a very fine house

Mathilda's Market

2012-02-17T23:46:00.000-08:00

I have a little bundle of quilts ready for next weekend's market. I must say, as I wandered around the market last year I was so impressed with all the clever stallholders. So many beautiful things to buy for babies and children, I felt quite relieved, and so did my purse, that my children are far to big for me to be tempted.

Quilters Companion 2012

2012-01-29T12:57:00.000-08:00

In the absence of an actual summer house, I have made this quilt aptly named Summer House. It is in the current edition of Quilters Companion 2012 Yearbook. When and if I ever have the summer house, I will be ready with the quilt. I am always prepared for every eventuality.... even the most unlikely ones. The summer house I have planned in my head, courtesy of years of trawling through magazines and more recently looking at blogs, is very nearly finished. Now Mr. Tatslotto, I am ready!

2011-12-19T03:51:00.000-08:00

The purrfect quilt!

I was recently commissioned to make a quilt for someone with wonderful style and taste and the owner of a very discerning cat! Here is the result and I think it looks fantastic. It is colourful and whimsical with little blocks of "Alice" and the "White Rabbit" here and there and a lovely black and white stripe binding benefiting from a "drink of tea". The quilt is tied in perle thread and I have hand quilted around the flowers and animals. It was hard to part with this one but I see that Winston has already taken up residence and seems to approve so that makes me happy!

2011-12-09T14:37:00.001-08:00

not missing a thing cat!

This very strange cat of ours does not curl up in a ball like most self respecting felines, she likes to sit up straight, watch TV, lean on arms and generally behave not like the others.

2011-11-14T21:53:00.001-08:00

to market to market

I have been busy making little quilts to sell at Mathilda's Market, come and say hi if you go.

Mathilda’s Market

2011-11-14T14:29:00.001-08:00

Please come and visit our stall at Mathilda’s Market at the Caulfield Racecourse, Station Street, Caulfield. Free parking all day! on Sunday 27th November, from 9am to 1pm. Entry is free. With plenty of stalls, yummy food and kids’ entertainment on offer, We really hope to see you there!

sewing not blogging

2011-11-03T22:50:00.000-07:00

It has been six weeks since my last blog! I always feel like sewing, early in the morning when the house is quiet, late at night, same thing. Also, I regret to say, middle of the night when all the non mothers of babies and non-menopausal women are sleeping. I am sewing at that time, reading, thinking, watching a movie, having cups of tea. Everything is so lovely in the middle of the night but you know you will pay the next day. I am not such a lover of blogging, my own that is. I always think everyone else has a nicer more interesting one. I have, as I said, been sewing and have a number of new patterns out one of which is Guinevere shown here.

2011-08-20T22:14:00.000-07:00

Eastern Sewing Time

This is the clock in my sewing studio, lovely!

2011-07-28T01:53:00.000-07:00

Amanda on a mission

My friend, Amanda, accomplished quilter, cook, mother of 5 and owner of The Regimental Condiment Company will not rest until everyone who has ever said "hello" to her, has a quilt. Well not quite, but nearly. She has made this quilt using one of my patterns Museum Medallion. Made in Liberty of London fabrics and beautifully hand quilted. She is an inspiration to me.

2011-07-08T01:34:00.000-07:00

new ribbons and kits - better than chocolate

These beautiful ribbons arrived recently at Amitie. The colours are so bright and there are so many to choose from, these are just a few. I have also been making new "Mitali" starter kits, never can have enough of those!

rainy crafty day

2011-07-02T22:54:00.000-07:00

The Melbourne craft fair is almost upon us and Amitie will be there with a beautiful array of new fabrics and kits. I am making up a little quilt in some of those fabrics which will be available at the show.

if its Tuesday its Amitie

2011-06-07T16:17:00.000-07:00

I teach at Amitie on Tuesdays, a.m., p.m. and evening. The morning girls are drifting into the afternoon and the evening girls now have them massing on the borders, well if they could get out of dinner and the "we're hungry mum" they would be. A gorgeous class, lots of wonderful quilts and talent. Here are a few snippets.

pattern prize and prizing cats off quilts!

2011-05-26T23:53:00.000-07:00

Thank you for entering I shall post you all the pattern of your choice. This new pattern is called "Pagoda" and is in the wonderfully soft Anna Maria Horner voiles and hand quilted in Perle 12. It is not my usual colour palette, you know, blue, red and grey and brown, and it doesn't go in my house, but I love it. I think my two ginger cats think they are invisible when they are sitting on it, but I see them and they cannot stay!

Shop Now Open!

2011-05-19T00:03:00.001-07:00

Postage for Australia is working but if you live O/S please email me to find out postage costs. Click on the circle to enter.

