10 April 2019

The above quilt is using the Sea Glass pattern.  Robyn made the quilt using blue and green fabric from her stash and she will be giving it to her sister-in-law.

24 ladies gathered in the hall this morning and we were all appreciative of the weather conditions that were more suited to our crafty activities. Marilyn was the lucky winner of our monthly raffle and Elizabeth won this week's badge draw.  Congratulations ladies.

The photographs below show this week's "Show and Tell" items.

Elaine has made this game which is based on the same principles as Snakes and Ladders but using Construction
Equipment instead.  Machine embroidery is used throughout.

The piece above was made in a Jane Grove, Machine Embroidery workshop held in Clermont.  The workshop was titled "Outback Sewing".  Elaine was very pleased with the workshop as not only did she come away with the piece above, but she also bought her dress in a local shop.

This Native Flowers table runner uses machine embroidery and Elaine used rulers for her quilting.

Anne has made the above casserole carrier for her daughter-in-law.  The above project introduced Anne to a number of techniques that she had never had to tackle before - free style quilting, internal corners and joining different pieces to make the binding.  Anne discovered that Google is a pretty good teacher. 

Kaye has made the above quilt "Happy Scrappy" to be given to Carlyle Gardens as a cent sale prize in their efforts to raise money for RACQ Rescue

Kaye has made the "I Spy" quilt above to be given to the Women's Centre.  It is sure to make a child very happy.

27 March 2019

19 ladies were in attendance this morning.  The weather was not the best for hand work, but we didn't think that it was as oppressive as last week as a little breeze could be felt every now and then.

Helen was the lucky winner of the badge draw.

Brenda had another crocheted rug to show.  The pattern, using larksfoot stitch, was found on Pinterest.  She is hoping that the cooler weather shows up soon so that she can get some use out of her handiwork!  

Brenda has also finished the above Quilt which was a project from last year's Eungella Retreat.  The pattern came from Missouri Star Quilt Co and uses a jelly roll made up of owl fabric in grey and orange.  Brenda has named this quilt "Cascading Night Owls"

Anne has made the above bridal outfit from scraps in her stash.  Anne's friend was very pleased with the end result as her doll looks like a new bride.

Marion has finished the embroidery piece started on her cruise (as mentioned in last week's blog).  The bag is approx. 5" x 7" and is fully lined.  The butterfly is done using Casalguidi Embroidery.  The cord at the top and the tassels are all done by hand.  Marion hasn't decided what articles the bag will house, but she knows that she will be keeping it herself because a lot of work has gone into the project.

This is a close up photo to show the beautiful stitching involved.

20 March 2019

26 ladies were present this week and most of us found it very hard to achieve much at all because it was rather warm and the humidity was intense.  We were all looking forward to hopping into our vehicles and switching on the air-conditioning!!

Barbara was the lucky winner of the badge draw.  

The three photos above show some of the work that Marion completed while on her 10 day Needle Work Cruise which took her around the South Island of NZ visiting Dunedin, Wellington, Napier and Picton.  The bracelet is made up of hundreds of Swarovski beads and crystals.  The bracelet was a 2 day workshop, but Marion was very speedy so she was given another project for the second day - her Christmas baubles are going to look stunning with the beaded overlay. Projects are chosen before booking the cruise and the appropriate kits are supplied. Marion also took part in an embroidery workshop - the finished article should be shown next week.

The two photos above show quilts that Liz has made for the Women's Centre.  The quilts are hand pieced and machine quilted.  We know that they will be greatly appreciated.

Diana has finally completed her crocheted rug.  She was very surprised when her 12 year old great nephew said that he would like it.  She soon realised that it wasn't her work that had impressed him, instead it was the colours she had used as Jack is an avid LA Lakers supporter.

Diana has also made this crocheted bag with fabric handles and flowers.

Wednesday 27 February 2019

23 ladies were present this morning and we all enjoyed the "cooler" conditions.

Autumn and Carrie from Crossroad Arts joined us today and told us about an upcoming project.  They are seeking volunteers to quilt wall hanging sized portraits for a community art project to be showcased during the Festival of Arts.  A number of our members put their hand up to help.

Brenda won the Badge Draw. 

Below are the items that were displayed during our "Show and Tell" segment.

Carolyn showed her daughter's counted cross stitch piece.  The stitches are so tiny so you can imagine how many had to be "counted" to complete this project.  The finished article is framed and will have pride of place on Carolyn's wall.

Cathy has made this quilt for her husband.  It is made from recycled shirts and ties purchased from op shops and donated by friends.  Cathy used the Quilt As You Go method of construction.

Sue has made this paper pieced block into a cushion cover.

This cushion cover was made in a Machine Applique and Quilting Workshop held by Mackay Sewing Centre .  Both of the above cushion covers are for Sue.

Brenda's cushion cover features a Jacobean Embroidery piece.  After so much work, Brenda is keeping this for herself to enjoy.

The pattern for the above crocheted rug comes from a book titled "A Year of Afghans" and this is the rug for June.  Brenda has said that the  rug will be put into her cupboard for anyone who claims it.

Jean has made this quilt "Hot Diamonds" using Kaffe Fassett fabrics.  It has been quilted by Joan and Jean is keeping this for herself.

This is the back of Jean's quilt so you can see that it can be used with either side facing.  The back was pieced using leftovers from the front and other Kaffe Fassett fabrics from Jean's stash.

