Life's a circus ... and a celebration!

We finally celebrated Ben's 7th birthday on Sunday ... and what a whole lot of exciting fun it was too!

We took Ben and a few of his best friends to the Circus!

There were loads of amazing magic tricks, stacks of scantily clad women who appeared and disappeared from various different boxes,  jaw dropping acrobatic feats, a woman who managed to balance on a over-sized disco ball while dancing with more hula hoops than I have seen in my entire life time and three totally loony motor bike riders that all rode around together, at great speed, in a metal sphere!!!!!  

... and then we had cake!

Happy 7th birthday ... yet again my sweet boy!

While I'm reflecting upon late celebrations there is one more that needs to be addressed ... that elusive 100th post celebration that I have been putting off for the past 7 posts ...

I finally put on my skates and finished my new tree quilt ... that I have called Lilly Pilly.

I just love this quilt ... it has turned out even better than I had hoped that it would ... sorry about the photos it is a little gloomy here today and I didn't want to wait any longer!

One person who leaves a comment to this post will get to take this quilt home with them ... but there is one catch ... if you want to play along you will have to agree to wait a little while before it comes to live with you as I need to have it to display on my stand at the Australian Quilt Market in November of this year....

So do you want to play along ... are you prepared to wait to collect the quilt? Cool!

To enter the giveaway you must leave a comment on this post between now and midnight Australian EST on 2nd of September. As always there are a couple of extra ways that you can rack up extra entries ...

• if you purchased one of my last batch of patterns during the preorder period you will receive an extra 10 entries (please note preorder in your comment)

if you link to this giveaway in a post on your blog then you will collect an extra 3
entries ... if you do this please let me know by emailing me here and noting Giveaway Link in the subject field.

If you have included a picture of something that you have made using one of my patterns on the Don't Look Now - your take on my designs Flickr group page (more on this a little later in this post) then you will rack up an extra 5 entries - let me know by emailing me here and noting Flickr Picture in the subject field. (this includes pictures from my old album that still lives in my side bar - if one of these pictures are yours that I have already downloaded into Flickr please make sure you email me and let me know because I have a feeling that collating these entries is going to be a headache!)

As promised if you have left a comment on any of my last 8 posts and you win the quilt you will receive an extra little something ... these posts have now had the the comments closed during this giveaway period to make sure that the regular commenter's aren't disadvantaged.

In addition to this ... if you have purchased a pattern from me or any of the retailers who stock my patterns and you win the quilt you will also receive an extra little something. The pattern needs to be purchased before the end of this giveaway & you will need proof of purchase. 

Just a word of caution though ... if you happen to claim any of the extra entries and you aren't entitled to them then you wont be able to play along! Fair is fair! I will be checking!

In addition to the Lilly Pilly Quilt I will giveaway another 10 of the How does your garden grow patterns

and 5 of the new Love grows free patterns. 

Other than this bit of excitement I have a heap of other things to share with you all about the past weeks happenings ....

I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon with the NOTY Quilters Guild last Saturday! I loved sharing my quilting experiences with such a receptive and friendly bunch of women! Thank you all so much for making me feel so welcome! Unfortunately I don't have any photos just yet of meeting but I will post them once I do.

This past Saturday I got up supper early ... early for a Saturday that is ... packed the Bernina in into the Mazada and zoom zoom zoomed ...

across Victoria to Ballarat Patchwork... 

... to teach 6 keen women some of my techniques.

 

Poor Pam soldered on despite ill health and did incredibly well considering she could hardly breathe! Have you checked your stash Pam to make sure I didn't make off with piece of fabric you have there!

 

This is Keri and she is a Sewing Machineaholic ... I wont tell you how many sewing machines she has at home just in case I get it wrong ... I wouldn't be surprised if she bought another one on the way home from the class ... no only kidding ... you know I'm just jealous! Keri also picked up the technique incredibly quickly and hopefully you all will get to admire her version of Oh Christmas Tree on the Flickr page very soon! 

Katrina is the most delightful girl who sells hand made clothing among other things at local markets. She hadn't done any quilting to speak of before the class ... and although she wouldn't admit to it, she worked really hard at getting the hang of this skill and did some fantastic work!

Roma, who is a seasoned quilter and is accomplished at hand applique, took to raw edge like a duck to water!! I am really looking forward to seeing your version of Rainbow Lollipops & Garden Party Roma!!

And for some reason or another, Yvonne you managed to escape the focus of my lens ... I'm so sorry! Please send me a picture Yvonne so that I can share your project with everyone! But for now my sample will sit where your work should be!

 

Thank you so much guys for a lovely day! It was great to get to know you all and to meet some people who found me through other sources other than my blog!

