A late start to the day and a very late post

There wasn't much activity when our group gathering started on Wednesday, in fact there weren't  very many bodies to be seen..........where were they all??....... well they were at the Kawana Quilters annual Morning Tea and Show and Tell and boy oh boy, wasn't everyone on a high when they finally arrived back in Buderim, a great time had been had by one and all and of course there had been prizes to be won, Beryl being a lucky prizewinners with this bundle of goodies, including 2meters of fabric, an embroidered hand towel and a scented candle.

Everyone who attended was given a little embroidered or beaded envelope pin to keep their raffle tickets in.......cute huh? Beryl chose a red one to suit her blouse.

When the chit chat finally subsided Sheila and Sue gave a tutorial on Fibonaci, and using the Fibonaci Tables in quilting, particularly in borders to get the balance right, as well as using Sudoku in patchwork.

Sue created this simple but very effective quilt using both the Sudoku principal for the blocks and the  Fibonaci tables to get a good balance between block sizing and borders.

 Sue used QAUG construction with the sashing being part of the design on the quilt front.

The block quilting is an echo of the oblong piecing in the blocks, simple, easy and very effective.


Sheila decided on a set of place mats - they will be a gift to one of her lucky family members - using the Sudoku numbering principals

Using 9 squares of 9 different fabrics, and grabing  a Suduko answer from the paper to follow, Sheila will have 9 placemats all the same but every one will be different. Ha! does that make sense?, look at the Suduko answer and it will.

This is the layout of the second of Sheila's placemats, see the subtle difference? Math in quilting at work! clever girl to put sudoku to work.

Beryl had this wonderful vibrant quilt to share with us, started in another class and recently finished, perfect for a wall hanging in a tropical home.

Lorraine I. bought this honey coloured beauty along,  it will soon have perle cotton 'flight trails' stitched into it for a finishing touch and then it will be donated to be raffled.........yep it is to be raffled, and for a very good cause.......

 

 Lorraine is an Apiarist and belongs to the local Sunshine Coast bee keepers association.  To raise funds the apiarists group will be raffling Loraine's donated quilt for only $2.00 a ticket at the Nambour show - June 18th to 20th.  If you would like a chance to win this beauty, pop along to the show to meet Lorraine and grab a ticket.  

Of course if you can't be at the show, Lorraine will be selling tickets at the Cottage, or you could e-mail her via our group's e-mail,  fatquarternews(at)yahoo(dot)com and I'm sure she would love to sell you a ticket.

Sometime ago - before becoming an Apiarist, Lorraine spotted the fun bee fabric and snaffled herself a swag of it, which just goes to prove the old quilting lore..........if you see it and you like it..........grab it!

All those Suffolk Puff flowers in the borders were made using the different sized Clover Suffolk Puff tools,... you know, those ones we have in the Library!......

Arvo tea had some of the yummiest sangers, someone who had managed to miss the Kawana Quilters Do had also managed to miss breakfast and lunch, boy were the worms biting, those sangers were the answer,  egg and lettuce and asparagus with cheddar.

The mini cupcakes recipe with the Hazelnut Chocolate frosting is from The Crabapple Bakery Cupcake Cookbook.......would take a pic for you but my copy is getting a tad ratty, will put the coffee syrup cupcake recipe up in recipes......later........perhaps tomorow?

Judie Bellingham on Bellaonline

Judie Bellingham left us a comment, did you see it?........if you missed it, she has posted photos on the Worlds's Biggest Hexagon Quilt, shown at the Queensland Quilters Picnic last Tuesday.
For a peek at Judy's pics and to read all about the quilt pop over here

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8971.asp

A Plethora of quilts......

....and something very precious.

"Wow!! What a plethora of quilts!" was the comment from one happy member on arrival yesterday, and she was right, lots of lovely Show and Tell including something precious, ....a loving gift from a Grandie to a Grandma
Marguerite was the lucky Gran, her Grandaughter having crafted this innovative and vibrant scarf, carefully tied at intervals. Isn't Mothers Day the best invention ever..........

