St George Hospital Markets

Yesterday I stumbled upon the Market Day at St George Public Hospital. Wow! It is well worth a visit. I bought two lovely back rests for my chairs - they are very comfortable. There were lots of other Christmas shopping ideas for people who have absolutely everything.

There are two more this year - 11 and 18 Dec 2009 so try and make a visit. They pack up at 2.30 so make sure you get there on time.

Adding Images to a Blog

I have a few friends out there who would like to add images to their blog so I have written some instructions. If you click on the image here it should appear in a large enough format to read or even print out. Hope these instructions work. Let me know if they help.

Online Stitch School

I have found an online set of instructions for various stitches. The stitches are listed in the right hand pane for easy finding. I will also list this link in my Patchwork and Quilting Links in my right hand pane.

Quilt Raffle Results

ST GEORGE HOSPITAL BREAST CARE SERVICES QUILT RAFFLE RESULTS

1ST PRIZE

Beautiful Handmade Patchwork Quilt

2ND PRIZE

Babies Crocheted Rug

Thank you to all that supported the raffle by purchasing tickets
The raffle has raised $846 which will be used to support Breast Care Services at St George Hospital

Back to basics

I now have my old 1906 treadle Singer sewing machine overhauled and am enjoying using it for quilting. The stitches are much more even than any modern machine I've used and there is plenty of room for feeding a whole quilt through the machine. It is also very relaxing to use and requires no electricity. I even get in a bit of exercise in as I sew!

I used it back in the 1970s for patchwork but it had then sat unused for 30 years so an overhaul was definitely in order. I was able to get it done by a sewing machine repair man in Heathcote. He does old and new machines.

If you have one of these machines or see one going cheaply think about getting it in working order and use it. I would recommend it.

Bobbin Sorter

At last I have worked out how to make a stand on which I can store my bobbins and their matching reels of cotton. This one is quite simple. All you need is a Laughing Cow cheese box, polystyrene vegetable trays to cut into circles to fill the box, some long finger food skewers or long tooth picks. Assemble then cover with fabric. Use an awl to start the holes for the tooth picks and - voila!

Graph Paper

Sometimes you'll need graph paper for designing your quilts. Three types that might be needed are square (cartesian), equilateral triangles (isometric) and hexagons. I have just spent a week or so looking for shops that sell the triangular one without success then thought to search the internet. Up popped a site where you can Print Your Own Free Graph Paper . You can choose what type and what units of measurement then the size of the page you want to print. Cool!

Scrappy Quilt Project

At our last workshop some of us started making scrappy blocks for our final quilt of 2009. I have been experimenting with how to make the instruction sheets small enough so that I don't clog up your email inbox with large files so here is my attempt.
This second page has a lot of blank space to be filled when the quilt is finished but it also gives a few more ideas for scrappy blocks. There are even more ideas if you follow the links to Scrappy Quilts and Typing Paper Block on this blog.

The idea is that everyone makes either 6 1/2" or 12 1/2" scrappy blocks of any design and sends them in. We can then arrange them all as per usual and see the magic that can happen when such a random idea is put into action.

Let's give it a try. Looking forward to seeing all your scrappy blocks.

September Workshop

We held an extra workshop to introduce a few new members to patchwork and quilting and to give some of our other members time out to do something different. The first activity was our 'show and tell'. Robyn showed us her latest quilt. No picture is available yet.

Leonie caught up on her applique block for our next project while Evelyn, Linda, Betty and Mary completed some scrappy blocks using foundation piecing techniques.

Mary, our newest member finished her first ever block. Well done Mary!

Elaine and Joy also came for a quick visit.

Quilt Raffle Active

Click on the pic to read the details. Actual proportions of the quilt are in the pic below.