Gum Valley Patchwork

Au revoir 2018

As I take a look back at the year that was 2018, I cannot believe how the last 12 months have flown by. It's always fun to read my blog posts and pick out the highlights from the year, but at the same time it is scary to think that time is whizzing by so fast.

In January I started my 'Circle a day' quilt......well that went well didn't it! It certainly hasn't been worked on every day but just when I get the urge. I have the centre pieced together but have now decided to add a border of smaller circles around the edge.

February saw me continue on my 2018 NY resolution to design, make and kit up one new project a week in readiness for the shows that would be coming up. Like all NYR they are made for failure, but I did give it a good crack......lol! February is always Heytesbury Show prep month so not a lot of pretty blog photos there.

March was a busy month, parts I hope never to repeat again. The Heytesbury Show was a great success, followed up by the disaster of my Stitching by the Sea Retreat which 'coincided' with the bush fires in our area. The following week I attended the Colac Quilters Biennial Quilt Show and had a lovely time. The new venue was great with lots of room for the quilts and shop owners. 

April is AQC month.......many months of planning and hard work come to fruition........new fabrics, kits, notions, samples all pulled together for the 4 days of vending.  I was particularly thrilled to have Gail Pan join me on my stand for the signing of her new book 'Patchwork loves embroidery too'. The books were so popular that I have reordered them. I still have some available for $40 if anyone is interested.

My favourite seasons are Spring and Autumn, so May was a gardening month for me. I find that gardening helps to both reinvigorate and relax me. Lenora and I also changed our Friendship Frolic from June to May. We were hoping that the weather would be nicer in May, but alas that really didn't happen. But despite that, everyone had a great time and it will be returning in 2019!

June June June.......Mt Gambier Craft Alive kicked off the month followed up by a trip to Sydney to the Craft & Quilt Fair. I didn't take the shop but attended just a visitor as it coincided with a go kart race meeting that Russell had up there. I helped Lenora a little bit and met up with some friends, including Chooky Blue.......it was lovely to finally meet Donna in real life!

We jingled in July with my first ever Christmas in July event held in Simpson. It was such a fun day......probably my favourite event of the year! I loved this photo so much that I even got Christmas stamps made with it this year......lol!

I also returned to Adelaide for my yearly trip to the Sewing, Stitching and Handcraft Show. It is lovely to catch up with the South Australia customers, and we always seem to have beautiful weather every time we go. 

August was shit month......I'm not going to sugar coat it.....it was crap! I hurt my back lugging furniture around, then I got a cold which turned into infected sinuses and needed two lots of antibiotics. Then pop went my back again! It was wet and cold and I couldn't get outside in to the garden. The Winter blues hit hard. But I rested up, did the essentials only, and by the time September arrived I was feeling much better and ready to get back in to it........thank goodness!

Stitch in Spring is September.......it's all I do and I love doing it. We had two fantastic tutors in Gail Pan and Clare Horsman and ladies traveled from near and far to attend. I will be announcing our 2019 tutors very soon so keep following to find out!

We set sail to Tasmania in October and took the shop on the road........some of it even ended up on the road!!!! We really enjoyed our time on the island state and fingers crossed that the Craft Alive Show might fit in with our calendar so that we can return next year. October also saw me spend more time outside in the garden than inside sewing as the wedding was fast approaching.

November was a month of celebrations. A wedding in the garden......

Jodie's 50th birthday celebration in Melbourne.......

and finishing the month off with a very Kransky Christmas with Dawn, Mourne, Eve and Hannah in St Kilda.

We are still in December, but in a few short hours it will be January and the start of a new year. 2019 is going to be a very different year for our family and a very busy year in the shop. So from our family to yours, have a safe and happy new year and I look forward to seeing you somewhere in 2019.

Linda     :)

To market to market

It has been quite a few years since I have been to a Sunday market to sell my wares. I have been a market stall holder on and off since I was about 17 years of age. My first stall was in Timboon in the main street selling patchwork glasses cases and ornaments with googly eyes. I then started growing and selling plants, and traveled around with boot loads of plants hoping that I would sell lots and not have to lug them all back home with me. When I started teaching patchwork in 1996, I used to make samples and items to sell, with the money I earned going in to my special account that I was keeping for the day that I opened up my shop. I attended yearly craft events like the CWA Once-a-year Day in Simpson as well as Markets in Port Campbell. So when I heard that there was a Market in Port Campbell today, and the shop was closed for my Christmas / New Year break, I thought why not! I have so many shop samples that are piling up, that I loaded up the ute this morning and headed south. It took me a whole 10 minutes to set up which was great!

The sunny morning turned overcast, but I was kept busy selling a few things in between doing some stitching. I even took some plants to sell......bought back fond memories :)

I still have quite a few samples left and I have listed them on my website. So if you are after something already made up for a gift, you might find something suitable HERE. I will keep adding items as they become available. I'm off to put my feet up and do some more stitching........all will be revealed very soon!

Linda     :)

Sweet potatoes.......hopefully

Living in southern Victoria allows us to grow many different varieties of fruit and vegetables in our garden. While we are lucky that we can grow lots of things that our friends in tropical areas can't, we are also envious that the tables are reversed for other things. Our summer isn't long enough, and although we have hot days, we don't have the number of them required to grow certain things.........don't get me wrong......I think our summer is quite long enough! Over the years,different plant varieties have been developed so we have grown things like watermelons and cantelopes (this season).......I am a sort of plant it and see type of gardener. If it grows.......yay!.....if it doesn't.......plant something else!.........although I am hanging out for a cool climate banana......lol!

