Australian Quilters Association - Guest Speaker

How excited am I to be the guest speaker at the Australian Quilters Association on September 3rd. I will be trading from 10am with feedsacks, quilt blocks, quilt tops and vintage fabrics from the 1800s to the 1960s as well as silks and cottons from the Stitching Project and the range of jackets, scarves and accessories from the Pukka Desirables range.
At 1pm I will be talking about my latest trip to the USA and my work with vintage and antique quilts and the Stitching Project in India.
The meeting is at the United Church Hall at 679 Canterbury Road Surrey Hills.

Selection of Quilt Blocks from the 1860s to 1930s

Feedsack Feedsack Feedsack

A start of the Feedsacks I have got together so far on my trip. I will start to get these ready for sale when I get back.

You shook me...

Thank you to the last 3 mins of New Girl tonight, the end scene of the dedication of the AC/DC classic You Shook Me All Night Long to all the girls in his future.
That scene made me smile from ear to ear, as when I hear that song I can't help but turn it up and jump around the studio making a dick of myself or get behind the drums and play along.

Even though its Brian Jones singing and not my beloved Bon, its still a classic tune.

Rock on!!!

(PS...holy, Coles got the Quo in their awful ad, talk about old rockers still rockin'??)

Scrap Happy

What to do with all your trimmings.....wacky...love it. Image via Doreme Japan.

Dyson goes Steampunk

Here is a little bit of ha ha for you all...at the time it wasn't, but now I think we can all laugh at it...
The switch broke on my beloved Dyson DC01 -  the first Dyson vacuum cleaner made, and this was the limited edition Dyson De Stijl. Named after a pretty influential design movement in the Netherlands in the early part of the 20th century. This Vacuum had the hall marks of this design movement - or Neo Plasticism as it is also referred. The art movement that gave us Mondiran. What could I not love about this Vacuum cleaner when I bought it, bright purple, red and yellow, it had my name written all over it.

So, my dad offered to take a look, he's pretty handy. He couldn't find a replacement switch in the local electrical store, as you would assume, not many place carry parts for a Dyson in a regional town and not ever having contact with a computer would never think to google to look for one ($24.95 delivered if he did know) so he decided to 'make do and mend' and fitted a 1930s bakelite light switch to it.

Yes it turns on....And to make sure it really took hold, its been drilled through the casing and super glued on and he's glued up the old switch...so i'm stuck with it, literally.

Bless him....

Shiny Happy People....60s and 70s Warm Brights

As the weather gets colder I like to have bright happy textiles around. I have these lovely wool/cotton blends from the 60s and 70s, Clydella, Viyella and Marvella. Perfect for skirts and blouses.

Every year my Nana made me a blouse out of Viyella, that nice brushed twill, it was so warm. The little ditsy prints remind me so much of her and what she made for me with love. Enjoy!

The Geelong Quilt In 2012

Getting very excited about being a trader for the Geelong Quilt In this year.
This is such a great group of ladies who quilt away in all different styles. This year they are raising funds for Anam Cara House in Geelong. So your admission and all funds raised on the day goto a worthy cause.

The Quilt In this year has Linda Steele as the guest speaker. Linda is a renowned textile artist and teacher and has won many awards for her work here and overseas. And, she also hand quilts! Love a hand quilted quilt.

The Quilt in runs from 9.30 to 4pm and is at the Belmont Civic Hall on the Corner of Reynolds Road and the Princess Hwy Belmont.

To break with tradition I won't be stitching but reverse stitching, I will be unpicking a turn of the century monkey wrench block quilt. Tiny stitches from a treadle machine, this will keep me busy!

A Million Stitches

Such joy, a million tiny stitches. Beautiful vintage kantha quilts from Rajhastan. No two alike, loads to choose from. Various sizes and weights.
I will have these available for sale this weekend at the Brunswick Town Hall on Saturday the 28th and Camberwell Market on Sunday the 29th.
You will need to be quick, when I had these 3 weeks ago they sold out in an hour.

Animal Lacing Cards

While talking to a friend the other day about her new desire to embroider freehand with bright wools into card and paper, I remembered these. Did you have these as a kid too? Did it start you down a stitchy journey like me? With the blunt plastic large eyed needles and bright primary coloured wools. I love the graphics on these, my favourite is the Donkey.