Sooo many things tell you all about, where do I start?? First up, the Sydney Quilt Show starts TOMORROW, so if you are a Sydney sider get on down there for the opening day! I am on the QuiltNSW committee and also the show committee, so that’s been sucking up a load of my time over the last few months as you can imagine. I’ve also won a prize so thats fun, I’ll be able to let you know what and which quilt it was for next week! The Sydney Quilt Show is held at Rosehill Gardens, September 19 - 22. If you buy your tickets online, you go into a draw to win one of five $50 vouchers a day - the vouchers can be spent at any vendor inside the show, its like being given some quilty pocket money!! I will make sure to take lots of photos for you of the quilts and the vendors. On Friday afternoon I am leaving for Melbourne to teach for a few days, for the Waverley Patchworkers. I’m teaching my Tweedle Dee Project Bag . Its a big week this week but I’m most excited about the fact that I have this in my hot little hands ready to start reading on the plane. I’ve been excited about this for MONTHS…. I know, I’m easily pleased :D I know I’ve said it before, but if you haven’t read The Thursday Murder Club series you really are missing out on a treat. This is Richard Osman’s new series - he is apparently coming back to the TMC but these are new characters and a new story. I can’t wait. Now for the big news of the week! I have THREE exciting things to share.  The first is that my annual Christmas Ornament Swap opens for registration TODAY. As Smites members, you get your signup for free, using the code BAUBLE - but you MUST USE THE CODE, sorry but there are no take backs. Last year it took ages refunding peoples $5 because they forgot to use the code - so please use it :)  You can sign up for the Swap here ! All the information about how it works is on the sign up page, and I will also send an email to those who sign up with more details on September 24, but it essentially works like this -  You sign up, you make a Christmas ornament. I assign you a partner. You send your ornament, a Christmas card and maybe little treat to your partner (only after the approved shipping date!!), and someone different sends you something in the post! It has been a lovely swap in previous years, I have only ever had one or two people flake out and not send, and I always have lovely people offer to fill those holes if they happen. I hope you will join in too! You can sign up for the Swap here ! Again - don’t forget your discount code!  FREE signup for the Christmas Swap for Smites is BAUBLE The second exciting thing is that I had so many people ask about a online class for my little Sakura quilt that I decided to run one.  The class will be live via Zoom, and will take place on Saturday, November 23 at 9am. I’ve tried to get a time that will work for as many people as possible - 9am Sydney time will be around about (different time zones here so its approximate) 4 or 5pm in the USA, 7pm in Canada and 11am in New Zealand. I know that for Europe its awful, and I’m really sorry about that but if there are enough of you interested maybe I will run another one at the end of my day, which would then be the beginning of yours. Let me know if you’re interested in that. The bookings remain open for StitchyMites only until September 23, at which time it will open for everyone so please book before then if you want to participate.  Class goes for 3 hours. During that time you will learn how to use a Micron pen for shading and enhancing your blocks, adding embroidery if you want to, and how to make the little EPP blossoms for the branch. The class is $300 AUS (which is currently about $202 USD or 181 EUR), and includes absolutely everything you need for the class, just open it up and sew -  - Zoom class - paper pattern - video tutorial to refer back to after class - EPP papers and templates - all fabric for the front of the quilt - Micron pen - glue pen - 1 roll of Aurifil 80 weight - 1 Sarah Fielke #10 milliners needle - some little extra treats! The kits will be posted out asap after booking, to give them plenty of time to arrive with students before the class is actually on. I am happy to combine shipping them with anything else you might want from the website too. There’s no discount for Smites this time but I AM giving you first notification on booking in for the class. There are only 16 places, as I want to be able to interact with everyone and keep it feeling cosy, so I wanted to give you guys first option to book before it opens to the public. I hope you will join in, I’d love to see some of your smiling faces! I will be emailing the base on Sunday so get in quick. Join Sakura Zoom online class here Exciting thing number three involves this little pie chart. If you’re on social media you might have seen this, or even voted! After lots of people asked me if I would run Dollies Online again next year, I asked my peeps what they thought about a program for January - June 2025. Several hundred people voted and these are the results! As the majority of people voted for either Dollies Online or small project program, what I’ve decided to do is come up with something where there is a small project, like a bag or a cushion, that also has an option to make that design into a dolly quilt. (A dolly is another word for a mini quilt, or small quilt). There will be 6 patterns, over 6 months. As I really wasn’t planning to run anything in January I’m playing a bit of catch up on this one, the program doesn’t have a name yet… but I’ve decided on all the projects and one is even finished, so thats a start! Got any great ideas for the name?? Let me know in the comments…. Subscriptions for the as yet unnamed program will open at the end of September :) That’s all my news for today, I haven’t had five seconds to touch my Tripping Out quilt because the project I mentioned last week and the show have taken all my time. I’m hoping I will have some more done for next Wednesday, and also I’ll be able to give you a little sneak peek of the project thats been sucking up all my spare time… its pretty cute! :D Sarah x

