20 years have flown by...................

 It was 20 years ago today that my Gammill Premier longarm quilting machine was delivered to Bordertown. 20 years! It only seems like yesterday, how did that time go by so fast? What is that saying, "doesn't time fly when you are having fun?" It has really been an amazing 20 years of my life and I have been so blessed to be doing what I love.

I posted a 15 year report in 2017 and told of the events leading up to February 4th 2002 and the next 15 years. This was quite long and I won't repeat it all here, but if you are a recent reader and are interested you can find that post by clicking on this link. (2017 post )       

 This photo was taken the day that "Gertie", my first machine was delivered and set up by Bruce Brown and his son from Sydney. I had many phone calls with Bruce and Kaye (who had recently had back surgery and was unable to come with Bruce), after I had ordered my machine. As I had only tried these longarms out briefly, I was unsure whether I would be able to master the skills I needed. Expressing my doubts to Kaye, she said " of course you can do it, you're a woman, you can do anything!!"

I needed a name for my business, and spent ages working on this. I compiled a list of possibilities, and consulted friends and books for opinions. One option was referring to me living on a corner, so was trying names around that. Why is it that sometimes, what should be the first thing, turns out to be the last resort? I finally went to the Bible for inspiration, and a verse jumped out at me. Ephesians Chapter 2, v 20, which talks about Jesus, the foundation, being the cornerstone. And as I wanted Jesus to be the Cornerstone of my life, and my business, thus Cornerstone Creations Machine Quilting was born. I felt as though I was being led on a journey and was at peace.

It was quite a learning experience to develop my skills, (and there was no stitch regulator on Gertie) but with much PPP (Practice, Patience and Perseverance) I improved. Sometime later 2 good friends thought I was "good enough", and gave me their quilts to do. With the great variety of styles, colours and patterns that come through my door, it is like going to a quilt show every day. I love the feeling when I finish a quilt and see how it has come to life. I pin the quilts up behind my machine and wait for them to "talk" to me about how they should be quilted. I was still working at my other job in 2002, but over the next few years I gradually reduced my hours until I was able to quilt full time. 

In 2003, Gertie had an upgrade and a stitch regulator was added and that made it much easier to keep a constant stitch length to my work.

To advertise my business and get my name "out there", I went to markets with displays of my work and items such as cot quilts to sell.

                           

A friend and I designed many tops, I quilted them and they were published in patchwork magazines as another avenue of 'getting my name out there'.

Many of my customers have made some amazing quilts and entered them into shows and won ribbons and I thank them for that. This has definitely been a great way to advertise my business, and I have been fortunate to work on their creations.

I have been humbled to also receive ribbons for some of my own quilts that have been entered into local, state and interstate shows. Probably the biggest win, and also surprise, was to win our SA state show Best of Show award in 2006 for my wholecloth quilt, Woven Inspiration!

As the business grew, I made the decision to purchase another machine, and work with 2. I could put the edge to edge quilts on the new, computerised machine, and do the custom ones on Gertie, and so get through my queue much quicker. In order to make the room for this machine, I had to extend the building a few feet. You can see in the photo below, the extension on the left, and the closed in carport on the right side.

This month is also a celebration for Max, my Statler as it arrived on February 16th in 2007. Once again, Bruce and this time Kaye came from Sydney to set it up.

The 2 machines set up and in action. After a year or 2 I decided to sell the first machine and Max keeps up with the job now.

Longarm quilting is a solitary occupation and to further my quilting education over the years I have attended many classes by travelling interstate to Sydney and Melbourne, as well as some locally in my own state. In recent years there has been much information online and many longarm quilting groups to share information and help each other out. I have been fortunate to learn from international as well as local teachers. More recently I have joined the QGSA Appraisal and Judging Panels and enjoy these days.

It was about this time that I started to teach Embellished Quilt classes, and the front room of the house was set up with tables for girls to sew at. Some came from away and some were locals. Accommodation was at the local caravan park for a few, and others stayed at my house. 

