Toowoomba Quilters Win at Queensland Quilt Show

Congratulations to two very talented members of Toowoomba Quilters Club Inc.  who have won prizes at the Queensland Quilt show .

Robyn Ginn took out best of show from over 600 entries, with her stunning quilt which we showed you after it was exhibited at our show.  It is called "Silk Purses and Crazy Bags".  This quilt shines like a jewel and it is not surprising it won best of show. The hand embroidery on the edge is spectacular. ( This quilt won viewer's choice at our show). Congratulations, Robyn.

Kathy Adams of KoolKat Quilting won First Prize - Machine System Quilter with her wonderful quilt, The Sky is Blue the Sea is Blue.  Well done Kathy.  We know how much work went into this quilt and it is very deserving of first prize.  
(This quilt won 2nd place Viewer's Choice at our show).Kathy was also honoured in that her pattern, "Gather Ye Rosebuds" was utitlised by Audrey Foletta of Brisbane who won first place in Category 4 - First Time Entrant. This pattern was also used by another quilter who won third place in the Commercially Quilted section of Canberra Quilt Show which was held earlier this year


Hop over to Queensland Quilters website to see more of the winning quilts.

Quilting Retreat - Perseverance Dam 2010 - Fun Days

 
There is always a lot of fun and frivolity at the retreat.  Laughter is always in the air.
This year we had a lucky dip swap and lucky Ena received a beautifully made casserole carrier.  She found another use for it (briefly)!!

 
Shaaron crafted this cute little stitchery which put a smile on everyone's face.
 
They don't know about this shot!  The mysterious three are holding up Diana's wonderful candlewick quilt she is making in the 'quilt as you go' style.  She made a lot of progress on it over the duration of the weekend.  The photograph of the front did not do it justice so we will put some photos up when next Diana brings it to quilting.
 
Is Daphne scratching her head asking "Am I Crazy??".  She did well and got this top put together.  Her blocks are embellished with different yarns etc. and mostly done on the machine.  Looking good Daphne!

Quilting Retreat - Perseverance Dam 2010 Show and Tell

 
Ena Brown with her lovely Hydrangea quilt.  Hope you got home safely, Ena.  Ena comes from a town west of Toowoomba and some of the road was cut due to flood rain. 
 
Linda W with her beautiful blue and white 'Duck Pond' blocks.  Linda has put the blocks together so expertly with precision piecing.  Look forward to seeing the finished quilt Linda.
 
Diane embarked on this new quilt using batiks.  She changed the measurements up a bit so she didn't have a lot of fiddly cutting.  It is going to look superb.
 
Some years ago, Lyn R-S won the 'Block of the Month' at a Saturday quilt meeting.  She has put together this wonderful quilt - (love the quilting hoop still attached Lyn).  She has done some grid hand quilting on it and it is looking good.  Well done Lyn, there is hope for all our UFO's.

Margaret, sister of our member, Denise, was visiting from Sydney.  Lovely to have you along, Margaret.  She worked on a Cathedral Window project on the weekend and it is going to be wonderful when put together!

Trish has started putting together this Japanese style quilt.  Her fabrics are lovely indigo's and reds.  Trish is a regular participant at our retreat, and she puts her head down and gets lots done.

 
New member and new to our retreat, Shaaron showing us her just-finished table runner using some Christmas Moda Fabrics.  Very nice Shaaron.
'
Yvonne did a 'happy dance' when she finished the hand quilting on this quilt on Sunday.  It is all hand quilted and has taken a couple of years to get this slash and stack style quilt done.  A great achievement.

 

Dianne C began hand quilting this scrap quilt at the retreat.  She is doing echo quilting around each flower.  Every piece of fabric came from her scrap box apart from the red and cream borders which she had on hand in the stash.
 

Lyle showed us her Autumn Leaf quilt she finished a little time back.  She got her inspiration from a gardening magazine.  Well done, Lyle.
 

Joan worked on this 20" block on the weekend.  It is hand appliqued and embroidered and is going to be part of a friendship quilt for a quilting friend who is turning 70.  The theme was hearts, and Joan has chosen to do heart shaped gum leaves.  The blossoms will be added next.  Beautiful, Joan.
 

Regular visitor to our retreat, Vanessa, started a quilt for her daughter in these wonderfully bright fabrics.  See you next year, Vanessa, where you may be able to show us the finished product!
 

This beautiful pattern has been put together by Marilyn G.  Lovely autumnal shades and perfect piecing.
Marilyn C worked on putting these blocks together over the weekend.  She starts with a nine patch piecing and uses a special ruler to cut them 'wonky'.  It is going to be a quilt with a lot of interesting secondary patterns and movement.  Look forward to seeing it put together, Marilyn.
 

Hiding behind her latest Bali fabric creation is our long arm quilter extraordinaire, Kathy Adams of Kool Kat Quilting.  She is not really shy, we just had to photograph her quilt top in a confined space!  Kathy, as usual, put her head down and achieved much over the course of the weekend.

Our annual retreat to Perseverance will be held in October in 2011, so if you have never been before, do consider joining us for this fun weekend on the Toowoomba Quilters Club calendar.

Quilting Retreat - Perseverance Dam 2010 - More Show and Tell

 
Lyn is a regular visitor to our retreat and is always a 'high achiever'.  She put this gorgeous quilt together on the weekend.  It was all cut out ready to go and she got it finished moments before show and tell.