I also have a little competition running over at the Mulgrave Makers Market blog, you can see it here

A day in the country

2011-04-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

I have just enjoyed a wonderful day teaching at at Mary Kelly's gorgeous shop in Gisborne, The Drapers of Mt Macedon . Gelati, not the edible kind, was the chosen pattern. We spent a lovely day playing with colour and design and creating quite different blocks. There was a huge array of fabric to choose from a mere 10 steps away and, well, we did choose, quite often! I hope my students enjoyed the day as much as I did and I look forward to visiting again in June.

sewing not barracking

2011-03-05T01:21:00.001-08:00

The sounds emanating from the living room are not welcoming, it is football season again, Aussie Rules, Melbourne in Autumn and Winter and there is no getting away from it. I thought after last year's ground hog day effort (yep, Saints) my two boys and their father would have thrown in the towel, jumped ship, called it a day, given it a miss, passed..... but apparently that is just not cricket! I suggested a change of team was called for, especially for my long suffering husband with only one grand final win to celebrate in his life. This apparently is not an option, well not without a DNA transplant, can they do that yet? If it goes on for too long, can they award honorary grand final cups like they do degrees, for lots of good trying. So, 'tis the sewing room for me and new quilts jumping around in my mind, long winter days sewing and quilting and pretending not to notice when the dear boys slump from the living room at the end of another defeat. Prove me wrong Saints, please!

the perfect weekend

2011-02-24T03:31:00.000-08:00

Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably brought their magic to amitie on the weekend. There was such excitement and expectation in the shop in the weeks preceding their arrival. They were delightful and so funny and entertaining. Here follows a few colourful snaps of the workshop.

elephants to remember

2011-02-17T20:50:00.000-08:00

I was having a little scoot around a few favourite blogs and discovered these beauties. My pulse raced I confess. They look so tempting, even more than rows and rows of pink and chocolate cupcakes, which I find VERY tempting. One day I may try to make one when I have a baby in the family to give it to. They are from Fern and Feather .

Quilts heading north

2011-01-15T16:07:00.000-08:00

Corrie from Retro Mummy is one of many coordinating the making of blocks and quilts for Queenslanders affected by the floods. The response has been huge, not surprising from the generous quilting and blogging community.

A new year brings a new design

2011-01-13T22:49:00.000-08:00

It is still raining here and now the Victorian countryside is having its turn. We do not need any more droughts and flooding rains, just prosperity for farmers and gentle rainfall across the country. Australia, I am afraid, is just not like that. It is all or nothing here and always has been. In between news bulletins I have been sewing a little quilt.

wishing for another white one

2010-12-22T23:30:00.000-08:00

This was taken one year ago, Central Park, snow, Macy's bag! We had the best time especially walking back through Central Park one night, quite safe of course, getting horribly lost and not minding a bit. Suddenly it started to snow and by the time we found our way out, engaging in snowball fights and other like pursuits reserved for Australian tourists on their first glimpse of Christmas snow, we were happily freezing and ready for another circuit.

never waste a scrap

2010-12-05T16:00:00.001-08:00

I, like many quilters, become very attached to certain fabrics. I cut them carefully and keep the tiniest pieces of my most loved, just in case I can find a spot in a quilt and there they stay forever to look at and remember. This little quilt is one such project. I have nothing of these fabrics left anymore but I have this to remember them. I have quilted it simply, mostly done in the wee hours of the morning waiting for children on P's to get home. Oh for the cot with the high sides from which there was no escape, well except for the middle child, he threw himself over the edge more than once!

the sweetest thing

2010-11-28T21:14:00.000-08:00

This is the new addition to our home, little Hallie. She has chosen the softest and prettiest quilt in the house which suits her just fine.

Mixtape and me

2010-11-15T15:36:00.000-08:00

The new edition of Mixtape is out, as usual full of great stuff and I love the cover. There is an article about Jenny Kingwell and I too have cornered a few paragraphs about my early crafting days. Hope you can get a copy.

Flea Market Fancy of my own!

2010-10-25T23:50:00.000-07:00

I finally have a little stash of the most coveted fabric in memory. I began teaching my next door neighbour patchwork a couple of years ago and she purchased all these plus more, made a few blocks and then found other more pressing things to attend to. They have now come home to me, over the fence and up the path and into the sewing room and there they will stay while I think about what they will become. I think I have enough for a quilt for my children, to share....

I work in a patchwork shop and I always thought I would get some later and later it was gone!

Happiest here

2010-10-07T05:27:00.000-07:00

When your team loses the Grand Finals!, what do you do, retreat into the sewing room and spend the day tidying and cleaning and making a quilt. Forgot all about it and had a lovely day.

Afternoon Quilt

2010-09-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make a quilt for a dear friend and chose this lovely pattern by Louise, "Parterre" from Lululollylegs. It is simple to make and lends itself to large printed interesting fabrics. I have machine quilted it myself, not my favourite occupation as I love hand quilting best. I bought all the fabrics at Amitie, of course. There has just been a further delivery of those beautiful script linens I have used in this quilt.

