Then and Now

This Santa wall hanging was made a few years ago and is hung in pride of place each Christmas at Narelle's house.

The Bolster Cushion was made as a gift for this Christmas.

Wishing all a happy and healthy 2008 filled with family, friends and fabric.

Christmas Greetings

Isn't it wonderful when someone gives you your Christmas parcel days before Christmas and they give you something like this. It gives you an opportunity to hang it for this festive season and not have to impatiently wait until next year.
Ruth's sister who is also a prolific patchworker had geat fun making this. She also made a patchwork bag in bright colours for a niece.
Hope there are many Christmas goodies arriving for you all.
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and see you all in 2008.

Toowoomba Quilters Club Inc.

Our network of quilters seems to be growing as we now also have a link to Toowoomba Quilters. Welcome to our new visitors.
Isn't it amazing that with one click we can enter a different page and meet so many like minded people and share information about quilting.
Most of our Mt Perry members live on rural properties in an isolated area and we have embraced blogging as a large part of our social life as well as being our newsletter. We also love to see what other people are up to in their patchwork pursuits.
To minimise the time spent blogging we have three editors to share the workload, in case you noticed the different blogging styles. We certainly don't want to cut into our valuable sewing time do we girls?

New Link to PANDORA

In case you are wondering about our new link.
We received a letter from The Sate Library of Queensland asking for copyright permission to archive our blog under the PANDORA project. They archive websites they consider to be worthy of preservation. We felt really proud to have our blog selected and thank them for their interest and we hope to continue sharing our love of patchwork and quilting with you whilst providing entertainment and recording a visual diary through future posts.

Free Motion Quilting Day

Here are the samples from two of the ladies who took part in learning about free motion quilting.

Lisa (left) and Narelle (right) both thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were pleased with their results. Both are keen to do some more practicing if they can just find the time.

Isn't it amazing how the texture of the hand dyed fabric changes with a different quilting pattern? The newly skilled quilters will soon be attempting feathers and more feathers on their traditional style quilts.

Margaret's Quilt

One of our group members proudly displaying an

heirloom quilt which she travelled many miles for

many lessons to learn to do. She has been so inspired

by this teacher, that the fabric is now being sought

for her next adventure in discovering the diversity

of this craft.

Free Motion Quilting Day

The last sewing day for 2007 saw the machines all set up for free motion work. A short discussion about quilting designs before we dropped the dogs and started.
How come "sew" many pattern designers finish the information about their design with "Quilt As Desired". We are still wondering what as desired looks like. We studied the book by that name, very useful.
Well after today the girls also have a bit more knowledge about thread thickness, remember the higher the number the thinner the thread. The Madeira Cotona 80 looked wonderful on Margaret's sample. The Daruma silk thread sewed beautifully as well. Ruth would not mind the box of these for sale at Patchwork on Pallas for Christmas. The Aurifil Mako 50 is also a wonderful thread to sew with. It is easily available from online shopping here in Australia.
These threads really suit traditional quilting styles done by machine where you like to see the texture without noticing the thread.
We discovered some machines absolutely dislike cheaper, thicker thread. It is probably variations in thickness from slubs that cause the problem. It is a shame that some variegated threads don't work too well. Kerry found that some worked well while sewing slowly but as soon as she found a faster smooth stitch the thread broke. The variegated threads are good for more contemporary work.
Feathers for traditional quilts were oohed at and some had a go. We had to learn to draw them first let alone stitch them. All the designs we tried were all drawn on paper first to develop the rhythm of sewing it.
The star pupil even had a go at a Caryl Bryer Fallert quilting design. So now she has gone home to google for her website so she can study more of her work. Other quilting experts to look up include Sharon Schamber, Diane Gaudynski, Patsy Thompson, Karen McTavish and there's probbaly a lot more. So watch out we are slowly building our reputations as quilters. Unfortunately the cameras did not come out today so here is a sample of Ruth's first free motion feather accomplished some time ago for something to view from today.



Next year we will probably decide to start early again so we can commence our raffle quilt. Ruth was just too dog tired to get the fabric and pattern ready to start this week. So watch this space.

Seven Shops Later

Come on girls, once this photo was taken you just know it had to be put in this space.

What can you do when you've just visited the seventh patchwork shop for the day and you've shopped till you're ready to drop. Find a seat of course, any seat will do. These girls were the first two to make their final purchases for the day.