In mid October on my of my frequent visits to Bunnings, I spied a Sweet Potato plant. I decided to buy it knowing that it wouldn't grow outside in our cool climate but I thought that I might plant it in one of the two raised garden beds in my hot house. Worst case scenario.......it dies and I waste $3.50. So I planted it out, and it sat there and sat there and sat there. It was growing but all so slowly and I took this photo on the 4th November.

Then the weather started to warm up, and I was watering the plant every day........and boom! off it took........eight weeks later this is what it looks like.....

The growing shoots were heading out the door and also towards the other raising garden bed. I trailed the runners onto the next bed, and if you stood there long enough I swear you could see it growing.

I decided to do a little experiment, and every morning at about 8am I placed a plant tag at the tip of one of the runners. For 11 mornings I placed my tags and now that I have run out of garden bed my experiment must end.

This one runner grew between 2 - 3 inches every day! I also pegged the runner firmly in to the soil and it has started to send roots down.

I am just hoping that there is a lot of growing being done below ground level. So while I am getting ready to take all of the other plants out of my hot house, as it will too hot for them, I think this little ol' Sweet Potato will love it's new southern home. Harvest won't be until Autumn but I will let you know how I get on!

Linda     :)

Christmas and New Year trading

Today will be my last day of work for 2018.......well not really but you know what I mean.......lol! The shop will be closing this afternoon at 4pm and won't be opening back up until Thursday 3rd January. This doesn't mean that I will be sitting around with my feet up, as there is plenty of stitching, cutting and kit making to be done over the coming weeks in readiness for the start of 2019. My online shop will still be in full swing and I am busy at the moment uploading all of the new fabric that has just arrived. I will also be Blogging (as well as Facebooking and Instagramming) about all the new things and the events that are currently happening in my life, so please stop by every now and then and check it out.

I will take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support during 2018.......it's been great! Wishing you all a happy time this festive season, whatever you might get up to.

Linda    :)

Polypipe and netting birthday present

Russell and I haven't exchanged birthday or Christmas presents in years.......we just buy what we want when we want it. On Monday when I was out de-runnnering my strawberry plants I decided that this year I did in fact want Russell to get me a birthday present.....well make is a more accurate description. As my strawberries have started to ripen the birds have moved in and have decided that they like my strawberries better than I do. So my birthday request was for a cover for my strawberry garden to protect it from the raiders. After a delicious birthday lunch with Jodie on Tuesday followed of course by dessert....

it was home to start building my birthday present. The frame went up over a couple of days......

and then this afternoon the netting went on.

We recycled some of the bird netting from the Cider Orchard, and with some dubious sewing skills.......the hole in the end was mended.

So now my strawberries and safe and sound, and we will be able to enjoy lots of delicious fruit for months to come.

Although Russell did say that it would've been cheaper to just buy the strawberries......lol!

Linda    :)

Amberley has arrived

It seems like ages ago that I ordered this pretty range of fabrics.

Waiting is the worst part.........sometimes it is up to 6 months from when we place an order to when we get the fabric in our hot little hands.

There are 30 beautiful fabrics in this new range 'Amberley' by Brenda Riddle for Moda fabrics, and they are all now listed on my website. I also have some pre-cuts ordered.......Jelly rolls, Layer cakes and Charm packs..........which should be here very soon. I have a couple of new projects to make out the fabrics.........better get it out of the plastic so that I can start!

Linda    :)

Saved by a bit of black plastic

Remember how I blogged about those pesky sparrows ripping up the lining in my plant stand and leaving the petunias very exposed? Well a couple of days ago I decided that I had better get cracking if I was going to save them. All that was left of the mulch matting was a narrow piece along the bottom of the planter stand. I carefully lifted the plants out and set about lining the planter with some left over black plastic from my strawberry beds.

I trimmed it all back, poked some holes in the bottom for drainage and carefully replanted the pink petunias back where they came from.

A good water in and they haven't looked back......not one wilty leaf or bloom. And as for those blasted birds.......they can go look somewhere else for their nest bedding!

Linda     :)

Snow Globe Collection.....Stitchery of the Month

As mentioned in my blog post yesterday, I spent a full day at the Australian Quilt Market last Sunday. The morning started at 8am with a 2 hour Show and Share session incorporating 6 presentations. It was then time to hit the show floor and check out all of the new fabric, projects and notions on offer for shop owners. I spent too much time talking to everyone as by lunchtime I had only made my way 2/3rds of the way up the first aisle......lol! It is always nice to catch up with designers and see what they have been working so frantically on to meet the show deadline. Leanne at Petals & Patches has designed a series of Snow Globe stitcheries which are very cute indeed. I can see them sewn together with some sashing fabric and made into a Christmas quilt. Alternatively you could use them on small individual projects such as bags, wall hangings or framed in a small hoop like Leanne has done. They measure about 6" in diameter, and here are two of the twelve designs in the series......Santa and Snowman.

I will be offering it as a stitchery of the month program, commencing in January 2019. Every month you will receive a pattern (with iron-on transfer), silver grey linen for the background, and fusible stabiliser for $16 per month (plus p&h). An optional thread pack will be available to purchase for those who don't have a collection of embroidery threads (price tba). If you are interested in signing up for the program please let me know and I will pop your name down. Please remember that it is a 12 month program and by signing up you commit to the full program. I will upload it on to my website once the thread pack price is sorted.

Linda    :)