Yep, all day. I’m having one of Those Days today. As always, I have a lot to do, but I can’t quite find the mojo to do it. When I feel like this I usually distract myself for a little while by doing something I want to do, and then getting back to it - maybe a little bit of stitching that isn’t for work, reading a chapter of my book, going out for a coffee. Today I’ve been to the gym, but it isn’t cutting the mustard. I am really, very much just Over It. Or perhaps not. :D Let’s talk about the fun stuff shall we? I’m reading a good book. It’s called Chain-Gang All-Stars, by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. It was recommended to me by my son Charlie, who loves a bit of dystopian fiction. If you’re into things set in alternate universes, this one is for you - it’s pretty gory in parts and has a pretty bleak outlook - Chain-Gang All-Stars is a feat of world-building and Juvenalian satire that is also an indictment: a TV-ready adventure story about reality television, America's unquenchable thirst for violence, and the retributive means of torture and racial-class control cruelly euphemized as “the justice system.” Cheerful. I’m weirdly enjoying it though, the characters are likeable and compelling, and I want to know what happens to them. If you decide to try it, stick the first chapter or so out - it was a little confusing to follow at first but it solves itself. I’ve been working on my Tipping Point quilt a little but I’ve only done one more round, so I’ll wait until next week to show you progress. If you watch Tula’s Tuesday video this week, you’ll see hers lurking on her design wall in the background! I have been stitching a lot though, mainly because I have another project due and under deadline :) The last one was for Aurifil Thread Labs, which has been released now I can show it to you! If you don’t know about Thread Labs, its such fun program - you can read all about it here https://www.aurifil.com/thread-labs-2-0 And there are quite a few shops that still have their signups for boxes open. My project is called Heartbeat, and focusses on hand appliqué and hand quilting (surprise!) I’m quite pleased with it, its a cutie and fun to stitch.  The next one is for a shop in the UK called Alice Caroline, who specialise in Liberty Fabrics. They are having a Christmas Festival, where different designers have designed projects using the new Liberty Christmas fabrics that were just released. I’m making a little something for it, and doing a video tutorial etc - but my fabrics took a while to get here from the UK so as usual I am playing a little bit of catchup, as the project, video and pattern are all due September 23! Why do I do this to myself :) I can’t show you the project yet but I can show you the Christmas fabrics, they’re lovely. https://alicecaroline.com/liberty-christmas-fabrics-have-landed-%f0%9f%8e%84%e2%9c%a8/ Anyway I have procrastinated long enough chatting to you all…. I hope you have a lovely Wednesday and that yours is better than mine! Take care Smites and find that silver lining :) Sarah x

Hi StitchyMites, I hope you’re having a nice Wednesday. We had a quiet week, enforced by Covid in our household - so I grabbed the opportunity with both hands and started my Tripping Out Quilt. If you want to sew along with me on this one, you’ll need the Tripping Out pattern by Sew Kind of Wonderful, as well as their Quick Straight Ruler. Best place to find it is straight to the source and buy direct from Helen and Jenny. https://sewkindofwonderful.com/products/tripping-out-1 My friends Tula and Sally and I saw this pattern when it was just released at Sisters in July, and we all bought it from the girls, along with the ruler (you can’t really make the quilt without it TBH). We then went into The Stitchin’ Post where I picked out some Fableism wovens for my backgrounds… T and Sal decided they wanted the same so we all ended up with very bulky packages of yardage (we may have added some other shopping while we were there…) and we wandered off down the street. Now we’re all busy girls, so we only just started sewing. To be honest, Tula always starts first when we do something like this - the last quilt we sewed together, mine is still in pieces and hers has been quilted and on her couch for 18 months. Ah what you gonna do. I’ll get there, I always finish things just maybe not right away. This one I will finish though, and finish fast because once you get the hang of it, its QUICK and FUN and really, really easy. Tula’s is about a quarter pieced and on the wall in her studio, and Sally only started today. So I’m doing pretty well for one half hearted day of sewing really. I decided not to use the same colour progression as the girls so here is the rainbow I’ve made up I’m starting from warm in the centre and working outwards. I am using fat quarters instead of the half yards called for in the pattern, but some of the colours I liked I only had 8ths so I had to order some more. I’m going to use some the same colours to make their Northern Lights quilt too, which uses the same ruler, for the same room as Tripping Out is for, so I needed some more