 
Gabrielle is putting the finishing blocks together for this wonderful Baltimore style quilt after 15 years!~!  Her daughter picked the quilt out but then changed her mind, so it has been languishing in the UFO basket until Gabrielle got the inclination to finish it.
 
Jill is auditioning her latest quilt blocks in lovely bright modern fabrics.  She is ably assisted by her sister Pat (R) and Sue M (L).  It is going to be a striking quilt, Jill.
 
Sue M showing us the beginnings of a blue and white "Delectable Mountain" quilt she has embarked on.  Neat work Sue.

Pat is a first time visitor to our retreat and showed us this quilt she has finished for a friend who likes all things USA.

Isn't this a beautiful quilt??  Made and shown here by Cora who is a busy lady, but always seems to get a quilt done during the year.  Well done, Cora.
 
Linda R had this slash and stack quilt all cut out and ready to go for retreat.  It is done in these most beautiful flannels and is sure to be a cuddly and cosy quilt.  Nice quilting too Linda.

This fantastic scrappy hearts quilt is also done by Linda R and shown here by Ann who is holding up the border Linda has pieced for this quilt.  Every fabric is from Linda's stash and Linda says the stash has not been very diminished.  She says her scraps must be 'sexually active' as they seem to be multiplying!!!

Oh so pretty.  Quilt done by Shirley, a friend of ours who comes almost every year to retreat with Ann J.  Thank you Shirley for bringing your quilt top along to show us.  Good work.
 
Here is our one and only (but not lonely) male member who is working on the most beautiful stained glass project from "Aussie Applique".  All the blocks are Australian flora and fauna.  Alton was accompanied to the retreat by his wife, Diane.  It was lovely to have them along for the first time, and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves (children free!)
 
Alton and Diane showing more of the stained glass blocks.  There are 27 in all.
 
Not a good photo, but this is the quilt.
 
Ann with her little quilt she has made from some 'challenge fabrics' she was given on her recent quilt tour to the UK.  A lovely memento.


Lola had time ( in between being cheeky) to work on her Grandmother's flower garden.  Happy colours just like our little Lola.

Quilting Retreat - Perseverance Dam 2010

 
Our cabins and main hall, surrounded by the great Aussie bush and, for a change, green, green grass.

 
It was a little damp when we arrived but spirits were high.  Within 5 minutes of unpacking, people were busily sewing.

 
This is the main hall where we sewed, played and ate.
 
Day visitors to camp, Sue, Jan and Chriss get stuck straight into their hand work and enjoying the atmosphere.

 
Our tea and coffee station was well supported and the small table to the left in front of the fireplace.  That is where all the cakes and slices were that people brought along to share.  Yummo.

Another of our day visitors, Angela, busy fitting in some sewing time.  If people were unable to come for the whole weekend, they were able to come just for the day as the camp site is not that far from Toowoomba.
 
One of our early 'finishers', Vida, with her sashiko bag.  She purchased the pattern from our good friends at Indigo Niche.  You have done a great job on this one Vida.

 
Megan is a regular visitor to our retreat.  Although not a member she is able to come along and pay a visitor rate for the weekend.  She is working on this most incredible cross stitch.  A very talented young lady.

 

Mother and baby - so life like!!

 

A first-timer to the retreat, member, Vicky, enjoying putting some hexagons together to make a Christmas wreath design.  She was an 'achiever' on the weekend.
 

Marleen proudly showing a finished block in her Sue Daly from Patchwork with Busyfingers  designed quilt.  It is all hand appliqued and is going to be a beauty!

More show and tell from the retreat in the coming days.....

Exhibition 2010 -Quilts on Display 4

 
"Hearts for Hannah"  -  another beautiful quilt made by Robyn Ginn.  All hand appliqued and hand quilted - made for Robyn's granddaughter, Hannah.  The backing is a dress fabric from Hanna's great Nana Sylvia.
 
A close up of the embroidered heart in the centre of the quilt and Robyn's superb hand quilting.
 
"Scrappy Happy"  by Robyn H.  Robyn used as many scraps on hand as she could for this one.  She has hand embroidered herringbone stitch over all the seams.  Many hours of work combined with pleasure in making this one for her daughter.
 
"Swirls and Spirals"  by Fay Suley.  You can tell who the achievers in the club are - there name keeps popping up beside quilts here on the blog.  Fay did this wonderful spiral bargello in a workshop with Lyn Crump.  It was achieved by sewing strips together and cutting wedges with a 10 deg ruler.  Well done Fay, seeing as you inadvertently  missed the class and had only instructions to go by!!!
 
"Tropical Dreaming" by Carol F.  The design is from A Patch of Country N.Z, as seen in a Patchwork and Stitches magazine.  Carol drafted the design up and used scraps for the squares.
 
Another beauty by Lynn Rendle-Short.  Lynn has called this quilt "Spring Stars".  The quilt features mostly Kaffe Fassett fabrics and the design is by queen of mystery quilts Debbie Caffrey
 
Judy D had great fun making this eclectic quilt, thus she has named it "Great Fun":.  Judy is one crazy lady - meaning she loves to do crazy patchwork (nice bright ones) and also loves to create art blocks.  She experiments with lots of 'things' in this quilt, different fabrics, found objects and objects from her childhood.  She was inspired by journal quilts in magazines.  So much to look at here and it makes one want to go and create!
A close up of one of Judy's block where she has used a scrappy background, embroidered felt circles and covered this with some onion bag mesh.  Fantastic!