Xmas Prize Winner

C4 Blackberry Freedom

Just noticed today that I had forgotten to announce the winner of the Xmas draw for a free collection. Charlene from Harden was the lucky winner. She has just returned from a holiday in Qld and is yet to decide which collection she would like.

Congratulation Charlene. We look forward to seeing your next blocks.

For everyone else keep making blocks and sending in photos as there will be another draw in a couple of months once things settle here a bit.

Remember when you send in photos to please take them at the highest resolution of your camera and also if possible stand straight on to the block, placing it on a low table is probably the easiest ... especially if you have dodgy knees like everyone in this household and getting things off the floor is becoming more of a challenge:)

Charlene & Snippets

C2 I Love Lucy

Early last year I was fortunate to teach Raconteur at the South Coast biannual retreat. For this retreat I chose seven blocks from various collections and combined them into one collection, called Snippets. This was so that I could cover the different techniques in the one class and so cover what I felt might be some of the pitfalls people might encounter. 

C3 Burning Bright

Surprisingly, to me at least, after spending several years making Raconteur I had forgotten how long it actually took me to make those first few blocks. 

C4 Blackberry Freedom

These days I generally make a block in a couple of hours but when I first started it took me the better part of a day and for some blocks even longer. 
 I thought that the students would be able to finish a hand pieced block on the first day, perhaps two if they were experienced and two machine pieced on the second.... oops. 

C6 Crystal Dreams

Most of the students were similar to what I had been at the beginning and so finished one block the first day....because they were good students and went home and worked on it that night. 

C6 Enter With Care

I could definitely do with a few of those conscientious bones some days. Everyone found the second day a lot easier and finished at least one block. One student was even onto her third by the time we had to pack up. I found it a great bunch of students and learn a lot about teaching something so complicated... students will amaze. 
Charlene was in that class and has sent me photos of her finished blocks. She had not made miniatures before and hasn't she made some amazing blocks.

C2 The Rice Pickers

C5 Baby Blue