Anza Quilters Tuesday 19 August

We were a small group again this week but we did finish the top of the charity quilt that we are working on....

This is now heading off to our super dooper long arm quilter to be quilted!

Kathy showed us her wonderful pink and white quilt.  This lovely quilt was heavily quilted in straight lines and looks fabulous...

The last quilt on display was one of Marianne's customer t-shirt quilts which has also just been quilted on Jessie's new long arm machine.  This one is ready for trimming, binding and then will be winging its way to Australia.

Special thanks to Edwin, (staff of the Hollandse club) for being a good sport and standing on the tables and taking the photos for us!

Some of us will be going to KL to visit the MANZA quilt group in the first week of September.   We will be driving up on the Tuesday and coming back Thursday.

Programme will look a bit like this:

Day 1 - tues sept 2 nd . Ladies will arrive around lunch time . As an ice breaker we have the jelly roll race which should be fun !  

Day 2 - Marianne will do a workshop on fabric postcards . Later Elaine will demo for a confetti quilt , which we could do at a later date when the KL ladies comes down to us . 

Day 3 - just a short project that we can finish in a morning, this will be Manza's choice- maybe the scrap fabric baskets or a thread catcher or something  like that . 

We will order in lunch and dinner is yet to be planned. 

There is still space available if any more would like to come.   Please contact either Roberta or Marianne.

See you all next Tuesday!

Charity quilt project

It's been a while since our last blog post, and a lot has happened since then....

We have said goodbye to several members who have gone back to their home countries. One of these is Carole who was doing a great job on our blog. Thanks  Carole for all your work and we wish you and your family all the best in settling back home in Australia . We have also said our goodbyes to Sandra, Marg, Elizabeth and Patty (temporarily as we have to share Patty with the USA for a couple of months each year)

We also welcomed new members including Roberta,  Leone , Lily, Kym and Sharon.  (My  apologies if I have missed anyone)

The last couple of weeks we have been busy working on a charity quilt at our weekly meetings at the Hollandse club.  This will hopefully be raffled off for a charity once it's finished. Great teamwork everyone and the quilt looks great!

 Charity quilt blocks

Busy behind the machines

From Left: Wendy, Ya Hui,Leone,Kathy, Kath and Roberta

Next week we are not meeting at the Hollandse club but will be back there on the 12th of August.

Quality Quilting

Lots of fun was had over the summer with kids and young adults, family and friends. Clearly though there was also fun happening at the sewing machine as much quilting has been done and the results show just how much fun and interest we all have with our sewing.

Birthday blocks

Marianne has put together her birthday blocks and they look great. She has had some issues with spray adhesive so is patiently unpicking but it will look great when she has finished.

Sandra's gift

Sandra has been working on a quilt for a friend and it turned out to be quite large indeed. Only a few colours but very effective and beautifully pieced. Sadly for all, Sandra is returning to Australia shortly but we are sure she will have many happy memories and funny stories from her time here in Singapore. We wish her and Cyrus a wonderful retirement and more quilting projects. Maybe baby quilts????

Amazing diamonds

The story that goes with this quilt top is very interesting. Jess cut and pieced and chose wonderful colours. She struggled a bit with dimensions and finally through her hands up in the air and asked if any one wanted them. Rhonda came to the reuse and offered to "square them up" which is ironic seeing as they are triangles, but even so took them away and some weeks later returned with this amazingly near perfect top. Much admiration and oohing and aahing went on and all were impressed. Now it is almost at completion stage, we ask for suggestions as to which charity/cause we will donate this too and how we should go about that. Maybe a local disadvantaged school, hospice, deserving person, local charity??? Get your thinking caps on as Jess has offered to quilt this if others can find a home for it. Well done Jess and Rhonda, an outstanding effort from you both.

