A day out

The Horsham quilt exhibition is on from today until Sunday, and I decided a day trip was in order. I quilt for some of the girls in their group, so like to go and see the quilts hanging up, when they are all finished with the bindings on. It also gave me some "space" from the custom quilt I am working on, and tomorrow when I stand at the machine again, I shall see it with new eyes. I am getting close to the end. 

I am calling it a "work" day, as I delivered a quilt to a customer, picked up 3 more quilts to be done, did some PR at a few patchwork shops on the way there and back, and met up with a few quilter friends as well. 

Pauline and I left about 7.30 this morning and arrived home about 12 hours later, after a lovely day out. First stop was at Nhill, where I delivered that recently quilted candlewicked quilt to my customer. It was lovely to catch up with her, but also rather bittersweet, as her husband died while I was quilting her quilt.

 While at Nhill we visited the lovely shop of Jennifer Meek Giftware and Antiques. At the back of this shop is a lovely collection of patchwork fabric, and I might have done some damage here? I also picked up some quilts to be quilted while I was there.  We also visited another shop across the road, (can't recall the name though), where our friend Lyn works, and I might have used my plastic there too, on some children's gifts to be put away for "one day". Lyn comes to retreats here at my place, and is working on one of those Embellished quilts that I teach. 

Next stop was in Horsham, at the Town Hall, where we saw a lovely display of quilts and chatted with friends, enjoyed lunch, and we might also have supported the shops there too??

These next 2 creations greeted us just inside the door. Very clever aren't they?

A frill-necked lizard...............,

                                 .................and a magpie.

They had some tables nicely arranged with smaller creations.

I have some photographs of a few of the quilts, mainly ones that I have quilted, and a few others of a couple of friends, who I know won't mind if I post their quilt photos. Some photos were taken on my phone, again with mixed results. I did use my camera for some. Not sure what I am going to do about my phone, but it's a bit frustrating.

The first one is Kaye Hoffman's Smitten quilt, that I quilted some time ago. I love the striped binding Kaye has added to the quilt, as it just frames it well.

 Bountiful Baskets, was also made by Kaye, and custom quilted by me.

This one is Kayes Triple Barn Star quilt, also quilted by me.

And this is Faye's circus quilt, that I posted last month. Loved the binding on this one also.

This is Faye's Charming Chic, made with the Quick Curve Ruler, that I quilted sometime last year.

 This Sorbet quilt was made by Kaye, and quilted on her domestic machine. The wavy lines, are just fantastic on this quilt.

And Tic Tac Toe, also made and quilted by Kaye.

This Rainbow quilt was by Sue of Mother Patchwork, and I read her blog, and have followed the progress of her quilts being made. I love the colours in this quilt, and the way it has come together.

This is another quilt of Sue's, and to look at it on screen you would not know how big it is. I am here to tell you, that this is little, and those blocks are small. Sue has made a few miniature quilts, and they are so cute. I guess when you do small, you get to finish more quilts!?

I love Sue's Autumn Stars quilt, (not a miniature), as it is a great way to showcase a range of fabrics.

And I had seen this Dresden quilt of Sue's in the construction stage, when her group came to The Sanctuary for a retreat. I love this and it's a great use of a jelly roll.

After looking at the great display, we had lunch and chatted to a few friends, before doing a little bit of shopping at the local hardware store. A visit to Max and Dawns fabric shop, just on the edge of Horsham, was next, and maybe we might have left there with a few things too?
There is another lovely shop, at Warracknabeal about 1/2 hour from Horsham, called Quilters Harvest, that is closing it's doors soon, and they were having a sale. I thought it would be nice to drive that way home, and say hello to Shirley and Del. They have some gorgeous fabrics in their shop, and who can resist a bargain? Del said we were helping her retirement fund, and who could say no to that?
By that time we were ready for a coffee break, and there was a lovely shop around the corner. The orange cake was delicious, but we could only manage half.

About 10 minutes out of Warracknabeal are the painted silos at Brim, that I posted about a year or so ago. Pauline had not seen these, and as we were so close, we made the detour. Very clever aren't they?

It was getting rather late in the day by now, and we headed back to the highway and home. It was dark by the time we got back to Bordertown, and neither of us, had any cooked food in our fridges, so a stop at the local shop was next for some takeaway fish and chips, to finish our day out. 

After unpacking my car, this is what I came home with, so you can see, I "spread the love" around today in a few places. My story is they were all bargains, and I need more fabric, don't I????? At the back is an old tablecloth, that I could see quilted up "one day", and in front of that some lovely lace doileys.

So if you are in the area, and would like to look at some lovely quilts, head on to Horsham tomorrow or Sunday.

It's time for bed now, and tomorrow is another day to spend with Max.

Blessings, From Jude