Community sewing day October 2020

We make community quilts from fabrics and blocks donated to our community stash, bolstered by fabrics from our own stashes, and sometimes a combination of the two. The generosity of our donors and members in making quilts for others is much appreciated. We have enjoyed getting together once a month since July, with a COVID-SAFE Plan and controlled numbers - a good day of sewing and socialising at an appropriate distance.

Yvette put this top together at our September sewing
day, and brought it back quilted and bound this time!

Yvette also finished this one she had made
earlier from a kit ...

.... finished with her expert quilting,
and  bargain floral sheeting for the backing.

Noelle found a stash of 30s reproduction fabrics
and had a collection of pin dots that were just right
for sashing strips - there are enough
blocks for two quilts!

Daphne made up a sweet little quilt top from
blocks donated by a friend, and a stripe from
the community stash. 

Nerida sewed lots of little scraps into wonky
courthouse step blocks, and used the big table
to baste the quilt top ...

...  she then sat at her machine and made a great
start on the machine quilting. 

Jill is making a large collection of big flying geese
to border three large donated foundation
pieced blocks with ...

... while Sue helped by appliqueing one of the blocks
to its background

... to compliment another one. 

Elaine's sweet scrappy child's quilt top made
from community stash fabrics is finished ....

 ... and she started machine quilting it this time.

Pat's quilts

After quilting together for several years, we can often tell who has made a particular quilt by their design style, colour choices and/or techniques.  That's not to say anyone's quilts are 'all the same', but the creative development of distinctive styles and preferences. Pat's recent finish is a clear evolution from previous work, and immediately recognisable as hers. Here is a survey of some of her other modern quilts as well.

Pat's latest quilt top is distinctively hers by colour and
style - her background fabric allows the coloured prints
to sing, and is a recognisable element of the design.

Pat used modern prints and colours, combined with original
and more traditional shapes in her piecing.

Some of the elements were left over from
her ‘Pickled Fish’ quilt (below)

‘Logs and Ladders’ wall hanging, made during and
after a workshop with Brenda Gael Smith in 2018.

‘Pickled Fish’ made during and after a workshop
with Chris Jurd in 2018

Pat’s version of Miriam’s ‘SuperStars’ design,
started in a workshop last year isn’t finished yet,
but it is obviously hers.

‘Urban’ is an original design, one of Pat’s first
ventures into improv piecing.

Pat used a wedge ruler to make her modern
Dresden design, to be used as a wall hanging.

Quilts from Western Australia

We've missed a lot of quilt exhibitions this year, but some groups are beginning to be able to hold their events, even if they are in a modified form, and have been generous in sharing them online:

The Western Australian Quilters Association has posted a gallery of photos from their Rajah Quilt Revisited project:

The ladies gave their own twist or followed as closely as possible the history of the Rajah quilt that was made by women convicts bound for  Tasmania,  so long ago.  They gave themselves two years to complete their quilts.  These quilts were going to be shown at our annual Quiltwest exhibition, however with Quiltwest not happening in May, we are delighted that we could view them at our AGM.

WAQA have held their exhibition 'COVID Quilt West 2020' this past weekend, and posted a 32 minute video of just some of the beautiful quilts hanging. Photos will be posted over the coming days.

Congratulation on staging your show WAQA - it must have been a busy week!

Peaceful hand stitching

The 'zen' of slow hand stitching, while the weather is cool enough ...

Nerida is hand quilting her beautiful, hand
pieced 'Bessie Creek Road' quilt

Victoria is nearing the finish of her '
Twelve Days of Christmas' tree ornaments

Louise made mementos for some the students
she has supported. 

Helen's 'Christabella', made by English paper piecing,
under the guidance of Margaret Sampson George is
up to the very last round of shapes ...

... and the fabric she has chosen is fabulous. 
You will have to wait to see it though - the quilt is huge, and
it will take a while to stitch around, quilt and finish the edge.

Sue is hand quilting a hand pieced, machine basted long term
wip. She is trialling wool and silk batting - its going well.

Jill is hand quilting around the shapes of her hand applique ...

... and 'ghost quilting' them in the very wide, un-pieced side
borders, using a felt template pinned to the machine basted quilt.

Recent community quilt finishes

Lynette found some very convincing 

cheater cloth panels at The Sewing Basket.

Caption this!

Perhaps Lynette was trying to convince Susan that
 this one too is a cheater panel, with some
added borders.

Sue made her latest community quilt based on one
Susan made, using rectangular pieces, and a bargain
backing she wishes she had bought more of.

Disappearing four patch is one of Lynette's
favourite traditional designs.

These little Dresden plate blocks were part of a
large donation, and although well made,
they were not quite all the same size ...

... Lynette has coaxed them to play nicely.