of those. They just arrived so I’ll get going again tomorrow. https://sewkindofwonderful.com/products/northern-lights-1 I made a little video for you about how to use the ruler, it’s very easy once you understand where to put the lines, and the trimming up method takes all the guesswork out of getting your 1/4” correct on all those pointy rectangles. It’s really very clever, those two know what they’re about :) I will admit that I cut a bunch of rectangles incorrectly at the start though, so that’s why you get a little video of me in my gym clothes explaining it (sorry about that). Are you going to sew along?? I’ll posting pics of my progress here for you and I’ll post pics of Tula and Sally’s too when I get them. If you order the patterns or the ruler from Jenny and Helen, please say hello from me when you check out so they know I sent you! Enjoy… it really is a fun project this one, I’ll admit it’s not often I’ll send you off to make someone else’s quilt pattern but this one is a real peach! Have a great week Sarah x PS. Thank you so much to all who ordered one of my three new patterns!! The orders have flooded in and I so appreciate each and every one of you xx

​Hi everyone, I have some exciting things to share - firstly that I have THREE new patterns just launched! Tidy Town is a sweet little caddy to sit on your sewing table. the pattern comes with the stiff card pre laser cut to size to make the caddy, and instructions for the cute Birdie pincushion and Tulip thimble holder that go with it!  Tweedle Dee is a gorgeous and roomy project bag to take your projects on the go, or store them safely between crafting time. Each side has an adorable applique scene, and one side has an extra pocket to keep things tidy. The pattern incudes an appliqued needlebook and scissor guard too. Even better, the Tidy Town Caddy will fit neatly inside the bag, so you can pop all your threads and pins and other bits and pieces in, with room for your stitching too. There are a very few full kits for the caddy and the project bag left also - be quick as it really is a very few! The kits include everything you need to make each project, with exactly the same fabrics (except for one or two small substitutions in the project bag kit.) You can also buy the koki clips for the closure of the bag and the cord to go with it. Sakura is my final new launch. This pattern was part of my Dollies Online project a few years ago, but only the students in that program have had access to it. Sakura teaches you the fun and games of using a miron pen to add a little something extra to your quilts! Its a fun and easy technique when you get the hang of making things look neat and a little 3D. The cherry blossoms are done with curved English Paper Piecing,  and then appliqued down. PURCHASE THEM ALL HERE I hope you find something there to excite you! Don't forget also that my Online Quilt Hanging Competition closes for entries on Sunday, September 1 , Sydney time. If you have a quilt from any of my Block of the Month programs that you haven't entered before, pop over and enter it now! The quilt doesn't have to be quilted and bound, but the top does need to be finished. There are lots of wonderful prizes to win from my awesome sponsors, Free Spirit Fabrics, Renaissance Ribbons and Aurufil Thread. When voting opens I will let everyone know, so you can go to the gallery and see all the quilts "hanging". ENTER HERE I hope you are looking forward to some sewing this weekend wherever you are! Happy Friday Sarah x

Hello StitchyMites! Well a wonderful weekend was had by all at my Sew Surfside retreat on the weekend. I would love to collapse in a heap but I've been away teaching and now I'm getting ready for the Sydney Quilt Show. No rest for the wicked! :) Everyone got a beautiful goodie bag from my wonderful sponsors, Free Spirit, Renaissance Ribbons, The Strawberry Thief, Blueberries and Aurifil, and also a hand embroidered name tag that my amazing helper Belle stitched, and I embellished. We were busy! The classes went wonderfully well, and Annette Gero's lecture was fascinating, and some of the stories brought me to tears.  If you missed the retreat and you're thinking of coming - YES, it will be on again next year! If you want a little in on the fun, the patterns for my TweedleDee Project Bag and Tidy Town Caddy are just now available on the website - as well as a VERY limited number of kits ! I've also put up my new Sakura pattern, that I'm teaching at the Sydney Quilt Show. I won't post about these on social media until tomorrow to give you a chance to get in first on the kits - plus as always, Smites get $5 off with code SEWSURFSIDE.  You get $5 off each of these - Tidy Town Caddy Kit, Tweedle Dee Project Bag Kit, Tidy Town Caddy pattern with template paper kit, Tweedle Dee Project Bag Printed Pattern. There are also linen fabrics that are just perfect for the Tweedle Dee bag as well. Shop here Happy Wednesday peeps, I hope you're stitching where you are... Sarah

