Retreat 2012

 

Our annual retreat was held at Perseverance Dam over the weekend of 12, 13, 14th October.  Dot C was the main organizer and she did a fantastic job.  Here she is handing out a prize from her basket.  Everyone who attended had a jolly good time and got some sewing done in between talking and eating!!

Chris D with her fairly old block of the month which she is finally tackling.  Good for you Chris, this first cat block looks fabulous.

Chriss J helps put together some special bags for breast cancer patients.

Fay put this quilt top together in an interesting way with strips.

Ena finished the top of her spectacular disappearing nine patch quilt. Well done Ena!

Genell made good progress on this pretty design.

Linda W, Chris D, Kathy Adams and Lynn R-S enjoying their time together at retreat

This is a ‘male’ quilt Lynn R-S put together.  What is she saying here???  Looks good!

Marilyn C with her delightful Christmas table runner which she got together in double quick time.

Vicki did some lovely freehand free motion quilting on her bright Chinese coins quilt.  Who loves purple???

Next year’s retreat is already booked and something club members look very much forward to each October.

Quilter’s Retreat 2011

The weekend of 8 – 9 October saw a group of Toowoomba Quilters’ members, their friends, and visitors, enjoy some quality sewing time at Perseverance Dam retreat.

This is a yearly event, and is supported well by club members and subsidised by the sales table at the annual exhibition.

This weekend was enjoyed by all who attended and there was a lot of laughter, sharing, chatting and indulgence (at the goodies table!!).

The surrounds at Perseverance Dam are the quintessential Aussie bushland, and this year it was particularly greened up after recent rains.

This group photo is showing the happy smiley faces of our members enjoying the weekend together.

Thank you to Marilyn C who organized this weekend away for us.  Good job Marilyn!!

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.....