April: Cake, Cake and more Cake....

April is always a busy month for the QQ. Three birthdays in one month. This meeting we celebrated two. Two birthdays...but not just any birthdays - two big birthdays a 50th and a 60th. This massive milestone called for cake and bubbles.  Sadly we were missing two of the gang.  HT, missing due to family commitments- we do so very hope to see her in a few weeks so we can celebrate her birthday and spoil her too!  EL - still in the USA but we are all now counting the days down until our weekend away in July!

Show and tell first, with only member managing to complete some projects - in fact not just one but three - along side managing to put on a quilt show!!  All Project Linus quilts - a stunning set - all of which will be receive warmly by the children.  Well done CB!

Some of our WIP projects have remained constant for a few months now.  With HW on the last leg of her wholecloth quilt (started, 3 years ago as she likes to remind me!!)

 

CD making excellent progress with her wholecloth quilt.

 

I should state that mine has not even been out of the bag from when I finished the course!!! CB was working on a block for QoS - which she is teaching next month. Grandmas Fan.

 

With AB starting a new crochet pattern.

We went a tad overboard with the cake at lunch time....

 

 

EL dropped in to say Hi, and help blow the candles out. A quick chat was had.  

 

Special gifts were given as the birthdays were 'big' ones.  A stain glass quilting block - with a garden theme was given to CD - a commission by a local glass maker Bex by Design

 

Handmade cushions for HW - one from each of us.

 

    

A really nice, relaxed day, with good friends. Happy Birthday girls!!

March 2016

All members turned up this month with a variety of projects to work on. Lots of crochet going on.

AB new blanket project

CB charity blanket

HW shawl

HT childs crochet top, using variegated yarn, yes it is all the same ball.

We have been sewing as well.

Set of table mats, 6 in total, from a panel given as a present by EL to CD

Bunting made from edge of panel

Finally some finished work for Show and Tell

A corner to corner blanket by CB

This lovely cot blanket went to HT's latest grandson. If you are interested in a pattern, you can find free ones on the web, just do a search for Corner to corner blanket pattern.

Detail of an Attic24 cosy blanket with a lacy border by CD

This blanket was made by CD, who was given a bag of yarn bought by AB, and asked to "make something for charity". It was offered back to AB as it turned out too nice to give away.

One last project, from a Jenny Rayment YOUtube tutorial, made by CD as a secret Santa for HT. According to Jenny you can make it big enough to hold large quilts.

Bag by CD, lined but not quilted

We were so eager to eat our lunch there are no pictures of it. The menu was main course Cauliflower cheese soup and bread, all home-made, with a desert of fruit salad and yoghurt. As we forgot the biscuits at the morning break, we had them with an afternoon cuppa.

After lunch we had a quick chat with EL in Florida having her breakfast (appears to be a litre of coffee!) before she rushed off to an early meeting.

All together another lovely day spent with like minded friends, working on our crafts and sorting out the world.

February 2016

February 20th saw our second meeting of the year. One member could not attend due to unforeseen circumstances. We hope to see HT soon, but she is currently experiencing an annus horribiblis. HT we wish you and your family well and are thinking of you all in these trying times.

CB was working on a present for her parents 40th wedding anniversary. There was a deadline to meet so some comments escaped when things went a little awry. This is a very nice quilt made from some of the wedding dress fabric, which frayed more than the normal cotton fabrics you would use for patchwork. However, the resulting appliqué does not appear to have suffered, no fluffy edges to be seen.

Bed runner for 40th Wedding Anniversary present

Detail showing wedding dress fabric

HW and CD were both working on North Country Quilting projects started at a Lilian Hedley workshop in 2014. Both projects are progressing well. HW is making a bed runner in green and cream, while CD is making a lap quilt in blue. This type of quilting may seem time consuming, but it does grow quite quickly once you get going. As they are strippy quilts and small projects they are portable, as you do each strip separately and join them up once quilted.

