Friday 25 December 2015

International swapping part two!

Phew! To say Decembers meeting was full on is an understatement. Do you remember our international swap with the Melbourne modern quilt guild? The mini quilts they sent to us arrived in time for the December meeting.

 

I can't really describe the levels of excitement when unwrapping the box!

It would have been impossible to get everyone's names and swap partners, the ladies were way to eager to see their (quite frankly amazing!) minis.

A huge thank you to all the ladies of the Melbourne modern quilt guild we loved swapping with you!

I will leave you with the pictures I did manage to get of the ladies enjoying their wonderful minis.

 
 
 
 
 
Group shot!
 

 

 

Saturday 12 December 2015

December meeting - Even our cake is patchwork!

Go on, you are totally jealous aren't you :-) how awesome is our patchwork cake!! Decembers meeting hit new standards of fabulousness. We were having our traditional Christmas get together. Audreys patchwork cake did steal the show, which is saying a lot because our members baking is as good as their sewing!
 
 
Katy's Oreo cookie chocolate balls were pretty awesome too, as were Janes little salmon prawn nibbles. All in all a great gastronomic evening!
We had a show and tell too! Helens beautiful porthole quilt, all hand quilted too.
Do you remember Audrey's block was a flying geese strip in neutrals? Well here is the finished version! So lovely and soft.
Ok I will have to put my hands up and say I have no idea who made this! (Edited, the lovely Sue made this!) Honestly things were going fast and quick and I couldn't keep up with who had done what! But hey it's gorgeous and I know someone will tell me whose it was so I can correct this.
 
Robins bag, made from the improv portrait block taught by Jo at the stitchgathering.
Nope I didn't manage to get a note of who did this either!! Oh dear and I only had one glass of wine as well! Beautiful Liberty ornaments, I think these might have been part of our ornament swap. I didn't manage to get many pictures of those, but I think this was one of them.
Ahhhh! Janice! My notes say this was Janice?? Bother my notes also say that Sue did a stocking! Sooper pretty though I'll bet the recipient was well chuffed with this.
It's ok ta over must be Janice as here is Sue with her stocking! Both beautiful.
 
 
Janes show and tell was this box! She made it for our ornament swap
Beautiful twin needle quilting from our uber talented Tayana, a lovely you've got mail mini!
Awwww sweet hazel cushion from Barbara.
Lesley showed us her progress on the modern medallion quilt, fab colours.
Fiona asked for a Christmas disappearing nine patch block, I'm amazed at the variety of fabrics chosen, all super!
I mentioned we had a Christmas ornament swap! Because we all opened them at the same time I was a bit rushed to get pictures of them all, and boy there were some amazing ones, not least my very own one from Jaquie! It now has pride of place on my tree.
 

Talking of the lovely Jacquie I have to finish with this beautiful quilt. It has been mentioned in previous blog posts that Lesley is expecting a new addition to her family. Jacquie very kindly suggested that she use her bee block month for us all to make blocks for a quilt for Lesely.

 

And here it is! I haven't been able to fully capture the lovely teddy bear quilting done by Tatyana. But you know her work is awesome don't you!

 

And of course there was the delivery of the quilts from our swap with the Melbourne modern quilt guild but that's a whole other blog post!

Have a lovely Christmas!

 

Our first international swap!

This post has been waiting patiently to be posted! Now our partners have recieved their minis and we have recieved ours I can post this!

How exciting! As a group we have talked for a while about swapping with other Modern Quilt guilds. The lovely Tatyana emailed round a few and the first one to be set up was with the Melbourne Modern Quilt guild.

We all decided on making a mini, with a loose theme around the fabric choices, EMQG members to use UK fabrics and vice versa, this wasn't a hard and fast rule but gave us something to start with.

Once partners were allocated, contact was made and we all started beavering away on our minis.

Without any further ado, here they are!

Karen Lewis featured in a couple of minis, here is Helens gorgeous one.

This is a mini! Amazing foundation piecing from Jaqui.

Another stunning example of foundation piecing from Ann, love the Kaffe fabrics.

A mesmerising black and white quilt from Fiona.

I adore Bargello and this is a great interpretation from Janice.

Plaid but not as you know it! Soft and soothing but still plaid by Lesley.

 

 

 
 

You don't get more British than Liberty! Katy giving us an exemplar in how to use HSTs.

 

This is just pure and simple genius! Polaroid blocks each with a Scottish theme, the music block (middle top) is the music for Auld Lang Syne! Well done Audrey.

 

 

I don't think you could get much more Scottish than this! I love the wee Scottie dogs surrounding the monarch of the glen, beautiful work as ever Barbara.

Next up is me! Another Liberty mini, all foundation pieced.

Liberty also feathered in another quilt, you can guess whose this is by the stunning quilting, Tatyana knocks it out of the park yet again!

Robins quilt is so bright and fun, I could spend ages getting lost in this one.

Beautiful appliqué and hand quilting? Well that could be none other than the fabulous Jo Avery!
Karen Lewis features again in Janes mini, love the pairing with text fabric.
 
Inspired by her class in the Stitch gathering Lynsey made this gorgeous nosegay mini, all hand sewn!
 
Here is Sheenas mini which is inspired by the Sottish landscape and using oakshott fabrics, how very modern is this!
 
 

Love this very modern colour palette from Pauline, very chic!

You have to see the back! Loooooook it's Nessie :-)

All the goodies parcel led up and ready to go to their new homes across the seas.

 

  Christmas in March! For this month only i'm handing over the blog (mostly) to Mags Scammell. She is the host of tonight's ceremony...