Well here I am again ... with another Blogpost for your perusal ... and what a busy day we had yesterday, March 11th 2017.
We welcomed an almost full house complement of eager stitchers ... Val S, Val R, Yvonne, Pauline, Sandi, Christine, Sheryl, Jan, Alice, Maxine, Carol, Mel, Sinling, Julie, Jenny, Emily, Gaynor and myself.
Gaynor had donned her 'Fearless Leader' hat and had the Barn all set up for a day of intensive sewing. Of course we had plenty of laughing along the way, and had an absolutely wonderful and productive session and no one got sent to the Naughty Step for slacking off (not even yours truly!!). We paired up under Gaynors instructions and put our sewing machines to good use, creating quilt tops which will soon reappear as completed quilts ... once our Yvonne has loaded them onto her magnificent machine.
But before I get into the sharing of those images, I will start our 'Thank You' segment of this Blog, with a very grateful Thanks so very much to Elaine Cotton from Benalla ... who has gifted us fabric and a beautiful quilt top (complete with batting and backing) all ready to be handed over to Yvonne for finishing.
I've always been partial to the colour combo of blue and lemon so this quilt ticked a LOT of boxes for me.
We also received, from Carmen Diefenbach in Tasmania ... three delightful quilt tops .. Thank you so very much Carmen. Your tops are just gorgeous.
These tops were just brilliant, each one just a tad different in their own way.
Love the muted tones of this 'vintage look' piecing.
And the applique detail on this was just stunning!
Now we must also thank the generous heart of one of our newest Members Sheryl .. who destashed and sent our way a lovely, and extremely useful Horn sewing cabinet. This gives us another dedicated sewing space with which to work and we are extremely appreciative ... many thanks Sheryl :)
Apologies for no 'dedicated image' of Sheryls gifting to us .. but its been incorporated into the space under the window on the left of the image above .. and thus gets amaaaaazing light with which to sew under.
You might also notice that we have some whizzbang incredible new storage shelves for our fabrics. this was created for us, under commission, by the marvellous fellows from the Monbulk Mens Shed. Thanks lads ... they have given us much more access to our fabrics and a much more workable environment for our stitching efforts.
Now this quilt top, and the one immediately below, are the work of our Sandi .. who is absolutely meticulous in her piecing and measuring. These are just two of the lovely quilt tops she has created for us over the years.
Julie wanted a 're-creation' of the first pic we had taken of her years ago ... when she was an eager to help 'Newbie' and let slip that she didn't mind ironing (!!) So without further ado .. here tis ;) And see behind her, Maxine cosily making use of the new sewing cabinet ... the natural light compensated for the fact that the sewing machine light had only just 'carked it'. Ooops!!
Gaynor ... in full flight ... directing us all ;)
Jenny ... busy at work. She paired up with me and imparted her knowledge of perfectly aligned seams.
Mel, another 'newbie' to our group .. wait till you see what she created. Just wonderful!!
Val, Sandi and Sinling ... with Yvonne in the background at another newly set up sewing 'centre'. The natural light in our Barn is just incredible .. we are so blessed to have this workspace.
Pauline, Emily and Christine .....
Sheryl and Jan .... doing 'math and measures' ... serious stuff indeed ;)
.... and then there were three ... as Jenny joined in.
Carol .... making sure no-one is going to pinch her place at the iron ;) We have not one, but TWO ironing 'stations' .... how lucky are we? Coming from a non ironer .. you must see the humour in my statement ;)
Sinling ... taking her turn at the iron ... whilst Mel waits in line.
Gaynor setting up for lunch ... BBQ and salads was the order of the day.
Afraid to confess .... that I did in fact also have dinner last night ... even after scoffing this lot for lunch.
But in my 'defence' .. I avoided 99.9% of dessert ... and it wasn't easy either ;)
Remember earlier I showed you our new member Mel ... hard at work creating a quilt top? Well here is the result of her dedicated effort ... isn't it great? Take a bow Mel ... you did brilliantly!!
And ..... this is what Jenny and I created ... Yes, I am as surprised as anyone that (without looking whilst stitching) .. all the patterned fabrics ended up facing the same way. Sheer fluke .. honestly ;)
Now, before I finish, I am happy to report that when we had our Stall at the recent Monbulk Quilt Fair .. we sold three quilts and a heap of craft magazines. The funds generated from this day will be ploughed back into supplies, enabling us to create more quilts for recipients of our fabric 'hugs'. Well done ladies!!
Now we meet up again on April 8th at the Barn .. our lunch 'Theme' will be Finger foods and Quiches ... and we look forward once again to a beautiful day of stitching, interspersed with chat and laughter.
A gold coin donation helps cover the cost of the power we use in the Barn.
Now to share the sites of those we support and who support us and then I bid you a farewell till I next put fingers to keyboard with more news. And ... don't forget you can also find us on Facebook ... as well as our website, so wander by and give us a 'Like' and a 'follow' if you haven't already :)
Blessings to all
Susan
Gaynor Peterson ...phone (03)9756 7950
email: [email protected]
Susan Hamilton .....phone (03)9737 1825
email: [email protected]
Our postal address (for donations) is P.O Box 398 Monbulk Victoria 3793
And .... we are www.quiltsforphans.org
Check out the following Links:
http://www.facebook.com/Chelseaonesock .... for delightful retro fabric childrens clothing
http://kayleenwest.com.au .... for Art with a positive spirit
http://mellyandme.typepad.com .... creative clothing etc for children
http://mrsmartinsquiltshop.typepad.com/ ...whose customer blessed us with awesome fabric
We also stitch for the following Childrens Homes ....
http://www.butterflych.org/.... for news about the Butterfly Palliative Care hospice in China
And their very own Blog ... which is beautifully written and contains inspirational stories on the children in their care. See the Link below:
http://butterflyhospice.blogspot.com.au/
http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a59784e7a45314d6a673d0d0a&sb=1
www.freetobekids.org/- .... the rescue organisation that frees children from slavery and exploitation
www.hopefosterhome.com ... the babies we are creating crib quilts for in China ...
www.zoehopeproject.blogspot.com .... giving hope to children in Zambia.
http://english.chinaconcern.org/ ... more children in China that we have stitched for ...
http://www.lolachildrensfund.org/ .... in Ethiopia
http://www.fikelela.org.za/orphan.asp .... the Fikelala AIDS Project in Capetown
http://mifanmama.com/Shining_Star_2.html the Home for vision impaired children in Shanghai
http://www.austchamshanghai.com/about-us/csr/mifan-mama.aspx
www.jewelsofhope.org ... the project we stitch for in Lesotho Southern Africa
http://www.thebabesproject.com.au/
http://elishacare.blogspot.com.au/
http://rangescc.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/elisha-care/