On Tuesday I hosted a sewing bee for the Honey Bee group I belong to. We are all ladies "d'un certain âge" who met at a beginners quilt course. There are about 6 or 7 of us who decided to keep meeting up as we enjoy each other's company so much. We have a laugh, share ideas and generally get along. Liz was feeling not so good so could not join us this week so there were only 5 of us; Gilly, Jan, Kathy, Jane and me.
 |
| Concentrating on getting down to work |
 |
| Gilly with her new fabrics |
 |
| Jan starting to bind her quilt |
 |
| Jane and her Bargello quilt and Kathy with her embroidery sampler |
As well as the usual show and tell we decided to do a small fabric swap and Jane had brought a pattern for foundation paper pieced stars. We will be using the swapped fabrics and some from our own stash to make the stars. The idea had been to try to use fabrics that would not be our normal choices but that was easier said than done as we were all drawn to the colours we like the best!
Jan brought along her subscription copy of Quiltmania, a French magazine that is also published in English. One of the projects featured was a Mystery Quilt BOM called Colmar by La Fée Pirouette (Nathalie Mèance) and only available in the UK though The Running Chicken Quilting Co. We all liked the project so much we rang and booked our places there and then. We want to work on a project together, building on our fledgling quilting skills by learning the new techniques. The photo of the first block is taken from the magazine.
New skills sometimes require new kit too- I ordered a set of Apliquick tools. I had seen them being used by Lynette Anderson on Youtube and I hope they will make it easier to turn fiddly edges on small pieces of appliqué. I also ordered a book on appliqué technique; "Simple Successful Applique" by Jeanne Sullivan. It arrived yesterday and I have only had a quick flick through it but it looks comprehensive with great photos, a video and patterns for 9 projects.
My cardigan is progressing well and I hope to have more photos next week.
Mike and I are off to stay with friends near London for a few days. A theatre visit is planned so I might include a review next week too.
Whatever you are doing, stay warm, stay dry and stay well.
Catherine
This looks like such a fun group. And your table looks lovely. Wish I could be part of the group!
ReplyDeleteOh wow! What fun! Like Lin I wish I could be part of the group too. Love your conservatory BTW :)
ReplyDeleteNothing could be finer than sitting and stitching there in your gorgeous conservatory with lovely friends....and....enjoying the lovely meal you cooked! Oooh....love that applique star block. The Appliquick tools sound interesting...must investigate!
ReplyDeleteYes it looks like a good group. I am in a couple of smaller quilting groups and I've met two of my closest friends through quilting. Thanks for the stay warm, stay dry stay well. It's freezing right now where I live and it may stay that way till March. Oh well only another week to go. I'm counting my blessings. At least it's sunny.
ReplyDelete