Busy Busy Busy Hi everyone, I hope you're all well! I'm writing this covered in flour... my house is an absolute bombsite and it's going to be a late night! That's OK though, it will all get done in the end - it always does. This Friday and Saturday is my Sew Surfside Retreat, here in Avalon Beach. That wouldn't be such a drama except that I managed to have post surgery complications that have kept me off my feet. And then the threads for my project with Aurifil for their Thread Labs 2.0 program were held up in customs - meaning that I had a week to make the project, write the pattern, film the video tutorials and an interview.... and cut and pack all the kits for the retreat, pack the patterns, bake all the morning/afternoon tea cakes and bikkies and put sleeves on my quilts for the Sydney Quilt Show. ::::laughs madly pulls at hair:::: hahaha No really I'm fine, but I really have to go now and put another cake in the oven, and start sewing the sleeves on. I love you all and everything, but I just can't hang out today. I'm going to leave you with the recipe for what is currently my absolute favourite cake to bake - I'm looking forward to a slice on Friday in class. Its from a beautiful cookbook called The Plain Cake Appreciation Society, by Tilly Pamment. It's a fairly recent book but my copy is already covered in smears and dusted with flour - always a sign of a good cookbook. Here is the recipe for A Plain Cake with Passionfruit Buttercream https://thebigissue.org.au/article/a-plain-cake-with-passionfruit-buttercream/ And while Im at it, the recipe for my all time favourite fallback cake, that I make every time I need to make something that looks​ complicated and fancy but is actually really easy and quick. They'll be having this in class on Saturday! https://www.marthastewart.com/336020/strawberry-cake I promise a nice long post with all the fun stuff from the retreat next week, ​and also a discount code on two new patterns.... yep I know lots of you are waiting, next week I'll be releasing the Tidy Town Caddy and Tweedle Dee Pouch. Smites will get a little discount, and also first grabs on the (very) limited fabric kits for the Pouch. Happy Wednesday peeps, I hope life is fab where you are. Sarah x

It’s been a bit of day in my studio.  When Kathy Doughty and I opened our shop, Material Obsession, 20 years ago, we didn’t have much of a budget. We were both mums running young families, with husbands working hard to pay the mortgages. We both chipped in the same amount of money to buy the shop (which was then called Hullmann Cottage) from the previous owner. The money felt like all the money in the world, like our families would take forever to recover from this huge thing we were doing. I was thrilled, but terrified.  Because of of our small budget, we were very careful about the stock we ordered before we opened, but there were things we wanted without fail. Things we hadn’t seen anywhere else in Australia, that felt like what quilting meant to the two of us, things we wanted to do but didn’t see being done here. As a result, we were the first shop in Australia to stock Amy Butler and Anna Maria Horner - both with their first collections. We were to my knowledge the first shop teaching what is now commonly known as “big stitch hand quilting” - something I had always done my quilts without realising it wasn’t “real quilting” (as I was told by countless members of the Quilt Police in our early years), and something I taught Kathy how to do. So we spent a lot of our seed money on Perle cotton. The other thing that was non-negotiable spending in my eyes was a good selection of really Excellent and Proper quilting books. We of course ordered It’s Ok If You Sit On My Quilt Book, by Mary Ellen Hopkins (the text book for every beginner class I taught for nearly 11 years!), several books by my now beloved friends, Jean and Valori Wells. We ordered a brand new, fascinating book about something called “modern quilting”, by Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle, and most wonderful of all, Collaborative Quilting, by Gwen Marston and Freddy Moran.  I poured over that book with my eyes popping out. They were the most beautiful quilts I ever saw, they spoke to my soul and for the first time in my quilting life I realised that there were other people out there who wanted to make mad, whimsical quilts full of spots and ginghams and happiness and fun, just like I did. I was so happy to find these women, I felt I’d made friends long before I ever met either of them. I first came into contact with the wonderful Freddy Moran 18 years ago, when we were writing Material Obsession One . I had made a quilt that I was teaching in my classes, using Collaborative Quilting as the textbook. It was called The ‘Burbs, and my students loved it. The publishers wanted to include it in the book, and although the pattern, blocks and dimensions were mine, the quilt was absolutely inspired by them and their Parts Department, and I didn’t feel it was right to put it in the book and not ask them. Now this was 2007. Sending someone an email was not the instant option it was today, and Freddy and Gwen did not have a website or a blog or anything like that. The Material Obsession blog was one of the first quilting blogs to exist, and we only started that in 2006. I feel like I’m talking about the dark ages :D And so I phoned the publisher of their book in the USA, and asked for their contact details, and they very kindly gave me both of their mailing addresses. I wrote a letter to Gwen, and a letter to Freddy, asking for their permission to publish my quilt in our book. A letter came back very promptly from Gwen, short and to the point, saying that was absolutely fine, and thank you for asking. A letter came back a few weeks later from Freddy. Her enthusiasm for my quilt was huge, she was so lovely and encouraging about it and “thrilled and flattered” that we would want to put it in our book. She wished us every success and hoped our paths would cross one day. And one day, they did. Not until many years later, when I first went to teach at Quilters Affair in Oregon, for my friend Val Wells and her mom. In the mean time though, Freddy taught a few of my quilt patterns too! Students sent me photos of her, holding my books in her classrooms. Freddy wrote to me too, and told me what she was doing. As far as I was concerned, if Freddy Moran wanted to teach one of my quilt patterns then that was 100% OK with me!!!  