Our Busy Group

Hi Everyone,

Our members are keeping very busy while we are in voluntary isolation. I love the fact that we can always find something to do and make when we sew, knit or do any craft.
I spoke to a friend yesterday who is totally bored and watching too much rubbish on Netflix. So many don't have hobbies to turn to.

We have received two very nice comments on Facebook.:

* A message from Beecroft House thanking us for the stunning quilts they received last year.
"They were a very welcome and heart warming gift to receive for this collection of senior and often needy residents. I know how much time and work went into them and greatly appreciate your generosity".

* From a lady in Nowra called Kim Harper, whose mother received one of the quilts we delivered to Robyn for the fire victims. Her mother was delighted. She has been a quilter and was very aware of the work and effort that went into it, so is greatly appreciative.

Iris has replied to both.

Show and Tell:

Alison found these star blocks in a shoe box. Halfway through pinning them she noticed a couple of glaring mistakes, but she didn't fix them.

Spot the mistake in this photo. I quite like it!

 Lindy' s Streetscape looks really good. Not sure if I can rise to the challenge.

 Grace has finished her quilt.

 Ros started her quilt at our retreat last year. It is only fitting that she has finished it on what would have been our retreat weekend this year.

 Debbie U. is making small brooches. The little girls are wooden buttons. The blue fabric is striking. It is from Jessie Chorley in England.

Helena enlarged the quilt she worked on during the Maria Shell workshop. It is now quilted and finished.

 House block from Alison.

Until next time ....

More Photos

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all coping with the lock down. I am looking forward to an easing in restrictions. We are so lucky to be living in Australia. Perhaps we can have a holiday in New Zealand sometime soon!

Our WhatsApp has been going well with lots of chatter. Members have offered help and advice for various situations. It is a wealth of information and a wonderful use of social media enabling us to keep in touch.

We now have a third challenge for those of you looking for something to do.

Our first challenge was the Jacobs Ladder block in 6" or 12" squares in dark blue, light blue and white.
 I do love the Jacobs Ladder block. It is so versatile. I made a mistake on my first one and made an 8" block so I made more and turned them into a baby quilt.

The second challenge was for a Star block. I gave the dimensions for this in last week's blog. Photos below.

The third challenge has been suggested by Grace and is a little more challenging. Remember the 'our house' quilts that we made for Giant Steps. Grace suggested the theme 'Our Street in Isolation', whereby we create a streetscape, real or wishful thinking. Make a 10" x 20" block so we can put a row of streets together. You could also just do a house 10.5" unfinished square block.
Landscape works well.
This should keep you out of mischief for a while!

There are lots of ideas on Pinterest for you to check out.

I have trouble keeping up with you all. I am about to start a couple of star blocks but the house/street block will take some thinking.

Good luck!

Show and Tell:

Two baby quilts from Jenny. The photo is a little blurry. Hence the smaller size.

 Laurel's beautiful rose called Golden Celebration and has a slight perfume

 A quilt Lindy is working on - stars and diamonds

Sue D. made this wall hanging for her new granddaughter in the UK. Sue can't wait to meet her in person.

Judy S. using up bits of wool she has before buying more. 

Helena's amazing knitting. One sleeve to go! A number of our members are wonderful knitters. I am in awe of them. They make it look easy.

The second challenge star block 

Ros knitted all these teddies. What a feat Ros.  So much joy for little ones.

Until next time. Keep well.

What we have been doing

Hi Everyone,

On Easter Sunday when we were having a virtual Easter lunch with the family, my daughter said "What's happened to the blog Mum?" She and my granddaughter love checking it out each week.
So here it is!

Many of us are keeping in touch through WhatsApp which Alison suggested. Alison can set you up if you would like to join. It has been a great way for us to keep in touch and show off our sewing and keeping up with our various activities.
I am enjoying the quieter period as I use the extra time to work on my unfinished projects and to start  new ones.

Early on, Jenny suggested a challenge making the Jacobs ladder block in both 6" and 12" sizes. Colours to use are dark blue, light blue and white. The blocks will be sewn together for Community quilts when we finally get to meet again. There is an example below.

The next challenge is for wonky star blocks - unfinished size 6.5". Bright colours with lots of contrast.
The centre square is 2.5" with 8 background 2.5" squares, plus 8 x 2" squares for the star points. I will post a photo next week.

Also Ros has made a huge number of little knitted teddies which I will save for next week as well.

QuiltNSW has postponed their annual show until 29 October to 1 November at Darling Harbour.
It will be interesting to see if it will go ahead. The future is still very uncertain for us all.

Show and Tell - Some of our posts in WhatsApp:

Two cushions from Alison

 Round three of a quilt from Jenny

 A bow tie top ready to be quilted from Ros

 A community quilt from Laurel

 Knitted pram blanket for a grand baby due in 9 weeks from Debbie

 Jacobs ladder blocks from Christie

 Sue D. used the Jacobs ladder challenge block for a Grace Centre quilt

 Sail Boats from Bev

Such a wide variety of show and tell. What a clever and crafty lot we are!

Until next week .........

Lord Mayor's Picnic Quilt

Hi Everyone,

I do hope you are all keeping well and staying in as much as possible. I have been making good use of my time, catching up on sewing, gardening, and jobs around the house that have been ignored for a long time.

You are all aware of the WhatsApp group that Alison has set up for us. It has been marvellous. A great way to keep in touch with everyone.
Drop Alison an email or text and she will set you up if you haven't joined in yet.

Quilts for the Bushfire Victims in the Lake Conjola Area:

Robyn's son delivered 31 quilts that we donated on 28 March. It was a huge effort and thank you to everyone who contributed.

