Where to begin?

I have been so busy here at Calico these past few weeks i barely know where to begin...it has been so busy with workshops, customers, shows..and more..which I guess is good..So glad I decided to scale  back on my blogging though...one cant do everything..lol
On 20/21st of April we had our good friend Kerry Swain from Cottage on the Hill come and do a mystery quilt workshop with us...the ladies love this!!!If you ever get the chance you really should try to join one..they are a blast..two days of giggles, and eating, (thai no less) even though we waited two hours for our meal!!!

Last weekend I had a workshop for jelly rolls...the girls were bright and early and we got stuck in at 9.30..sewed all day and can you believe I never too one picci...losing it???

I have been madly sewing and making things the past few weeks for my stand at Agfest..Three days of "busy" I hope..depends a lot on the weather, it usually rains..so we will see..I will show you pics once I have set up my stand tomorrow...So full on, guess that means i have kinda recovered?? Of course some weeks ago I set up a row by row challenge for myself and some of the girls to partake in...guess when changeover is..yep..you guessed it..this week!!!! It was Sunday and I had not sewn a stitch..so head down I went for it..and I love my row..not sure i can share it though...have to check.. and on the 10th i head to Northern Territory with my friend Tami from Ohio..and we will have a couple of weeks touring up there..be nice to escape, i missed last years break...:(

So wish me luck..have never done Agfest ( big agricultural show) before..so I am figuring I will be asleep early most nights..(unless I sell heaps) lol...Am so glad I have slowed down!!!!!

Until next time..happy stitching...

Cheers

Pauline 

Does it get any Better?

Does it get any better than this? Honestly? what a wonderful four days we have just shared with Gloria Loughman. On Thursday and Friday we had the workshop Playing on the Surface...

The weather was windy and very wet, so it was perfect for sewing...

On Friday and Saturday we had Light Up Your Landscape workshops and what a blast we had then too...Gloria was helpful, friendly and we all felt we made another friend...

Thanks so much Gloria for coming and sharing the weekend for us!! We ALL just loved it!!!

cheers for now
Pauline

Stitching Day

On Sat, Sonja, Ellen and myself jumped in the car and headed to Hobart to spend the day with Helen Stubbings, Lynette Anderson and loads of great girls..Leaving at 6.30 was a bit dodgy for me, I struggle heaps in the early morning now, since my illness..but we sure witnessed a gorgeous sunrise anyway....

We were very excited and yapped all the way down..we had a great easy trip, which was nice..it was nice to actually sit and chat with the girls instead of being busy around them all the time.
Meeting everyone by 9.30 having a cuppa our day began..and what a fun day it was!!! We laughed,   and told stories, and I think my effort for the day was 6 mini hexies from Helens Project..(I knew it would be) lol I talk wayyyyy too much...

Busy Busy Bees  ...there was one girl..I think her name was LYN..hahahah she was noisy all day...hahahah sorry Lynnie, I love the way you are always laughing..its great!!!

it was then time for piccies..heheh..dont get my fat side??? Oh i had some photos taken I won't even share!!! omg...but I notice OTHERS did..ick

Thanks Lynette and Helen, it was fabulous..best day I had had in a very long time.....Our trip home took us four hours!!! normally a 2.5 hour trip..hmmm well we had to have coffee, take pics, go into little antique shops...all that stuff...hang out the sunroof...(Sonja) lol...And home to a gorgeous sunset...Thanks to Sonja and Ellen too for the great travelling company.

Fun day was had by all..it was also lovely to spend some time with miss Cathy, Leanne and Georgia..and Jo I cannot believe we didnt get a photo??? :( was lovely to see you anyway...
cheers Until next time
Pauline

NEW BOM- A Little Bit Country

Libby has done (is doing) it again...coming in April..Libby Richardson's new BOM called A Little Bit Country...we will be releasing this as soon as it becomes available to us..it will be similar to Girls Day out and we all know how gorgeous that one was...
I am taking names now..so sign up if you are at all interested...cannot show you the completed quilt as yet...looking great Lib...

Loads of new fabrics arriving instore each day now..so very exciting when this happens...its like christmas every day...woo hoo....

I just spent the weekend with my daughter and her b/f and we had a lovely time...so just sharing a couple of pics with you ..inc a Keith Urban Concert.....have a great week ladies..

And a Sandcastle exhibition in Frankston Victoria...

And a meeting with some Red Hatters , sorry girls, I forgot to ask where you all were from? thanks for allowing me to share this...

Arthurs Seat Victoria..

cheers
Pauline

Follow MY Heart

Yesterday I received the full range  of Lynette Anderson's fabrics Follow My Heart..What can I say..wow..wow wow..Lynette you have done it again!! what I particularly love with this range is the navy blue..what a great new colour for quilting...

