Thursday night.........

For some of us supper is very important............

Debs made a birthday cake for Letitia.....................

And the birthday girl received some lovely gifts.

Jane's workspace looked gorgeous............

As did Sue's.

Marlene was very busy creating poppies...............

Shelia's granddaughters quilt-as-you-go ; guitars, books etc.

Sue's sewing "stuff"

Oh wow, Jackie's colour palette.........

Jane A's sewing basket, needle case and pincushion belonged to her mother.

 I think this belongs to Jackie and machine quilted by Judy

We all loved the label on the back of the quilt.

Jules' scrappy quilt was quilted by Letitia.

Until next week.
XX

Technology, just gotta love it...

Remember Marie's wonderful baby quilt from last week, well, thanks yet again to technology, we get to see another pic of said quilt, this time with the little angel snoozing on it!

Isn't he just darling?!

Of course, sometimes technology just gets a bit too smart for itself.
Lorraine's daughter requested a set of cushions, chocolate, mocha and steel grey were the colours chosen, and they certainly are a stunning set.

To round out the pressie, Lorraine used the back pocket from a pair of jeans to create a really cute and clever pot mitt.  Now the jeans were chocolate but will the pic show that? not on you life, so here, looking decidedly 'denim' is a fab chocolate pot mitt!

You just slide your fingers into the pocket, and the waist band part falls under to protect you palm and thumb.  So clever and innovative....and chocolate...really!
Lorraine was busily brushing at her lovely cushions prior to the pics, and muttering about 'Sunshine', if you're a pet owner, its obvious isn't it? yep, Lorraine shares her home with a loving bundle of fur named Sunshine.

Last week Gwen was tutoring Michelle in hand piecing, well, this week it was my turn, am loving the process but it did have a bit of a side effect, so engrossed in stitching along the line, I missed Show and Tell, yep, sitting right there and missed it! - it's a worry!
We had 3 more charity quilts on show, these are really being turned out at a fast rate of knots.
Of course the challenge is out there to make each one different, even though many of the girls are using the same H.S.T. block designed for us by Sue.
This clever lay out is enhanced by the added applique.

Another variation, with a great idea for the backing.

The blocks were given to Sue to finish and assemble.
While out and about, she had spotted a lovely soft and snuggly throw at Woolies, and decided to use the throw as a combined wadding/backing.  Worked brilliantly, soft, snuggly, F.M.Quilted with a  lovely swirly design, someone is just gonna love snuggling up into this quilt.

Another Q.A.Y.G charity quilt, this one a really pretty pink creation using crazy patchwork.  Lovely hand dyes were used to back each square, making this a truly reversible quilt.

Deanne was busily stitching in the back room, creating more Q.A.Y.G. squares that will eventually be assembled into Charity quilts, lots of lovely browns are making their way into some of the quilts, all thanks to the very generous donation of fabric from Derrick.

Jackie has been busily stitching up a special quilt, for a very special and lucky lassie who's name just happens to be Zali.  

Jackie used a Jigsaw pattern on the front and incorporated Zali's name into the backing of the quilt, she tells us that it took the best part of a Sunday arvo to work out the lettering and Zali is just lucky her name only has four letters, otherwise there would just have had to be a different backing design.

Along with the lovely fabrics donated by Derrick, we have also been lucky enough to receive some really great books for our Library and Jackie, who does a fantastic job as our Librarian has been as busy as a one armed paper hanger getting them all processed into our Library.  All the hard work and time associated with this endeavor has earned Jackie one of our coveted 'Star of the Month' awards.

Our Leader, Sheila came up with this idea a few years back, you have to earn a 'Star' with an extra effort for the group,  they are not given out lightly, and they don't get awarded every month either, so you can understand why Jackie immediately proudly pinned hers to her tee.

Baby Quilts, just love 'em...

...but some just go above and beyond.
And this quilt from Marie is one of those.
But before I let you drool all over your computer, you need to know the quilt is gone, yep, off to it's darling little owner, and all we have folks, is pics of pics on an iPad...but...you do have to love technology.

This is one heck of an amazing quilt.  The fabrics have lots of little pics of bugs, beetles, butterflies and other bits of nature.  Talk about taking 'I Spy' to a whole new level.

