Ugly duckling becomes a swan (nearly)

 We were all a bit disappointed with our Suzannah Twist quilt top as it grew...

During the week I tried putting in some 'knots' as shown to us by Jo when she came but they could not even be seen on the top so I unpicked the one I had done.

Then I decided it needed corners but 'OH NO' I made them too big. So then I decided rather than changing the corner blocks I'd increase the width of the border. However, we did not have enough of the focus fabric. So I've used a yellow that we had plenty of...

I almost like it now. One lesson to learn with group quilts is about colour! The colours used in the block MUST be IN the Focus Fabric! It is important not to just use colours that GO WITH IT.

The other thing I did was add a sashing because the junctions of the block pieces were never going to line up. With a sashing this is less obvious.

Click on the picture and you'll see it larger. I can even see how to quilt it now.

This was a difficult block so thank you all for your struggles. We've all learned a lot about colour and set in seams.

A pop-up quilting day

 Yesterday, because Jo and Tony were visiting, I called a pop-up quilting day for anyone who could come to join us. We ended up with 6 quilters yabbering away all day and discussing various options for our ongoing projects. 

Some people chose to complete their blocks for the Bear's Paw project and there was a bit of show and tell of completed projects. Elaine has bound and labelled the Pebbles quilt so it is now ready to donate.

I finished my next Broken Rules experiment with colour so it is also ready to donate. Elaine added a label to that too.

Stephanie arrived with a load of cottons and some fabric to give away so some people left with more than they brought.

We trimmed the next lot of blocks and the quilt looks much better. We even have enough fabric to make the extra diamonds between the blocks if we want to. 

Jo taught us a few more tricks about 'appliqued' diamonds and double thickness bag straps. Thank you Jo.

With lots more Bear's Paws we could get a better idea of how that quilt will look with Jo's fabric as the focus.

Jo and Stephanie then set to with some remaining rainbow strips to make a Courthouse Steps version of the rainbow. Tina has taken that flimsy home to make into a quilt.

Meanwhile Tony was entertained by our continuous chatter and feeding rituals. He had his laptop for extra entertainment when needed and also ventured up to see what we were doing.

Jo drew our next fabric which turned out to be Tina's metre. We discussed various options for a block that suited the fabric. There might be issues as the design is printed skew on the fabric but I'm sure it will look great in the end.

We sent off all our finished quilts except for the Rainbow ones with Karen to be delivered to RPAH cancer day centre. I hope they like them.

A Zoom nightmare

 Today's gathering involved a zoom nightmare until Linda rescued us from her end. Some people may have missed out so here is our show and tell summary.

Stephanie showed us her newest quilt...

Elaine showed us her watermelon ribbons quilt she has made for her grand daughter and some bits and another quilt she made from the left overs.

Jeanette sent a photo of her latest finish, ready for the Hanging of the Quilts in a few months.

I could not take us on the walk around upstairs so here is a photo of the Suzannah Twist blocks from Karen's fabric that have been returned.

And here is a photo of the Bear's Paw blocks and the medalion from Jo's fabric so far.

And here is my latest quilt top...

When all was over I checked my Zoom and updated it so I hope it works better next time.

Until next time, happy sewing.

Our last gathering

 At our July gathering we had a small group of 5 here plus Ruby. Our movement was a little more restricted than usual with barriers blocking various doors for Ruby.

Tina joined us so was able to get help with her first block then chose our next fabric (donated by Jo).

We had a lovely time trying to work out what we could achieve with the fabric and I must get on and write instructions as I make up the blocks we decided upon. This is something I might start tomorrow when Elaine is coming over to play a bit.

Jo showed us her hexie placemats when we were on zoom and she has now written about them on her blog here. They are certainly stunning and quite easy to make.

I have still not received Deana's parcel from Utah and it is now 6 weeks since she sent it. I'm hoping the postal service at either end get's their acts together and that it appears soon. 

Jeanette's Hexie Vest

At our zoom on Saturday Jeanette showed us her hexie vest. She was finishing the binding on the arm holes as we chatted. She has now finished it and sent us pics...

 An amazing job well done! Thanks for sharing Jeanette. We also learned that all Jeanette's hexie work is with 3/4" hexies!!!!!!!

Jo's Show and Tell zig zag quilts

 Last time we were on Zoom Jo zoomed in from a class she was giving using a relatively easy zigzag block. Here are some of the results...

This is Jo's version - 9-patch mixed colours with a final border to echo the sashing.

Another version with a pale grey instead of black.

This version has oriented the blocks to create 'bats' flying.

This one uses 16-patch coloured blocks to start with.

Here the 9-patch blocks are colour co-ordinated and arranged in rainbow strips.

This lady forgot to bring the 9-patches so decided to run with another idea.

It is great to see all the variations of a theme and it will be fun to try it in our group one day.

Show and Tell from Jeanette

 This month's show and tell from Jeanette (Dongara WA) is great. 

First there is Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australia with polar animals to commemorate her trips to the polar regions of our earth.

Then there is her Hexie Quilt with hexie scraps and over 1700 hexies!

I remember sitting in your lounge room years ago cutting your scraps for leaders and enders. Now you are using scraps in amazing ways. Hooray!

Rainbow Show and Tell so far

 For the last 6 months we have all been working on our rainbow strips and quilts. Jo has written the process story on her blog.

I thought I would now add images of our quilts so far. We each had to create a quilt from an assortment of strips made by different members...

Betty's quilt is a simple strip quilt bagged with no binding.
It is backed with polar fleece.

Elaine sewed her strips together  then cut the quilt top diagonally.
She has backed it in yellow and rainbow polar fleece
then bound it with rainbow diagonal stripes

Stephanie decided not to use all 6 strips then
added a coloured diamond to the bottom (top)
to lengthen the quilt. 
It is backed with polarfleece.

Karen removed one block from each strip
and inserted them as diamonds as a diagonal feature.

Jo used her strips to create a corner feature. 
She had to make a few more bits of purple and blue.
She used all the trimmed off pieces to create a binding for the quilt.
Find her process on her Butterz blog.

Carol has taken a set of strips home at our last gathering and will create another quilt for our collection. Janice also has a set of strips but will probably donate her quilt to her favourite charity.

I am still waiting for the strips that Deana made before we divvy up the remaining strips.

Rainbow Progression

 Progress with our quilts went a little further last Saturday. We had a small group with Stephanie, Karen, Elaine and a long awaited visit from Carol.

While we on zoom I did my usual walk around showing off our finished Pebbles flimsy and tacked it ready for quilting and also two quilts I am currently working on.

Thank you to the ladies for helping me sandwich my Surrey's Shirts quilt.

Then there was a show and tell by Elaine - a quilt using lots of half square triangles donated by Jenny at Scrub Stitchin'. The quilt looks like a Persian Rug.

Jo joined us on zoom while she was teaching at a quilt group in Mildura. She was able to show us progress on many different zig-zag quilts. See them on ButterZ. They are just amazing! What a stunning way to use up more scraps.

Karen brought along her finished Rainbow quilt to add to our collection.

Soon we'll be able to have a virtual show and tell with everyone's contributions.

Once Deana's rainbow strips arrive from Utah we'll be able to divvy up to make the remaining quilts.

Thanks to all those who joined in either in person or virtual. It was a fun gathering.

Surrey's Shirts continued

 Between doctor appointments and other commitments last week I was able to finish my May Chookshed Challenge quilt top.

I now have to decide on borders, backing and binding. I rather like the idea and such a simple block! Thank you Stephanie.