The Sydney Quilt Show is special for me, in fact I would say it's the highlight of my year. It was the first quilt show I ever attended and where I bought my first fabrics, rotary cutter, ruler and cutting mat. Over the years it's been the meeting place of some of my very, very favourite people and a place I can be friends with people I don't even know. It was the event that changed my life when I won Best in Show last year. This year was just as fun,  a wonderful whirlwind of colour, friends and quilts.


Set up day was on the Wednesday. As you can see there was a sea of volunteers and thanks to QuiltNSW being so organised everything moved really efficiently and smoothly.


On Thursday was opening day. This year the show was held in a new venue and they still have to get the lighting right. It was really quite dark so the photos might seem a bit shadowy at times. 


As you entered the Quilt Show you were greeted by this stand of hoops. Each hoop represents different techniques made by members of QuiltNSW 

It was fun seeing them gently spin and reveal different designs. 

I enjoyed picking out who had made the different hoops.

This hoop was made by my friend Michelle of Button Tree Lane ( IG @michellethequilter). It's a mini version of the quilt that won a blue ribbon in the Modern Category a few years ago.

That's one of mine floating next to it.  


Of course my other hoop featured yoyos!! 

The awards ceremony was extra exciting for me when Zap Zing Zowie won second place in the Other Techniques (Professional) category. A huge honour!!!  Thank you to the sponsors SSSPty Ltd for an amazing Treasure Chest Teak box of colourful Madeira Threads, and Matilda's Own at Victorian Textiles for the prize of batting, a perfect prize for a quilter!

My name was called out a second time for the special award of Creative Use of Colour. You know I love colour so I was over the moon and jumping up and down with happiness to win this ribbon. And extra excited because the generous prize was sponsored by Material Obsession and you know I love shopping there!! Thank you Material Obsession!! 

The ribbons looked right at home on the quilt, perfect colour match.

Here's Zap Zing Zowie hanging at the show. ( I took this on set up day so it didn't have the proper tags on it yet). I haven't brightened this photo, it really was this zingy in the light at the show.  It looks great against the black background.

Thank you to everyone for your wonderful compliments about Zap Zing Zowie. To be honest I really wasn't sure how this quilt would be received at the quilt show so the positive feedback meant a lot to me. One comment that I'm still laughing about was by my friend Skye who said she thought it looked as though it should dispense candy. Maybe I should take that as a challenge for a future quilt. 


To give you a sense of scale of the works here is a photo of some of the QuiltNSW ambassadors. They were the smiling faces that welcomed visitors to the show and assisted with white gloving. 


I hope you don't get tired of seeing Whizz Bang!, but it's nice for me to have a record of how it looked at the show as part of it's travels as part of the Bernina Best in Australia exhibit. I spent a few hours with it each day and really enjoyed meeting lots of people and answering their questions. 

Here's my modern yoyo quilt hanging on its stand looking all bright and chirpy. 

We were very lucky this year that QuiltNSW allowed us to take photos to share on social media, with the proviso that the quilter and designer of the quilt were credited. That means I have lots of beautiful quilts to share. They aren't in any order, I've picked all different styles. I really believe each quilt has it's own magic.

I apologise that some of my photos aren't perfect, the show was quite busy so I was trying not to bump into other viewers.


The first quilt get my award for best quilt name - Lucy Goes to the Circus
Michelle Law sums her quilt up perfectly in her description
' "The Patchwork of the Crosses" quilt by Lucy Boston has been re-imagined by Carol Roberts. I like to turn traditional blocks on their head by using bright colours and bold fabrics. The Lucy Boston in my quilt is wild and carefree and always laughing.'

Michelle Law - IG @michellethequilter , blog Buttontree Lane
Design Source: Lucy in a Hurry by Carol Roberts of Cherry Pie Designs.

Skye Thompson's Kung Fu Panda goes to show you don't need colour to create a dynamic eye catching quilt.
" Uncharacteristically limited myself to just two colours in this improv Log Cabin style quilt. My son Tyler named it and it is my husband's favourite quilt I have made so far.'

Skye Thompson IG: @skyzyt
Design Source: Pastel Party by Karen Lewis


Another quilt with fabulous kinetic movement - Sharon Nicholls-Thompson's - Garden View: Through The Screen 
Sharon says" Here I play with a quilt element - sashing. Common in quilt construction but now, it's not where you expect it. Each block is improvisationally 'sashed' internally but not between the blocks. Making a screen. Glimpsed beyond is the wild green garden".

You can find Sharon on IG @marmalade_hill , or at her quilt shop in Berry, NSW , Berry Quilt & Co.

