Wednesday 26 April 2017

What a beautifully glorious day it was in Bucasia today. And probably in the rest of Mackay too. Why didn't we think to take our Morning Tea outside and enjoy everything that is good about autumn in  tropical North Queensland? (Probably because if we'd gone outside someone else would have eaten Joan's Date and Pecan Shortbread.)
Jean is back from her gallivanting and picked up the Badge Draw prize as reward.
The Quilt Connect crew are preparing for their trip tomorrow and actually organised a limousine to take them from the airport to their hotel! Watch out Brisbane. Bucasia Beach Quilters are coming!
It was BomB (Block of the month Bonanza) Day today. The Bomb Lady demonstrated a block that broke two of the Quilt Police Rules. Will we all be able to construct a block opening all the seams and having the bias edge on the outside of the block? We'll just have to wait for a couple of weeks to see how many blocks get handed in.

The charity quilt made with blocks from the March BomB. Besides piecing the butterfly blocks together and constructing the borders, Del completed the binding after Di quilted this one with butterflies, of course. Thanks very much for this ladies. There is very little pink and purple fabric left from Heather's stash after this quilt.

The Women's Centre requested a little quilt that could be put on the floor for babies. So Liz has made this one with extra thick wadding. 

 And the last Wednesday of the month is 'Going out to Lunch' day. Eight ladies enjoyed what the Garden Tea House had to offer today.

Di, Lesley (photo-taking) Helen, Del, Cathy, Brenda, Liz and Julie. (Pulled Pork Burger is highly recommended.)

Wednesday 19 April 2017

A couple more holiday makers returned to the group this morning. Elizabeth is finished cruising for a while and Marilyn is full of New Zealandish information and pronounciations. And other ladies are preparing to travel while the weather is so conducive.

Some people are still quilting though! There was a small Show and Tell this morning. 

Liz was the lucky Badge Draw winner today.

This is a jelly roll quilt made by Del and quilted by Di. Del had to use a few more blues to get the quilt to the size she wanted. The pattern is from the Jelly Roll book in the library. Del's 11 year old grandson has bagsed this one. (If you like the blues, this jelly roll is still available at Needleworx.)

Liz has completed another hand-pieced and hand-quilted item for the Women's Centre. This one is made entirely of flannelette and is the softest, cuddliest little quilt you could wish for.

This is Fay's very last wagga. It is pieced with the last remnants of woollen fabric that her brother-in-law, the fabric salesman, used to give to her.

Saturday Sew-In 8 April 2017

If you can organise yourself to pack up your machine and fabric and sewing accessories and patterns and get them to the Women's Centre on the second Saturday of the month, you will have a wonderful day sewing happily with a small group of like minded people. You bring your own refreshments, except cold water, tea, coffee and milk is provided. Cost is $5. (Some ladies have been known to bring hand sewing, or even nothing at all, to just sit and chat and admire the work that is being done.) 

Different ways of sewing things and helpful hints are always on show.

Here are some photos of some of the projects from the last Saturday sewing day. (Thanks Di for taking the photos.)

Teen's beautifully precise tablerunner with additionally precise quilting. (This girl unpicks if the seams are 1/16" out!)

Some Australian wildflower machine embroidery out from under Elaine's machine.

Brenda's colourful little quilt from some BomB blocks she won last year. (Unfortunately, not enough to make a quilt, so a bit more tiny square sewing  was necessary for Brenda.)

Del volunteered (or was nice enough not to say "no" when asked) to piece the butterfly blocks together from the last BomB.

Wednesday 12 April 2017

We had another small group of ladies this morning but probably due more to people having already left for the Easter holidays than concerns with overheated halls, as the weather was cool and glorious. It was Committee Meeting day and we had to quickly finish at 10am as certain members required coffee.
Cathy won the  raffle $25 voucher today and while she was collecting the voucher her name was pulled out for the Badge Draw voucher. How lucky can you get!
There were a couple of stunning quilts today in Show and Tell. It's so good to see the wonderful output of our members on display. Keep up the good work!

Joan has made this One Block Wonder quilt for her sister so it will be on the spare bed when she goes to visit. The material is not Joan's colours but was bought in Cairns for $10/m. They supposedly couldn't get rid of the fabric because it was so ugly. It certainly made a wonderful choice for this pattern. Quote from Joan - "This quilt is easy to make." Sure Joan. (Note: Red border should be dark maroon. Could not get the photo back to real colour, sorry.)

Di had bought some Bali Pops for some commission quilts, but the lady changed her mind. So Di has been playing with strips. It has a purple minkee backing and is going in the pile of quilts to be gifted somewhere someday. 

Another little quilt by Di to check out how a pattern works. This is the Sashed Disappearing 9-Patch. The BomB Lady liked this one so much that Di will demonstrate this pattern for the May BomB.

Cathy has made this String Star quilt from a pattern in a book she talked Del into getting for the library. The book is "String Quilts" It's a bright and happy little quilt. 

Beth's quilt is just back from the quilters. Di has quilted this with a traditional flower pattern that really suits the traditional look.. The backing had a colour flaw in it and was bought for $5/m. (Note: And we're sorry that we couldn't rectify the colour in this photo to the beautiful greyed blue of the roses in the fabric.)

(Internet picture)

Wednesday 5 April 2017

Autumn has arrived and we had a much cooler start to the morning and a much larger group of ladies venturing out to patchwork.  And even though the cyclone is now a week away, some still had lingering feelings of being locked inside the house and it was good to get out and talk about our experiences through the storm. And we are all so thankful that Mackay missed the catastrophe as experienced in Airlie Beach, Proserpine and Collinsville. All of us there today have had the power restored to our homes and some very lucky ladies didn't lose power at all! And Helen, holidaying in New Zealand, only heard about the cyclone from a Facebook comment from a friend in the UK!

Di won the Badge Draw today with the last of the lucky dip prizes - some tiny sharp scissors and some threads. From now on the badge draw will be $10 vouchers.

Saturday Sew-In is this Saturday 8 April at the Women's Centre. Bring $5 and your own morning tea and lunch (Tea, coffee, milk provided).

Barbara has made this quilt from entirely flannel fabrics. How soft and cuddly. (Flannel fabrics apparently have a mind of their own though!)

Anne has finished stitching this beautiful piece started in the Indigo Niche Applique and Sashiko workshop in 2014. You have to see it up close to appreciate the even fine sashiko. Well done Anne!

Del was one of the lucky ones with no loss of power and took advantage of some inside time by sewing. This panel, which she bought for her grandson 10 years ago, has finally been quilted. And  it has been quilted all around the cricketers and even the wickets as well - with a walking foot. We think the grandson should have it now and appreciate all the thought and effort but Del is donating it to the Women's Centre.

To stop herself from going stir crazy with the inclement weather, Del decided to make a bag. She has no idea why, as she doesn't really need another bag.

Di has been thrifting again. This bag for holding recycled plastic bags is made from a shirt sleeve.

Di was someone else who had no loss of power and so did a bit of  'pinteresting'. Two denim skirts were upcycled in the making of these woven bags. Apparently not much sewing was required as they are woven with the aid of a drop of glue.

And two pretty little pink girly bags that are made from scraps and bits and pieces.

Most of the Striped Butterfly BomB blocks came in today. There was some confusion about whether the two weeks allowed to finish them counted the cancelled week or not. In any case, we have decided that twelve blocks will make a lovely sized quilt and Del is going to take it to the Saturday Sew-In and see how far she can get with piecing the top. Thanks Del.