Stacks and stacks of community quilts

Aren't they gorgeous?

We saw about 28 quilts made by Fairholme Quilters this week (more photos to come) - there are a few more to be finished enough to be viewed. Most of the fabric came from our donated communal stash or from members' personal stashes. We worked on them together and sometimes alone. All will be donated to community causes, including bushfire survivors in Victoria and nursing homes.

It was a valuable and fun collaborative effort, and it won't be our last. Congratulations, and thank you to everyone, and to Lynette for keeping us on track in 2008 - 2009!

Listen to an interview .....

And today (29th July), Richard Aedy had the very good sense to interview Annette Gero about her book, and quilting history in Australia, on Life Matters, on ABC Radio National, for a satisfying 13 minutes. You can listen or download the audio to listen to later, here.

The Fabric of Society

You know your family will eventually ask you what you want for Christmas, or your birthday, and many of us will say "oh nothing in particular" ..... well just in case it has occurred to you that Annette Gero's lovely new book "The Fabric of Society" would do nicely, here the website from which you can order it www.annettegero.com

Email this post to the member of your family most likely to follow up ....

Of course if you are as organised as Jo from Tuesday Nights, you'll have to think of something else!

The interview with Annette Gero from the current issue of Down Under Quilts is available online here.

Cherry House Quilts, and an online "Quilt Along"

If you like Emma's style at Sampaguita Quilts, you might like Cherry House Quilts too.

At the moment (starting 16th July) they are running a "Sew Along" to make Cherri's Little Bouquet wall hanging (finished quilt photo here ) - you don't have to do it now - just book mark it for when you have time. The improvised "Roses" wonky log cabin blocks look like fun. Cherri is aiming for publishing 2 sets of instructions a week, with a Flickr group to share progress if you feel inclined.

The most recent were published yesterday (26th July) but if you are reading this later, just click on the "Little Bouquet Quilt Along" link under categories, or on the Little Bouquet Quilt Along image in the right hand column.

Belated show and tell from Tuesday 21st .....

Pinning Susan's quilt ....


..... and those rich red blocks are more complex than they look at first glance, They are double four patches, cleverly cut from one fabric ....

Two of Dina's recent quilts now have these very cute labels:

Louise is hooked on hexagons ...... these ones are 1/2"! Should we worry?

This is left over from a couple of weeks ago. Jill's flannel couch quilt, backed with polar fleece, no batting .....

... and held together with a little machine quiting, a little hand quilting, and some tied buttons that happened to be in the button box.

Victorian Quilters Inc Quilt Showcase 2009

The prizewinners in the Victorian Quilters Inc Quilt Showcase 2009 held in Melbourne over the last few days can be viewed here. Enjoy the lovely online exhibition if you didn't get to Melbourne.

Last Tuesday night's show and tell will be posted just as soon as the camera cable emerges from the somewhat cluttered desktop where it is thought to be hiding .....

Monday show and tell, 20th July

Ginny has finished her cushion after 30 years .... she used fabrics from her children's clothes, in what might be a record UFO!

A Monday block swap in April gave Dawn these gorgeous Japanese fabrics, now set with a folded square in each corner. Dawn plans to fold them back to curve like Cathedral Windows.

Dawn, Georgie and Maureen produced this top incorporating many half-square triangles, with some delicate florals, for our Community Quilt drive.

Bit of sewing, bit of concentrating, bit of listening, bit of chatting .... looks like a quilters morning!

That's Maureen hiding behind all those hexagons. It's hard to tell how big a hexagon is from a photo - but these are tiny - 1/2 inch! No wonder Maureen's still not finished after 7 years she is "on a crusade to finish it for the Fairholme Exhibition in April 2010.

Many of them are fussy cut, like these cute little teapots (or are they watering cans?)!

An energetic, talented young quilter .....

So you think you're busy? Take a look at the many stunning quilts at Sampaguita Quilts, a blog, belonging to Emma from South Australia, the young mother of two little children, who works part-time, quilts for herself and others, and then finds time to blog about it! At least two of her quilts have been published as projects in magazines - there will be more.

Emma is a prolific quilter and she's a ferocious fabric shopper. This entry marks the arrival of her stash at 1 km of fabric - i.e. one thousand metres in the stash now, not counting all the fabric that has been pieced, appliqued and quilted!

