Quilters' Circle - 25th June, 2012

Can you believe that June is nearly over already? None of us can! Today was our only June meeting, because of the public holiday two weeks ago.

Mary popped in to return a couple of items and say Hi before she heads off overseas. We all hope she has a lovely trip, and will look forward to her traveller's tales.

Marie has been busy since our last meeting. First she made this small quilt top from the off-cuts of the "double cut" twisted pinwheel quilt she showed us last time:

Then she made this quilt using the same twisted pinwheel technique:

Sky blues and the propeller-like design make it an ideal gift for a couple who fly. 

Today Marie joined a few hexagons together:

Joy showed us the beginnings of her next project:

She is hand-piecing these triangles together into rectangle shapes, but they eventually will become diamonds. It will be interesting to see how they all come together.

Glennys was "volunteered" into replacing some missing beads on small girl's dance costume, so that was her project today:

Good as new!

Vireya made this star to add to the others she has made at recent meetings:

She also showed us her design for how they are going to go together, but no photo was taken of that. She has a few more stars to make before she starts assembling the entire design.

Our next meeting will be on the 9th July.  Happy quilting until we see you then!

Quilters' Circle - 28th May, 2012

Lots of variety to show you from the meeting this afternoon!

Glennys is making this quilt for another new arrival in her family. She started with a block found in a quilting calendar and made four blocks using a "quilt-as-you-go" technique.

Today she stitched down the back of the sashing strips by hand. Here's the back of the quilt:

It features some very cute fabrics, so the quilt can be used either side up.

Joy brought along all the finished panels of her long-term appliqué project, and spread them out for us to see:

Added later: The name of this pattern is "Eye Candy", and it was designed by Judy Garden, and published in 1999.

It is very hard to photograph the whole thing, as because the panels aren't joined, they can't be held up, but because they are so large, photographing them involves standing on a chair and lifting the camera over your head. This was the best of a bunch of attempts to include every panel. In real life, they look wonderful! There are two more narrow panels to be made, then borders (also appliquéd) to add. So it should keep Joy busy for a while yet.

You may remember that last time Marie showed us the first step of a mystery quilt she is making in another group. She's done two more steps since then, so before we see what she brought along today, here is a progress shot taken a week ago of the second step:

This is what Marie had suspected she would be doing to her squares. But the surprise came with the third step, which had her cutting her work apart again then re-making it a second time:

Here's a closer view of just one block, so you can see how the whirly-gigs have turned into flower shapes with the second re-assembly:

Intriguing and amazing!

Carol is still unpicking prairie points on a couple of sides of her baby quilt, but here's a shot of one of the sides where they have been removed then re-attached correctly:

It really is a lovely quilt. The colours are warmer than they look here.

Vireya decided how to assemble the diamonds she was making at our last meeting, and today she stitched together this star shape, in between having to go and talk to other people. 

She was also celebrating a very recent birthday, so there were some presents and a cake which weren't photographed because of the interruptions. Thank you to Marie for bringing the cake!

Our next meeting won't be for four weeks, because of the Queen's Birthday public holiday in June. So we will see you again on Monday, 25th June.

Quilters' Circle - 14th May, 2012

It's the second Monday of May, so here's what the quilters have been up to.

Another quilt group that Marie belongs to are starting a mystery project, and she brought along the first step to show us:

Marie thinks she knows where this is going, so it will be interesting to see if her suspicions are correct.

Today Marie was hand-quilting her green pyramids quilt, "Into the Forest".

We haven't seen this one for a while, but the cool weather has brought it out again. I think the last time we saw it was the first time we met baby Isabella.

Isabella came along today as well, and once she woke up she smiled a lot to show us her new teeth. Carol recently attended a retreat with Essendon Quilters, where someone showed her how to attach prairie points to the edge of her quilt. You may remember that last time Carol brought this quilt along, she was stuck at the corners.

It turns out that she had attached the points to the wrong side of the quilt, so now Carol is gradually unpicking them to move them to where they should be. And wishing she hadn't sewed them on very, very securely!


Mary showed us these lovely doilies she crocheted. The pattern came from a doily her grandmother made. Mary analysed the pattern, then made several herself using a fine cotton.

Today Mary worked on covering her hexagon templates. She tried using these clips to hold her fabric in place, but they are a bit strong and are not easy to remove.

