Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Noelle's classic beauty

Noelle has been stitching (mostly by hand) this classic medallion design for some years, in her favourite soft colours - there's a lot of fine sewing in there. We've watched it grow with interest, as Noelle wondered if it was nearly finished. And now she says it definitely is. It is very large and will go to a long arm quilter.

This is where it started, with a single hexagon that became a rosette, a circle appliqued to a square .... you get the picture. We'll see it finished for next year's exhibition.

Around the table ... work in progress

Noelle's daughter bought these wonderful fabrics from a shop she just happened across near her hotel on a recent trip to Japan - Noelle said, "yes please, get me 25 cm of anything you think I'd like", but her daughter knows her Mum loves to quilt, so she bought 60 - 70 cm of enough fabrics to yield 9 metres! Aren't daughters wonderful?

Pam is working her way through the alphabet for a lucky little person - and she's up to "O" already!


Elaine chose these lovely jewel tones for her folded flying geese butterflies, from the recent workshop with Margaret Cormack.

Lynette is hand quilting this lovely soft green and pink floral quilt for an aunt. She plans to have it quilted enough to bind so that she can sew the binding down by hand during a four hour car trip in a few days.

Tuesday nighters like a bit of a chat, so Heather calls us to order with her hand bell .... and sometimes it works!

Who knew a table runner didn't have to be straight?

I feel a bit of a dill admitting it, but it has never occurred to me that a table runner could be curved ......until I saw these wonderfully flowing examples from a class with Vanessa at Country Pickin's that Marijke, Dina and Jane did last weekend (Jo did it too, but we haven't seen hers yet). The class was to demonstrate the use of wedge rulers. This project used 8 fabrics (fat quarters or 1/4 metres, with some left overs).

Marijke didn' t want pointy ends, so left them out.

Dina kept the pointy ends, and followed the orientation in the instructions .... and is contemplating her quilting options.

.....while Jane did something that made hers come out "back to front" - but does it matter? She has stipple quilted in the cream band so far, with more to be done.

Jane used the left-overs of the strip sets to create a small rectangular quilt with the wedge ruler, just to see what it would be like.

Now isn't that much more interesting than straight, just for a change?

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

2008 Challenge - the garden blocks

The garden blocks from the 2008 fabric Challenge have come together just as well as the beach blocks. A border or two, and they will be ready for quilting, binding and display in the 2010 Fairholme Quilters exhibition, before finding a home in the community.

Details of a couple of blocks demonstrating the imaginative use of the Challenge fabric, and some impressive applique and piecing.

Lynette put the bocks together with a well chosen pale olive green fabric for the sashing to tie them together.

Goddess Roseus

Bid-4A-Cause is a fundraiser for breast cancer, organised by Deborah Segaert, the editor of Down Under Quilts magazine. 13 Australian textile artists have been invited to create an A4 piece of textile art, which will be auctioned at the end of October.

Contributing artists are Brenda Gael Smith, Caroline Sharkey, Dale Rollerson, Dijanne Cevaal, Erica Spinks, Helen Godden, Jocelyne Leath, Lisa Walton, Nic Bridges, Olga Walters, Robyn Kennedy, Sarah Louise Ricketts, Sue Dennis

All 13 works can now be viewed in the Bid-4A-Cause blog, and are currently on exhibition at the Brisbane Quilt and Craft Fair.

Details of the auction will be posted to the Bid-4A-Cause blog.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

New blog for World's Biggest Hexagon Quilt

Remember the World's Biggest Hexagon Quilt Challenge post from a week or so ago? Now it has its own blog, where you will find instructions and be able to follow progress in words and pictures: World's Biggest Hexagon Quilt

Red Hat sighting in Pennant Hills

If you were at Craft Depot early this morning you would no doubt have noticed the 60 or so women who just might have been members of the Red Hat Society (they were flamboyant in purple, and their very best red hats), who were on a shopping bus trip from Newcastle ......

The poem, Warning, by Jenny Joseph, that started it all can be found all over the Internet - one page is here.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Fairholme Quilters email address

If you need to contact Fairholme Quilters by email, please use this email address:

fairholmequilters@gmail.com

which is checked regularly.

A link is permanently available in the right hand column

Leaves

Gentle colour gradations in a variety of hand dyed fabrics give Janet's Leaves quilt its firey autumnal glow. The tilted setting makes the leaves dance. The quilting is subtle - free motion stitching defines veins in the leaves, with just a hint of texture, and the ribbon border adds dimension.

Challenge

Do you remember the 2008 Christmas challenge? We made blocks that had to feature a "challenging" fabric chosen by Lynette, and we either drew "the beach" or "the garden" as the theme for our block. This is the resulting "beach" quilt top, and some close-ups of that challenging fabric.


Can't wait to see the "garden" top!

Jane and Dina work in parallel ....

.... as well as in series. With these quilts, they have used the same block, with different layouts and very different fabric choices. Both of the tops are enormous, so they will be taking themselves off to a long-arm quilter!

