It's a busy, busy time...

...and time is sneaking up on our Quilt Exhibition, only 74 more days....eeeeek (as Karen is fond of saying)
We are also staring at the handing in date of our Lyn Ballinger Challenges (no, not you organised gals who have finished and handed in) but those of us who are still tweeking - Hand in date 31st May so realistically only 45 days to go.

The Buderim Easter Fair, of which the Craft Cottage is a very large part, what with our 12 groups of artisans and crafters, will be held next weekend, Easter Saturday funnily enough, blasting off at 8a.m through to 3p.m.
The Buderim Lions in the War Memorial Hall will close doors at 2.30p.m. and the Buderim Library (mile high piles of books for sale here folks) will close doors at 2p.m.
Admittance is free to all of these venues and plenty of parking at signed locations for the princley sum of $2, with all proceeds going back to the community.
The Cottage will have their ever popular 'cafe on the terrace' at the cottage entrance, lots of nibblies and drinks available for a modest charge and the Lions will also be running their kitchen with seating on the verandah overlooking the Fair. All in all, a wonderful time to be had wandering around and viewing the works presented by a variety of stall holders along with the Craft Cottage groups, not to mention all those lovely pressies you can buy for others as well as a treatie for yourself.
AND most importantly, we will have raffle quilt tickets for our beautiful quilts available, and of course, a real life viewing of said quilts (Big Smiles) ...looking forward to that, pics are great but in the flesh fabric is so much better.
For anyone not yet in the know, the address is Cnr Church and Main Streets Buderim


At the time of writing, the BMaD (Bikers Making a Difference) group are having their annual 'Blanket Run and Auction' in Dayboro where the beautiful quilts and bags donted by Patchwork Group and members will be auctioned.

Sue created this stunner 'Shady Path' so named by her son Nathan as an example for the 4patch kaleidoscope workshop she presented to our group. Sheila very kindly, on behalf of the Patchwork Group donated the flimsey to BMaD and Andrea quilted it ready for auction.

When Sheila announced the donation of Shady Path, 2 members immediately donated quilts, Wendy donated this lovely, her show and tell of the day, "Stars in the Winter Sky"

Lorraine I. donated her show and tell of the previous week, 'Jewel Box Stars' as well as a lovely tote to transport it in.

yes, it is a tote...look carefully and closely at the top, just peeking out - the handles....sorry, bad pic..sigh

Lorraine also donated this pocket packed handbag, 3 external pockets on each side and 3 internal pockets each side with a zipper closure

Sadly I'm not able to visit and support the blanket run and auction, we have a very, very sick dog and need to be with him. Hope the auction is a huge success and raises much needed funds for the BMaD guys and gals to continue supporting the needy and homeless of Brisbane.
Thank you all very much for your generous contributions.

Sheila sent pics of Wed 3rd meeting for us. Thank you Sheila.

First we have a lovely created by Karen Da. for her granddaughter. Karen created this lovely in a class at Kimz Sewing and Patchwork.

The class was to teach use of machine stitches, such as this cute idea, serpentine quilting with twin needles.

Sherry shared her completed version of the 4 patch kaleidoscope from Sue's workshop, chosing a squarer colourwash layout and adding borders

Just for fun, I croped to just the center of Sherry's lovely and thought you might like to see that as well,

Of course, being a hard crop there is a tad of bluring, but you get the picture, with some quilts there is a huge difference to be created by differnt block layouts and the addition of borders or no.

Show and tell this past Wednesday was photographed by Lorraine I. Someone forgot the camera and the phone---oh dearie me--- anyhoo...we had some lovely Show and tell, started off with this amazing quilt from Michelle, it's one of those with a long and chequered history of not going quite right, put away for a bit, then running out of fabric, put away for a bit, you get the picture! probably got one or two of those beasties hidden away yourselves.

Stella's black and white table runner is now all quilted and ready for its binding.

Karen did a great job on the custom quilting.

Thanks for the pics Lainey.

Cooler weather has arrived...

...perfect for getting all wrapped up in a quilting project.
Sheila has once again shared her pics and words from the group meeting for our enjoyment. Thanks Sheila.

