Saturday, January 31, 2015

Upcoming Workshops/Retreats at Russellee BnB Craft Retreats Tumut

Russellee BnB Crafts Retreats is off the a busy year starting with the upcoming 4th Australian Quilting Cruise to NZ on the 22nd February 2015.
We are also hosting Retreats and Workshops at our BnB in Tumut and these are as follows:

Thread Painting Landscapes - 28 - 29 March 2015.
May 2014 Class
UFO Weekend (Finish all those started projects) 17-19 April 2015.
Roz finishing her quilt that she started on the cruise.
Fabric Mosaic with Robyn Taylor - 2-3 May 2015.

These retreats include accommodation.
 
Our Bail/Lombok Quilting Retreat, Fabric and Cultural Tour the 26th July - 8th August 2015 is filling fast.  We only take 10 ladies on this trip.

2013 Bali Group

The highlight of our trips this year and our biggest undertaking yet is our North to Alaska Quilting Cruise. This is the 2nd September 2015.  We are taking a maximum of 24 ladies on this. In conjunction with this trip I have orgained with Debbie Rodd of Rocky Mountain Quilting Tours a pre cruise (this one is full) and a post cruise two week boutique quilting tour visiting quilt shops, quilt groups a class and of course touring the spectacular Rocky Mountains of Canada.
If you would like information on any of these retreats/workshops contact me. email russeldr@bigpond.com
 
 
 

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Bali Quilting Retreat 2015

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Russellee BnB Craft Retreats is putting together their annual Quilting Retreat, Fabric and Cultural Tour to Bail. This year we are going earlier and the dates are 26th July - 8th August. We take a maximum of 10 ladies which is a nice size ...group. Every one gets to know each other and wonderful friendships develop.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The first week we fabric shop till we drop. The fabrics are amazing. Beautiful Batiks are $2.50 per mtr and jelly rolls are around $15. We also have a go of creating our own piece of Batik fabric. This has been very popular of our previous trips as it give you an appreciation of the beautiful Batik fabrics and to bring home something special.

 
This year we are trying something different. The second week, our sewing week, is going to be in Lombok. We have a lovely resort booked and Lombok offers some different sight seeing. We provide sewing machines. They are basic Singers but they certainly do the job.

 If you would like more information please contact me russeldr@bigpond.com

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Alaskan Quilting Cruise 2015



A wonderful way to see Alaska is on a cruise ship.  Combine this with indulging in your passion for patchwork and you have a Retreat at Sea.  Come North to Alaska with Chris Dowell, Dorothy Clee and Crafting Cruises for this trip of a life time.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We will be sailing on the beautiful Radiance of the Seas for this amazing experience with a round trip from Vancouver.  Leaving on the 4th September and returning on the 11th September 2015.

There are three workshops which will be held during sea days.  A jelly roll quilt ,  ‘Country Colours’, with Dorothy and an appliqué project, ‘Furry Friends’, with Chris.  Chris has designed her projects especially for the cruise.  Both these workshops have an Australian and an Alaskan theme. And of course we have a ‘Mystery’ workshop. Sewing machines are provided and kits are available.
Visit quilt shops at Juneau and Ketchikan within walking distance to the ship. Cruise the amazing Tracy Arm Fjord. Lorelle from Crafting Cruises is putting together some suggestions for pre and post tours of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

I have also arranged a pre and post cruise two week Rocky Mountain Quilting Tour with Debbie Rod.  This visits Canada’s largest quilt shop, meet with Canmore Mountain Cabin Quilters, enjoy an all day appliqué workshop with a local quilter and of course sight seeing in the Rocky Mountains.  Visit Banff, Lake Louise, and the Icefields Parkway and Jasper.

This tour is very personalised and the groups are small.  The pre cruise tour is booked out but the post cruise tour has vacancies.

This is a wonderful way to combine a love of quilting with a trip of a life time visiting beautiful countryside and seeing wonderful sights.  Bring an extra suitcase for all the lovely fabrics that will tempt us to buy.

For information and pricing on the Alaskan Quilting Cruise and optional Rocky Mountain Quilting Tour please contact me. russeldr@bigpond.com


Friday, December 5, 2014

Bits and Bobs



It has been awhile since I have posted.  Been putting reports on Facebook. Anyway the past few months have been very busy.

Tony and I took nine lovely ladies to Bail for our annual Bail Quilting Retreat, Fabric and Cultural tour.  This was a great success with lots of fabric buying, sightseeing and of course sewing.  This is a link to my Bail Quilting Retreat 2014 album https://www.facebook.com/dorothy.clee.9/media_set?set=a.887340287950740.1073741831.100000243312215&type=3

Since I come home from Bail I have been concentrating on our 4th Australian Quilting and Embroidery Cruise.  We have 34 ladies coming plus partners and friends.  This cruise is going to New Zealand on the 22nd February 2015.  There is still time to join us on this cruise.