Ballarat Patchwork are also now stocking my patterns if you are over that way make sure you drop in ... it is well worth the trip ... once you peek inside you will understand why I drool over this shop! Just in case you are looking for the Hankie Linen that I use alot in my projects they keep a good range of the colours in stock. They also have a great on-line shop as well for those of  you that a just too far away to drop in.

.. that's my fabric Emma's cutting up! Oh and by the way Jodie I'm still more than a little bit pissed that I didn't get to see you!!!

Creative Quilting a UK based shop in Surrey in the UK has also just started stocking my patterns this past week! Make sure you pop in if you happen to be in the area ... and don't forget to say I sent you!!!! They also have a beautiful on line shop!

As always with new retailers if you happen to be the first person to contact me after purchasing one of my patterns from either Ballarat Patchwork or Creative Quilting then I will send you out a copy of either How does your garden grow or the Love Grows Free pattern ... your choice :)

I also received a lovely comment on my last post from Sarah from Sewn & The last piece on Saturday morning...

Hey Kelly - NOT entering the competition, just letting you know that I am at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, and what did I see today? A stand selling your patterns, with samples made up looking very nice, and lots of ladies poring over the selection! Most exciting for Don't Look Now!

Posted by: Sarah | August 22, 2009 at 03:48 AM

     

... the stand belonged to Dungarees & Daisies you made my day Sarah! Thank you so much for letting me know! I have asked Jen to send me some pictures of her stand to share with you ... apparently she had Kaffe admiring her samples!!!!!

Finally the giveaway winners from my last post ...

Marie Joze from Handmade by Mai left the 5th comment ... Mai has just finished some very nice bags and she is a Bernina girl so well worth a peek ... Mai also won some of my pattern a few weeks ago after leaving my 3000th comment!

Anna from Thimbleanna who left the 8th comment .... I owe you more than a pattern Miss Anna!!! If you don't know Anna then really you can't be a serious blogger! Go take a peak at the life of Anna ... I dream of being Anna's sister, or her daughter or daughter-in-law or even her cat!

Blogless Leanne who left the 63rd comment ....

Mary from Mary on Lake Pulaski left the 75th ... Mary must be on a winning streak as she just won one of Melly & Me Bon Bon bag patterns ... very nice bag Mary!!!!

Lora Lynn from My Art, My so called Life who left the 78th comment ... happy Wedding Anniversary Lora!!!

Larissa from Flutter By Corner left the 80th comment .. Larissa has been working on her free motion stitching skills and things are looking great over her way ... but if you scroll down the page you will see why you must remember to remove your safety pins!!! Close one Larissa!

The gorgeous Sandy Gray from The Silver Thimble left the 95th comment ... Sandy stocks my patterns and is now an expert at inserting zips with a flap!!!

Last but not least blogless Julie Anne who left the 117th comment.

Congrats guys! I will send out each of you a copy of the How does your garden grow pattern as soon as I have your snail mail details.


One more 'final' cool thing from my last post, that I just realised, is that blogless Tammy Spencer left my 4000th comment ... I will send Tammy both of the giveaway patterns to celebrate! Thanks Tammy and to all of you for taking the time visit & to leave a comment! I very much appreciate it!!

Enjoy your week and good luck with the belated 100th post giveaway!
Kellie

PS. Remember I mentioned the Don't Look Now Flickr group page earlier on .... well it is up and running. I have transferred all of the photos from the old album in my side bar to the group page. Make sure you take a peek and make sure you goin the group! If you leave some photos please make sure you let us know which pattern or tutorial you used and any other information you might like to share - such as the fabrics you used, quilting pattern etc. I hope that this place will become a source of great inspiration for us all!

****Edit September 3 ... just after midnight ,,, thank you all for entering this giveaway! What an amazing responce! I am so thilled that you like this quilt as much as I do. The giveaway is now closed & I have closed the comments for now. I am going to need a day or so to sort out all of the entries ... so see you back here Friday or Saturday. Kellie ****

Comments

[anne]

WOW your quilt looks great. What a fantastic giveaway. I am more than happy to wait till November or as long as it takes if I win that gorgeous quilt. If not then I guess I have to make one.

[amanda Bergamin]

Wow Kellie what a fabulous Christmas Pressie that would be would love to win the quilt. I am sure there is a lot of people out in blog land who would love it too..

[Raquel Blasco]

I WANT A CAKE LIKE THISSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! (and a pattern like this, and a sewing machine, and a class with you like teacher, and...

[Jenny]

Hey Kellie, I can't seem to find the Love Grown Free pattern anywhere, is it available for purchase?? (hope so!)
jen

[Danielle]

What a truly magnificent quilt, and an amazingly generous giveaway - you are really something, Kellie!

I am poring over your love birds pattern in the current issue of Homespun - beautiful!