Marion shared two projects with us, the first is a definite U.F.O. Yep, a finish.

Started in a machine embroidery workshop about 8 years ago with Pamela, a tutor at Kimz Sewing and Patchwork. Gotta love a F.F.O.
Marion also had her first effort of paper piecing to share. Some reverse sewing was done to get this cutie to the finish line.

Karen Daniel shared her stunning 2018 Q.A.Y.G. block of the month she followed on facebook.
Karen very kindly sent us a tad more info on her lovely quilt, Thanks Karen
"it is an Esther Ali pattern. A BOM, available for anyone to join. There were over 3,500 members world wide. I believe 3 cottage members did it including me. I started it in January 2018. A first for me on 3 fronts, My first BOM, my first attempt at appliqué and I used the QAYG method. I made a few small changes but generally stuck to the original pattern. I learnt a lot of what NOT to do next time.
Karen
Esther Aliu does a free B.O.M. each year, if you miss the free BOM but still want to make the quilt I believe you can purchase the pattern on her site.
Her 2019 free B.O.M. is 'Hold Onto Your Heart'

and a great pic of the pieced backing.

Sheila would also like you to know that Raffle tickets are now available from group members.

Luscious Lovlies for your enjoyment

Once again, courtesy of Sheila and her Ipad

A couple of weeks back, Marcia shared a rather cute pattern with us "Cake and Custard", it has proven to be really popular and an internet search will bring up not only a PDF of instructions but several video tutorials as well.
Wendy shared her version with the group using scraps from her basket.

Stella shared her wedding ring quilt that she is gifting as a wedding present.

Stella also shared a table runner that she will be having Karen quilt for her. The end patterns came from one of our library books.

Sandy shared this delightful kiddies quilt.

Thank you for the pics and words Sheila.

Double the Delight

Two weeks of pics, good Karma and some amazing generosity for your enjoyment.

First story is all about great Karma. Sheila has been planning and designing a quilt for one of her basketball playing Grandsons, who when asked what he would like featured on his quilt said, 'Oh any design', but he really wanted something of his fave team and player, mind you, his fave player and team is Curry of the Golden State Warriors, A U.S.A team....hmmm - some real thought time was needed, up until Sheila toddled off for her weekly shift in her church Op Shop. You're not gonna believe it, but its true, there was a Jersey with Curry 30 one side and the Golden State Warriors logo on the other! I kid you not!

The Rockets Logo is the Rockhampton Rockets that Dad (Sheila's Son)coached.
Love a good Karma story!

Its Time
The Big Unveiling of our second Raffle Quilt 'Skittles' a really beautiful modern design created for us by Marie.

The custom quilting on 'Skittles' was done by Fiona, the Quilting Fairy on her long arm quilter, lots of different quilting designs on this stunning quilt.

Cheryl, who is not only a quilter, but a machine embroidery enthusiast has created 2 terrific labels for our quilts.
'Shadows in Lime'

and 'Skittles'

Kudos to all involved in creating our 2019 Quilt Exhibition raffle quilts, jobs well done!

Now, onto the other show and tell goodies.

Marlene has created a true re-cycled quilt for our quilt show, the only new fabric is the lovely striped binding,

All other fabrics are from Jeans (via Sheila and the church Op Shop) Slacks from Marlene's old but too good to chuck collection and ties, again from the Op Shop as well as the last piece of tartan from Marlene's Dads Tartan tie - a real family heirloom.

In the spirit of re-cycled quilts or swags Marlene opted to 'Tie' her quilt with a rather inovative design that forms cute furry looking caterpillars on the back, all marching along in line. No, sorry, missed the pic but believe me, cute, cute, cute.

Wendy shared this quilt with us last week,

Another version of the 9 Patch Bento box tutorial Wendy presented to the group early last year.

Heather is wardrobe creating for her little miss Grandie, shorts galore, of course telling the back from the front is a challenge for a little one so Heather put sweet little pockets on the back, just big enough to squirrel away a smartie or two.

Sue W is busily stitching a panel, the 'Owl and the Pussycat'

Looking forward to seeing this one finished.