Kath's baby quilt

Kath's dessert

Kath is a fun member of our group who loves to listen to our inane talk and laughs at our silly jokes. She does very fine handwork but recently whipped this baby quilt up in a day for a friend. Great choice of beige fabrics and then the added splash of green and brown. Kath has a good appetite which is much appreciated by the staff. She is whip thin so can happily munch on dessert, this time banana fritters from the Hollandse Club kitchens. Others enjoy the wonderful dutch pea and ham soup (one person has it EVERY single week), the Nasi Goring or as her children call it, nasty goring, there are great salads and fruit platters so none of us starve during our quilting Tuesdays. We are most appreciative of the space and the company each week and are very aware that the organisation has been most generous to us in allowing us to meet there each week rent free.

Kathy I's racy jelly roll quilt

Some of the group had a speedathon to see who could finish a jelly roll quilt in the fastest time. Not sure who won but here is Kathy's fine effort. Wonderful colour scheme and even though it is completely random piecing, it looks perfectly colour proportioned. Kathy does wonderful work with art quilting and is very creative. More of that in a later blog. Not all quilts take years but I think some or most of us have some that are unfinished from the 90's! Speed quilting might be the way to go.

Freaky Batiky

Quilters here in Singapore have been known to take a day trip across to Bali just to buy fabric. A reasonable 2 1/2 hours away, the fabric is about S$3 per yard and so this makes the trip viable. Carole recently went with some fellow quilters and friends on such a trip and the result is this colourful blend. So much fun buying and then playing with colours. This top needs some quality quilting and will be ready for cheering up a winter household back in Australia. The pattern is available if anyone wants to try.

There are tentative plans afoot to take some of our group back to Bali for some fabric buying as well as pampering and fun time. Hopefully in the new year there will be enough people to go Bali Batik hunting and indulge in some R&R. More details to come. Who is up for it?

So Singapore is gearing up for the wet season. It is humid and occasionally oppressive and if mango madness doesn't get us we should be stuck inside producing more quilts for sharing. Oh, what a shame! For those who want to venture out, a visit to the Pottery Jungle in Jurong is worth a few hours of your time. It has a dragon kiln, a long stretch of bricks which fires up every so often. Most of the pottery is from China and some is OTT but you never know what little gem might be waiting for you. Might just be the perfect match for some of those quilts.

Mia and Toby

Mia's quilt

As a group we have been touched by the plight of a little 4 year old named Mia who has a terminal condition that will see her only able to enjoy the love and happiness of her surroundings for another couple of years.

Time was of the essence and we had an amazingly small window to create a quilt which would not only wrap her in love but be a beautiful reminder of her time both here in Singapore and during her palliative care back in Australia.

As a group of women there was a powerhouse of energy on a regular Tuesday outing at the Hollandse Club. They came with machines, cutting boards, irons and energy and within a day we had all the pieces sewn, the colours were perfect and the satisfaction immense. The pattern was a disappearing 4 patch.

The best part though was the teamwork, the sense of purpose and the fun that we all had. Fabric was donated, machine quilting beautifully done, binding hand sewn perfectly, piecing done fast but expertly and squaring up done in an almost meditative state.

sewing sweat shop

cutting and squaring up

piecing the jigsaw

perfect work

The top finished in a day

The best part of all though was knowing that Mia would be wrapped in warmth and would have just a small piece of comfort from women who could all feel her family's pain and had no other way to express our immense sadness at their situation, so we sewed. Doing what we do best.

Quiet by chance Mia's mother was in the club, was able to view our sewing frenzy and was overwhelmed by our generosity. To us, it was a humbling moment and we were just happy to offer some love. The finishing touches were expertly done and with much devotion by everyone, all made an amazing contribution. We were all equally committed to making this a special surprise for a dear little girl and her family.

Mia has a younger brother, Toby and as the younger brother he is also acutely affected by his older sister's illness as are all those who care for this family. So after a brief hiatus, we are off and running again and have decided that Toby should also have his own special quilt to cuddle up to his sister with.

