Community quilts 2018 (1) - February sewing day

 First monthly community sewing day for the year - a great roll up, and lots of work done!

The first order of business was to go through the two large tubs of donated blocks, fabric and a number of finished and partially finished quilt tops that had turned up quite unexpectedly, from four different sources, over the summer break. The aim was just to see what there was, and to make some initial decisions about what we could use, and what needed to go elsewhere, and then to pack it away to be worked on when time permitted. But by the end of the day, almost everything had been claimed by someone who was willing to work towards a finished quilt right now, and Daphne had joined a set of blocks together into a top that she wanted to add just a border or two to improve the proportions!

Top left is a large quilt top, beautifully made from gorgeous
fabrics - we have decided to finish it as a raffle quilt for our next
Biggest Morning Tea to support the Cancer Council. The other
three blocks are made from a Chris Jurd patten, Squaredance,
again from lovely fabrics, and beautifully made by foundation
 paper piecing.  No final decision on their future yet, but ideas
are percolating.

A small selection if the many, many blocks donated by a friend
of a friend who teaches patchwork in Andamooka in outback
South Australia, and sometimes has samples and offcuts leftover,
and cannot bear to just throw them out. They've nearly all
found a new maker, and are well on their way to being quilts,
mostly of a scrappy variety.

Nine blocks joined together, whose maker ran out of puff
with it - she generously included some fabric that might
be a border as well. Julie is onto it.

Daphne is well on the way to a complete lap-quilt top,
having joined together the border blocks from a another
project that drove its original maker to distraction.

Susan gathered up some community stash fabrics to add borders
 to the centre of the same quilt whose border blocks Daphne
rescued. That indistinct chartreuse fabric is one of the most useful
'neutrals' in our stash - we always try to keep a similar one on hand.

And a couple of days later Susan had already replaced
four fabric pieces that just didn't look comfortable with
the other, and added to borders for a a second lap-sized
quilt rescue.

Then it was down to our usual program of advancing the quilts we thought we were working on, including quite a lot of pin-basting ... there would have been more, but someone forgot to bring the already prepared backing, and someone else escaped before a photo could be taken. We'll catch up with both of them eventually.

Hilary ran this modern top up during the break, and will machine
quilt it herself. It provided Pat's stretching exercise for the day.

Julie made some pretty pink 'In a Whirl' blocks from
Miriam's online tutorial. The rogue block that sewed itself
 together without consulting the pattern is staying there as is.

Margaret K makes children's quilt tops faster than we can
finish them, and they are all fantastic. We eventually get there.

Hilary's 2017 end-of-year challenge quilt appeared for basting
on the Thursday sewing day, and she was seen to be sewing the
binding down the following Tuesday, setting the bar quite high!

Sue C came prepared to piece the back for her 'Plus' quilt,
as her task for the day. She made a very precisely measured
ladder to compliment the fire chief fabric.

All the + signs.