THANK YOU! for subscribing to the occasional newsletter of Serendipity Patchwork & Quilting in its new, streamlined format. My goal is to make it easy for you to catch up with highlights from my studio and other quilting news all in one place. Of course I will continue to blog on a regular basis but I have saved some items to reveal online for the first time in this issue and hope you will share my excitement.

PS: The newsletter software has given my inner geek a workout. I have tested (often!) but let me know if you encounter any glitches or have any comments: brenda@serendipitypatchwork.com.au

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I am thrilled that Dreamlines#1: Magic Carpet has been selected as one of thirty finalists (from sixty entries) in the inaugural APQ & AQC Challenge. The finalists will be displayed and judged at the Australasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne (26 February - 1 March 2009) and then embark on a nationwide tour throughout 2009, travelling with the Craft & Quilt Fairs.

The theme for the challenge is "Fantasy". For me, a magic carpet is the ultimate travel fantasy. Just imagine if you could utter a few secret words and be immediately transported to anywhere you wish!

Not that I will need a magic carpet to whisk me to AQC. I am honoured to be part of the AQC tutor team and will be teaching four, one-day workshops. To those of you who have enrolled for my classes (I understand there are a few spaces left in Serendipity Circles), I look forward to meeting you for a fun day celebrating colour and quiltmaking. To anyone else who is attending AQC, please introduce yourself if you see me in the market place (I have my shopping list!), the tutor cocktail party, the Jane Sassaman lecture or the Gala event. Making new friends is definitely a highlight of for me.

Another highlight of the Australasian Quilt Convention will be MY PLACE, an exhibition of 90 contemporary art quilts from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

My contribution, Tudibaring- place where the waves pound like a beating heart depicts the foaming sea beneath the northern headland of Copacabana where I live.

After AQC, the exhibition will travel onto New Zealand where the quilts will be exhibited at the Minerva Textile Gallery, Wellington during Quilt Symposium 2009 this Easter.

If you live in Europe, you will be able to catch the exhibition at Carrefour Europeen du Patchwork in September 2010. You can also view the quilts on the MY PLACE website.

The excitement continues with the 12 x 12 project. Our chair-themed quilts were revealed on our group blog at the beginning of February and now we are working with the theme "window" for a 1 April deadline.

If you haven't already done so, I encourage you to look at the artist gallery pages on our website. It is fascinating to see the body of work created by each talented "Twelve", each with their own distinctive style and to see how the pieces work together in the collaborative quilt mosaics for each theme.

Very appropriately (and serendipitiously!) many of the quilts that I made for the 12x12 project will appear in Quilters Companion DVD #12 that is due to be circulated (to Australian readers*) with Quilters Companion Magazine #37 in mid May.

The 12x12 project has been an ideal opportunity for me to experiment with a variety of quilt finishing techniques and to simplify the steps involved. I have compiled an online tutorial for binding without bulges along with a list of tutorials for alternative quilt finishes but Quilters Companion have enabled me to take this even further with an instructional DVD covering the following finishing techniques:

• continuous mitred binding;
• facing finish;
• pillow case with "escape hatch"; and
• satin stitch/zig zag edging.

Editor Clare and the rest of the team provided an enthusiastic and convivial environment for filming which was such fun! I have renewed admiration for media professionals that make presenting look so effortless.

For everyone who has requested I produce a pattern for Kaffe Tapestry , you will be pleased to know this will also feature as a project in Quilters Companion Magazine #37. Check out the stands at your newsagent in mid-May.

(* For readers outside Australia, Quilters Companion Magazine #37 will include an extensive article covering the four techniques along with instructive diagrams.)

On 11 May 2009 I will be back at The Cottage Quiltworks on Sydney's northern beaches to take my students on a Scrap Queen Odyssey - an adventurous journey designed to help you realise the potential of your quilting scrap bag.

Teaching is such a buzz and I am happy to travel (I'll be in the San Francisco Bay area, Denver and Pittsburgh this December - hint hint!) so feel free to contact me regarding my availability. See my Serendipity Patchwork & Quilting Workshops Brochure for more information about the workshops that I offer.

Guilds offer their members both fellowship and a great opportunity to share their quilts with a wider audience.

Entries for Sydney Quilt Show 2009 close soon on 13 March 2009 and it’s not too late for you to join the Guild and complete an entry form so that you can participate in this annual exhibition of member quilts.