Last weekend, I was hosted by lovely Sadie Moffitt (below), President of Murray River Quilters, during my Applique Technique and Design Workshop in Wodonga. Struggling with little voice and a pesky cough, Sadie dosed me up with honey, hot water and lime juice which came from fruit on her prolific lime tree.

Sadie chose irises and hand dyed fabrics for her applique and as you can see it is shaping up beautifully. Impressively, she also dressed in ‘iris’ colours!

Amanda, below, was inspired by an Art Deco perfume bottle which belonged to her grandmother.  Her wonderful drawing evolved on Saturday and here she is spread out on the floor on Sunday bringing the piece to life with an exotic fabric colour palette.

The floor seemed the favoured place to work - Merideth also enjoying some creative time on hands and knees.

Helen, below, chose bright tulips in this lovely memory piece. The inclusion of one of her  grandmother’s doilies is Helen’s plan and will make it a very special tribute.

And here, tulips and Dutch Delftware captured Michelle’s imagination …..

And below, Ruth had a struggle to keep her shirt on with it’s wonderful design inspirations.

Above:  sisters, Rhonda and Narelle with their magnificent creations.

Above:  Happy Group - Carolyn (standing) with Margaret, Linda and Jane.

October 9 - 11 took me to Morwell for the Latrobe Valley Quilters Weekend. I picked up colleague and tutor, Lisa Walton, from the airport and we drove down together - a little touch of deja vu!

We spent a pleasant evening over dinner with some of the girls before retiring for an early night.  Well it was early for me as my ‘normal’ bedtime is sometime between 1 and 2 am!!!!

Above:  more sisters, Gaynor from the UK,  and Betty showing her Bronte’s Garden block (one of my BOM’s).

The two day weekend of classes was fun and I am sure a record has been broken!!  My class of 15 or thereabouts consisted of FOUR pairs of sisters. Can you believe it??  And Gaynor even came from England to attend (well also to visit her sister!).  To be honest, every one in the class looked like sisters to me before we finished!! But it was really good fun and what a productive lot they were.

Some of the ladies in the class were involved in the successful 2007 Quilt DownUnder Auction for Breast Cancer Network Australia at which it was hoped to raise around $2000, but topped over $32,000!!!  I was fascinated with the story of how it evolved from small beginnings to such a huge event. The call is now out for donations of quilts for the 2010 Quilt DownUnder Auction so check out the website at www.quiltdownunder.com to find out more about this great project and how you can take part. Quilt donations should be sent in by early June.

Below:  Chris - are you threading the needle?

What a lovely welcome I received from the girls at Anam Cara Patchwork in Kialla Lakes at Shepparton! My workshop was held at the shop in late September (you can tell that I am way behind with the news here but there is something on every moment of my life and I am now seeing a little window of space to catch up!!!).

I arrived the night before  and it was sheer joy to settle in after driving through torrential rain and very limited visibility for two hours, to arrive to such a very thoughtful gesture from Debbie who had left a delightful gift bag of ‘essentials’ including a water bottle and CHOCOLATE and some other lovely little things…. .  I didn’t disappoint them either - having made a decent impression in the contents of the Roses chocolates.!

It was lovely to meet Rhonda (third from left above) and Debbie (standing right below), who own the shop with their friend and business partner Julie.  Rhonda had made most of the arrangements with me for the workshop and also joined the class.  Debbie was thoroughly attentive and helpful in looking after the shop and all our needs during the workshop.

It was great to meet such an enthusiastic group and I think everyone managed to learn a few more tips to help with their applique - also very encouraging to see some new designs taking shape as well.

And my hasty departure after the class - I pointed the car in a north easterly direction towards Wodonga - more about that next………

For most of my needleturn applique, I love to use templastic for my applique pattern templates. The durability is an advantage if you to trace many shapes, such as identical leaves - or if they are in reverse image, the template can easily be flipped over. As these templates are flexible and long lasting, you can establish an excellent library  upon which to use for future projects. Sort them into categories and store them in folders, stackable containers or your preferred system.

The transparency of plastic templates is also exciting if you are working with lovely large scale fabric prints as you can move the template over the fabrics in a ‘try before you cut’ approach. The opaque plastic allows you to ’see’ the finished applique effect created by the prints and to capture very interesting and dynamic overall results.

Cut-out or ‘negative’ applique templates.  I have designed and developed Bon Bon Applique Templates (see Bon Bon Shop and previous entries) to allow applique shapes to be traced directly onto fabric, based on the ‘negative’ or cut-out shape.  This provides wonderful accuracy and speed. There are an assortment of shapes in the collection which can be interpreted in many ways to create leaves and petals and other concepts. The cut-out shape also allows you to ‘flip’ the template over for reverse images and to ‘rehearse’ fabrics to determine if they are suitable for your design. 

