It's big, I mean really big!

Hubby and I travelling into the city today for a great Christmas party lunch at Walsh Bay. I always enjoy the River Cat journey and today was made even more enjoyable when we spotted "The Voyager of the Seas" sitting at circular quay (dwarfing the overseas passenger terminal, the Opera House and all the city buidings surrounding it).

This ship is seriously large (the largest in the southern hemisphere, I'm told). We felt a rush of excitement as we watched passengers getting ready to board this magnificent ship.

Our turn will come soon, when Dorothy Clee and I set sail for Noumea, Fiji and New Zealand taking with us 34 quilters on our wonderful quilting cruise adventure.

Not long to go now. It's almost time to start counting sleeps, yet there is still so much to do, quilt project samples to finish, kits to prepare, more anticipation and excitement to build up. . .

What makes me happy?

It's probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I just love my washing line!
I think I must have the best ever washing line with flannel flowers everwhere.


We live on a very bushy / rustic 5 acre block in Sydney's north west, nothing grows in the garden unless it wants to be there and we certainly don't plant much or fuss over the trees and plants or water them, though I must admit I do talk to them a bit.

We have plenty of Aussie animals and birds visiting and this all adds up to a feeling of tranquility.

Yes, this is one of the things that makes me happy. Rather than finding the time to smell the roses today, I found the time to be delighted by this scene when I aired a couple of my quilts this afternoon.

AQC

Blue Gum Creek is one of my favourite quilts.
Designed to depict a local area where flannel flowers abound and peace and tranquility rein.
I draw a lot of the inspiration for my quilts from the Australian landscape and this is a prime example.
I'll be teaching this quilt as one of my projects at the Australasian Quilt Convention next April.
The other workshop I'll be teaching is "Making miniatures" My 12inch square quilt "Licorice Allsorts" is the quilt I have chosen for this workshop.
Have you ever visited AQC? I love it, Melbourne of course is a great place for a visit and the Royal Exhibition Building is a magnificent venue for this wonderful event.
I'm looking forward to April...will I see you there? (Don't forget to book in for your choice of workshops before the end of November while the lower prices last).

Quilt Norfolk

Just wanted to share a few photos from the Quilt Norfolk Getaway last week. Hubby (John, the one with the long grey beard) and I have just returned from a really enjoyable 10 days on Norfolk Island with a really lovely group of people. I taught two workshops over 4 days and along with the other tutors, Michelle Yeo, Meredith Budd and Meg Orr and the wonderful Quilt Norfolk organisers led by Rowena we had the luxury of having many other days to explore. Quilters from all over Australia and from New Zealand (some with their husbands) all shared a little bit of what the locals call "Norfolk time". Norfolk Island is very small, only about 1300 residents on an island about 8km x 5km. It has a rich history and is very beautiful. Animals have right of way on the island so with cows and chooks and geese roaming around it's a blessing the speed limit is set so low. It's such a great place for a peaceful and relaxing break. I sometimes think I could live there, but then I return home and remember all the wonderful things I love about where I live in my little peace of bushland heaven.

Last but not least

This is the last of the 3 quilts for the cruise. I designed them specificially for the cruise to mark the occasion. Australia, New Zealand and Fiji and Noumea are all captured within these three quilts. (The New Zealand and Pacific Island version of "In the Round" are shown in earlier posts). The cruise is getting exciting close...and still so much to prepare. I love the far flung places I get to visit when I'm teaching. I'm off to Norfolk Island at the end of this week to teach at the Quilt Norfolk Getaway. 10 days of heaven. This is another place I could certainly be happy to retire to.

In the Misty Mountains

The Misty Mountain Getaway was really enjoyable. I taught three workshops over five days and visited Bellingen on my day off. I think I now know where I want to retire to. Thanks ladies for a wonderful week THe photo is the view from the balcony at the Dangar Falls Lodge (home to the tutors for our stay In Dorrigo. Wonderful

South Pacific Island

We'll be visiting Noumea and Fiji,so this quilt now joins the New Zealand Quilt as one of the project options onboard our upcoming Quilting Cruise. I'll quilt it over the next few days and this will give it extra appeal. 27 ladies some with their others halves are booked in - there's room for just a few more. I have an Aussie version of this quilt, look back in a few days for a photo of this.

Spring is nearly here

I can almost feel it in the air, it's probably behind the wind we had today. What better time than spring to travel and spend time with other like minded souls. There are still some vacancies for the Norfolk Island Quilting Getaway in October. I'll be teaching there and hubby will be carrying my bags (he figured someone has to do it). We love Norfolk, can't wait. The Quilters Getaway will see dedicated quilters and patchworkers from Australia and New Zealand master their craft in a series of classes with skilled tutors Meg Orr, Michelle Yeo, Meredith Budd and myself teaching participants a range of designing and fabric art skills. Quilting organisers say Norfolk Island provides the perfect setting for a craft event. Norfolk’s beautiful landscapes, vistas and rich history help get the creative juices flowing and inspire plenty of new themes and designs. More good news … there is now a new special deal just released for Quilter’s Getaway dates reducing prices by over $350 per person. Please share this info with your Quilting friends, as October is a popular time to visit Norfolk Island flights and rooms are limited please email to enquire or let us know ASAP if you’d like to join us. There is a link to Quiltnorfolks web site at the bottom of this page or contact me for more details. I hope you can make it. Norfolk is a great holiday destination.

