June 2012

Another great day was had last Saturday with seven members attending our  group day. We had  show & tell in the morning, followed by some discussion as to our up-comming group project after lunch.

Beginning show & tell was Gerri, with the most stunning "Jacobean Tree Of life" . After two years, 101 stitches, & several classes with Margaret Light, the stitching  is finally finished, all that remains now is for it to be framed. Gerri commented that every time she returned to work on it, it was like visiting an old friend. A family heirloom that will adorn walls for generations to come. The two pics above show only two small sections of the piece.

Robyn had finished the stitching on her Ukranian piece. Another stunning piece that will eventually be made into a needle book.

Sheila had made this book cover using raised chain stitch on a background that had been stamped  using a cut eraser.

There was also this piece of surface stitching by Sheila using soft muted & blended colours.

This "Scrap Happy" quilt by Sheila was made from small scraps left over from quilts. The design came from a quilt in NZ Quilter 

Congratulations also go out to Sheila for receiveing a Judges Commendation for her Dizzy Eye Dance quilt at the recent Sydny Quilt Show.

Jenny had been digitizing shoes & stitching them out ready to make shoe bags for a sales table. More of her shoe designs can been seen on Jenny's personal blog.

There was also this scarf that Jenny had finished using a fine 2 ply cashmere yarn from  Belisa Cashmere in Bundanoon.

On the day, Robyn was stitching Palestrina knot stitch onto pig skin leather, combining it with some beads.

All in all a great day was had by those who attended.

May 2012

What a great day we had on Saturday. There were six of us present on the day, & Robyn gave us all a "Stitch Play" exercise. We were all given a different stitch to go home & play with in our own way. It will be interesting to see what we all come back with. 

As usual, there was  show & tell aplenty. 

Annette was working on her Giraffe,  "Terrific Textures" book cover. It featured scrunched & bonded tissue paper on scrunched calico, decorated with stitch, cut up crochet work & paint. At this stage it was not quite finished.

Gerri had made a name tag using a combination of needle-lace, chain stitch, lazy daisy, french knots & back stitch. It was further embellished with beads. Stitched onto seeded calico & mounted onto card that was  encased with pellon.

Jenny had been playing with a black-work pattern. It was her own design that she had created using a photo as inspiration. This sample was just to find out how the pattern could be played with using position, colour, additions & subtractions.

Sheila was in the process of making a book cover from her own discharged velvet which had been dyed & stitched. The herringbone stitch was being worked in her own hand dyed threads.

This book cover was also made by Sheila at the  Contextart class with Sue Dennis. The fabric was first dyed, then quilted & painted.

These little thimble holders are also by Sheila & were made from minky fabric.

Jenny was   knitting a new scarf using a fine 2 ply cashmere yarn from  Belisa Cashmere in Bundanoon. The pattern is a simple drop stitch one found at Frazzled Knits.

Robyn was starting to cover her wire tree, using silk fabric that she had dyed with silk dyes. The beginnings of this tree were in our April posting. I wonder how much it will have grown by June? Perhaps you will all have to come back then to find out & to see what else we have been up to

April 2012

What a great day we all had last Saturday for our April meeting. There were nine of us in total, including one guest who is certain she will be back. Also, a big warm welcome to Annette who has finally made it to our little group.

Donna reported that the efforts of the Bunnings BBQ raised  approx $1,282 towards the Building Fund.This  takes our group's total donation to over $2,000. A super effort by everyone involved.

Show & tell as always proved inspiring.

Susan had finished her crochet pieces at last, the challenge being for her to not only practice, learn & develop her crochet skills, but to use up yarns & materials collected over many years rather than buying new. First up was this square motif scarf with a bobble fringe, from a"Panda Vintage" crochet book.

Next is Susan's four square motif bag. Using the same squares as in the scarf, the bag is lined with orange fabric.

This little bag is also Susan's, using the same motif as above.

Jenny had finished her green table mat featuring  pulled & drawn work. Only a snippet is to be seen here as the piece is for exhibition later in the year.