Jane's navy, red and gold is striking and regal. The asymmetric bloc placement leads the eye all over the quilt, and to that beautiful border fabric again and again. So much to look at!
.

Dina gets to go to Houston from time to time to meet up with sister and fellow quilter, Cindy, to take in the festival and then they shop. These subtly elegant fabrics came from one of those excursions. Just look at that final border print! The three dimensional effect is well-realised through the more regular block placement and the thoughtful interplay of light, medium and dark-value fabrics - you almost need to reach out touch it to see how many layers there are .....

Should this quilt ever go missing, you'll know where to look for it Dina!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

It was going to be a vest ......

Bev started out with some luscious Japanese fabrics, to piece together for a quilted vest ..... but they wanted to be a quilt, and now they are!

The fourth border in a subtle olive green is very narrow, but very effective.

Its was beautifully quilted by Ellie Harrison from “Stitched & Bound”, using a dragonfly motif:

Bordered squares, community quilts in the making

Three of our bordered squares quilt tops - same pattern, very different fabrics, very individual looks. These were put together by Helen, Jill and Jane (top to bottom). More to come, and these will be back when quilted and bound.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Two quilt events in late October

Looking for a real-life quilt event later in the month?

Eastwood Patchwork Quilters
Annual Show & Tell

Wednesday 28th October 2009 7.30pm

Baptist Church Hall, First Ave, Eastwood
$2 Admission



The Southern Quilters Quilt Show

Friday & Saturday 30th & 31st October 2009

Sutherland Uniting Church
cnr Flora & Merton Streets Sutherland
$6 Admission

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Show and Tell

Jill's very big, king size quilt is almost done - just the binding to sew down. Good old disappearing 9 match made the top remarkably quick to put together. Jo Phillips quilted it, using a wool heirloom batting for warmth without it being too heavy, and a Kerryn Emmerson pantograph.

Heather's little granddaughter in Canada is about to receive a quilty reminder that she has some Australian roots, when she opens her first birthday present from her Australian grandma

Jane sewed all these blocks (plus the three left over ones) from a class, then decided she didn't like them. So we have two more community quilts, very quickly put together!

Houston winners: online images

The prize winners at the annual fall Judged Show of the International Quilt Association (in Houston) can be seen online here. The single page includes a thumbnail of each quilt, its name and its maker's name and location - very easy to navigate.

Caryl Bryer Fallet has won Best of Show. A number of Australians and at least one New Zealander have won prizes, as have a smattering of quilters from other countries, amongst the many US and Japanese winners.

Narelle Grieve - obituary, Sydney Morning Herald

The Herald published Narelle Grieve's obituary today.

World's largest hexagon quilt - you can participate!

Down Under Quilts magazine no. 137 (current issue) reports that a Guinness Book of Records attempt to create the World's Largest Hexagon Quilt is planned in Queensland, coordinated by Gail Chalker.

The planned quilt will be "in excess of 15.5 metres in length and approximately 2.5 metres in width" it will be exhibited at the Australian School of Applique (TASA) in May 2010 in Gatton, Qld, and then made into smaller quilts to be distributed to aged care facilities.

Quilters are invited to contribute hexagon rosettes., Contact Gail Chalker on 07 5462 2401 (bh) or email at gailchalker@bigpond.com for details of what is required, and how to enter.

Each participant is entered into a draw for a $250 fabric bundle.

Given the number of hexagons produced by both Fairholme groups, someone might be interested ....

Monday, October 12, 2009

Online quilt festival

Don't follow this link unless you have a little time, or you are prepared to bookmark it for when you do have time! Amy, at the Park City Girl blog has organised her second online Bloggers' Quilt Festival, for those of us unable to get to Houston ..... click here to link to the quilts entered so far (getting very close to 500 - note that there is a second longer list just below the first one. There are few familiar Australian names there.
It looks like you can still enter your own quilt if you have a blog, and there is a link in the first paragraph to the previous Bloggers' Quilt Festival ..... so lots to be getting on with! And do let us know if you decide to enter.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Monday Group Christmas Challenge

Everyone, including the Evening girls, is invited to make a Blanket of Love for our Christmas Party on Monday 7 December 2009.


Size: The quilt is to be no more than 24" x 24"


Design: Your own choice of design/colour . However NO yellow should be used.


Construction: NO wadding is required and backing should be flannel.


The group will judge the finished quilts at the Party.


This UK website gives a good overview and history of the Blankets of Love concept.

An Evening with Maria from Material Girls Down Under

When: Tuesday 10 November 2009

Time: 7.30pm sharp.


Maria will demonstrate new sewing gadgets, play a couple of Trivia games with fat 1/4 prizes and we can purchase lots of goodies including books, fat 1/4s and sewing aids all at very reasonable prices. And we will receive another book for our Library.


However we will need at least 10 ladies to attend, so could you please let Helen or Jane know of your intention to join us. If any of the Day group wish to attend they are most welcome.

Material Girls Down Under