Show and tell

Liberty prints collected over years are celebrated in sinuous
curves that Robyn L has embellished with herringbone embroidery.
 It all comes together so beautifully.

She is hand quilting, following the curves. 

 It all comes together so beautifully.

Julie used up lots of lovely blues from her stash.

Some were bought for other quilts, but were not right.
Who hasn't done that?

Julie is delighted with Yvette's quilting.

Daphne is eking out her jelly roll scraps, in a zip top bag.

Virginia  was just finishing the binding on the memory quilt
she has made for her brother, using fabrics from her sister-in-law’s
stash. The centre was curtains she had made, and Ginnie added a
few from her own stash. Her sister-in-law loved to sew, and the
quilt is made with much love and kindness.

The stitchers behind the first moon landing

We knew about the women who wrote software (Margaret Hamilton) and calculated flight paths and landings (as seen in the 2016 movie Hidden Figures) , and here we learn about the stitchers who worked on the 1969 moon landing:

• In print: The Seamstresses who helped put a man on the moon

' ... back in places where the TV cameras didn't always go, a small army of women was working just as hard at jobs that were just as important ... What NASA needed was something more flexible, and they found out that no one knew flexible like the people who made Playtex girdles and bras...'

• On video: The Seamstress Behind Apollo 11’s Spacesuits
  Talk about threading the needle in more ways than one. If it wasn’t for Jo Thompson, the first manned mission to land on the moon could have ended in disaster. She was part of a team of elite seamstresses employed by ILC Dover—a company famous for making Playtex bras—to sew spacesuits for Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. The job was technical, and the pressure was intense. Precision was literally a matter of life and death⁠—one errant needle hole, even a tiny prick, would have compromised the spacesuits. To this day, Thompson is proud of her role in the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing. We join her at her Delaware home to talk sewing and space exploration.

Apollo 11 Crew 1969, NASA: Creative Commons

Community sewing day, July

 Just a little of the action at our community sewing day last week - it was busy all day, with an enthusiastic band learning new skills as well as working on existing ones.

Yvette is making a multi-bladed Dresden Plate design,
using a fabric pack donated by Elaine.

We pin-basted two quilts for Julie, and sent her home
with backing for two more.

Roslyn and Jo-Ann learned how to use a Go Cutter, and cut
 through lots of fabrics in varied shapes, assisted by a team
of fabric choosers, ironers and cutters.  

The small scraps were put through again to cut smaller shapes,
and great fun was had.

Sue C handed her finished Superstars top (design by Miriam)
over to Yvette for quilting.

An emergency pin-baste of a baby quilt for Jill's daughter
who was only in town briefly for it to be quilted and bound.

Another Miriam design made up by Jill, 'In a Whirl' is much
quicker to make than it looks, ideal for scraps, adaptable in
size - all very suited to community quilt making.

Some of the somewhat scrappy blocks and sashing
- about to be pin-basted.

Show and tell

Elsa's family are in competition to be gifted her 'Shadow Box'
quilt - she might be driven to making more. Most of the
prints are indigenous, bought in the Northern Territory.

Dawn has used Australian native floral prints from a much-loved
former member's fabric stash for  this disappearing nine patch in
one of the less common layouts.

Sue's very light and summery blue and white classic has
been some time in the making, and she still loves it.
Beautifully quilted by Yvette, it will soon be finished,

It's been a big week for near-finishes for Sue - she is delighted
with the open loopy quilting design Yvette has added to her
jelly roll quilt ...

... and she's very happy that she stashed this Minick and
Simpson print, that made the perfect backing.

Hilary's golfing partners also craft together. They have recently
made a quilt to donate to a women's community support service,
after Hilary taught them how to make the delightfully wonky
 tree blocks. It is hand quilted with red thread.

This week's show and tell

Another jelly roll sewing day finish - cars, cars and more cars 
on fabric roads made by Helen,  generously donated to 
the community quilt collection

Janice started this beautifully soft baby quilt some time ago,
but didn't quite finish the hand quilting. With a new grandchild
on the way, it has moved to top priority. Some of the hexagons
are embellished with tiny appliqué and embroidery.

Yvette is teaching some novice patchworkers in a community
 class. This vibrant quilt is her class sample that introduces
many techniques. Beginners' classes have come a long way.

