Hello!! It's time for another mega-long hearty catch up, so make yourself a cup of tea and settle in to read what I've been up to in recent times.
Does anyone remember the 80's hit pop song "Groove Is In The Heart" by Dee-Lite? It was a happy, upbeat tune, just thinking about it makes me want to get up and dance.
So I guess I'll be dancing around a lot because I've named one of my new quilts "Groove Is In The Heart"!
I started sewing these blocks as a travel project when I was always on the road. The blocks are easy to prepare and then I'd store them in the pages of a magazine to keep them flat and then they were ready for me to stitch when I had moments to fill.
One day those blocks had grown into this quilt. I really love it for the mix of pretty, quirky, and fun fabrics. It was great to use lots of the white based prints I had in my stash and then cutting hearts from lots of favourite fabrics. You know you've had fun making a quilt when you just want to make another one. Maybe one day...but in the meantime with the pattern available I hope I'll get to see other versions made.
So yes, there is a pattern! - It's available in my Etsy Store here - Rachaeldaisy Designs
When I was making the quilt I wrote a list one day about it, (I'm a random list maker, I write lists of all sorts of things!) here is what I wrote.
12 reasons why making Groove In The Heart will make your heart happy:
Sewing hearts can't help but make you happy!
It's designed to use up bits and pieces from your stash and that's always a good feeling.
Making this quilt for someone you love lets you know how much you care. You can wrap them in love with a big quilt of hearts.
It's a great travel project
But, the blocks are also so enticing to sew that you’ll find yourself sewing them at home too.
It's easy to sew a block in a few minutes. Prepare a pile of blocks so that they are ready when you have 5 minutes here and there during the day to sew,
They'd make fabulous borders or used in a strippy quilt, just add a favourite fabric in between.
We should fill the world with hearts. There can never be enough the love and kindness that hearts represent.
It'll make me happy to know hearts are being sewn, it's always an honour to have someone sew one of my patterns.
Great way to learn easy applique, ( all the instructions are included) or for experienced sewer it’s nice to have an easy project on the go.
This quilt is great for using lots of super cute fabrics.
“A heart a day keeps you smiling all the way!“. It would make a wonderful 100 day project - There are 49 hearts, so you could prep a pile of hearts and sew 1 a day for 49 days, then have a day to assemble the quilt, and then hand quilt around 1 heart a day and then the last day would be for binding. Though in reality you'd probably make the quilt faster than that.
So there it is, a new, hearty, happy quilt!
But wait there's more...
Happy As A Clam is now a pattern too! Finally!! I made this quilt in 2014 so its taken me a while to write a pattern for it, but it's finally done, presented in an A4 booklet style with lots of colourful photos throughout.
Happy As A Clam doesn't need a list of reasons, you just have to look at it to see what a special quilt it is. I've made a lot of quilts but Happy As A Clam will always be one of my very, very favourite favourites.
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Talking of Happy As A Clam, Gill from my monthly class at Sew Can I has finished hers and it's a joy to behold. So many quirky fun things to see in it. This is just a section of the quilt.
Here's Lorraine with her quilted Bubbles quilt made with Tula fabrics. It looks great framed with a border.
We've started a Whizz Bang Sunday group at Sew Can I.. I was too busy buzzing around like a bee and didn't take many photos but one of the ladies was wonderful at rounding some of us up for a group photo.
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I brushed the cobwebs off the Daisymobile and my suitcases last week and I travelled to the lovely town of Howlong for a Whizz Bang weekend at Whatever Where-Ever Craft.
The view from the front porch of the shop. How wonderful to be there at the right time to see the ornamental pear trees in full blossom.
The shop inside was a forest of colour with shelves of enticing fabrics.
Some of my quilts... nice and neat before I messed them up by pulling more quilts out of my suitcase to show everyone, it ended up as quite a pile of colourful quilts.
For all the dog lovers out there, these were Helen's dogs. This little cutie is Daisy!
And this is her sister Murphy.
They were such active little imps that it was only when they were sleeping that I could get photos of them.
Soooo cute.
A lovely regular sewer of the shop, Gwen, brought in all of these fabulous Whizz Bang blocks. She has been working her way through the Whizz Bang book and had made every variety of the circles, and more!! If anyone needs proof that the instructions in the book explain how to make the blocks then these blocks are it.
Gwen was also our caterer for the weekend, spoiling us with all sorts of sweet and savoury treats.
Show and tell from our weekend. The sun is making the blocks look quite shadowy but they were all fabulous. As always there was lots of variety and a range of colours and themes.
A huge thank you to Helen and all the ladies for making me feel so welcome and for embracing the techniques with such enthusiasm. We had a great time and I'm looking forward to returning to Howlong in February for more fun workshops.
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Next week I'm off to Quilt Encounter in Adelaide! It felt like a miracle to have the state borders open just in time to let the NSW tutors and participants attend. Lots of happy dancing about that! It's a big 5 day retreat of 200 quilters and several tutors set by the ocean in Glenelg.
While I'm in South Australia I'll also be teaching at Penny Lane Patchwork in Victor Harbour on the 10/11th, for 2, 1 Day workshops, Call Penny 08 85546353 if you'd like to come along.
In November I'm doing a tour of NSW to teach at several shops, The Jacaranda trees will be in season so I'm calling it the Jacaranda Tour.
31/1, Thorpe and Co, Newcastle Ph 02 4929 4456
4th, Country Pickins, Taree
5/6th, Port Macquarie Modern Quilters
7/8/9/10th Nesting Needles, Coramba, Ph 0400 055 989
14th/15th, Stitch Between the Bridges, Tamworth (02) 6765 4138
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Here are some random photos from my trip to Howlong, those odd things that caught my eye for their interesting colours of shapes, or just made me smile.
Letting Mr Daisy know I'd arrived safely in Gundagai, my stop over on the way to Howlong.
It was lovely to walk under the trees along a river. I was swooped by a magpie shortly after, which was a bit unnerving.. but I guess that's part of the nature experience.
There were signs of spring everywhere!
I walked to the historic bridges in Gundagai. Beautiful old weathered hand-cut wood planks, somehow still holding together.
I do enjoy a nice cup of tea.
Reflections creating illusions.
This dandy fellow was posing in the front window of a shop. If the shop had been open I would have been very tempted to bring him home with me.
Signs of Covid. I was hoping to stop at Lake Hume for lunch but it was fenced due to border restrictions between NSW and Victoria. One day this will all be in the past and I'll look at this photo an say " Gosh, remember that time.. "
I did find another spot to eat my lunch, and even though it stared to rain it was lovely to see the water, and such a moody sky.
That's all for now, so until next time I wish you all bright sunshine and happy days.