Lord Mayor's Picnic Quilt:

Iris has received a very nice thank you letter from the major Events and Festivals Unit at the City of Sydney.

The New Years Eve picnic caters to children from a range of charities aged between 2 and 12 years, their support persons and immediate family.
The event provides a rare joyful night out in an environment that caters specifically to their needs.

We are given the theme and colours required. We then arrive at a design and all contribute a block.
Iris and Jenny were responsible for the quilt last year. What a beautiful quilt it is.

Keep in touch with your quilting friends until next time ......

Good to be back

Hullo Everyone,

 I must apologise about the Blog last week. I forgot to press the 'Publish' button. Hopefully I won't do that again! Alison kindly sent it out on Thursday once I discovered that no-one had received it.

How about our Helena! As you know, Helena participated in her first Triathlon which was held in New Zealand last weekend. Helena did brilliantly, coming 15th out of 40 in her group. She looked marvelous on Thursday and not a bit tired. What a feat! Congratulations Helena!

We held our AGM this week. Kerry has emailed the Minutes out to every member.

June has had shoulder surgery and is now in rehab. We hope she will be able to call in soon to see us. We have very much missed having her at our meetings.

I have had a query about our show this year. As you are all aware we are living in very uncertain times. We are working towards having the show at this stage. I will keep you updated as the news changes.

The latest NRMA Open Road magazine has a centrefold of baby kangaroos in pouches made from donated fabric. It is a cute photo and wonderful that so many sewers joined to make them. Ellen's daughter was very much involved with the organising and many quilters donated fabric.

Joy and Elva held a mini quilt show at Montefiore last Tuesday. It was a great hit with the residents and a lot of fun. They are planning on doing it again.
Elva is doing her best to organise a bus to bring some residents to our show.
I will add the photos in the next blog.

Show and Tell:

The quilts below are being donated to the Fire Victims in the Lake Conjola area:

A Wagga from Gill and Doreen:

 Two below from Grace:

 From Carolyn and Margaret:

Ann made this one for a friend in the USA. 

 Ann is keeping this one:

Another one for Lake Conjola:

Until next week .......

Back to Fairland Hall

Hullo Everyone,

It is very good news that we are back at Fairland Hall next week. We have had 7 weeks at the Scout Hall. It wasn't ideal but we made the best of it. I particularly enjoyed the mixed seating where I found myself next to someone I wouldn't normally sit with. Next week we will go back to our usual groups but I do hope we can move around the room and mix more.

Dates for your diaries:

Our AGM is this week at 12 noon, 12 March.

Dates for our quilt show - August 6,7,8,9.

Also dates for our retreat in May 1,2,3. We have 21 girls coming so far which is excellent!

Hunters Hill Primary School:

I received a phone call recently to ask if we accepted Commissions. As we are a non profit organisation I explained that we did not. I asked what it was that they were after.
The local Hunters Hill Primary school will be celebrating its 150 year anniversary in September.
They were wondering if we could help make a quilt or wall hanging for them.
We have decided a wall hanging would be more appropriate and we will base the design on their 150 year badge. The badge has a picture of the Jacaranda tree in the school grounds that is particularly significant.
Iris will organise the project. Hopefully we will have time, given that it is already a very busy year for us.

Quilts for Lake Conjola area:

As you are aware, Robyn S. has asked for quilts which she will donate personally to the people in the lake Conjola area.

I had a phone call from a lovely lady living in a Retirement Village nearby, to ask if we could use two quilts that she had made.The timing was perfect. I picked them up and you will see the photographs below.

Quilt Shows you may like to visit:

March 26 - Nelson Bay Quilters
April 3-5 - Fairholme Quilters

Show and Tell:

Baby Quilt from Susan H.

One from Jenny

Two from Bev

One from Gill.

For Community from Jenny

Robyn Jnst. two for Mother's Refuge:

Two from lady in Retirement Village fro fire victims:

A Baby Kangaroo

Hullo Everyone,

We had a bigger rollup at the Scout Hall this week. It is really very pleasant at the moment with the cooler weather. It has been our home for 6 weeks now. Hopefully we will be back in Fairland Hall before too long.

Elva received a photo of a baby kangaroo that has been rescued after the fires. It is sitting in a pouch that was made from some of Cheryl's fabric. The carers have named it "Pip" (after Cheryl's daughter) and another has been called Cheryl.
Cheryl would be thrilled. I can see her smiling and chuckling about it!
The joey is so cute.

Quilts for those who have  lost everything in the fires:

Robyn S. has a holiday home on the South Coast near lake Conjola. This was devastated by the recent fires. Many residents have been left with nothing.
Robyn has asked us to contribute any quilts that we have to help. As she knows many in the area, she would like to take them and distribute them personally.

Robyn suggests a king single size which is 107 x 203 cm.

Teenage girls and boys particularly are hurting. Remember that the South Coast will start getting cooler now that Autumn is here so think 'warmth' too when deciding what to contribute.

Helena and her Triathlon:

Helena will be leaving for New Zealand on Wednesday to enter into her first triathlon to be held on March 7.
We all wish her the very best and lots of luck and love from us all. What a tremendous effort!

Show and Tell:

Ros made this very colourful quilt using the 'quilt as you go' method. First photo is the front. The second is the back of the quilt.
The quilt is for community and will go to a very lucky and deserving person.
Thank you Ros.

Below is a sample of the Contemporary Raffle quilt for our show in August. Iris designed it. We all contributed blocks and Grace will quilt it. I love it.

Below we have a very pretty baby quilt from Beryl R. ready to go to Westmead.

Below are 4 baby quilts from Carolyn. Carolyn has such a knack for colour. All for Westmead too .

Until next week .....