Winners and Another Competition!!!

Hi Girls! This afternoon my Mum and my little Georgia drew out the names from the 'Leftover Butterfly Garden Fabric Competition'. The winners are:

Lissa Jane, Sally (the one from South Carolina), Nancy, and Janine (who as per her comment "won't have to take her four girls under 6 into the patchwork shop now"), can you please email me your snail mail addresses so I can pop your parcels in the post. Congratulations!

Now many of you have said you will miss my blog for the next little bit while I'm off teaching in Norway. I'll miss many of you too but I am just SO EXCITED to be meeting all those lovely Norwegian bloggers and quilters. I feel like I'm going to meet up with old friends. Isn't it wonderful how so many of us have made connections through wonderful blogland?! So I'm sure if you click over to Abyquilt and Hanne's Quilt Corner while I'm away you'll be able to see what I'm up to via their blogs (more links from their blogs too of other Norwegian bloggers).

Now many (okay, heaps and heaps) of you have asked if you could just squeeze into my suitcase. Seeing as this isn't quite possible (there's just too many quilts in there) I have decided to do a special little competition while I'm away. When I return I will put together a parcel which will have all the patterns that I am teaching in Norway ('Peace and Plenty', 'The Waverley Bag', 'Friendship's Basket')some of which haven't been released yet. And because I know how much everyone would like to be part of the 'Butterfly Garden' Workshop and have a block designed exclusively for them I will ask the winner to email a garden photo or two and I will design two blocks for the winner for their quilt. It will be a 4" square and so will also fit into many of my other quilt patterns so you can use it a few times if you like.

I will also draw out an additional 5 names and they will win an individually designed block for their quilts. To enter, simply leave a comment before I return.

Of course, I promise to take thousands of photos (don't think I'm joking!) to share with all of you.

Thankyou to each of you who have wished me well for my journey, your wishes are in my heart.

Leanne Beasley xxx

Too excited to sleep...

So I have been up designing some blocks for the girls coming to see me when I am in Norway! There are quite a few lovely ladies coming to do a 'Butterfly Garden' Workshop. We are going to have so much fun and I have already started designing individual blocks for some of the ladies that I know from wonderful cyberspace (maybe you know them too):

This is what I do when I can't sleep:

 

If you are one of the ladies coming to the workshop, and you would like a stitchery block like one of these, then bring along a photo from your garden (this way it will fit in with the 'Butterfly Garden' design) and we can design one!

I have also been busy packing. I have decided less clothes (and shoes!) and more quilts and things! So if you see my photos when I get back and I have the same clothes on all the time, you will know why!

The draw is tommorow, well later today, seeing as it's almost 2am now!Who needs to sleep, I"ll do that on the plane!

Leanne Beasley xxx

P.S. Please forgive me if I don't answer comments and emails for the next few days. I'll be busy jumping up and down on my suitcase trying to fit that extra quilt in!

5 Sleeps To Go...

Yes, and then I will be in Norway! (well after more than 30 hours on the plane that is). One of the lovely ladies in Norway put me onto a website where you can check the weather there. So I went to the website and had a bit of a check. I then promptly went shopping and purchased this:

I think I look ready now. The weather is not much above zero in Trysil it seems at the moment.

While out walking I came across one of the inspirations for 'Butterfly Garden', a local 'Butterfly Bush' (or Buddleia) and it looked so lovely in the fog I though I'd share it with you:

Now, you have all been so kind with leaving lovely comments about the quilt that while cleaning up my studio floor (hubby was asking if we'd be able to walk on it now that the quilt is finished, which translates as "clean up in there!")that I thought I'd do a bit of a give away, because I did get all that fabric off the floor:

So there are four bundles of my scraps to give away. This would be a nice start to your quilt if you'd like to use similar colors to me.

Just leave a comment before this Wednesday (the 17th) and you'll be in the draw (and my hubby will be happy because there will less fabric in the studio!).