Lyn meanwhile is stitching stylised African animals for her family who have toured Africa. Great memento for the family, I think Lyn mentioned she will be creating cushions, so special.

Following the theme of 'Re-cycled' some of the gals are donating their notions from visiting other quilt shows, what a great idea!

These two I think were donated by Sue or Jackie, I think...lots of chitter chatter going on when I snapped these - well thats my excuse.

Some really special sharing and generosity.

The request came our way to help out with a small quilt donation to be auctioned to raise funds to enable the biker group BMad, or Bikers Making a Difference in the important work they do in assisting and supporting those in need and the homeless of Brisbane.
The group will be holding their annual 'Blanket Run' where group members, their family and friends are invited to meet at Joe's Diner in Eagle Farm, bringing along a new or clean used blanket or new sox to donate to the homeless. These items are collected at Joe's and distributed as needed. The group then rides (or cars) off to Dayboro for a day of fun and frivolity.
If you choose to join the group and donate you will enjoy a lovely day.
The Dayboro Lions Club and Dayboro Mens Shed will have a sausage sizzle and drinks available, and I have even heard tell that the local bobby wants an in on the action, and will meet the group for a lighthearted wave and a bit of a flash from the old blue light as you travel through the main street of town.
The big event of the day will be the auction, where donations of all types will be sold to raise funds to purchase other items for the homeless and those in need, such as backpacks with necessities, toiletries, thongs, etc.

Now this is where it gets special, Sheila, with Sues blessing and on behalf of our group donated Sues beautiful flimsey to be quilted and donated to BMad.

When our group heard of the work being done by BMaD Lorraine I. immediately offered her lovely show and tell quilt from last week as a second donation.

Wendy quickly followed on with the donation her show and tell of the day. Another lovely freebie from the Missouri Quilt folk via youtube.

After a little thought, Lorraine I. remembered this bag, 3 internal pockets on each side along with 3 external pockets on each side. Ran it up in an afternoon! yep! true.

Quilters truly are some of the nicest and most generous folks on the planet.
Thank you all very very much from the folk at BMad.

Another fun day with lots of lovelies for you to view

More pics for your enjoyment courtesy of Sheila. Thanks Sheila.
Karen Doyle shared her lovely embroidery piece

Karen Doyle also shared this cutie created using a Jelly Roll.

Michell with her finally completed UFO.

Val shared a vibrant churn dash,

and another churn dash, on point for a different look

Lorraine has been using up some of her scrap mountain.

Marion shared one of her beautiful bargellos with us.

Those quiet achievers have been at it again...

...Meeting day today with an update on how far along the show organisation has travelled. Wow...just wow, so many members working hard and coming up with great ideas, all managed and guided by Sheila. Really folks, pencil in the dates, don't overbook - you won't regret a visit.

Gaye, our very talented patchworker and artist, along with help from Cottage Newsletter editor, Graham has designed a terrific handout brochure, using a pic of one of the raffle quilts as the vibrant and colourful background.

Talking of raffle quilts, Gaye gave us a heads up, she was visiting with Fiona, the Quilt Fairy and the 2nd raffle quilt has been quilted, so a big reveal is in the near future.

Wendy is working on another hand project of large cream hexies, there are lacy hexies,

and candlewicked Hexies

a great project to work on while watching Tellie. Wendy thought she might like a tad more variety in the laces and she certainly will have all the variety she needs with the large bag of cream cotton laces Marcia bought along to share with her.

Marcia also had her latest to share with us, a lovely flimsey created with a little fabric selection help from her darling. Using a free pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop. The pattern is 'Layer Cake Custard' and can be found here. There is even a youtube video with Kimberley for you to follow.

Yvonne purchased 3 pieces of lovely hand printed fabric and very cleverly turned it into a selection of 6 fabrics for this stunning quilt.

With the printing showing as a mirror image on the reverse, flipping both the orange and purple fabrics created a great colour play.

add to that, running the black and white print horizontally as well as vertically, presto! 6 from 3.

Yvonne used a lovely deep purple shot cotton for the backing and a simple straight line quilting design.