Quilting From Little Things 2024 was my 8th or 9th Sisters, we can’t work out which. So including the two years I missed because of Covid, its around 11 years or so ago that I first met Freddy.  That first Sisters was completely overwhelming for me, it was like Quilt Disney. I was rooming with my friend Tula, I got to hang out with Val and loads of other teachers whose names I had always heard of, and Jean’s classroom was right outside mine. On the first event for the week, the Gees Bend quilters sang in the auditorium, and showed us their quilts and spoke about their processes. Alex Anderson interviewed me for The Quilt Show. Best of all though was Freddy. Her class was next door to me, and on the first morning she poked her head around the door, with her eyes twinkling behind huge red eye glasses, bangles rattling up and down both arms. “Saaaaraaaah….” she called, “Are you teaching my quilt??” And I was! She was in and out of my class all day, peering over everyones shoulders and marvelling at the fun they were all having, stealing scraps of fabric from scrap buckets and making everyone giggle. Jean eventually came and scolded her to go back in her classroom, her students couldn’t work without her! She wouldn’t last half an hour though, and she’d be sneaking back past Jean to see what my class was up to. I wish I could have taken one of her classes, but every time we were in the same place I was always working. Every Sisters since, until the last when she was too ill to travel, I would see her through the crowd in the cafeteria or hear behind me - Saaaaraaaah…..! And then the most wonderful, warm hug, and such genuine joy to see me. She was always so absolutely real and without any trace of bullshit.  Freddy was a giant in our industry. She is one of the many shoulders the quilters of today stand on. The likes of Mary Ellen Hopkins, Nancy Crowe, Jean Wells, Gwen Marston and Ruth McDowell have paved the way for what we now call modern quilts, for modern techniques, the acceptance of modern colours and fabrics and shapes, and for the thriving quilting industry that designers like me are a part of. If you haven’t ever heard of these people, I encourage you to go and find out about them - they took traditional quilting and made it into their own creature, to the benefit and inspiration of all.  Freddy was a talented and intuitive designer, bold and unafraid of colour and shape. Red was her neutral, but no quilt was ever complete without a touch of black and white. She was a creative thinker, a gifted writer and an excellent technician. She was also a wonderful friend, a kind and giving mentor. She was a sparkling magical unicorn of a human, who it was an honour to know. Yesterday when I heard she had died, I went downstairs to my studio and started a quilt. I hope to have it finished for Sisters in 2025, for the 50th anniversary of a show she was such a special and sparkling part of. Maybe I’ll even teach it there next year, if I get it done in time. I’m just sad she won’t be there to see it. Goodbye Freddy, you were an absolute pleasure, and a rare privilege. Sarah x PS. On a more cheerful note peeps, my annual (yes, I know I missed last year) Online Quilt Hanging is now open for entries. If you’ve made one of my quilts then you’re eligible to enter - the prizes are AWESOME (you should see the box of goodies from Free Spirit that just arrived!!) And all the “judging” is done by other quilters, not by quilt judges, so don’t be afraid to enter! You can read all about it, and enter your quilts, here .

The quilts will “hang” on my website for everyone to see! You may enter ANY quilt tops or finished quilts from ANY of my 12 Block of the Month quilts, as long as you haven't entered that quilt before. The quilt does NOT need to be quilted or bound, it can be just a finished quilt top. Here are some of the old winners - https://www.sarahfielkeblockofmonth.com/happy-days-quilt-competition.html , https://www.sarahfielkeblockofmonth.com/down-the-rabbit-hole-quilt-competition.html , https://www.sarahfielkeblockofmonth.com/quilt-gallery-and-competition-2018.html , https://www.sarahfielkeblockofmonth.com/quilt-competition-2020.html , https://www.sarahfielkeblockofmonth.com/quilt-competition-2021.html Add the best, flattest photo you can manage and enter below. In the comments section, please include how you would like your name listed - some people prefer just their first name, some their whole name, some their instagram handle. Your quilt will NOT BE ENTERED unless it is received by the below form. Please do not send via social media or email. Entries are open from now until Sunday September 1, 5pm, Sydney time. The voting will open a few days later to the public, and the prizes will be awarded after two weeks of voting. The winners will be announced on September 16. This year we have an absolutely beautiful bundle of fabric, ribbons and threads for the Best in Show prize. There will also be 9 runners up, and as always Damo and I will award a prize for our favourite quilt entry. All the prizes are sponsored by my spectacular friends at Aurifil Threads, Free Spirit Fabrics and Renaissance Ribbons, who are absolute heroes and have sent the most gorgeous product for the winners. Dont be shy- this isn’t like a normal quilt show where judges peer at your binding and your points! This show is judged by other quilters, so fly your flag and let’s see what you’ve been making!

