Leanne's House

Happy Australia Day!

It's our national day of celebration today - Australia Day! I hope you enjoy it if you're here in Australia. Here's a bit of a hint about the next cover of Vignette, featuring the very Australian, pink flowering gumtree:

The next issue of Vignette magazine (out 1st March) has a 'Country Victoria' feel about it. Some of the best patchwork stores are to be found in the countryside of Australia and Issue 6 features two very different, yet both inspiring stores. For many women around country Australia their local patchwork store is their haven and their gathering place, not just a place to purchase fabric and supplies:

So if you are celebrating today with a nice glass of wine (or maybe an Aussie beer) have a 'cheers' to the great Aussie Country Patchwork store and the women that own those stores and work there. They deserve it:

Leanne Beasley xxx

Happy Chinese New Year...

As much as I love a celebration I love the 'getting ready' part of celebrating, getting ready for Christmas, getting ready for a holiday, getting ready for a birthday. I was lucky enough to be in Singapore last week while everyone there was getting ready for Chinese New Year:

The stores were filled with all kinds of beautiful, colourful lanterns and decorations. I had to buy just a few! Like this beautiful one:

 

The streets of Chinatown in Singapore were just so beautiful; of course my camera was clicking at almost every turn:

This Chinese New Year is the Year of the Dragon. It was really interesting finding out all about 'The Year of the Dragon' while I was there. That also meant lots of dragon decorations too:

I've had a ball in the last few days decorating my home with a few Chinese lanterns, red flowers, fruit and other items to celebrate Chinese New Year. I think learning about other cultures is really interesting and fun (although my family think I'm a little crazy decorating for Chinese New Year when we're not Chinese!). There's lots we can learn from different cultures; and I love the idea of my family sharing a chicken tonight to represent family unity, I've even roped Mum and Dad into it!

Leanne Beasley xxx

Imagine.... Mauritius.

After the amazing success of "Imagine... Vietnam" in 2011, we are extremely excited to be able to finally release the details of our second "Imagine..." retreat which is to be held in stunning Mauritius from the 15th to the 22nd August 2012

This is an exciting opportunity for any of you (from any corner of the globe) to join Rosalie Quinlan, Melly Dekker and Myself in a week of complete indulgence!  Mauritius is an opportunity to escape to a beautiful tropical paradise. Enjoy the extravagant luxury of the Paradis resort, set on the picturesque Le Morne Peninsula. Spend your time as you desire, with a group of like minded women. Come with us to the craft bazaars, sit and stitch, walk amongst the most amazing nature, and experience a wonderful cultural diversity, amidst some of the most welcoming people in the world. 

In the right side bar you will see the "Imagine... Mauritius" button.  Please click on this to download the itinerary and registration information.  We are very excited to have our amazing Travel Agent Escort, Annette Dal Sasso, coming along with us again. All bookings and queries can be directed to her as per the details on the registration form.  If you are traveling from a destination other than Australia, please still contact Annette as she can organise your trip from wherever you are based.

This really is going to be a trip to remember and we hope you can join us!

So excited and tempted to pack our bags already...

Leanne

A Brief Trip To The Country...

Four days in the country on a photo shoot with Rosie was just too much fun to even vaguely be called work. Although we did work like a couple of mad women to bind a quilt to photograph. I would LOVE to show you the quilt (you know how bad I am at keeping secrets!) but I'll just give you a little hint with the binding:

There was lots of driving through the beautiful Australian landscapes that I love so much:

We visited some stores that you will get a chance to look at, and read about, in Issue Six of Vignette. This one is traditional and very unique in the amazing quilts, kits, books, and fabrics they stock:

Then there was the part that I enjoy the most in putting together each issue, the front cover photoshoot!! Just a little, tiny, small, hint for you:

Well, back to it all now, lots and lots of fun left for me in pulling all the articles together. I hope that you will also enjoy a few projects in Issue Six by Rosalie Quinlan. Don't want to give it all away but the projects do go with her latest fabric range:

 

Until next time,

Leanne Beasley xxx

P.S. Just incase you didn't already know, you can catch up with me even more regularly, on face book :https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100001613592824. Look me up under Leanne Beasley and also Leanne's House.

Vignette Issue Five...

First, let me say a HUGE 'thank you' to all of you who have let me know how much you are enjoying Vignette, and especially Issue Five. As lots of you know, I love what I get to do, and it is just great to have you all out there along for the journey:

Like many of you who have undertaken the 'Vignette In Stitches' quilt, I am enjoying hours of stitching and applique! While you are working on earlier blocks I am stitching Blocks ten and eleven for Issue Six!

There's lots of cutting out in Issue Five, but I promise you that when you get to Issue Six you will be happy - there will not be a thing to cut out!!! If you are cutting out your applique leaves, remember to mark on them if they are 'leaf one' or 'leaf two' shape. One is a little bigger than the other, but this will help you when you get back to it all later.

I will share lots more of Vignette Issue Five with you over the next few blog posts as I slowly catch up to myself after planning out next year!

