Stitch in Spring 2015

Wow....wow....wow! What an amazing weekend we have just had in Port Campbell at my 5th (yes fifth!) Stitch in Spring. The ladies have been waiting patiently for this day to arrive since they booked in for it back in March. I have been preparing for the weekend for months.....although as always most of the work was done in the last fortnight!

We were very fortunate to have a lovely sunny weekend and the view from the room across the bay in Port Campbell didn't disappoint.

Set up day was on Friday. We were a little distracted

but we finally managed to transform the bare room into a welcoming place for the 130 ladies to spend time stitching the hours away.

There were handmade goody bags for everyone........with a few special treats inside.

The name badges were lined up ready.

and the shop was fully stocked with lots of fabric and stitching goodness.

The tutors set up a wonderful display of just a small selection of their work. Gail Pan showed off some new projects using her brand new fabric range called 'Among the Flowers'.

While Helen Stubbings showcased lots of beautiful projects......

I still don't know how she fitted it all into her suitcase! Helen's new fabric range called 'Fancywork Box' is absolutely gorgeous and guess what? .....it's in store now!

Saturday morning arrived and it wasn't long before the room was full of ladies.

It was lovely to see so many familiar faces but also fantastic that lots of ladies were attending for the very first time. Over the two days we had ladies travel from all over Victoria, as well as New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory and South Australia. Sunday's ladies were just as enthusiastic and eager to select one of the 4 projects to start stitching.

Helen was kept busy demonstrating her fusible applique method......which I love!

While Gail demonstrated her more traditional method of applique.

There was Show & Tell......the highlight being Vicki's Insanity Quilt (which took her only 7 months to complete), Lucky Door prizes (34 on each day) with the major winners being Sheree MacIntosh on the Saturday and Kerri Clark on the Sunday, as well as plenty of food to eat.

Both days seemed to end way too quickly, and it was time to pack it all up for another year......but not before that special photo.......and it turned out okay too!

At the end of the weekend I felt like little Georgia......all tuckered out and ready for a big long sleep!

Now on to the thank yous.

Thank you to all of the lovely ladies who have supported me by attending my Stitch in Spring event....not only this year but past years as well. It is lovely to have support from so many and I hope that maybe you will want to come again in future years.

Thanks to both Helen and Gail for agreeing to be my tutors this year. Helen made the trip from her home in Tasmania and while Gail lives in Melbourne she only just flew back in from the UK on Tuesday so it has been a big week for her. 

Thank you my sister Cathryn and our friend Lyndell who gave up their weekends to help me out. 

To my family......Emma for helping all weekend, Hannah for running the Shop for me, and to Russell for all of his support not just over the weekend but for the whole time.....weeks......months......years. I would not be able to do it without you. Plus....who would be the eye candy for the ladies over the weekend if you weren't there!

So now it is back to normal......what ever that is! I am hoping to spend some time back in the garden but also getting ready to start stitching some new things for the shop. There is always something to do at Gum Valley Patchwork.

Linda     :)

Comments

[Jane Pike]

Linda the weekend is an absolute credit to you & your team. Everything was beautifully done and the hours of work you have out in gphave not gone unnoticed. Thank you for providing such a lovely opportunity for so many ladies and for bringing together ladies who share the passion (or addiction!!) for patchwork.