[Leah]

I love your work, this tree quilt is awesome. Looks like you have been busy enjoying life, keep it up. :)

[Karen Pitt]

OMGoodness...... who wouldn't want to win this.
Karen

[Rosa Coy]

would just love that quilt! So clever.

[Rosa]

Just love that quilt! So clever

[Rachelle Jones]

I cannot believe you want to give away such an amazing quilt! If I had managed to make something as beautiful as that I would be keeping it locked in my room - well away from everyone - just in case!.

My oh My, I would love to win that quilt! I just love reading your blog, it really makes me smile.

Rachelle

[Alicia]

What a cute cake! And a cute boy! Hope he had a fun birthday!

What an amazing giveaway, please enter me.

[Christine Miller-McKinley]

Happy birthday Ben - hope you had lots of fun with your family and friends at the circus and eating lots of cake too!

Wow Kellie, the quilt looks amazing - you must be so proud of it and how generous you are in making it a give-away. My fingers and toes are crossed that I may be lucky with this comment!

Bye for now, Christine.

P.S I have snuck in a little time on the Bernina this week practising my free motion in between making lists and packing suitcases!!!

[Shawna]

This quilt needs to come here! My daughter's name is Lilianna Pearl and we call her Lily Pilly! So, see, it is entirely appropriate!

[Sally]

Kelly, what a most generous offer - I'd love to look after your quilt for you - I would cherish it forever! xxxxxxx

[Renee E]

Happy 7th Birthday I love the circus and those swirlies are sew pretty!!
I would wait until after the show if I won!!!

[sandra]

Great giveaway! The quilt is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!

[penny g]

The lily [illy quilt is awesome. Your work inspires a small town girl like me,

[Tania]

Please enter me in your giveaway, I have long admired your quilts so I'm sure I could wait a long time to actually own one!!

[Linda]

Happy Birthday to Ben, what a great way to celebrate your birthday. I should know by now that visiting your blog always blows me away, but I never cease to be amazed at the beauty you create Kellie. Such a stunning quilt, whoever wins it will have their socks blessed off. Congratulations on the success at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, how exciting that must be for you. I received my lovely pattern late yesterday, thank you. Now to find the time to sit down and enjoy it.

[Thimbleanna]

Holy Cow Kellie -- that post was so full I don't even know where to start!
-- CONGRATULATIONS on 100 posts!!!
-- Happy, Happy Birthday to Ben!
-- I LOVE LOVE LOVE that new quilt -- especially those cute birdies, very cleverly hiding among the leaves.
-- THANKS for picking me! I'm very excited to get a Don't Look Now pattern -- you KNOW how much I ADORE your gorgeous work!
-- How are you ever going to keep track of all those entries???
-- And finally...you don't owe me a thing! But, well...if you insist...you know where to send that gorgeous quilt and I'll happily wait Hahahahaha!!!

[Erin in MI]

Such a beautiful quilt - I can't believe you're going to give it away! Whoever wins it is one lucky person - I hope it's me!! LOL

[Sherry Bedard]

I love your work to think I could get one in person how lucky I would be.

[Jane]

What a beautiful quilt - I would be honoured to win it and very happy to wait to get my hands on it (well I'd like it quicker but my excitement at winning would help me to be polite!)

It would inspire me to keep plugging away at my sewing skills and hope that one day I could create something so beautiful - it's only practice afterall!

Happy Birthday Josh - looks like the circus was amazing!

[Michele]

Love your new quilt! Your designs are always breathtaking. Happy birthday to your sweet little boy!

[Brianna]

Oh I love Lilly Pilly, I can't decide what I am going to make next, Lilly Pilly or Love grows free. First I should finish Meg's Garden! Would love to do a workshop with you, are waiting for you to let us known when the next ones will be in Melbourne (was upset to miss the Patchwork House one). Love your work
Brianna

[broderie]

Kellie as usual you are a real star!!!!! Love 'Lilly Pilly' as I love trees!

[Gladys]

Hola! Llegué a su blog por el de Tozz's Corner y me he quedado sin palabras! Qué magníficos trabajos han surgido de sus manos! Sería un sueño hecho realidad poder tener esa nueva manta en mis manos (no importa el tiempo que demore en ello)! Por favor, anóteme en su sorteo!
Lo publicaré en mi blog para que mis visitantes adquieran su link y puedan disfrutar la belleza de sus labores!!! Muchos saludos desde Argentina!
Google Traductor: "Hello! I came to your blog by that of Tozz's Corner and I was speechless! What great work have emerged from their hands! It would be a dream come true to have this new blanket in my hands (no matter how long it takes in it)! Please anóteme on your drawing!
I'll publish in my blog so that my visitors can buy their link and enjoy the beauty of their work! Many greetings from Argentina!"

[Jennifer]

I love the quilt!!! It is gorgeous. I always love seeing your new patterns and ideas.