I have managed to fit in a weekend in Melbourne attending an Alison Holt workshop.  This is my finished project.

I shall try not to be so long between posts next time.

Take care

Dorothy

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Albury Quilters Come for a Retreat


Vicki’s Quilters from Albury held their annual retreat at Russellee BnB again this weekend.  Their chosen workshop for this retreat was a ‘Landscape Quilt’.  The retreat started with a show and tell of two of the quilts from their last retreat here.  The class was ‘Butterfly Trails’.  This is the workshop that I will be doing on our 4th Australian Quilting and Embroidery Cruise next February.

 
 
The ladies started by designing their landscape on paper and then auditioning fabrics.  Swapping of fabrics ensured that the right fabric for the landscapes were available. The weekend saw landscapes evolving before our eyes.  Most got to the quilting stage.  Here are a few of the end results read for the next stage.








 

 


Saturday, June 28, 2014

Quilts in and American Magazine

I have been fortunate to have my quilt 'Broughton Castle' featured in the July/August 'Machine Quilting Unlimited' magazine.  When I received the magazine in the mail I was delighted to also see that there was a story on the Living Colour Exhibit in the same magazine and that my very dear friend, Chris Dowell, had her entry in this exhibit also featured in the magazine.

Chris has been the inspiration for me to develop my quilts and to put them out there into competitions.  This year my New Years resolution was to have a go and do this.  'Broughton Castle' was my first quilt for this resolution.  I entered it into the Fibre Art Section of the Art Show at Easter and it won.

Thanks to Chris I am also working  on two other quilts, one large and one small, that I hope to enter into two quilt displays in August.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Russellee BnB Craft Retreats Newsletter


Russellee has had a very busy six months and I would like to thank all those who attended one of our retreats either scrapbooking or patchwork. 

The year started off with our first UFO retreat for the year in February.  This was followed by the 3rd Australian Quilting Cruise. Ladies came from all parts of the country as well as five from New Zealand.

We arrived home from the Cruise on the 9th March and this was followed by our first Scrapbooking Retreat for the year. Helen Godden fitted her ‘Crack Pots’  workshop into her busy schedule in March. Eleven ladies from around the area as well as one travelling from Victoria.  We thank Helen and her mum for doing this for us.

Sandy’s Quilters from Canberra also came in March. This was their fifth year of coming.  To finish off March I had my sister’s, Pam, 70th  birthday at Russellee.

Laraine and I took some time out and attended the Norfolk Island Quilting Retreat with Michelle Yea.  Both Tony and Bill came with us as we had a very enjoyable 10 days of quilting and sightseeing.  Norfolk is a beautiful place.

I made and effort and finished a project of raw edge appliqué and entered it into the Tumut Art Show in the fibre art section and to my surprise it won and I also sold it.  I find it very difficult to get the time to finish projects for competition and it was hard going getting the piece finished but it was worth the effort.

A group of lovely ladies from Sydney came for a five day retreat at the end of April.  Some of these ladies have been on our cruises and one was also at Norfolk.  It was wonderful being able to catch up with them again.

Robyn Taylor from Wagga came over and gave these ladies a workshop on her Fabric Mosaic technique.  They also invited Roz to join in and the resulting pictures were stunning.

In May a group of ladies came for their third Mothers and Daughters Card Making weekend.  This group come from different areas of the state and use the weekend to catch up with each other and make some beautiful cards.

I also had a thread painting weekend in May.  It has been three years since I presented one.  Had ladies travel from Sydney, Mittagong, Wagga and The Rock as well as local.  A small group but the results were great.

The end of May saw Tony, James, Liam and I head off to Uluru for a road trip. (Tony’s idea.) It was a long, long way but the scenery was spectacular.  I have lots of inspirational photos for thread painting and hope have one done in time for the Desert Sands Exhibition in August.

Back home and another UFO Retreat.  This Retreat was a bit different to our other  UFO quilting retreats as we had two knitters and a lovely teenager working on an appliqué project for her HSC.  It was great to see the younger generation interested in sewing.

I am working on two quilts for the Canberra Quilt Show in August.  Nothing like a bit of pressure to get things moving.  I promised myself that this year I would enter some of my work into shows.  Have managed one and two more to go. (I hope).

As to the rest of the year.  July is fairly quite as far as Retreats go but August has two retreats plus I am doing two craft shows to promote the cruise and the retreats.

October is our Bail Quilting Retreat.  We still have one spot left on this.  Two ladies are coming from New Zealand to join us at Bail.
 

I am planning to have another UFO Retreat 7 – 9 November and a Thread Painting workshop 6-7 December.  In  between I have a scrapbooking retreat plus three private retreats.

The second half is going to be busy but life is best when busy.
 
Take Care
Dorothy