Christmas in July 2012

We had a wonderful Christmas in July function this past Tuesday at our Jellicoe Street meeting rooms.

(Ladies in Red enjoying the day – Sheila K, Mel and Helen B)

(Behind the ladies – large quilt on the left made by Fay and it is a Christmas table cloth.  The stack and whack quilt on the right also made by Fay – quilted by Lyn Crump – a magnificent quilt)

The room was decked out with our members’ Christmas quilts etc.(see pictures below) and we even had a little Christmas music playing softly in the background.  The weather was cool, rainy, cloudy and foggy – we could have been experiencing a  European Christmas!!

Dot C made this wall hanging.  The Christmas tree fabric was a challenge fabric.  Dot has embellished it beautifully.

A quilt called Buttons & Bows from a Patchwork & Quilting magazine.  Made by Heather R.

A panel with some very cute Christmas toys put together by Ineke.

The very talented Ineke also crafted these delightful Christmas baubles.  The embellishing is exquisite.

Another pretty item from Ineke. 

This folded Christmas tree had everyone intrigued.  Made by Lyn L.

Our President, Fay, put this lovely table centre together from fabric received  in last year’s fat quarter swap.

Ineke has done this small wall hanging and once again embellished it beautifully.

Talent runs in the family, and Ineke’s mum did this magnificent cross stitch table runner which Ineke now proudly owns.  A lovely heirloom.

A wall hanging swap from sister to sister.  Ineke’s sister made this little beauty.

This swirly placemat was made by Vida.

Small hexagons wall hanging made by Heather R – a Kay Miele design.

A lot of our members may remember these little embroidered blocks from a swap a long time ago.  Lyle has put them together to make this delightful log cabin table runner.

A panel made into a wall hanging in 1988 by Angela Langdon and was hand quilted by her.

Our members once again put on a magnificent feast for us (sorry no photo).  It was just like Christmas dinner.

(Magazine bring and buy table)

This year our funds raised from this day will go to Lifeline at Christmas time to help out needy people during the festive season.  To raise funds on the day for this very worthy cause, we had a small raffle (won by Vida) and bring and buy tables.

Thank you to all the members for a very memorable Christmas in July.

Patchwork and Quilting and more .....

Ineke is another talented member of our club and yesterday she led a small group of members who chose to spend the day making Christmas decorations.

No doubt some of them will be on display next week when our regular monthly shared lunch will have a Christmas theme.

As well as days where we make quilts for distribution to the community (coordinated by Lyle and Fay) the Club has supported several "group activity" sessions where a group of members elect to work on similar projects. For example,  there has been a "bag day" and a "string piecing day."  There is no formal tuition but usually someone with experience or expertise volunteers to lead the group and these sessions have proven to be wonderful opportunities to learn and share ideas plus encourage motivation and confidence.

Lyle's quilts

Last week Lyle who is a very active member of our club shared with us her "first quilts before she knew anything about quilting." They were made some years ago for her grandchildren in the city and this one tells a little about her daughter's childhood in the country.  Both quilts have been used by four lucky grandchildren.

Lyle's expertise in embroidery is evident in both of these quilts.  Thank you Lyle for showing us your lovely early work.

Creative Exhibition

Last weekend our club had a stall at the Creative Exhibition hosted by the Lions Club of Highfields and NE Downs.

It was a great opportunity for clubs and individuals to display their creative talents.

 Our 2012 raffle quilt (foundation-pieced in autumn tones and hanging behind the table) which was part of our display generated a lot of interest. Tickets will be on sale at Toowoomba Quilters Club Exhibition to be held at the Salo Centre, Rome Street (behind St Ursula's College) Toowoomba during Carnival of Flowers week, 22-28 September 2012.

Many thanks to the members who provided items for this display and to members and friends who provide assistance over the weekend.

"Cuppa 4 Cancer"

This year's "Cuppa 4 Cancer" had a yellow and gold theme. Margie again organised a fun day for this important fund raising event which included a scrumptious morning tea, a multi-draw raffle and a presentation from Joan Billingsley from the Queensland Cancer Council who spoke about the help and support available for those with cancer.

