Melbourne continues to be in the grip of the Coronavirus pandemic, keeping everyone to their own homes. Waverley members are missing our regular get togethers where we get to see each other’s projects and are stimulated to try all sorts of new patterns and techniques.
Fortunately some lovely people have sent in their photos of recent work, both complete or as WIPs (work in progress). Please enjoy viewing these and remember to send in your own pictures as a small substitute for what is currently missing in our lives. Check your newsletter for details.
A pattern, template and fabric kit bought by Robyn on the bus trip to Torquay last year has resulted in this stylish cushion.
Another shopping expedition, this time to Amsterdam in 2014. Jenny bought the chintz’s with a plan to hand piece something. But they proved to be too tightly woven so instead she has made this stunning quilt top by machine.
Peggy keeps her scraps organised by size. She used her 2″ strips to make this windmill block found in this strip piecing tutorial.
After using very bright fabrics in recent projects Christine is using reproduction fabrics again. She is enjoying the challenge of using these more subtle patterns and doing lots of fussy cutting. The pattern is Leonie Bateman’s ‘Evandale’ with changes made by Christine to create ‘Flowerdale’.
A cheery pieced heart quilt made by Trudy to cheer up an overseas cousin.
Ann has a new granddaughter and she has not yet been able to give her this very cute animal quilt which is so big it will last for a very long time.
Rhondda was asked by her Daughter-in-law to make these quilts. There are going to be some very happy little people when they get delivered.
Winter is coming to an end but Waverley Patchworkers are still not able to meet in person. This is very challenging but members are keeping in touch with their quilting friends in all sorts of clever ways; social media, video calls, phone and who knows maybe some are writing letters too.
However like all people who create with needle and thread we consider ourselves very fortunate to have a passion that we can pursue in our locked down homes. A healthy stash and a wealth of online purchasing opportunites means there is no supply shortage. Now that mask making duties are done – it is back to quilts. Here is some recent work.
Last month Heather showed us where she sews, overlooking a beautiful park. The foundation piecing that was on the machine is now finished.
Enchanted Star is one of Jacqueline de Jong’s more difficult designs. Fortunately Heather found the instructions and pattern to be spot on correct and she enjoyed the challenge of making this top which is heading up to Sydney for the new owner to complete.
In contrast to the speed in which the above top was made, Janine has finished a UFO started three years ago as a scrap project.
Always a great feeling to have finally finished. Janine is not the only one getting into the UFO pile.
Margaret says she has been on an archeological dig and found a block started in Jinny Beyer’s hand piecing class in 2009, the class sample from Dianne Johnston’s Clam Shells class and a stitchery with hundreds of colonial knots.
All these are now finished and will be made into cushions and a wall hanging. While she enjoyed the hand piecing, embroidery is not Margaret’s cup of tea.
Val made this very sweet cot quilt for a friend’s great grandson. Good to see there is another generation coming on to keep Val busy.
Margaret is the over achiever this month. She has been forced to keep her feet up for a few weeks and used the time to make up all the hexagon blocks she has been fussy cutting for four years. It has all the signs of being fantastic quilt once she is able to put a final arrangement together.
Another quilt made by Margaret, this one uses the longer strips from a bag of Jo Botherway’s scraps. We saw what she did with the short pieces in May. The pattern comes from Evelyn Sloppy’s book Strips and Strings.
Late last year Jo taught Jeanette how to knit a log cabin style blanket that uses one constant colour and lots of left over balls of wool. Many many cold evenings later it is finished.
Here is some of the work started or finished by members this June. While it can be a struggle to stay motivated without our regular social connections, Waverley Patchworkers are sewing away, making quilts for themselves and others.
Karen has made quilts for three of her grandchildren. So interesting to see the same pattern using different colour ways.
Margaret’s cute duck quilt is for her godson’s new baby and the pretty flower one is for our gift quilt program.
Val has been using panels and workshop samples to put together these two fun quilts. She was glad to use them all up. Good to see nothing goes to waste.
A cot quilt made for a friend by Val.
Each year when we go away together for a weekend all participants make a block. Then some lucky winners receive a set. Val has made her blocks from 2019 into this very bright quilt.
Christine was due to go on a fabulous trip to Africa this year, but due to the pandemic it was cancelled. This Jen Kingwell pattern Drops of Jupiter has been made by Christine into her Dreaming of Africa quilt. Quilted by Denise Muschamp.
Norma has been using the time in isolation to practise her free motion quilting technique. She is following two online tutors, Angela Walters and Lori Kennedy. Having learned about quilting script, she quilted the story of Hairy Maclary on the cat and dog quilt make by Di.
