If it's February, we're back ...

We convened after our summer break this week - there was much catching up and a robust round of show and tell, that had a distinct 'finishing off UFOs' and 'using up the scraps' slant. It will take two or three posts to get through all the photos, here are Jo's and Lyn's UFO finishes:

Jo finished her fussy-cut shop started in a workshop with
Margaret Sampson George. The pink plaid background
fabric is a brilliant choice - but Jo said it took half a day
to make the decision!

Jo's Power Stripping quilt was started in a workshop with
Brenda Gael Smith in 2012

Jo's final finish is bright, and modern, and of
course, beautifully quilted.

Lyn finished her scrappy foundation pieced Endless Chain
quilt top - but she still has scraps! 

Lyn's second foundation pieced beauty, Catherine Wheel, was started in a
workshop with Anne Sommerlad

This Winding Ways design is Lyn's third UFO (top) finish
 -  just beautiful!

Thanks for taking the photos, Sue - more to come.

Quiltsmith: 2015 class list

Quiltsmith in Annandale has released its class list list for 2015, and bookings are now open.

In addition to the regular, ongoing class program, Quiltsmith advises that 'we have a series of one or two day workshops planned, by regular and guest teachers. These will be great skill builders.'  Keep an eye on the Quiltsmith blog for class information - there is a link in the right hand column.

More local classes: Hobbysew Hornsby

Hobbysew at Hornsby (Lower level, directly below K-Mart, Westfield) has released its class list for here.
a Term 1, 2015.  Classes include patchwork and quilting, and other types of sewing and needlecrafts.  All details are online

Check here for classes at other Hobbysew stores.

Some Symposium NZ quilts - thanks Adrienne!

New Zealand quilter, Adrienne, who blogs at On the Windy Side has kindly posted a gallery of  photos of quilts on exhibition at the very recent (last week)  Quilt Symposium held in Palmerston North, NZ.

There is something to appeal to everyone in her selection, and she anticipates posting more. Take a break from all that summer sewing, and enjoy!

New Year fabric sale - Kim Bradley Creations

It kicks off this Saturday January 24th - making room for new stock

Fabric prices start from 

• $3 per metre with a minimum cut of One metre on those fabrics. Great for backings or quilts or just to sit and pat in the stash. 

• $5 per metre minimum cut 1/2m

• $12 per metre minimum cut 30cm 

• Books and patterns and fabric packs will carry discounts as well some of the fabric packs will be markedly discounted.

Kim Bradley Creations 

Unit 7/9 Packard Ave, Castle Hill 2154
Phone: 9659 2912

Local classes for 2015

Image: Pixabay

Are you ready to learn something new, create a new masterpiece, or tame your scraps, perhaps? Quilt shops well and truly open after the holidays, and are booking up classes for 2015 - check them out now to secure a place.  These three are reasonably local for our group, always a bonus!

Kim Bradley Creations - Castle Hill
2015 classes are announced in the latest newsletter, available online here, released yesterday - lots to choose from, a great range of teachers presenting one-off classes and classes over several weeks/months. (And the classroom has been moved downstairs!)

Cottage Quilt Works - Warriewood
A few places available in classes, but you will have to be quick
Classes are listed on the blog here. New fabric arrivals are also posted to this blog, so have a good look around while you are there.

Craft Depot - Pennant Hills
A long list of options here, practically on our doorstep - make sure you look right through the list, to see all of the new options.

Flow ...

Is quilting where you reach your 'flow state'?

Image: Pixabay.com

18 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently

Carolyn Gregoire, The Daily Good, syndicated from huffingtonpost.com, Mar 24, 2014
... Inspiration and ideas often arise seemingly out of nowhere and then fail to show up when we most need them, and creative thinking requires complex cognition yet is completely distinct from the thinking process ... Creative types may find that when they're writing, dancing, painting or expressing themselves in another way, they get "in the zone," or what's known as a flow state, which can help them to create at their highest level. Flow is a mental state when an individual transcends conscious thought to reach a heightened state of effortless concentration and calmness. When someone is in this state, they're practically immune to any internal or external pressures and distractions that could hinder their performance ...

