Quilt Show this weekend - Mosman

Post-long-weekend show and tell (1)

Nothing like a break to produce a bumper show and tell, like this week's after the long weekend. There's more to come.

We were delighted that 6 year old Piper joined us on Monday
morning, as it was the last day of her school holidays. She is
making a boro piece, sewing all by herself, and choosing her
fabrics from her Mum's stash. She thinks she might like to
be a quilter. Wouldn't that be fabulous?

The Zen of hand quilting - Val is making exquisitely even
 stitches in her scrap-busting quilt. But it hardly dented her
scrap basket. We can all relate.

Roslyn's long term hand piecing project, made with 2"
hexagons is beautifully finished! An adaptation of 'Not the
Levens Hall' quilt, started under the influence of Margaret Sampson
George, machine quilted by Jo-Ann (Quiltwise)

The baptist fan quilt pattern is a favourite of Roslyn's
and works so well for this quilt.

We knew Yvette was making some red and white blocks ... and
were blown away by her finished Farmer's Wife quilt! It was
quilted by Jo-Ann (Quiltwise).  The blocks are 6".
The popular design is by Laurie Aaron Hird - the pattern is
in her 2015 book, and there are many examples on the internet
- just Google for information and images.

Yvette considered a 'redder' border, but felt it overwhelmed
the blocks, and settled on the very pretty and complimentary
red Paisley print on cream.

'Remember'

Each year QuiltNSW holds a challenge. The quilts are premiered at the Annual General Meeting and then form part of a travelling suitcase exhibition. 

The theme for the 2017 challenge is 'Remember'. Awards were announced at the 2017 Annual General Meeting yesterday, and can now be viewed online.

Show and tell from Instagram

Because of the Labour Day long weekend, we had no Monday meeting this week, but members have provided a little show and tell online this week.

Sue C's Little Miss April has been hand basted, ready for hand
quilting - but Sue has not opened the bundle just yet (she is
currently finishing two quilts for our community quilt collection).

Nerida is more than half way through her Whimsy blocks
(Judy Newman design), and it already looks wonderful.

It's so good to see that Janet is able to sew on her new
machine again after a period of having to nurse an injury.
This beauty is close to being done.

These little 6 1/2" blocks are the left-overs from a larger quilt
that Jill hasn't quilted yet. The blocks are very quick to make.

More October events

Batavia Tapestry - Melinda Piesse
On exhibition until 29th October 2017
Australian National Maritime Museum
2 Murray Street, Darling Harbour, Sydney

Meet the Maker: Lads with Looms

11 am - 1 pm Friday 13 October 2017
A Sydney Craft Week event

Australian Design Centre

101-115 William Street, Sydney

Woven works by Studio A artists, including Adam Mandarano 

and Damien Showyin will be on display and on sale at 

our 2018 Quilt Show

The Barn Quilters Quilt Show

Saturday 14 - Sunday 15 October 2017
9.30 am - 4.30 pm 
Mosman Art Gallery, 1 Art Gallery Way, Mosman 2088
Enquiries: Sue 0417 068 855 or barnquilters@gmail.com

FibreFest 2017
Knitters Guild of NSW
Sunday 22 October 2017
Singleton

Exhibition - inTransit

Untethered Fibre Artists

31 October - 12 November 2017

Wallarobba Arts Centre

25 Edgeworth David Ave, Hornsby

Show and tell this week

These lovely little spools were a sample quilt at
Cottage Quiltworks in Warriewood. The quilt top
came to us via Margaret K, and will be finished for
our community quilts collection. Thank you CQW
- we'll see that it goes to someone who needs it.

Another finish from Miriam's recent bag workshop - a wonderfully 

vibrant colour combo by Daphne - don't mess with that cat!

A beautiful, soft Liberty backing for Janice's pretty pink liberty
quilt (quilted by Jo) - Janice is binding it in the same fabric.

Helen picked up some fabric at Reverse Garbage in
Marrickville, and passed it on to Margaret, who quickly
re-purposed it into pillow cases and a baby wrap for one of
the many causes she sews for.

Hilary is making dolls for the '100 Dolls, Countless Hearts'
book for the Uthandu Project supporting children who have 
lost parents to HIV/AIDS in KwaZulu Natal, in South Africa.
You can read more about the project, how the dolls help to 
support the children and why the patterns have been 
chosen here.

Sydney Craft Week 6 - 15 October

... Bringing together the creative diversity of Sydney’s contemporary craft community, the inaugural Sydney Craft Week runs from Friday 6 to Sunday 15 October 2017. 

An initiative of the Australian Design Centre, this ten-day festival celebrates the beauty of the hand-made and the pleasure of making. Not limited to one material or mode of making, the program features a range of exhibitions, workshops, talks and open studios.

The Sydney Craft Week events guide is now available in print and online. Lots of textile craft to see and events. Quilt NSW is participating in the 'Craft Up Late initiative' on Wednesday 11 October, and the unveiling of the 2018 Suitcase Challenge, Remembering at the AGM on 7 October is in the program.

• Sydney Craft Week events page on Facebook
• Sydney Craft Week on Instagram

Community sewing day, September 2017

The community hall was buzzing with fourteen quilters, a pin basting marathon, and preparations for our 2018 quilt show ...

A little stitching on new quilt tops was fitted in around the
bunting and basting. Julie is making a marine themed machine
appliqued circles, and Susan is working peacock blues, which
she loves.

