Friday, September 10, 2010

Symposium here I come!

Guess what arrived in my mailbox yesterday?

 Leafing through the registration book will have you drooling!  Mine's already well-thumbed. 

It's not too late to register your interest in attending.  Click on the link in the left sidebar to go direct to their website.

  And if you've already registered and your book hasn't arrived yet - start waiting, it'll arrive any day!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Snippets from the September Newsletter.

September Activities – Quilts for Kids 9.30am to 4.00pm. Each year our Club sets aside a day when we bring along our sewing machines and sewing equipment to put together quilts for children in need. We need cutters, sewers, basters, quilters! Fabrics and patterns will all be provided – these are bits and pieces and scraps that have all been donated to the club. This year our fabulous organiser Daryl (who must be applauded for the amount of work she puts into Quilts for Kids) has asked if anyone has any surplus quilting cottons of any colour they would like to donate – particularly variegated. Please bring them with you on September 28th. You will notice we have extended our Club day to 4.00pm so we can maximise our efforts.


Bernina Day – Monday 18th October. Cushla and Robyn from Itch to Stitch Bernina, Whangarei, will be holding a Bernina Day in Kerikeri on Monday 18 October from 10am till 3pm. This is open to all Bernina owners and is to help people get the most from their machines. Jane will be taking names of interested people at the meeting on September 28. Space would allow probably about 20 people.



October Activity – Bag Lady Day!! Daryl has a heap of furnishing fabrics that we can use to make cushions, totes, ruler bags – anything that takes your fancy. If you don’t want to bring your sewing machine you can just bring some scissors and cut out on the day and sew at home. Please bring any patterns that you might like to share, and any spare zips or large buttons for cushions. We thought it might be a nice idea to make one for yourself and one to donate – probably to Women’s Refuge.

Donations needed – The club is looking for donations of approximately fat-quarter sized fabric in plaids, country, naive styles for the 2012 (don’t laugh, it’s not that far away!) exhibition raffle prize quilt. You may have seen the quilt we are planning at last month’s meeting – it’s mostly hand applique, so we need plenty of time to organise and stitch. See Carol if you have anything you think might work.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Fabric Painting Workshop


Ten lucky ladies got together for a fabric painting workshop with Sonya Prchal last Saturday.  We got to admire Sonya's intricate painted whole cloth quilts and then we got to experiment with some paints ourselves.  Fun!!  Sonya makes it look easier than it is, of course, but I think we all ended up with beautiful and expressive sunsets and night skies.

One of my favourite parts of the day was watching Shirley take the plunge and try free-motion quilting.  You go girl!  And I'm looking forward to seeing Carol's piece when it's finished.  She used the painting time to experiment on a background for a landscape piece she was already working on. 

Here is as far as I got.  You can tell I was a little more hesitant with the paints than others!  I really had fun experimenting with a free motion zig-zag.  If you've never tried it before - grab a couple of scraps and have a go, it's a fantastic way to build up texture.  I've put extra wide borders on mine because I'm thinking I'll turn it into a cutting board bag. 

See you next time.