What a busy month or two!  I am constantly on my toes keeping up with pattern drawings for the monthly ‘Applique’ groups.  In this photo I am working on another new set of drawings and I am champing at the bit to start the applique for this one which promises to be a wonderful quilt!

However I have nearly completed the 16 applique blocks for my Airs and Graces quilt and ideas are brewing for the applique borders and pieced elements of the construction. So I am determined to finish it before starting these new patterns!

These new delicious drawings will just have to wait in the queue for me (although as usual, the girls are well into working on their blocks!!).

I enjoyed showing off some of my Airs and Graces blocks during demonstration sessions at Patchwork of Essendon’s stand at the Craft and Quilt Fair last week in Melbourne. I really enjoyed catching up with many friends and acquaintances and also meeting lots of new quilters there.

I am constantly amazed at the sheer volume of my fabric stash! The bulging cupboards, baskets and boxes make it impossible to function properly and so it is time for the Major Tidy Up!! 

It is also wonderful what you find during the process!  There are those absolute treasures which I haven’t seen for ages - buried under a mountain of accumulated bits and pieces.   And at the other extreme, there are those cringe pieces!  Whatever was I thinking when I bought them!!  

I have been quilting for some time now, and fabric seems to have this remarkable habit of multiplying! Despite all of my efforts at sorting, stacking and classifying, it can be a major undertaking finding the exact piece I have in mind for a current project.  Simply - too much ’stuff’ choking up my work space and storage areas and actually inhibiting my quiltmaking!

I am currently having the biggest purge of fabric - ruthless culling is taking place and together with my good friend Jan, we are conducting a combined Garage Sale of no-longer-needed fabric and things. I now understand that I don’t have to justify my existence and worth based on the volume of ‘textile might’ in my sewing studio!  I have also shed that need to stockpile fabric for my ‘retirement’ and when I may need to be more frugal with the pennies and purchases.  There will be more than enough left to keep me going…

It is truly an uplifting experience clearing the space. It makes my heart skip to see from one side of the sewing room to the other!! And with this comes the most tantalising goal of all: to re-focus, re-invigorate and re-launch into exciting new creative ventures.

Here is a sneak peak at ONE of my latest works in progress.  

Yes - it is another pot of flowers …… but thankfully I am working on some other projects that do take design in slightly different directions.

I have a few ideas worked out for the next stage of this quilt and will keep you posted on progress!

Having searched high and low for this little block (approximately 12″ x 14″) that I worked in needleturn applique last year, I am wondering if I have left it behind at the conclusion of one of my classes somewhere!  It was made to feature on Jan Baker’s OnlineQuilter.com and she very diligently returned it to me.  However, I seem to have lost track of it since then.  

If you know of it’s whereabouts, I am sure it is a result of my carelessness and I would love to have it returned!

Of recent times, I really love to make paper templates, cut fabric shapes and arrange them onto a background fabric without the need for a drawn pattern sheet. Happy Wanderer is one example of this approach.  

However, I do work on many drawings as well and this is my Pas de Deux quilt’s final borders on the drawing board in my always cluttered studio workroom.  This quilt is a work in progress! The drawings have been finished but my quilt top fits in with working on a mountain of other projects and it is somewhat lagging behind several of the participants in my Friday and Saturday Applique Design classes at Patchwork of Essendon. Keep visiting this site as I think I can persuade one or two to share a photo of their finished reverse applique masterpieces using this Pas de Deux design.

Detail of my Vintage Bed Sash as a work in progress.  This photograph shows a small area of the applique in this sash designed to decorate the lower portion of the bed.  These are great as they require less fabric, less time and you can still pile up the pillows and cushions at the head of the bed giving the whole room a luxurious and cosy ambience.