Firstly I have thank all the people who left such wonderful comments on my last post. Your words of congratulations mean a lot to me. 

As promised  here's the long version of my adventures at Modern Quilt Show Australia. It's a bit more like a diary of my days rather than a quilt show post. It feels as though there are lots of quilt photos from the show on the internet already. I guess this post might be more about how the days flowed? Anyway lets just jump in and see how it goes...

On Friday morning as the sun was rising I travelled down from the mountains to the bustling city. A train and a bus ride later I arrived bright and early at the very grand Glebe Town Hall.


It wasn't long until members of the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild , the wonderful team organising the show turned up. 

The reward for being early was being able to see the empty hall with it's ornate details.

Those columns could be applique panels.

Such a great space - big and airy with high celings

This is the view standing under the light in the center of the room looking up. Hello modern quilt inspiration!!

Soon it was all actions go with lots of volunteers all pitching in to build the stands, and hang the quilts. Clever planning and great team work meant it all happened in record time.

I took a quick snap before rushing off to do something else, I thought I'd get better photos another time but it didn't happen. Anyway, here is the hall set up with quilts. The grandness of the hall makes the quilt display look smaller than it was but there were a lots and lots of quilts to see and admire. Every time I walked through the exhibition I would notice new quilts or details I hadn't seen. 

Once the set up was done I had a few hours in the afternoon to wander through Sydney. It was a part of the city I had lived before moving to the Blue Mountains so it was fun exploring and seeing things that were familiar and what was new.

I liked his little detail on a building. More modern quilt inspiration.

 A walk through Spice Alley,  an alley tucked away in between tall buildings filled with little shops offering all types of asian food.



 In the evening Mr Daisy and I returned for the opening of the show.

The highlight of the evening was the trunk show by Carolyn Friedlander. It was a full house!

Carolyn is lovely, so natural and down to earth. I really enjoyed hearing her story and her show of quilts was enjoyed by all. I've seen some of Carolyns quilts on the internet but to see her different designs made in different colourways, the scale of the quilts, and even to see her choices for backing fabrics. She uses colour so very well, and creates beautiful thoughtful quilts. Her background in architecture shines through but gosh we are lucky she found quilting and designs her unique fabrics and quilts for us to enjoy.

By coincidence there is a podcast about Carolyn on this week's Crafty Planner podcast. Check it out here.

Then there was the part of the evening where they announced the awards. My name was called out for 1st place in the Modern Traditional category, and then again for Best in Show! It was with big happy smiles and a racing heart that I pinned my ribbons onto Fair and Square.

Here I am getting a congratulations hug from Anna Maria Horner!!

There were three judges They were Anna Maria Horner, US super star fabric designer, author and quilt, needle work and cloth pattern designer.  Carolyn Friedlander another quilting super star from the US who rocked the modern quilting world from her first range of fabrics. She designs quilts and also writes books. The third judge was Lisa Cahill, the Associate Director of the Australian Design Center. So interesting to get someone with a design background that isn't a quilter. 


How fabulous are these ribbons made by the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild! Being a Bernina fan means I treasure my Bernina ribbons. Bernina Australia sponsored the Best in Show prize of a Bernina 215 sewing machine. They are the best model for carrying to classes, and even for everyday sewing. It's a compact machine with the personality of a big model. Love it!! It was great that Kerrie and Bree from Bernina attended the show and were there to present me with my award. 

The sponsor for my First place in Modern Traditional was Material Obsession. I didn't want to open my parcel straight away. It looked so pretty wrapped in some of Kathy Doughty's fabric with special Material Obsession ribbon so I saved it until the next morning to open.

And what I found inside were all these treasures:

A bundle of Flock Together by Kathy Doughty of Material Obsession
Kathy's latest book
A book of New York Beauty quilts by Bill Volckening
A pair of big Tula Pink scissors
An interlocking adjustable ruler/templates by Karen Kay Buckly


On Saturday morning Mr Daisy and I took advantage of being in Sydney by going out for breakfast to one of our favourite Sydney restaurants, Auto.lab. This is one dish we had , watermelon, rosemary oil, creme fresh with purple basil leaves. Watermelon never tasted so good!


Saturday at the quilt show and the hall was full of friendly faces and abuzz with happy chatter.

I've known my friend Leonie forever. We were florists together and then somewhere along the line she started making quilts. That was when I first learnt what a quilt was. It took me another 10 years before I decided to make one too.. the rest is history. 

She was like an official photographer taking photos of me in front of my quilts.
LeoniePeony and RachaelDaisy

In front of Fair and Square

And with my other entry in the show, Chunky Blooms. Colourful flowers using different applique techniques on a denim background. I do love my denim. More about this quilt another time. 

Saturday evening's feature was the Anna Maria Horner trunk show. I've been a fan of Anna's fabrics since I used some from her Drawing Room range when I made my first quilt. Seeing her quilts and hearing her quilty story was an absolute treat.

I wish I'd taken more photos of the weekend. Especially of the wonderful friends I got to spend time with, Dawn from Melbourne, Serena and her friends from WA, Catherine Butterworth from Sydney and many others.. 
I do love this photo of my special quilt buddy Leanne from Mt Vincent Quilts with Anna Maria Horner. 

To finish off here's a little cat on the footpath. I don't know why he was there but I like his big smile.