                

Quilters freezer paper is certainly an accurate template material and can be used either on the right or wrong side of the fabrics.  I will discuss the application of these methods in a future tutorial. Freezer paper is excellent if the applique shape is long and willowy or delicate and lacy.  Freezer paper can stabilise the fabric well to allow you to trace the shape onto the fabric, unlike plastic which can be rather unruly in this respect.  Although it is reusable to a limited extent, the downside of freezer paper is that you will usually need to cut every single shape required for your pattern including the reverse image shapes. 

Templastic and quilter’s freezer paper are readily available at your local patchwork and quilting shop.

Other template materials can be easily obtainable everyday bits and pieces such as card, paper and the like. When I have been away on holidays, I have frequently had to resort to using whatever is available which may include cutting up magazine pages or using travel brochures, tracing around cardboard drink coasters, cutting up cardboard from packaging, tracing around lids and bottles, etc. This approach stirs a definite affinity with our quilting sisters of past times, and a very strong sense of current satisfaction and accomplishment!

In essence, there is not one perfect template material!  It is a case of trying what is available and deciding which you prefer to use. 

Another tutorial coming soon……

It was a busy few days last week when I travelled to Ballarat in Victoria’s central west to conduct a two day workshop in Applique Design for the Ballarat Branch of the Embroiderers Guild of Victoria “Autumn Leaves” Seminar.

I received such a warm welcome and immediately engaged in happy conversation with everyone as I pinned my sample pieces and works in progresss onto the display board.

Crossing disciplines here, I wondered how the embroiderers would respond to needleturn applique techniques and to my approach to creative applique design.  Kath wasted not one moment as she launched her pencil onto paper and her wonderful tree design emerged! Here she is on hands and knees on Day 2 with her block. 

It was not  surprising to hear that several of the class participants had some experience with applique already including Kay (Treasurer) and Ann (President), below, who had to dart in and out of the class attending to various admin matters!  They, and their committee, deserve a huge pat on the back for all their work in presenting this fabulous event!

Although initially chosen as a Design Class, we did spend some time working through some of the technical aspects of needleturn applique for those with limited experience.  Dulcie, below, was not really convinced that this was for her and she valliantly persevered and was able to take away some additional skills!  Well done Dulcie!

We discussed many sources of inspiration for applique design which the ladies could also explore and apply to their embroidery.  

Great to see everyone embracing the idea of creating their own designs - also the range of ideas being developed.  Above, Kym is happily preparing her garden block.

We all enjoyed Joan’s bewitching Irish accent and below,  she is happy with her urn and flower design which will encompass both surface applique and reverse applique techniques.  Dianne and Trish also in the pic.

There was much to share after two full days and participants from the other classes enjoyed wandering through to view the collective class work as we concluded the second day.  

After a short break, we returned in the evening for an abundant and delicious spit roast dinner after which I was let loose as Guest Speaker!

I must say that I thoroughly enjoy going to work when I have ‘my girls‘ in the once-a-month Saturday classes at Sally and Julie’s shop, Patchwork of Essendon! 

All this has evolved from a Baltimore Quilt class which we started some years ago until more often than not, we explored many of my designs or touched up on some needleturn applique technique, piecing or embroidery. 

My life always seems so full that however optimistic I felt, I knew that it was unlikely that I would ever make all the designs that I have drawn - and indeed this is still the case!  My intentions are always good and genuine - however, I needed to acknowledge that my needle and thread would never keep up with my thoughts and sketches. 

With this realisation, I made the suggestion in class that I would love to share some of the designs (without class samples) if that was something that may be of interest.  From that point, many of the girls indicated that they were very willing to give it a try.  

Moving in this direction, we found that it was amazingly liberating on both sides!  It enabled me to share designs and patterns without the pressure to create them in fabric - after all, there are not fourteen days in one week are there!!!  It also presented some wonderfully creative challenges for the girls in the classes.  Sometimes we launch into something contemporary but we often pay homage to many of the old antique quilts by creating our 21st century interpretations of these magnificent works. 

The girls are able to stretch their ideas in a safe and comfortable environment with their friends - and make decisions without being influenced by class samples.  We all toss many ideas around and look forward to this interaction and the sharing of thoughts. Having a regular group like this also provides additional therapy in the form of shared inspiration and encouragement.

I am confident that they leave stimulated and eager to move on with their respective projects or with ideas for new ones! I am constantly excited by the works in progress that they bring along.  It is a tremendous thrill for me to see my black and white line drawings come to life in the fabric of their creations.

Barbara, Lorraine and Joan are the original stalwarts and terrific fun to have in the class. We have also welcomed several others who have displayed wonderful enthusiasm - and one of the regulars, Robyn, travels a seven hour round trip from country Victoria to join us!  And on Saturday I encouraged Meredithe’s friend, Annie, to sharpen her pencil and take to a piece of paper to develop some ideas that she had sketched out.  It was so exciting to see her enjoying this process and we all look forward to seeing the next stage of her planned quilt destined for her daughter. 

We now have a growing Friday group working along these lines as well. My stitching constantly lags behind the prolific and fabulous output from these classes - but that doesn’t matter at all!