First quilting group meeting at Kathy's studio

The sun has come out after a fortnight's grey skies and torrential rain.  The first gathering of quilters for an informal sewing/quilting session took place today in Kathy's new studio.  Kathy is holding these meetings every Thursday and all are welcome.  There will be a morning, afternoon and evening group. Booking is essential as space is limited and there will be a couple of Thursdays this year when there will be no meeting as KoolKat will be visiting quilt groups in southern and western Queensland.  Phone 07 4696 8746 or email koolkatquilting@optusnet.com.au for details.

Casino table installed at KoolKat studio

A casino table was installed at my new studio today. Well, not quite - it is the former boardroom table from Casino Golf Club which I purchased through ebay. While it cost me more than the purchase price to have it delivered from Casino in northern NSW to Toowoomba in SE Queensland, I'm very happy with this solid maple table that looks as though it might have been made circa 1960s or 70s. In any case, it was made when real timber was still being used!

A quiz for you - how many quilters plus sewing machines can we fit around this table?

It's the Studio, not a glamour shot!

Here's an unglamourous shot of the quilter surveying her new domain. While the work isn't yet finished, at least the trades-people have left and we can get on with the painting, putting up the picture rail (to hang quilts from, etc). This is our former 12 x 6 m steel shed - the bench at the back is a former workbench now converted to a lovely clean workspace. Similarly, the set of pine shelves on the RHS once were covered with Geoff's tools including a leaking grease-gun - they have been cleaned, painted with polyurethane, and covered with vinyl. We now know not to use too much glue, you can't rid of the air-bubbles.

This will be Kathy's new creative area - our smallest Statler will go in this space, along with a fabric cutter, embroidery machine and sewing machine. There will be room for visitors, but more of that later. We planned this project before Christmas, and by the time the trades-people arrived (mid-Feb) and the drought broke, we are still going a month and a half later. Still, its nearly done, and typically we've discovered muscles we'd forgotten we had, gained skills that we could perfect if only we could start again. And where did Geoff's stuff go? - into a much smaller space under a skillion roof attached to Kathy's studio.