Bed runner by HW

CD lap quilt

CD also brought along a finished Ferret workshop project. It has turned out as envisaged, despite some difficulties with the border assembly. Most of the fabric was hand dyed by CD.

Ferret workshop - large quilts on small machines

AB has finally finished her crochet blanket and is planning to get back to sewing projects.

AB cot blanket

Lunch was minted peat soup with home-made bread, and for dessert we had a Venetta. That brought back lots of memories and a mention of Artic roll. We do like to push the boat out.

Lunch

After lunch we had a chat with EL in Florida. She has been making up a quilt for a neighbour who gave her some appliqué blocks, this was very well received. you can check it out here (at the end of the post called 'Cold Stunned Turtles and the Great Blue'). She also showed us some fabric with turtles, this is for making fundraising items for the Turtle charity she is involved with.

The really exciting bit was AB opening her birthday presents from the other Quirkies. There was a hexagon flower brooch, some purple fabric, beads and felt shapes from HW, a crochet blanket from CB, some retro style fabric from EL (some with purple) and crochet bag from CD.

AB's birthday pressies

Crochet blanket, lovely design with a pretty lacy border.

All that remained after that was tea and birthday cake. Unfortunately, my photo's of this were too blurred to use.

January: New Year, New Projects?

Four and a half members out of six - not a bad start. Four members for the day and our now regular pop in from the USA via Face time!

Lots of Crochet on the go today.... some items finished - some still very much work in progress.  

C2C Crochet - Baby Blanket.... needing a bit more wool to finish off, CB.

C2C Small Blanket, chunky wool - very much finished, CD.

Another C2C, it can become very additive!! Finished CD.

Clown outfit.... for school play....yes we are amazingly talented - turning our hands to anything. HW.

New 2016 Project - both great in colour and a great pattern. CD.

Hexagon Blanket, large. a small amount to finish but looking good, HW.

 

Willow Pattern Lap Blanket, work in progress, CB.

And then of course lunch, a new year but our usual lunch. Why change when it's always so lovely.

 

Afternoon produced some more projects...

Communication Quilt - a joint effort from HW & CB.

Whole Cloth Quilt, work in progress but very close to finishing, CD.

And finally AB working on her extra large Granny Square but would not allow me to photograph!!

So another year, another pile of UFO to work through. A big year ahead for two QQ, a visit from our missing member in a few months, a workshop booked for us all to enjoy - but most importantly another year of fun, laughter, friendship and a bit of crafting!.

December: Another Year Over.....

OK - so where has 2015 gone.  I cannot believe we are posting the final meeting of 2015 for the QQ.  Our final meeting was a fun and full one.  Activities varied, great food and belated birthday celebrations. And always difficult now, but a full house!!

Can you guess it was our Christmas meeting, a Christmas tree of bread rolls with a wonderful Cauliflower and cheese soup (with a great addition of some herb mustard).....

 

Various skills were on show today, a couple of hookers were in the room....  a new Corner to Corner (C2C) pattern was big tested by HS.  A boarder in dc was being tested by AB to complete her large Granny 'square'.

 

Hand sewing from the other three - HW trying hard to finish her whole cloth quilt now the cold weather is coming in.  CD continuing with some new stitch experimenting from a course completed a few days ago.  Great fabric (hand dyed)  and some wonderful thread. And finally CB finishing the binding on some small table runners for Christmas Gifts.

  

We had our 2016 diarys at the ready for pining down dates for next years meetings!  As you can see only one of us has made it to electronic format!!!

And belated birthday greetings for CB.  A delicious cake made by AB.

With many, many wonderful gifts.  So very lucky to have good friends.  THANK YOU all for your amazing gifts.

And to complete the day, a quick walk - in the very windy, wind to Hobby Craft.  Three dressed for the walk, the other needs a chat from her Mum about dressing for the weather conditions.

Another year over, wishing you all a GREAT CHRISTMAS AND A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR.  I hope Santa is kind to you all with great crafting gifts but I hope most of all he brings you extra time to enjoy your hobbies in 2016!!