Friday update

Thisafternoon just the 3 of us (L and L) at my place.  I got stuck into finishing the cutting out for a scrap quilt I started a year ago.

3 diamonds for each tumbling block times 81 blocks equals... a lot of little pieces of fabric! Nine rows of nine or 10 rows of 8 - I haven't decided yet.  Plenty of time to think about it as this quilt will be hand stitched.

There's something wonderfully tactile about a pile of fabric cut and stacked neatly and ready to be stitched together.

Memories of Summer quilt

I was reminded today that I hadn't posted a photo of this quilt finished.  I made it for my sister and brother and law for their wedding.  I gave it to them last Christmas.  Over a year late!

The finished size was 207 x 207 which covered my queen-size bed nicely but in the end was much bigger than I anticipated.  I used a pattern called 'Memories of Summer' by Suzanne Lyle.  I purchased the pattern from Ballarat Patchwork a couple of years ago.  The fabric was purchased at GJs in Brunswick.

The overall quilting design of butterflies was done by Lucy Thompson of Lasting Creations.
I enjoyed putting the blocks together but they were a little trickier to piece than anticipated because of the small squares and narrow rectangles.  The strong geometric lines and large central pieces make it a good quilt to make from fabric with a large print.  Easy to make smaller by only making as many blocks as you need.

What are we doing?

We have just got back into the swing of weekly meetings and here is what we are working on:

Leita is making "retro" covered coat hangers (we all have some of these lurking in our cupboards - and they do a really good job!). It took a while to track down a pattern but she is whipping them out now!

Michelle has had her red flowering gum tree cross stitch out and is finding it quite slow going as there are no large blocks of colour and the pattern has to be followed very closely.

Anne has been making some progress on her 9-patch swap quilt, which she is quilting in perle thread, and completed the first plain square motif on Friday.

Louise has had a change of plan with her lovely bright hand pieced hexagons and has decided to join them together and incorporate some black and white spot fabric for contrast.

Annual Relaxation

Our annual break was another relaxed relief. No quilting from me, but I did learn a few crocheting tips from Louise and folded quite a bit of paper

Sewjourn always looks inviting with interesting bedspreads in all the rooms.











Leita started piecing together some black and whites.























Louise made a great start on her Mums quilt































Leita started laying out her poof.
























Anne sewed and sewed, you can see the end result on the wall.









































Everyone enjoyed using the new wall for laying out their work and seeing each others work
























Leita played with more fabric
















We all enjoyed the good food and many cuppas together.






















A Little bit of paper folding from me and some crochetting by Louise.

A lovely weekend away

We're just back from our annual weekend away at Sewjourn.  So much eating and laughing and shopping to be done.  We barely had enough time to sew, but we did.

This is one of two tops that I made. More photo's and stories to follow from other group members.
Including the spider incident please.  : )
Louise and Anne are to be awarded bravery medals.

Two quilts nearly done at last

These two quilts seem to have been hanging around for ever.  The blue and pink quilt is for my daughter K, and I will give it to her this Sunday, her 16th birthday.

I now have the binding machine stitched and all I have to do complete the hand stitching of the reverse, which will be tonight's job.

This quilt is for my sister and her new husband for their first wedding anniversary at the beginning of November - yes, it was a wedding present but it's a bit late.  I'll post a better photo after I give it to them - no peeking!

This quilt also just needs the binding hand stitched on the reverse and its done.  Then I can finally put the quilting away for a while and get back to the writing.  Maybe.

Vickery Retreat - Part 2

On the Friday night I made this cute little bag from a kit I bought at one of the Craft Shows a couple of years ago from Wabi-Sabi Designs.  Complete with fabric, cord, beads and instructions.  Don't know why it took so long to make it as it was a very easy and satisfying project.  The magnolia tree was in full bloom at the front of the house and the backdrop is the reserve across the road.

On the Saturday I pieced these blocks for a quilt for my daughter.  Over the past week I have completed the top and back and have started machine quilting it.

Louise's lovely hand-pieced hexagons.  She is auditioning some crisp white fabrics for the 'points' of the stars.

Leita was making 9 patches from these strips of delicious jelly roll.  She also completed a pieced back for a bright batik quilt.

Anne worked on these half-square triangles.  Made from a Kaffe charm square pack (or two) and co-ordinating shot cottons.  When completed it will grace one of the beds at the retreat.

Overall, a very productive weekend away!