Here’s a photo I took on the rainy weekend of the plaza at my local shopping centre - taken from the overhead walkway. Isn’t it wonderful how patchwork designs just keep popping up when you least expect them!

Here’s something quilters dream of - from the Crowle Home Needlecraft Fair on Satuday May 5.

 It’s on each year on the same day - the first Saturday in May. There were bargains to be had everywhere!

Just when you think it’s safe to visit the sewing room, someone’s already there - minding not only the last mountain of stash, but also the rotary cutter!

Can you see the yellow handle under her tail? This is Julia - the quilt-loving cat.

During my recent trip to Brisbane I had to exercise some of that famous quilter’s ingenuity to find a place to sew.

Yes, I converted the phone table! I sat there happily each night piecing a current project with my faithful Bernina.

If you didn’t attend the Australasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne last week, you missed some magnificent exhibits!

The Gala Dinner on Saturday night was a lot of fun too. Here’s just one shot - I think it was the world’s longest quilters’ conga line!

Does anyone watch those backyard makeover shows where a team of experts descends on a desolate suburban garden and - hey-presto! - turns it into a wonderland? My sewing room recently had a transformation like that, but sadly I had to do all the work myself.

This is the before shot:

So what’s the problem? The problem is that bit of curly grey cord poking out from under the piles of fabric. Can you see it?

No, I couldn’t either. Then the phone rang when I was alone in the house and I needed to find it!

I did manage to answer that call - balancing over the phone trying not to disturb the material - and I resolved that it was time to tidy up … soon, anyhow. Of course, the phone rang for a second time not long after!

This is what that corner looks like … for the time being!

Like all quilters, I love to add new fabric to my stash, so I was delighted to discover two fantastic patchwork stores on a recent visit to Brisbane.

The first of them is Heavenly Patchwork in Clontarf, and it’s a beautiful shop. It’s right on the water and the views are just incredible - as is the stock, of course!

This is Lisa Linley, the owner of Heavenly Patchwork, in front of one of the gorgeous quilts on display in the shop.

The second great find is Quilt ‘n’ Stitch in Virginia - they don’t have a website, but you can visit them at 3/1804 Sandgate Rd, Viriginia QLD 4014 or call them on (07) 3865 7111. They have an enormous range of fabrics, so there’s definitely something for everyone, and the downstairs workshop space is just fantastic - it’s enormous and there’s heaps of room for classes.

All the lovely ladies at Quilt ‘n’ Stitch have names starting with L. The three in the photo are Lyn, Lisa and Lorna, while Camille - the only one whose name doesn’t fit the pattern - has shortened herself to Lil while she’s in the shop!

Why not share some of your favourite shops in the comments?

The Australian Patchwork & Quilting team work very hard to check and double-check every aspect of the magazine. Part Two of Therese Rankmore’s Mystery Quilt featured in AP&Q Vol 15 No 3 has two incorrect diagrams. Please click here to open a pdf of the pages with the correct diagrams included.

In the aftermath of the gift-giving (and receiving!) season, many of you must be looking at your cupboards and wondering how your new fabric acquisitions will ever fit. AP&Q has the answer - stash-busting!

This month we have a couple of projects that are ideal for using up those odd bits and pieces that every quilter has squirreled away.

Marianne’s ‘Happy Trails’ quilt uses pieces as small as two inches square - perfect for those scraps left over from other projects that you just couldn’t part with.

We also have a tutorial from Ruth Buchanan on putting together orphaned sample blocks into a quilt. Her finished product incorporates blocks from nearly 50 projects — that should make some room in the sewing cupboard!