Community quilts 2 - Nerida’s quilt

Nerida  generously raided her own scrap stash to make 'Crooked Courthouse Steps', a free pattern from Bonnie Hunter (tutorial here), for our community collection. She's already started on another one, to use up some smaller scraps!

Show and tell catch up 4 - Denise and Yvette's quilt

Truly a team effort, a Tita Leach design. Yvette made the medallion centre, but ran out of time and steam. Denise, a keen appliqué stitcher, admired it, and it was handed over to her to finish (and keep). Many, many tiny pieces, mushrooms, plants, houses, critters, and quite a bit of time later it went back to Yvette for custom long arm quilting, and Denise has an absolute treasure in her quilt collection (and it is now in use).

Community quilts 1 - recent finishes

We've recently had our last community sewing day for 2020 - socially distanced still as the pandemic continues. Four of our regular monthly all-day meetings had to be cancelled, but we have met each month since July. 

While we've always acknowledged that our community sewing days are about much more than the sewing, as important as that is. That has never been more obvious than in these recent strange months. Isolation is about more than staying home - the cancellation of regular activities, regular contact with others for a common purpose and connection has significant implications for mental health, so we value the opportunities to resume these casual friendly days, whether we achieve much sewing or not. 

But we have continued to make quilts, and to support and connect with each other. And we are looking forward to the first one for 2021 after a short break.

There's nothing like a stack of newly finished quilts ... these were all
handed in at our November community sewing day.
It's a lot more than a stack of quilts though - it's a stack of generosity,
skill, time, work, fabric love, welcome, friendship, community,
checking in on each other, problem solving, keeping things together,
collaboration, laughter, some tears, lots of caring and belonging,
and long years of sustaining all of it.

Julie found this quirky panel scrunched up in the community
stash and rescued it. 

Lynette dug deep for some flannels that will both
brighten and warm someone's days.

One of a number of panels Lynette and Robin B sourced
through the social enterprise shop The Sewing Basket.

One of several 'SuperStars' quilts made by Dawn.
This one was quilted by Laura, striped binding from
the community stash added by Lynette.

Robin W sews at home for our community quilts
collection for children, from her own stash of
beautiful saturated prints. Lynette quilted this one,
and added the binding.

Elaine B worked with a collection of co-ordinated
scraps from the community stash for her quilt, and
then found the long length of the pretty green and
pink print that made a beautifully complimentary
 border, backing and binding.

Julie made these two children's quilts from small
pieces found in the community stash, and quilted them
herself using the serpentine stitch on her machine.

Show and tell catch up 3 - Marilyn's quilts

 We had our largest face-to-face meeting in eight months recently, still within COVID safe guidelines of course, and there was a lot to see and love, including these two beauties made by Marilyn O, both Margaret Sampson George designs. 

‘Little Miss April’ made in bright, modern prints.
When it came time to add the final border, fabric shops were
 mostly closed to personal shoppers, so Marilyn shopped by phone
 and Facetime with Kathy Dougherty at Material Obsession for
the beautiful large scale Anna Maria Horner print. Marilyn says
she would not have chosen it without Kathy’s encouragement,
and she is very happy with it. 

Spectacular fussy cutting and fabric selection.

Quilted by Cathie Calvert at Lakeside Quilting, Teralba.

She later called again to shop for the Kaffe Fasset backing and
binding, and it all works divinely together.
Quilters find ways to get things done.

'Christabella' adaptation, follows the pattern up to the
last border of small hexagons.

More spectacular fussy cutting. 

Marilyn quilted this one herself - she's very skilled.

Fussy cut corner stars echo the very centre of the medallion.

Tuesday evening group show and tell (2)

The Tuesday evening group is small, but prolific. Stephanie and Jenn have more than kept up the finished quilt numbers during the long months of the pandemic, with finishes of long term projects and new starts ...

Stephanie joined an online sew-along to make
her 'Halo' quilt (Jen Kingwell design)

Another Jen Kingwell design made by
Stephanie, 'Glitter' wall hanging. 

Stephanie does not limit herself to quilts (she knits and
makes her own clothes as well), and made an
embroidered panel into pouch.

Stephnie's version of Carolyn Friedlander's 
hand appliqued 'Heart' quilt

Jenn's "Green Tea and Bean's (yes, it's a Jen Kingwell
design!) has been several years in the making, finished
during the stay-at-home pandemic time. 

All the fabrics are designed by Carolyn Friedlander

Many different block designs and techniques
 in 'Green Tea and Beans'.

'Drunk on the Porch' is a nod to the block name and the
beautifully soft lawns designed by Heather Ross for her
'Sleeping Porch' range, one of Jenn's all-time favourites.

hand quilting adds to the soft drape. 

'Mandolin' was a 2018 block of the month by Tales of Cloth.
Jenn describes it as her first EPP 'waiting room' quilt, progressed
while waiting for her children at their various activities.

Jenn is a planner. The large quilt she made for a friend's
wedding yielded a large pile of half square triangles for that
she packaged and saved to make a quilt for the couple's
first child. The baby quilt is now made and gifted
to that baby who is already two. 

'Alexandria' is another 'waiting room' quilt, from Tales of Cloth. 

Jenn's 'Alexandria' is bursting with fun fabrics and fussy cutting.

Show and tell catch up (2)

Still catching up, there is a lot of finishing off happening as the end of the year approaches ...

Elaine G's playful 'Safari' quilt

Pink elephant ...

... and a purplish zebra!

Julie is pleased to have her 'Cranes' quilt
quilted, and bound, all finished.

Jan isn't quite ready to quilt her grandson's circus quilt
yet, but she is really pleased that the top is finished!

Some lateral thinking about using a jelly roll
produced this quilt made by Marg W.

One of several SuperStars quilts made by Dawn (we've lost
count of how many!), quilted by Yvette, binding being
sewn down by Susan, for the community collection.

Elsa's daughter asked for some knitted cushions, but they
went out of fashion before they were finished, so Elsa has
unravelled them and is crocheting a blanket.

When she's not quilting, Marg W is a dab hand at
garment making, like this linen top for her daughter.

Show and tell catch up (1)

Tidying up the archives, and catching up with members' quilts and other projects ...

Linda says she has become obsessed with her hexie quilt,
a grandmother's flower garden. It was started when she was
15, and is like a history of her sewing and quilting life. She has
recently found a very cute template for papers with little
sayings on them, It wasn't quite the right size, so she enlarged 
it to 105%, and that's perfect. Amira has some fabulous
resources on her website:
 thelittlemushroomcap.com/free-quilting-sewing-resources/

More beautiful little needlework accessories from Janice - 
needle books cleverly disguised as pears (designed by Stacey Nash)

Very fine cross stitched pin cushion/drum and needle
roll (both by Blackbird Designs, worked with a single
thread over 2 linen threads ...

... and a very useful fabric tub designed by Janice herself.

Little zipper pouches made by Daphne

Pat has decided to try English paper piecing for the first time,
starting with scrappy diamonds and hexagon flowers -
it certainly looks like she is getting the hang of it.