Well Earned Rest

I'm going on holiday tomorrow and I'm so looking forward to the break. I had intended to take 3 weeks off but I have a strong feeling "that just ain't gonna happen"!!! I'm going to spend a few days with my Mum at Wallaroo and we're both looking forward to some lovely time swimming and not doing too much else! Mum is 80 and can still swim like a fish and we both love the time together. I've also packed many UFO's and I may just get some sewing of my own done - that's a novel idea.

I'd like to wish everyone much love, health and blessings for 2010 and beyond.

Sew & Tell Friday - Posted Tuesday

Hopefully you don't mind looking at lots of pictures. This is a selection of some of the quilts that I have done over the past few weeks. I only have 2 more custom to do before Christmas and then onto the 12 pantos - YAY!!

The first 2 photos are the front and back of a beautifully pieced colourful quilt. I used Daisies Galore (Jodi Beamish) and Superior Threads Joseph's Coat variegated thread.

This quilt was the 2nd of two the same that I have done for the same customer- showing both the front and back - it was a large quilt and I used the IQ for the borders - the rest was freehand (what a lot of work!).

This is a really pretty quilt featuring stitcheries (showing front & back). Once again I have stitched through the stitchery - IMO this gives a much more finished look. This customer was so patient and understanding waiting for her quilts (thanks Jill, your patience was greatly appreciated).

This Eskimo applique was also done by Jill - her work is really "spot on". I was a little challenged working out how to do it justice, I was happy with the results. (And yes, I did notice the bit I missed on her foot and I put it back on the machine and filled it in).

This also belongs to Jill and I love the effect of the simple piecing - I used Karen Thompson's (Intelligent Quilting) Roses on this. This quilt was taught in a "Civil War" class run by the Patchwork Apple and belongs to Vicki. (Great job Vicki - you are too hard on yourself - it was great to quilt!).

The following quilt belongs to Jann - she did this at Hetties Patch - it was a very large quilt (91x91) and Pretty Posies got another airing - I LOVE that panto! The quilt looks very elegant.

How cute are next 2 quilts? I was so excited doing these quilts - I love teddies. I would think about these quilts when I should've been sleeping and couldn't wait to get started on them. I think they are gorgeous. ( I wish they were mine!)

Thanks for looking - I hope you enjoyed the quilts. I've forgotten how to add links but if you're at all interested in the Patchwork Apple or Hetties Patch you can reach them through links on the homepage.

Sew & Tell Friday 3 - A little late!!!

My weeks seem to be getting crazier by the day! The quilts that I've pictured were from last week as I simply haven't had time to take photographs of my work this week. Tony (DH) had shoulder surgery last week and I've had a rude awakening to how much he does to help me (not that I didn't know before)!

The first 2 photos are of a quilt from a new customer (Hi Wendy), beautifully pieced and I just loved the colours. The quilting pattern I used is from Timeless Quilting Designs and it's called Blowing in the Wind.


This next quilt is from one of my regular customers - I love doing her quilts - always beautifully pieced and her colour choices are just what I'd use. I used Pretty Posies on this quilt by Tammy Finkler - it's one of my favourites - I just love it.
The following quilt started as a kit (the centre) and was then added to enhanced as the process went on. This customer "caravans" around Australia and always manages to find interesting fabrics and uses the travel time to do her "handwork". The quilting pattern is Wandering Daisies by Jodi Beamish.

It never ceases to amaze me when chatting to clients just how small the world really is; the owner of this quilt, Janine, used to show dogs (as did I) and we know so many of the same people and it was great catching up on news. Janine is a new piecer and did a great job - it's a lovely fresh looking quilt and I used Blowing in the Wind of this one too.
The next 3 photos (of 2 quilts) are pieced from the Heritage Hexagon pattern that Shontelle designed and taught at the Mannum Retreat. I love this pattern and the fabrics used are just gorgeous. The first photo is of Judy's quilt and I used Trillium Leaf on this from Darlene Epp.

Pretty Posies has come to the party yet again and I used a light aubergine colour thread on this quilt and I was really happy with result. I felt quite attached to these 3 quilts as I watched Shontelle go through the process when she was designing and I really enjoyed seeing the quilts come together at the retreat. It was a privelege to quilt them - the piecing was fabulous!!
The last one for today is also from a new customer - she is self taught, never been to a class. Hats off to her I say - I'm such a visual learner I could never do it! I used Flirtatious on this quilt - it's not too busy and didn't take away from the applique at all. I used a very soft lilac thread and by choosing this colour it blended in the purple areas and also didn't look stark on the white.
Thanks for looking - please leave me a comment if you enjoyed them. Next week will be a viewing of Custom Quilting - that's all I have in my future at present - not really but at the moment it feels like it!! Stay tuned.

Wallaroo Retreat

Patchwork on Parade and Sugarplum Quilts are excited to announce the details of our upcoming luxury Wallaroo Retreat!



