Having got home from Belinda's it was just time for tea (a small helping) made by Alan and then off to Quay Quilters where the beginners showed their homework and Mags her leaf block for the raffle quilt and Avril demonstrated a bag with a very clever (and complicated) construction.
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| Avril |
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| Mags |
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| Beginners' class with Grandmothers' Fans |
We had a lovely Usual Suspects day at Belinda's. She laid on a lovely lunch for us and a zero G&T beforehand.
Lots to share,
Maggie has finished the Raffle Quilt top and is all set to quilt it
Penny Jeffries, fabric designer and screen printer, lives nearby and left the fat quarter pack of lovely Blostma and Bloom collection I'd ordered for me to pick up.
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| Tracy made a quilt top using it. |
I completed the binding on a B/W board & ruler bag. At least one more to come.
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| Mary and I (in specs.) pinning the appliqued frames. |
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| And all three |
The Queen Beez, Maggie and we two Marys got together to start to assemble our raffle quilt. Mary and I joined the four sides of the pieced sections (made by me and Maggie) which were then appliqued onto the beautiful applique centre made mostly by Belinda and finished by Mary (not me). My appliquing wasn't going well that day so I took a back seat on that section leaving the two expert stitchers at work.
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| Laid out ready to join sections |
Mary ordered wadding leaving Maggie to add borders and longarm quilt it. Judi has bought the backing and some of us will attach and sew down binding.
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| Bright 1930's style fabrics |
Mary is binding Belinda's donated top which Maggie quilted; we already have a buyer for this one.
I will bind another of Belinda's donations which will be our second raffle quilt. I was so pleased I have a suitable Jan Mullen fabric to complement those in the quilt.
I have completed a board/ruler bag to go for sale at the show and have started a second B/W one.
Ten of us met to sew and for the all important Show & Tell. I took mine too but haven't shown them here as they've featured on recent pages. I spent my whole day cutting out units for a Revelations quilts design.
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| Detail of quilt below |
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| Belinda's top started in a Houston class, quilted by Maggie and Mary I. to bind. |
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| Belinda's top started in a Jan Hassard class, quilted by Maggie and Judi to bind. |
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| Detail |
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| Maggie's magnificent fussy cut and minutely pieced medallion quilt. |
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| Detail |
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| Detail |
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| Maggie's on going hexagons |
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| Lynne is getting to grips with her long arm machine |
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| Lynn's braid quilt is the right dimensions for Quilts for Care Leavers |
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| Belinda's hand pieced top quilted by Maggie and me to bind and this to be our second raffle quilt bound by me. I'll check out binding choices when I meet with Maggie and Mary on Friday.. |
Lots of washing, ironing, shopping, cooking, cleaning, hair cut and admin. this last week and also back at Quay Quilters after missing the last meeting when I was away.
There was a pincushion challenge which I omitted to photograph then Show & Tell.
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| Colin's super applique block for our group quilt |
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| John's origami piece. Exquisite |
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| Mary has made lovely baby quilts for young family friends. So nicely made. |
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| For a little boy who will grow up by the sea |
I am usually the photographer for the WhatsApp group so absentees see our projects so my quilts don't generally feature but this time someone asked for my phone. I'm pleased as it's good to see them held up.
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| Sarong back |
Then our talk was Ann on the varieties of ninepatches using her QQ beginners' sampler quilt (from 1997- I was class of 95) as illustration. Trip down memory lane plus lots of potential uses.
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| The completed quilt |
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| Second set of blocks still to be made up |
The current crop of beginners were making Grandmother's Fan with Mary I's guidance. We'll see the results next time.
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| View from our balcony |
We spent the last two weeks of March on holiday in Madeira, our last and 15th time share year. It started off with rain and wind but ended gloriously sunny.
I took my Africana squares to bind by day and put on the bed at night and took it home done.
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| The back is a sarong from Malaysia 1999/2000 |
Also as in previous years I took photos of flowers with a view to printing them onto fabric. This time I made sure to take landscape and portrait views as required by the pattern I have in mind. There is so much "in mind" that may never get done.
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I have arranged and numbered the blocks of my blue and red Simple Marks Shape Sorter quilt ready to assemble at an upcoming retreat.
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| I like the sidesbetter than the centre |
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| The sides go right but centres off. |
Karen Lewis designed this project for the Thread House and the blocks were a joy to sew but assembly was tricky. Karen used a single background fabric and this would have been a better option. Her quilt was ten blocks by ten finishing at 80", a useful size, and I may return to this pattern at some future date.
I used a charm pack to make a flying triangles doll quilt to sell at our quilt show coming up and hope to do more and also table runners.
I have left the binding on the Africana to sew down on holiday.
I took an aide memoire photo of a section of my Quilt of the Crosses which I hope also to get round to while away.
On another note I finished my Blue Woolies Chequerboard on the 14th, the eighth and last from this fabric type. I'll try to do a post of them all together. Maggie now has my remaining Woolies.
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| The residents' garden group met at Jenny's house learning how to divide clumps of primroses but also taking plants home to naturalise in their own gardens. We are lucky to have loads that come up every year. but it was good to eat cake and chat. Jenny is also a quilter and embroiderer and recently finished this wall hanging featuring images of flowers from her garden printed onto fabric and embroidered. |
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| THe quilt on my bed was started in a Jan Hassard class using light dark and medium fabrics and a simple block to achieve magical effects. Lots and lots of scraps and so enjoyable to make and sleep under. Machine and hand quilted. |
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| Detail of Modernish sampler |
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| The Modernish Sampler has been tacked (a job I was putting off) and the sashing machine- quilted in the ditch. |
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| Now I am hand quilting the border. Once done I'll bind the quilt and start to quilt the blocks. I try to think about quilting strategies as I sew past each blocks. Not straightforward. |