The next stage of CCMQ was the purchase of the house across the road in 2010, to hold quilting retreats and workshops. There was a lot of renovating to do and this took much longer than expected. Thanks to a lot of good friends for their assistance in getting this up and running.

We went from this......

                                                                            and this.......

and this....

                                                                          To this.......

and this. .......

                                                                         and this......

Quite a transformation and I could not have done it on my own. I loved my time in the garden, and it was a lovely secluded yard for the retreat guests to relax in. I named the house "The Sanctuary", and it was the perfect place for quilters to come and have "time out", to leave the distractions of home behind, to sit, sew and share life with each other. I kept this house for 5 years and held many workshops and retreats in that time, as well as continuing to quilt for customers.

In 2011 I started writing a blog, newsfromjude, as a way to advertise the retreats and my machine quilting. Over time this has grown to include much more of my life and is like a diary that I get printed into a book.

 Weekend retreats then returned to this side of the road, and the fun and friendships continued. Each year from 2013 until 2020 there was a "Pink" retreat where funds were raised for the Breast Cancer Network Aust, as a thankyou for the help I received from them after my Breast Cancer treatment in 2008. In that time more than $10,000 was raised by holding mini auctions of donated goodies and the raffling of a quilt. This was not held in 2021, but I am hoping that something can be organised for 2022.

Just a few pics from pink retreats in years gone by...................

I guess a highlight of my quilting journey would have to be joining the Aussie Quilters Abroad group to travel to the United States. It was a fun, fantastic journey with a great group of ladies. 

We loved attending the Paducah quilt show.................

..................and meeting Jenny Doan from Missouri Star Quilt Co, in Hamilton..............

..........and a journey into Amish Country................

..........oh, of course we visited lots of quilt shops and helped the US economy!!!

Recently I acquired some surplus shop stock and added another avenue to CCMQ. I have fabric for sale and use much, some of it for "Ready, Set, Sew" kits that are used in Mystery retreats and market days.  I scan the fabrics and bring this into EQ8 quilt design programme.  It is then cut and packed for a kit and quilters seem to enjoy having a quick project where it's all ready to sew. And I enjoy the process of choosing the fabrics and coming up with a design to use them.

Not long after the retreat in the photo above was held, Covid arrived in our country and life changed. Restrictions meant that Retreats came to a halt, although I was fortunate that I could still continue with customer quilting. Many events such as quilt shows were postponed or cancelled and life as we had known it turned upside down. 

Classes, quilt shows, meetings and quilt groups all developed an online presence and Zoom came into it's own. Thanks to Chooky, a quilting blogger in NSW, we have an online group who often meet on Zoom for sewing days. It has been great to "meet" quilters from all over the world and share our lives. Even the pink fundraiser went online and had Zoom afternoon teas.

In those 20 years I have completed more than 3,000 quilts for customers and I am very thankful for all who have trusted me with their creations. Thanks also to those who have supported my venture to purchase THE SANCTUARY and all who attended weekends there and joined in the fun times. We have all made some great friends.

Going forward: ........While I am still quilting for others, I have cut back the numbers going out the door and hope to manage to finish some of my own UFO's. I also have plans for a group to use my SABLE (Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy) to make donation quilts. I am continuing to cut Ready, Set & Sew kits for sale and have plans for an online shop sometime this year to help clear the shelves. CCMQ will also be attending some market days. I am hopeful that weekend retreats might be able to return in some format?? 

..........And so the journey continues........................Not sure if there will be any other plans for Cornerstone Creations, but I will continue to trust that God will lead me in my life, as he has done so far.  You just never know where life will take you. I have been truly blessed.

I had planned for some sort of celebration in February, but have deferred that until April in the hope that current restrictions might ease by then?? Watch this space for further news as it happens. Thanks for reading.

Blessings, From Jude

PS - As it's a birthday, we need to have a present. If you leave me a comment I will put all names in a 'hat' and draw a winner for a gift. Look forward to hearing from you. Entries close in a week, end of the 11th February.