Stitch Sisters

At our Christmas break-up we had decided to start the Stitch Sisters year in January, but as there were quite a few away with other commitments, it was a very small group and held at mine.  Luckily I’d had Friday stitching the day before so I was able to top up the left-overs!!  Helen kindly made a date loaf to share too.I was still block preppingKaren stitched up more “Oranges and Lemons” blocksMaree was “Go-Go Wheel-ing”and just look at the pile she’s madeHelen had a pile of her “Go-Go Wheels” tooand Rhonda has started a sheep blanket for her newest grand babyMeredithe x

Friday stitching

Decided it was about my turn to have Friday stitching……….

After arranging that I managed to get a specialist appointment for Mum on the Friday morning so no baking was done, but nice goodies all the same!I cut out lots of  “Gateaux” blocks Karen has started to crochet the edge of her embroidered cloth (but not enjoying it much; it’s very fine thread and it’s a big cloth.  She does get to use her grandmother’s hook though)Fern was hand quiltingMaree has started making the 8″ size “Go-Go Wheels” using mostly 1930’s prints; she hasn’t decided on a corner fabric yetand Helen is making more and more of the 12″ version in her beloved Kaffe.Meredithe x

Around here

~ I’m loving picking and displaying my hydrangeas and I’ve been able to take little posies of them to Mum too.  So pretty, and as The Golfer has built a frame around them with shadecloth they’ve been protected from the worst of the heat and sun so I hope to keep picking them all Summer long.

~ I’ve made some cool neck ties for our firies using the free pattern from Amy Kallissa ~ Attended an impromptu sewing day at Mary’s shop Patch n Quilt in Gisborne, meeting old friends and new, and had a great yarn with Mary at the end of the day!  Miss Maree forgot her sewing so she helped me cut out some new blocks (yep, another new project!  Well, it’s been on the back burner for a while and jumped to the front!) and I’ve since stitched up two of them.  Thanks for the help, Maree!   Making these using my template set “Gateaux” ~ Went to Sewn and Quilted’s  Summer School class on overlocking with Kate Marra.  Such a brilliant class!  Kate is the consummate teacher when it comes to the overlocker; her knowledge know no bounds and she’s fabulous as getting all the information across.  (Don’t you love the subtitle of her book?)I had a little old overlocker that I’d been given by a student.  Unfortunately it died just before lunch.  Thankfully I was there with two friends and was able to use their machines in a tag-team effort (thanks lovelies!).  On the way home I stopped in at the “S” shop – as you do –  and bought a new overlocker – on sale too!  It’s an early birthday present from The Golfer (not that he knew it at the time!).Helen came and helped me sort out my fabrics a little while ago and there’s a pile of fabrics just waiting to be made into tops and dresses – no excuses now!

How has your Summer/Winter been going in January?

Meredithe x

Casual sewing

My students have always complained that it’s a long time between final class in December and first class in February, so this year I organised with Carol to have two casual sewing days at the shop; there’s no tuition but students can come and sew for the morning or afternoon, or all day.

At the first one…….

Fernanda had appliqued the centre of Irene Blanck’s “Spring Fever” and thought it might make a lovely special birthday present for a dear friend so she added some borders top and bottom to square it up a bit then more all around and now it’s a great lap quiltFrancis worked on her “Bloom” blocksCheryl prepped her backgrounds and framesand started on a BOM (and had blueberries for lunch!)Tineke, like Fernanda, was on the machine all day and stitched up and put on all her bordersSue S chose some fabrics for a new quilt to be started in class in FebruaryI played with some starsLinda worked on her bordersand had this cute tin for show and telland Linda had bought one for me too!  So sweet.Most of them stayed all day and I must say it was really enjoyable to just sit and stitch with my students talking in depth about life and happenings.   I don’t get that chance when I’m teaching them; I just hear bits and pieces as I move around the table so it was a lovely change for me.

Meredithe x

Squealers

We had our first Squealers get together for 2020 (ooh, how funny to be typing that number!), just a small group as lots of us were away.

Food, of course (although there wasn’t a lot of home baking that day!)Helen had her 12″ “Go-Go Wheels” to show, which is growing very nicely thank you!Andrea was working on a challenge from her quilt guildI was playing with squares, diamonds and trianglesKaren was happily piecing more of her “Oranges and Lemons”and Maree is soooo close to finishing hers!Meredithe x

Monthly makes ~ January

It seems a little trivial to be writing about sewing when so much of our magnificent country is ablaze and there’s been such dreadful loss of life and property.  But I’ve tried to keep this a happy place where people can come to momentarily leave the real world.  So today’s post will be short but sweet.

My January Make is going to be the “Lottie” Project Bag from Treehouse TextilesAs I was trying to be a good girl and sort out and put away the left over fabrics from “The Pretty Quilt” I thought they might be nice for this bag.So I’ve started cutting.  Have you decided on your January Make?

Meredithe x

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Dear Peeps!

Just wanted to say, thank you for all your support, comments and likes over 2019.  I know bloggers and readers are reducing in numbers as blogging gives way to more immediate forms of communication, so you joining me here gives me great joy and I really do appreciate the time you spend reading my ramblings!  I shall be here for as long as you choose to read – it’s a great way to document my students’ work and the  journeys, adventures, outing and achievements I make too.

Here’s to a fabulous 2020!Meredithe x

PS Back tomorrow with my chosen project for Monthly Makes.  Have you chosen yours yet?