Quarantine quilting (1)

Thanks to our members who have been generously sharing photos of what they are working on in quarantine ...

Like many of us quilting at home  Val picked up a
long-unfinished quilt and hand quilted it. It shows
her distinctive style and skill well.

Elaine was delighted to be asked to make a quilt for
a nephew's 21st birthday. He knows and loves Japan,
 and approved the fabrics. Just a border or two to go.

These Ohio Stars were part of a large donation of fabric
and unfinished quilts a couple of years ago. Some of
them were partly made. Dawn took them on, and
has turned them into a finished quilt top.

Louise also brought out an unfinished quilt, started
with her daughter Elle. She recalls that all the
blocks were made, so where is that last one?

Jill had quite a few teal/turquoise/aqua scraps ...
the quilt top is now waiting in three pieces for
quilt-as-you-go quilting.

Miriam used up orphan blocks to make a coffee rug
- she is calling this one Home Alone

Jenn said, 'I didn’t really think I’d finish two
EPP quilt tops in three weeks!' We've watched her
making her beautiful English paper pieced 'Mandolin'
blocks, and it's lovely to see it finished.

Dawn has found sewing an excellent quarantine
past-time and has also made another 'SuperStars'
quilt top - her fourth, or fifth? She does love
SewMiriam pattern.

Finshing off ... starting new ...

We're sorting through our stashes, finding ufos we had forgotten about, finishing things off, and starting new things while we remain in quarantine ...

Robyn has made three more Sew Miriam bags
- beautifully colour themed.

These are the two sides of a Sew Miriam bag
made by Noelle - fabulous fabrics!

Just one of Nerida's current projects,
Jen Kingwell's 'Beginner's Luck'

Pat has finished off two cushions,
one of them started a while ago ...

Janet is basting a quilt made from her generous supply
of blue scraps. There'll need to be a big basting party
when we are able to get together again.

Sue is moving several projects forward - this one
was started in a workshop, finished in classes with a
different teacher, and now the hand quilting is
coming along.

Another of Sue's projects was to organise her
embroidery threads.

Stitched fun

Looking for something small and quick to stitch, rather than starting a new large quilt or tacking the ufo pile?


SewMiriam has posted a free tutorial on both her Instagram account and blog, for her Cheerful Chickens - an easy make with lots of uses. Maybe make them with or for some children in your life.

'In your hands these chickens feel very soothing. They can be used as sewing weights to hold down patterns, as pin cushions, or as a happy companion on your desk or window sill.'

Here is Hilary's first chicken:

Louise has alerted us to Sarah De Jonge's Kindness Hearts, little felt 'pocket hearts' given to people going through difficult times.

• ABC news story about 1000 Hearts

• Sarah's 1000 Hearts website

A virtual preview (2)

Think of this as another aisle in our virtual quilt show, but with more space, and great lighting ...

Pat's 'Pickled Fish' quilt looks wonderful draped over a sofa.

Dawn's 'GiGi' is styled with flowers for her
60th wedding anniversary
- congratulations to you both!

Louise's 'SuperStars' is in use already, but we'll
borrow it back. The rich colours of the stars are
beautifully complimented by the deep teal
background.

Miriam's quilts look spectacular against her sasanqua
hedge, flowering just in time ...

Betty the corgi  is the best quilt guardian ever.

Sydney Quilt Show: revised dates

Quilt NSW says entries remain closed and those who have entered will be advised of new dates for delivery and collection of entries shortly.

A virtual preview (1)

As you know, our 2020 Quilt Show was scheduled for last weekend and had to be cancelled three weeks out. We'd done all the preparation and were highly organised, and we'll be well ahead with putting the rescheduled event together at an as yet unknown date. 

One of our members, Margaret, came up with the brilliant idea during the weekend to stage her own virtual quilt show in quarantine, at home. She posted her photos on Instagram, and invited the rest of us to follow suit. Here are her photos, and Janet's and Sue's who are the first to follow Margaret's lead ... 

