Yes, I am Still Here!

I am not off buying fabric in Paris:

Or eating their never ending supply of heavenly cakes:

Or even snapping photos of lovers walking Parisien streets:

No, I am still here in my lovely little studio busily putting the finishing touches to all the 'Butterfly Garden' patterns (and Teacher's Notes, and Shop Guides, and etc.!).

I'm sorry if you've missed me (or you have one of those unanswered emails) but when I get into the nitty gritty of the finishing touches of my patterns it is you that I am thinking of. I fuss and bother and rewrite and redraw all the time thinking of you opening the packet, the crisp pages full of words and drawings from me. It has to be just right.

So I am back to it for now, I hope you understand, I know you will be glad when that first pattern arrives...

Back soon,

Leanne Beasley xxx

P.S. There will be more photos to come of my brief stop over in Paris on the way home from Norway.

Back to Norway...Trondheim

What a beautiful and inspiring place Trondheim is. I can tell you I did lots and lots of designs while here:

The photo above is just a tiny part of a florists shop in town.

The waterside and the buildings are just like a postcard:

And the shoe shops!!! Just have a look at those boots! Did I buy any? No - I tried on a whole lot (that's half the fun really anyway I think) but I just couldn't decide!:

Siw (owner of Quiltegarden) and Solvi (Siw's friend) took us to see 'Nidarosdomen', a most magnificent cathedral:

And the highlight:

Yes, getting to see the shop! Later that day I did a Trunk Talk which was lots of fun:

I met so many great ladies and they all made me feel so welcome!:

I hope you've enjoyed my little tour of Trondheim. If you'd like a peek at a few more photos click on the photo album in the left hand column.

Leanne Beasley xxx

P.S. Once again I'm well behind in my emails (so sorry)! I will get there! I also have drawn the winners for the competition that I ran while I was away, that will be a post for tommorow!

Yummy Things and Yummy Places...

I said I'd share a purchase or two from Australian Quilt Market. Well, of course, some of that purchasing had to be fabric:

I was very excited when I saw this fabric because it is the exact colours that I've decorated my home in, so I see a few 'Christmas Holiday' projects waiting for me (I really need new cushions and quilts for my living room)! It is the new Urban Chiks range coming soon called 'Swell'. Yummy!!!

Then today some of the Creative Abundance team got together at Glenharrow (where you may have been to, or seen on the blog, a 'Spring Stitch-In' or two that Rosie Quinlan and I have done there):

A true retreat in the hills on a 37 degree day:

Once again, I took a lot of photos today:

Lots of photos!:

And there's a few new friends there too:

Some miniature donkeys!

Glenharrow, the Creative Abundance team, new fabric, thousands of new ideas, life is good...

Leanne Beasley xxx

P.S. Will have more Norway stories very soon...

Together at last...

Wow! What a huge week it has been getting ready for Australian Quilt Market in Melbourne!Finally it all came together and so did we:

Here are nearly all of the Creative Abundance team (Bronwyn Hayes of Red Brolly is missing and Janelle Wind from 'The Janelle Wind Collection)!Left to Right: Gail Pan from 'Gail Pan Designs', Leanne May from 'Candlelight Creations', Me!, Rosalie Quinlan of 'Rosalie Quinlan Designs' and 'Melly and Me', Lynette Anderson from 'Lynette Anderson Designs', and Melly from 'Melly and Me'.

I'm sure you can appreciate just how much chatting and laughing we did all day long yesterday and the show still goes on today!

We also caught up with:

Yes, Di Mill !We sure had a lot of fun catching up with Di and all her new fabric ranges that are coming out!Oh it was fabric heaven (lots of photos on Di's blog of the new fabrics!). I know you will have noticed that Di has the best feet you've ever seen (she's a shoe girl too) so we couldn't resist this photo:

Here's the hearts behind Creative Abundance, Nel and Jacques:

And Rosie spent Friday setting up the stand (thankyou Rosie - we were all so thrilled with how it turned out):

We all had new products so there was a lot to fit in:

And yes, we bought lots of yummy things, but that's a whole other blog entry....

Until then,

Leanne Beasley xxx

A Little More of Oslo...

