First Meeting for 2016

Our first meeting for 2016 was last week.  Since we hadn't been to the centre since the end of November, a heap of tops and finished quilts came in. 

 

The way we work is that quilts come in either as a quilt top or a completed quilt, and they are either made by our members or are donations.  Those that come in as a top are matched with wadding and backings, and pinned at our meetings.  Then people just grab a quilt that needs quilting and take it home to do.

 

First up is a quilt top made by Jan and quilted by Cheryl.

 

This one came in partly made as a donation.  It is hand pieced.  Jan completed it, added borders and Cheryl quilted it.

 

Cheryl made this one. 

 

 

 These next two were donations.  Cheryl added borders and quilted them.

 

Cheryl made this pretty little girl's quilt.

 

And this crazy log cabin....

 

And this one too.....  Did the girl sleep??

 

I don't think Evelyn had time to sleep either.  Evelyn has bought herself a Sweet 16 quilting machine, and I think she has been practising on these. 

 

She made this cute Paddington Bear panel up into a cute child's cot quilt.

 

And the alphabet cot quilt.....

 

And the Disappearing 9 patch.....

 

And this one too.....

'

 

And this one too (sorry, it's on its side.  When I turned to it looked daft, so you'll need to look at it sideways)

 

This is a whole cloth quilt, and the photo doesn't do it justice.  Beautiful piece of fabric.

 

This last one was a donation.  It is actually one piece of fabric, but the quilter has outlined each circle with quilting to make it look as if the black pieces were appliqued on.   It is so effective.

And here are a couple of photos of all the quilts laid out on the floor of the hall where we meet.

Awesome effort ladies! Well done.

Before I finish up, I thought I would give you a breakdown of the quilts we donated in 2015.

Quilts for raffles                                        14
Lap quilts                                                  53
Single bed quilts                                       28
Children's (crib, cot & singles)                120
Double bed quilts                                        6
                                                               ------
Total quilts donated 2015                        221

You know you beaver away on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis but it is only when you see the figures laid out like this that you realise what a terrific effort our members put in.  That is 221 people who have benefitted from our little group in the last year. 

Our First Meeting for November

.... was last week on the 5th.  I was unable to go, so the photography for this blog is courtesy of Evelyn.  Thank you Evelyn for stepping in to do that.  Your photos are great.

Here are the lovely quilts which came in last week.  The first 6 are all made by Cheryl.

This is a great I Spy style quilt.

 

Love the "X" pattern in this one created by the use of white squares among the coloured ones.

Another I Spy quilt, this time with some cute dinosaurs as the feature fabric.

 

Robyn is overseas, having travelled to the Quilter's Convention in Houston, Texas.  She finished these two before she left.

 

This one was a donation quilt from a while back.  It was quilted by Evelyn.

 

These last ones were all made by Evelyn.  I just adore the picture in the main panel with its' frog fishing, and the turtle and fish having a conversation. 

 

Isn't this design of interlocking squares fabulous?

Next I am going to share a sweet story with you.  It is from 2010 when several Stitching Hearts members went to a fund raising lunch at the Senior Citizen's Centre in Cabarita.  Funds raised were to go to the Oncology Unit at Concord Hospital.   We donated a quilt (sorry, I looked, but couldn't find a photo of it).  I quote Darleen from an email she sent me.....

 

"It was a nice day, a roast meal and then an auction for books and other goods.  I would go again next year for sure because it ended up being a great day. The auctioneer was a hoot.  Our large pink star quilt was raffled and they raised $550.00. Isn't that wonderful? The winner was there. A lovely, elderly Meals on Wheels Volunteer.  She said she loved the quilt so much she is going to have her room repainted to suit. How lovely is that?  An unwanted, incomplete quilt handed to the group and completed and now it is on a bed and loved and it raised all that money for the Children's Oncology Unit"

 

Next meeting, in a fortnight will be the last one for 2015.  We will be having a Christmas lunch in December but no work for us that day!

Second Barnardos Delivery

Last Tuesday I gathered the last of the quilts we had promised to Barnardos and delivered them.  Jan was unable to come with me, so I drove up on my own. 

 

I was greeted warmly by 2 of the case workers.  They were just so appreciative of the quilts, and admired each and every one of them.  It is really special to do a delivery to an appreciative recipient.  Really makes the whole effort worth while, and makes you want to do more.

 

As usual, I have fuzzed out the names for privacy reasons.

 

This single bed quilt was made for a little 7 year old girl.  The top was stitched by my 12 year old grand daughter during the school holidays, and it was quilted by Robin on her long arm machine. 

 

 

The next two quilts were made by Jill.  They are cot sized and are for a pair of little newborn twin girls.  The quilts are similar but not identical, which is perfect for the twins.

 

Next up is a cot quilt made by Evelyn.  It is for a little newborn boy.

 

I love the teddy print.  It is so cute!

 

This one was made by Jan.  It is cot sized and is for a 9 month old girl.

 

It has Jan's trademark applique on it, like this little elephant.  Nice quilting too Jan.

 

And these sweet birds.

 

I made the last two.  This one is a cot quilt for a little newborn girl, made from a panel.

 

And this one is a single bed quilt for a 9 year old boy, pieced by me and quilted by Robin.  I tried to find a bunch of "boy" things to go on it - skate boards, bugs, UFOs & aliens, trail bikes, Transformers and Spider Man. 

 

Hopefully these will be loved and cherished by the kids, and kept until they are adults.

Last Meeting for September

I have been away again, so my post about the last meeting in September is way late.  Still, better late than never.....

Evelyn.....

 

Isn't this a stunning design??

 

Robin brought in a number of tops she had taken home to quilt on the long arm.  The next 3 are mine

 

 

The next one is a quilt going to a 9 year old Barnardos boy & has the child's name on it fuzzed out.

 

This one was an almost completed top donated.  The bottom left quarter had been pieced incorrectly and the maker had unpicked it and given up.  It didn't take all that long to restitch it.  Nice to see it finished.

 

This next one is a Barnardos quilt.  It was made during the school holidays by my 12 year old grand daughter from a bunch of squares donated by Coleen's friend.  I took her with me to my quilt group, and she was so enthusiastic she came by the following Sunday to finish it off.

 

This one came in as a part made queen sized donation.  A couple of years ago I divided the top into two and made a single bed top.  Jan picked up the remainder of the pieces and jigsawed them into a lap sized quilt. 

 

The next three are all made by Robin

 

Jill made these next two.  They will be donated to Barnardos for a pair of twin newborn girls.

Great work everyone!

The last few times we have met we have been sorting, collating and destashing excess scraps.  I have managed to sell some of these to add to our coffers.  We will be purchasing more wadding with the proceeds, always our biggest expense.  The cupboards are looking far tidier, even though the job is not yet finished, and you can actually see what is in the boxes.