Wednesday 20 April 2016

There didn't look to be a whole lot of ladies when you first entered the hall today. But then there was a large table full of students learning new tricks and techniques under Joan's expert guidance. How good to see so many ladies wanting to brush up on a new or better way to do things. There were also some delicious savoury muffins at morning tea which were also a result of Joan's expertise. She made them because a recipe had been requested for the newsletter. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough room left in the newsletter to print the recipe, so everyone will have to wait another month if they want to try baking them themselves.

Sharon was the lucky winner of the badge draw - again. And she picked out a voucher from the goody bag which will see her having a good excuse to visit Needleworx.

This is Henry's big boy quilt which we neglected to get a photo of on 24 Feb. Thanks for bringing it in Karen. It was a delight to see those bright colours again. Something new we learnt this time was that the red fabric behind the elephant was actually dyed by Henry's dad when he was at school. What a lovely addition! Beth's matching quilt was posted on 3 Feb.

The colourful pieced backing of Henry's quilt.

Marilyn has taken some time to finish this Reece Scannell panel called Seed Pods with all the detailed  free motion quilting. The top and bottom borders have been layered with raw edge applique. Don't the colours compliment the panel beautifully?

Helen worked on this quilt at retreat and just had the applique left to add. Di quilted it for her and it was finished for Christmas but it had never made it to show and tell. Is the applique leaves or Christmas lights? "What do you want it to be?" says Helen.

And another little Christmas offering. Cathy wanted to practice her machine quilting on this panel and practice she did. The thin lettering is quilted on both sides! Cathy was a bit upset that the cotton wadding she used did nothing to show off all that quilting. The holly leaves are 3-dimensional and attached with buttons for berries.

Cathy and her neighbour made this quilt from a pattern to raise money for motor neurone disease. As the husband of the neighbour's best friend has been diagnosed with the disease, they thought it would be a most appropriate gift for him. There is a fat rabbit on the label as Wayne has written a book for his grandchildren about the fat rabbit that he drew on his wardrobe door as a child. You can find Wayne's gorgeous book,  which raises money for MND research, at www.carrottopisland.com.au 

Helen has made this quilt from a stash of traditional male sarongs she purchased in Bali. Trying to get the colour to stop running before she pieced the top was a trial involving every method of fixing dye known to quilters. The eventual solution was in using a small but expensive bottle of synthrapol.       

An interesting construction of left over strips for the backing.