320Create – wot we dun

Because we were away for a week, and so we wouldn’t get bored (As If!), several of us (ahem!) took quite a few bits and pieces away to either start, finish and pursue.

I hit the ground running making this bag on the afternoon we arrived (and the knitting you can see in it? Can’t leave it alone at the moment so hope to have something to show you before too long)

next, this skirt made with fabric from Nuno Nuno and a freebie pattern from Tessuti

I spent two days rotary cutting and machine piecing

and made this Trip Around the World using Kaffe Fassett fabrics

then a quick trip to Mary’s one day and I had borders for it. (Well, not that quick as we stayed in Gisborne for our lunch at Canteena)

and I progressed some hand piecing and some hand quilting too, sitting on the sofa under a window with the sun filtering through the leaves onto my work – bliss!

Helen had some finishes too – this quilt which she’s made using all Kaffe Fassett fabrics and inspired by a block that I’d included in a bag I made her some years ago (all in Kaffe, of course!)

this quilt was so very nearly finished – just 6 triangles short, but Kaye has some of the fabric at home, so all will be well. Helen made this using my “Carpenter’s Wheel” templates in the 18″ size so the quilt is HUUUUUGE. Lots of Anna Maria Horner fabrics in it.

Helen also found The Perfect Spot at Mary’s to use as her Kaffe octagon joiner

Maree finished off a sashiko table runner

and decided to put her Kansas Dugout on point so we all chipped in with advice on that!

and she had some “Primavera” blocks that she was playing with (yes, some go in a different direction to others – all part of the plan!)

Kaye had made us some beautiful bags – this one is mine (mine, mine, all mine!!)

and she worked on her “Town Square” quilt pattern by Megan Manwarring

and her “Little Blooms” quilt

we just love the way Kaye preps her quilts, everything so neat and orderly

and a relative in the UK had sent these Christmas dec kits which Kaye spent an afternoon making

Fern was knitting socks and got them finished!

and needed a little help with her “Bits and Pieces” quilt (Karen Cunningham from her book “A Ladies’ Garden”

which she progressed quite well and only stopped because she didn’t have all her fabrics with her

So it was a very successful, inspiring, fun week! We all went home pleased with what we’d achieved and looking forward to another time away together.

Meredithe x

320Create – venue and food

During March we had our annual week away at 320Create in Daylesford which is Just Fabulous!

The weather was really kind to us this time, with temps in the mid-high twenties until our last two days when it did get just a bit nippy, but the sun still shone and we had more indoor time than out.

There were six of us so we each had our own room – love the quilts Mary has made for the beds! And not just beds; walls and sofas too, along with cushions. Such a cosy, comy feel to the house.

we had some “walks around the property” as Helen likes to say

and as it was the beginning of Autumn, berries, bark and leaves were changing colours

I was awake early most mornings and got to watch the sun peep over the trees

when we weren’t out for lunch we had this kind of spread (I can’t spell charcuterie board – ooh, maybe I can as spell check didn’t come up!!)

and bbq for dinner eaten outside, or home made risotto or perhaps take away Thai

A wonderful relaxing break! Back with the stitching/knitting side tomorrow.

Meredithe x

Class show and tell

Last month at Sewn and Quilted…..

Jo had made lots

and Lots

and LOTS of arcs for her Liberty DWR

and I set up some more sets for her to stitch

Tineke is moving along well with her applique

and prepped some more

Sue E has this much of her BOM together

and I helped her cut bits for the next blocks

Frances has gone back to some applique

Carole is on the home straight with her blocks

Jane worked on her next block

and Kerrie-Ann stitched strips onto her blocks

Meredithe x

This class is held at Sewn and Quilted, Blackburn

Class show and tell

At the second week at the quilt shop…..

Peggy had added the corner triangles/stars to her quilt

she’s going to add on the final borders at home (I’ve cut them for her) and she started on a new quilt, completing the first block

Sue S has started a new project; having already stitched some of the embroidery bits, together we chose fabrics from a bundle she brought in, and added a few from the shop too

then I helped her choose which fabrics for where and Sue did the cutting so it’s all ready to stitch

Sue M has made progress on her border. And just an aside here – WordPress have changed the way they send comments through to me; normally your comment would be accompanied by your email address so I can reply direct. However, the email address is not now with the comment so unless I can remember your email, I can’t reply. One lovely commenter asked about this border – the link for the pattern is here (and thanks for your comment!).

We took advantage of the design wall and laid out Carole’s blocks

she’s decided to make it slightly bigger so we worked out the remaining blocks

Paula’s decided to challenge herself with some felt work and made a great start, purchasing the book and felt pieces from the quilt shop

Pearl is progressing well with her 4-patch blocks

Lois is making lantern shapes

Deirdre did more machine quilting

Ann-Marie is so nearly finished with her blocks, and together we started trimming them up

and Anne-Maree is hand appliqueing a series of Leesa Chandler patterns, this one called “Maple Block”, just getting the bias into position first.

Meredithe x

This class is held at the quilt shop, Eltham

Around here…..

I promised to show you some of my work for a change, and here it is

I’ve started on my 5th DWR (the last four are small, 3 x 4 rings, for class samples) and this one is a bit different! This is the first row stitched together (all by hand)

and here’s some of what I’d cut

It’s now pretty much together, just needs refining. If you’d like to join me in class to learn how to make your own Double Wedding Ring, next class is at the quilt shop on Saturday 13th April, an all day class so we get lots covered and quite a bit done. You can choose to make yours by hand or machine. Click here for further details.

