introductions

Hi everyone,
A short post to introduce myself...
I'm Kate, 52, and I'm from Sydney Australia.  I live in a 1910 timber cottage in a leafy suburb only 15 minutes from Sydney CBD, so we have the best of both worlds, close to the city, close to beaches and Sydney Harbour, but we have bushland  and national parks all around us. I'm married to a builder (25 year anniversary next month- eek) and we have 1 daughter (almost 18) who is currently studying for her HSC which is an important bank of final secondary school exams that determine what University she can go to.

I recently started a new job working 3.5days per week as an Executive Assistant to a terrific CEO of a Venture Capital firm, my office is right next to Sydney Harbour and the Opera House and I can hear the harbour ferries tooting as they leave the quay. In previous job incarnations, I have worked as a Landscape Designer, Caterer and Speech Pathologist (bit of a variety!)

I've been quilting for more than 20 years, my first quilt was a shadow applique baby quilt for my neice who is now 22. I quickly fell in love with antique quilts and have a bit of a collection of quilts, quilt tops and old blocks, the oldest of which is probably 1860.  I was a very active member of a big quilting group in Sydney but resigned about 5 years ago due to internal politics and general bitchiness of some members (excuse the language!)... two great friends and I now get together every Tuesday afternoon and have lunch and sew, it is so fantastic, relaxing, and the highlight of my week.  This year I have been working on a nutty applique via a monthly workshop held at Material Obsession - completely outside my comfort zone. I pretty much exclusively sew by hand - me and my machine are not well acquainted.

This is one of 9 applique blocks (8 are finished) there will be an applique border to follow.

This year I discovered blogging. It should be fun to get to know the group members and work on a variety of projects. I think the key here is to chose your  project carefully - there is a big range of experience in the group members.  I did say short, so I'll sign off now!
Cheers, Kate (empty field)