Margie with Joan

Favourite quilting tips were written on yellow flowers for display in the meeting room, yellow quilts adorned the walls and members were encouraged to wear yellow clothing. 

 

Judy with Carol who won the prize for best dressed

Even the prizes in the multi-draw raffle were yellow!

This fun day resulted in a donation of $400 from the Club to the Queensland Cancer Council to assist with research.

Community Quilts find a Home

Our community quilting ladies have been working laboriously and now some of the lovely quilts that they have produced in the last few months have found a new home.

The quilts have travelled to the flood ravaged region of Begonia , Queensland. ( St George area)

Here are some photos from the local press of some of the recipients being presented their quilts by  local resident, Win. (on the right)

We hope our quilts bring warmth and comfort to their new homes.

Congratulations to our community quilting ladies who always put their heart and soul into these quilts.

Raffle Quilt Finished

Our magnificent 2012  raffle quilt is now complete.

Pictured here with the quilt is Lyn Crump who has co-ordinated this project and organized working bees to complete this quilt.  Lyn also expertly machine quilted it for us.  Many, many thanks to Lyn for a job very well done.

Tickets for this quilt will go on sale shortly and will be on sale at our Annual Exhibition.  This year the exhibition runs from Saturday 22nd September to Friday 28 th September.  We would love to see you there – and make sure you get your ticket in this beauty.

Proceeds from this year’s raffle quilt will go to the local Hear & Say Centre. The mission of the Hear & Say Centres is to enable families in Queensland to achieve optimal outcomes for their children with hearing loss by teaching them to listen and speak using their world leading end-to-end service delivery model.

A very worthwhile cause. 

Quilt Production Line

It seems like there is a production line going at Toowoomba Quilters these past few weeks.  Lots of wonderful charity quilts being churned out by our energetic community quilting ladies, and lots of individual quilts being produced too.
Here are some charity quilts.  Remember, these quilts are made from donated fabrics and tops from various individuals and groups.  We appreciate these very kind donations.

A lovely dresden plate quilt finished off by our community quilting ladies.  Lovely accent of machine embroidery around the inner circle.

The machine embroidered pieces were donated and our girls finished it off!  Thank you to Andrew who quilted it for us on his long arm machine.  It was difficult as the border and backing fabric was a bit ‘stretchy’.  Well done, Andrew.

The appliqued pansy pieces were donated and the borders were added by our ladies.  It came up beautifully.

A beautiful Autumn flowers batik quilt made with donated batik fabric. Destined to become a charity fund raiser quilt.

Another beautiful batik quilt made using some left over fabric from our 2012 raffle quilt.  The design is the very popular disappearing 9 patch.

Some Robyn Pandolf fabrics were donated for this quilt.  Subtle, soft and lovely. 
Hearty congratulations to our community quilters for all the fine quilts they are churning out.  

This is a stunner.  A wall hanging from Angela Langdon, called “Gum Blossom & Dragonfly”. Angela did this in a workshop with Lorraine Carthew called ‘Mosaic Applique” in 2006.  Well, she has finally finished it and has even pieced the back with some gorgeous hand dyed fabrics from Lorraine Carthew.  Beautiful!!

Diana R has made this eye catching quilt top.  Look forward to seeing it quilted.

Marleen made this striking string quilt under the guidance of Angela Langdon and she has made it especially for her husband.  She saw the pattern on Bonnie Hunter’s site, www.quiltville.com

Diana R has also made this vividly coloured quilt.  It is called “Welsh Hills and Valleys”.  Diana purchased this packaged kit in 2010 from Maleny Patchwork..  Diana has free motion quilted this quilt herself and when she was doing the quilting it reminded her of hills and valleys.  Nice job, Diana.
So, you see, we have a great deal of talent and expertise within our club. 

Updates and Date Claimers

Lyn Crump from “Busy Quilting” is going full steam ahead with the quilting on this year’s raffle quilt. 