Marguerite proudly wearing her scarf, it even has a loop one end to thread the tail through. Perfect!
Val has started her 'Under the Sea' stitcheries, a free BOM from the lovely Cheryl Goss of Willowberry Designs. How about those lips on Frances the Fish!
Lyn started her 'Shattered Stained Glass' in a Diane Johnson class a while back, Lyn started with a black background and appliqued the pieces onto the background, not unlike a mosaic, for a stunning result.
We have had some sneak peaks of Betty's stack and slash QAG over the past few weeks, Lovely to see this stunner completed. Betty defined each fabric by using black bias on the seams and black binding between each block. Betty is putting this one up for sale at the Christmas Fair. Bet it goes out the door quick smart!

Lorraine H has created a lovely quilt for a family member - (nephew? if I can remember correctly). Lots of movement in the 9 patches surrounding the feature fabric panel, this quilt could be a wall hanging or a bed quilt.

The finished disappearing 9-Patch that Lorraine H started in our recent workshop. Lorraine made 9 blocks, your can see most of a spare to the left, to lengthen the square, Lorraine has added a triple sash each end and bordered the whole with one of the fabrics used in the patches.

The day of the disappearing 9 patch workshop, Betty was inundated with photocopying, so wasn't able to take part in the class, luckily the photocopier is in the same room, Betty kept an eye on the proceedings and decided to give the design a go, bringing her version in to show us today.

Val has a friend who simply cannot even sew a button on, no chance of a quilt for a Grandie there! A deal was struck and Val created this ever so cute little quilt and used the leftover fabric to create a floor mat to match......yep, another disappearing 9 patch.
It was then time for our monthly meeting, we often have a 'Star of the Month' given out to someone who has gone the extra mile for members and the group.
This month Fran was the recipent. Now I'd like to say that Fran was a quiet achiever, but there is very little about Fran that is quiet, except the work she does for us. She is always upbeat, and cheery, helps everyone and keeps us amply supplied with shortbread bikkies to die for......there is always a jar of homemade biscuits in the cupboard.
Getting congrats. from Patricia, and telling me about the young 'P' plater who tooted his horn at she and Marguerite on their lunch walk today, it's all about the 'new blonde' they tell me........
I reckon the slit up the side of the skirt had a bit to do with it. Gotta love the 'P' Plater, he made a few peoples day.

I'm a great one for internet ordering, and I've got it pretty well down pat......well, now it is....in the early days the odd blunder or two was made, like ordering a box of Charlotts Web, fusible thread, more thread that one person could use in a lifetime, so when Marie showed interest in the way I was using it I was more than happy to give her a reel, your know, ease the guilt out the door a little.
Today Marie gave me this, isn't it gorgeous?, I love the crocheted frill at each end, it is so pretty and feminine.
Marie was adding the finishing touches when a visitor decided that the scarf was just too cool and ordered 5 in 'Footy Colours' for her football group. Here's Marie, busily knitting up a footy storm.....ugh, that is a really bad pun...sorry.....not even Storm colours.... isn't red and black St. Kilda???
Thank you so so much Marie, I love my beautiful scarf.
Lorraine H does wonderful quilting, particularly on her borders, she agreed to show us just how easy it is to achieve lovely quilted borders.
See that roll in Lorraine's hand?, it's amazing stuff, just look at how intent, Sheila, Ailsa and Betty are!..there is a printed design on the sticky backed paper, just tear off the length, lay it on your border and using your walking foot, sew along the lines.
See the lovely uniform lines on the bottom of Lorraine's quilt? certainly beats trying to draw a design by hand.
Lorraine then showed us her collection of stencils and her quilters ponce, filled with chalk powder you just wipe it over the stencil to leave an easily followed stitching line. The chalk just dusts away.
Lorraine used her stencils and chalk to create this effective border design, marking up one side at a time and then stitching the design before going on to the next border.
And then it was time for arvo tea, the white chocolate and raspberry cupcakes were popular, and the mini bacon and egg pies were just about a no show, someone who had to drive down to Caboolture and back missed lunch, thanks to a truck accident on the Highway, she tucked into the pies before they hit the table. Naughty girl!!

