The Vickery Quilt & Craft Retreat, Alexandra (Part 1)

Last weekend, Anne, Louise, Leita and myself spent 2 and a half days at the Vickery Quilt & Craft Retreat in Alexandra.

Anne and her business partner, Beverly, have set up this retreat in Alexandra especially for groups to indulge themselves in their favourite crafts.

There is a large purpose built work room with plenty of lighting, seating, and power points to sew or anything else you can think of.  We kept meaning to spend some time in front of the wood heater, curled up on one of the couches with a book or a magazine but were too busy sewing!

I wish I had more photos of the inside but I'm sure Anne has some she can post and I am told the website will be up and running very soon, which will contain more information, photos and details of how to make a booking.  There is room for 10, but with only the four of us we were able to spread out and really enjoy ourselves, with our sewing machines whirring well into the night.

The town of Alexandra is only a 5 minute walk and has lots of interesting little shops and cafes.  We even managed a tram ride at the local Tram and Timber Museum which was open for a market on the Saturday morning.  And on the platform we even bought some quilting fabric which we put to good use.

A big thankyou to Anne and Beverly for the opportunity to test run their new venture.  We had a wonderful time!

Dress finally finished

Front View

I finally finished the dress this afternoon.  Made from New Look 6864, it's taken me a while but I'm pleased with the result.  Ready to wear when the weather gets warm!

Back view

Group quilt almost finished

Here are some great pics by Karyn of our group quilt which we plan to sell or raffle for charity. The quilting by Lucy Thompson of "Lasting Creations" has really added character to the quilt.

The back is plain with a strip of blocks like those on the front. Now we have to choose a binding fabric. Any suggestions?

Crochet & Flowers

Finally a picture of the ufo that is now finished. It's very simple but very warm! Also some new camellias which always bloom later than the others - these are my favourite.

Lovely Labels

When I was young my Nanna used to say 'she has tickets on herself' when she saw someone acting in a proud manner or believing themselves to be above other people.

I was never sure what that meant.  I imagined that the person she referred to had labels, or stickers, or train tickets stuck all over their clothes. 

So now I have these lovely labels for sewing onto my quilts and clothing that I make for myself and others.  I hope Nanna wouldn't have thought me to have 'tickets on myself'. 
Today I went to Spotlight and bought another summer dress pattern and top pattern and fabric.  I figure if I start sewing for summer now, by the time it comes around I should have some nice clothes. With posh labels!

Crochet Bug

I've got the crochet bug at the moment and I'm working on some granny squares - even though I've plenty of other things I should be doing.

Group "Crystallisation" Quilt

Here is the progress on our group quilt which we will sell or raffle for a charity when completed. Last week I prepared the plain backing fabric and added in the strip of blocks down the centre, then ironed both the front and back and snipped off all the hanging threads ...big job! It is ready now for machine quilting and we thought a wavy all over design, nothing floral, would suit.