Marie took pictorial squares and appliqued them around the border, interspersing the little panels with gem cuts - well - they look like little gems of living colour - in between the squares.
The lucky little guy who was given this quilt is only 2 weeks old, he has many many hours of pleasure in front of him with this wonderful quilt. (Ignore all those wonky liney little thingies across the fabric, they really aren't there,  it happens when you take pics of screens)
 
We had another fab. baby quilt for show and tell, Lainey, who seems to have a whole heap of family & friends who all expect baby quilts, bought along an unfinished quilt to share, more than a flimsey but still not a quilt....racing against the clock is Lainey, Christening on Sunday....3 days and 2 bits of days away....Her good friend is finally a Grannie, and yeah! happy dancin' in her neck of the woods.
New Mum is not a fan of pastels, so Lainey made this darling quilt in New Mum's fave colour scheme...great job, not pastels, but undeniably a baby quilt.

and the backing is just amazing.

The lucky little one who gets this quilt gets the ABC up front and all the fun of the beach on the flip side, all bases covered!

Courtney had something to share today, yep the finished long-stitch, last stitches this morning Courtney tells. Makes you smile just looking at those Dolphins,

Courtney plans to get this lovely framed, hope we get to see it when that happens.

Spotted Inge with a crochet hook and red wool playing in and out of her fingers, just look at those fingers fly!

So what is she up to?
Red Poppies is what.
This one just sitting there awaiting it's 'eyelashes'

 

Yep, eyelashes, Inge will be  using those fluffy, curly cute little crocheted 'eyelashes' to create the black center of the poppy.

And just in case you are wondering why crochet poppies? pop over here to the 5000 Poppies site to learn all about this great endeavor, and perhaps be inspired to pick up a ball of red wool and a crochet hook.

Gwen is not only busily hand quilting for others but is also 'Hand Piecing Queen' in residence, she is currently teaching many of our group the intricacies of hand piecing.

Michelle is learning the skill, and just look at those vibrant pieces....she shared a closer look.

Michelle found this vibrant fabric range on a trip to New York, and has enough for a complimentary border and backing for what is going to be a vibrant 'Bow Tie' quilt...and....she is thinking of learning the art of hand quilting on it, with Gwen as Tutor of course.  

Hand piecing and embroidery seems to be all the go at the mo.  

Denise is also into hand piecing, she has been caught up in the romance of Jen Kingwell's 'Green Tea and Sweet Beans' quilt pattern that so many of the Thursday evening gals have been immersed in.  Just look at the size of that tinsy piece Denise is working on! yeah, that tiny smidge of hot pink between her fingers!

Sue W. bought along a lovely wall hanging with quite the story attached, all about seeing a lovely quilt way back in 2000 that she thought would be special done with Liberty prints, but considering herself more of an applique quilter as opposed to a piecing quilter, she filed it away in the 'one day' box.

Well, long story short, realising that the Liberty stash was growing, Sue decided to launch into the world of piecing and created this lovely wall hanging.  A simple but stunning pattern created by Churn Dash blocks on point.

Sue then shared that this will be one of the quilts on show in our upcoming 2015 Quilt show and Sale.  

It is our month to use the Display cabinet to show the other Cottage group members some of the works and pieces that Quilters create.  Using the display cabinet this way is a great idea, the display changes every month with a different group showcasing their crafts, although it's always a bit of a challenge to get quilting pieces small enough to display to advantage.

This time round Deanne volunteered to do the display.

The cabinet looks a treat Deanne.

Did you notice the work going on in the Atrium behind Deanne?

Well, the Calligraphy and Papercraft group are just starting to set up for their exhibition, 'Taking Tea'.

It promises to be a great affair, the guys and gals have an astounding array of goodies and there were even a few already hung so of course, just had to grab a sneak peek.

Pastel to vibrant, something for everyone.

Now if you remember the tale from last week of Heather and the lovely black and white piece....well it was on the wall, really, I couldn't believe it either!

Sad bit though....had to stand so far back to get it all in that the pic doesn't do it justice.  Just when you need a decent camera.....

The wording? 'Butterflies are self propelled flowers'

Pop in to see it for yourself, you won't be disappointed

The exhibition opens on Friday evening 5th Sept. and runs through to Saturday 13th Sept.

Scroll down to the bottom of the previous post for more info on what this exhibition has in store for you.

'Taking Tea' another exciting exhibition at the Cottage...

The Calligraphy and Papercraft group are having an exhibition of their beautiful script creations in our Atrium Gallery starting on the evening of  Friday 5th September and running through to Saturday 13th September, so plenty of time to organise a visit to the Cottage for some exceptional eye candy.
When thinking of Calligraphy of course your mind immediately flies to thoughts of beautifully penned manuscripts, but not all Calligraphy is on paper, in today's modern world Calligraphy can be found on many everyday items, such as this beautifully worked cushion.
Val, yes she of the bottomless 'block orphanage' drawer, which sees so many charity quilts being created was helping her friend Norma with the creation of this lovely cushion for the exhibition.  

