"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.

From this oriental fabric ....

to these gorgeous hexagons.

Workshop Wonders

Well we made it. Friday the 1st June saw the patchwork ladies make many trips into the hall with all their requirements for their Kaleidoscope Quilts. Annette travelled from Bundy to teach the skills and techniques required to produce the beautiful creations that you will get to see over the coming months as we keep this blog updated with photos from the workshop day and beyond.

The day began with a call for "can we have a cuppa first in case we don't get a chance later?". So with a cuppa and snack to give us strength, the first lady gingerly cut her fabric under Annette's guidance and then everyone else followed suit. What began to unfold from the original fabrics was quite amazing.

Kaliedoscopes Update

Friday 1 June was Kaliedoscope Day. 8 patchworkers had an ironing,cutting and sewing day.
Annette brought her dragon quilt along showing us the process of slicing up our fabrics and sewing all the triangles together. A design wall is a necessary purchase in the future for this style of quilt making.
The 3 dimensional cubes are fascinating to construct. The fabrics selected were all different and it will be interesting to see all the finished quilts. Narelle has taken photoes of the original fabric pieces.
Remember these quilts will be on display in the Pat Augustine Centre, Mt Perry in late September.
Friday 8 June is our next sewing day, looks like we will need heaps of them so we can show you all of our quilts.

Baby Bliss

There's nothing more pleasing than completing a project, just ask Kerry. The flanel fabric for this quilt was stored in her sewing cupboard left over from making winter clothes when her children were much younger. Not wanting to dispose of it, Kerry has put it together with a patchwork technique she hasn't used before. The end result is a very snuggly, soft and cuddly baby quilt.

Kaleidoscope Workshop

The workshop on June 1st is our kaleidoscope block quilts.
A good book to check out this technique is One-Block Wonders, by Maxine Rosenthal published by CT Publishing.
It has a section on choosing your fabric. Shows many quilts made by using hexagons and octagons made from kaleidoscope blocks.
I'm sure that Annette will help you with fabric selection.
Maybe a new blade in your rotary cutter will be a good idea.
Let's hope Fay can keep on finishing all these quilts she starts. A new one each time we turn up to sew. Puts the rest of us to shame.
See you all in 2 weeks.

Fabric Heaven

Does this little patchworker look like she's in seventh heaven. Leave a girl alone in a fabric shop and who knows what it will do to the mind. I'm please to report that she didn't let this opportunity go to waste and we have been oooing and arrring over her purchases. And yes she is still smiling.

Workshop Plans

Plans for the Kaleidoscope workshop have changed to Friday 1 June. Fabric required is at least 6 pattern repeats down the length of your piece. Your usual sewing items are required. Friday 8 June will be our normal sewing day allowing you to keep working on your piece. The Pat Augustine Gallery is booked for an exhibition of our quilts in September. We love putting the pressure on don't we.

The Mt Perry Show has been and gone and it was good to see lots of entries in the patchwork sections.
The Bali traveller is back with her extra bag of fabrics, beads and shoes and lots of interesting things. Her children are very happy she's back, so are we. Hope she is inspired by her travels.
See you all on Friday 18 May.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to one and all. Hope the bunny found you and by now you have had sufficient chocolate to last at least till the end of the week. You know if the bunny leaves you with the dark chocolate kind you're actually doing yourself some good by consuming it.
Hope you are able to find at least one day of the holidays to devote to patchwork. I have a quilt that hasn't gone so well at the quilting stage so I will force myself to rectify what is possible to rectify and get over the fact that not every quilt will turn out satisfactory. Then it's on with the next.

Happy patching.

Butterfly Heaven

35 Butterfly blocks and every one of them hand stitched and quilted as you go, then joined by hand. Margaret J prefers hand sewing and being able to "pick it up to go" so she can work on her projects where ever she is. This pattern was spied while browsing a magazine on a bus trip and filed away in memory until new project time.

Margaret J then made up the pattern for the border and added piping between the top and border. She then made a valance to create the finished look. Very smart indeed.

Sewing Day Friday 23 March

Success at last. Yes we had a successful sewing day Friday 23 March. One more buggerello quilt is nearly pieced. Another is ready for borders when the owner can find time for sewing.
2 more quilts were basted and Ruth continued sewing non patchwork items.
Unfortunately both cameras were forgotten in the rush to arrive so no pictures this week.
One patchworker is off to Bali for a spending spree on batiks and other stuff. She might just have to buy another suitcase to come home with.

Next sewing day is the 27 April, after Easter and school holidays and The Mt Perry Show .
Don't forget the quilting entries for the Show. Hope the sewing machines are still revved up.

How Do I Free Motion Quilt my quilt?

In preparation for our quilting workshop after our kaliedoscope workshop in May, you may be interested in reading a selection of good books on machine quilting to finish your quilt.

Guide To Machine Quilting
by Diane GaudynskiPublisher: American Quilter's Society

Quilt Savvy: Gaudynski's Machine Quilting Guidebook
Both of these books are available from the American Quilters Society website.
www.americanquilter.com


www.dianegaudynski.net/tips-march.htm
www.dianegaudynski.net/question.htm
Diane has a good selection of tips available at these web addresses.




Karen McTavish is a long arm quilter who has published a few books on machine quilting also.
Her books are available from her website,
www.designerquilts.com










Another interesting free motion quilter is Robbi Eklow
www.robbieklow.com
Her book is available from her website or The Quilting Arts magazine website.



















Hope this information gets you started on our free motion quilting adventure.

The No Show

The sewing day on Friday 2 March.
Medical appointments, funerals, and ill health all had an effect but the final straw to kill patchwork for the day was you guessed it , a power blackout.
Mt. Perry is renowned for its power shortages. This one very site specific, the Council Offices and the Shire Hall. It was a hot day anyway so not much sewing would probably have happened.
Let's hope for a better result on Friday 23 March.

Brydon's Birthday

Finally number 1 of 4 quilts is complete. Recently while on Long Service Leave Narelle feverishly made up for lost quilting time and made up for future lost quilting time by making 3 quilt tops and a fourt quilt cut up ready to sew. She has just finished the quilt pictured for her nephews' 3rd birthday. Using squares from her fabric club stash, she used a cut and slash method, with a small border in chocolate, and finished off with a wide border of dogs. Last heard of the quilt was being tightly grasped by a sleeping 3 year old. She also has purchased fabric for another project but will continue to complete the LSL quilts. Stay tuned. The next quilt will be sandwiched at the next patchwork day on Friday 2nd March.

Next Sewing Day

The next sewing day is Friday 2 March. Two more bargello quilts should be nearly finished by then. Did you know there is a new name for it ? ( buggerello) . Ask Kerry about that one.

Yes we really do some sewing and not just coffee drinking and chatting.