Nundle Visit

 Kerry Swain’s  “Cottage on the Hill”  is a very special place to me as it was my very first retreat destination. For 10 years Kerry Swain held the annual “Girls Day in The Country” in the Nundle Hall and this was also the beginning of my blogging  journey. Kerry has turned the Cottage into a B &B , “THE BARN AT 417 ”  and she still has retreats in the smaller building. Her retreats are now BYO but it is still a beautiful location with the same friendly atmosphere. 

The Barn at 417. Ex Cottage on the Hill 

My quilting buddy Gail

Gail, Kerry and I 

fireplace 

 A beautiful garden 

The sewing Cottage now

Visitors and Finishes

This one is finally finished. I'm on a mission to get things finished and out of the cupboard.

 I have a few quilt tops to go. I quilted this one myself ( as I have shown you before) and now the bind is done. This one used some Kaffe Fassett fabrics  and was made with Kerry Swain at Cottage on the Hill.

In between preparing some Lucy Boston Blocks. Sandy from "Shiralee Stitches " does a great job with these I just wish I could sew them as fast as she sends them to me.

I have had 2 lots of unexpected  visitors over the last few days  " Chooky Blue"  , Donna and her hubby and Janis of "janimary" and her hubby .  Two different days of course. Was so nice to catch up with them all.  There was no stitching just a lovely chat over a meal. So nice to see them, thanks for calling girls.

New Cushions

I made some new cushions to match our pool area. I got this fabric from Kerry at "Cottage on the Hill ", Nundle.  I just love it and so I have added some pictures of the fabric selvedge because it so cool.

I love the birds as a colour palette.

August Retreat

Sorry to be a bit late with this post.  I had the best time on that weekend with some lovely ladies. Getting away,shopping, chatting, lunching and sewing at the lovely Cottage On the Hill . We stayed in the  new cabins at the Fossikers Tourist Park......very nice.

Good fun group of ladies 

"janimary" doing her stretches after a day of quilting .. LOL

 "shiraleestitches" working with Grey and pink.

Guess who sewing 

Some funny Jokes.....

and finished her bag on the comfy couch 

Chooky getting organised 

Started with this." little black Dress" by Moda 

Lots of diagonal strips and no the Union Jack is not mine ....lovely though!

Building a graduated quilt- more black to go yet....

A Little Creativity.

Stef ,Gail and I had a visit with Kerry at the "Cottage on the Hill

Twin quilts for my new twin bedroom when I redecorate  - bad photo they are very blue in real life

Our Senior art show was last night.  My niece was a model in this one . Very clever with photography...She was body painted then then an  image was projected and the photo taken...pretty cool.

This is one of her works- clever it is milk in paint.

This is another - folds of sheer fabric photographed in a special way - looks like an insect I think....may be ribs?

This is another of her works where she is a tribal bride...... I am so lucky to have  such a lovely and talented niece.

Many young people are so talented. I think I am lucky to work with them every day.... 


My sewing Bits and Bobs by Natalie Bird are almost complete. The cup bag still to be lined.

A sneak peek at a project from you know who....

Finally I leave you with another art work.. Ladies how would you like this in your laundry.......??????

Introducing a friend to quilts

Cottage on the  Hill Entrance - nice sign Kerry

We have just had the best weekend. I took a friend to Kerry's ( Cottage on the Hill) for the weekend to introduce her to quilting. I think she is now hooked. My friend Stef has never quilted before and has never sewn either so I think she did fantastically well. She did an amazing job and almost finished her quilt top. Kerry was her amazing helpful self and made us all feel really inspired and capable.

We shared the weekend with some ladies from Sydney and a local Tamworth lady, they were all lovely and we had a lot of fun.

The boys came with us so we made a real weekend of it.  We took the long way to Tamworth via Delungera to visit a winery there. We then drove around via Copeton Dam to Bingera , Barrabra, then onto Tamworth.  We wined and dined at the pub, the boy went trout fishing and to the Great Nundle dog races while we quilted. 

Stef's first quilt

My quilt

Stef and Jen quilts May 2012

Blocks, Benches and Books

QUIZ-Anyone know where this beautiful place is by chance???

We have had a very busy couple of weeks. My friend Gail and I got in a sewing weekend before she left to cruise  NZ... lucky.... I finished off the little boxes quilt I started at McIntyre Quilters months ago. I wanted to use some fabric from my stash however I am not sure my choice was as it should have been. Too much colour to see the boxes clearly.. oh well still a colourful quilt.  

"Little Boxes Quilt "pattern by Leesa Siegele

Sewing with a friend is best

We had our favourite local chippy build us a great bench in our outdoor room. Finally I can cover that ugly grease trap, those of you who have septic systems would know what I am talking about...  Covers lots of other things too because of the matchstick blinds we hung at the front.

Beautifully built by John

 Not so long ago Chooky let me know about blog books, she is wonderful, thanks Chooky. I took her up on the advice and ordered one . I love it, it's just like a year's diary. Well made and I thought fairly cheap. I am so looking forward to the Nundle weekend , can't wait to catch up with everyone.

My blog book- featuring the biggest event of our year