Hi all, well its been an eventful week around here that’s for sure. I’ve been putting out fires left, right and centre. Aurifil thread sets for Big Woods that were supposed to arrive ten days ago have been stuck in customs - my FedEx rep has become a close friend due to the approximately one billion hours I’ve spent on the phone to him this week!! Thankfully overnight I got a message that the container has been released, and the boxes will be here late this afternoon. If you’re waiting on your Big Woods order that has threads in it, it will be in the post just as soon as I get my grabby little hands on them, Monday (Australian time) at the very very latest. On top of that there’s been quite a few errors in the packing of the Free Spirit Big Woods kits…. there’s an email going out about those today, Free Spirit have been great in jumping on the issues to have them fixed up. I guess its good to remember that everyone is only human and packing errors in a factory, or customs problems with a shipping container are just as easy mistake as tipping over your coffee cup! Anyway. These things will soon all be rectified and everyone can move on with their quilts, which are, after all, only quilts. As someone said to me on social media yesterday, it’s all relative - no one has died, no wars are being started over incorrect fabric or lost threads. We will all survive. I’ve come across a lot of fun things in the last few weeks that I’ve been saving up to tell you about. Firstly, these completely awesome rulers. A student in my class at Sisters had them, and let me tell you I couldn’t wait for it to be lunchtime fast enough to order them :) I love a rainbow, and rainbow plus glitter means sparkly sewing. They’ve arrived in Sydney, they’re awesome, and you need some in your life. In fact, I might need more. https://www.compasspointquilts.com/shop/Notions/Rulers/Rainbow--Pink-to-Teal-Rulers-Glitter--Clear.htm While we’re on the subject of rulers, my Colour Value Tools are in stock now - if you would like one, you can find them here: https://www.sarahfielke.com/product-page/sarah-fielke-colour-value-tool I’ve been a fan of Anna Maria Horner fabrics for ages, in fact at Material Obsession we were the first people ever in Australia to stock her fabric! And Amy Butler and Tula, too. But Anna brought out Chocolate Lollipops not long after we opened the shop, and we wanted it very badly - but the distributor here wasn’t bring it in. “Too bright for the Australian market” we were told… and I guess at that time, it was. But not for us, so we made a special indent order and had to wait for months and months to have it in store, but it was worth it! She has a new collection coming out, and while I’m a fab of her fabrics I’ll admit I’m not usually a fan of her quilts… although insider tip here, did you know I taught her to hand quilt? Yep, true story. Her new collection is called Anna Loves Hue, and its all about colour. The fabrics are great, but the quilt that goes with the collection is FANTASTIC. I love it, hard. I’m going to buy the kit for it, if I can find it in Australia - the shipping on something that heavy from overseas is just brutal at the moment. I haven’t bought a kit for a quilt in a VERY. LONG. TIME. but its so cool! Here it is an Anna’s website https://annamariahorner.com/products/echinacea-quilt-kit Hmmm, other cool things I wanted to show you…..have you seen Tula’s new collection of hardware from Sallie Tomato? Peeps its NEON PINK. https://www.bebeloushdesigns.com.au/collections/tula-pink-x-sallie-tomato-hardware So awesome. Plus its that beautiful, sturdy Sallie Tomato product I love. If you haven’t used the ST hardware for a bag before, you don’t know what you’re missing out on. It gives such an amazing, professional finish. Tula made me a bag for my birthday using it - it’s completely beautiful, and it uses her as yet unreleased fabric collection, Untamed, new ribbons and strapping from Renaissance Ribbons, and the new hardware. Its truly gorgeous. I haven’t had a chance yet, but I’m going to do a video of me stocking it with all my favourite stuff for social media soon. She even appliquéd little heart on the inside xx The pattern is A Place for Everything from By Annie if you’re looking for it. https://www.byannie.com/shop/pba207-2-a-place-for-everything-2-0-12656 Here’s something else I went shopping for at Sisters. Tula and I often like to start quilts that we make “together” - at the same time that is, not making the same quilt. She always finishes before me because she lives alone with no husband or dog, and doesn’t run a shop or teach or any of that stuff, so her sewing time is pretty much her own. But thats ok, I wander along in her wake and we both always get there in the end. This time we have decided to make an awesome quilt by our dear friends, Jenny and Helen from Sew Kind of Wonderful. We hang out with them when we’re in Sisters a lot, they are the most awesome, fun, beautiful and kind people you’re ever likely to meet and we love them to bits! The quilt we are making, along with our mate Sally Frey, is called Tripping Out. https://sewkindofwonderful.com/products/tripping-out-1?_pos=1&_sid=76d19bab0&_ss=r Its such a cool design! Jenny and Helen are famous for their incredible rulers that make curved piecing a breeze, and while there aren’t any curves in this quilt there IS a ruler that goes with it. I was skeptical about needing it (I’m a pretty good patchworker) but when I realised what it does I got one right away. It takes all the precision piecing out of these triangles, its so so clever. T, Sally and I all bought the same backgrounds fabrics to make our quilts but we’re all using different fabrics for the colours. We are using Fableism Wovens for out backgrounds. We all bought some at Stitchin’ Post in Sisters (they have them online https://stitchinpost.com/search?type=product&options[prefix]=last&q=fableism* ) and then T and I both filled in some other colours to play with from Cottoneerfabrics.com, just because we’re both fabric addicts and why have one option when you can have 5. And on that note, I bought the Northern Lights pattern too, because they go really well together and I thought they would be fun in my TV den. And they use the same ruler. Bonus! https://sewkindofwonderful.com/products/northern-lights-1?pr_prod_strat=jac&pr_rec_id=0b136822a&pr_rec_pid=8769186169075&pr_ref_pid=8769691877619&pr_seq=uniform My fabrics are arriving in today's post. Do you want to sew along with