Norma has also joined a number of Quilt-Alongs and Mystery Quilts in the last few months. This is Wake Me Up by Emma Jean Jansen and having made it queen size, decided single was better. So it became two identical tops, one backed with car fabric has been sent off to a nephew.
President Heather has been using the gloomy weather and time inside to work on foundation paper piecing.
Peggy used some of her leftover mermaid fabric to make a baby quilt for our gift quilt program. Not happy with the first design she unpicked it and remade it. The new design is on the right, all quilted and ready to be donated.
Also by Peggy a coffee table cover using 2″ scraps and a baby quilt for her daughter’s friend. Lots of cute animals peeking out in this one.
As the situation in Victoria has worsened, Jeanette has made double sided face masks for family members. They live in a busy part of Melbourne and wanted some to wear when they shop for essentials. Great way to use all those fat quarters accumulated over the years.
Sadly we were not able to have our Quilt Show this year. Thanks to the kindness of many members in staging and photographing their quilts and works in progress here, instead, is a little of what we are sewing.
Before COVID 19
After COVID 19
Let’s start with the space we use. Trudi decided that her sewing room needed a bit of a tidy up as the lockdown started. This is always very risky as it is impossible to find anything once it is all clear and neat. She mentioned that she was tempted to start a new project so chances are it looks more like the before picture now.
Travel and Memory Quilts
Marion is piecing memories into her Bella Ruby quilt. She picked up the pattern when Emma Di Stefano of Treehouse Textiles was our guest speaker in 2019 and has been inspired to use fabric from garments made for herself and the family.
Peggy has a well trained daughter who bought fabric while travelling, then Peggy put them into a quilt and Laura embroidered the names of the cities visited. Also shown is a cross quilt made by Peggy is for her nephew to wish him a speedy recovery.
Two more well travelled quilts. Lyn attended the UK Festival of Quilts last year and took some classes. The first is an Easy Stack Quilt with Paula Doyle and the large image is Moon Dance designed by Sue Bouchard. Both tops just need quilting now.
Lyn has also made a large quilt based on a panel for her friend’s first granddaughter due in June.
Joyanne has made a sketch a day quilt from Susan at the Gourmet Quilter. As she travelled for two months she changed some sketches to personalise the quilt.
Also by Joyanne, another Gourmet Quilter design called Metro Tiles. She learnt about the ‘quilt as you go’ method while making this.
Travel to NZ put Jannie in isolation for two weeks on her return, but she has been having fun with her quilting. Two Judy Niemeyer patterns, Licorice Allsorts and a Compass Rose cushion. The hexagon cushion is made from leftover pieces bought at a small market.
New Starts
Jenny is well known for her bright quilts and amazing productivity. This Jen Kingwell design Long Time Gone was started in April and by early May was just about done. She finds sampler style quilts avoid boredom!
Cheryl is working on a zipper quilt, using up scraps. She has also finished putting together five blocks from a Wattlebird Designs Block of the Month which was just enough of this style for her. Fortunately there are no rules to say you have to follow a pattern to the letter.
Getting Things Finished
A number of members have been going to their UFO pile and making quite a dent in it.
Karen has been giving her longarm a real work out getting the tops in her ‘to be quilted’ box finished. Some have been in there for a very long time.
One more from Karen’s Covid 19 Collection.
Eileen bought a lot of the Poppy panels and fabric and has been busy making lots of quilts.
She also picked up a bag of small hexagons at the Quilters on High February meeting and has made them into two little girl bags. Another hexagon quilt is finished and she says there are seven more quilt tops at the quilters, there is no risk of boredom in her house.
Made for Others
Trish is a new member of Waverley Patchworkers and has not made a quilt in 15 years. At the suggestion of her daughter she has made a sensory blanket for her 8 month old grandson full of lots of textures and shapes. Ryan is loving it.
In the April Newsletter there was a pattern for a block that could be used to make gift quilts. Dell has done just that and made a child’s size quilt top. She has also made a cushion for her mother’s 90th birthday. Sadly she could not visit her in her aged care home to celebrate but the cushion is providing a pleasurable connection for her mum.
Finally a knee quilt for a friend. When ill health prevented her friend from finishing a project she gave away the blocks. Dell decided to make them into a quilt and return them as a useful surprise.
Gift Quilts
Margaret has used the Yellow Brick Road pattern to make quilts for the bushfire appeal. Using just 15 fat quarters she says they are quick to make. The Shadow Box pattern highlights lovely florals, perfect for a garden lover.
Margaret was given a bag of scraps from Jo Botherway’s stash and has made a whole quilt using the smallest and odd shaped pieces.
