Show and tell ...

How cute and clever is this Christmas table
napkin that Pam is making for friends?

It's made from a reversible semicircle
with a little trunk sewn strategically
in  the seam, and folded along the
lines you can see here.
Online tutorial for a similar design.

Margaret W completed the centre from an Amitie Textiles 
block of the month - gorgeous funky birds and flowers! 
Waiting to see what comes next ...

Susan M wasn't sure that her peacock wall hanging was
'okay', so she put it away for a while - she brought it out
recently and decided that it was indeed, 'okay'.
We hear that a peacock quilt is in the making ... 

Julie's quilt for a little great-grandson will be a hit!

Sue C's version of Margaret Sampson George's 'Little Miss
April' is nearly done - all the large hexagon's are done and
being joined - look at all that colour! There is some
very clever fussy cutting here.

Jo bought the feature fabric for this quilt quite some time ago.
She changed the mix of solids first considered, and came
up with this beauty.

Save the date: Brigitte Giblin exhibition

This will be popular and draw visitors from around NSW:

Quilts in the Shearing Shed Exhibition
28 - 29 April 2017
O'Connell (near Bathurst NSW)
Brigitte Giblin and her students' quilts

Community quilts, November (2)

These three quilts are a small sample of the many quilts that Lynette has made for our community quilts program. She initiated our monthly community sewing days when she was the group's convenor in 2009, and remains a prolific contributor, including being skilled at completing quilts donated unfinished. Lynette did say that some of these have been some time in the making!

Muted pinks ...

... with something brighter on the reverse, only called that
because it's the side with the maker's label.

A light and bright way to use simple squares ...

... with another striking backing.

Lynette loves thirties reproduction fabrics, and she likes
making disappearing four patch blocks - so she will have
enjoyed making this one.
We didn't have any 30s fabrics in the community stash
though ... where could these have come from?

Pam Holland's photos from Houston

Well known Australian teacher and quilter, Pam Holland  has posted a series of excellent, detailed photos from the 2016 International Quilt Festival in Houston earlier this month, on her blog I am Pam:

• And the winners are, Houston Quilt Festival
• More images from the Houston Quilt Show

You will see from the comments that there has been some controversy about the ownership of the image used as the basis for the quilt 'Unknown Man'.

Community quilts, November (1)

All of these quilts were added to the collection we donated to the dementia care centre residents this week - they all appeared, finished on the day:

Sue H's friends' group made this one from pretty small scale florals ...

Julie made this one using a feature print and some soft yellows
and blues from the community stash.

Robin S made a pigeon pair with hexagons ...

... she is reducing her stash, but the quilts keep coming.

Many people had a hand in making this one, with Pam adding
the narrow burgundy sashing, joining it together, quilting
and binding it for the finish. 

Happy quilters and quilt owners

Two of the diversional therapists visited us on Monday morning to collect  a large bundle of quilts made for for residents of the Donald Coburn Centre, a local dementia care centre as part of our community quilts program.

Here are just some of the quilts, and some of the people who made them. We enjoyed hearing how much our quilts are appreciated, how they are chosen individually for each resident, and how they are cared for. We love making them, so it's win-win!

You might recall that we made the Stained Glass quilt for the Donald Coburn Centre in 2014. The room used for chapel services for residents who cannot go out to the on-site chapel has recently been renovated, and the quilt is now hanging on a dark coloured wall, where it glows. It won an award at the Sydney Quilt Show in 2015. You can read the story of the making of the quilt here. Thank for the new photo Dani.

Two popular quilt show are coming up in southern NSW ...

Braidwood Airing of the Quilts 2016

26 - 27 November 2016

Braidwood NSW

Bungendore Quilters - Members' Annual Exhibition

War Memorial Hall, Molongolo Street, Bungendore NSW 2621

The exhibition will complement neighbouring village Braidwood's The Airing of the Quilts, just a short drive from Bungendore.

26 - 27 November 2016

This week's show and tell ...

Marilyn has been working on this  block for some time -
those hexagons are just 1/2", so it takes a while! This is
the centre of a quilt from Somerset Cottage. We are looking
forward to seeing more - there are many, many more tiny
pieces to be joined and appliqued!

Pat made a quilt with some Japanese fabric a while ago for
her bedroom - to go with a picture with a geisha in it. So now
she has made some matching pillow shams with some of that
fabric, and some geisha fabric that she bought on
one of our bus trips a few years ago.

Dawn used some cat print fabric from the community
stash for this disappearing 9 patch ... 

... and came up with this for the back!

