For most of my life, I haven’t been very good at keeping secrets!  I love having them, but when they are really exciting, I never liked keeping them to myself, they were always too good to share!

Over the last couple of years, I’ve become much better at it, thanks to some “secret designing business”, but then everyone knew what the secret was, just not what it looked like!

So to cut a long story short, for three days this week it was MURDER!!!!  And now finally I can blab, on a worldly, internet grand scale.

On Wednesday, my very good friend Chris Roche rang to tell me life was about to change big time, for me as well as him.  Chris was the CEO of Leutenegger, the distributor of my Robert Kaufman fabrics until the middle of last year, when he was sadly dismissed.  It was a terrible shock and I have missed working with him very much.

On Thursday, Chris started his very own business called Two Green Zebras and his first gorgeous product range is Tilda.  I did confess to him I didn’t know much about this collection but he then said that wasn’t a problem and that if I went to my Post Office Box on Friday, there would be samples waiting!

So here is Tilda.  How gorgeous is this stuff?  It is actually designed in Norway, the cloth quality is brilliant. Stay tuned for more Tilda, as there are also beautiful trims, brads, stationary and books full of inspiration.

I know it’s a step sideways from what you see at Chandlers Cottage but it’s going to sit very nicely next to my Dutch Cottage range and many other things on the drawing board!

Now you will have to excuse me, as I only get to keep these precious samples if I turn them into a quilt - fast!

If you want to know more about Chris’ new business, go to www.twogreenzebras.com

Now where’s that rotary cutter…….?

Just had to tell you about the big Wycheproof weekend!  Had a fantastic time again this year with “The Girls”.  It’s such a humbling experience, as so many of them travel for over an hour to get there and I’m not talking about from one side of the city to the other in peak hour traffic, I’m talking well over 100km (65miles).

It took Emma and I four hours each way to get there too, and there was lots of brain storming, sewing and laughing all the way there and back!

Anyway, I’m expecting to see 24 sensational Aussie Sewing Tote photos very soon!  We also took up a “virtual website” which consisted of one of everything in habby we stock, plus the sample headers of my fabrics and then as many bolts as we could fit in the car.

I’m looking forward to getting into the shop tomorrow and packing up the girls’ orders to send with all the things they decided they had to have!

Such a beautiful group of quilters to work with, and an enviable community spirit that in the last decade has survived severe drought and floods in an incredible and vast landscape of cereal and sheep farming.

So while there is a huge year ahead, full of new challenges, overseas trips and craft fairs, it’s so nice to know that no matter how the year ends up, I’ll be back to Wycheproof same time next year to do it all again!

It’s been a while!  One week seems to blur into the next at the moment, there’s “Dutch Stuff” everywhere, Aussie Sewing Swag samples to finish and the car to pack for Wycheproof this weekend!  For those who are as busy as me, I thought you might like a quick look at some newly finished projects that are also in this week’s newsletter.

This is a Downtown Tote, for heading “Downtown” to shop with the girls!  I have also made another in Dutch Cottage which I will reveal soon.

And here’s Panel Magic, check out the exceptionally cool peacocks, I really like the rich creams in this collection.

With all the amazing people and contacts I’ve made over the last couple of years, there also comes a lot of privileges and responsibility.  For example, the package that arrived today!  I’m no different to anyone else, I LOVE getting parcels in the mail, particularly ones from overseas and Especially from wonderful companies like Riley Blake!

Have a look at these stunning new fabrics and matching ribbon!  These have arrived for me to make a new project to help promote their new fabric range Apple of My Eye.  So I’ll be going to bed tonight with my mind hard at work, finalising a quirky new bed throw and cushion design!

Emma and I are off to Wycheproof this weekend - Road Trip!  Looking forward to seeing all the girls again, and getting some serious bag making done.  Wycheproof has a population of just over 800, with a huge regional cereal growing industry.  When I visited last year, the area had been devastated by floods only a couple of weeks before, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the community has moved on and grown in the last 12 months.  So look out girls, here we come!

With all the mad rush of Christmas and the arrival of Under the Australian Sun 2 out of the way, I’ve finally had the time to start work on some more projects using these fabrics.

This is one of many to come!  The Aussie Sewing Swag is a simple fun bag with pockets for all your gear and a few 3D flowers for added fun.  I’ve designed this bag as a one day workshop that I’m really excited about teaching with my beautiful group of girls at Wycheproof in February and then with my buddy Tamsin at Berrima Patchworks Highland retreat in July.  What a fun year ahead!

Four days into the official Summer Holidays and I need a routine.  Without the normal daily commitments, I get so over enthusiast about everything, start too many things, and then I find it’s already 5pm and nothing has been completed!

There was a brief moment yesterday when I felt I had some control over day to day events, only to throw that thought out the window when my lovely Fedex girl arrived at the door.

The first samples of The Culture Club’s Dutch Cottage are here!

Nothing can replace seeing Under the Australian Sun for the first time, Culture Club’s Passage to India was a huge thrill, but Dutch Cottage in one word - ME!

Can’t wait to show you of course, have to wait a week or two, but I can show you the selvedges!

The folks at Kaufman thought up the clog idea - very cute.

What I think is a giggle is how Multi Cultural it is.  If you read the selvedge details left to right, it goes:

An Aussie designed it for an American Company, with Dutch designs and made it in Japan!

Right, I feel the need to make a Dutch Apple Pie for New Year’s Eve dessert coming on….