Jenny M is a great supporter of our gift quilt program. Here are two photos are of 14 basted tops waiting to be quilted. Once Jenny has done this part they are passed on to other members to do the binding.
In between times she has been able to whip up a number of baby quilts requested by family friends who know she is a quilter.
And here we are at the end of our May Show and Tell. Two gift quilts finished by Anne. If you have made it this far you must have enjoyed it almost as much as you would have enjoyed our real Quilt Show.
This month’s virtual Show and Tell is from the Appliqué Special Interest Group. In pre-isolation times this group met on the first Thursday of the month to stitch, chat, encourage, learn and enjoy afternoon tea. Appliqué quilts are not fast projects, each month a Show and Tell shows the progress made rather than a finished project.
Please enjoy these quilts in progress.
Lyn is using a Max and Louise pattern to make this lovely quilt. She has about 80 more circles and hexagon flowers to go around the finished centre block.
Di is creating the William Morris inspired Strawberry Thief quilt. She is up to the quilting stage and the stippled background enhances all that appliqué.
Krista is working on Spring Blossom Garland shadow trapunto by Annie London. She has embellished it with embroidery and beads.
Heather is taking her time to piece the next border on her version of the Bathwick Quilt by Karen Styles. She has added appliqué to the corner blocks.
Ronnie took advantage of the sunny weather earlier in the month to work on her new project outdoors.
Another floral quilt, this time by Christine. It is Meadow Blooms based on the Michelle McKillop pattern Meadow with some of Christine’s own designs, quilted by Waverley member Denise at The Quilt House.
Lyn has recently finished her giant clamshells quilt featuring appliqué, embroidery and vintage textiles. The pattern is by Wattlebird Designs.
With the birth of a new granddaughter Ann has been hard at work on this very cute quilt. The pattern from a magazine is by Caroline Price. It was going to be cot size but with the borders it is going to be much larger and will get years of use. Despite the isolation Ann has been enjoying seeing Ivy’s daily progress through FaceTime.
Another quilt made for someone special. Dianne made this popular Rosalie Decker pattern for her friend Julie’s 60th birthday.
Jeanette has powered through the sashings of her version of Irene Blanck’s Miz Kelly quilt and is now deciding on the next borders.
While everyone is missing the regular meetings it is good to see a little of the work in progress and to know that good use is being made of time at home. When the Appliqué SIG gets to meet in person again there will be a huge celebratory showing of the quilts.
All around the world quilters, knitters, spinners and weavers and other crafters are staying at home and getting on with the challenge of self isolation. Thank goodness for a well stocked stash.
The reality of social distancing really hit home in Melbourne this week. For Waverley Patchworkers we missed what would have been a fantastic workshop, followed by our March evening meeting. To make up for this regular quilty gathering we are doing the best we can with a virtual Show and Tell.
We hope you enjoy this small offering and find inspiration and amusement – watch out for Mariya’s response to panic buying.
Comments are welcome.
Original designs
Celebration of a Season reflects Christine’s love of the garden. She has added stitching and appliqué to a beautiful collection of fabrics to make this stunning little quilt that was to be finished just in time for our Quilt Show. It will keep until next year.
Karen McGregor will be teaching thread-painting later this year. Rainbow Lorikeet is the first of three pieces she is making to go into the Threadalicious Textile Exhibition at Stonehouse Gallery in Warrandyte in September.
Stitchery Quilts
Peggy has taken five years to complete this cross stitch adaptation of the Westbury Quilt. Just dove left to fill in. What an amazing achievement.
Jeanette has finished the first twenty blocks of CGT’s FieldJournal. This is a three year project using these beautiful hand dyed threads and will be set with Liberty fabrics.
Another block of the month, this time Wishing You Well by Gail Pan. A most timely message. Peggy is three months into this one.
Quilts as gifts
Made for a friend’s new granddaughter, Linda was planning to deliver this in person in June. The friend lives in Washington State and this is no longer possible, so it will be posted instead.
Peggy made the bouquet for her niece’s wedding a few years ago. One thing leads to another and she is now making a baby quilt featuring similar flowers.
A different floral gift. Kanzashi flowers in a fabric vase made by Karen for her Aunt who has just had surgery. She loves Wilson’s Prom so the Ocean Flowers have shell centres.
Blocks by Peggy to make a Superhero Quilt for our Gift Quilt program.
Dianne is just started a new boat quilt for a new little person in her family. She is hand piecing and with all the time now available will get it done quite quickly.
Scrap Quilts
Christine is a member of the Scrapaholics group, here is her blue block for their current project.
Heather says she is mindlessly working on these Carolina Chain blocks. They are looking pretty fantastic.
