A wonderful day with the Illawarra Quilters
Last Saturday I followed the ocean breeze to Woollongong for a workshop teaching my Ric Rac Razzamatazz quilt to the Illawarra Quilters.
The venue was the Figgy Bowlo. Isn't that a fun name! It's the Bowling Club in Figtree which quite sensibly explains the name. We had a beautiful sun filled room and lots of space for everyone to spread out and work in.
Some of the ladies were shy about photos so I'll concentrate more on showing their colourful work rather than their smiles ( these ladies made me laugh all day with their happy ways) and and busy bee ( they really got down to work!) photos.
Lots of cutting resulting in a rainbow of loveliness..
Matching ricrac colours is a big part of the fun.
Gorgeous purples!!
Wonderful play with patterns and colour.
These look good enough to eat!!
especially with this gourmet ric rac.
I love how dynamic these fabric combinations are.
and how wonderfully the red ricrac pop with these blocks!
The day resulted in a smorgasbord of happy melon blocks.
We had a sassy super star in the class. Her name was Julie Juu and she rode in on a yellow scooter
This wonderful fabric belongs to Roslyn. Her daughter brought it back from South Africa as a gift for her mum.
It has so many fun and quirky details.
You can't help but smile at it.
I love that Roslyn wasn't nervous about cutting into it. She grabbed her scissors and went for it.
A little while later a quilt plan started to emerge. Stay tuned for more photos as this fun quilt evolves.
A big hearty thank you Illawarra Quilters!! You ladies are the best!! I loved every moment of our fun and colourful day together.
A few behind the scenes photos now..
In preparation for the class I pulled out my ricrac which somehow has turned into a tangled nest. It's funny how that happens...
I sorted through the colourful strands and looking around for something to wind them onto I thought of my vintage playing cards. I've got zillions of these cards so I could easily spare a few. I'm happy to say my trims are now organised and nestled neatly in a tin.
I also couldn't resist playing with some of the shapes I cut out..
and soon turned them into a flower.
I'm not the only one making flowers out of different things...
I was out walking one morning and at the bottom of my garden I came across this pretty leaf flower. I looked around and there was not a soul in sight. Try as I might there's no other way to explain it other than fairies. What a lovely garden gift.
Wishing you all a magical week.
24 Comments
Hi Rachael,oh your classes look like so much fun,i love the ladies work,well done my friend xx
ReplyDeleteThat must be fun a class with you. Love all these Bright Melons and of course the ricrac. Cheers! Tilly
ReplyDeleteWhat a bright, fun day you all must have had. I can't wait to see Roslyn's quilt progress. That fabric is right up your alley.
ReplyDeleteOh what colorful fun! You must have a gazillion trims in your collection. It makes me want to get out some of my vintage trims and start creating! You are such an inspiration. I love the "card trick" for organizing trims. And, yes flower fairies do exist and I'm sure they visit you whenever they can.
ReplyDeleteWe all had such a wonderful day Rachael. You are such a good teacher and such fun to be around. Thank you,Roslyn
ReplyDeleteYour classes must be like quilter's play time--so fun!!
ReplyDeleteReally fun and happy versions of your block ! Can't wait to see more of the Julie Juu quilt ...
ReplyDeleteLooks like some lovely times sewing, strolling and sorting! Looking forward to some lovely reveals I hope!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilts in the making, and I love your Ric Rac Rasmataz!! And your fairy ring of leaves: I'll bet they gave you a sweet kiss too as you walked through the woods!! :-) Or maybe the Fairy ring was left for you by your sweet hubby!! Have a wonderful week!! Hugs, H
ReplyDeleteWow, what delicious beautifulness. How I wish I did not li emin whoop, whoop, and could join one of your workshops. This ric rac one looks ever so yummy. The colours of the fabrics, and the ric racs, make one swoon.
ReplyDeleteAll just wonderful Rachael and such luscious colour! They such are a lovely bunch of girls to share time with too. Love, love the Julie Juu fabric……very funky just like her owner Roslyn!! Hugs xx
ReplyDeletethat looks such fun... I love the ric rac on the edges....
ReplyDeleteHugz
Love your ric rak quilt
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great class, lots of bright and happy melon blocks! And adding ric rac .. the fun never stops!
ReplyDeleteI cannot tell you about how you are the best!! Cleverest!! Amazing artist I know...I am asking Santa this year to make me younger and more spry..so I can fly to you to learn how to apply ric-rac...I sew do not know how. You have made it famous now and I am a Racheldaisy wanna b!!
ReplyDeletexxoo
Oooh lots of yummy colour!!! I have just got to make a Ric Rac Razzamatazz quilt - it's glorious.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like so much fun! Your students produced some great blocks and I love how the ric rac works with all the different fabric choices.
ReplyDeleteOf course, rick-rac, what a great idea! :-) More inspiration from you!
ReplyDeletexx
Color ! Color ! In this fun post, everything is colorful !
ReplyDeleteWhat a special and beautiful block with petals.... I love it Rachael !
love all these versions of your block!! very interesting method!! have a nice day !
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a playtime smorgasbord of color and texture.
ReplyDeleteThat does look like a wonderful day. Looks like a great selection of fabrics, too. It must be quite a distraction seeing what everybody else brings along. Do you go back again for a follow up day to see the progress?
ReplyDeleteI just love all your Aussie words and ways! This post is filled to the brim with all the smiles of the day, even if the gals were camera shy!!!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilts in the making, and I love melon blocks
ReplyDeleteMurielle
Thank you so much for leaving me a comment. Your kind words encourage me to keep sharing my work and stories.