I'd love to hear comments about your studio, what your loved ones think about your fabric stash, or I'd especially love any travel tips that are going!

Chat soon,

Leanne Beasley xxx

P.S. I am busily preparing for Norway but I will get to all those emails in my inbox over the next few days - promise!

It's done!!!

Yes, finally, 'Butterfly Garden' is complete!!!!!:

Isn't the quilting beautiful?:

My friend Melinda did the most incredible job of quilting it. As always, she knew how to make the stitchery and applique stand out and simply be enhanced by her quilting. I was so overwhelmed to see what she had turned it into I had tears in my eyes - thankyou Mel!:

Here it is nailed (yes, I know you shouldn't nail your quilt to your wall but, well, no excuses really)to the studio wall:

I really must do that Photoshop course (in my spare time - LOL) and learn how to crop photos!

The patterns will be out in a few weeks (in November), I will let you know, and of course do a give-away of a full set of patterns.

Isn't a finished quilt a wonderful feeling?!!

Leanne Beasley xxx

The stitching is done!

There once was a girl from Ferny Creek

Who stitched and stitched and stitched all week

Then when at last her work was done

She thought it was time for a little fun

(So she did a blog entry and had a glass of Chardonnay!)

She also went a for a walk to get a nice big breath of fresh Spring air!

Oh dear, can you tell I'm a little bit tired!? I have FINALLY finished stitching all the 'Butterfly Garden' blocks and so now the quilt is in nine blocks! It was just too dark by the time I finished sewing to get the right light for the photos, so that will be a job for tommorow.    

It was however lovely light for a quick walk before dinner and so I thought I'd share a few photos of a local street with you that I often go for walks down.

I love a Spring evening:

Whether it's Spring or Autumn (Fall) where you are I hope you had a lovely evening light like this.

Leanne Beasley xxx

                                                                        

Blues and mauves...

Hi Girls! I am so excited! I have been up stitching every night well into the wee hours to get 'Butterfly Garden' stitched. I actually really enjoy stitching in the middle of the night (I can watch what I like on the t.v.!) and drink tea and just 'be'. I seem to be stitching the blues and mauves at the moment:

And when I'm stitching during the day I get to peek outside my window:

Can you see what inpires me?!

I love my Spring garden:

Just everything's flowering at the moment:

And daisies, well, I guess I'm always inspired them!

Back to stitching (only 6 mini blocks to go!!!),

Leanne Beasley xxx

P.S. I did the daisy photo so you could put it on your computer as a screen saver if you like. Just right click on the photo and save!

365 Challenge Quilt (and Printmaking Class)...

(And I thought you might like a break from 'Butterfly Garden'). I haven't forgotten my 365 Challenge Quilt, I have been really busy and so I've been jotting down my daily happenings in my work diary (because I'm always writing bits in there anyway). So yesterday I did a bit of a catch up on the actual quilt:

 

My friend Melinda and I have been doing drawing classes this year and one of the things our teacher had us play with is using our color pencils on fabric. I found the best result is with freezer paper on the back for stability. I haven't done anything special, just added in some color with the pencils. I drew my little sketch with the permanent marker that I always use and then simply added in some pale blue for the eggs and a few browns and greens for the nest and branches.

I did say I was going to keep my quilt simple with just writing (so I would feel like I could actually get it done) but I just couldn't resist that extra bit of embellishing!

So seeing as I mentioned printmaking class, in the above block, I thought I'd show you a few photos from that:

My first print/etching:

And Rosie (she's been print making too) with our teacher, artist Eleanor Healy-Wills:

We've been having a lot of fun!:

 

Have a great day,

Leanne Beasley xxx

P.S. Many of you who live overseas have mentioned that it's been difficult to get a copy of my DVD (see left hand side of blog for more info) across the ocean. Good news: Honeysuckle Cottage has a limited amount in stock. They will mail to anywhere in the world!