2015 quilting events

2015 is shaping up as a an interesting and varied year for quilters.

Our '2015 events' page will be updated regularly as information about events becomes available.  The permanent link is located just under the blog banner - check back often, with your diary at the ready.

Community quilts last delivery for 2014

We've made about 60 quilts for community causes in 2014.  The number still surprises us - it's more than we anticipated when the project started in earnest early in 2009.  We don;t set a target number, we just make what we can as we have time. Such is the commitment and generosity of our members.

These are a few of the quilts delivered at the end of 2014 (a large collection also went to the Quilters Guild of NSW for distribution to children, but we weren't quick enough to get a photo of them all together):

For patients having renal dialysis at a local hospital

For residents of a near-by nursing home

STOP with the koala mittens!

Our last post is out of date after just a few days!  The International Fund for Animal Welfare has been overwhelmed by the international response to their request for koala mittens, and they already have more than enough! Isn't that wonderful?

However, they do need pouches for the care of the many young marsupials they expect to care for this bushfire season.  You might want to call/email before you start making them, to see how this appeal is going!

New Year's resolutions for quilters (and other crafters)

Do you make New Year resolutions? Do you check back at the end of year to see how you did?  By the generic measures suggested in Ashley Little's Craftsy blog post from 1st January, Fairholme Quilters measure up pretty well, as a group ... who knows what goes on in the privacy of our own sewing rooms?

• Reach Your Goals With the 10 Best New Year’s Resolutions for Crafters

Mittens needed for burned koalas

You might see this from several sources, it's circulating the internet well:

If it's too hot to quilt, and you have a love of animals, this might be a sewing task you could take on. Making mittens for koalas burned in recent bushfires (and perhaps more to come this season) would take very little fabric (soft cottons, such as old sheets and tea towels are recommended), and not much time. Children might like to help, too.

A pattern is given on the International Fund for Animal Welfare webpage, and a Sydney address to send the finished mittens to.

• Koalas sew need you this summer, International Fund for Animal Welfare, 8th January 2015

Make it Uniquely Modern: Parramatta and Brisbane, 2015

Cecile Whatman, of Unique Stitching, is offering a rare opportunity over several days in June, 2015:

Make it Uniquely Modern - Classes with a Uniquely Modern Twist
Classes will be offered in Parramatta, and in Brisbane

Tutors include:

Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr, Modern Quilt Studios (Parramatta and Brisbane)
Sarah Fielke (Parramatta)
Kerry Glenn (Parramatta)

Whether you are a diehard Modern Quilter, a Modern Traditionalist, new to patchwork and quilting or a patchworker who wants to try something new or learn from a master, there will be a class for you ... Unique Stitching

Classes are available in several packages, from a single event to the whole range. Bookings are now open.

• Unique Stitching on Facebook

Hollis Chatelain, art quilter

You might have seen art quilter Hollis Chatelain's work online, in print, or in international exhibitions - she has recently relaunched her website, with some new work and stunning galleries of past works. High quality images on the site include close detail shots.

Something old(ish) ...

The Tuesday night group brought 'something old' to our last gathering of the year:

Lynette bought this antique beauty in the US some years ago
- it is in remarkable condition 

Helen's second bag, made after Miriam's workshop is not
really old, but it is very cute, with its selvedges.

Noelle found these tiny treasures tucked away in a drawer ...

... with Flora MacDonald's size 8 betweens.

Pam started a crazy quilt some time ago ... 

Noelle is still contemplating what to do with the quilt-as-you-go
blocks she made during and after a long-ago class.

Jill is still randomly piecing the cut off corner triangles from a
flying geese quilt that was finished about 2007 ...

And this one isn't vey old either, but the photo is late ...
Pam made a patchwork snake with pretty evil eyes for one of
her grandchildren, who loves it.