Patsy Thompson and 'The Quilt Show'

Sue sent me a heads up to watch a video on 'The Quilt Show' presented by Patsy Thompson on spray basting a quilt on a wall !!?! And it's Brilliant!
Although we have a great set up at the Cottage sometimes you just need to sandwich a quilt at home, and sometimes that is easier said than done, what with tables not co-operating or the sewing table/sandwiching table being under a pile of WIP/UFO's etc etc.....you know what I'm saying here....
Anyway, I noticed a little icon flash up on the video, 'Embed' it said, well I didn't have to get a second invitation........so I did!

The video is part of a Free Motion Quilting set of lessons that are being made available on 'The Quilt Show' with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims.
http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/newsletters.php/newsletters_id/1369
pop over to their site on the link above for a great offer, just $20 for 6 months of episodes and these great free motion video lessons.
O.K. now I'm off, to spend my 20 bucks............hope you all enjoy the video.

Quilt Aid 2010

It's almost time for Quilt Aid 2010, a wonderfully innovative way for quilters to enjoy what they love doing and at the same time to raise funds for the Addis Adaba Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia.

Helen (who has been heavily involved in the setting up of this charity) of 'hugs 'n kisses' patterns and Hugs from Helen blog is running a QuiltAid 2010 guess the blocks competition, offering a complete set of block patterns and one finishing kit pattern. (No fabrics, patterns only)
Visit Helen to be part of the competition, after all you've gotta be in it to win it!
Just to scroll through her post and look at all the quilt blocks is eye candy in itself!
(Betcha block 6 is from our LPS, Patchwork Angel........)

For those who missed out on Quilt Aid 2009, a little info......
12 Designers team up with 12 stores to design a themed quilt block, using a pre-chosen fabric pallet.
Each of the stores then designs a finishing kit, each kit giving a vastly different look to the finished quilt.
To have a look at last years Quilt Aid http://www.quiltaid.com.au/ click on the link to explore a lovely informative site with pics of each block as well as the 12 finishing kits.
All the information is there regarding the rules and how to order and pay.

More on the Disappearing 9 patches

Just because she can, Sheila decided to investigate the Disappearing 9 patch variations, making these 3 blocks to show different layouts creating completely different blocks and quilt effects.


Wendy finished her disappearing 9 patch, started at last weeks workshop. She backed it with a rather nice plaid, you can just see it peeking out from the fold. Wendy thought perhaps this quilt could live its life as a picnic quilt..........don't you just love picnics on a quilt!
Sue is busily 'Flirting with Flowers', the 'Free for a Month' BOM from Vicki of 'Tozz's Corner'.
Oh. and Sue did ask me to mention........the pimple on the Daisy leaf, not a pimple at all, its gonna be a Lady Bug!..

"Don't forget to tell everyone about my seams" is the instruction from Ja`. She has been working on her version of the Disappearing 9 patch with some guidance and help from Lorraine I.
Lorraine shared a really cool way to make sure (and I do mean sure) that your seams intersect perfectly everytime. It involves using 3 pins at each point..... Check 'em out, all of them perfect!
Oh and talking of handy hints, Lorraine H. gave us a beauty about easily getting your floss through even the smallest needle eye.
Courtesy of tutor Jenny, Lorraine astounded us with this revelation, don't thread your needle...........Needle Your Thread!......sounds bizzare?, but it works beautifully, catch your floss between finger and thumb, leave just a little protruding, short is best here, and bring the needle eye to the thread, it slips over easily, everytime.

I was so busy perfecting threading, I forgot to get a pic of Lorraine's flimsey, such a pretty little scrap quilt, containing quite a few pieces left over from her Granddaughters previous quilts. As soon as her Granddaughter clapped eyes on it she decided it was just what she needed for a summer quilt!, no batting please, top and backing only.......what a brilliant idea! Hopefully Lorraine will bring the finished quilt in next week.......Please Lorraine?!

Arvo Tea was delish, wonderful Apple Cake with fresh whipped cream and those shortbreads, Heaven on a stick..........Yummo.