us?? I think it would be really fun if you did! I won’t put the sew along on social media, it will be just for you Smites… you can see my quilt and Sal and Tula’s too as we go along, and make sure and show me yours if you’re making it and I’ll post it too. I won’t be able to start for a few weeks because I have to: Finish my Aurifil Thread Labs project - which was due a month ago but the threads have been stuck in customs with everything else!!!! Aaaargh!! Finish up the Big Woods instructions so that I have heaps of time in 2025 to work on something else super secret thats going to be for after Big Woods…. OMG so exciting Finish cutting kits for my retreat and packing the goodie bags! Actually theres two super secret exciting projects… can’t tell you about that one yet either And then I can start. So you have plenty of time to order your pattern and ruler from Helen and Jen and gather your fabrics up. Who’s in? Smites stitching together…. Maybe we should have a progress Zoom too? Let me know what you think. Have a great week Smites! Sarah

Hello Smites and I hope you’re all well and happy! The past few months have just been bananas for me, and to top it off last week I had to have an unexpected follow up procedure to my surgery that knocked me a bit flat. Sorry I haven’t been able to make the load of star blocks for our colour exercise that I promised just yet, but I did get one done and I plan to do a lot more. At least I can show you how to make yours! The nice thing about this block is that is can be as large or small as you please. I’ve cut my triangles at 2 1/2” using my half square triangle ruler (which is available here), but you can make yours any size you like. If you are using the ruler, you cut your strip to the finished size of the square (in my case, 2”) and then add 1/2”. So 2 1/2” strips.  Place the ruler onto the strip with the 2 1/2” mark at the bottom of the strip, and the flat end of the ruler at the top of the strip.  Square the side up, then cut the triangle. I am cutting these here from two layers of fabric. To cut the next triangle, simply turn the ruler upside down, so that the flat top is at the bottom and the 2 1/2” mark at the top. Don’t flip the ruler over to the back. If you get really fancy, you can put the two colours of triangle you’re cutting right sides together, and cut the triangles in pairs from the strip. Then you have the triangles ready to take straight to the sewing machine and stitch into pairs! The short, flat top edges of the triangle should align, because then you have your quarter inch seam start all ready for you.  If you ARE NOT using the ruler, you need to add 2 7/8” to the finished size of the square - so in my case, 2” finished would mean a 2 7/8” strip. Cut 2 7/8” squares from the strip, and cut the squares in half on one diagonal to get your triangles.  The block is 4 squares by 4 squares - so my block with the 2” finished squares, ends up 2” x 4 - 8”, plus the half inch for seam allowances, 8 1/2” when sewn. If you use 3” finished squares, 12 1/2”, 4” squares, 16 1/2” and so on. You could even use 1” finished squares and end up with. Teeny 4 1/2” block if you were so inclined.  I kind of like an 8 1/2” block, it seems like a sensible size for both the triangles and the finish. You can always set the stars with other things, and its divisible x 2 which is handy if you’re wanting to make different blocks and seem them all together. So 8 1/2” it was for me. When you have stitched the pair together and ironed them open, clip the little ear off the edge of the square to allow for neat and tidy piecing. Lay the pieces out again in the order they need to be stitched - its really easy to get these out of order, so laying them out is an important step. Stitch the squares together in rows, nesting the seams on the triangles as you do. I press my seams to the side - I’m not a believe in open seams one little bit I’m sorry to say - and here I have always pressed with the up and down sides of the seams in mind, so that they are easily and neatly nested together. And here is my finished block! Its purples, mixed with a mint green and the pale yellow pieces for contrast on the colour wheel. I’m going to make others in similar colour ways, but with sharper contrasts with the colours. Some will have more predominate yellows and oranges, and some will be more purples.  The Big Woods Block of the Month started today , and as I was packing up my little appliqué blocks for the “extras” applique on Month 1 the little birdies fell next to my star block. You never know, maybe I’ll design some applique to go with these stars and make a little lap quilt from it all.  As a treat for being so lovely, here’s a little Stitchy Mites preview of the “extra” project for Month 2 of Big Woods. We are stitching the Owl block next. He is a librarian, and he likes to stay up late, reading and drinking dirty chai. He needs his glasses for that, so there will be optional glasses to put onto the quilt - but also an extra pattern for a little library book bag with him stitched on the side, in case your quilt doesn’t have glasses but you needed to make some anyway. Isn’t he gorgeous?? Plus my Tabby Road stripe arrived JUST in the nick of time to be the background. WINNING :) Sarah x

​It's finally here!! The first instalment of my Big Woods BOM with Tula Pink and Free Spirit Fabrics is up and ready for you to see at the website. Don't forget you will need to log in first, and then you will find everything waiting for you. Please make sure and have a good read through, and a watch through, of everything in this first month - there is a LOT to take in, and much of what is there this month is meant for you to be able to refer back to as we work through the rest of the patterns over 12 months. This first drop is a WHOPPER, but we hope you'll have a lot of fun with it! There are some extra applique shapes this month for those that want to venture past the base pattern on Block 1, and theres also a little practise shape for those who are newbies and a bit apprehensive about launching into their first try at applique right onto their quilt. We think we've thought of everything, and we hope we're right! Have a great time, and don't forget that I'm available via email  sarah@sarahfielke.com  or in the Facebook group if you have questions. Enjoy! Access for members: 1. Go to https://www.sarahfielke.com/my-content 2. Click on Log In top right on that page. 3. Log In with the email address and password you used to purchase subscription. (if you haven’t set up a password, follow below) 4. Then when logged in, click on "04 Big Woods BOM 2024" and you will have access to content. If you can’t remember your password, there is a “Forgot password” link on the email log in section. Sarah x​ For those who haven't joined, you still can - don't miss this fun journey with Tula! You can join up here

