Last day on retreat and Group Sewing Day

On the last day of our retreat Tracy came to spend the time bringing fresh rolls for lunch and cake for tea. She was handsewing a detailed mosaic design with lots of fussy cutting in her favourite fresh greens and bright pinks.
Today, a week later, I've spent the day in Maggie's workroom with fellow Crab & Winkle members making totes and peg bags for the Oast Quilters' show next year. Maggie is quilting a piece made jointly with her mother and daughter and we also looked at a quilt of her mother's ready to bind and a piece started in a Janet Bolton workshop.

RR Workshop: Twisted Sisters

On the 3rd October I taught a "workshop" or rather a charity sewing sewing day, more properly known as Mary's sweatshop. In the morning everyone had an Ami Simms Twisted Sisters ruler and pattern and made blocks for a charity quilt though Andy and Mellony made a practice block and went on to make their own blocks, Andy using brown and deep pink. The afternoon's project I have been asked to submit to a magazine so I'll keep it under wraps here for a while. Problem is I keep having to make more examples!
Any way here are the Twisted Sisters blocks. The aqua one with fish has been made by Melanie (another spelling, another quilter) from another quilt group.

More Katharine Guerrier blocks & a wedding

Although many Oast members are making KG star blocks they all look different because of the nature of our stashes. Liz's are BRIGHT and Belinda's include lots of dots. Also while there Liz finished a group wedding and 60th birthday quilt for a member. It will have been presented by now.

Back to the Quilting retreat

During the retreat last week I largely worked on my Katharine Guerrier blocks. I cut out and sewed more than enough of the centre stars and then completed the blocks - I now have 42. I'm looking forward to setting them out but am waiting till I have a good block of time. In the meantime I'm going to make a 36" sample for my magazine project and an alternate centre block arrangement, write the instructions and submit. I'm also committed to a demonstration/practical session for our group, Quayquilters, on special rulers in November so have to plan that out too. Today though we are having a pub lunch, visiting Sissinghurst and admiring the beautiful autumn foliage.

Quilters' Guild Birthday 03

On the quilt front at the birthday party Hilary showed an interlaced star and Jean, who had been inspired by Katharine Gurrier's talk at Oast Quilters, showed a scrappy ninepatch. A lot of people hadn't brought anything which was disappointing as I think Show & Tell is so enjoyable. I was probably too much in the other direction as I'd brought my U3A quilt and a Twisted Sisters top to show and I was handquilting my batik ninepatches plus snowballs which went on show too. What an insufferable swot!

Guild Birthday Party 02

Here are some non quilt items from the Guild Show and Tell: Caryl's textile book of her holiday, a pincushion worked in the Japanese folded technique and Hilary's jacket from a Guild workshop with Prue Bell where strips were sewn onto a sweat shirt to make a jacket.

Guild Birthday Party 01

Today we celebrated the Quilters' Guild 30th birthday by first a postcard workshop with Caryl Baldwin whose beautiful cards are displayed here then a show and tell session, tea and cake and the fun fat quarter game. I didn't end up with the one I wanted but a pretty good second. The unfinished turquoise postcard is mine - having brought no fabric I could just about cover the timtex with a few scraps from my workbox. Postcards are not my thing although I loved Caryl's and am tempted by the idea of some Christmas ones.

Back in the flow

Well after the August hiatus the quilting season seems once again in full flow. I've been to my Quayquilters group meeting, my Crab and Winkle group meeting, a week long retreat and today, the Log Cabin quilters though we've transferred our venue to a member's conservatory. Tomorrow it's the Quilters' Guild birthday party in Aldington and oh yes I taught a charity quilt workshop at another local group. EEEK!
First off the retreat: three of us stayed throughout, another for a long weekend and we had a visitor join us for the day as well. We weren't very far from home but our holiday rental house was just perfect, clean and very quiet. We sewed on a large dining table with the light from a big bay window. Here are Belinda and Liz with stunning quilts begun in a Jan Hazzard workshop. Mine is largely in strip form and will remain so for some time to come. Belinda sewed a little quilt to showcase some special pretty fabrics and Judi quilted a reversible quilt, bright animals on one side and pastels on the other for a lucky little baby. Thanks to this quilt I knew the sea mammal beginning with 'n' that cropped up in the crossword today - narwhal.