Wonderful news!!!

We have had some wonderful news and I felt that it needed a separate posting. Let me explain.....in our group, one of the services we have been able to offer our gorgeous membership, is a quilting library. This library is of great use to all of us - even though it only contained 25 books - as a reference for new ideas, charity quilts and just welcome quilty reading. We wanted to extend our library to include the sort of books/DVDs that cover basic as well as new techniques, and also for those special books that most of us cannot afford. To this end we applied to the local Bendigo Bank for a grant and to our delight, we received a grant for $1000 to purchase books for our library! We wish to thank the Carrum Downs branch of the bank, in particular the manager Mike Spruhan for their generosity - corporate details as follows:

Carrum Downs Financial Services Ltd

Franchisee of Bendigo & Adelaide Bank Limited

Whilst we have set up a committee to choose our new books, we would appreciate the input of all Carrum Downs Scquilters - so please have a think about what you would like and bring a list along to our next meeting on the first Wednesday in September.
Thanks Bendigo Bank!

Wednesday 5th August 2009

Hello folks - we had yet another wonderful get together at Carrum Downs last Wednesday. A lovely, relaxing time was had by us all and the following pics tell the story!

Our "three wise monkeys" Wyn, Kate and Di being cheeky for the camera.

Our Maggy and our Pam enjoying a moment of frivolity.

Lovely Louise and rollicking Robyn, sharing a joke and setting up another table for the masses.

Our Ginny, temporarily distracted from her stitchery.

Fran and Sue catching up.


And now, dare I say it, "Chantelle"

Sally had a couple of Oz marsupials to use up, so made this quilt in her usual inimitable style. So beautiful, and her quilting is just gorgeous too!

Lovely Louise is preparing her new home (see planning department, Bayside Council, section 223, sub section 357 for progresss on planning approval!) The council may be moving slowly, but Louise is getting on with the job, with her lovely new stitchery wall hanging for her eventual sewing room.

Here is Louise with yet another beautiful stitchery wall hanging for the "new home".

Here is Robyn with her prize from the Breast Cancer Cushion raffle - a gorgeous home made overnight bag, with matching scarfe of course! This was 4th prize - someone somewhere is now the owner a the wonderful quilt that was 1st prize.

Here is Ramona's arm, holding, surprisingly, a bag made by Ramona - who purchased the pattern for this stable bag on the Adelaide retreat shop hop. See picture below for a close up.

Not for Pam, the usual Dahlia quilt pattern. She didn't like the end result, so finagled the pattern somewhat for this magnificent result. Plus, Pam hand quilted it in her "spare time" - ha ha - between 3am and 3.15 am eanch morning??

Here am I - Helen E. - with another bushfire quilt completed in tandem by the Devon Meadows girls.. and there are many more to come....says she hopefully!

Wyn has produced yet another great grandchild so yet another beautiful quilt has been produced - in lovely colours - 9 patches and beautiful fairy fabric for a great result.

Marilyn - you have outdone yourself - again - her is a close up of your shashiko quilt with beautiful shashiko embroidery coupled with pre-printed Japanese ladies. And, below is the big picture!

Here Jo explains the beginnings of this exemplary table runner - with blocks made by her friendship group - of flowers starting with everyine's initials - Jo's by the way is H for Helen and not J for Jo - there's something you didn't know! Jo cleverly transformed the fourpatch blocks the flowers were appliqued onto, into hexagons, so she could end up with this beautiful table runner. Just realised - they are not hexagons - they did look like them late last night, but they are their own unique shape!

Kate won these black and white Drunkards path blocks at the annual Ballarat retreat and put them together into this gorgeous quilt. A triumph! But Kate what was the criteria for the prize - dare I ask if it was a drinking contest - I have heard rumours

And here is Kate again with her lovely "Spinning Magnolias" quilt. It was magnificently quilted (as was her D/P quilt above) by Pam Hammond. And it is going to her newest relative.

Here is sumptous Sue with her jelly roll table cloth - completed in a one day workshop - love the fabrics as well as the effect.

Here is the shattered nine patch made by Fran C (as taught by Fran W in Launceston) for her charge Timmi - for her birthday. Timmi loves horses and just adores this quilt. Close up below.

And this is the back of the quilt Fran made for Timmi. The main fabric was a swap with an American lady who sent it over in exchange for Oz fabrics - a good swap!

And that, my friends is all for now.
Please let me know what you think - your feedback is always so welcome!
Until our meeting on the first Wednesday in September,
your roving reporter,
Helen Evans