Where was Everyone?

Friday night was Remnants Night, but the numbers were waaaay down this month.  A shame, as I couldn’t attend last month’s get-together and was really looking to catching up with everyone this time around.  Never mind, three of us there early shared a nice meal.  Janneke gets the honourable mention of the night with her big plate of still warm, freshly cooked pancakes, served with a squirt or two of maple syrup.  Debi arrived shortly after, and then our numbers more than doubled a little later when new members Wendy and Ute arrived, with Ute’s daughter Katarina too. 

Katarina had previously hand painted some fabric and spent the evening stitching away on the sewing machine to turn it into a pencil case.  This very industrious young lady seemed to know exactly what she was doing, and will certainly have a one of a kind original pencil case to take to school.

The evening was spent machining, hand sewing, slicing and dicing, unpicking, and advice offered here and there.  Just the usual type of thing, wouldn’t you say?   Ute brought along a lovely quilt in cream and terracotta and wowed us with the fancy pieced border she was making.   Kathy was machine quilting but her machine decided to misbehave and she found a mess of tangled threads on the back – that was certainly frustrating.

Kathy’s star quilt

Janneke worked on another Ronald McDonald quilt in lovely bright colours, turning four patch blocks into split four patches.  And Wendy was sewing up a pretty little baby’s cardigan she is making for a colleague.

Wendy’s gift for an expectant Mum

The evening passed pleasantly, and we were fortified with various cups of coffee and chocolate marshmallows to nibble on, thanks, Kathy.  I was in charge of locking up when we all left, and luckily I managed this task for the first time without any problems – whew!

Tomorrow Night is Remnants Night

Just a reminder that tomorrow night, Friday 26th June, is Remnants Night once more.  Come long to the Art Society Rooms in Bath Street from 5.30pm and you can be sure of a warm welcome.  A plate of food to share will be most appreciated, tea and coffee supplied.

I couldn’t make it last month, so I’m really looking forward to catching up with all the regulars again.  And it’s not just the regulars, club members new to the Remnants night will be made most welcome.  Friendly expert  advice is always on tap, and there is plenty of room to spread out, whether you take your sewing machine, hand stitching, or knitting.

Now – what shall I take to work on?  It’s not as if I’m short of UFOs.  And I’ve got a new recipe I want to try for my food offering, so that will keep me busy in the morning. See you there on Friday night!

T&C Quilters Retreat at Forest Lakes

The weather man and the resulting flooding and devastation in the lower north island did seem somewhat surreal as we were tucked away at Forest Lakes, warm, so so well fed and stitching to our hearts content.

The weather did mean that our expected delivery of ice cream had be abandoned due to a slip on the road, followed by flood waters cutting us off from the outside world and the hope of an extra days sewing! I have never seen a group of sewing ladies so intent on their phones to keep us up to date with the havoc taking place all around and the quick response of the contractors to make repairs and pump water away around the district.

Mean while we shared a most enjoyable weekend together. Quilts were finished, others created, hand stitching undertaken and big floor area upstairs was well utilised to lay out and baste large quilts.

Liz was the cook for the weekend and what a superb cook she is, the food was outstanding. Liz shared the dessert recipes we enjoyed with us and we will print them for everyone to try.

Heading home on Sunday, which was not always a certainty, offered a new mode of transport for us. With our cars driven onto a vehicle trailer which was being towed by a tractor, we were taken through the flood water on Forest Lakes Road, unloaded and we were then able to make our own way home. Thank you to Tim and Grant for being the modern day version of Sir Walter Raleigh.

Will we all be back next year, I think so.

Diane Young

 

Towed to safety

Hanging at Winchester House

It is always interesting to pop into Winchester House, (112 Winchester Street) to see what burst of colour is hanging from the quilt rod.  The property is owned and managed by the Cancer Society and offers support and assistance for people and their families affected by cancer.  Club member Helen has the delightful task of selecting and hanging a different quilt each month to brighten up the rooms at Winchester House.

Diane’s quilt on show at Winchester House

This month  the quilt on show has an astral look of the heavens, and is pieced in moody blues, purples and dusky pinks.   Diane pieced her wall hanging while attending a “Free Form Piecing Class” with Louise Davidson several years ago.  The circular quilting lines adds to the look of planets in the night sky, with lovely stippling in the background, and the quilt is nicely framed with straight line quilting around the border.  

June Club Night

It may have been a cold mid-winter’s night, but a reasonable crowd braved the conditions to attend the June Club night.  Luckily the heaters soon  took the chill off the hall.  The meeting soon got underway and Debi was called up on stage, and presented with a small gift as thanks for her help on the previous committee.  Raffles were drawn and the lucky winners were Lynne and new member Wendy.  (Perhaps one day one of my numbers will finally get called out!)

Show and Tell was inspiring, as usual.  Avon’s bag made with sewing panels was a real hit and had many people crowding around after the meeting to see just what she had done.  It was heavily embellished with beads, buttons and different threads and the sewing charms stitched along the black edge at the top certainly finished it off nicely.    It is almost too nice to use!

Avon’s sewing bag

Paula told us off the monthly challenge she had set herself to  make an 18inch block, using both a different design and colour each time.  This month’s colour was purple, and she made a double Churn Dash block.

Purple Churn Dash by Paula

Our speaker for the evening was Jo Kirk, who came along with members of her quilting group.  Her quilting started when she attended patch work classes at the local college, and she enjoyed dyeing her own fabrics for a while.

Made with hand dyed fabrics

After a brief stint as a quilt shop owner, Jo continued to make quilts of all kinds, and enjoys the regular company of her quilting buddies who meet weekly.  Latterly she has been greatly influenced by the work and colour palette of Griet Lombard.    Jo also enjoys knitting and had a couple of cute little girl’s ponchos to show us.

Pussy Cat quilt

Jo finished her talk by telling us of her work providing test kits.  Both personal kits for the workforce to test for alcohol and drugs, and also to test homes for the scourge of meth.  Her advice – if buying a house, or if you own a rental,  this simple test can tell if it has been used as a meth lab.  I’m sure that most of us have no idea of the extent of drug use in our country.  It was very interesting to get an insight on how the other half lives. 

After the meeting, members looked through the library,  had a cuppa and a chat with fellow members, before heading home.

June 10th is Club Night

Our June club night will soon be here before we know it.  With any luck the wind and  rain will stay away and it will be a pleasant night for a short drive to Life Changers hall for our meeting.  Or an even longer drive for others, as I realise that some of our members live further out out of town.

Jo Kirk will be the speaker of the evening, and is sure to keep us entertained as she talks about her quilting adventures.

Don’t forget to return your library books.  I must admit that I went into panic mode over the weekend when I realised that  one of mine was missing.  After a bit of searching and picking things up, I eventually tracked it down.  Whew – just goes to show how easy it is to mislay things.

There are a few Challenge Packs available if you are thinking of taking part.  See Sandra on club night.

Annual subs are due, and thank you to those who have already paid.   If you have not, there is a form to fill in on the back of the newsletter, and our Treasurer Denise will be only too happy to take your money ($30) off you.

Hope to see you there.