Not all of Margaret's quilts would have been/will be
in our show, but how lucky are we to see so many?

Janet's first floor balcony makes an excellent gallery
for her 'Beauty and the Beast" ...

... and her 'Winter Village Amongst the Pines' quilts
(Laundry Baskets pattern, with some adaptations)

Sue's veranda gallery includes her first quilt (the sampler)
and her latest (Little Miss April), her first rotary cut machine
pieced effort and her first foundation piecing.

Reading

Are you looking for reading material to help you fill your quaranting days? Here are some textle and stitching articles you might enjoy ...

The calming effects of sewing can help people express and heal themselves - how absorbing your concentration in needlework relieves inner turmoil

... when I was about six years old, my mother took me to an Aladdin’s cave in the city centre. There she bought me linen cloths already stamped with floral flourishes, packets of gold-tipped needles and silver scissors with handles shaped like a bird’s wings – and she let me choose loops of embroidery threads from a carousel of colours that dazzled me ... Clare Hunter, The Guardian, 24 February 2019

Tracy Chevalier on the unsung heroine of British textiles who taught shell-shocked soldiers how to sew

... (Louisa) Pesel worked with shell-shocked soldiers during the First World War in Bradford, teaching them to sew “for the soothing value of doing something with the hands”. She was keen to give the soldiers colourful pieces to embroider, explaining that “soft, rich and gracious colours all have an obvious curative effect”. Her work with them was so successful that the scheme was copied in other towns ... Tracy Chevalier, The Telegraph (UK), 27 January 2020

Log Cabin Quilts: The Building of an American Classic

Few traditional quilt patterns both represent the American frontier and lend themselves to modern interpretations like log cabin quilts. And for a pattern many associate with Honest Abe, few have as many stories and legends attached to their history ... Barbara Brackman, Quilting Daily, 11 April 2018

Artist Embroiders Lifelike Jellyfish That “Swim” Past the Hoop

Contemporary embroiderers have revitalized an age-old craft with their exceptional hand-stitched art. And some, like Yuliya Kucherenko, are not only pushing the boundaries, but they’re breaking free of literal boundaries. Her aquatic-inspired embroidery depicts colorful jellyfish whose long tendrils drift off of the hoop ... Margherita Cole, Modern Met, 6 February 2020

Mystery of why Bayeux Tapestry is so long and thin finally solved

... after a British professor discovered it fits perfectly in a lost area of Bayeux Cathedral. Christopher Norton, Professor of Art History at the University of York, found the embroidered cloth was designed to be hung along the north, south and west sides of the nave of Bayeux Cathedral, between the west wall and choir screen ... Sarah Knapton, The Telegraph (UK), 23/10/2019

Quilting at home

We won't be meeting for some time yet, but most people are sewing at home, and are very happy to be able to fill some of their new-found hours at home doing something they love, and are mostly well set up for ...

Like many of us, Helen has a list of ufos to
work on while we have more time at home. Her
classic red and navy community quilt is already
finished and will go towards the replenishment
of our community collection when we can get
back together. Take note of the precision cutting
of the outer border to align the print to the seam. 

Team effort - Julie handed Elaine a collection of
 hexagon flowers, and Elaine assembled a
community quilt top using them.

Jenn has finished her beautiful EPP project,
the Alexandria quilt. Hand quilting next?

Julie fitted in a visit to a fabric shop just in time,
and is making this quilt for a great grandson ...

... including a little machine applique in the borders.

Louise hand quilted her baby quilt in time for the 

now postponed quilt show, but Lily will need it 

before we do. How soft and cuddly does it look?

Nerida's 'Not the Levens Hall' quilt is finished, added
to the hand-quilting pile.

Check out Nerida's Instagram photos @neri.ams for more
of the individual blocks in close-up.

Robyn made a Sew Miriam zip-top bag for a
friend, but thought the solid pink panel was too
plain, so it is now beautifully embroidered.