Summer days.........

After a slow start summer has well and truly arrived with temperatures way too hot!  It doesn't stop us from sewing though and the third Saturday of January saw the Sisters travel to Barwon Heads for a day beside the seaside at Clare's family beach house.  There were old projects and new being worked on.

Hard at work

Here is the latest update on progress being made.  And first up from Barb, lots of piecing of the final border of blocks for the Burnt Quilt.

 With each lozenge on the setting squares fussy cut and different.

Ann has started sewing Merri's version of the quilt from the Beamish Museum.  Her colours are brighter than Merri's. Both are beautiful.

Merri brought along her now completed Civil War Bride quilt.  She just needed some help drawing the faces on her bride and groom.

And a close up of one of the blocks, love the vase and the barley twist legs on the table!

Sue continues working on her hexagons, and it is growing but still a long way to go!

And last but definitely not least, for all the quilters booked into any of the 4 days of Threadbear's Applique School feast your eyes on this!  The centre medallion block that Di has created for the class.  It is beautiful and the fussy cutting - ohh la la!  

Until next time,

Meghan

Goodbye 2013...Hello 2014!

Our 2013 finished with a truly delightful day as the Sisters were joined by friends Anne and Barb and travelled to Castlemaine where we had an early Christmas celebration with Corliss, Megan and Annabelle at Threadbear.  Officially the shop was closed but tucked away in the classroom at the back, we joined together for a day of sewing, talking, laughter and lots of eating.

It was also the day of the big reveal.  Inspired by Kim and her sewing group over on Threadheads Unite, the Sisters and friends decided to accept the challenge from Ann and make a quilt in secret from History Repeated.

 

Now some of the Sisters were very productive and arrived with completed quilts, most notably Sue who had not only hand-pieced but also hand quilted her version of the hourglass quilt.

First up from Clare

next Ann, using a medallion from Reproduction Fabrics as her centre

Sue's hourglass blocks in muted shades of red, blue and brown

Anne's Pyramids

Then there were those who had finished piecing the tops together...

Barb Walker

Meghan

Barb, using an applique medallion completed many years ago

Merri

...others with a collection of blocks made...

Di

Deb

and Corliss

...while others are still trying to decide which quilt to make!

Megan

Annabelle

But wait, I don't have a photo for Kerry's efforts! Maybe it's because Kerry was in charge of the camera?  So tell me Kerry, which quilt did you choose and how much has been completed>

Not content with making us work hard through the year, Ann has come up with next year's challenge.  How about a little something from the Poos Collection?  As this challenge is a little more, well challenging, we have decided to allow ourselves two years to complete the quilt.  Hmm, I wonder who will be the over achievers on this?

Until next time................

Meghan

Saturday Sewing

The third Saturday of the month saw all of us gather for another lovely day of stitching, talking and eating.

Di was fresh off a plane, having just returned from Houston.  She was full of stories and chat about her very busy days there.  

And it is so nice to have Clare joining us on Saturdays now.  Her boys are rapidly growing up and the need for Clare's taxi service on the weekend is diminishing so there is more free time for sewing.  Lucky us!

There was lots of show and tell - Merri has been very busy.  First up, another border has been added to the Beamish quilt.  And there was lots of discussion about the next (and final) border from a size and colour perspective.  This is going to be a gorgeous quilt when finished.

And it didn't stop there! Back in 2010 the Sisters made the raffle quilt for Quilts in the Barn.  We called it the Sister's Peony Quilt - are they peonies or lilies? Does it really matter!  Anyway, Merri has nearly finished making her own version of this beautiful quilt, just the outer border to go.

Clare brought out her now finished 19th century nine patch.  I am not going to say how long this has been in the UFO pile.  but just maybe the end product has been worth waiting for!!

And Ann bowled us all over with her stunning clamshell quilt.  This is just glorious to see in the flesh - so to speak.  The clamshells (sorry Ann I cannot remember the exact number but know it is more than 1500) are full of colour and set off the aubergine background fabric and borders beautifully.  And as you can tell from the photo - it is a big quilt!  No-one was tall enough to hold it up high enough for me to get a full view of it so apologies for the poor photo.

And last, but definitely not least, Deb's completed Phebe.  Back from Helen Hayes who has yet again done an outstanding job on the quilting.  What can I say about this quilt?  I love it and need to stop drooling over Deb's quilt and get busy and make my own version.

Hope you have enjoyed the show and tell as much as we all did,

Until next time,

Meghan

"Silence is golden"

So does that mean the silence from the sisters over the past month has produced streets paved with gold (don't you just love mixed metaphors!!).  Not really, just these few bits and pieces....hope you enjoy them.

A new quilt from Merri, based on an antique quilt in the Beamish Museum 

Les Grandes Feuilles Rouges by Merri, just back from quilter Katrina Wilson, who has done a superb job with lots of feathers balanced by straight lines in the centres of each leaf set and the borders

Dear Jane from Barb, nearly there!

From Di, an almost complete centre medallion, we were all debating whether that 3rd hexagon flower , centre top, should be included or not.

And after x%!@& years, finally finished and quilted (by Laurene Horsnell who has done a wonderful job),
my version of Di's pattern, 19th Century Flower Baskets.

Until next time,

Meghan 

The SSS "1st Thursday of the Month" September Gathering

Greetings Fellow Quilters..................I have decided that September has officially been (so far,for me!) the most busiest month of 2013. Hence the rather latish entry to the SSS blog-site........if that's what it's called!!!
However, I will do my best to bring everyone up to date on our first September gathering.
Here are "The Gatherers" at Clare's place on a rather chilly, rainy day. Love the back yard.....I want one of those instead of my muddy "lawn" and "leaning", actually falling over fences!!...but that's another story!
After the group (missed you Deb, Sue, Barb and Meghan) devoured this: We did lots of hard work on the various projects that we had brought along. I will let the pictures do the talking!


Clare had been VERY busy finishing this masterpiece, using Dutch chintzes and the "Tree of Life" centre panel. WoW!!!! Now she is working on this gem...part of a much bigger gem.

Ann is adding these... (pardon the colour, forgot the flash!)to these... and has just completed this!!!

Oh! aren't we just sooooooooooo good!! That's Di on the right...Ann is on the left, well, I think she is on the left!...oh, yes, I can see a hand. Now Di has began something "new" for the "new" book that will be published in a year...or so (yes! that will be No. 2!) Meanwhile our Merri has turned a dab hand at designer and has fallen in live with an antique quilt, seen in a book. (that's Merri's on the left and Di's on the right! This is the result..a beginning really, lots more to come. As for me?...I keep stitching "relics" from the past and am trying to complete my version of the "Antique Wedding Quilt"...only 4 blocks to go and I begin the border appliques! Mind you, I have just a "few" other projects on the go!...as I am sure we all do. Well, that's the day's story..hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Happy Stitching. Kerry