Patch of Sunshine Quilting

04/08/2026

I was having a coffee ☕️ this morning and enjoying the latest Quilters Companion Magazine …. When I saw a full page photo of my quilt “The Mycelium Connection”🤩…. Featured opposite this year’s AQC Challenge winner Caroline Simm’s winning entry “Together” (back in April in Melbourne).
I was honoured with this year’s ‘Viewers Choice’ Award 🎉🥂🍾…. And I didn’t know this picture was being published…. So it blew me away when I saw it this morning 🤩
Thank you to all who voted for my quilt💖💋

The top 30 AQC Challenge Quilts are traveling to the major Quilt Shows around Australia…. And will be on display at the Brisbane Convention centre in mid September at the Qld Quilt Show.

01/08/2026

Can you believe it’s the 1st of August today🫪
I’m currently down with a head cold and chesty flu 🤧…. But still doing a quick Zentangle in the mornings with my first coffee. ☕️ 😊

I have been busy this past month working on my entry into the Qld Quilt Show. Sorry I can’t show pictures yet as it will be entered into a judged category. I’ve only got 3 weeks left to get it finished🥴

My “Alchemy” quilt top is FINISHED 🎉🥂🍾 … all 3,586 hexagons pieces hand stitched together. This mammoth project took me 13 months to stitch👏🏻🎉👏🏻. Next job is taking out all the thousands of papers.😂

Last month I lost my creative mojo 😞… and my moto became “be kind to myself”. So I playing in my tubs of fabric and made a huge Queen size ‘Opal Essence’ quilt top. FUN 🤩. I hand stitched all the coloured circles (needle turn appliqué) onto the black, grey and white diamonds which formed ‘Tumbling Blocks’. I’m happy with how it turned out and it’s now waiting in my pile of tops “to be quilted and finished” 🤩.

I spend my evenings hand piecing (EPP) in front of a fire 🔥 and watching TV 🍷, and my new “Spellbound” quilt is growing…. I’m now onto my 4th row 👏🏻🎉👏🏻. (30 blocks finished out of 112 in the pattern)

Also playing with some bunny embroideries in preparation for my upcoming stall at Art with Altitude in October. 🐇🐰💐
Stay warm and stay well my friends, happy sewing 😊

17/07/2026

The Red Dress is coming to Brisbane.
It has an Amazing story…. and will be well worth going to have a look at while it’s here (till September) 🤩🤩🤩💃🏻

The Red Dress was a 14-year long project, woven together by 380 embroiderers from over 51 countries... and it's on display at from July 25th 🧵👗

Originally conceived by British artist Kirstie Macleod, as a platform for individuals, particularly women in vulnerable situations, to tell their interconnected stories through embroidery. As such, it tells the stories of refugees, asylum seekers, survivors of war, and disadvantaged women across the globe, holding the Guinness World Record for largest collaborative embroidery project.

It'll be on display at the Fairfax Gallery every day from 10:00am to 5:00pm until September 13th.

06/07/2026

🤭🤣🥳🍹

01/07/2026

A pinch and a punch for ANOTHER 1st of the month 🫪
We are now past winter solstice…. And on the countdown to Christmas 🤣🎅🏻🤣
I’m still doodling every morning with my 1st cup of coffee…. But I forgot to take my pens and paper away with me to Burrum Heads for a weeks camping by the beach … so I had to do a little catch up when I got home. But I’m still on track for doing a Zentangle a day for the whole year 😎☕️😊

30/06/2026

Well it’s the end of June 2026 and we are half way through the “Spin the Colour Wheel“ Challenge.
My theme is Great Barrier Reef 🪸 🐠🦀
And this month’s colour is Red/Orange and the relationship is Triadic - which are the yellow greens and blue violets on the colour wheel.
I tried to balance the 3 colours…. But I now think I should have added some more orange to my crab 🦀 block 🤔.
Also adding a photo of the first 6 blocks all together 🤩

13/06/2026

What are all my friends up to this week?
David and I are enjoying a week camping up at Burrum Heads (just north of Hervey Bay… 4 hours north of Brisbane).
We are camped right on the beach (which is an off leash dog beach👍🏻) and the winter weather is perfect 🌤️ (just a bit breezy but that dies down at sunset 🌅).
I’ve just started a new EPP quilt (Spellbound) which is all fussy cutting and every colour in the rainbow 🌈🤩. I’ve visited 2 local Patchwork shops 💖and acquired some lovely new fabrics 🫣🤭. Do daily walks on the beach and enjoying campfires 🔥 at night.
Heaven 😎🌴🌊🐶🐶🚙🚎😊

01/06/2026

“A Pinch and a Punch for the first of the month”.
Welcome to winter my friends. 🥶
May has just wizzed by so fast 💨 💨 💨
I’m still enjoying drawing a small Zentangle every morning…. And guess what?!…. doodling practice definitely helps my machine quilting!😊✅👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🍷

01/06/2026

The May “Colour Wheel” challenge is Violet and Split Complimentary (yellow/orange and yellow green). In keeping with my theme of “Great Barrier Reef” 🪸….. I have chosen a pair of clown fish 🐡 🐡 and anemone 🪸.
I’ve used Inktense Pencils ✏️ and thread 🧵 for this months 8” block, on violet fabric background. (More violet than blue showing up in the photo).
Loving what all the other students are creating each month 👏🏻🤩🎉

21/05/2026

Aprils’s “Spin the Colour Wheel” 8” block is done 😊. The colour we had to use was - Blue Analogous (to the right on the couple wheel)…. Which are the Violet colours. In keeping with my Great Barrier Reef theme, my ‘Blue Tang’ has been coloured with Inktense Pencils and then thread painted over the top.The background is a variety of batik fabrics and Free Motion Quilting to give interest and movement.
These are definitely my favourite colours 😊
💙💜🩵