Then along came the next lady to await our driver. We had a fantastic day starting with a coffee or smoothie and a snack on the way into Maryborough to fortify us till lunch in Hervey Bay. Seven shops (if you can count that two shops had two parts to them) in one day is not a bad effort. On the way home we discussed tactics for next years shopping trip which just may include dinner on the way home.

November Madness

November always sees us patchwork girls celebrating the silly season with our "Annual Cristmas Shopping Trip ". This year on Friday 23 we are off to the shops in Maryborough and Hervey Bay and possibly the patchwork shop at Howard on the way home if we have time. Looks like we wont have time to eat so it'll be a sandwich and a bottle of water for the celebratory feast.
We will be looking for fabric for our raffle quilt for next years Cancer Fundraising. Ruth has found a possible pattern but now can't remember which of her magazines it was in. Looks like she had better start writing things in a notebook while magazine browsing. Mind you she has quite a collection to find another one in.
Friday 30th November we will be dropping the feed dogs and trying to control our tension headaches whilst attempting to regulate our quilting stitches. Yes Free Motion here we come. We will be learning about free motion, ditching , selecting quilting designs,and in general trying to demystify the phrase "Quilt as Desired". Threads of all different types will be investigated also. Batting choice will also be discussed.
Feathers will be on the agenda if we can get past the fear. Should be an interesting process.
Last week we all seemed to be a bit busy doing other things so only two could make it for the day. So roll on Friday for the shopping trip.

"Cancer Cafe"

Here's some photos from our "Cancer Cafe" fundraiser held on the 26th of October.

The combined funds raised from the cafe, raffle and the sale of patchwork bags, some of which are pictured above, amounted to $500.00 which we proudly forwarded to the Cancer Council.

A great effort for such a small community, and a huge thank you to

everyone who helped either directly with the event,

or just by enjoying themselves and donating to the cause.

A fun time was had by all.

"Not Peeping Toms"

Getting the perspective on the layout of a new quilt.

Three Quilts

This first quilt is Narelle's kaleidoscope quilt and the next two as well. She diligently made all her triangles into hexagons from her jungle print fabric. In the process of arranging her heaxagons, she felt that no matter what she did the blue areas of the fabric would NOT combine back with her white and orange areas very well, even though they all started from the one piece of fabric.
It's surprising what you can decide faced with this dilemma. She has two narrow walls in her sewing room ( the rest of us are envious that she has a sewing room) that looked a bit bare. So the decision was made to create two small quilts to decorate those walls.

Now she has successfully used her white and orange hexagons. Her careful selection of boxes and quilting styles make all three very eye catching quilts. Well done Narelle.

Cancer Fund Raiser Morning Tea

Last Patchwork Day,
Kerry organised a coffee morning to raise funds for Breast Cancer Research. Guests were treated to cups of coffee with sponge cake and other goodies on the menu.
Patty kindly presented us with special fabric to make bags for sale at this function.
Raffles were held as well, with all funds raised going directly to Breast Cancer research.
The bag sale is still continuing with them on display at the Mt. Perry Post Office.
Will post photoes later if the camera made it to the morning.
Check back to our blog archive of October 2006 for our bra efforts.

We are already planning the fund raising item for 2008. Looks like it might be a quilt.

Two Similar Quilts

This is Sandra's quilt made from a japanese print fabric in autumn tones. The hexagons looked like a bunch of Australian Wildflowers grouped together. Sandra originally designed this quilt to hang horizontally but once again , the quilt seems to control the story and it decided that it likes to be hung vertically.

Ruth unknowingly chose the same print as Sandra but in a different colourway. We find small ways to make our Exhibition interesting and her quilt seemed to end up with more light areas in it than Sandra's. Ruth also added some boxes and sections to add some visual impact to her quilt.

It has been interesting that only some people noticed that the fabric similarity existed.

Who are these Mt Perry Quilters?

We have been showing you our quilts, so it's about time we showed ourselves.
Here we are posing for the cameras in the Art Gallery. Don't we look a happy bunch. Fay and Patty were absent that day so there are actually 9 of us. Annette ( the tutor) was present for the opening. She was glad to see all the quilts actually finished. We still have more to show you yet.

Now our attention has turned to Christmas and the holidays and what exciting activities can we plan for these events. A shopping trip to the coast is on the agenda.