Pieced borders ...

... curves, applique ...

... and a funky backing.

Jill made these winged star blocks several months ago,
in preparation for posting them as month markers on Instagram,
and to end up with quilt top by the end of the year.
They are now assembled, ready to be quilted for a  local
fundraiser in a couple of months.

More show and tell from last week

Lisa needed a small stitching project for her recent trip to
France and Portugal, so she tried applique for her first
hand-sewing project.

Lyn was given six embroidered blocks that look very like
candlewicking, so she is making another 19 for a quilt!
She also told us that candlewicking was originally done
with the actual cotton wicks of candles - seems obvious now,
 but most of us didn't know!

Pat has just a few more stitches in the community quilt she has
made from donated blocks that were wrangles into compatible
shapes and alignment - they all feature somewhat quirky cats.
The border  and sashing fabrics were in the community stash,
just waiting for these blocks. 

Susan's spectacular peacock panels quilt has been a long term
project, and it was lovely to see it so beautifully finished this week.

Susan quilted it herself on her machine.

Reverse view of the quilting.

Jill enrolled in a  series of monthly classes called 'Artful Improv'
with Sydney quilter and teacher Jessica Wheelahan in February,
and after five months has finished an original quilt top.

The fabrics are mostly stash scraps, no rulers were used,
 most of the cutting was done with scissors and Jill enjoyed
 the challenges and freedom. 

2020 AQC dates and challenge announced

Australasian Quilt Convention 2020

16 - 19 April 2020

Melbourne

The AQC Challenge is an annual challenge for quilters around the world. Entries will be juried and judged with up to 30 finalists selected. The theme for 2020 is 'Going Green'. 

Judging will be based on:

• Interpretation of theme

• Design

• Craftsmanship

A cash prize pool of $5,500 is offered.
Entries are due February 7, 2020

Show and tell

Adrienne's current long term hand-sewing project
- beautiful applique

Scrap wrangling - Daphne cut just under 2000
1 1/2” postage stamp squares for this vibrant quilt.
Its skinny black sashing brings it right up to date.

Dawn immediately saw the bag-making potential of the heavier
weights amongst a recent unexpected fabric donation, and
has already put them to use ...

... kick starting her contribution to the craft stall at our
2020 quilt show.

Lots of lovely French General goodness in Helen's soft,
 pretty quilt top.

Pat is trying out embroidery on felt for the first time
 - looks like she gets it!

Our meeting space only allows for hand sewing (or knitting)
when the larger Monday morning group gather, so we all
bring handwork for between the chatting and show and
tell. This beauty has kept Jo-Ann busy for several months.
It is pieced over paper, and the colour palette is gorgeous.

Julie is working through her scraps making pot holders.

Lynette is trying out a variegated thread on sashiko
panels found in Japan.

Show and tell

We posted photos of our quilts at the recent Sydney Quilt Show here, but we were very interested to see Jenn's up very close and personal last week.

The Tuesday evening group had a wonderful opportunity to 
see 'Turn Her Into A Mountain', Jenn's Sydney Quilt Show
 entry for 2019 up very close. It is an original design based 
on childhood memories of Central Oregon and the Three
 Sisters volcanic peaks. 

The mountains are quilted with contour lines, with individual
designs more densely quilted in the multi-layered, brilliantly
coloured, small and very small triangles. Jenn quilted it on 
two domestic machines (one seized), and used nineteen 
solid fabrics in the binding.

The Three Sisters volcanoes in Central Oregon.
The peaks are sometimes known as 'Faith', 'Hope' and 'Charity'.
Image: USGS Photograph by Lyn Topinka, 1985. Creative Commons, Wikipedia

Louise is very happy with her finished pouch made from
a from a Cherry Pie Designs pattern and Wabi Sabi
Designs Australia fabrics. 

She will use it to keep her EPP bit and pieces in.

Christopher Florence's optical illusion design 'Passages'
appealed to Hilary - she bought a kit from the US.
It has no Y seams, so Hilary says it is easier to make
than it looks. Contemplating a quilting plan.

Hilary has also finished her large hexagon quilt started in
our jelly roll sewing day last year - beautiful shades of red
and  soft grey-greens. It is strip pieced, three strips
sewn together are cross-cut into 60º triangles.