So Mary is going to look for some that are a bit gentler, like the clips Vireya uses.

Vireya also did some English paper piecing today, making some diamonds, and then playing with possible arrangements:

So that's what we did. Of course we had lots to talk about, and hot drinks to enjoy while it rained outside. We'll be back again in two weeks, on 28th May.  See you then!

For Sue

A couple of weeks ago we had a working bee at the house to assemble this quilt top:

We couldn't mention it until now, as it is a gift for the retiring manager of the house, Sue Harris. Her official farewell was yesterday afternoon, so now we can reveal the quilt.

Sue's 21 years of tireless service have touched a lot of people, and some of them contributed blocks for this quilt. Blocks include personal messages, fabrics with special meanings, and Neighbourhood House logos used during Sue's time as manager. I wasn't able to be at the farewell, but I'm told a few tears were shed during the proceedings.

At some point the top will be retrieved and turned into a quilted wall-hanging. But in the meantime, thank you Sue for being manager for the House's first 21 years, and we wish you a very happy retirement.

Quilters' Circle - 30th April, 2012

Here we are again for the fifth Monday of April.

Glennys brought along her machine, and whipped up a couple of baby quilts. Well, quilt tops, anyway. Baby quilt number one:

And baby quilt number two (progress shot):

Later the first one was slightly re-constructed to change the orientation of one square. The quilts will have borders added later, but it was a very productive afternoon. Glennys needs to sew fast because of the imminent arrival of four babies in her circle of family and friends.

Meanwhile the rest of us worked on slower projects. It was almost a step-by-step lesson in English paper-piecing. Vireya cut out some (not hexagonal) templates she had printed:

Mary covered her hexagonal templates with fabric:

And Marie sewed her hexagons together and then removed some of the paper templates:

While we worked there was lots to talk about, tea to drink, and magazines to be inspired by. Before we knew it, it was time to go home.

Our next meeting will be in two weeks, on 14th May. See you then!

Quilters' Circle - 23rd April, 2012

We had a few surprises at the house today.

Marilyn was our first surprise. She was in Melbourne for the weekend, and stayed here long enough to spend the afternoon with us. It was great to see her again. She showed us these items her sister made for her (possibly as a birthday gift? I forgot to ask).
A bag

and a tuffet!

The tuffet is for using on your lap when doing needlework, as it provides a better height working surface than a table.

Our second surprise was Joy! It is a while since she has been able to join us at the house, so we were all very happy to see her. Today she worked on a long-term appliqué project that we have seen parts of before:

Unfortunately some of the smaller pieces have fallen off and been lost before Joy has had the chance to stitch them into place. However she still has the fabrics, so she will be able to cut some replacement pieces.

Marie showed us this tissue holder she has made for a friend who loves cooking:

Ideal fabric! It was a lucky find at a recent 40%-off sale. Today Marie sewed together some tiny hexagons:

Glennys blanket-stitched the hem of a blanket for a baby who is due to arrive in a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile outside the weather surprised us all with a sudden thunderstorm:

Fortunately that was over by the time we were ready to leave.

Our next meeting is only a week away, as this month has five Mondays. See you on the 30th April.

Quilters' Circle - 26th March, 2012

This is the 100th post on our blog. Hooray! Thanks to everyone who reads the blog. Please feel free to leave a comment. I know from the stats that 47 different people have visited in the last week, even though it is nearly a month since our last new post.

Autumn is definitely in the air now, and today Carol showed us her progress on the autumn quilt for her grandmother:

It looks great!

Today Carol re-arranged some parts of this quilt she started in 1995:

Since starting it she has changed her mind about the layout, so now she is doing a little negative sewing (unpicking) in a few places to suit her new layout.

Marie has finished all the sashing and the borders of this quilt since our last meeting:

The pattern is "Story-Time Stars" by Bonnie Hunter available for download here. Marie's is for a lucky little girl.

Mary came to visit us, and enjoyed looking through some of the house's collection of patchwork magazines to find projects suitable for a new quilter. Vireya came straight from work after being called in unexpectedly this morning, so she enjoyed the magazines as well.

We all made note of the quilt shows coming up that we would like to attend:

Essendon Quilters this coming weekend, and the AQC in two weeks.

Our next meeting at the house is a month away, because of the Easter break. We will be back again at the house on the fourth Monday in April, the 23rd. See you all then for our 101th post!