Hello there! 

How's that for a bright and spotty opening photo! You're most likely wondering what I'm doing immersed in a yellow sea of polka dots but I'll keep you in suspense for now and I'll start with photos from a recent Whizz Bang Weekend Workshop at Addicted to Fabric in Canberra. 



I always like to arrive the day before so I can hang quilts and get a feel for the space, and this space felt very spacious indeed!

A tour of the shop revealed many wonderful fabrics,

beautiful displays,

cute little projects to inspire,

made-up samples of popular clothes patterns,

and a great range of very tempting dress fabrics.

With my quilts all hanging and my teacher's table ready I went off to my next Canberra stop.



A bonus of visiting Canberra is that it is the hometown of one of my very favourite people, Michelle, also known as @MichelleTheQuilter or Buttontree Lane. We always have big smiles when we're together. 

Michelle took me to the legendary White Eagle Polish Club for dinner. This has been on my bucket list for quite a while and I'm happy to say it exceeded all of my expectations.


It was hard to choose from the amazing menu of classic Polish dishes.


But we chose well because it was the best pierogi I've ever had and the most yummy cabbage rolls. Not only was the food incredibly delicious but they were served on retro plates, and anyone who has visited my home knows I have quite a fondness for mid-century crockery.  

My only regret is that we couldn't fit in one of everything, but we did manage to fit in a plum jam filled paczki.

Fabulous original retro decor

 seriously, this could be my loungeroom. 

Even the straws were fun!





Saturday and Sunday were a Whizz Bang whirlwind of fabric, colour, laughter, inspiration! 15 lovely participants had travelled from far and wide to learn different ways of making folded fabric circles. 

Before we knew it we were posing for our show and tell group photo.. 
The great news is that I'll be back at Addicted to Fabric for more workshops in October with a 2dayWhizz Bang workshop and then an Intermediate class as well. If anyone is interested, doing all 4 days would be amazing! you could get on a such a roll and get so much accomplished. It would be a Whizz Bang Super Retreat.

 A few bits of show and tell,,,








That evening Michelle, Tracey and I ventured out to Kingston, an area of water, shimmering night lights.. 

and a restaurant called Molto where the signature dish is spaghetti tossed in a wheel of parmesan. The cheese melts with the heat and coats the pasta with rich, cheesy coating. A sprinkle of black pepper and buon appetito! It's the sort of dish that is definitely worth experiencing if you have the chance.

Another highlight of the weekend was seeing this fabulous Grasshopper sewing machine that Tracey had just bought.

For a small machine it was wonderfully solid and it was in excellent condition. How great is that shade of green!



Talking of sewing machines.  Bernina unveiled this machine with one-off specially designed artwork to be won by someone at the AQC (Australiasian Quilt Convention) Gala Dinner. It features the work of Alison Withers, Kat Jones, Gillian Travis and Me ! It's such an honour to see my work on a sewing machine. The Pine Star they used is so eye-catching, especially on that wonderful background of sunflower yellow.

And while we're talking about yellow... I bought some extra suitcases for my travels. I'll be taking 4 suitcases to France, they'll be chock a block full of quilts, workshop kits, and hopefully I can fit some clothes in as well otherwise I'll be wearing my quilts. 
Of course I chose yellow and orange. At least I'll be able to see them a mile away on the baggage carousel.

I was taking photos of them but even with all their colour they needed something else.. 
A pretty quilt made the perfect prop and proves that quilts make life nicer. 

I like the way the grooves on the cases look like quilting lines. 


I don't always use my suitcases though. Mr D snapped this picture of me as I was loading up the car. Sometimes it's just as easy to grab an armful of lovely squishy quilts. 

Here's some lovely squishy show and tell... Lorraine brought this gorgeous quilt into Sew Can I to show us.

 And Mandy from the workshop at Amitie shared this photo of her quilt with bubbly quilting.


Now for the polka dots!  It wouldn't be a visit to Canberra without popping in to the National Gallery of Australia. On this occasion I made a beeline for Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Room.




The whole room uses mirrors to create the illusion of never ending dots on yellow.

 When you look inside a window of the giant box in the center of the room you see endless yellow polka dot pumpkins.


From spots to stripes. Blue Poles by Jackson Pollock would be one of the NGA's most famous paintings. I've loved it from the moment I saw it as a child and I find it as dynamic and exciting now as when I first saw it.  

Those paint marks dance around in amongst each other. 

I love these sculptures for their elegant silhouette and the interaction of two pieces. 

More wonderful silhouettes with dresses by Issey Miyake.  The fabulous Frank Stella painting in the background looks like a modern quilt. 

The outline of this dress...

looks a bit like this giant sculpture

It's reflective surface made it look like a mirage shimmering in amongst the trees.


I seem to have been having a day of taking selfies.. 

I loved the way this sculpture with its long black girders was displayed in amongst trees with white trunks. 

This was an impressive work by Clement Meadmore.

To think something so big and made of metal has such fluid lines and a sense of weightlessness. 

Beautiful curves, and the rust colour looked wonderful against the blue sky and grass. 










My next adventure is to Nesting Needles in Coramba, which is a 10 minute picturesque drive from Coffs Harbour. 

 I'll have a car full of quilts for this trip because on 
Wednesday 27th  I'll be doing a trunk Show at 4pm. 
And then from Thursday 28th through to Sunday 31st I'll be doing a mix of different workshops. 
Call Lisa on Ph 0400 055 989 if you are interested in coming along. 

I enjoy visiting other places but it's always lovely to come home to my little patch of the world.. 

Though it's not always quiet, a couple of days ago I went for a bushwalk and ended up assisting in a big police rescue operation with 20+ rescue, police, ambulance, firemen and a helicopter. It was quite an experience! I happened to be the local person that knew the paths. It was in aid of a walker that had had a fall, I'm sure he's okay now, he was certainly in good hands with all of those men in uniform. That particular day I didn't have my phone so I don't have photos to share but I can sign off assuredly saying -  "There's never a dull moment in Daisyland!"