Quote of the Week:
"Quilting is a gift you give yourself . . ."
Well we know it has been ages since we last updated this but Deirdre is completely technologically challenged and I have trouble finding the time because I also have to do all the other smart stuff!
Anyway we both had a lovely Christmas break with our families and hope you all did too.
I had a wonderful family holiday in Queensland during January - totally relaxing (but far too hot!!) - I even managed to read two books while I was away which hasn't happened in quite a while. Both Dan and the girls spent most of the time in the pool and even I had the odd dip to keep cool.
Deirdre and Sue kept the home fires burning and the preparation going for the Australasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne which we went to last week.
Our stock had to be ready to freight over the week before so that was a mad dash for the finish line in getting bindings on quilts, photographing them and writing and printing the patterns - BUT WE DID IT!
We had a week at the shop to chill out till we flew over on the Wednesday. Setting up was a bit stressful with everyone unpacking at the same time, boxes, trolleys and forklifts everywhere - very scary for us little country girls! As we had never been before it took us a while to work out how we wanted to hang the quilts but we managed to finish by 9.30pm - we were pretty tired by that stage. We really tried to make our stand reflect the look of our shop which is hard to do with only 1m x 2m of space, but with our old apple crates and vintage suit cases I think we managed to pull it off.
We stayed with Deirdre's brother and sister-in-law, Phil and Jen who were fabulous. They picked us up and got us there on time, fed us, spoiled us rotten and gave us a warm family place to relax after each day. If it wasn't for Phil and Jen on the last day, we would have missed our plane, but they were waiting out the front with the engine running ready to wiz us off to the airport.
We really enjoyed the AQC. It was great to meet some customers who we have spoken to on the phone as well as meet lots of new ones. Nearly all of our reproduction fabric is by Judie Rothermel and let me tell you, there was a lot of love out there for Jude!! The other great part of the AQC was meeting other shop owners and chatting about business and sharing ideas.
Then of course there were the QUILTS!! We did not have time to see the exhibition until the Sunday. Everybody that came out kept on commenting about Judy Day's quilts - well they were truly magnificant and inspiring. Very traditional with beautiful hand quilting.
We really enjoyed the whole show and have already booked for next year. We met lots of other enthusiastic and friendly people so it was well worth the work and expense of getting there.
Now it is back to business. The quilt tops have been piling up so we have to get 'Big Mal' (our A1 Quilting Machine) purring and slowly make our way through them. It is a priviledge to quilt something that another person has spent tiime and energy making.
Deirdre will be writing up a new class list some time this week, in between flying to Melbourne to see her beloved "Brooks and Dunn" while I keep the home fires burning here at Crow Central.
So now it is time to set about and get ready for our Autumn Gathering which is not too far away. Lynette Anderson's projects are on the way ready for display in the shop and whilst in Melbourne we caught up with Kerry Gillespie who gave us a sneak preview of her projects - all of them gorgeous, so those of you who are attending can look forward to some gorgeous things.
I can hear Deirdre and Big Mal purring out the back (just as well you know he is a quilting machine!) and I must get a move on and start sorting out my projects for the Gathering.
Until next time.
Leonie & Deirdre
The Quilted Crow