Another disappearing 9 patch from Dawn for our community
collection - a farm print this time.

Lynette has made several children's quilts from these
animal panels that were donated to the community stash
- each of them is a little different from all the others.

Lynette recently took delivery of a stash donation
via QuiltNSW, and has already made his alphabet
panel up for the community collection. 

2017 Block of the Month - Sarah Fielke

If you have been following the beautiful quilts made with Australian designer Sarah Fielke's popular 2016 block of the month, you will be interested in the next one - maybe you'll join in ... Nerida, are you going to do the next one?

This is Sarah's sketch for 2017:

Sarah's announcement on social media:

Sound the trumpets! Ring the bells! My 2017 Block of Month program is now open for subscribers. Learn new skills while you stitch with social media friends. The program includes 12 months of step by step instructions, instructional videos and full sized templates. 

Come and join the fun, all details are at my website: www.sarahfielke.com

To see the variety of quilts made in 2016  with Sarah's bom, look for the tag
#sarahfielkebom2016 on Instagram - finished centres, and some complete with borders are beginning to appear. Keep an eye out for release of the pattern, publication of a book, and quilt shops offering the 2016 pattern as block of the month program and classes.

Patchwork Products closing down sale

Posted on 4 November 2016, further details of sale are on the Patchwork Products website here

Late October show and tell

Sue B made her Christmas table runner at a recent retreat
with Studio Quilters 

Sue H put this one together at a retreat with Chris Jurd.
Note how the quilted curves trick you eye into seeing
'curved' triangles in the hour glass pieces - funky!

Ginnie's grandchildren all have quilts, many of them
appliqued with Ginnie's exquisite blanket stitching.
This time she has made a quilted book for them to
share and enjoy at Grandma's place.

2016 Houston award winners

The award winners at the International Quilt Festival in Houston this week can now be viewed online here.

Congratulations to these Australian quilters who are among the award winners:

Bob James, Judges Choice award (by Carolyn Ducey) for From Indigo to SilkMargaret Wallace, Art Naturescapes second place for Snowy River Landform - Take TwoHelen Godden and Jonathan S. Evans, Art Painted Surface first place for Faces of IndiaRachelle Denneny, Merit Quilting, Machine - Stationary second place, for A Touch of Blue

Quiltsmith news: sale and vintage fabric pop-up shop

Quiltsmith fabric sale:
Tuesday 8th November until close of business Saturday 3rd December

See the Quiltsmith Newsletter for details of conditions.

A Piece of Cloth pop-up shop at Quiltsmith

A Piece of Cloth is a vintage and antique textiles sourcing business. Established in 2009 by graphic and textile designer Jennifer Twitchett-Hyland ... The studio has an extensive selection of vintage and antique patchwork quilt tops, feed sacks, blocks, patchwork quilts, cutters and fabrics to suit the needs of quilters interested in vintage patchwork and quilting, restoration or just owning a piece of the past. 

And she's bringing this all to Quiltsmith in Annandale, 17 - 19 November 2016

Community quilts

And just like that, we've done our second last community sewing day for the year, and we will bundling up quilts for delivery to their new owners shortly ...

Sue C has gone well outside her preferred 'blue Sue'
comfort zone - seduced by Hello Kitty, perhaps!

These fabrics came to us from a generous donation from
a small charity that folded during the year. Dawn loves the
disappearing four patch block, and quickly saw how
beautifully they would work together.

Pin basting with friends is a frequent activity at community sewing
days - and on large tables is the only way to do it, especially when
you are not up to crawling around the floor!Julie made this bright quilt
that will delight a child, and in the background you can see
Pat's bright disaprearing nine patch in the day's basting line-up.

The centre panel fabric came to us as a donation via a
circuitous route, and we don't know it's origins.
Elaine W decided that  the strongly graphic diagonal stripes
needed to be left intact. There is a slight texture to the
weave The pink border was lurking in her own stash.

Julie decided to join the many group members making
hexagons for this fun medallion for a child.

Fifteen quilts are ready to be delivered to QuiltNSW for
distribution to foster children (two of them didn't make into
this photo!). Thanks to everyone who contributed.

20th Anniversary sale at Craft Depot

Craft Depot at Pennant Hills is having an anniversary sale this month ...

Location details, catalogue and online sales:

www.craftdepot.com.au

Oz Quilt Network: Australia Wide Five online

Australia Wide Five is a travelling exhibition of 40 art quilts, each 40 x 40 cm, made by members of Oz Quilt Network.

You preview the quilts online and see the exhibition schedule here.

previous Australia Wide collections can be viewed online here.