Sunday, March 30, 2008

Quilt Store - Amazing Array

Yesterday we visited the most amazing quilt store in Auchenflower, Queensland Aust. The range of fabrics was astonishing and it was wall to wall, up and down and around. They also had a huge assortment of threads. Caity got very excited about her favourite sewing thread King Tut and I went wild (again) for some more Kaffe Fassett fabric. Don't know what it is about that Kaffe, he gets me in every time. Sue got some gorgeous gelato coloured co-ordinating fabrics for a bag she intends to make. Caity also got some very dreamy Japanese fabrics to die for.
You could not walk out of that shop without seeing something to spend your money on.
As is usually the case, (must be an age thing- me being the oldest of the trio) I had to use their bathroom. So down I went to the basement of this store, with a few distrations along the way, and lo and behold, another goldmine of fabrics down there. Caity and Sue must have thought I had fallen in, as I had another long goosy gander down there at all the various fabrics, Christmas, reproductions, country, you name it, they had it. Also heaps of notions and trimmings. Oh my, can this be what heaven is like??
After feeling slightly overwhelmed with all on offer, and regretting we didn't allow another few hours for browsing, we headed off to the other side of Brisbane to attend the inaugural meeting of the Queensland Quilters Art Quilters. We saw some amazing show and tell art quilts from as small as ATC's to larger quilts.
They offered members a few challenges for the upcoming months, one of them being creating a journal quilt each month up until November.
I am a little tempted, but don't want to spread myself too thinly with our Toowoomba quilters exhibition coming up. A friend and I are going to offer to co-ordinate the sales table and that is a big job on it's own. Also, I don't know yet if art quilts is where I want to head right now. I am still an old fashioned type of gal and feel very sentimental and romatic about the whole history of the traditional quilt and quiltmaking.
Even so, I feel it is quite within my capablities to produce an art quilt and I am not ruling out having a go. I have been arting and crafting since a small child of about 6years. My earliest memory of creating is my very dear and patient paternal Grandma teaching me to knit. The result - a very crude, very short scarf. To this day, I still love knitting and crochet as a pastime.

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