Hexagon Quilt for Charity

Vicki added the final stitches to the binding only minutes before this quilt was collected for display at the Australian High Commission. The embassy staff put on a wonderful morning tea in aid of Australia's Biggest Morning Tea for cancer charity. The event was a super morning and we enjoyed lots of home-made cakes and goodies which made many of us homesick. The quilt looked fabulous and we were thrilled that it raised just over $1,500 towards this wonderful charity. I hope the winner enjoys it. No photo available from the embassy as cameras not allowed. We have endured months of dull, rainy Tuesdays which always equals not-that-great photos, so this is the best we could do.

Thank you so much to everyone who pieced hexagons and joined the sewing bees and basting day. Biggest thanks to Vicki for organising us and doing such an amazing job with the quilting. It was great fun.

Colourful Singapore

Just a few shots taken around beautiful Singapore for inspiration. Where's the quilting photos you ask?...

Well I'm afraid there didn't seem to be much sewing happening today, but plenty of laughter, chatting, eating and drinking (tea and coffee, we haven't taken to regular G &Ts...yet!). It's nice to know that all around the world, including sultry Singapore, there's a group of quilters happy to share their craft and company.

So there's no works in progress this week, but we did have a couple of finished projects. Ta daa...

Everything old is new again.

This quilt was started by a friend of Kathy's grandmother way back in the 1960s (seems like yesterday!). For some reason it was never finished so Kathy took it on and did a great job of matching fabric and adding a border. I'm sure the original quilter would be delighted with the result. Kathy plans to donate it and i'm sure it would brighten up the dullest room.

Photo debut.

Carol made this sweet baby quilt from Amy Butler fabrics. It's for her daughter, who happens to be a baby photographer (I know what you're thinking, no, she's a grown up). She needed a neutral quilt that would work for shots of girls and boys. Let's hope pictures of this quilt grace many a loving parents' walls (and washes well!).

And now for something completely different...

The dog who lingered too long in the sewing room!

Bye for now.

Have to Use My Imagination...

Mmmm. Even Jacob from Twilight couldn't make wolf themed panels fashionable again. "What to do?" thought Kathy. What to do?...

THIS!

 Here's some evidence that the  panel was the raw material  for the quilt top. Don't look at this for too long,  it does weird things to your mind!

Kathy has now got many of us interested in this technique (which is well explained in the pictured book). People began mentally picturing their stack stinkers and how they might finally have some use for them.

Now you might wonder how we can face hexagons again after working on the charity quilt, but it's just like child birth. You forget the pain and focus on the result! (Or have amnesia until you are in the thick of it again!) 

Here's my first attempt. 

What great quilts for the bed ridden etc. You can stare at them for ages, as each hexagon has different details. 

And I know it's a sacrilege to mess with Kaffe's beautiful fabrics, but I'm really curious to see what the technique will produce from this design. Red or blue domination? 

What else is happening?

We wished Mel a fond farewell this week. She is taking her sunny smile to chilly England. Hope the move goes well. We will miss you.

And here are some of the farewell we blocks we made for Mel.

And now for something completely different...

 For a minute we thought Andrea had mixed up her cooking and quilting groups as she industriously wrapped little parcels in tin foil. But it turns out she taught us a brilliant way to get sharp edged circles for appliqué. 

Place a piece of tinfoil behind your fabric circle and NON MELTING template. wrap edges over firmly and iron. Hey Presto! Edges are so sharp you can remove the template and sew circle to backing. 

Bye for now.