Hi all, I arrived back from the USA after a veeery long travel home yesterday and took the remainder of the day to recuperate a little - having left at 4.30am to get to the airport in Bend, I finally flew out of LA after a huge layover at midnight, and then had a 14 hour flight. Phew!! That was a long one - and it was my birthday too, boooo to birthdays in transit lounges. Oh well, I got plenty of reading done (finished Slough House No. 4 by Mick Herron, Spook Street, and started Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby van Pelt), and made a very good start on the tapestry kit of Anne Boleyn I won in an instagram competition recently! Emily Peacock is one of my very favourite designers of any kind, so I couldn’t resist entering, and I won - something that’s never happened before :D All very exciting.  Sisters as always was wonderful. Its such a great show. I know I banged on about it last week, but it really is! I love every moment I spend there. Monday I taught my first Quilter’s Affair class for the week in my Tiny Town quilt, and I was so busy with everyone buzzing about all day I forgot to take a single photo! Here is Tiny Town instead, hanging in the Teacher’s Pavilion of the show on Saturday.  A lovely student from last year’s Quilter’s Affair also brought her finished quilt to show me! I love seeing  what everyone gets up to :) If you want to make this quilt, the pattern and templates are available here … and for those of you who made it AND Spooky Town already , the Christmas Town pattern is coming very soon!! On Tuesday and Wednesday I taught my Climbing Scrap Mountain class. This is so much fun. Everyone brings a bag of scrap from home, and we tip everyone's fabrics on the floor and work from the “mountain”.  The class kit contains a booklet for over 40 quilt layouts, all using a template set in which every shape clicks together in different configurations. On day one, we make scrap “fabric” using either the string or crazy piecing methods, and on day 2 we cut and design our quilts.  It’s a class I took 5 years to design and build, and I taught it for the first time at Sisters last year. It’s SO MUCH FUN, and everyone goes home with a quilt in progress, and the ideas for dozens and dozens more in their bags. Here’s all my awesome students having an excellent time -  If you want to take this class from me, you can do it on demand via my website! The final two days of the week were spent teaching Big Woods with Tula. She didn’t actually teach at Sisters this year, she just attended, and sat in on my BW class and heckled me from the sidelines. On day one we made our house blocks, and day 2 we appliquéd our trees. I had a lot of brand new appliqué students in class and they were all absolute champions!!  Most people finished their whole blocks, and a few just had the tree tops to finish. It’s a good indication for those thinking about joining the BOM - its not NEARLY as much work as it looks. We finished the whole of Month 1 in just two days. Throughout the week of Quilters Affair there are extra events at night for everyone’s entertainment. Wednesday night we had a fundraiser for the Quilt Show, which runs as a non profit. Tula and I came up with the idea for it last year, and it was fun to see it come to life this year.  Freddy Moran has been a huge part of the Sisters show over the years and is a close friend of Jean Wells, who started the show in the first place, 49 years ago. Freddy is 94 and quite unwell, so we thought that a tribute to her was in order. All the teachers made a self portrait in the style of Freddy’s Faces.  If you don’t know about Freddy, she is one of my all time biggest quilting heroes, and I have had the privilege to get to know her at Sisters over the years. I introduced this video at the event and talked about her influence on my quilting, and then they auctioned the teacher’s “faces”. Here is my quilt - sorry it’s an awful picture, but its the only one I took and I forgot to take a good one before it was sent off to be sold! Thursday night was a lecture by my lovely friend, Guiseppe Ribaudo, aka Juicy Guice. If you ever have the chance to take a class with Guiseppe, I highly recommend that you do. He’s a wonderful teacher and also one of the nicest, kindest and most enthusiastic humans you will ever meet. Guiseppe did a creative residency at Pine Meadows Ranch in Sisters earlier this year, and his lecture was about the quilts he made during the residency and the ideas and sentiments behind them. The lecture was beautifully done and very emotional, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.  And then it was Saturday, and time for the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show! The first quilts go up on the side of The Stitchin’ Post store at 7am, hung by the local firefighters and directed by my dear friend Sally Frey. It’s one of my favourite moments of the whole show, but I’m not sure wether thats because its the moment the show begins, because of the hot firefighters or watching Sal order them around :) Maybe all three. The other quilt I had in the Teacher’s Pavilion was of course Big Woods… T and I made sure to have a photo taken in front of it for you! The town was teeming with beautiful quilts and people and lovely shops to browse in. My friend the lovely Sujata Shah was this year’s Inspirational Tutor and she had an exhibition all of her own. Her quilts are so beautiful in person, very tactile and full of personailty. And then Sunday was the walk through the forest at Five Pines. I was the artist last year (last weeks post has the photos from that) and this year it was Guiseppe. His saturated colours and beautiful piecing looked amazing in amongst the trees and flowers. I hope you enjoyed your tour of Sisters…. And I hope that if you’ve never been I’ve inspired you to go! Next year is the 50th anniversary of the show and if ever there was a reason to go, there’s one :) I will be there teaching as always and we have some very very fun stuff planned to celebrate 50 years of Quilter’s Affair and the Outdoor Quilt Show. See you next week! Sarah