Get ready for a riot of colour!! I know some of you are laughing because you're used to finding colourful stories on my blog but this post really is extra, extra colourful!!

A couple of weeks ago Kaffe Fasset and Brandon Mably came to Sydney for workshops and a lecture about colour. I wasn't able to attend the workshops but I was there like a keen kangaroo for the lecture.

It was a wonderful bonus that they arrived with a trunk full of their beautiful quilts!!! I've seen these quilts in their books but to admire them in real life and be able to see the little details, the magical colour and appreciate the textile nature was such a treat. 

You can see why Kaffe is known as the king of colour. 

I wore a dress that looks like patchwork. (Thanks to Lyn of XLN Fabrics for seeing that this was a fun photo opportunity)

After admiring quilts and mingling with lovely people we were ushered into the auditorium. 

The evening was hosted by Material Obsession. I loved hearing the deep respect and fondness for the colourful duo in Kathy Doughty's introduction. 

Brandon is such a delight!! He's fun, colourful and so enthusiastic. He began the lecture with some fun stories. 


Then it was Kaffe's turn, He talked of his colourful life growing up, his creative journey through painting, knitting, and then into the quilting world. 

Listening to him talk is so much more than the tale of his wonderful adventurous life. It's the way he uses words to describe his passion for colour and pattern, for creating, his inspirations. When he would describe beautiful objects he would describe it with such detail that you could see what he was seeing in his mind. I loved that he uses all the names for colours - magenta, ochre etc 

Afterwards I had the chance to say hello...We talked about quilts, and colour, and colourful quilts.

Brandon is so fun in photos. Kaffe is great at looking cool calm and collected. 


For anyone who is interested in Kaffe's life but can't make one of the many lectures on their world tour, I can highly recommend his autobiography. I've read it twice!! and it's been a few years so it might be time I read it again. 


Moving on with our colourful journey... 

I spent last weekend teaching a 2 day Whizz Bang Workshop to some of the members of the Illawarra Quilters.

The day began with the most marvellous show and tell from previous workshops. 

Wow!! I was rendered speechless... 

As you can see the results are spectacular!!


Absolutely beautiful. 


Once I'd gathered myself together after being blown away by those amazing quilts it was onto the workshop.

The Illawarra Quilters have an overall policy not to have their photos shown on social media so you'll have to imagine lots of lovely ladies with friendly smiles. There's always fabulous sewing to admire. 

Neatly folded triangles, this is better than a box of chocolates to me.

Love this amazing applique and embroidery from Patagonia, with matching coloured triangles.

The 2 day Whizz Bang! workshop is action packed. I teach different ways of making the blocks during the weekend. On top of those ways the use of different colours, fabric patterns and individual design choices create a wide variety of blocks. 

One of the great things about doing a class is seeing others work and being inspired by those around you. Plus you also see that the blocks all look wonderful!! All colour combinations work. 

We laid them out on the table at the end of the day. They look like a colourful garden filled with zinnias, dahlias and happy daisies. 

I made some photo mosaics to show how fabulous they all look together. 


The club where the workshop was held was a riot of colour too!

Giant flower carpet!!

As you can see different walls had different collections of things , here it's paintings of birds and butterflies. 

The carpet is quite impressive!

Mr Daisy and I stayed overnight in a nearby coastal town of Austinmer.

A beautiful protea in a garden.

 We enjoyed a lovely stroll along the beach. 


A fisherman's platter was the perfect seaside dinner. 

A huge big Thank You to the Illawarra Quilters for inviting me to teach. I always have such a lovely time and am always impressed by the beautiful work produced. 

The Illawarra Quilters have their Biennial Quilt Show coming up in September 8th -9th. It's one to mark on your calendars, this group produces beautiful quilts. It's an easy trip from Sydney or Wollongong and the neighbouring towns make it a great place for a weekend away. 


But wait, that's not all!!! 

I'm heading off for more adventures next week!  - this time I'm packing my bag of tricks and flying to Brisbane for a 2 day Whizz Bang workshop with the Queensland Quilters. It's going to be wonderful to meet lots of sunny quilters from the sunshine state. 

 And then on the 7th and 8th of March, I'll be at Fifi's Fabricology. Isn't that the most fun quilt shop name!! 
I'll be doing 2 x 1day workshops but teaching different blocks each day. That way people can choose to do 1day or choose to do both days to learn 2 different blocks. 
It's just a couple of weeks away so jump online and visit Fifi's workshop page here or call the shop on 07 5520 3609.  I'd love to see you there!! 

 Wishing everyone a colourful and fun week.