Going back to Goat Island

Years ago, in the late 70's / early 80's my parents lived on Goat Island. It's right in the middle of Sydney Harbour on the Western side of the Harbour Bridge with views of the Harbour Bridge, Barangaroo and Luna Park to the front and Balmain and Balls Point to the rear. Dad worked for the Maritime Services board at the time and took the opportunity to live in one of the 5 houses on the island. Visiting was always enjoyable, Goat Island is steeped in convict history and a really beautiful place with stunning views. My kids were young and really enjoyed roaming the island. I always enjoyed the view from the house, straight under the harbour bridge. We owned a small yacht at the time and often sailed there from middle harbour...I could go on and on....memories....! Access was of course by boat, either the Maritime Services boat across to Balmain or a Water Taxi to Circular Quay. The Island is now a National Park and access is only by organised tour. My beautiful daughters organised for the three of us to join a tour to celebrate my 60th birthday. I had a great day and my girls showed obvious enjoyment as they re-discovered their old playground. The house mum and dad lived in is the one of the left hand side. I took the photo showing the house earlier this year from onboard the Sea Princess as we pulled away from Barangaroo on our way to New Zealand and the other was taken of the three of us by our tour guide from the front of the Island, just forward of mum and dads old house.

Take a trip one day, you won't be disappointed.

New Zealand themed quilt

You've heard it before! Dorothy Clee and I will be teaching on a quilting cruise to Noumea Fiji and New Zealand early next year. This has had me busily designing a New Zealand themed project to keep the quilters busy. The Pacific Island themed quilt is just a few late nights away. Check out Dorothy Clee's blog to see what she has been designing for the cruise at russelleebnb-russellee.blogspot.com There is a link to Dorothy's blog at the bottom of this page. The 14 day cruise leaves mid January next year...6 months worth of sleeps to go! I'd love for you to join us.

What else have I been doing?...well I've had a big birthday complete with lots of cake, champagne, lunches with friends, morning tea with my wonderful thoughtful students, a weekend away, a harbour cruise with my beautiful daughters and dinners with friends and relies. It's turning out to be more of a birthmonth rather than a birthday. I share my birthday with my oldest grandaughter Tegan who is exactly 50 years younger than me, so there is also a special celebration planned just for us birthday girls. Can't wait.

Postcards from the Cruise

We all send postcards home while we are on holiday right? Yes, that's what I thought, so I've designed some cards for the ladies to make while on the Quilting Cruise to Noumea Fiji and New Zealand. I'm hoping that some of these cards, which will be made while sailing between Fiji and New Zealand will be stamped and posted from Auckland back to friends and relies in Oz. Dorothy Clee and I have some intersting projects lined up for the cruise and looking forward to it immensly. Travelling on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship "Voyager of the Seas" we set sail for 14 days of cruising and quilting early next year. I'm sure hubby will find plenty of things to do while I'm teaching, cruising is our favourite holiday.

The New Quilt Exhibition - Manly Art Gallery

My textile piece "Banksia" is a part of the exhibition along with 22 other interesting textile works. The theme is Regeneration and I eagerly responded to the call for entries with a proposal for a piece that depicts the wonderfully natural regenerative powers of the Banksia. Bushfire is part of every Australian summer and the Banksia is one of the marvels of naurally occurring bushfire regeneration. It not only survives the bushfire, it reacts positively to it. My textile work is set on a background of low contrast machine quilting, the beauiful yellow/gold flowers are brought to life with cotton and sik fabrics, embellished with silk ribbon and a variety of threads. The seed pods are textured with the aid of wire form, while red silk ribbon and metallic threads depict the fire. Each of the entries is accompanied by a display box, with details of the initial concept and documentation of the process.

The entry process for this exhibition was very intersting. Rather than submitting an existing work for consideration. The requirements were for a proposal for a new work to fit in with the theme "Regeneration". This process really appealed to me as I'm a bit of a control freak and start most of my new works with fairly detailed sketches and collections of fabrics and other materials. Of course the final outcome more often than not will be significantly different to the original idea as the pieces takes hold of its own destiny, however I still find that the initial sketching and gathering together of materials is a useful one. I was delighted to be accepted and enjoyed the process of making the piece and documenting every stage in order to provide samples and photos for the display case. The exhibition will be on until 3rd June and there are opportunities to meet with some of the artists on Sunday 13th May and for Exhibition tours on 27th May and 3rd June at 3pm.

Quilt Cruise

How about joining Dorothy Clee and myself as tutors on a 14 night Quilting Cruise to Noumea, Fiji and New Zealand early next year?

I've recently returned from a cruise around New Zealand and had a really great time.

Addicted to quilting for years and now I'm also addicted to cruising.
I'd like to share my passion for these activities with you. 8 full days at sea means you'll have the option to participate in 8 days of workshops, plus trips to quilt shops on many of our days in port.
14 days of luxurious and relaxing travel, on the Royal Caribbean Line's - Voyager of the Seas. from $2430 American $'s.
Let me know if you'd like further details.

I'll post some of the photos I took on my recent cruise very soon.