Quilters' Circle - 27th May, 2013

Today we were joined by Valerie, a visitor from the Northern Territory. She showed us photos of quilts she has made, and lots of goodies she has been buying in our local quilt shops. She picked a good day for the visit, as we were also celebrating Vireya's birthday. There were cakes and biscuits, as well as a lovely fabric gift:

Valerie practised some free-motion work on one of the House's machines, while Marie and Vireya each hand-sewed down binding. Marie almost finished this quilt we saw last time:

And Vireya got about a quarter of the way around this larger quilt:

Thank you to the two knitters who held it up for the photo! The quilt is an adaptation of Kerry Dear's "Candied Hexagons" pattern published in Quilters Companion 18.

Vireya showed us these goodies which she won as a door prize at the recent Geelong Quilt-In:

Very lucky! The pig is a tape measure with a rubbery tassel on the end of his tail.

Marie showed this top which is now ready to be quilted:

And here is her year quilt, the first three months of which are now complete:

Proof the year is flying by!

Further proof is that our next meeting will be on 24th June. That's because of the Queen's Birthday holiday in  June. See you after the solstice!

Quilters' Circle - 13th May, 2013

Back again, and this time with photos!

We started our meeting on a sunny afternoon, then watched as rain and hail arrived outside. Fortunately the weather cleared again before we had to leave.

Glennys worked on the blanket-stitch appliqué on a couple of blocks of her "My Blue Heaven" quilt:

There are not many blocks left to go now!

Marie showed us this baby quilt she is making for a charitable group:

Lots of bright and happy fabrics for a little one to enjoy! The quilt is ready for binding, but today Marie was working on applique, which wasn't photographed.

Vireya made a couple of star shapes for her long-term English-paper-piecing project:

Then tried out some arrangements for adding them to the quilt:

This is not the one she settled on, though.

Our next meeting will be in two weeks, on 27th May.  See you then!

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!

Quilters' Circle - 25th March, 2013

Leigh brought along her very cute quilt for new baby Henry:

It sparked a bit of discussion of how it was made (it's a disappearing 9-patch with a couple of strips added to complete the design), and what colours would work for binding. The dark squares feature glow-in-the-dark fabric, which is fun.

Marie showed us these brooches she made at her quilting class:

Would anyone like to guess what they are shaped over? There's fabric and wadding on the front, and thick felt with a brooch attachment at the back, but what provides the stability? Guesses in the comments, please!

Marie has embarked on a long-term project; a year quilt! Each day is represented by a piece of fabric, and these are joined into a star shape for each week. Sunday is the central hexagon, and the other six days are the points of the star. Here's the first two weeks put together:

The weeks will be separated by the white diamonds of background fabric. By the end of today's session, Marie had pieced week three. Sunday was very hot that week:

It will be interesting to see it grow week by week for a year.

Our next meeting will be in two weeks, on 8th April.

Quilters' Circle - 25th February, 2013

February and summer are nearly over. Today was warm enough for all of us! We enjoyed the air-conditioner for our get-together.

Glennys started blanket-stitching around this rose, which will become a cushion cover. The pattern was published in a magazine called Crafts Made Easy, and is called A Rose is a Rose. The designer was Julie McKenzie.

By the end of our time together, Glennys had completed the blanket-stitching. Maybe we will see the completed cushion next time?

Marie is adding the circles to the tops of the stems we have seen her working on before. Unfortunately she had left all her prepared circles at home today, but fortunately there were some scraps in the correct colours to be had, so she was able to make a few more so she could keep sewing.

Very cute!

Vireya brought along a pile of QAYG blocks she has been making from time to time since our last batch were sent to Jan Mac's Oz Comfort Quilts appeal.  The appeal is ongoing as there are always people in need of a little comfort; think of the recent fires in Tasmania and floods in Queensland.

Here's part of the pile of blocks spread out:

These have been made from off-cuts or scraps of batting, and donated or left-over fabrics. They are fun to make, and a great way to create something useful from scraps. If you would like to make a few blocks to add to the pile, you can find the instructions on Jan Mac's site here. Another blogger, Kaite, has written her own instructions which you can find here.

Our next meeting is a month away, as there is a public holiday on the second March Monday. We will see you again on 25th March. If you would like to make some QAYG blocks, maybe you can bring them along then?