She is doing some beautiful quilting on it for us on her long arm quilting machine.  Thank you Lyn,

You may view the progress on Lyn’s blog here:

http://www.busy-quilting.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/tq-raffle-quilt-progress.html

This photo was taken a few weeks ago, but you can see how striking and colourful this year’s quilt is.  We will announce on the blog when you will be able to purchase tickets.

We have some exciting activities planned over the next couple of months.  We will be visiting the Gold Coast for the annual Queensland Quilter’s picnic on Tuesday May 8th.

We are running a bus to the Gold Coast and visiting quilt shops etc on the way home.

BUS TRIP

The Queensland Quilters’ Annual Picnic                                             This year hosted by Gold Coast Quilters’ Guild Inc.

Tuesday 8^th May 2012 starting 9.30 am                                            Albert Waterways Community Centre

BROADBEACH, GOLD COAST

· Entrance $3 (Incl Morning Tea)

· Swap will be a pot holder

· Charity – Look Good Feel Better

· Lucky Door Prizes

· Speciality Trading Tables

· Sausage Sizzle & Cold Drinks

· Speciality Coffee Stall

· Tombola/raffle

· On-site medical assistance

What to Bring: Chair, Mug, Lunch, Hat, Pot Holder to swap plus something for Show and Tell.                                                           Cost $35.00 per member and $45.00 for non members. Non refundable. (Entrance fee extra.)

……………………………………………………………………………

On Tuesday May 22nd we will be hosting our Cuppa for Cancer day again.  We have some really fun activities planned for the day.

CUPPA FOR CANCER

Tuesday 22 May 10.00 am til 12.00pm.

Entry: Gold coin donation (over $2 will be receipted for your records)

• Guest Speaker at 10.30am – Joan Billingsley. Joan is Regional Community Services Co-ordinator.

Activities planned for the day

• Yellow and Gold Theme

- Wear yellow clothing

- Bring any quilt with yellow in it and display on wall

- Wear a hat decorated in yellow (Prizes for 1 – Most funny 2 – Posh and Pretty)

• Bring along a favourite quilting tip – to be written on yellow flower and displayed around room.

• Multi Draw Raffle

• Bring a plate for morning tea.

All monies raised will go to Qld Cancer Council

Tuesday Gatherings

Tuesdays at TQ headquarters seems to get bigger and bigger.  Almost every Tuesday now something is happening.

We have had Lyn Crump (from Busy Quilting) showing the ladies foundation piecing and at the same time working on this year’s raffle quilt.  We have small mini projects if members wish to participate.  These are let by a member of the group.  Some of the ladies have just done string quilts with Angela on a Tuesday and this month Lyle is leading the ladies on another piecing adventure. 

Most every Tuesday now we have lovely quilts lining the walls for show and tell.

The following are from Tuesday 20 th March.

This lovely bag from Joan R.  “Quilting Angel at Work – Prepare for Random Miracles”.  Very cute.

Joan R. is really achieving lately and has completed this hexagon flower quilt.  She also did her own free motion quilting on it.  Congratulations on the lovely work, Joan.

Lorelle used some lovely fabric panels to make up this delightful quilt.

Here is an unusual teapot!!!  It is called “Hilarity” and belongs to our doll maker extraordinaire, Lyn L and is a pattern by Maxine Gallagher of Toowoomba. 

This hanging doll is made by Lyn L and is a pattern by Christine Shiveley (USA).

This gorgeous machine embellished silk box was made by Maxine Gallagher for Lyn. L.

A very pretty childs quilt made by Sue H from some ‘acquired’ Beatrix Potter panels.  Sue completed the embroideries and a friend stipple quilted the quilt for her.

On Tuesday 3rd April, Lyn Crump will be helping members put the borders on the raffle quilt and she will then go ahead and quilt it.  Thank you Lyn for co-ordinating this year’s raffle quilt.

Our exhibition this year will be held from Saturday 22nd September 2012 to Friday 28th September 2012.

It will be held in St Ursula’s Salo Centre which is in Rome Street, behind St Ursula’s College (Taylor St).

Mark it on your calendars it is a show not to be missed.

See some pictures and an article on our 2011 exhibition in the latest Australian Patchwork and Quilting magazine   Vol. 21 No. 4.