Our fund raising is going super duper special, we already have $700 + for our raffle and will easily take $300 on Saturday..so with 8 weeks to go we will reach our target...go us!! well no, not go us..go everyone who has been so unbelievably generous with this whole thing..My friend Marlene King has donated one of her gorgeous quilts..Dragonflies...(I sooo want this quilt) and to everyone who is contributing..i cannot thank you enough..amazing..

If you would like to purchase some tickets, (i am registered with the red cross) they are 3 for $5 and you can purchase through paypal..       pauline@calicocrossroads.com.au
The bushfires are affecting this whole country at this time..so please take care everyone..I cannot say this enough..Please help where and when you can..there are families out there that have lost every single thing!!
On a brighter note..have a great weekend all..and if you can make to our friendship gathering on saturday please call me..for catering..we will have a nice fun relaxed day..$25 per head plus a plate..
cheers all
Pauline

Fundraiser Gathering

• On Sat 19th of January, we are going to do as the Southern Girls at The Quilted Crow 
  are doing..we will have a Fundraiser Gathering at Calico Crossroads. This will not be a workshop, just a friendship gathering and fundraiser. It will begin at 10am and finish at 3pm and if you could bring a plate for morning tea it would be wonderful. I will provide the tea and coffee..entry is $25 per head...all to go to the red cross for the fundraising appeal . As we were going to have a friendship sewing day anyway..lets put it to some good...all are welcome...but please let me know if you are coming...Don't forget your stitching!!! And don't forget, if you cant make it..there is always our wonderful raffle which will be drawn on March 24th 2013. Our raffle is proving very successful with over $300 raised already!!!
  
  On Sunday, I had High Tea with my neices and friends for my niece who is getting married next month..what a lovely day we had..was so nice to be ladies for an afternoon...lol hence the gorgeous tea cup you see pictured..
  
  I would also like to add.I am so sorry re my comments page..I cannot seem to get it to work correctly..if you have any tips I would appreciate them..I actually am having a problem with blogger in general...ugh..sorry about the presentation.
  Have a great week all and stay safe from the bushfires wherever you may live!!! Remember, you can rebuild a home, you cannot replace a life!!!
  Stay safe and cheers
  Pauline
  
  

Fires! Fires! and more Fires

This week has been just awful for the people in the south of our beautiful island...
We have had a week of terrible bushfires with tragic outcomes...many ppl have lost their homes, their livelihoods, their animals and everything they possess..Imagine waking up one morning, and by evening you have nothing!! Just so sad...One farmer lost an estimated 5000 sheep, yep 5000, another lost 1000, and of course there has been a devastating loss of many more animals..the positive we can take out of this is that there have been no human deaths that we know of.  Tasmania is not alone, the whole country of Australia appears to be on fire...in NSW 130 fires were reported today..30 of them out of control..wow..devastating..i do hope everyone stays safe..please try to save animals and its time for us all to pitch in and help!!! Some amazing stories come out of tragedy...its amazing...the aussie spirit is so alive and well..come on aussie come on comeon!!! I cannot donate money, unfortunately, so in order to help and donate much needed money, I have organised a raffle..please see below..I am hoping that we can raise $1000 by 24 th march..so if you would like to participate that would be just wonderful...


Fire Appeal Raffle

This raffle will be run for the sole purpose of raising money for Tasmanians affected by the terrible fires which are ravaging our state at this time. There will be four prizes, at this stage, thanks to the generosity of friends of mine. You may buy ticket thru paypal
pauline@calicocrossroads.com.au, by purchasing in the store, or money order. Tickets will be 3 for $5 and the draw will take place on March 24th, 2013 
I would really love to raise at LEAST $1000, can we do it? so that is our target.

1st Prize = Queen size quilt, donated by Calico Crossroads valued at $600

2nd Prize = Queen size Quilt, donated by Kerry Swain, from Cottage on the Hill, In Nundle NSW, Value $600+ Thank you so much Kerry..Very generous!

3rd Prize = A $250.00 voucher for machine quilting, donated by Jane Monk Studio, thank you very much Jane, this is also very generous. 

4th Prize = Two Baby Ink Photo Frames, Printing ink etc included Valued at $70.00 Kindly donated by Baby Bump and Beyond in NSW..thanks Desi ..Love you..!!

You would all have to agree this is very special, I thank these girls heaps for doing this with me..sensational..

I sincerely hope that everyone, everywhere in this huge country of ours, is safe, takes care, take NO risks..and i hope we can help in some small way..Cheers everyone, happy quilting

Pauline

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