Treat yourself to a little luxury with a fabulous weekend of sewing on the beautiful Copper Coast in South Australia. Imagine waking up by the beach, having a leisurely breakfast on your private verandah before strolling to the stately Wallaroo Town Hall to spend the day doing something you love. Tempting isn't it? Join us for three nights from Thursday 25th - Sunday 28th of February for a fantastic luxury retreat where you will not have to lift a finger except to sew, sew, sew!

Getting There - Wallaroo is an easy 2 hour drive from Adelaide up Port Wakefield Rd and then onto the Copper Coast Highway. Don't drive? No problem. We are happy to put you in touch with other retreaters to arrange car pooling and there is also a reasonably priced bus service to Wallaroo that runs twice daily.


Accommodation - We will be staying in 4 star self-contained beachside villas in the lovely seaside town of Wallaroo. Choose from either a beach front or pool side position. The villas all have a private verandah, two bedrooms (1QS bed, 2 singles - plus another trundle style single), fully equipped kitchen, dining and lounge area, bathroom, toilet and laundry. The villas are set in lovely grounds and there is a heated pool on site.

Catering - The weekend will be fully catered, including snacks and non-alcoholic drinks - except for Saturday night when we will be dining out at a waterfront restaurant. Let us know if you have any special dietary requirements - we are more than happy to accommodate you.



Sewing - We will be stitching the days away in the grand old Wallaroo Town Hall. There will be cutting and ironing stations set up and plenty of room to lay your quilts out. There is even a stage and a couple of pianos if anyone feels the need for some extra entertainment.

Projects - We will be teaching 2 projects or feel free to use the stress-free sewing time to finish off a few UFOs. The projects we will be teaching will both be made using Moda Jelly Rolls and some extra yardage (a Jelly Roll consists of 40 width of fabric strips) and we would love to put a kit together for you. Speak to me about the range of gorgeous fabrics I have in stock (including, Simple Abundance, Rouenneries, Aster Manor and more) and your specific fabric requirements. The projects will be announced in a couple of weeks - but trust us - they are gorgeous!

Don't Quilt? No problem, we are open to retreaters of all craft denominations - bring along your projects be they knitting, scrapbooking, card making or whatever and enjoy the time to create.

Shop - What is a quilting retreat without a bit of retail therapy? Patchwork on Parade will have a shop on site with a wide range of tempting fabrics, patterns, nifty notions, giftware and more.

Prices start from $398 per person all inclusive for Poolside Accommodation based on 4 share.

Contact me (Sharon) on 0411 268 924 for more information and to secure your booking.

Hope to see you there!

Mannum Retreat

Patchwork on Parade and Sugarplum Quilts are excited to announce the details of our upcoming Mannum Retreat!



Take some time out to relax and do something that you love! Join us for a wonderful weekend of stitching in picturesque Mannum from Friday 26th - Sunday 28th of March where you will not have to lift a finger except to sew, sew, sew!

Getting There - Mannum is just over an hours drive from the Adelaide GPO and is situated on the Murray River. Don't drive? No problem - let us put you in touch with your fellow retreaters to arrange some car pooling.


Accommodation - We will be stitching in the historic "Pumphouse" situated in the grounds of the Mannum Caravan Park where you can enjoy FREE accommodation in the bunkhouse in a dorm-style share room, sleeping 4 in bunk beds. Alternatively, we can arrange for you to stay in a deluxe cabin with an ensuite - this type of accommodation will incur an additional cost.

Catering - the weekend will be fully catered, including breakfast, lunch, morning and afternoon teas on both days, non-alcoholic drinks (BYO welcome) and dinner on the Friday night - we've booked a table at the riverfront Pretoria Hotel for dinner on Saturday night.



Projects - We will be teaching 2 lovely projects (details will be released in the next couple of weeks - they are gorgeous!). The projects we will be teaching will both be made using Moda Jelly Rolls and some extra yardage (a Jelly Roll consists of 40 width of fabric strips) and we would love to put a kit together for you. Speak to me about the range of gorgeous fabrics I have in stock and your specific fabric requirements. You will also receive a gift pack full of goodies plus the pattern for your choice of project.

Don't quilt? No problem, we are open to retreaters of all craft denominations - bring along your projects be they knitting, scrapbooking, card making or whatever and enjoy the time to relax and create.

Shop - What is a quilting retreat without a bit of retail therapy? Patchwork on Parade will have a shop on site with a wide range of tempting fabrics, patterns, nifty notions, giftware and more.

This retreat is a bargain at $200.00 all inclusive.

Contact me (Sharon) on 0411 268 924 for more information and to secure your booking.

We'd love to see you there!

