Our recent day together

 On Saturday our group met together both in real life and on zoom.

Our latest challenge is to create a strip each of each of 6 colours in any way you like. It is a real stash buster challenge. In 6 months we will have enough strips for 6 quilts and can spend the rest of the year putting them together. The strips can be any width but at least 56" long. Our display so far is quite impressive and the only one of our colours not represented in this photo is orange.

In the afternoon we had our usual zoom but unfortunately quite a few people were late getting on which is an issue when I can only book a 40 minute zoom session.

I was able to do my usual walk around the room showing progress so far on some of our projects.

Then of course there was 'show and tell' (more on that later).

Stephanie's mountains, here held for display by Alec, was amazing. Foundation paper piecing.

Elaine had been given all these strips an created this colourful queen size quilt. We were all pleased that Alec was here to hold it up with Stephanie.

Stephanie's show and tell is an Easter Egg bowl.

My grand daughter Ivy had helped create the flimsy for this quilt and Elaine was able to bind it.

Stephanie has almost finished the binding on our second 'shadows' quilt after I quilted it in the morning.

Karen put the final border on our flowers quilt and we have chosen binding for this one too.

There is one flimsy left to complete next time we gather.

In all it was a lovely day together and the air con worked so we did not expire upstairs.

So our homework is to finish our strips at the rate of one per month and be there next time either in person or on zoom.

Happy stitching and stash busting.

Betty's latest finish

 At the end of an horrendous fortnight I had a day to myself and was able to finish Alec's quilt and present it to him. He said he had seen it grow and loved the colour scheme. He is really pleased with the finished product...

Of course it is not long enough to cover him entirely and it has no wadding so just a throw for his new room.

Design: Woven Jacob's Ladder
Fabrics: include things that have been significant in our lives and form a scrapbook of our time together - frogs, bogs, chooks, music, fish, Kimberley and NT, grasses etc.

So that is #4 complete from our Chookshed Challenge 2026 but it is OK not to complete the number that was drawn. This one was time sensitive.

A weekend with sewing friends

 On Saturday it was our first Quilting get together for 2026. Unfortunately it was 43C at mine and the house (with air con) was 29C for the day.

My day started at 6:30 with a zoom invitation from Chooky's group. So even before Karen and Elaine arrived I'd had a few hours working mainly on my latest quilt.

This is a typical view of the screen during our all day zooms - people are often not looking at the screen because they are in another part of the room stitching, or out watering lawns or whatever. However there is always a lot of background chatter.

Karen and Elaine arrived for our session together but Elaine had to go back home because she was suffering from the heat even when sitting right in front of the air con.

So Karen and I gate crashed Chooky's group again and chattered away while we discussed options for our next group quilt and also options for easy projects for my grand girls to sew.

One such option was suggested by Stephanie in our own little group zoom and before we rejoined Chooky's group I had one made. It is a really easy drawstring bag.

Jeanette sent through some photos of her latest projects completed for Christmas.

I really like the bonbon gift bags. They could be quite handy and such fun.

By the time my day ended I was exhausted with the heat and gave up on zoom by about 5:30 but I did get all my quilt blocks completed.

Today I was on zoom again at 6:30 and was able to spend the time trimming the blocks then sewing them together. Such a lot of work done by so many people in such hot weather.

Seeing in the New Year

On New Year's Eve at 6:30 am I joined Chooky's zoom sew-in. I eventually left the zoom at about 4pm on New Year's Day and was utterly exhausted after 2 days of sewing and chatting. We did take our own breaks for refreshments and sleep. It is not like a typical Zoom meeting in which you sit and talk to heads on a screen. We all work while on zoom and I was getting up and down from my sewing machine to collect or trim more pieces or to arrange finished blocks on my board which I positioned so others could see my progress. 

We had people from Australia, NZ, USA, Canada, UK, Norway and Germany. At any one time there were at least 9 on the screen but people would come and go as their time zones, stomachs and visitors allowed. That is why we start at around 6am our time. At one stage there were over 12 on the screen. 

