This week at Fairholme (2): first 2015 community sewing day

Predictably, our first community sewing day, held yesterday, was a hot, humid February day in Sydney - we were thankful for shady trees, air-conditioning, and ceiling fans. We worked  on progressing quilts started last year, and planning for our sewing throughout the year. 

Six quilts were pin basted (after their backings were chosen and made) - a much easier task when several people can work together around a large table, but still a big job. 

Some additional fabric sneaked into the community stash, some after a little vacation elsewhere, while homework was done ... I wasn't quick enough with the camera to get pictures of every quilt we worked on today, but here are some to be going on with, and we'll catch up with the others when they come back.

Jill's double disappearing 9 patch is now finished, and is in
the donation collection.

Some months ago, Lynette mined the community stash
for blue prints, that were plentiful. She has complimented
them with some additional blues from a friends stash and is
now making her fourth (or possibly the fifth or more) blue 
community quilt married with white and other 
low-volume fabrics ...

Today's nine-patch blocks were laid out like this ...
and might or might not remain in this pattern.
We will see in a few weeks!

A quilt Lynette made earlier - this one also builds on that
multi-sourced blue fabric vein, with complimentary borders
and backing in gorgeous navy prints ...

... and you can see the trip-around-the-world layout more clearly here.
Lynette used Bonnie Hunter's strip piecing method

This time last year we spent a day organising 47 'Missing U'
blocks into 3 quilt tops (the blue-grey one is here), from our
end-of-year challenge. We had two blocks left over (because 3
does not go into 47 !), and decided to use two blocks made
with oriental style prints as the starting point for a fourth 'Missing U'.
Ros found some stash fabrics that fitted the bill and made
several blocks, and Pat gathered scraps from whoever offered
them and made several more. Today we pin basted the 4 x 4 block
quilt top that Pat sewed together at our last sewing day, and she
has kindly offered to quilt it.  The Missing U pattern is from 
Amanda Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison's Sunday Morning Quilts) 
We will have a finished quilt photo soon. 

Helen was enjoying sewing up colourful blocks from stash
fabric and the scraps from earlier quilts. The larger the blocks get,
the more random the fabric selection. This is at least her
third one in this series. Our stash of fabric and the number of
quilts we make might suggest that it will not be the last.

Dawn took on the task last year of making a donated fabric book
panel into a child's quilt, taking care to keep the story flowing.

... there be castles, and dragons ... but they look friendly.