Sunday 15 December 2019

Happy Holidays

Hi Everyone,

As we reach the end of our quilting year, I would like to wish you all a happy and safe holiday period over the Christmas break.
I look forward to seeing you all in January. We restart on 16 January.

Our Christmas party was a lot of fun. We had lots of delicious food to eat. The table was decorated with beautiful flowers from Grace's garden. Due to popular demand, we played 'June's game' again.
Every year, June says 'this is the last time', but nobody seems to listen!
There was lots of laughter as we competed for the prizes by rushing forward if, for example, we were the tallest member, or the smallest member and even did anyone have a tattoo!

Meg and Christie unfortunately were unable to join us and Doreen was not well enough. We were pleased with a surprise visit from Betty, a former member, and Margaret came from the north coast.

Christmas Challenge:

Iris has made up the kits for our Christmas Challenge which is also the 2020 Quilt Show Challenge.
Kits will be available in January for those who missed out.

Design: A favourite block using black and white fabrics - patterned or plain - with the inclusion of a small 'dash' of the enclosed coloured fabric.

Rule:  avoid creamy white or grey black.

Block Size: Choose 4", 6", 8", or 10" finished size.

Due: 6 March 2020 (first Thursday in March)


A group of happy quilters.


The beautiful Christmas flowers.




Until next year .....

Saturday 7 December 2019

Lots of Baby Quilts

Hullo Everyone,

Christmas Party next week. Bring a glass and a small plate of food to share. You are welcome to arrive at the usual time or come at 11 or 11:30.

Return date - 16 January.

Our AGM is held in February.

Lin is home from hospital after her hip operation which went well.

"Housekeeping" reminders:

* Donations of wool, fabric, cottons etc. are welcome.
These items should be taken for Community use first and foremost - then to be
 shared with everyone.

* Morning teas: Some members are daunted by the thought of bringing morning tea. These don't have to be elaborate. Just biscuits are OK.
Please bring whatever you feel comfortable with. Some of us like to bake, some like to make sandwiches.
It is lovely to try the various goodies but please make it easy for yourselves.
Simple is fine.

* Quilts to Sunshine Homes:

Iris will take 6 quilts to Sunshine Homes this week.  All were displayed during our meeting.

* Robyn has received letters of thanks and a lovely photo from Trundle school. One little boy wrote a special note to Robyn's husband to say that he has always dreamt of having his very own soccer ball. He was thrilled with his gift.

Show and Tell:

Four baby quilts from Carolyn.




Two from Jackie made from Liberty prints. 



One from Sheila.


Three from Sue D.





Until next time .....

Friday 29 November 2019

One Meeting and a Party to go

Hi Everyone,

It is hard to believe that we are almost at the end of our 2019 quilting year.
Our Christmas Party will be on December 12 from 11 a.m.  Bring a glass and a plate of something yummy to share. We always have a lot of fun.

News items from this week:

* The Sewing Basket (Achieve) that has been open in Balmain for some time, has closed. Apparently they are looking for new premises in the area.

* The 2020 Morning Tea Roster is in the cupboard. Please add your name to the list if you haven't already done so.

* Robyn and her husband have returned from their visit to Trundle School. They were warmly welcomed and all our gifts were well received.
While they were there the last shop in the town closed.
It is heartbreaking to hear children say that all they want for Christmas is rain.

* We have 54 Baby quilts in the cupboard. Robyn S. will take 50 of them to the hospital next week.
 Thank you to everyone who has added to the stash his year.

Show and Tell:

Two baby quilts from Marie K.




Beryl R. paper pieced this quilt top. Her husband helped remove the papers with his old scalpel!
The name "Rainbow Windows" immediately sprang to mind when I saw it.


We are donating the "Lantern" quilt below to the Sydney Community Services to be raffled. The lucky winner will be one of their many volunteers. It was made by Jenny.


 My neighbour surprised me on Wednesday morning with this lovely bunch of hydrangeas from her garden.
Hydrangeas, Agapanthus, Shasta Daisies and Christmas Bush mean Christmas to me.


Until next week ......

Saturday 23 November 2019

A Quiet Day

Hullo Everyone,

A number of members did not attend this week. It may have been due to the poor quality of the air in Sydney from the bush fires. The city was shrouded in smoke.

We did however enjoy a lovely morning tea from Bev and Olga. Olga treated us to a taste of Russian herbal tea which I liked very much. Some herbs are hard for Olga to buy here so it was a special treat for us.

Lin is in hospital at the moment after a hip operation. I have sent a card from us all hoping for a speedy recovery.

The Cherrybrook Quilt show will be held on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 from 9 am to 4 pm. The address is:

Uniting Church Hall
134 New Line Rd
Cherrybrook.

Melinda Smith from Quiltsmith, will have a stall at the show. She is launching her Liberty Fabric Inspiration Packs.

Show and Tell:

A bright and free motion quilted baby quilt from Bev.



A wagga from Susan H. I love the sheep. So warm and cosy on a cold Winter's evening.


A lovely embroidered cushion from Olga.


A wagga from Olga. The birds made by Grace and one by Olga. Beautiful fabrics. When I saw the quilt it made me smile. The birds make it a happy quilt.
Grace, Olga and Sheila tied the quilt together with grey wool.


Until next week .....

Saturday 16 November 2019

Happy Stitching

Hi Everyone,

We had another happy and busy Thursday this week.

Ellen was thrilled that Adrienne's quilt, which is finished, will be going to Adrienne's daughter and  then her grandchildren. It will be a lovely family heirloom.

Kerry showed photos of her brand new granddaughter. Such a happy time.

