Amanda Daly

Amanda Daly
I've been passionately working with fabric for more than 25 years . . . relax with me as you read about my life and my quilts

Wednesday 24 September 2008

Workroom Mess


When you are working on a quilt are you tidy or messy.

These days I only clean up my work room when I've finished a project.

It's not that I like working in a mess but I'm a bit driven and just keep churning through the work and I feel completely incapable of cleaning anything up 'till I've finished.

I know some quilters who I suspect put every reel of thread away in it's correct place and fold every piece of fabric and put it away as soon as it has been used. perhaps their scissors are always in the same place and threads are put into a container instead of the floor.


I have multiple unpickers, scissors and other pieces of equipment but towards the end of a project I'm hard pressed to anything. Much of my equipment and most of the threads and bits and pieces end up in piles on the benches or buried on the floor along with paper work, reels of thread, fabric and miscellaneous items. It can be quite annoying if I can't find what I want but that's just the way it is.

I'm in the process of cleaning up as I write. A clean photo to follow when I've finished.

Tuesday 23 September 2008

2.20am

Do you like a challenge? Do you work better under pressure?

I know I do, I think I purposely leave it until the last possible minute to start a quilt for a challenge, thriving on the pressure... It doesn't really make sense does it?

I finished my challenge quilt for the Quilters'Guild of NSW challenge at 2.20am this morning. It was all finished with the binding, hanging sleeve and label all in place by midnight, but it really needed a little something else to finish it off. Two hours and twenty minutes later I was finally satisfied. I'll post a photo of it after the guild's AGM and the unveiling of all of the challenge quilts.

After just five hours sleep I delivered it personally to the guild office in the city. I met a friend (a first time challenge participant) and we made a day of it, travelling on the River Cat and enjoying a walk through the city and around the Opera House before travelling home.

Pity I left the car lights on all day. Waiting for the NRMA to arrive to start my car was a bit of a downer at the end of the day.

Looking forward to a good nights sleep tonight and a few days break before I head into the next last minute challenge.

Sunday 14 September 2008

Hidden delight


When I'm on holiday in Qld I always make a point of visiting this quaint little shop. It just keeps getting better and better.
On my last visit I discovered that they have now expanded into the old bakery across the road. You'll need to ask Trevor to arrange to open this new shop for you.
Howard's Drapery is one of the few shops in Howard (a few kms north of Hervey Bay).

The patchwork fabric at the back of the store (and now also across the road in the old bakery) is your reward for picking your way through the very crowded shop, its full of just about everything imaginable. The first time I visited I left without ever reaching the fabric, so don't give up, push your way to the very back of the shop and find the little room off to the right.

The service is friendly but make sure you have plenty of time to spare.
It just goes to prove you can't judge a book by its cover