Di Jobbins wonderful Levitation Fascination is such an amazing illusion. You can see why it won a Viewers Choice award.
 " Furthering my fascination for fondling favourite fabrics, folding, fusing and fashioning faux formations, floating free as a feather in the firmament. Fantastic Fun!".
Di Jobbins,  IG @darlingdi,  Blog: snippetsnscraps.blogspot.com

Marissa Rennie's I Spy was a joy to behold.
"Modern twist on Chuck Nohara Designs using my favoured brights and bolds. Taught by Lorena Uriate. Taught to look in to depth of a design and how to decide on which techniques to apply: applique, English paper piecing and foundation piecing. "
Design source: 2001 Norveaux Blocs de Patchwork by ChuckNohara, worked in 5 inch blocks.

You can see why it won 1st place in its category. 
I'm kicking myself for not getting photos of another version of this quilt. I'll keep an eye out and if I can get a photo I'll share it. 


Helena Fooij's Gelato Rose, "Sorbet" really did look sweet enough to eat.

"This is the sample quilt I made of Sue Cody's "Gelato Rose" quilt pattern for the Material Obsession Block of the Month 2016/2017. I had a lot of fun playing with the fabrics. Challenging that it is a quilt-as-you-go, but by hand. "

Such exquisite applique and beautiful colours. You can find Helena on instagram @helenafooij

It was so great to see Catherine Porters Tumbling into Insanity hanging in the show. I'd seen it being pieced at various stages. All those tiny pieces, it really seemed like one of those quilts that would take forever to finish.

"I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it! Over 3,000 fussy cut 1inch tumblers. Hand sewn English paper pieced. I don't do random - every piece has been specifically selected. Discovered I enjoy hand quilting, even with all the seams. "

Yay Catherine - it's awesome!! IG: @quilt.fanatic


I absolutely loved Cinzia White's quilt, Scott The Dog,  made with felted wool jumpers.

"Scott the Dog" is made from felted woollen jumpers and suits... all from Vinnies' rejects. A simple idea that just grew. The original plan was for a plain Wagga but when finished it needed something and as each shape was added more seemed to be needed."

Cinzia is a master of different styles - check out her patterns here .

Wendy Nutt's Summer Rain has a beautiful description
" The sound and smell of summer rain anchors me to the hot dusty summers of my youth. During the wild summer storms rain would hit the windows and run down in tiny trickles. It's this vision that i have used as a basis for the design of this quilt. "
Wendy Nutt : IG quiltamour, blog Quiltamour


I was captivated by Kathy Thorncraft quilt from the moment I saw it when helping hang the quilts.
"This quilt uses Kona Hightlight(Kona colour of the year 2016) combined with different black, grey and white fabrics that have a hand drawn sketch look. I set myself the challenge of using narrow strips and drew inspiration from all things Hi-Vis!"
Kathy Throncraft IG @iIamacraftycat

Ginevra Martins CU quilt was one of my favourites from the Australian Modern Quilt Show last year. It was great to see hanging again. 
"We see so many computer generated images. Computers can analyse an image down to the last pixel, duplicate it, repeat it. Do we no longer value the visual interest created by slight imperfections, the signs that art is made by a person?"

Gernervra Martins IG: @Ginevramakes

This was another that stopped my friend and I in our tracks when we were hanging the quilts. It's hard to tell from the photo how wonderfully the blocks echoed the border fabric and how perfectly the design worked to show of the fabrics. Such a great memory quilt.
Glenda Wise explains about her Designs from the Mimbres quilt
"Blocks printed from painted pottery bowls of the Mimbres people of New Mexico. They were created between 1000 and 1150 AD. These people vanished around 1300AD leaving ruined villages and pottery bowls. Memories of our travels in the area. "

The next two quilts are by Carolynne Gordon. IG: @carolynnego
I love the painted look of these pieces,

" "Encroachment" explores the invasion of forces, whether it's suffocation of the natural world, or human spirit through political oppression. I've manipulated fabric and thread scraps, and hevily matchstick quilted over a layer of netting. "

"Ombre is an abstract exploration of colour, I have flipped some sections, so the underside is the top. It has been a slow-grow. A lot of experimenting, pulling apart, putting together again, a few times over, Finally, it's settled into place. "

How fun is this little cushion cover by Bernice Krige. It makes me wish I was a little pixie so I can dance around on the mushrooms.

Forest Wonders
"A 40 year old piece of French linen, my daughters love of purple and the magical world of mushrooms inspired my "Forest Wonders" cushion cover. "

Talking of being a pixie dancing on mushrooms, here I am dancing on a thimble... 

I'll leave it there for today but I've got more quilts to share so stay tuned for the next exciting instalment of the 2017 Sydney Quilt Show. To see all the winners go to the Quilt NSW website here.