Norma has been thinking of creating a cushion such as this for some time and the exhibition gave her the incentive to follow through with her ideas.

Now quilters know how quilters love to pat, pet and stroke beautiful fabric, and I guess that applies to all things beautiful, Heather was spotted amongst some of the display pieces, running her fingers up and down a very long frame, it must have been about 5' long and was framing the most intricate and beautifully done piece.  Rather reminded me of a song that hit the net with an accompanying video a few years back, was it called  'Butterflies Garden'?  what a feast for the senses that song and video were, well this piece to me was reminiscent of that song and video, all done in black and white, and if you are a fan of Zentangles or Tangling this will be right up your alley.  It is a fantastic piece and yes, it would look great on Heathers wall.

The Calligraphy and Papercraft group have named their exhibition 'Taking Tea' so how apt is a 'Tea Tasting' and lecture from the folks from the 'Silva Spoon' tea and coffee emporium , have you visited them yet?  bet you have, well if you live in this neck of the woods you most probably have, and if you haven't visited...just go, its amazing, the food is fantastic and the teas...well they are tea-riffic (sorry, couldn't help myself)
The 'History of Tea' presentation is on Saturday 6th at 10.30a.m and will be followed at 2.30 by the talented Belle Voce Girls Small Vocal Group from Bli Bli State School.
For full details of what promises to be another amazing exhibition from one of the many groups that make up our Craft Cottage, pop over to our facebook page.

Busy, Busy, so much to do and so much done.

Lots of amazing work to share with you today.  So much so it's hard to know where to start!

First port of call on arrival at the Cottage was to see what that noisy table up the end is up to, well, what a surprise, they are all doing the same quilt! shades of Quilt Shows past?.

It seems to becoming a Quilt Show tradition, these gals choose a quilt pattern and all make the same quilt, but with their own interpretation, its always fun to compare the finished results at the fair.  This time the chosen pattern is 'Leanne's House' a block of the month by Leanne Beasley from 'Leanne's House Patterns'.
Marcia has previously made one of these luscious quilts, so this is a second for her and she is toying with the idea of perhaps changing the wording of the central panel...perhaps...perhaps not!

Of course when Marcia had finished her quilt she contacted the lovely Leanne to request permission to add the B.O.M. patterns to our group library and permission was gracefully given.
Tempted to try your own? pop over to Leanne's website for a list of pattern stockists and a peek at her other lovely patterns.

Gwen is busily hand quilting another quilt, also stitched by another friend, (see last weeks post) this quilt was made by our lovely Janet who passed away in January 2012.  She is so sadly missed.  Janet and Gwen and a number of other Patchwork group members formed an offshoot group that met for an extra shot of quilting fun each week, they called themselves 'The Bossy Stitchers' or 'The Bossies'  for short....a group that is still going strong. (and if rumor has it right, they are still bossy!!)

The Pics really don't do this lovely quilt justice.  The subtleties in the fabrics don't photograph very well.  There is a very faint, almost watermark effect on the central hexagons and the little patterned wedges have a splash of colour while the straight pieces are charcoals and greys. Gwen is using a rust thread to hand quilt the hexagon centers, to pick up the rust in the wedges..
Getting a good match for the borders wasn't as easy as first thought either, but a nice pin striped fabric was found and Gwen is rather pleased that the strips meld together nicely at the mitered corners.

Julie had a very intricate flimsy for us to view, based on a Sue Daley design 'This goes with That', using Sue's English paper piecing papers. 

'This Goes with That' has now been replaced with Sue's 'Cotton Wood' Pattern, another lovely for those who love E.P.P.
Not sure how long it took Julie to create this lovely, but certainly not as long as the one she is working on now...
Found hiding in her stash, a pile of blocks created about 10 years ago! Julie bought them along yesterday to have a play with the layout.

Marcia, who had just bought in a pile of 'stash thinnings' (moving house will do that for you) thought that Julie should go 'shop the thinnings' to add to her blocks, Julie wasn't fussed....she is over little H.S.T''s, well yesterday she was, who knows about tomorrow?
See that lovely quilt hanging up in the background? 

Lyn bought it along to share.

As everyone seems to be scrap quilt happy at the moment, Lyn decided to have a go at reducing some of her scraps, she sourced a great star quilt pattern from one of our library books and feeling that she just couldn't cope with a truly scrappy quilt, she settled on using some of her Blue & Yellow scraps with a really cute spotted white background to set everything off nicely.