Many of you are urgently awaiting information on Imagine...2012! Annette, Rosie, Melly and I are busily putting together a fantastic trip for those of you wishing to join us. There are still fine details to be arranged and as you know - we want it to be perfect!!! So, please bear with us for a few more days! We will let you know asap!

Leanne Beasley xxx

Set Up Day At Australian Quilt Market...

Australian Quilt Market is our biggest trade fair here in Australia, and it is our opportunity to showcase our work over the last year, as well as all our new releases, to the stores across Australia, and those that visit from overseas. It's a great feeling when the stand is finally ready at the end of Set Up Day:

When you first arrive and it begins like this, it all feels very overwhelming:

Then after lots of hours of teamwork it ends up like this!!!:

And this:

And This:

 

Now I have made my chicken sandwiches for lunch tomorrow (from the recipe in Vignette) and am ready to head off for a good nights sleep, and then up early, and back into the city of Melbourne for a great weekend!

Leanne Beasley xxx

 

Vignette Issue Five Is Out!

It's out and on it's way to your local patchwork store:

I will be back to tell you more, and with lots more photos, but I am currently having problems with Internet Explorer that I need to explore!

Here's hoping that you will enjoy Issue 5 and add it to your Vignette collection. I am off now to continue organising myself for Australian Quilt Market this weekend which is very exciting!

Have been a little absent from my blog of late but I hope you will forgive me. I had a wonderful time on our stitching retreat in Vietnam, and then came back to finish Vignette for you, then took a week off to spend some time with my hubby and kids (think they deserved it!). It was a computer free/studio free week at their request and we all know a rest is good for the soul.

So I'm back now and all yours once again!

Leanne Beasley xxx

P.S. Before you ask, Vignette is available from all good patchwork stores and online stores as well, worldwide. Check my lefthand sidebar for stores that stock or head to www.underthemulberrytree.com for online orders, or drop in for a visit there at Unit 3/91 Dorset Road Ferntree Gully, Victoria - the store is downstairs and all new any shiny and stocks all the products that myself, Melly and Rosalie love to use. (I'm sure you will need Natalie's latest range of fabric featured on the cover of this issue too!)

 

Off to Vietnam...

I am so excited to be heading off to Vietnam in the morning!! Of course, there are 30 other sewing women coming along for the trip of a lifetime with Melly, and me, and Annette from Port Travel. For those of you joining us, you are going to experience a true delight of the senses. Amazing colours that are so stunning your eyes will hardly believe it:

Foods you won't even recognise, but will delight your taste buds when you try them:

Fragrance everywhere, especially the scent of incense; from the temples to the gardens in our resort:

And, not only will you see foods that you have never seen before, and maybe have a go at trying them; you will also have the opportunity to cook them on the morning we get up (very) early and head to the market, buy our ingredients, and take them 'home' to the resort and have a cooking lesson with the chef:

Then, after you have let your inner 'Masterchef' out, you can simply head to the beach, right about here:

We have lots of things planned where we can meet the locals and delight in their way of life. On one of the days we will be joined by two ladies who work at the Embroidery House in Nha Trang, a very respected tradition. We will get to talk to them and casually find out about why sewing is such an important part of their lives. The next day we will go and visit them at the Embroidery House and enjoy some memorable times there:

 

Last time I was in Nha Trang I met one of my mentors, Long Than, an amazing photographer who works only in black and white, and has photos in galleries all around the world. Think I might sneak off for a visit back to his studio:

Vietnam will change you. You will never see the world in quite the same way again. Maybe it's the people, the food, the lifestyle, the colours, the fragrances, the mix of intriguing religions, the all consuming heat; maybe it's just a combination of all those things. You are really and truly in for the adventure of a lifetime...

Until the morning,

Leanne Beasley xxx

 

 

Photos and Fun...

Today has been all about photos (a.k.a. fun!). There's deciding on final photos for Vignette Issue 5 (yes, due out December 1 but lots of work to do before it heads to the printer!):

(Don't you love 'Woodland' - the first range of fabric from Natalie Lymer of Cinderberry Stitches - printed by Lecien of Japan).
Trying to pick photos that I love, from an interview for Issue 5 of Vignette:

(Holly Wolfe Designs - pictured - latest stitchery 'Boy and Bird)

The odd nature shot for good measure on a great weather day:

And a photo shoot for Rosalie's new pattern (which I know you will love!):

(The kit pictured is on pale pink hanky linen stitched with a divine Cosmo varigated thread and is to help raise funds for breast cancer).

Lots of 'photo picking' left to do tonight - one of my favourite things!!

Leanne Beasley

P.S. This time next week I will be in Vietnam!!!

 

 

 

Only Ten More Sleeps...

Until Vietnam girls! To those of you ladies joining us on our trip to Vietnam we officially have 10 sleeps left! If you are one of the ladies starting your journey from an airport other than Melbourne you have a 'Plane Pack' on its way to you (registered mail):

You can either have a sneek peek before the airport (please don't give away the surprise though!) or keep your parcel until you get to the airport!

Woo Hoo!

Leanne Beasley