More Exhibition Stories

Kerry has produced a stunning example of a kaleidoscope quilt with her "Lost at Sea" quilt. The original fabric had ships floating in the sea all over it.

This is made for her eldest son's bed so he has had considerable input as to the placement of the hexagons. Somewhere in the sea is a hexagon of the original fabric. Another tricky aspect which can be added to this type of quilt. The border has been constructed from some hand dyed fabric coloured by Kerry along with her left over hexagons. She also dyed the fabric used for the back of the quilt. She learnt these skills at an earlier workshop on dyeing held in Mt. Perry.

Her son has patiently waited while it was displayed in the Art Gallery. The Exhibition is now over and all the quilts returned to their owners so he should at last be enjoying the new quilt for his bed. Next winter he will certainly be pleased to be under it.

The Bloomin Lot Story

Faye is one of our most prolific quilters with usually a few projects on the go at the same time. This was a busy french provincial type of fabric print originally to be used as a centre for a double bed size quilt. Once again quilts have a habit of dictacting what happens in their construction.
Faye felt she had a bunch of disconnected hexagons that were impossible to put together hence the name for this quilt. With the addition of her boxes and changing it to a wall quilt size , the result is very enjoyable to view.
She certainly is a prolific quilter as she squeezed in a trip to Canada during its construction and still managed to meet the deadline.
Her next projects have included a horse quilt for a beloved grandson, and there was another one already in the workbox last patchwork day.
A medical emergency involving a snake prevented her from attending the official opening so she missed the good comments about her work.

P.S. The emergency all ended well if you are wondering.

The Haircut Story

Amazing what can happen when you leave your patchwork session for a short while to visit the hairdresser. Kath had been agonizing about how to place her hexagons and left it hanging on the design wall. 2 little elves came along and suddenly the hexagons had all swapped places. The basic arrangement stayed put and Kath came back, picked it up and went home and sewed it up. She added the borders and finished it on time.

Her fabric had very little value contrast between colours and a narrow distance between design repeats. Her hexagons were a bit of a challenge to arrange. This unfortunately is the only photo we have at present to show you. The addition of her boxes and the wide borders have certainly made her quilt stand out.

Kath also has not been quilting for very long so she has learnt a lot about colour and value.

Well done Kath.

PS : The quilts are only in the gallery for another week, so call in or you'll miss out.

The Bath Mat Story

Every quilt has a story about it. Patty's pineapple fabric has been waiting patiently for years for her nimble fingers and clever mind to work out what to do to make this fabric into something wonderful.

During the workshop all Patty could seem to say was " Are we there yet? " Reminescent of the tv ad.

She had to race off early for another appointment somewhere as usual, that day, so did not get a lot of sewing finished. Turns up a few weeks later with her finished top and announces , this is my new bathmat. In the tradition of patchwork, the wadding consists of her daughters old towelling nappies pieced together ( the youngest daughter is 14 this year so she has been hoarding them for years) and she has also appliqued some of her many yards of pineapple fabric onto matching bath towels.

A fine example of a true patchwork tradition. Well done Patty.

Compare these two quilts.

In our previous post we promised you some more photos.

It was interesting to note one of us decided to use the same fabric as the tutor. After much deliberating about where to put the boxes, a helper decided to arrange them.

This quilt is aptly titled "Lost in Space" those boxes certainly do look like they are.

The tutor's quilt is of the same fabric with different features.

Naturally they are much better to view hanging in the gallery so make sure you visit before they move on.

From the Exhibition

Here is an update on our current exhibition which runs till the 14th October. This first photo (left to right) shows the quilts of Sandra, Ruth and Fay hanging along one wall of the gallery.

The second photo (left to right) is of Annette's (Tutor), Narelle's (2 narrow ones) and Margaret's. A clearer picture of Margaret's quilt is further below. You may notice that Margaret chose the same fabric as Annette's with a totally different outcome. The end result is all in the eye of the creator.

This third photo (left to right) shows the quilts of Narelle, Margaret and Sandra again, with Patty's Pineapple ensemble arranged in the corner. Patty chose to make her kaleidoscope into a bath mat and matched it by embroidering pieces from the print onto some towels.

More photos on our next blog.

After the Exhibition Deadline

It was back to 'normal' for the ladies who attended patchwork today. We had a very successful opening of the exhibition on Wednesday and would like to thank all who attended. It was lovely to see everyone enjoying the kaleidoscope of colours.

