The Carnival is Over.......

Our lovely Spring Carnival finished this weekend... and we had some hot summer weather to prove it!  I spoke to a few gardeners and they get their gardens all lovely especially for the carnival and then left till the next year - obviously the mature perennials do stay in but it does seem sad they are in all their glory just for 2 weeks.... however, we are lucky enough to go and have a snoop....

On Saturday morning I went to the Embroiders show which they hold every 2 years - I have to say this was my outstanding event - the work is incredible..... unfortunately no photographs were allowed .... but the $5 price included a cup of tea and a plate to eat....

the little lemon tarts were just divine..... I should have paid another entrance fee and had more!! haha

Hubz and I then visited some more gardens.... mostly annuals and I'll just add these pretty pictures for you....

.. one of the public gardens was Boyce Gardens - open all the time and we have never been - lots of lovely huge trees and mature plants to see and lovely to see it so well maintained by USQ

We planted a protea like this - but we killed ours... must try again.... they are lovely picked as well as on the bush....

... all around town the azaleas are looking stunning (except in my dry garden!)

... another garden full with annuals and lovely little pieces of interest...

No machine sewing blocks were done last week ....

I have this little block done for the No-Fuss SAL

... and my cottage for Gardeners Journal took all week sewing in the evenings plus some Friday nights... that fence and roof took aaaaaagggggeeeesssss......

It's a lovely picture though - I will be choosing a nice little block next.

Righto, Gotto Go.... Monday is here ....  

Hope you all have a lovely week......

... and more......

Tuesday was a full day of looking at crafty/quilty things...  following what we saw in my previous post we went to the private home of Robyn Ginn, an extraordinary and prolific quilter..... I thought it was so generous to open her house to everyone.  

These next pictures are just a small selection of what we could see ....

how fun is this one full of happy faces....

there was lots of crazy patchwork quilts... amazing work on them....

I did enjoy these big bold flowers....

... even the veranda edging was covered with quilts....

.... almost all hand applique and hand quilting...

... the bunting made from doilies was fun....

another big bold design ....

I did love this one in reds, blues and white....

a huge one depicting the story of Moses - what a lot of detail - I could have spent hours looking at it.... and there was another similar one about Joseph and his coat of many colours...

... another favourite of mine.... so much detail in here....

this one was completely hand pieced to avoid stretching these diamonds cut on the bias.... 

Amazing, amazing.....   a very well worth visit....

Our last visit for the day was to Toowoomba Quilters show which displays work by their members...

There were of course lots of quilts - here are just a few ....

... loved the angles in this quilt - and the quilting....

I really want to get lots of this lovely blue shibori fabric.....

I know this one was done by Lyn Crump as we spoke to her about it (whilst I drooled with quilt envy at her work and her machine!)  I think it was my favourite on display there....

... how effective is this one with that busy fabric in the background and then striking NYB blocks....

... a proper size wedding ring quilt.... so pretty...

a big view of community quilts, challenge quilts, and teddies....

I fell in love with this mini.... done by Lyn Lloyd (I didn't get the names of the others (many apologies) but this one has it's tag nearby)

... effective use of rainbow scraps?

... and another scrap quilt....

... lots of very sweet teddy's....

.. this years challenge was a vase of flowers - everyone was given a 5" square of fabric which was to be used in the vase..... so many very clever ones...

... the detail on this one was amazing....

... it was my favourite - and it had won first place but there were no names on them...

This one was so interesting......

... look at all that hand stitching....

I was overwhelmed by the end of the day with all that I had seen..... and of course I want to do some of all of them.....

Well worth it and I am already looking forward to seeing what is coming up for next year...

Righto, Gotta Go..... 

A day out....

Part of our Carnival time is lovely quilty crafty activities going on....

Yesterday was a day out doing these things..... lots of pictures - few words needed...

fancy tea sets...

... and quirky too....

beautiful cups and saucers...

(does anyone have an idea what this kind of cabinet would have been made for originally... can you see there are holes in the shelves just above the square spaces?)

teatowels around all the walls....

there was also Devonshire tea and scones but they got gobbled too quick for a pic!

... and quilts in the church

Then we went into the city where the Spinners and Weavers had lots of lovely things wool and crafty set out...

someone was starting this very artistic piece....

and in the church was some beautiful flower arrangements - the theme was Sound of Music nad you can see a wire guitar in this arrangement...

flowers and stain glass windows - very pretty....

the front looked beautiful too....

Since we were in the city we popped into the City Hall which houses this lovely big quilt which was made by a group of quilters in 2000 (I think - I should have taken a picture of the notes)

There are a number of historic buildings around the city depicted as well as plants.  Its a real work of art and took a group of quilters 4 years to make...

they had decorated the inside of the hall prettily for Carnival time...

and had some previous Carnival queen robes and crowns on display

Next stop was Fairholme college Homestead where a local quilter/embroiderer Leona Sweeney is the featured artist.

Some hand crafted cross-stitch Christmas decorations - just sooooooo beautiful and probably my most favourite things to see for the day...

also framed pieces so beautifully done - really tiny tiny stitches....

this is her Stonefields quilt....

.. and a few blocks closer...

... another beautiful quilt....

.. which I had been lucky enough to play with.....

I took a close up - you can't see much of the quilting (which is what was the plan)

Leona's mini quilts are astoundingly precise....

those logs in the cabins are only 1/4" thick....

this little quilt was about 8 x 6" I think... so sweet

more examples of her mini quilts...

this one is full size....

A lot of her work is hand quilted - so soft and beautiful

A stunning display...

We did have some very lovely sandwiches here for lunch - but they got gobbled up too quick for a pic!

We did shop too ..... found these cute little hair pins at the Spinners and Weavers but used it as a brooch.....

Got so many comments about them as we went around ....

We all got one.....

Someone thought we must be sisters (though we all look totally different) until they heard my accent - I explained that I was adopted - but they just got a blank look..... not sure why?

Righto, Gotto Go... that wasn't the end of the day but I'll do more pics of quilts from 2 other displays.... how spoilt are we here to have all this to look at...