. If you want to give this one a go, both the fabrics and the book are all from the shop.


And this little beauty is by our friend, fellow Hunters Hill Quilter and accountant, Kathy DePalo. She keeps turning out these fantastic creations, so beautiful that Kath and Sarah have decided she really needs to be knee-capped! Oh well, at least we can pay her in fabric.... and the Kaffe Fassetts in this quilt leave you under no illusions as to what she likes. To see some of Kathy's other quilts, you can catch her profile in Down Under Quilts Magazine coming out in the next few months.
We're off to the Hunters Hill Show tomorrow morning... hope to see you all there, but for those of you that can't make it, we will keep you updated with all the fun and beautiful quilts on the blog. Watch this space!

Denyse Schmidt quilt sneak preview!

As promised here is a sneak preview of the Material Obsession quilt with the Denyse Schmidt Flea Market Fancy fabrics. We love working with the variety of gorgeous colours and designs. You will be able to view the full quilt and pattern in the September edition of Quilters Companion. You can also pre-order a kit now from Material Obsession. Happy quilting.

Order Flea Market Fancy early to avoid disappointment. We will have the full range.

Sarah and Kathy have been watching the quilting career of American Designer Denyse Schmidt for years. To our delight she has just produced a fantastic range based on fabrics collected at flea markets - hence the name, Flea Market Fancy. We have ordered this entire line in anticipation of an excited reception here in Australia. If you would like to order any of this fantastic fabric in advance to avoid disappointment just let us know code numbers and quantities by email or phone and we will put it for you soon as it comes in. This fabric has been extremely popular in the US and we love it so much we're expecting the same here! For more info on Denyse check out her website dsquilts.com and quiltersbuzz.com. Quilters Buzz has done some recent profiles on Denyse. Look out for new Material Obsession quilt designs using this fabric (coming soon!) Call us on 02 9817 2733 or email materialobsession@ozemail.com.au

Don't Forget. Hunter's Hill Quilt Show is next week.

Don't forget. The bi-annual Hunters Hill Quilters Exhibition is coming up next
week. We have already blogged information on the show but good to give it one last go. The Show is on from 25 – 28^th May 2006 at Hunters Hill Town Hall.

This recognized show traditionally exhibits over 100 handmade quilts as well as antique quilts with many for sale. The show opens with a catered event on the Thursday evening. The quilts are judged and awards are given out to the various members for their efforts. Each year the proceeds from the show are donated to charity.

If you are planning to come along as a group or a bus trip, you should call us at the shop early next week so we can ensure the show is set up to cater for all your needs on the day. (02 9817 2733).

We are setting up shop in the lobby with all our hot new
fabric picks, kits and new release patterns. We have been working
really hard to develop a line of patterns that are easy to read for
quilts that are fun to make. Wait until you see them complete with
steps and big, beautiful photos and diagrams! Our shop will also be open everyday so you should pop into the show, have a coffee and come and see the shop.

Stunning new fabrics just in

Another load of delicious fabrics has just dropped off the latest shipping container. Here is a few to tempt your appetite.

New 1930's from Licien. Each print comes in a variety of colourways including green, blue, pink, and white backgrounds. Prices from $24AUS a metre.


Lovely kids prints from the Olivia collection. Prices from $24AUS a metre. Also Sarah had just finished a quilt in this fabric. Pattern will be available soon.



And some stunning new Yuwa Live Japanese fabric. Here is just a few to get you excited. Prices from $39.30AUS a metre.



If you want some give us a call or email your order in now. They won't last.

Arcadian Quilters Do Themselves Proud

Kathy and Sarah both spent part of their Mother's Day today with a visit to the Arcadian Quilters show, held at Swains Nursery at Dural in Sydney. Many of the Arcadian Quilters are Material Obsession customers, and it was lovely to see some familiar faces - and some familiar fabrics! Attending Sydney's local shows never fails to fill us with amazement and admiration for the range of talent displayed by our quilters.
As well as quilts made by individuals, also on display were several community quilts made by the group, and a wonderful display featuring the workshops taken by the members throughout the year.
Best in Show was taken out by this little stunner, Rebecca's Tulip Cot Quilt, made by Karen Redgrave. The appliqued quilt is a reproduction of an 1835 quilt from the collection of the Museum of Pennsylvania. Congratulations Karen!


Karen's not the only talented quilter at Arcadia though, what follows is a wonderful selection of some of the quilts on display, including the beautiful raffle quilt which we did buy tickets for.... nobody's rung us though, something tells me we missed out. :(


If this selection looks tempting but you missed out, don't forget that the Hunters Hill Quilt Show is in two weeks time. Watch this space for more information about the show in coming posts. Happy Mother's Day everybody!