I had a lot of fun in Oslo doing a 'Trunk Talk' here:

How nervous do you think I was when I arrived to this big venue?! Only to see all these quilters:

Of course we had such a great afternoon together! I was overcome (in a good way)to realise that here I was thousands of miles from home and yet in this wonderful group of women we were all so similar!

Here's me, Siw, and Bente:

One of the highlights of my trip was getting to meet some of my blogland friends. It was a really incredible feeling meeting Hanne and May Britt:

Here we were 'meeting' for the first time and yet we carried on like the oldest of friends!

I loved that some of the ladies came with the quilts they had made from my patterns:

What a great afternoon!

Then it was back to Bente and Erik's beautiful home for a 'hyggelig' (say hig-lee) evening:

I did take this photo after I tried the Aquavit - maybe that explains the blurr!

Back soon,

Leanne Beasley xxx

P.S. 'Hyggelig' is a Norwegian word that I fell in love with. We don't have a word in English for it. It means that special cozy kind of feeling that you get when you walk into someone's home and the candles are on and maybe the fire, the house is warm, there's lovely homey things around (like quilts!). It's my new favorite word!

A Little Bit of Oslo...

Today I woke up and couldn't believe that I've actually been to Norway. Siw from Quiltegarden and Bente from Lille Stasjon in Norway were the most wonderful hosts. From the moment I arrived at the airport I was so glad to be in Norway.

Today I want to share a little of Oslo with you:

Erik, Bente's husband, took us to Vigeland Park, a magnificent sculpture park. The park is the life work of Gustav Vigeland and is full of sculptures that show humanity from birth to death and everything inbetween. It is breathtaking.

 

A favourite is 'The Little Angry Boy'. Of course, anyone who has ever been around children can appreciate this sculpture!

He has been stolen a number of times, always the sign of a good art work!

We also had a visit to the Royal Palace:

Where we saw the sculpture of King Karl Johan:

And took in the birdlife:

I really love this photo but my hubby thinks it's a little odd that I travel to the other side of the world for more than 35 hours to take photos of pigeons! I think he's a regal kind of pigeon fit to wait outside the palace of King Harald and Queen Sonja.

Here's my hubby, Rohan, and Bente's hubby, Erik, with a lovely troll.

Next post will be more of Oslo. I will show you my first 'trunk talk' in Norway!

Sweet Dreams,

Leanne Beasley xxx

Have Been Naughty...

Yes, I have been naughty. Said I'd do a blog entry yesterday but, well, I turned on the computer, and then, well, fell asleep on the couch!

Then there's today. Rosie got back so we just had to catch up! So off we headed to our favorite local cafe and who else should be there? :

Left to right:

Natalie from 'Cinderberry Stitches' , Gail from 'Gail Pan Designs', Me!, Rosie from 'Melly and Me' and Melinda from 'Around the Block Quilting!

We literally laughed so much that two hours later my face is still aching! It was the first time that Rosie and I had met Natalie so we just had SO MUCH to talk and giggle about!

There were stories of Norway and the USA and quilting and new designs and just good old girl talk! When we left the local cafe we apologised for all our noise but they said it was nice to hear so much laughing!

Yes, it was.

Back soon,

Leanne xxx

I Haven't Fallen in a Fjord!

Hi Girls! I am back home here in Australia. My friend Gail said if I didn't do a blog entry tonight you'd all think I'd fallen in a fjord and wasn't coming back to blogland! I haven't forgotten my beloved blogland - I am just SO JET- LAGGED that all I have been doing is sleeping really! I had the most magnificent time in Norway (thanks to all the wonderful Norwegian and Swedish ladies) and I just can't wait to tell you all about it. Here's a few photos:

This is in Trondheim:

And beautiful Oslo:

And we had an absolute ball in Trysil:

 

Look snow!!!!! (Okay it was man made but who cares really):

And then I had a quick stop over in:

Yes, Paris!(I have a lot of night time photos because I was so tired after Norway I didn't want to get out of bed in the morning!).

Anyway, I had a wonderful time thanks to Siw from Quiltegarden and Bente from Lille Stasjon (LOTS more about them to follow).

We will chat tommorow, but for now, I am off to find my pyjamas!

Nice to be back in blogland,

Leanne Beasley xxx