Two girls have moved onto their next projects while two are completing current projects. I've decided that my next accomplishment will be to finish my bed quilt that I started 2+ years ago. It's almost finished but other ideas keep jumping the queue. Not this time, I'm determined, I hope.

If you are in Mt. Perry, we hope you have an opportunity to view the quilts while they hang in the Pat Augustine Cultural Centre till the 14th October. We will continue to post photographs along the way.

If you look back to the August 24th blog, you will note the unfinished kaleidoscope quilt and here it is completed. The quilt to the left is a Bargello which was from another workshop earlier in the year.

There's nothing like a deadline to keep you on your toes.

Kaliedoscope Exhibition Opening

A second kaliedoscope quilt keeping the walls of the Gallery warm.

The " official opening " is on around 4pm Wednesday September 12 2007.

Why don't you come along for a dose of colour, wine and whatever else may come your way.

Kaleidoscope Quilts Update

Most of the kaleidoscope quilts are finished. Now for the hanging and unveiling of the hard work .
September 5 they will be displayed in the Mt Perry Pat Augustine Centre.
Here's a sneak preview of one of them.

This is an early photo of the half kaleidoscope pieces. After some necessary alterations .

Most of the finished quilt. You cannot see the top border piece ( went missing in action)

The gallery hours are Tuesday mornings, Wednesday ,Thursday and Friday afternoons. Contact Perry Shire Council for more details. Should be well worth a visit.

Plans are ahead for the next adventure. Why don't you come and join us?

One Month to Go

We were so busy sewing and basting on Friday that we almost forgot to take any photos of the works in progress. Here are a couple of photos of the last two ladies to leave.

Narelle's was all sandwiched and ready for quilting. She has hit a few stumbling blocks with the quilting and has gone with free motion of a jungle type leaf repeated over the quilt.

Kerry got her hexagons altogether and is ready to sew some borders around to enhance her very ship shape creation. Sorry about the lighting, the late afternoon sun was bursting through.

One more patchwork day before we get to hang the quilts.

DON'T PANIC YET!

Kaleidoscope No. 8

Here is the last of the works begun at our workshop. I am pleased to say that they have all come a long way since that day and as the deadline for the exhibition draws near, hopefully everyone is nearing completion.

This very colourful jungle print produced some very bright hexagons.

Because of the variety of colours, I have divided the hexagons into three separate wall hangings. Stay tuned for the end results.

Kaleidoscope No. 7

How about turning these Asian dragons into

swirling pools of gold. A two colour combo can be

just as dramatic.

Ladies showed their progress at our last patchwork day. Our deadline has stopped creeping closer and is now at a run as our exhibition date draws near.

Kaleidoscope No. 6

How about those Pirates of the Caribbean? If you

like to spend time on the open see then these

nifty naughtical hexagons will be just perfect for you.

Just need to complete two more cubes.

Kaleidoscope No 5

If you have a passion for pineapples then you'll

adore the sweet hexagons that have been

created from the fabric below.

Long Service Leave Quilts

Here is the latest update on my quilts I started while on Long Service Leave at the end of 2006.
Numbers 2 and 3 are finally complete.
This one used 5" floral squares from a fabric club and was constructed using the "Shabby" style. My niece received it for her second birthday.








In this one I used the remaining 5" squares from a fabric club. I cut two squares in half and joined each opposite, then cut in half again and rejoined to get 4 patch squares. Matching colours I came up with the twelve blocks separated by a 1 inch sashing but I wasn't happy with it. Have you ever placed out your quilt blocks, stood back and thought "Oh, how on earth can I fix it?" So I bundled them up, took them into our next Patchwork get-together and said "Help!" There's always someone who can come up with the perfect solution. Kerry suggested the narrow cream sashings within each block and I think its turned out very well.

Number 4 is sandwiched and awaiting quilting, in among my other partly completed projects.
Narelle

Kaleidoscope No. 4

These lovely hexagons above were created from the

oriental fabric below. This arrangement has since been

re-designed and all will be revealed at our exhibition

to be held in September/October.

All the ladies are progressing along with their kaleidoscope quilts.

Kaleidoscope Number 3

If purple and greens are your favourite colours

then you'll love these stunning hexagons

with see through blocks added in.

Stay tuned for more revealing pictures.

Peaches and Cream

From these lovely peach and pale blue flowers

to these beautiful hexagons.