Nesting at Nesting Needles
A couple of weeks ago we packed up the Daisymobile,
and headed up the highway...
to Coffs Harbour - the town with the Big Banana!
We had a free morning so I took Mr Daisy up to Dorrigo so I could show him the beautiful place where Misty Mountains Getaway Quilt Retreat is held every year in September.
We walked in the misty rain but it was worth it to see the majestic Dangar Falls.
We giggled over headlines in the local paper.
Where we were greeted by the lovely Lisa.
Nesting Needles is a beautiful shop filled with all sorts of gorgeous fabrics. Lisa always has just the right fabric, trim or notion for any project.
I was there for one of my colourful trunk shows.
I set up my quilts along the railing. A fun display of my quilt backs.
Backings are a bit like the hidden characters of a quilt don't you think.
The nice and orderly display..
This is one of my most popular quilts. Happy as a Clam.
Long time followers of my blog would remember when I was making this in 2013/2014. I would post stories about the different clamshells.
There is a personal story that I save for telling in person but I can say it's had a wonderful life so far.
It was the first quilt I entered into the Sydney Quilt Show in 2014 and it won a prize!! It was then accepted and travelled with the World Quilt Exhibit. I'm honoured that it has won Viewers Choice Awards and appeared in many magazines, but what makes it most special to me is that people often say its makes them happy to look at it, and that is really the best compliment of all.
From Thursday through till Sunday the workroom was a buzz of sewing machines, discussions of creativity, admiration of beautiful fabrics and happy chatter of all things.
We played with Ric Rac.
Bubble circles!!
Jeans and flowers!
Our shenanigans were supervised by Frankie the shop dog.
He even joined in for a little whileThere were puppies too, new little friends for Frankie.
And great ambassadors for the shop.
Awwww sweet puppy face..
They made us laugh and swoon with there cute antics, but they did have naps too.
In the mornings before the class, I'd wander the main street of Coramba and admire the old fashioned street scape,
Beautiful older style buildings,
and little details.Like fairy lace!!
At the end of the day Mr Daisy would collect me and off we'd go for drives in the countryside
Big blue skies!
I loved the lines of this fence.
We followed the long and winding path..
and saw a rainbow.
We also saw kangaroos. They are such sweet funny bouncy creatures.
A warm and sunny place to rest.
We'd visit a different beach each evening.
They had names like Sapphire Beach, Emerald Beach..
We watched the waves come...
...and go.
It felt wonderful to have sand beneath my toes.
We saw many wonderful things..
This is where we stayed. A little cabin nestle on the side of a hill overlooking a valley. It was so utterly peacefully with only birdsong and sound of the wind as our soundtrack.
Time flew and it wasn't long before our time in paradise was up and it was time to head home.
Here are some fun events coming up in my diary. I absolutely love the way the Rose City Quilters used my Bubbles Quilt for their posters for their upcoming Tote and Gloat. I'm looking forward to meeting lots of NZ quilters and being the Guest Quilter. I'll be doing a trunk show of my quilts and also doing workshops.
I mentioned this exhibition in my last post. Flowers and textiles - such a great combination.
And I am very excited about Pour L'Amour du Fil !! I'll have an exhibition area with all my quilts from the book and I'll be doing talks for tour companies and workshops. I'm so looking forward to meeting lots of my wonderful blog friends.
And tonight, I'm off to a Gala Dinner at the Australasian Quilt Convention, pretty frocks and happy times, making more memories for another blog post..
Wishing you sunny days with fluffy puffy clouds that make you smile.
12 Comments
Oh la la laaaa.... what beautiful quilts, sweet puppies and lovely place !!
ReplyDeleteYou are living in a beautiful coutry !
Only 2 weeks.... Cheers !
I loved seeing all the beautiful quilts. The puppies! Oh my...I really need a whole litter of them, they are darling. My friend is owned by one and what a character Pixie is!
ReplyDeleteYou live in such a beautiful environment. I wish I could come down and see it all!
Your clam shell quilt is to die for ... it's stunning! Love the landscape and the puppy pictures. You have great photography skills.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, this lovely post made me cry a bit... For good reasons, though. I used to live in first Dorrigo and then Coffs Harbour, so all the places you showed and talked about are familiar and dear. Now, I live in north Queensland, and I miss my beloved Coffs Coast and those great open hillsides and wonderful beaches. Happily, the quilts cheered me up very quickly!
ReplyDeleteMy dear Rachel always makes me smile....Such a happy post from my favorite artist.xo
ReplyDeleteSo many beautiful pictures!! Someday I MUST go there!! :-) And your clamshells quilt really does make me smile too! It is just so fun and whimsical! Hugs, H
ReplyDeleteFantastic post Rachael!! What a setting for your trunk show and a great idea to have the backs of your
ReplyDeletequilts on show. Your photography is beautiful, coastal scenes, native plants and thanks for the kangaroo photos. The little cabin you stayed in looks as if it should be on a tropical island, I think a couple of weeks there would be very relaxing.
Discovering your post a few years back has made me a most happy camper! I get excited with each one...I have done a pre-order of your book & certainly look forward to its arrival. Susan in south of Boston
ReplyDeleteYou can certainly pick great weather for your travels. All that blue sky and sunshine is perfect.
ReplyDeleteI think it is lovely that you could display your quilts then talk about them out on the verandah. What a gorgeous setting.
I hope you had a wonderful time at AQC.
I'm just catching up on blog reading and enjoyed tagging along on your latest journey. I love that you can combine your quilty fun time with special time with Mr Daisy. Your upcoming travels are just too exciting. What wonderful places your quilts are taking you to.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago we spent a little time in Bellingen and loved it so much we thought we'd retire there! We may have to revisit that dream - its the most beautiful part of the world, isn't it? Loved reading about your travels up there and your classes and of course the puppies!
ReplyDeleteThree weeks ago I spent a couple of nights at Wooli (bit north of Coffs) and came home via Coramba - gorgeous village in amazingly beautiful countryside. I can affirm that Nesting Needles is indeed a wonderful quilt shop. I think I could have bought some of every fabric - well curated stock, Lisa. I think I petted every one of those doggies (they are a wee bit bigger now!). I loved the shop and the district so much that I came home and looked up houses for sale. Sadly, way beyond my budget but I can dream ....
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for leaving me a comment. Your kind words encourage me to keep sharing my work and stories.