He is probably too young to fully understand but again we have no other way of expressing our acute sadness and just want to offer comfort. The colouring and pattern for Toby's quilt is very different from his sisters and we are having some fun playing with brights. This has only just started for us but already some have been diligent in their homework and have produced exciting colour combinations. We are putting together an uneven 9 patch and star pattern for him.

a starting point

popping colours

great piecing

So we are off and running and hoping to just add a bit of sunshine to a family in turmoil.

We love to make quilts but as most quilters are even more delighted to gift our offerings and bring just a small amount of pleasure to a recipient, whether that be for a birthday, an ageing parent, a charity or just for love.

Go well Mia, Toby and family. Your journey will be a hard one but know that our thoughts and love and stitches will be with you for a long time to come.

Summer in Singapore

Our group is light on members this month as school holiday see families returning to their own countries or are dealing with children and/or work. Nevertheless, those who have been attending have been busy as usual.
The gathering group also bid farewell to some long time members who are returning to Australia to take up new challenges. As is our routine, the group make memory blocks to commemorate their time with us and these have been presented in a loving and caring way to Elizabeth and Marg to wish them well.

Marg's memory blocks

Marg chose this pattern and it always seems to look amazing in whatever colours are used. The group wishes her well on her return to Melbourne.

Presentation

Elizabeth has been an innovative contributor to the group for 3+ years and has shown generosity in sharing ideas and providing quilts for charities over that time. Most recently she has developed and supervised a BOM folk art quilt which she will continue to share with us from her new Perth home. She selected a modified trip around the world block as her parting selection.

Trip around the World

So our times here in Singapore are often touched with bittersweet moments. Fast friendships are made and we are all well aware that they can be gone just as quickly. However, some of them remain true and memorable and continue on between the countries and across the miles and we are all the richer for those people touching our lives. These two women and many who have gone before them will be missed but remain in our quilting hearts.

As usual there has been busyness and we have a new member who is so enthusiastic and delightful. Ya Hui has been working hard at her new passion and has produced some delightful pieces. She is an inspiration and helps those of us who have become a bit complacent to get motivated again.

Not bad for a beginner!

Alison is an excellent quilter and so often our quiet achiever. She is very experienced and apart from collecting fabrics that sometime need hiding from her significant other (!!!), she produces beautiful work and is a driving force in our group. Here she has produced a delightful collection using the same pattern to achieve very different results.

WOW!

Kath has also been quietly achieving and her hand work is a credit to her. She loves coming to group as she says some of us make her laugh!

Perfect piecing

Sandra has been taking lessons and has been producing crazy quilt blocks, the likes of which not many of us have seen before. She has toiled and sweated over these for many months, in fact nearly a year and has produced items that are truly ready for wall display. Here is a glimpse. The full quilt will be revealed another day.

Beautiful hand work

So life here in Singapore chugs along just like most other places. Our group provides friendship and fun, sometimes tears and tantrums but is never dull. We value each others company, make some life long friendships and love and learn from each other. We all need each other as family and we enjoy our Tuesday gatherings. Go well all those who are moving on and continue your delightful quilting work. Stay motivated all those left behind and embrace new members as soul sisters and show them what a great place Singapore has been to all of us. Having said that, there are some things about Singapore that will never be understood. Comments on the following photo would be appreciated. Found in a much loved local department store. WTF?

STOP PRESS

Can we have all hands on deck for Tuesday 18 June 2013? We are trying to pull off the quickest made little girls quilt in record time. It is to be cut and sewn on Tuesday and some will be bringing machines and rotating cutting boards to make a disappearing four patch block. Contact Alison or Jessie for details. This is for a gravely ill little three year old who has a terminal illness and needs to return to Australia from Singapore as health insurance will not cover her palliative care costs. It is small comfort but provides some brightness to her bleak outlook. Lets rally together and produce something beautiful.