We help each other with the next sewing problem or even computer problem but sometimes it is just small talk or complete silence. It is so funny to look up from whatever you are doing to find no other faces and complete silence. We all get a cuppa or meal when we need it and leave for our visitors or to tend the chooks or garden for a bit.

The day before New Year's Eve Stephanie and her grand daughter Lexie came to choose fabrics for my new quilt and then helped basting a few quilt sandwiches that I will need to get on to soon.

So Happy New Year to all my quilting friends. Welcome to our new year of quilting.

Merry Christmas to all (just a bit late)

After a crazy week of singing and visiting and entertaining I can now stop. To wish you seasons greetings I am showing off my bunting experiments.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

Karen's Knot Bag experiments

 Following Karen's show and tell on zoom last time we met she has sent through the following...

I've finished my Xmas sewing: Japanese knot bags. 

The sheep fabric bag was the one I brought to our December get-together: an experiment that I will keep. The other three are presents. 

I experimented with different patterns: the more rounded one from the Spotlight website and the less rounded one from 'Sew Very Easy'. I found the latter's method easier (uses an opening at the base of the bag for turning inside out - video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adOsyo950u0) than the former (opening in one of the handles).

I hope you are all inspired to try a few.

Our last get together of 2025

 Last Saturday, all in Christmassy mood, we joined forces to label our finished quilts and get them off to their new home at the Cancer Day Centre at Chris O'Brien Lifehouse via Karen

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Our next quilt top has been built and is waiting for perhaps a border of the pale blue. We have decided not to put the extra corner diamonds between each block as it looks so pretty as it is...

I have still not quilted our second shadow box quilt but that is perhaps a January job. 

 Then after our lunch we were joined upstairs by Linda and Jess for some fun with bunting.

This allowed for lots of discussion and laughter about options.

Then we decided to put our last quilt blocks of 2025 up on the design wall to see how they work together. It looks rather good and we all agree that it needs a calico border and then perhaps a border of the small squares with calico binding.

Then of course there was the zoom together with more of our group. Janice and Heather were able to join us for that and Elaine was able to show her latest finished quilt.

Karen had two Japanese Knot bags that she had made. So simple but very effective.

Thank you to all those who have worked so hard this year on our joint projects and have kept me and others sane.

News from Jeanette

 Jeanette was unable to join our Zoom yesterday but sent these photos of the quilt exhibition she was involved in. She writes...

Hope you all have a great lunch today. 

Don't think I'll make it to zoom as I've got our patchwork building open today for people to see our quilts. The Art group is next door & having their open day today & asked us to join in. Unfortunately the area has very poor phone reception. 

It looks a great exhibition Jeanette. We did miss you on zoom.

Our latest quilt finish

 When Kerrie was visiting this week she saw our orange quilt and just loved it. I did point out all the faults in the quilting but she still wanted it. So I cut some binding of her choice and there was a lesson and experiment about machine sewing on the binding. It worked relatively well.

So this quilt has gone home with Kerrie and she has give our group a donation towards more supplies. It turns out that orange is Kerrie's favourite colour. 

Thank you Kerrie.

Another play date

For the last 2 days Kerrie and I have been playing upstairs in the cool of the air con when she came for a sleep over from the Blue Mountains. The temperature outside was in the high 30s so it seemed like the best plan.

 We continued with my current project making some bunting to hang around the house now that I know such a quick method and the results it can give.

The process is so easy. First you tip all your strips and ribbons that are Christmassy onto the table. Then you cut a square of any fabric into squares of about 6.5" to 10". We found that any bigger is too big and any smaller is fiddly.

Next you attach an assortment of coloured ribbon (or fabric strips) diagonally onto the square of fabric.

Next fold the square diagonally ensuring the top point is fairly empty of decoration and the bottom point has no decoration right down to the point (for ease of pushing out the point when joined).

Turn inside out and fold the top point to the inside.

Admire the effect on either side and choose the side you like best as the display side.

All done!