Suzie has the morning tea roster for everyone to fill in for next year.

Grace will be giving a talk on Waggas at the NSWQuilt Friday Showcase sometime in May next year. Grace would like to take as many finished Waggas along to show the group.

Suzie has requested that we save any plain brown paper bags, 8'' x 10", for the show next year. We will have lots of small items for sale, so we need the smaller bags.

Iris and my group had a busy day unpicking a donated quilt that needs to be remade. There are a lot of very nice Japanese fabrics for us to use. We think we will get two quilts from all the pieces.
It took us the whole day but it was fun to work together for a good result.

Show and Tell:

A cushion from Sandy who also embroidered the centre. Pretty colours.



A pretty pink quilt for a little girl made by my group. The backing has a number of pink pears on it so we called it "Pink Pears".


A sample of the Wagga that Sue St made and Grace quilted.


A baby quilt from Lindy.


A tiny block from a special quilt we make each year for a children's party.


Until next week ....

Friday 8 November 2019

Community Day

Hi Everyone,

This Thursday was our Community Day.  Grace and new member, Jodie, were busy putting Wagga kits together for our show as well as sorting the fabric. A number of members are making Waggas for our show so we will have a variety and good supply to sell.

Other members were working on quilts for community and Robyn was busy collecting items for delivery to Trundle.

We had a Show Committee meeting this morning as well. Lots to talk about and get underway. it will be a busy year next year.

Sue has purchased three new books for our Library,  one by Maria Shell, and two by Angela Walters on free motion quilting.

Sue is beginning to look through the library ready to cull books that have never been borrowed or only borrowed once a long time a go.

Please make use of the Library. We have a varied selection so you will find something for every project.

Dates for your Diary:

We will finish the year with our Christmas Party on December 12.

We will resume on January 16.

Show and Tell:

Off to Trundle for two little girls who love Unicorns. Kerry pieced this one and Robyn quilted it.
Akiko found the two Unicorn soft toys to match.


 Marie K. pieced and quilted the one below.


Robyn S. made the Tractor quilt below.
Also going to Trundle.


Jenny made this one for Trundle.


 Grace whipped up this quilt for Community over the weekend. I love the hand quilted chain stitching in the sashing. I think Grace has lightning fingers, she is so quick.


Baby quilt from Sue D for Westmead.


Four baby quilts from Carolyn for Westmead.



Until next week .....

Saturday 2 November 2019

Happy Halloween


This was our Halloween inspired morning tea 


Iris on blog this week,  as Judy enjoys some holiday time.   Huge thank you to Sandy and Deb for turning morning tea into a Halloween feast, including lots of lolly treats.

We also had an early visit from our very own special 'Go-To Man'.    Peter, thank you for fixing up (and painting) our new shelves.   We have already filled them.
  
So much show and tell this week:

Ros has finished the 'Motor Bike' quilt for Robyn Jnst.'s trip to Trundle delivering Christmas presents.     Judy wrote about it last week.   Note, next week is the final day to give Robyn your finished quilts.

 

The 'Green Group',  Lin, Meg, Ellen, Robin and Sue made this quilt,  for our Community stash: I've called it  'Designer Garden'


Ellen and Robin also showed us two of Adrienne's quilts that they finished for her.  Both of the quilts will go to Adrienne's granddaughters and both so huge that I did not do them justice with my poor pictures.      Close-ups of part of a hand quilted Baltimore and a hand pieced and quilted Reproduction style quilt.




And this weeks selection of Cot quilts for Grace Centre ...

Two from June


From Grace,  made in the Maria Sheils workshop she attended 


From Felicity and Suzie:  Felicity bought the fabric in US, Suzie put it together and Felicity finished the binding.



Quilters can also be Knitters too:    Jenny and Bev participated in a mystery knit and produced these magnificent shawls.   


Happy quilting, knitting and just creating: have a good week.

Saturday 26 October 2019

Lots of Photos

Hi Everyone,

We had a busy time clearing one of our cupboards this week as we had to relinquish it to the Council. We did however acquire two extra cupboards in the kitchen which works out quite well for us.
Thank you to everyone who helped, particularly Iris, Suzie, Grace and Sandy.

I mentioned that it is time to start planning your quilt for our show next year. We will be needing the dimensions and colours of your quilts in April. This is required for the hall layout and the hire of the frames for hanging.
Everyone should endeavour to make one.
The minimum size is 1m x 1m and the maximum is 280cm wide x 290 cm high.

Show and Tell:

Baby quilts from Carolyn - a cowboy quilt and three others grouped below.



Star baby quilt from Jenny.


 Robyn Jnst. and her husband are going to Trundle in the Central West of NSW, west of Parkes in the Parkes Shire.
The Trundle area has been in severe drought for years. The school headmaster has many ideas to help the children get through this hard time. Many of the children go home after school to help hand feed the animals. The headmaster tries to lift their spirits.
Robyn has been asked for 48 gifts for some of the children and has been given their ages and likes and preferences. Some have never had a Christmas present.
Robyn and her husband are driving out to Trundle to deliver the quilts and gifts.

Below is a quilt top being made by Ros. for a little boy who loves motor bikes.



A unicorn quilt from Marie K. Unicorns are so popular with little girls.


 Suzie has made this cute cushion for her grandson's second Birthday. She has called it Cuddly Dudley. There is a pocket in the back for a special book.


 A quilt from Robyn for a younger child.


 Three more motorbike quilts for little boys.
 Top and bottom one from Grace and middle one from Robyn.




 Grace made this quilt to be raffled by the school.
 Grace used a linen/cotton blend and hand painted the triangles.

Until next time ....