Sheila had just  returned from the "Contextart" Forum run by TAFTA  where she had been creating fabrics with Sue Dennis. This piece was rubbed with Shiva Paint Sticks over a design created with corregated card. The background is a wash of Lumiere & Setacolor paints

This piece, also be Sheila from the the same workshop, was created by rough pleating the fabric & mono printing three times. The background was  Setacolor dyed.

This leaf piece of Sheila's was made using a commercial cork stamp and Lumiere paints on a foam roller. The background was Setacolor dyed.

Donna had made this crocheted handbag using thick strips of fabric.

Dianne had been working on this sample of shadow work for her Basic Course. A bonsai tree using Asian influence for colour choice.

This wire construction is the beginnings of Robyn's 3D tree. Eventually it will be covered with fabric & thread. Definitely one to watch this space for, I wonder how far along it will be by May. Come back in another four weeks to find out.

March 2012

Our meeting this month brought seven members & one guest, with a  number of us working on our exhibition pieces (for later in the year) throughout the day. There were magazines & books for swapping, with  lots of chat over copious cups of tea/coffee.

Show & tell as always brought lots of discussion & "oos & arhs". Below is just a selection from our day together.

Robyn was playing with art dolls & had made this one using water soluble crayons & surface stitching.

This is her new one that was being worked on during the day.

Then there was this fabulous sampler of Ukrainian Work also by Robyn. The finished project will eventually be a needle book cover.

Jenny had been making scarves. Firstly, this one knitted from a very fine wool in a simple pattern. The yarn was very old & had come from a deceased estate without a label. 

This scarf, also by Jenny, was an experiment to crochet a different shape other than a square, & then join rows of them together. It has been made in two different cheap acrylic 8ply yarns, but now the pattern has been played with, a finer yarn in a better quality is calling.

During the day Jenny experimented with a black work pattern.

Donna was crocheting herself a wrap with this beautiful Tencel fiber, & plans to try dying it at a future dying day.

This is part of Donna's quilt "Mountain Trails", for an exhibition in July.

Sheila  had made this quilt from scrap fabric using a 'quilt-as-you-go" method.

There was also two pieces of this yummy eco-dyed silk that Sheila had dyed using cosmos flowers for colour.

Well, that was part of our day together this month. I wonder what April will bring.

February 2012

Last Saturday was our first official meeting for 2012 as our meeting room always hosts Summer School in January. A few of us had got together  in January to check out the displays on the walls & what Summer School was up to, then have a chat over coffee & lunch . It is, after all, a long time from November to February.

So what did we get up to on Saturday?  There were reminders of our year's objectives, & discussions on fund raising. Sheila had been researching boxes & postage in readiness for our years project.

 There was show & tell a plenty from the five of us attending.

Jenny was experimenting with Hardanger, working filling stitches in different colours.

Donna had been practising her crochet, making this gorgeous scarf in pinks, trimmed with some spiral flowers  that she had made in both matching & contrasting yarn.

Sheila had made a shopping bag featuring rows of raised chain band stitching in her own hand dyed threads.

Jenny had attended a workshop with Judith Langdon,  learning how to make Dorset buttons.

Sheila had made yet another brooch for her collection. Her own design, the brooch came about after a Guild Summer School with Sue Wood.  It is commercial felt which has been  machine stitched, mounted on a fabric backing.

 

Donna had found some hand dyed velvet which she used to play with some goldwork.

 Sheila had made two quilts, this one a baby quilt featuring a ring of hearts in machine quilting.

 "Dizzy Eye Dancing" is the second of the quilts by Sheila. It features fabric printing, fabric rubbings, machine appliqué & machine quilting.

Jenny had been making book marks to sell on a Guild Sales Table.

                    Wendy had been making crocheted squares using a pattern from Golden Hands.

Susan had finished her lacy scarf "Sweet Lorraine" that was shown in progress here. Made in a cotton yarn, the pattern is one that was downloaded from Interweave Crochet .

This granny square is also by Susan using a pattern by Panda Yarns. Made in a soft knitting cotton, it is the basis of a scarf, and a practice for another one in another colour some time in the future.

Wendy had been to Bangladesh, where she had purchased this "Village Scene" worked by Nermola at 

St Paul's   Sewing Center

Mongla Port

Bangladesh.

Come back in March for updates on our progress as we head towards our goals for 2012.