Sew & Tell 2 - Friday Finishes

This is a selection of my week's work, well 3 days anyway!. As you can see I've been "pumping" the quilts out - my working hours certainly wouldn't be approved by any reputable union:-)

1. A Cot Quilt using a panel of fabric featuring Teddy Bears - I quilted it, with the IQ, using Dave Hudson's Star pattern that was preloaded on the IQ when it was installed.


2. &3. This quilt was Double Bed size and is to be a Christmas gift for one of my customer's grandson. The fabric cried out for "flames" and I used a pattern called Hot Rod from Lorien Quilting and used King Tut Chariots of Fire threads.
4. I LOVED doing this quilt as the colours used are what I'd choose for myself. The piecing pattern is called Heritage Hexagons from Sugarplum Quilts (the label that my daughter, Shontelle, produces her patterns under.) The pattern uses one Jelly Roll and the effect is achieved by the way the fabric is cut using a 60 degree ruler - if you'd like further information on this please just shoot me an email - the patterns are available as a PDF file for $8.00). The quilting pattern is Pretty Posies by Tammy Finkler and was quilted using the IQ.
5. This is a close up of another quilt using the same piecing pattern as the one above. The quilting pattern is Maple Leaf by Karen Thompson of Intelligent Quilting. 6. Another cot quilt, the pattern used in Asian Clouds and I'm not sure of the designer of this pattern.

7. This little Carpenters' Star was pieced by my friend Jan - she entered it in the "Silver Challenge" which was held by our State Guild to commemorate their Silver Anniversay (25 years). I used a Silver metallic thread by Superior threads - considering I'd never quilted using any thread other than Poly or Cotton - I was fairly happy with the result. The Snowflake pattern is from http://www.pantosbytheo.com/

Sew & Tell 1 - Friday Finishes

This week has seen me busier than a dog burying a bone on a marble floor!! The following quilts are in no particular order. The first one belongs to Mary, one of my lovely customers, which she pieced at our first retreat from an orginal pattern of Shontelle's (Sugarplum Quilts). I quilted it using the IQ with a pattern from Keryn Emmerson, Cascade, stitched out at 11.5ins. The quilt was VERY large 101 X 95 ins.

The next is our Group entry for the upcoming Festival of Quilts to be held here in Adelaide from 5-8 November. My Mum did all the redwork, Shontelle pieced it, I quilted it and Scarlett did the label. It truly is a labour of love!

The following quilt was done for Jane of The Patchwork Apple. It is a new kit that has been put together and will be available in the shop and also at the Craft & Quilt Fair being held in conjunction with the Festival of Quilts. The quilting pattern is Wrought Iron by Jodi Beamish.

The next is a really cute little baby quilt, I used Double Bubble on this in keeping with the spots in the fabric. I'm not sure of the designer of this quilting pattern but if anyone's interested just ask and I'll check.
Last, but by no means least is the very precious Scarlett!! We have her every Monday whilst her Mummy is at work but this week we were very lucky and she had a sleepover. She'd had her bath and thought it hilarious that she was in Nanny & Poppi's bed sans clothes. It was quite an effort getting her to come to me so that I could dress her. Isn't she just gorgeous!!!

Well, that's almost the week that was - I did 2 other quilts but haven't got photos of those yet. Please call back next week and I'll post some photos from the Festival of Quilts. Cheers.

Yes! I am an Embroiderer!

Those that know me well understand that a "sewer" I am not (I am however a machine quilter). Many can't understand this conundrum and I don't try to anymore! Anywho I digress - today I had a Mystery Indulgence with a fabulous group of girls, it was held at the Patchwork Apple and we were taught by the ever patient and lovely Sara. Sara taught us to look at fabric in a different light and therein the fun began. A great fun day was had by all and I can now say that I am an embroiderer......yeah right!!!!

A few photos will follow but I am really disappointed with my camera at present and I apologise to the girls that I've missed out due to my photos not being clear enough. (I need to get it worked out as I am becoming frustrated at taking photos and not being able to post them due to poor quality).


1. This is a group photo - minus me of course and Sara, she is forcing Jane to have champagne!



2. Kris is in the front of the photo with Ronda behind and Frances in the background. I love hearing Ronda laugh - it is soooo infectious!


3 & 4. This is Deb working hard and also a photo of her work. Deb & Lorraine chose the same fabric and there is going to be a "cushion off" at our February Retreat!

5. This is the ever patient Sara working on Lorraine's piece - I feel this gives Lorraine a distinct advantage! Where was Lorraine you may ask????

6. Oh!! Here she is shopping. I hope that's not more fabric in your hands - no wonder she has such a lovely smile on her face!

7. This gives a little look at what Frances is working on with her fabric.

8. This is Gerrie's - the grapes look positively "dewey".

9. This is what Ronda is doing with hers - looks very elegant.

10. Yes!!! This is me....the over achiever!!!! What more can I say????? Wink, wink!!!

Thanks heaps to Jane, Sara and the rest of the group - I had such a fun day. Cheers