CWB block completed, Wool fabric and more AQC quilts

My 15th block done... 5 to go and borders. The feathers weren't as difficult as I expected and I used blanket stitch for the feet and beak.

For sometime now I have seen quilts and other smaller items done using wool. It always looks so primitive and effective, so I have purchased a table runner kit and a stack of wool pieces to begin a stash.  I am told that working with wool is quick, easy and addictive !

For those who follow my blog, it's not a surprise that I love music. Mainly Smooth Jazz and Classical.  I have had the opportunity from time to time to attend live shows in my hometown as well as overseas.  Later in the year I'm going on a Smooth Jazz cruise in the Mediterranean so I've been thinking about making a quilt to celebrate that occasion.

While I was at AQC show on Saturday with so many vendors all in one venue it was the perfect time to look for music themed fabrics.  I was lucky to get quite a few fat quarters but if you know of online stores that do sell music themed fabrics please let me know...
I used my daughter's trumpet as part of the prop to show you my lovely fabrics.
 




Here are some more pictures of the quilts that I saw over the weekend at the Australasian Quilt Convention.  They are so unique and at the highest quality.

I noticed that many quilts have circular shapes, so I wonder if that's a trend we are going through at the moment...



Australasian Quilt Convention - Melbourne

I spent most of the day at the Royal Exhibition Building  at the quilt show and checking out the various vendors from all over Australia, tempting us with their lovely fabrics, patterns and many new products.



The  Royal Exhibition Building is the only surviving Great Hall that once housed a 19th-century international exhibition and is still used for exhibitions, cultural and community events.

The architect was Joseph Reed and his design was influenced by Rundbogenstil, a round-arched architectural style combining elements from Byzantine, Romanesque, Lombardic and Italian Renaissance buildings.

The dome’s design was influenced by Brunelleschi’s 15th-century cathedral in Florence.



The interior is equally spectacular with its meticulously restored opulent interior, expansive galleries and soaring dome.




There is a lot of history associated with this landmark. 
David Mitchell was the builder of the finest buildings in Melbourne including the Royal Exhibition Buildings, Scots Church and the Equitable Life Assurance offices on corner of Elizabeth & Collins Streets.
And in case this name is not immediately familiar, he was the father of Dame Nellie Melba GBE (19 May 1861 – 23 February 1931), an Australian operatic soprano  who became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early 20th century. She was the first Australian to achieve international recognition as a classical musician.


The building is in the Carlton Gardens and it has three fountains.

And here another of the fountains...

Now, onto the quilts...

I did not take photos of all the quilts nor can I identify all the quilt makers (I apologise in advance) but I can say that each and everyone of the quilts displayed were of the highest quality regardless if the quilt maker was professional or not.

The show included a number of exclusive exhibitions, some were judged, some were awarded prizes and other quilts were produced by the tutors at the convention.

Balance by Robin Coombes

Too Easily Forgotten by Gillian Shearer

Reproduction beauties by Chris Jurd

Longbourne by Katrina Hadjmichael

 Pemberley by Katrina Hadjimichael

And this large quilt (Travelling Friendship Quilt) is a result of eight empty suitcases leaving Queensland in January 2011 for a one-year journey around Australia, returning full of completed blocks which were made into a friendship quilt. The quilt should prove to be an interesting snapshot of women's lives in 2011 and will eventually reside in the National Museum, Canberra.



The show is still on tomorrow so if you get a chance I would recommend a visit.

On my next blogpost I'm planning to show you something I completed and some of the shopping I did today...

What's on the bed, music totes & Hand Embroidered treasures

It's a lovely sunny day here in Melbourne and I'm inspired to share some of my treasures with you.

First off these two small totes I completed recently. They are gifts for my two cruise travelling companions who love Smooth Jazz like me. I don't think they read my blog so I won't spoil the surprise.

Bonnie Hunter's blog is hosting a 'party' for us to link pictures of a Quilt on our bed so I took a picture of what's on my daughter's bed.

I regularly change the quilts on the beds and other furniture, to make it more interesting around the house.

I collect a few things which I have shared in the blog (pins, thimbles, etc) but today I want to show you my collection of hand embroidered tray clothes and linen doilies with crocheted edges.