She designs her own quilts, quilts them herself and takes the time to record them. She also shares regular photos of her children. Leaves you breathless, but the future of quilting would appear to be in good hands.

And while the Monday group was sewing .....

...... what have the Tuesday Nighters been up to?

Pudding Night! Gorgeous hot , tangy lemon delicious pudding and vanilla icecream from Janet's kitchen, and a luscious chocolate apple cake with a thin crisp "crust' and raspberries from Louise's ...... well it has been cold and wintery .....

And Janet has been knitting merino yarn that she spun herself, into a lacy shawl and a poncho:

More show and tell from the Monday Group

Georgie has been a stalwart of our community quilt drive this year - she has worked on many group quilts (including the quilting of several), participated in all the Thursday Sew-Ins, and has donated more that she has made completely on her own from her stash, including these two recently finished. The happy plaids are set off very nicely by the splashes of yellow against that smart navy background and scrappy sashing.

In this restful pink and pastel design, the simple rail fence blocks are enhanced by their offset setting around the central square, by the contrasting quilted circles, and by those gorgeous hot pink setting triangles.

Monday Group Show and Tell

Robin's Disappearing 9 Patch is a rich blend of beautiful earthy colours - you can see the depth of pattern in the detail below ....

Lyn's brother-in-law will be lucky recipient of this large beauty whose apparent curves are achieved with clever piecing

Robyn's summery delight is finished with the finest hand quilting ....

Camden and Canberra Quilters' Exhibitions: Early August

A H & I Hall, Argyle Street

Camden

1st and 2nd August 2009

9.30 am - 4.30 pm

$6 Admission

..... and the following week ....

Canberra Quilters Annual Members' Exhibition

In conjunction
Expertise Events Craft and Quilt Fair

Exhibition Park Canberra
(Showground)

6th - 9th August 2009
10.00 am - 4.30 pm daily

Admission
$14 Adults
$12 Seniors and pensioners
$7 Children 5 - 16 yrs (under 5 yrs free)
$33 Family (2 adults and 3 children)

Fabric search - can you help?

Noelle is looking for some of this fabric to finish a quilt:


Noelle thinks that she bought it about 2 years ago at Craft Depot, but their current stock has a slightly different background. She needs a minimum of half a metre, preferably a little more than that. If you have some languishing in your stash that you would be willing to part with (you can negotiate an exchange with Noelle), we can pass an email message on for you (email us at fairholmers@gmail.com), or you can contact her directly from your Fairholme contact list if you a member.

Show and tell

The asymmetric block placement in Dawn's richly coloured design echos the oriental style of the fabrics

Detail of Dawn's fabrics - the rust highlight is a wonderful choice:

Jo's bright flannels with a polar fleece backing will keep their elderly recipient warm, and she has road tested it for industrial strength washing durability:

Jane started with a Sushi Roll from the Sydney Quilt Show, and supplemented with a little extra fabric to produce Sushi Surprise "in no time at all""

Strip piecing and clever cross cutting produce the block elements, and careful value contrast produces the illusion of curves at a distance:

WRAP Unwrapped Textile Exhibition 2009: Parliament House Sydney

Just across the Domain from the Art Gallery of NSW, at Parliament House, another exhibition of interest to quilters opens today (ignore the date, it really is Tuesday 7th) .....

WRAP (wagga - research - adapt - produce) is described as "a journey into the living history of wagga quilts". The WRAP Unwrapped exhibition is travelling around the state, with a Sydney show throughout July:

Parliament House Sydney
7 July - 30 July 2009
Monday - Friday only, 9.30 am - 4.00 pm

There will be a free illustrated talk on July 17 and July 24 at 11am in the Parliamentary Theatrette.This will encompass the history of the wagga and the background of the exhibition.

Further information about WRAP is available here.

Community quilt donations and collaborations

Louise said these windmills aren't meant to look this "whacky", but we thought they looked great. Louise made the top (note to Matthew: just how good does that red border look?), and Dawn quilted it. Then they donated their work to our community quilts stash.

Jane made this little beauty in a class on curved piecing, but "it's not really me" she said. Elaine quilted it and added the button embellishments. And they too donated their collaboration to the community quilts stash.