01 May 2019

25 ladies were in attendance this morning.  The weather was perfect for crafting, chatting and enjoying morning tea. What more do you need to make it a wonderful morning!!!

This morning we learnt that two of our members are moving on.  Marg will be leaving on Monday for Wagga Wagga, although she has already made arrangements to come visit us next year.  Rita is moving to New Zealand in July, so we are lucky to have her with us for a while yet.  Our best wishes will go with the ladies and we hope that they can continue with their craft work in their new surroundings.

There are two upcoming events that you may be interested in:

* Sunday 05 May from 9.30 to 3.00 the Pioneer Valley Spinners are holding their Open Day at the Gargett CWA Hall.  There will demonstrations and an opportunity to try different techniques.  Gold Coin entry.

* Saturday 11 May  The Sarina Quilt Show

Marion was the lucky winner of the Badge Draw.

Show and Tell for this week:-

Marlena made this quilt using the "Hearts and Flowers" pattern by Eleanor Burns "Quilt in a Day".  Marlena added the scalloped border to make it her own.  She used a specialised ruler to make working out the length of the scallops to fit the edge perfectly.

Marilyn has made the above bag to transport her work to BBQ on Wednesday morning and to transport items when going to workshops.  The pattern is by Annie.com.  Marilyn's previous craft bag had become too small for her needs.  Keep tuned for other "carriers" to accompany the bag.

24 April 2019

18 brave ladies made their way to the Northern Beaches Community Hall this morning - the weather would have been great if we were ducks!!  At times we were wondering if we would have to bunker down in the hall.  The rain eased off after Marion made her way out to her car to get her umbrella - typical!

Luckily the rain did ease off - we were able to have our Show and Tell and actually hear what the ladies had to say about their completed projects.

Marlena used a charm pack to make the Disappearing 9 Patch quilt above.

Marlena is hiding behind this Falling Charms quilt.

 The Double Pinwheel quilt above was made from a BOMB (block of the month) from 2015.  As usual, you normally do not get enough blocks to make the sized quilt you are after, so Marlena added applique blocks and I'm sure you will agree that they look as if they were made for each other right from the beginning.

Marlena has made the above 3 quilts for a friend to raffle to raise funds for women in need of legal services..

Marlena has made this quilt for a 93 year old friend.  The Pineapple Blocks were made using a Pineapple Ruler, which apparently makes pieces that fit together perfectly!!  Marlena said that she has enough left over to make another quilt.

The pillow slip above is to accompany the Pineapple Block quilt.

Gerrie has made the above table runner using scraps from her stash.  This was made so that she could learn the technique of Foundation Piecing.  This table runner will appear in Gerrie's home as she has decided that it is hers to keep!

17 April 2019

We had 22 in attendance this morning, but you will see that we haven't been very productive as Anne was the only one who had a finished article to show. 

Heather was the lucky winner of the Badge Draw.

We hope that you have a wonderful Easter break and here's hoping that Easter Bunny remembers where you live.

Anne won 25 of the above blocks in one of our "Block of the Month" draws  As you can see, she needed 98 blocks in total, so was lucky that Delma was happy to give her the extra fabric she required.  Anne finished the quilt with the help of the Saturday sewers.  Anne did the quilting using her Bernina 830 which is 47 years young.  The above quilt will find a home on Anne's bed.

The photos below show the ladies busy at work - I must admit that some look busier than others!

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.