New bunting for our 2018 quilt show. Janice had us organised
with beautiful fabric, a simple process and great enthusiasm.
More will be needed, but we made HEAPS!

We pin basted nine quilts of various sizes, so a lot of quilting
is our future. These quilt tops are the work of Dawn,
Margaret K (x2), Julie (x 2), Dawn and Elaine B.

Community quilt finishes

Lots of community quilts action recently. Here are the six most recent finishes. There are many more in progress.

Two kids' quilts made by Margaret K, quilted by Lynette

Hilary has been busy - this is the first of two quilts she handed
over last week. Look from a distance and the nine patch layout
created by distributing the squares by value is more apparent. 

Hilary's second quilt - these squares are just 2 1/2" ...

... and there is great variety in the prints, although
 that giraffe has to be a favourite!

Soft, oretty quilt, top made by Barbara, quilted by Julie

Lynette's been our of the country for several weeks,
but she still managed to get a bunch of quilts to us! 

Look closely and you can see Lynette has used regular nine
patches, rather than random placement of her squares.

2017 end-of-year challenge - early progress

We've decided to run an open challenge to be revealed at our end of year event - some of us will share our progress along the way, to encourage others, and maybe pass on ideas about transforming the 'lost' blocks they have selected from members' contributions.

Of course we have found many unfinished projects, some almost entirely forgotten, as we have dug deep into our stashes for abandoned blocks, or partly or nearly finished quilts. So while we have more than enough to pass on to our fellow quilters to see what they make of them, the challenge has also prompted a flurry of finishing some of those treasures ourselves, as well ... win-win!

This little quilt sparked the idea for the challenge.
Jill found the six 4 " hour glass blocks tucked away 
from an earlier project, and gathered up some some 
scraps from her stash, and a pale blue fat quarter from 
the community stash. 

Elaine knew she had some bits and pieces left over from a
large quilt, but she was delighted to find that she had enough
for a smaller lap quilt, and that most of the blocks were already
made and packed away with enough fabric to finish it, including
borders. She likes it better than the original! She is also working
on a collection of red and white blocks for the group challenge.

Helen thought she would discard a small quilt top made from
eight red and navy log cabin blocks many years ago, but Jill 
chose it for her actual challenge quilt, and is remaking it by 
recutting the blocks for 6" half square triangles, adding some 
new slashed log cabins and some contemporary prints 
arranged in an asymmetric chevron. About a third of the half 
square triangles are joined together so far.

Pat selected a diverse collection of blocks from the challenge
pile, and has put them together beautifully. So far she has added
just one block of her own (the upper left hand corner), but we are
encouraging her to keep going, to make it larger, using her talent
for improvisational piecing (see here and here).

A finished appliqued block will make a fine centre for Julie's
medallion - she has chosen complimentary border fabrics
from the community stash.

Hilary auditioned blue border fabrics from the community stash.
Her herring bone quilt top started with the half square triangle
blocks with the yellow fabrics, and has grown with the addition
of new ones from Hilary's extensive stash.

Will Hilary bend to pressure to include a narrow
yellow/pink border?

Show and tell ...

Margaret K is sewing Christmas presents. These little baskets
are about 6" x 6" x 6", and stand up when empty.
They are all gorgeous, but those zebras! 

Robin made a quilt for her daughter using these luscious
turquoise and blue fabrics selected by her daughter, and had
enough fabric left to make this beauty for her granddaughter.
Robin thinks she still has enough for one more smaller quilt.
Cool tiled floors in an exotic location?

Pat has finished her bag from Miriam's recent workshop
- a lovely combination of prints and colours.

Yvette had an unexpected opportunity to do an improv piecing
workshop with designer and quilter Denyse Schmidt  at
The Happen Store in Annandale recently. Starting with two
solids and adding print highlights, Yvette made the most it,
and really enjoyed the class.

Elaine B finished her bag from Miriam's workshop in just
under a week, in time to take to Alice Springs as a gift for a
friend's birthday! Her friend loves it.

Louise is very organised, making great progress on a quilt
for a baby not yet born.Photo from Instagram.

It's always good to see Nerida start a new quilt, like this one
started in a workshop with Judy Newman - we know there will be
lots of loveliness to come. Those little stripey corner triangles
will turn into fabulous diamonds of tiny crosses.
Will we see this one in our 2018 quilt show next April?

Photo from Instagram.

'Sunshine' in 2017 Bloggers Quilt festival

Miriam has written a fabulous blog post at Sew Miriam, with gorgeous photos,  about the design and making of our 2018 raffle quilt, and entered it into the 2017 Fall Bloggers' Quilt Festival, in the lead up to the International Quilt Festival in Houston.

Thanks for sharing this beautiful quilt so widely, Miriam.

Proceeds of the quilt raffle at our 2018 Quilt Show will be donated to Studio ARTES.

Visit all the quilting bloggers participating in the 2017 Fall Bloggers Quilt Festival here.

New books

Many quilting books are published each year, here is just a sample of recent/upcoming releases that might make it to your wish list:

Patches of Blue, Edyta Sitar, 2017
Edyta Sitar's blog post about Patches of Blue

Modern Quilt Magic, Victoria Findlay Wolfe, 

C and T Publishing, 2017 

Quilts in Ireland, Kaffe Fassett, Taunton Press 2017

Hat Creek Quilts, Deirdre Bond Abel, 

Quilt Mania, 2017

Erica Spinks's interview with Deirdre Bond Abel