With 64 of these little double nine patch blocks to make, Jenny is taking her time and going for accuracy. She says she has been preparing for years for this stay home and sew isolation.
Garden Frolic is Jeanette’s almost finished mystery scrap quilt. Just the pieced borders to add. The pattern is by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville and was freely available over summer. Bonnie is starting a Sew-in-Place Quilt Along on Monday. It will be scrappy like all her patterns, but not a mystery quilt. Perfect if you are needing a new project using just your stash.
Finally – Mariya has come up with a very novel use for her scraps.
Given the current public health situation we are taking the precautionary measure of cancelling all activities run by Waverley Patchworkers for the months of March and April. The committee will review the situation in early May.
Update: At the May meeting of the committee all activities for the months of May and June were also cancelled.
A call out is made to members to send photos of current projects so we can keep in touch through the website’s Show and Tell.
We trust that you all keep well and complete all those UFOs that are tucked away. If possible, support your local traders, it is going to be a very difficult time for them.
Our biennial Quilt Show is a major event for Waverley Patchworkers involving a lot of organisation and commitment of members. As the major fund raiser for us and our contribution to the community of Monash, it also relies on people attending the show.
In light of the current Coronavirus situation, and the Victorian Government warnings that public events in the future may need to be reviewed, we are taking the prudent action of postponing our show.
While this is disappointing we feel it is a decision best made while we are still in the early planning stages. This ensures that we limit our risk in relation to a later cancellation and gives us plenty of time to communicate the change of plan.
The new date is yet to be decided, but it is most likely to be in 2021. In the meantime we trust that you all stay healthy and virus free. With all the extra quilting time we can promise a bigger, brighter and better show than ever.
We were thrilled to have the very talented Sugy Kim as our first guest speaker for 2020. She spoke to a large crowd at our February Monthly Meeting, taking us on her journey from a diligent student in Japan to a quilting megastar.
Sugy Kim with Colourful Retina – Best in Australia 2018
Originally from South Korea, Sugy went to Japan after completing her Fine Arts Degree. She married an Australian but they continued to live in Japan where she commenced a rigorous three year quilting course.
First ever block resting on a recent hand quilted piece.
This was at the Chuck’s Patchwork School which has produced many master quilters. Each month a block was studied and then created according to the teacher’s instruction, all by hand.
These first quilts were made while at the school as was the very traditional sampler. Even the colours are influenced by the teacher.
Omoide – sampler quilt begun long ago, quilted in 2012
It is a tradition among Japanese quilters that they make one big quilt using one of the traditional blocks – log cabin, dresden plate or grandmother’s garden. Mavis’s Garden was started in 2009 and completed in 2018. It is made half size. The back should be as good as the front and it should last forever.
It is this strong foundation that Sugy has built upon and uses to create her amazing quilts. It was not until she moved with her family to Melbourne that she purchased a sewing machine. After visiting a quilt show she learned that if she wanted to exhibit she needed to be a member, so she joined Victorian Quilters and set about making a quilt to exhibit.
The Cosmos in Vigor 2013 – machine and hand pieced, hand quilted
This quilt earned Sugy her first ribbon, and she was thrilled. Now she was beginning to feel like a quilter.
Quilts designs are drafted by hand, the way she was taught. She draws the whole pattern and then considers how each part is going to be constructed as she colours her design. Grain, seam allowance, how points will be joined are all very important.
The next show quilt took eleven months to make. It won 5 ribbons including Best of Show.
A Journey to Nirvana – machine pieced, hand quilted
In making this quilt she learned a lot about handling little pieces. And managing bias, to always put it next to straight grain. This is all part of the planning. Her most well known quilt, Colourful Retina was three months in the designing, five months making and seven months quilting. The huge quilt was first drawn on paper, one quarter of the design at full size. As each section was made it was pinned to the design wall for further colour consideration. Then when all the piecing was finished all seam allowances were trimmed to make hand quilting easier.
The message we all learned from Sugy Kim is that amazing quilts do not just happen, they are the result of years of learning and practice, dedicated hard work and attention to every detail.
At the same time Sugy has fun with her quilting and also loves making bags.
Click on an image to see a larger version and to read the description.
Dandelion Wishes – Lyn
Penguins for Chester – Linda
Koala Quilt – Sue
Koala Bag – Sue
Quilting Practice Quilt – Lyn
Bond Street – Carol
Rambling Roses – Ruth
Goldfish Table Runner – Sue
Joan is our featured member for the month of February. She joined Waverley Patchworkers in 2003 and finds her inspiration in all sorts of places. Like many of us, finishing is a challenge.
