On June 5th this year I took a holiday and one of my destinations was Amsterdam. 

 I absolutely loved that city and the many other places I visited for a few days.

Being a quilter a visit to a quilt shop is a must, so I went to Petra Prins Patchwork and Quilting shops. It comprises of 2 adjoined shops with slightly different styles but totally beautiful.

I was lucky enough to meet Petra Prins and she kindly agreed to have her photo taken with me.

A 'bit' of shopping took place and I came out on a high from such beautiful fabrics and store. 

Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair

 Last weekend I attended the Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair.  This is a yearly event that brings a lot of crafts under one roof as well as over 150 quilts on display.

I have been a quilter for over 20 years but this year at the last minute I was encouraged to display some of my quilts to be judged under the banner of Victorian Quilters Inc. I entered 2 quilts quite different from one another.

This quilt (Kim Diehl pattern) is made from wool and cotton, using machine and hand applique. I quilted on my long arm.

 

I was lucky enough to get a ribbon "Highly commended first time entrant"

The other quilt that I submitted was all machined pieced and quilted. 

Basket with Embroidery

 

Making these bags/baskets with fabric scraps, beads and some decorative appliques made from cotton and wool is so fun. Once I start stitching a panel, my imagination takes over and I can't stop.

Even the inside is made from scraps decorated with machine decorative stitches

My garden is now 'waking up' as Spring has began...

Blue tones Top

 I had such fun making these easy blocks using a jelly roll of blue toned batiks and white on white scraps.

This top has been donated to  Waverley Patchworkers  Gift Quilts Program.

Little Basket using embroidery

 

I have a bunch of batik scraps that I put to good use.

I got some thin cotton fabric, and wool wadding and covered the entire surface (5.5 inch square) with the batik shapes and randomly stitched them down with blanket stitches, running stitches, lazy daisy, etc in whatever direction it took me.

I made 5 squares and then sewed them up in a bag, Japanese Rice Bag style.

To make it more interesting I added some buttons.

This little basket was a little gift for my daughter's birthday.

 

Sashiko Bag

I put together this bag yesterday after finishing the sashiko embroidery. 

Sashiko is basically just using a running stitch to create the design.

This panel was part of a kit I purchased recently.

Gift Quilt - top - Fractured Four Patch

 

It's no secret that I love making quilts from scraps and this one is another one of those.

I cut up a bunch of 5.5" squares and had leftovers from a few charm packs and put this top together. 

The technique I used was from Judy Gauthier and I think the quilt is called  Fractured Four Patch. It's quite quick to make as the blocks are fairly large.

I donated it to the Gift Quilts program at Waverley Patchworkers.

A number of girls are also making a few blocks which will be sewn together to make a donated Xmas quilt. 

This is my block all ready to go.

Baby Quilt

 

Made this quilt for the daughter of my neighbour.

Its a very simple design but very effective.

Scrap Quilt - one Block

 I had a bunch of rectangles in a box so using little squares in black and white made a rather interesting scrap quilt top.

It's another one to be donated to the gift quilt program at Waverley Patchworkers.

Wedding Quilt

 I helped my daughter make this quilt for a friend who's getting married soon.

Table Runner

 I made this table runner using an Aboriginal style fabric I had in my stash. The block is a small tumbler.

I was a gift for a family relative who lives in the UK.

Top for the Gift Quilt program

I am back making gift quits to donate via my Quilt Guild Waverley Patchworkers.

These tops tend to be scrappy because we use our personal stash and is quite fun to come up with ideas to use them. I try to make them really simple and preferably a one block quilt and even better if we can use jelly rolls strips.

These 2 were fun to make, easy and quite fast. Deidre and I did them together.

Needle case holder

 I didn't have a chance to make a posting to show you a Xmas gift I made for my friend Deidre.

I made it using batiks and hand embroidered a little.