Meow Meow

Last Friday night my husband and I, with a dear friend, went to see Meow Meow at the Atheneum Theatre in Melbourne. I haven't been to very many live shows in my life, and I have to say this was FANTASTIC. Hubby and I first saw Meow Meow on Foxtel a couple of months ago and became awestruck by her performance. We looked for a show in Melbourne to initially be disappointed but then this came up and we bought tickets in a flash. I went along knowing that she uses audience participation and was happily sitting closer to the back in the middle of the theatre where she couldn't get to me. However, I was disappointed not to see her face more clearly. So what happened then? WELL! She crowd surfed, and before I knew it she was heading my way and I had to lift her over my head and pass her to the people behind. I not only got to see her close up, I also grabbed her around the rib cage! I got my wish and a whole lot more. It probably seems nothing to Meow Meow, but it was a big adventure for me. Thank you Meow Meow for a fantastic, unforgettable show.

NEW WEB SITE

BIG NEWS. I have a new web site at www.margaretrowe.com.au which I would love you to check out. You can buy all my books online now, using Paypal, and even read a bit about me. As a bonus, I have added a sample chapter for each book so you can read how the story starts. Let me know what you think of the site, or even better, write a review for any or all of the books.
And today's photo - what relevance does it have? None. This is how I spent last weekend - pulling apart old clocks and watches to get all the bits. I wonder what sort of art I'll produce from this lot??

My Own Art Collection

My husband and I have decided to collect art and began with our first piece on our 25 wedding Anniversary back in March this year. Last weekend we went to the Manningham Fine Design Market and purchased two more pieces. The large one is by Daniela Kupina, who has a background in fashion design and the smaller one is by Minka Svarcs, a young woman who has been travelling the world and having wonderful experiences. Daniela works with thick black textas, with a few beautiful sweeping lines to produce each piece. Minka often works with fine pen and there is a lot of detail in her work. 

Hopefully one day soon people will be buying 'my' art for their homes. =)

My art for sale

Yesterday I picked up my framed felt piece from Hall of Frame where Pam always does a terrific job. This is my first piece of felt, which has machine and hand stitching, mostly French knots to represent a field of English heather. I have been inspired by the work of Moy Mackay, whose colours drew me in immediately. I hope to soon make more pieces using the Australian landscape for my inspiration. We have such amazing, strong colour here Down Under.
This piece is for sale at AUD$490.00 plus delivery/postage.

Maitland Patchwork Quilters

Last Friday I had the honour of opening a quilt exhibition hosted by the Maitland Patchwork Quilters Inc. I flew to New South Wales at lunch time, was picked up by their President, Janelle, and taken to the hall where I found myself amid a wonderful display of beautiful quilts made by members of the group. Included was this special display of quilts made according to the rules of the challenges in my first two books from The Australian Challenge Quilt series (above). The ladies had made quilts according to The Maria Challenge Quilt and The Elizabeth Challenge Quilt, and are currently working on The Caroline Challenge Quilt for presentation at the end of the year. I was quite taken aback by this wonderful collection of inspiring ideas and really enjoyed talking with some of the quiltmakers to learn how they approached the challenges. Their work was perfection.

The hall was full of magnificent quilts. I would have been extremely hard pressed to choose a viewer's choice amongst this lot. Many of the quilts are designs by Karen Cunningham and Jenny Rofe, beautiful appliques and subtle colourings. I spent ages going around reading all the labels and enjoying every moment.

Well done to everyone at Maitland Patchwork Quilters Inc.

Reading and Writing

Each time I sit down to blog I cannot believe how much time has passed since my last post. It always feels like only a few days ago, yet I find the weeks are passing as though they were days. Reading and writing seems to be just about all I ever do, in one form or another. I'm either reading emails, blogs, facebook, text messages, snail mail, research material online and in books OR I'm writing my journal, progress notes for school homework, blog, texts, facebook - when does that leave time for actually writing novels? Well at the moment, it doesn't. But I'm happy to report that I have begun research for the fifth book in The Australian Challenge Quilt series.
So what does the above photo have to do with all this? Last night I received an email from a reader (aka stalker) who warned me that I might need to make a cuppa before I sit down and read the attached Word document. I laughed, printed it out and took it to bed to read (it was after 11:00 pm). It was terrific to finish the day with a big smile on my face after reading all the wonderful news from my friend (we'll have to call her my 'ex' stalker). =)
Final news for the day, tomorrow I fly to Maitland, New South Wales to open a quilt show for the Maitland Patchwork Quilters Inc. The members of this group have been doing the Maria and Elizabeth challenges since 2010 and this year they've worked on their Caroline challenges. What a delight to be able to go and see all their quilts. I'm very excited. Will report on my return.