A rather belated happy new year to everyone. I hope you have enjoyed your little break and look forward to a motivating and inspirational year at Apatchy Quilting.

I arrived back in Brisbane early in the new year after a wonderful holiday with Luvvy, the teenager-in-residence, my parents and aunt. I, of course, enjoyed it all – from the tuk-tuk ride in Bangkok to the iconic stone houses of the English Cotswolds to the twinkling lights of the German and French Christmas markets. It is certainly a magical place to spend Christmas.

Ok that’s it – if you want to see more you’ll have to wait for the slide night!

It was difficult to choose a highlight although snow on Boxing Day was hard to beat. How beautiful it was to see the way it gently fell and swirled around and such silence – quite an experience for people used to the tropics. Luvvy said it was a very tough assignment and, after the disappointment of the 2014 campaign where we circumnavigated the globe and didn’t see one drop of snow, he was pleased we were rewarded. Thanks Freiburg.

The teenager-in-residence also agreed that it was difficult to choose a highlight – he was torn between the superior wifi in Singapore or the day he stayed at the hotel in Rothenburg and talked to his friends on Facebook… In fact there was no competition – it was the day he met Steve Tyler from the band Aerosmith and actually had the presence of mind to ask for a photo. And Steve had the good grace to oblige. Since he’d just come through security at Heathrow Airport it must have been a little annoying to be accosted by a fan. No doubt he was trying to grab his belongings from the conveyor belt before they became entangled with others owned by mere mortals. I thought he looked very rock star – especially the fur coat. What do you think? Nice one Steve.

Here is Brizzie there was another VIP arrival with the birth of Sophie Blake on 30th December seen here with her unbelievably yummy mummy Sarah – one of our evening class ladies. Sarah started at Apatchy last year and did a great job finishing a lovely cot quilt – and just in time for Sophie’s arrival – check it out in the gallery.

And so we are all back from holidays and special events and it is back to realty. Sarah has a good reason to be a bit disorganised in the sewing department but what about you?

There’s 10 days left until the week classes start again and so I’m going to shock you all by posting a daily blog for the next 10 days to help you get ready. I know you want to be in top form so I’ll be giving you advice and tips on how you can start the year off so it will be productive and enjoyable – things that you can ACTUALLY incorporate into your real life – things that are ACHIEVABLE!

Stay tuned

What are you all looking forward to in 2015? How can I make it the best year ever? I’d love to hear from you. Until tomorrow..

Happy Quilting

Kaye