Big move...

... coming up for us. I have been offered a very cool job in Brisbane, Australia, starting in January, and we have decided to accept it. So the big move is on!!!

If anyone has any suggestions about

• how to move and stay sane
• reliable and reasonably priced moving companies
• 'nice' suburbs and great (state) schools in Brisbane
• 'must connect with' Quilting groups and shops in Brisbane, as well as
• any tips and tricks for moving from NZ to AUS

please send them this way, we will need all the help we can get :)

Not much sewing going on I'm afraid but lots of sorting out, packing up etc....

Hope you are more productive than I am! Happy Sewing!

Around the World Blog Hop

The lovely Suz from All the Good Ones are Taken - quilter, neighbour and friend - has asked me to join her in the Around the World Blog Hop. It's been a long time since I have taken part in a blog hop, so let's see how we'll go:

1. What am I working on?

I haven't done much lately, but I have out both the Tokyo Subway Map quilt that still needs more echo swirls as well as Whakapapa I for which I have a lot of ideas but not found the time and 'muse' yet to continue on.

Tokyo Subway Map - WIP - 2013 - 2014

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I like to design my own pieces, but I usually only make one of a particular design - it's a bit like "been there, done that". Often I use bright colours:

I love batiks though they can give me grief with quilting at times due to the tight weave. Lately I have been doing a lot of heavy quilting on many of my pieces. Quite often I have a purpose and finished size in mind and work from that. While some projects develop over time, sometimes I just know what it needs to look like.

3. Why do I write/create what I do? 

I have always liked creating things. I like the touch of fabric, maybe that is one of the reasons why I struggle to buy material online? Quilting is 'me time', it gives me a chance to create, to play, to simply have a good time :)

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

I don't often work from a pattern nowadays - recent exceptions include Spring Fling and Tokyo Subway Map.

Springfling 2014

There is usually some kind of spark, sometimes a Challenge theme like "free" or "ten" from the AQC in 2013 and 2014, 

Uni{que}versal 2014

or just an idea like Against the Odds,

Against the Odds 2011

or something I have seen like Whakapapa I

Whakapapa I - WIP - 2014 (apologies for the poor quality photograph)

which was inspired by our trip to Germany in 2013. Sometimes I know straight away what has to happen, sometimes a piece will sit for a long time before inspiration strikes. I have yet to completely abandon a big project. Suz and I often laugh how size is one of the starting points for me (she takes quite a different approach :D). 

Thanks for joining me for this Blog Hop! To continue it I have asked Rona from Layer upon Layer and Bente from I like to Quilt to hop on next week - please check out their posts on 8 Sept!