Can't believe its not patchwork

2010-09-03T02:55:00.000-07:00

I have at some point in my life tried and discarded almost every type of craft until I discovered patchwork in the early 90's and have remained faithful to it ever since. However, I admit to having a mild flirtation again with crochet. The afghan square is adorable and I love the colours of the Rowan cottons. After this little effort I am going to buy hot pinks, turquoises and orange, well out of my comfort zone.

Kaffe Fassett - prepare for strong colours!

2010-08-28T17:08:00.000-07:00

I have just purchased the new Kaffe Fassett "Quilts en Provence" from Can Do Books in Hawthorn. I must admit I am not an on-line buyer of books. I prefer to sit down and leaf through a book and compare with lots of others and eventually make my decision. Stephanie has a great range of books including books on fashion, cooking and gardening. I have known about Kaffe Fassett since the 70's when he was a humble knitter. I am pleased to tell you he is coming to Amitie in February 2011. He will be doing a workshop for limited numbers and a lecture for many. Jenny has lots of his new fabrics in stock and more to come. Our problem will only be where to put them!

Doing just that!

2010-08-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

The last three or four months have been spent back and forth to hospitals and rehab centres with my parents following their various surgeries. They are home together at last with all sorts of people coming in and out helping them. I am amazed at what is available in our community to help elderly people. The point of all this is every time I walk into our family room and see those words and the cat lounging somewhere warm and cosy, I feel calm and then carry on. Of course sewing does help. Many bits have been stitched together sitting by hospital beds!

sewing into Spring

2010-08-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

It is still cold but there are pink buds on my old camillia bush outside the kitchen window.

A pink and pretty quilt seemed like a good idea and I have discovered that Liberty and Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks voile make good company.

You may have a list not a car!

2010-07-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

When my son turned 18 I wanted to give him something he could take with him through life, something of what he loved, it was jazz and St. Kilda footy club. I chose jazz and tried to open casual conversations with him about his favourite artists, trying not to appear obvious. He knew I was up to something but was completely surprised and loved it. Purchased from here.

Not reducing the Liberty stash!

2010-07-08T18:51:00.000-07:00

I have always loved Liberty of London fabrics, dating from the 1970's when I was living in a horrible flat but very near that beautiful shop. This idea I found in a magazine years ago and have used 16 little bits of liberty only. I vlisofixed them onto white linen, stiched them on and framed them.

how hard can it be

2010-06-24T16:10:00.001-07:00

I am thinking of making a bedhead, I have a shed and it has a hammer and nails in it, all I need now is The Idiot's Guide to Upholstery. This the style I have in mind, note there are no curvy bits.

plain and simple

2010-06-05T21:38:00.000-07:00

This little quilt was commissioned by a very pregnant mummy with no time to loose and a nursery to finish. I machine pieced and quilted it and photographed it on one of a pair of sleigh beds my children slept in. Called "Mini Mitali" the fabric and pattern can be found at Amitie.

It's not a rug

2010-05-30T01:39:00.000-07:00

Why do dogs and cats love to sit on quilts. The moment you lay a quilt on the floor to baste, photograph or move the blocks around, four legged creatures appear and sit right in the middle, often leaving a perfectly good and custom made cushion or basket. Funny adorable creatures.

Donkey Cushion

2010-05-25T01:35:00.000-07:00

I am enjoying these cushions, I have made less than 10 and more than two and that's all I'm saying. Time to make another quilt, you can never have too many quilts!

A similar design is available at Amitie, designed by Gina.

felt bird cushion

2010-05-21T01:13:00.000-07:00

The pattern for this wool felt cushion is by Sue Spargo. She is returning to Amitie this year to do another workshop and will no doubt bring with her more designs to tempt me. I must admit, I had never done wool embroidery before, but did love it.

New York Beauty

2010-05-12T00:33:00.001-07:00

I have always loved the New York Beauty block and intended to make 16 of these babies into a quilt. One block later, hand pieced and quilted, framed and on the wall. Much better to admire one than never see 16.

Hello Blogland!

2010-04-18T17:49:00.000-07:00

Having been born of the generation who do not, from the cradle, know how to upload, download, reload and all other types of loading, I have resisted the blog, my own that is. I am now conceding, defeated, excited and ready to learn, so please be patient. My patterns new and old will appear here, names of stockists and other favourite things, fabrics, houses and everything to do with both. My delight in houses, of the old variety, began when I was a child growing up in a little 1950's weatherboard. Whenever we went visiting my first and only enquiry was, is it old and does it have stairs. The answer was always no and my interest was gone. I read books avidly of children in England who lived in just such houses. I have now lived in an old house with stairs for a few years. It is being lovingly renovated and now has a little sewing studio, no more kitchen table! I hope you enjoy reading my blog. Judy