[Gladys]

Hola! Llegué a su blog por el de Tozz's Corner y me he quedado sin palabras! Qué magníficos trabajos han surgido de sus manos! Sería un sueño hecho realidad poder tener esa nueva manta en mis manos (no importa el tiempo que demore en ello)! Por favor, anóteme en su sorteo!
Lo publicaré en mi blog para que mis visitantes adquieran su link y puedan disfrutar la belleza de sus labores!!! Muchos saludos desde Argentina!
Google Traductor: "Hello! I came to your blog by that of Tozz's Corner and I was speechless! What great work have emerged from their hands! It would be a dream come true to have this new blanket in my hands (no matter how long it takes in it)! Please anóteme on your drawing!
I'll publish in my blog so that my visitors can buy their link and enjoy the beauty of their work! Many greetings from Argentina!"

[Rachael]

Such a gorgeous quilt-- thank you for being so generous! I follow you on Google Reader.

[kimmer]

I LOVE this quilt so much! If I win, I plan to redecorate my living room around it! My daughters will be so thrilled to have a pink living room!
My husband? Probably not so much.
Thank you for the giveaway and for all your inspiration!

[Melody]

I would be so thrilled to win your lovely quilt!

[Shelley A.]

Your work is just spectacular!! You just can't help but be happy and have a light cheerful heart when you look at Lilly Pilly :)
Thanks for giving everyone a chance to be blessed by your work!
I sure do wish your patterns could be downloaded. Have you considered selling pdfs of your patterns?

Thanks again,

Shelley

[Mandy]

I'm still so amazed at your work. I've only just begun to attempt at making crib quilts - mine turn out all wonky and pitiful...and that's when using a machine! The amount of work and artistry that goes into your pieces is stunning. I absolutely adore your quilts. Silhouettes of trees are my favorite design element, and I must say, your Lilly Pilly quilt takes a cake. A true beauty!

[Barb]

Wow, I love ALL of your work! I am going to have to find a vendor who carries your patterns close to me! Please enter me to win!

[Laura Larsen]

Wow!!! Your quilt is gorgeous. I would love to win it.

[Ariane]

Wow!! What a great giveaway!! The Quilt is beautiful. The colors and the quilting are gorgeous. Your work is amazing!!!

[Kerry]

Well Kelly, I will just have to enter this competition. How generous are you. All that work you have put in, and on your holidays and all. Thanks for this opportunity.
Kerry

[Angela]

You are so stinking talented. I'd love to win but more than that I love looking at your blog. I'm still very much a beginner but one of the first patterns I end up buying I'll be getting from your collection!

[Anita]

You are so generous, giving away a quilt! It is just so beautiful!

[Marie]

Kelly once again your trees, wow beautiful, well here is my entry.

[Sharon Mausey]

Your projects are always so beautiful! I'm blogless, but love reading your blog, and others, about quilting. I have learned so much and look forward to more great stuff! Would love to win one of your quilts, pillows or patterns, you are so inspiring to me as well as so many others. Thanks for taking the time and effort to share so much of yourself with us. Sharon

[Robin C]

I can't imagine winning such a beautiful quilt. And I would wait for however long it takes if you told me that it was going to be mine.

Your designs are just wonderful, everytime I see one they just make me smile.

Have a wonderful day and don't stop making me smile.

[Jana]

I love your work! I am cursing my husbands budget right now!!!! It prevents a lot of my shopping :(

[Doris]

A circus birthday is a very special #7 birthday celebration. Happy 7th year, Ben and jessie~

So generous with the quilt...It would be hard to wait for, but oh, so worth the wait.

My extra entry includes purchasing a pattern from you directly on April 2, 2009.

Thanks so much for the chance. The quilt is just truly amazing.

Doris
auntiedart(at)yahoo(dot)com

[emma]

Wow, that is a beautiful quilt and an amazing giveaway! Quite apart from the artwork side of it, I would love to have a piece of your work on my wall for constant inspiration and reference! Are you happy for me (any of us, really!) to 'borrow' an image of the quilt to blog your giveaway?

[skippingdaisies]

Wow, how beautiful. I would love to have a stripey pink tree like that in my garden and even better as a quilt in my house. Your work is just amazing, keep them coming!

[Allie]

You, and your work is amazing!!
I wish I could have been one of those lucky ladies in your class. They all look like they were doing great.
I would love a chance to win your beautiful quilt--again you are amazing to be able to part with it!

[Heather]

Seriously that quilt is going to be given to one lucky winner - WOW!!! I am humbled by your generosity. Love how it turned out.
Off to join the Flickr group - YAY!!!

[Leslie]

What an absolutely beautiful quilt--and my daughter's nickname is Lilly Pilly! It must be fate. Love your stuff.