The star points are created by stitching squares of background fabric corner to corner at the end of each oblong of star fabric, (Pic 2) this of course leaves you with two nice little triangles of fabric that you can very fussily form into miles of H.S.T squares to form an interesting border insert as Lyn did.(Pic 1)  Lyn has also used this idea on a previous quilt with a twist to the H.S.T. layout to form a chevron or zig zag border insert.
Sorry about getting the pics turned around, just one of those things!
Lyn had the quilt quilted by Fiona from the Quilting Fairy.  
Fiona used a metallic thread for the quilting which gives the quilting a nice sparkle and lift. 

Julie had another flimsey to share, a free pattern she found on the net that would be a simple variation for some of our Charity quilts. 

Now as you all have probably heard, we are making lots of charity quilts for Najidah, using some great fabric we were donated.  Well, guess what, we have been given more fabric, lots more fabric, which means we can make many, many, more charity quilts.
It's a lovely story, though tinged with sadness and the short version is, that organised through Jan, our vibrant and energetic Cottage President,  a very nice gentleman, Derrick has decided to donate his late wife's stash to our group for the purpose of making charity quilts, Derrick visited a couple of weeks ago with part one of the stash.....this....

Yes, I know, amazing isn't it! so many beautiful fabrics.
We are so grateful to be given this opportunity to help the community with this ever so generous donation.
The Thursday night part of our group will be using some of these fabrics to create quilts for STEMM
the mothering and mentoring program of Burnside High School in Nambour.

There was stacks of goodies on the 'Chantell' table (Show and Tell).
Firstly those toiletry bags we make for Najidah have taken on a life of their own, going from a simple drawstring bag to now having an outside pocket, some in funky designs or the  occasional orphan block makes a great pocket.

Some fab finished bags from last weeks workshop, organised by Marcia and presented by Lainey.

Lyn put a different spin on her bag, using D rings and lengthening the straps to create a shoulder bag for her upcoming trip.

Marie had also created a 3 zippered shoulder bag

which hung very nicely, thank you Estelle,over the corner of the framed embroidery Estelle bought in to share with us. Estelle started this with the Embroidery group about 4 years ago, not sure when it was finished but it has recently been framed and looks fantastic.  Sadly the pic of just the embroidery work didn't come out too well, (reflections...eerrrggh) hence the 2 for 1 pic.

Now Marie had also bought along something else to share,

a square, a pressie of fabric roses all wrapped in cellophane with handy beaded pins and an amazing story.
Marie celebrated her birthday several weeks back, and like the rest of us, birthday done, celebrations over, not to be thought about until next year.  Well, not so in Marie's case.
She was busily quilting in her studio downstairs when an 'out of town' friend or two knocked on the door, Surprise!! a birthday party had been secretly organised,
'Keep quilting Marie' they instructed, and upstairs they all tripped
They had the lot, everything to make a fantastic party, all colour coordinated in red and black, including their outfits.  There was luscious food and cakes, and a wonderful tutorial on fabric weaving for the fun part of the day.
Marie's Darling also entered into the spirit of the day, scooting off to change his duds to fit in with the colour scheme.  What a fantastic group of friends, and a lovely day. 
And the tutorial on fabric weaving? well that is the square in the pic above, and yes, we will be having a workshop on fabric weaving in the not too distant future.  Lucky us!

Val has been hard at work with 3 more charity quilts, all these quilts come from orphan blocks either from Val's own stash or other orphans given to her as well as fabric bits and pieces.

She certainly has the imagination and talent to make all these leftovers work in creating lovely charity quilts.

Two cat panels create this great quilt with offset orphan blocks and a pieced border.

Courtney has almost finished her longstitch embroidery, hoping to see the last stitch next week and find out her plans for this lovely piece.

Deanne was as busy as a one armed paper hanger, she has set herself quite a deadline.  This terrific quilt is to be finished by this weekend for the Model Boat open day that will be held at University Lakes this weekend.  Deanne designed everything about this quilt, deciding on what boats to feature, all based on model boats owned by club members, she designed, pieced, appliqued and embroidered  each block.

Hope you bring us in a pic of the finished quilt Deanne, we would all love to see it!

My goodness me....at the end of the piccie pile, except for this one....Fae has graduated to Funky Footwear.....yep, tossed the flimsy fashion and gone for the Funky!
Few of us thinking this just might be a very good idea!