True Blue entrants | Smoke Signals from a Log Cabin

On a whim I decided to jet down to Melbourne for the AQC (Australian Quilt Convention), the bees knees of quilt shows in Australia. I had previously discounted the idea of going on the usual mundane grounds of cost and time. Then Luvvy said “why aren’t you going”? Why indeed I thought. So a few thousand frequent flyer points later and a quick hotel booking on wotif I found myself at the domestic terminal of Brisbane airport at an extremely uncivilised hour.

Following a recommendation I checked in to the Windsor Hotel. This hotel is the last of the 19th century hotels and is soon for renovation so there is a strange air of faded glory and lost regret in the building. I’m almost certain I saw Miss Marple sitting on one of the leather lounges in the foyer.

The hotel is a classic beauty with sweeping staircases and stained glass – the bastion of graciousness of a bygone era. Unfortunately it lives in a time which loves only polished concrete and tempered glass and it will soon be “extensively renovated”. Time passes as it must.

But I digress. The business at hand is the quilt convention and so it was that I made my way up the hill to the Exhibition Building (another architectural masterpiece) to see what architextile masterpieces I could find. And I was not disappointed. I took so many photos that I will have to ration you lest you be overcome. I’ll start today with the ‘True Blue’ entrants for the AQC challenge. Unfortunately I neglected to get all the names of the quilters and their entries and I apologise for that and also for the fact that not all the photos are of the best quality (well the light was bad in some areas and I was working under pressure).

Prepare to be amazed:-