April 2019 (3), Nantes, France, more on Pour l'Amour du Fil

My third blogpost about April, and my second about the quilt show in Nantes, Pour l’amour du Fil.

Last blogpost I shared a few of my favorite exhibitions, but there was so much more to see …. and to do!

There were the booths, 

at Petra Prins’ (click) , always beautiful and so much inspiration:-

also ‘across the street’ at Den Haan & Wagenmakers (click):-

another favorite, antiques and vintage at Jane Lury (click) :-

and beautiful colors everywhere:-

Quilters do not (just) see a lovely dress at this booth…..

…but vintage fabric!

Quilt shows are a great opportunity to meet people, the ones you meet in person for the first time:

 Will (click) 

 and those you ‘bump into’ from time to time 😊 

the lovely Rachel Daisy (click) 

always smiling and full of energy: Juud (click & click) .

There were more quilts to see other than the ones in the exhibitions, like the lovely and quilt Arlington Square by Emma Mary Newman of Emma Mary Designs (click) which could be seen in the Bloggers Corner.
Emma is also the owner of the Queen of Fabric shop (click) in Melbourne.
You can find the pattern for this quilt in Quiltmania #130.

Design talent runs in Emma’s family as she is the daughter of Judy Newman (click) , whose latest quilt Strafford Manor was in Quiltmania’s booth, scroll down for more

With all this walking, talking, meeting people, visiting the exhibitions, you need a break now and then and some yummy food!

Our energy levels restored after that great quiche Emma (click) and I attended Judy’s (click) workshop, the Strafford Manor quilt you saw before, isn’t is beautiful?

Applique tips and tricks!

  

After a fabulous few days in Nantes and at this show, we were sad to leave, but this was not the end of my quilting adventures in April!

More in my next blogpost, hope to meet you again here!

Phyllis

August 2018

August still had some great summer weather, but later in the month things cooled down a bit, which made it a lot better for some quilty activities.

But before that there were still some summer outings with Whopper, he loves those evenings on the beach.

On one of those very warm summer days I drove down to Marcha’s shop (click) for her Open House. I was not the only one to drive that way, unfortunately I arrived rather late because of the traffic jams, which meant that I had to miss lunch as I was expected at Karen Styles’ (click & click) workshop shortly after my arrival.

Luckily, Yvonne (click), who was there to promote her book, came to my aid with some sweets, enough to give me that sugar rush to enjoy Karen’s workshop. 

Karen’s workshop was about tips and tricks to make clamshells , which she used in her beautiful Okehampton quilt.

As I had never made clamshells before I found the workshop really helpful, when I ever want to use these in a project, I know exactly what to do.

It was fun seeing Karen again, after our days at Emma’s (click) and in Paris in the spring (click).

Because of my late arrival I had less time than planned to look around at Marcha’s Open House, but there was lots to see (here are a few pictures from the quilt exhibition), to do, to eat and drink and of course I did want to do some shopping.

Karen’s Circle of Sisters quilt is always a star attraction!

It’s fun to see Marcha’s shop-quilt grow, quite a few additions during the Open Days I am sure, I am somewhere in the middle:

Two days later I traveled in another direction to Juud (click), we spent the day (another hot one) sitting outside in the morning working on our Judy Newman projects, so we called it our ‘Judy Day’. 

After lunch it became a too hot to be outdoors so we moved inside, imagine that. Practically the whole year we want to be outside and then when we can it can get so hot you prefer to be indoors….

Multi-talented Juud in ‘domestic goddess’ – mode in her kitchen, making us a yummy and healthy dinner which we enjoyed in the garden 😊 

The end of a lovely day, with lots of chatting and sewing and looking ahead to all sorts of fun quilty things in the future.

So this month I started a Judy Newman quilt, for me it just had to be the Sugar Plum quilt. During the days when Judy was at Emma’s (click) and I was helping out, I saw this quilt the whole time and of all the quilts Judy brought with her, this is the one that represents those wonderful days in France most, the happy, airy, light colors, the cheerfulness of it all.

So far this is what I have done and using Judy’s templates and book, the curved seems are really not difficult at all.

Thank you for visiting my blog,

Phyllis

May 2018, France, Judy Newman

The second part of May brought yet another trip to France. Again to help out my friend Emma (click) who was hosting Judy Newman for a two-day workshop at her quilt shop Le Patchwork d'Emma (click) in Gauchy/St. Quentin.

I had met Judy briefly during the Nantes show and Emma and I met her again – a bit longer this time – at the Houston show last year and was really looking forward to seeing her and her quilts again.

Because both Judy and I arrived a few days before the workshop we had lots of time to chat, to sew and get to know each other, much to our surprise Judy and I found out we had quite a lot in common.

It was a delight to get to know Judy and her quilts. Judy, Emma and I spent hours talking and I can honestly say I fell in love with her quilts and her approach to making quilts.

During the days of the workshop the atmosphere in Emma’s light and airy shop/atelier was buzzing with ladies from Germany and the UK joining in as well, I think the pictures will speak for themselves:

On the Sunday morning a brocante was being held in the village and as neither Judy nor I had every visited one we just had to go. As it was a workshop day it meant getting up really early but it was worth it!

Not in the least to see that sunrise from ‘my’ bedroom window at Emma’s. That view (and the quiet) never ceases to amaze me, I always spend some time looking out the window every morning I wake up there and every evening before I go to bed.

 So we walked a few streets to the brocante and got there at 6.30 when a lot of people were still setting up.

We found some treasures for a few Euro’s. Just to give you an idea, Judy fell in love with a yellow milk jug, but they made her buy the whole set for…. E 3.- ! It turned out to be a Villeroy & Boch coffee set, Judy would have loved to have taken the whole set back home to Australia with her, but that was a bit unpractical so she decided to keep the milk jug and leave the rest of the set at Emma’s boutique, where it fitted so well with the retro kitchen.

Later that day in the kitchen of Le Patchwork d’Emma:

I guess the yellow brocante milk jug was maybe a birthday present to herself because later that day we celebrated her recent birthday with a cake from the local boulangerie and – of course – a glass of that nice sparkly stuff

Judy’s show & tell that day was held in the garden of Emma’s shop

And then it was back to work, Judy showing us some (for me) new techniques.

Well, this is why: during the workshop – with much help from Judy as I am not very handy in this respect – I made a Judy’s Dilly Bag!

After these wonderful days at Emma’s Judy and I traveled back to The Netherlands together where she went on to teach at Petra Prins’ (click to Juud’s blog to read al about it).

To my surprise Judy presented me with this beautiful pouch as a thank you for organising her travel (no problem) and travelling with her (it was a joy and I was headed in that direction anyway 😊  ) there really was no need, I was quite taken aback by this beautiful present. I love it and I will cherish it.

A tangible reminder of very special days,

Phyllis