Quilters' Circle - 29th April, 2013

Marie and Marilyn were there, but the person with the camera wasn't, so unfortunately no photos this time. Marie had brought along a new quilt top she had finished, but we will have to hope she brings it back next time so that we can see it.

Next meeting is in two weeks, on the 13th May. See you then!

Quilters' Circle - 22nd April, 2013

Autumn is definitely here, and we felt the need for the heater to take the chill off the air in our meeting room.

Suzanne brought in a collection of bags to show us. They were all made in South Africa by Linda du Toit. First is a pair of small quilted shoulder bags, featuring hand- and machine-stitched embellishments, and interesting glass bead closures:

The fabrics also look like hand-dyes. Aren't they wonderful bags?

Next we have an under-water scene on a bag:

Beading and hand-stitching create a coral reef, and a sheer layer over the top holds in some of the decorative elements while adding to the watery feel.

Next a tote bag constructed of an African print:

And decorated with beautiful beads and shell buttons:

Lastly a tote made of a hessian outer which features hand-printed guineafowl. The lining fabric is an African shweshwe fabric also featuring guineafowl:

The other side of the bag features some actual guineafowl feathers, but I didn't get a good picture of them. Thanks for bringing in this wonderful collection, Suzanne!

Marie showed us her year quilt, which is continuing to grow. She has started on the second row:

Today Vireya stitched pieces of her quilt together with tiny stitches:

Both Glennys and Marie appliquéd dots. Here are Glennys's:

Marie's collection of dots ready to be sewn:

Our next meeting is only one week away, because April has five Mondays. See you again on 29th April!

Quilters' Circle - 8th April, 2013

It was great to have Marilyn join the regulars today. She is in Melbourne to celebrate several birthdays, including her own. Happy birthday, Marilyn! She brought with her a couple of pieces she had on display at the Strathdale Quilters show in Bendigo over the Easter weekend. First this bargello table runner, which she made in a workshop with Marilyn Lynch:

We admired Marilyn's fabric selections. Choosing ten fabrics that work together as well as this is not easy!

Second was this pair of placemats that Marilyn made for her niece:

We loved the sweet little Japanese girls!

Marie has made some QAYG blocks to add to our collection for the Oz Comfort Quilts appeal:

Lovely bright colours!

And speaking of bright fabrics, Vireya showed us this African fabric she is about to use to pattern-test a Nicole Mallalieu bag design:

During our time today she was doing some preparatory work to get it ready to sew. It will be interesting to see what it looks like when it is complete.

Glennys brought along a couple of "in progress" cross-stitch projects. This one is the closest to completion:

It looks like she only has to add a bit more fence and some garden plants, so we may see it finished over the next few meetings.

Marie's year quilt now has 6 weeks assembled:

We had a bit of fun guessing what various fabrics represented. Today Marie continued appliquéing little circles on a project we have seen before:

Definite progress since we last saw it!

Marilyn worked on a motto for her "Love Letters" quilt:

We've seen one or two other parts of this quilt, and today Marilyn also had with her some new pieced sections:

These are done using a paper foundation-piecing method. It's a great way to get accurate points on those spiky fans.

Leigh also brought along Henry's quilt, which looks wonderful with the binding in place, but we didn't get a photo. You can see the quilt in our last post.

Our next meeting will be in two weeks, on 22nd April. See you then!