Welcome to Shiralee Stitches. I live on a cattle farm in Australia with my family.
I am passionate about all things fabric so much so I started my own online and mobile store. Link is on the sidebar to my store. I teach patchwork classes and take my shop to quilting and patchwork groups and also attend various craft markets.
I love English Paper Piecing, applique, machine quilting, working with woven wools. I have started making my own designs which I love.

Monday 9 April 2012

It was a fantastic day.....Girls Day in the Country 2012.....

Well what an exciting start to the day.......a few weeks ago myself, my Mum and friend Jenny woke up soooo very excited......we were heading to the hall in Nundle for my second Girls Day in the Country hosted by the ever-lovely Kerry Swain.
.............. just entered the hall and found our table.........yippee, we're sharing a table with Jenny, Trish and Alison again...............................(the fever of checking out our goodies in the bag!!!)
 ................"oooh look I got a red spotty mug for my cups of tea this year"...............
 ..................my goodie bag.........I am very excited at this point.....................I had pre-ordered Sue Daley's new book and can't wait to check it out.........so lucky to have her sign it for me later in the day.....
 .............Jenny hiding behind Kerry's lovely hexagon table decorations.....how else would you decorate a table for an English Paper Piedcing event???????.....how clever is our Kerry!!!!..........
 ............the hall was beautifully adorned with all of Sue's quilts........................
 ...............our special projects for the day.....a clamshell Sewing Keep and the Hexagon Box...........
 ............bloggy friend re-unite..................
 ...........the oh-so-special photo of all the blogging girls from near and far as we come together each year to Nundle for a catch-up 'in the real'. It's so nice to see the beautiful ladies that provide inspiration and regular like-minded contact all year thru blogging......it truly reminds me why I am glad to have found the blog world (thanks Chooky!!)

......and this stunning quilt was popped in amongst Sue's quilts in the hall on display....Kerry, inspired by Sue's EPP, made this stunner for her recently married daughter......I think it's beautiful.........

Well I know I'm suffering a bit of jet lag getting these piccies up in a post.....seems like ages ago now since GDITC, but life does get hectic.....hope you enjoyed the reminder of a great weekend girls........counting down till next year now............

Sunday 1 April 2012

It was a wonderful weekend......

Oh dear, it seems like ages since the big weekend in Nundle to attend Kerry's Girls Day in the Country. I have been so busy chasing my tail since returning home....does anyone else find they come home and 'pay' for the joy of the weekend with the catch-up?.....doesn't matter....... it was well worth it...........

I had a pair of passengers on Thursday when we left home.......my Mum and a friend of ours, Jenny, from our local craft group. We decided to have an extra night at Nundle for the sole purpose of shopping, and taking in the sights of Nundle before meeting the ladies for a pub lunch.
 Lunch at the pub.......We had spent a few joyous hours in the morning at Kerry's Cottage on the Hill, soaking in the sheer pleasure of Kerry's shop, and also having the pleasure of meeting our guest tutor for the weekend, Sue Daley. Sue jumped in the car with us as we headed to meet up with all the other girls for lunch. It was a lovely way to begin our weekend........
 ....a visit to the Nundle Woollen Mills.....very interesting...........
 .....here we all are on the lawn having happy hour before dinner.....there was lots of show and tell  (I loooove seeing everyones work)
 ....my special bloggy friend, Jenny with a Natalie Lymer creation.....really lovely......
 ....check out these My Garden quilts, designed by Anni Downs........I'm thinking I need to do this quilt (slap face!!!).....no you have enough on your plate.....silly girl!!!
........beautiful bright hexies........
 .......more beautiful bright hexies, I mean girls!!!......here we are at dinner.....loads of chatter, laughs and good cheer....
 After dinner we were treated to a trunk show. It was a real treat to see Sue's quilts  'in the real'....so much more texture when you get up close and personal with quilts....I could have pawed over them all night long, checking out the details..........Kerry in the picture was the ultimate host for the weekend....an amazing lady who I admire heaps......
 I was particularly interested in seeing Sue's It Takes Two quilt after just completing this one myself....
 My next project, this lovely quilt called Icy Nights.........I felt so lucky to have Sue choose the fabrics for this quilt on Friday morning at Kerry's shop....so this will be a special quilt indeed.....( I started it the other night....no hope for me!!!!!)
.........oh, and I need to confess that I bought the pattern for this one titled Lancaster........do you think I'm addicted???.......I really am hooked on the paper piecing.

I'll be back soon with photos of the Saturday at Sue's workshop. In the meantime I'm busy finishing the project we began on the day.....just needs assembling now...........I can hear the sewing machine beckoning me......lol............hope your sewing machine is beckoning you!!!...............