 

Wednesday 20 February 2019

30 ladies were present this morning.  The hall was very hot again, but we all managed to get something done.  Many of us are looking forward to the 3 days of sewing event in the air-conditioned room at the Women's Centre on 9 - 11 March.  A reminder also that our Saturday sewing is on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of every month in the air-conditioned comfort of the Women's Centre in Shakespeare Street.

Del was the lucky winner of the Badge Draw this morning.

We had quite a few articles in our Show and Tell session today.

Anne made the table runner using the binding tool ruler.  She found that the edges were perfect and didn't need any trimming.  With the left over fabric she made a basket (which is hidden under the block on the top) to be used for bread rolls or scones.  These were made as a wedding gift and the articles are in the bride's favourite colour combination.

Liz has made this quilt for the Women's Centre.  This is a scrappy quilt using rectangles of the same width but varied lengths.

Lesley has made this wall hanging using Japanese fabric found in the remnant basket at Mackay Sewing Centre.  The fabric was fussy cut to get the images that she needed.  Lesley made this quilt for her son who worked in Japan and has very fond memories of the experience. 

Kaye started this item in a Jenny Horsford workshop.  It was supposed to be a wall hanging but Kaye decided to keep working on it to make it into a quilt.  The quilt is off to Mt Isa for Kaye's granddaughter's 21st.

Marion made this cushion cover using her Janome 500E Embroidery machine. The placement of the design was done using the Revolution Ruler.

The designs on the glasses cases were "made up" by Marion - her words.  Once again done on her embroidery machine.

The scissors case is a Sweet Pea Embroidery design.  There is a zipper on top of the case to ensure that the scissors don't escape.

Joan started this quilt at the Eungella Retreat.  The Kaleidoscope design is made using chevron fabrics.

Elizabeth has made this quilt using charm squares given to her by Marlena.  Elizabeth is donating this quilt as a prize in a raffle raising money for Operation Smile Australia. 

Julie was given a large number of flying geese.  She has made two quilts incorporating these and still has a quite a few left over.  The smaller quilt below is going to a grandson and the larger one above will go to whoever in the family claims it.

Anne has put these 12" blocks together to make a tablecloth for herself.  The blocks were made in a Friendship Group. Everyone in the group made a block using Anne's theme which was simply "blue and white" and using Anne's fabric.

Marilyn made this table runner using fabric purchased in Emerald.  The fabric appealed as Marilyn has a liking for Japanese fabric and the colours suited her decor.

Wednesday 13 February 2019

28 ladies were in attendance today.  It was terribly hot in the hall this morning and I am sure that the ladies were wishing that they were at home in the air-conditioning.

Cathy won the Badge Draw and Marilyn won our Monthly Raffle.  After our weeks of inclement weather, our members must have been out and about enjoying the sunshine as there was not a single item to be seen during Show and Tell!!!  Hopefully my camera will get a good workout next week.

Wednesday 6 February 2019

Our first day back for 2019 and 25 ladies braved the weather to meet up with friends and to catch up with what has been happening.  It was also good to get back into the swing of things and to see what others have been working on over the Christmas break. 

Margaret and 3 helpers were busily basting a quilt together ready for her to hand quilt it.  Sue was busy on her sewing machine working of a block and others were busy "catching up".

Saturday sewing is on this Saturday at the Women's Centre, Shakespeare Street.

Liz won the badge draw.  Below are some photos showing what our ladies have been up to.

Kay made this wall hanging in a Caroline Sharkey workshop.  It is an Art Quilt with the eagle and tree made by using tiny pieces of fabric.  Kay is gifting this to her granddaughter for her 12th birthday

Kay also made this Christmas table runner so that she would have something for a bench in her home.  This pattern came from a magazine - Love of Quilting

Del made this cushion cover as she was partial to the embroidery.  She is hoping that her granddaughter will also feel the same about it.

Del made this wall hanging in a Jenny Horsford workshop.  Del had to be dragged "kicking and screaming" to the workshop as she wasn't keen on having to do an amount of fabric painting. But as you can see, she did a marvelous job and is very pleased that she took part.  She is also the first to complete the piece.  This is an Art Quilt using fabric paints and a wide variety of fabric.  The forest floor is made up of a large amount of tiny fabric pieces that were placed between pieces of 'wash away' and then sewn to attach them to the hanging.  Well done, Del.

Marion made this for herself.   It is a Sweet Pea Crewel Embroidery block of the month.  The first block arrived in January 2018 and continued until December 2018.  Marion completed the quilt in January this year.  She found this interesting as it had a sense of mystery about it as you never actually saw the finished project until late in the year.

Joan started this quilt in Eungella using Bali batiks from her stash.  Joan has named this quilt "Firecracker" and she drafted the block after seeing the quilt on Pinterest.

Marlena made this bag from a picture that caught her fancy.  She added the diamante collar as she felt that the dog looked as if it would like a bit of bling.

Marlena adapted this quilt from a pattern called French Roses.  She wasn't happy with the look of it with just the roses so decided to add the disappearing 9 patch blocks.  She was very happy with the new ruler that she used to make the scalloped edge and vines as it made the process a breeze.

Cathy was pleased to say that after the third attempt she finally got her crocheted bag the right size.  She believes that the original pattern was made for pixies!