 

I probably have over 100 of these and most of them have been purchased at thrift stores over the years.

They are not as easy as it used to be, to find them and the prices have increased considerably.
I have also made a few myself as a child but these I use in my day to day living.

The motifs are delightful and some very quirky.

Most of them are on linen and some on cotton.  I love looking at them for ages and then place them back in the box..

Some have beautiful crocheted edgings and I appreciate them more because I love and used to do a lot of crochet work.

We are now in Autumn, so different plants are decorating the garden with their beautiful colour.
These are in the front of my garden.

The sun is so bright this morning that the photo doesn't do it's justice.

And finally as I was inspecting the buds of my camelia, I found it's first flower...

We can't beat nature on perfection !

Travelling anyone ???

We all have our own ways of organising our documents and other valuable items when we travel.

I made myself my own travel organiser wallet from these two gorgeous fabrics depiting landmarks of Sydney and Melbourne.

To personalise even more I made some embroidery for the front.

I didn't have a pattern but I knew I needed a couple of more secured pockets, so I added zipper to them.

Made a place for the pens along the centre.

On one side, I used the fabric for Melbourne that shows MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground), trams, The Arts Centre, Flinders Street Station, palm trees, etc...

On the other side, I used the fabric with Sydney's landmarks such as the Opera House, the Bridge, surfing, etc..

I also made a matching pouch with a little teddy to accompany me on my travels...
The teddy took a lot longer to make than the pouch..

 Here they are together ready to be used...





I want to give a shout-out to my friend Gloria's blog, Panos, Linhas e Pontos ; she is an artist and I enjoy looking at her fabric creations as well.  Have a look at her latest project which is a very creative and beautiful table topper.

On another topic; I am open for suggestions to what format is more popular for blog posts.
Some people love to read posts with more text while others want lots of pictures. I always feel that images tell the story better than lots of words for crafty projects but I guess it's a question of balance...
Another thing I am trying to establish, is what is the best time to blog ? I don't finish lots of projects every week so I don't generally post more than once a week. But do people check blogs more on weekends or weekdays ?

Anyway, please give me some feedback as I'm trying to focus om improving the way I share my projects with people.

Thank you for all my followers and the encouragement I receive...

My own bag design...

I'm sharing my latest project with you today instead of my usual Sunday posting.

I have had these fabrics for a number of years set aside to make some sort of a bag and this week I finally got inspired and came up with this design.

These ceramic buttons are hand-made and hand-painted and I purchased them last year from Incomparable Buttons.

Bags and apron

All the projects from this week come from fabrics in my stash...
I thought I had lost the pattern to make this bag so when I found it again this week, I was so happy that I made this bag...

It's Amy Butler "Frenchy Bag", the larger size.

I have been making a few gifts lately and this will be another .

We purchased our daughter an iPad this week for her birthday so I made this bag to store it.  She chose the fabrics and I chose the button.

Made this quick and easy project from an apron panel I have had for a while. Another gift.

And lastly, found a small piece of fabric with a school theme, so I made a little tote for a little girl that has started school this year.

And now for some music...

Gordon James originally from New Jersey is an amazing trumpet player in the field of Funky Jazz . I have several of his albuns and this track comes from the cd "IN JOY". Was hard to pick which track to feature as I really love all the songs on this album.
 

CWB block 14 and stars

Just a quick post of the block I completed this week.

Out of the 20 blocks and borders I have to do, this is the 14th done for the Civil War Bride quilt.

I received from Jan-Maree these cute star blocks we swap each month.  I send her log cabin blocks.

In my display below I'm showing you a cross-stitch I have in my studio made over 12 years ago.

I still have a couple of unfinished cross-stitch projects which I would like to complete one day.

Placemats, CWB block and Pouch

While going through my stash early in the week I found this novelty print with apples.

Used my large tumbler die and made this placemat.

Also tried the smaller tumbler and I prefer it....

Finally finished another block for the Civil War Bride quilt. 

And later today I made myself this pouch from other novelty fabrics I have. No surprise that I have a number of music related prints.

Do you notice the button ? 

The back of the bag I embroidered some special words related to feelings that music evokes in me  "Music and memories are found within our hearts".