I’ve really enjoyed making these blocks for Taryn’s #tinyninepatchchallenge Just a little behind as this goes to press but hoping to rectify that situation shortly. I’m not making as many as Taryn so I can afford to be a little behind.

I’m being a student in a class – such a lovely change for me! I booked in to the Japanese Stitching Techniques class with Andrea at Nuno Nuno and have had to challenge myself with raw edge – EEEEEK – piecing. Here’s what I did

I thought I might place some pentagons across the work (it will be a roll for holding threads – or whatever I decided to use it for)

Bit pleased with that effect, so took them one at a time to make up with the papers, and now it looks like this

I’ll show you progress as we go – next class isn’t until May and there’s a bit of homework to do before then (yes, my students, I’m feeling the pressure!!). I’m going to the class with a couple of girlfriends and after class we head around the corner to The Boulevard for some lunch and a chat – such a lovely day out!

I indulged in a bit of retail therapy recently, you know the sort, when your finger accidentally (!) presses the “purchase” button…. Denyse Schmidt’s new “Bonny” range (from the Next Stitch) is just that little bit delicious!

and I’ve been eyeing this off for months and managed to score it on sale

along with a selection of Swiss Dots which I think I’ll use for the backgrounds of each square. Don’t expect to see much of this too soon, it’s going on the back burner for a while.

And on the plant front, I visited Cousin S recently and she had some of our grandmother’s begonia growing in her garden (I’m guessing it’s the great, great grand daughter of the original plant!) and she gave me a piece which I’ve potted up and it’s making friends with the maiden hair fern and appears to be doing well.

Hope you’ve enjoyed that little peruse into my stitching life. More soon.

Meredithe x

Class show and tell

At Sewn and Quilted at the beginning of the month…….

Sue E had all her circle star blocks made

and I helped her trim these blocks

and she’s started on these fan blocks all for her BOM

Frances continued with her border

I showed Jennifer how to make square-in-a-square blocks

Tineke was doing her applique (yes, I know it’s upside down but that’s where Tineke was up to with the stitching and I didn’t want to disturb the work!)

Carole continued with her blocks

Cathie continued with “Tardis”

and Jane finished her rocket man block

Meredithe x

This class is held at Sewn and Quilted, Blackburn

Class show and tell

At the quilt shop at the beginning of the month……

Val had finished her hand piecing

so she made a centre, appliqued it on, then appliqued the whole to the background and we started playing with flowers to broderie perse to the corners

Gillian finished her quilt top

so we chose a backing

and she had a lesson in using Polyfuse for the next project

Kerrie-Ann spent the day at her sewing machine and stitched LOTS of blocks

Frances had her borders on so we started a border layout for “Cecile de Nantes” (from Judy Newman’s book)

Karen was playing with kite shapes and may have purchased some fabrics for (several!) other projects

Helen made a block from my free pattern “Hampton Log Cabins” and she chose a connector for her octagons

Helen also cut out a couple of blocks for “Hannah’s Garden Quilt”

We welcomed Kim who is new to class and I helped her get started on her BOM

Jennifer had a refresher in circle making

Jen started on a new quilt, stars this time and by machine

and Denise was stitching the last of her whole blocks for her DWR……it’s getting close to a finish!

Meredithe x

This class is held at the quilt shop, Eltham

Class show and tell

Being a Leap Year and how the Thursday’s have fallen, there have been 5 classes at Sewn and Quilted this February……

Jane’s girl in the envelope is finished

so she worked on her rocket block

Louise had a lesson in how to make Flying Geese

Carole worked on another of her blocks

Sue E was packing up before I could get to her with the camera, but she did lots of tracing, cutting and pinning

Tineke started appliqueing her pieces after we did a layout

Frances stitched her borders on

Cathie just needed a quick reminder on her hand piecing and she finished the first of her blocks

So that’s classes for February all up to speed. Of course, some March classes have already happened so I’ll be posting on those soon, and just for a change, some of my work!

Meredithe x

This class is held at Sewn and Quilted, Blackburn

Class show and tell

At Sewn and Quilted……

Jennifer was appliqueing the centre of one of her blocks

Frances had lots of large petals cut and half prepped and she chose border fabrics which we cut to size

Jo was stitching her Liberty DWR arcs and I chose lots of sets for her to continue on with

Jane had all the applique done on her block and started on the embroidery

Kerrie-Anne packed up before I could photograph her work, but she cut more for her next quilt

Carole worked on another block

and Cathie had done lots of homework with lots of circle/hexie bits ready

and she expanded her skills by learning hand piecing – yay! another convert!!

Meredithe x

This class is held at Sewn and Quilted, Blackburn

Class show and tell

At Sewn and Quilted……

Jennifer started placing and appliqueing her rabbits

Jo has started a Liberty DWR and we brought out some backgrounds for her to choose from…..maybe

Frances started prepping the large petals for the borders of her quilt

Cathie has started a new quilt – one very dear to my heart as it’s on my list to do and we’re calling it “Tardis” as I got the idea from David Tennant’s Dr Who TARDIS. So after choosing fabrics, Cathie made a start!

Sue E did more prep work with her BOM

and Jane did more on her next block

Meredithe x

This class is held at Sewn and Quilted, Blackburn