SDDO 2016 Catch Up!!

Hello to you all in blogland from the top of our grey and rainy 'hill' on this lovely Sunday. I can say it's lovely even though it's raining ... BECAUSE it's raining! :0) The weather may have put the kibosh on our gardening plans but it is so lovely to enjoy some good soaking rain and celebrate having our tanks full that we really don't mind too much ... and it's giving me no excuses for not catching up with you all to tell you about Stitchers' Dream Day Out 2016. OK ... so ... there are LOTS of photos ... you might need to grab a cuppa and a bickie or two to get you through this one. You've been warned, Chookyblue! :0)

Stitchers' Dream Day Out is a fantastic annual event hosted my the Marvellous Marion and the Stupendous Steph of my Home-Away-From-Home, The Quilters Angel. They really do spoil us all rotten so you feel relaxed and spoilt ... and usually all chatted out! ... as you head home at the end of the day. This year's theme was "Ooh, La, La! Paris!" and what a lot of fun we had with it. Guest designers were Debbie Magee from "Always Stitching" and Nikki Tervo from Tikki Tervo Designs. Each designer was given two packs of fat 1/8s to create a new design ... which meant everyone attending received four not-yet-public designs hot off the presses. And everyone got a fabric pack and pre-printed stitchery design so they could start stitching on the day. Apparently, some people STITCH at these days ... go figure! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Each table had a French centrepiece and a goody bag for each person ... you can see some of the shop in the background ... and two of my quilts that were on display for the day too. ;0)

It's always exciting to pull out your pre-printed design to see which one you have ... here's Julie about to find out which one she'd be stitching. And if you look closely, you'll see a little bit of Julie's skirt peeking out in the bottom left of the photo ... she made it especially for the day, showing off some lovely Eiffel Tower fabric.

And a few more colourful characters getting into the spirit of the French theme ... The Fabulous Fiona with two of her sewing buddies, Christine and Anne. Can I tell you ... by the end of the day, there were so many of those red feathers scattered around the hall that it looked like some giant red chook had been moulting. :0)

Here's me catching up with the lovely Debbie Magee ... she's such a sweetie and so very clever with her designs. :0)

And since it's all about the new designs ... this is a storage tub designed by Nikki Tervo. The zipper goes right around and the lid folds back to give access to several zippered pockets on the inside to store your sewing treasures.

Here's a better look at the stitchery design on the lid ... isn't it pretty?! This one is on my list to stitch, which is handy, since it's the design I found in my goody bag. :0)

And Nikki's second project was equally pretty ... don't you love that flower cart? :0)

And opened up, this becomes a storage pouch with clear plastic zippered pockets so you can see your sewing goodies or jewellery that you've stored in there.

The first of Debbie's designs was this sweet and handy drawstring bag decorated with delicate hexie stitcheries. The roses are little bullion knots, which Debbie showed us how to do. I need to practice a bit, I think. :0)

Here's another of the pretty stitcheries on Debbie's bag. Ooh, la, la! :0)

And Debbie's second design was this pretty and handy organiser. It has pockets inside and handle tabs on the sides for easy pick-up. You can either sit it on your sewing desk, or pick it up and pop it into your sewing bag ready to head off for a day of stitching with your friends ... or even use it as a handbag organiser ... mine would need more pockets to fit all my handbag junk in it, I think! Tee! Hee! Hee!

There was also time for show and tell ... and here is Julie showing off her finished stitchery for one of MY Christmas designs ... hasn't she done a lovely job? I may be a little biased. :0) And speaking of being a little biased ...

Glenda brought along her version of my "French Amour" quilt since it fitted in with the day's French theme. WOW! I love it, Glenda! :0) I love to see how people put my designs together ... some like theirs to be just like the pattern and others make little changes and additions to make the project more their own. There are still kits for this fun applique and stitchery quilt at the Quilters Angel if you'd like to make your very own version. :0)

And speaking of my designs ... do you remember me teasing you with this photo ...

Well ... I can now reveal what I'd been playing with ...

Ta Da! A new pattern. I had a little play with the fabric bundles the designers used for Stitchers Dream Day Out this year ... just for the challenge! And this is the result of one pack. The pattern is called "Bijou Beauties" ... bijou being French for 'jewel' ... and the framed stitchery with the pretty cut glass knobs on the bottom of the frame (which was an inexpensive frame painted with EZ2 Paint and finished with antiquing wax) is a handy necklace organiser, the zippered pouch is a handy storage pocket for your petite bijou (little jewels) when you travel and the folder at the bottom opens up to show pockets to keep jewellery tucked away and a spot to hook earrings for when you're travelling. This pattern is now available at The Quilters Angel and if you pop in for a visit you can take a peek at the original. :0) You can also now purchase the patterns for the SDDO projects, so if you couldn't come for the weekend, you can still make the pretty projects.

So ... wrapping up Stitchers Dream Day Out 2016 ... as always, we had a fantastic time, chatted with lovely, like-minded ladies, laughed, learned, ate delicious food ... and some people even stitched! :0) A HUGE thank you to Marion and Steph for giving us such a special event to enjoy. If you haven't been before, you really should book in for next year to come and play with us where the theme will be "Blossom And Bloom". I can't wait! :0)

But now, since it's raining again outside and I think I need to warm up a bit, I'm off to play Polly and put the kettle on for a cup of tea. I hope you're all enjoying your weekend and that you have a FANTASTIC week. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS