Socialising, socialising and some sewing.....

The Community Meeting Room at Gordon White Library was buzzing on Social Sewing Saturday! Nine people worked on a variety of projects while socialising and networking. It was wonderful to hear such a buzz of conversation backed by the whirr of a sewing machine.

One of our regulars was able to continue with her Knitted Knockers Project while enjoying the refreshing cool of the air conditioner and escaping the oppressive heat and humidity of our summer. She was knitting along very merrily but unfortunately socialising created a lapse in concentration and the project was cast into the unpicking category to be dealt with later. This was a very wise decision as one could then give full concentration to socialising, sampling some of the sweets and finding out about other members' projects which is an important information sharing function of Social Sewing Saturdays.

Our resident FOML, expert in all things textile, has several patchwork quilts in the pipeline and some are due before Christmas so there is a little deadline pressure on there. Consequently she was carefully cutting pieces for a quilt which is based on triangles. We look forward to seeing photos of the completed project in the near future.

Our Christmas elf was crocheting a soft light green rug (maintaining a Christmas theme) amongst handing out beautiful living (more green) presents to SSSers and providing delicious paleo party pieces. This SSSer  brought in a bag of fabric scraps from her stash which another SSSer gratefully accepted. We look forward to seeing how she transforms these tidbits into treasures as she is always mass producing some projects from various bits and pieces for various occasions.  Currently this SSSer was busy embroidering using a variety of colourful stitches on a neutral background. It had the suggestion of the delightful old-fashioned doily about it. It'll be interesting to follow its journey to its eventual destination.

One of our SSSers has been stealthily stalking her skirt project for months. She brings along her machine and the cut-out pieces for her skirt, ponders through the machine instructions then picks up the pattern's instructions and wrestles with them for a while and then in sheer bewilderment turns to another less-taxing project she has brought along. But this SSS was it! With assistance from a more experienced sewer, she now has an operational machine and has sewn her first seams on her skirt which she then proudly modelled for her very appreciative audience. Hopefully this confidence boost will inspire her to continue manufacturing her skirt. The first step is usually the hardest but most important in a challenging journey.

One of our new SSSers was knitting a delicate white baby bonnet on her four needles. Unfortunately the socialising meant a bit of unravelling as well, but that's just part of its therapeutic benefits. This trendy bonnet complete with tiny ear flaps will match the beautifully-knitted overalls that she had knitted previously. This delightful layette is destined for far colder climes than ours and its owner will certainly look extremely cute in it.

Another new SSSer decided to work on the socialising aspect of SSS before she sampled the sewing aspect. She bought her family along for support so all was exceptionally social!

A decision to make a baby dress using traditional techniques brought another return SSSer back after an absence. This small frock complete with pintucks, handsewn hem, petit Peter Pan Collar and placket back to be closed with press studs, has been carefully constructed from a William Morris inspired lawn which adds to its vintage look. Another lucky baby is going to be rating highly in the fashion stakes.

Our resident cross-stitcher continues to stitch her Domestically Challenged kit. The picture is completely cross-stitched and she is now stitching the framing. Once the cross-stitching is complete, it'll be outlining time which, though rewarding, brings its own challenges.

As it was our last SSS for 2015, several regulars brought along some goodies to share and the whole afternoon certainly had an exciting vibe which was enhanced by the Christmas flavour.

Our first SSS for 2016 will be on Saturday 27 February at 1.00pm at the Community Meeting Room at the Gordon White Library.

Enjoy the Christmas break and we look forward to seeing what projects our summer has inspired.

SSS is meeting one week earlier in November!

Thought I'd just remind folk that we will be meeting to sew and socialise (or socialise and sew whatever suits you) this Saturday!

As the weather heats up, the air con looks more and more attractive and certainly makes doing handicrafts of any kind much more comfortable.

It'll be our last get together for the fast retreating 2015!

Hope you can make it and show us what you are making! Or, you can just come and talk about what you're making too!

Looking forward to a very social sew!

So much sewing and socialising!

Saturday dawned damp and a bit on the dreary side:  ideal backdrop for a very social sewing Saturday!

Two of our SSSers have returned from gallivanting on various continents in the Northern Hemisphere: much fodder for socialising and sharing! Stories of the lifestyle and crafts of the Amish of Pennsylvania were enthusiastically received. Who would have thought that so much was still achieved by hand-stitching and how a sewing machine could make such a dramatic change to this lifestyle?

Meanwhile the sewing and creating continued.......

Our puller-outerer extraordinaire decided to productively make knots this time and started her next knitting project - a prosthesis for the Knitted Knockers Australia project which several of us have been involved with over this winter. Despite much socialising she only had to pull back a couple of times and made much progress with this project.

Another of our regulars worked on preparing a sewing project for its next stage of production. Someone is going to have a delightful summery skirt added to their wardrobe. A simple style using very elegant fabric certainly has the makings of a winning combination. Once the next stage of the project was completed it was onto crocheting a soft fluffy white rug. A project like this is very soothing as it is not usually a short term project but rather one that can be picked up and worked on whenever there is a spare moment:  an opportunity to meditate or chat.

With yet another Christmas on the horizon, another of our SSSers was looking at her fabric stash with the notion of sewing Christmas presents. A previous project had been sewing teapot cosies, so this inventive sewer decided to downsize this project and create egg cosies. She worked on a production line process, cutting out all the outers, inners and lining and then once there was a bundle of these, she started sewing them together in a very efficient fashion. In no time it seemed she had a queue of egg cosies lined up ready to march off to some lucky person's Christmas tree!

One of our globe-trotters unearthed her trusty sewing machine and after much wary inspection of the accompanying manual and machine, decided to seek assistance with using it. Another of our experienced SSSers was able to assist with the threading and eventually they were able to sew a lovely tensioned seam. Then the pieces for the winter skirt (well we have been gallivanting for some time haven't we?) were closely inspected. The skirt  requires lining and it looked a bit too complicated for a Saturday, so that project was packed up for another day. Then it was on to some therapeutic mending so that means there'll be another summery dress available as the temperature rises.

Meanwhile our resident cross-stitcher sewed on. The cross-stitch project is coming along very nicely and soon it'll be time to start the single thread backstitch outlining.

Next month we'll be meeting a week earlier on the 21 November and hopefully our resident expert in all things textile will be back in Mackay and able to come along and offer her assistance and expertise.

Can't wait to see what folk are working on next!

Here's something to inspire you!

Our illustrious expert in all things textile has been busy while house sitting and farm sitting this year. I thought I'd show some of the projects which have kept her occupied while away from home.

Here is a cot quilt.

 

 

 

Of course one must have a matching pillow.

 

 

 

 

 

Then there are the presents for the 'rellies':

 

 

his ......

 



 

 

and hers....... Aren't the colours just fabulous?

 







 

 

Then one has to do something for that spare bed at home..... an eyecatching design which has been really enhanced by the colour choice.

 

 

 

 

Then there's the project which is still looking for a home.....

 





 

 

Well how about that little lot for a bit of inspiration? Every project so different and so brilliant in their own way!

 

 

It'll be great to have our illustrious expert back at SSS before the end of the year! I wonder how many more projects we'll have to add this magnificent gallery!

 

Thank you so much for sharing your achievements with us - truly inspiring!!

 

Looking forward to seeing everyone brimming with ideas on Saturday!

 

See you then!

Spooky socialising and sewing this Saturday!

It's Halloween this Saturday which means it must be the last Saturday of the month which means it's Social Sewing Saturday!

Looking forward to seeing what you are working on at the moment or what you are thinking of working on soon! Need some inspiration? The library has plenty of craft and sewing magazines to get the creative juices flowing!

Just bring along everything you need to progress your project and look forward to several hours of cool, un-interrupted time to sew to your heart's content!

See you at the Community Meeting Room at the Gordon White Library at 1.00 pm on Saturday 31 October!

School holidays slow SSS down

With so many of our SSSers enjoying holidays we were a small but quite productive group last Saturday.

Our most productive SSSer as usual set up her sewing machine and overlocker with minimal fuss and after some careful cutting out, she was off and sewing. In next to no time a pair of purple dance pants for her daughter were complete and it was on to the next project, sheer (or should this be shear?) poetry in motion.

Creativity must run in the family as her next project was to bring to fruition a dress design which her daughter had sketched out complete with colour and pattern scheme. Originally the plan had been to use knit fabrics but unfortunately the colours and precise patterns were not available in this fabric so there was a little adjustment required to enable its construction in non-stretch fabric. A paper pattern was adjusted and the top of the creation popped into existence. Then there was the issue of the best way to face the neck. After a full group discussion, a plan of attack was decided upon and the project continued to progress. We're looking forward to seeing  this designer original when it is complete. Hopefully the young designer (and the construction engineer) are happy with the result of their collaborative effort!

One of our regular SSSers is a trainee patchworker and she bought along her first completed project; a wonderful table runner which is a potpourri of blues with a couple of brownish tones thrown in for balance and interest. When she showed us photos of its place in her home it fitted just perfectly on the warm toned wooden table which highlighted the splashes of brown in the sea of blue which enhanced the blue tone of her walls. She had used the stitch in the ditch method of quilting and the number of points in the pattern were certainly headache inducing!

Spurred on by her success with the runner she is now embarking on THE quilt which will be a medley of blues and lavenders. She had sewn a couple of tiny pieces together but understandably was having difficulty envisaging how this would develop into the quilt of her imagination. With cutting board in place and cutting wheel in hand, she embarked on the mammoth task of cutting the multitude of strips that would one day be a beautiful quilt. After much careful cutting, her back started to complain so she was on the lookout for another project which did not require standing and bending over the table.

Fortunately another SSSer had a project which she had prepared earlier and unfortunately required disassembling on a grand scale. Being a strong believer in the therapeutic qualities of unpicking, our patchworker generously offered to begin this huge un-project! A great opportunity to sit and socialise. It was amazing how quickly the binding left the quilt. Eventually the project will have a much better outcome due to this generous un-picking! The SSSer is certainly very appreciative of our patchworker's de-constructing skills. We look forward to the day when this project is re-constructed in a more traditional and effective manner.

Another of our SSSers is persisting with her cross-stitch project. While it is a portable project it is difficult to stitch and count while joining in the social aspects of SSS. Hopefully the counting was accurate and there'll be no pulling-out required post-SSS.

Looking forward to seeing how these projects have progressed and what other projects have popped up to contemplate at our next SSS on Saturday 31 October at 1.00pm at the Community Meeting Room at the Gordon White Library.

Happy stitching.......

Time to catch up on many things crafty!

It's the last Saturday of the month which means it's time to bring out those projects and get working on them!

See you there at 1.00pm at the Community Meeting Room at Gordon White Library this Saturday!

Another SSS done and dusted!

We had four very enthusiastic participants this Saturday.

Our supermum was creating yet another costume for those lucky girls of hers. This time metres of various blue floaty fabrics and lace were being converted into a beautiful party frock which strongly suggested a Frozen theme. Another of her princesses was going to be the proud possessor of a royal gown. This super sewer always makes great use of her SSS and the dress was well under construction by the time pack-up time came at 4.00 pm. We look forward to seeing photos of the final result.

One of our regulars is turning her crafty hand to patchwork and, after creating a table runner in a variety of bluish shades, has quilted the project by stitching-in-the ditch thus emphasising the shape of each individual piece of fabric. After the stitching is done, all of the ends need to be neatly tied off  which is certainly a therapeutic activity and this certainly kept her busy at SSS. This project now needs to be trimmed and then the binding sewn on. We look forward to viewing the final product. This SSS regular also brought along several more KKAs which she has knitted, sewn and stuffed in her 'spare time'.

Crocheting is the current passion for another of our SSSers. She divided her time on Saturday between adding length to a rug in two shades of green which is a present for a lucky family member and crocheting these delightful delicate flowers in every shade of purple, lavender and lilac imaginable. This bouquet of flowers will soon be added to a cushion cover as a cascade of purple flowers tumbling down as decoration.It sounds a fabulous idea and it's another project we're looking forward to seeing  when completed.

Another of our regulars is working on the KKA project. Knitting up the Knitted Knocker is fine but she's not so keen on sewing them up, so she brought along a knitting needle with four Knitted Knockers suspended from it and found that sewing and stuffing them is really quite satisfying and not really that onerous at all. They just look so good when complete. Altogether that is another eight from SSS ready for delivery. However, as there are more KKAs in progress on the needles already, we might wait until they are complete before our next delivery.

Taking into account all the projects that are approaching completion we should have a very interesting 'show and tell' next SSS.

Keep those projects progressing and we'll meet on the last Saturday in September, the 26th at 1.00pm in the Community Meeting Room at Gordon White Library.

We'll be sewing this Saturday!

Just a reminder to bring along your latest project and necessary manufacturing equipment this Saturday at the Community Meeting Room Gordon White Library at 1.00pm.

We might even fit in a bit of socialising too!

Looking forward to seeing what you have been up to!

Sewing, designing, knitting, cutting out, pulling out and of course socialising!

The weather might have been great outside but we still had a great turn up for folks keen to create and socialise.

One of our regulars had a variety of projects to work on: there was the beautiful quilted patchwork bag completed and in use to show everyone; the patchwork table runner showcasing braid quilting had met a design hiccough in the middle and required some patient unpicking; there was the Inspiration Folder to be put into some sense of order (all of those printouts from the internet really need to be categorised so they can be referred to and utilised at some future date and of course the rest of us had to have a look because you can never have too much inspiration!); the Knitted Knock--s needed to be finished off completely and those loose ends tucked away so that they are now ready for delivery; and there was that therapeutic pulling out that you did for one of the other regulars whose quilt needs a bit of modification. Quite an achievement for a Saturday afternoon spent socialising!

Another of our creative members was working on a couple of projects too. There was the tea cosy that needed embellishment before it was ready to be put into service keeping the tea scalding hot on these cool winter days. Maintaining the 'keeping warm in winter theme', there was the cosy winter blanket that was being personalised and decorated with wool embroidered flowers stitched free hand and inspired by various illustrations from back issues of the Embroidery & Cross Stitch to Create magazine (available in the library!). It's quite difficult to capture the fragile wispiness of flowers like the bottle-brush when embroidering in wool. It is a wonderful way of making a serviceable item into something creative and quite special.

One of our members who is relatively new to sewing spent most of the afternoon agonising over the best way to cut out the lining of her winter skirt. Sometimes it is just so nervewracking making that first cut! It's a bit like abseiling; trying to back out over the edge is so difficult but once you're over that, you're committed and have no choice but to keep moving. After you have started to cut, a sort of acceptance seeps in and you just continue, knowing that the commitment has been made and what ever situations arise as a result will just have to be dealt with. Converting a length of fabric to something wearable, while exciting, can be quite daunting as well. Will I get the pieces cut out correctly? Will I sew the jigsaw together properly? Will it fit? Will it suit me? Sewing clothes is not for the faint-hearted!

Another of our social sewers has taken on the task of creating teapot cosies for an assortment of teapots for a soon-to-be-opened restaurant! The measurements were taken but somehow the carefully-considered system of measurement was found to be open to a variety of interpretations when it came to the design phase. There was discussion as to whether a teapot cosy should cover the whole pot and be removed in its entirety for pouring or should the cosy leave the handle and spout out in the cold but stay put for pouring. The dilemmas of design! That's is not even taking into consideration colour, fabric, construction and the collection of shapes and sizes that need to be accommodated! It'll be interesting to watch this project progress!

Another of our regulars has been involved in the Knitted Knock--s Australia project but has had to interrupt this project after a SOS from her daughter who has added a rescue greyhound to her menagerie. This poor creature is not built for the chilly winter mornings and is in desperate need of a jumper. Apparently ordinary dog coats cannot accommodate the big chest, tiny waist and long body length of a greyhound! A search of the library catalogue brought up a couple of books on stylish dog coats but none for greyhounds. 'Ms Google the Knitter' brought up several options but on closer inspection these were somewhat lacking in the finer detail so now the beginnings of a greyhound poloneck off the internet is being attached to a cute pattern for a dachshund (from one of the library books)which of course is requiring considerable alteration. Winter could be over by the time the project is completed but there is always next year?

Another SSS passed quickly but very productively and socially!  Looking forward to the variety of projects that present at next month's SSS!

If you enjoy sewing or associated crafts, bring your project along including all the bits of gadgetry required to progress the project, to the Gordon White Library Community Meeting Room on Saturday 29 August at 1.00pm!

Sewing very socially on Saturday!

It was wonderful to have our Friend of Mackay Libraries, expert in all things textile, along to assist with the various projects. Our FOML had rather optimistically brought along a folder of possible projects including a beautiful Raggedy Anne style doll. Despite having paper, ruler and pencils on hand to start developing the patterns, I'm not sure the project moved much past the 'look-at-and-ponder' and show to others to 'look-at-and-ponder' stage.

Our regular who introduced us to the Knitted K--ckers Australia kits, is persisting in knitting these protheses for a worthy cause. Though a smallish project there are a few tricky bits and there was much discussion on how to knit through the parts where stitches like to break free and slide off the slippery needles, much to the consternation of the knitter! Our group has completed four protheses to date with more progressing on the needles.

One of our regular pop-ins was actually able to stay and work on a project this time much to everyone's delight. Book Week is on the horizon and when you have primary schoolers that means a book character costume is on order. She had a delightful pattern for an Alice in Wonderland costume and made great progress on this project. There is going to be a very lucky, very cute Alice in Wonderland starring in this year's Book Week thanks to the persistence and skill of this SSS sewer.

One of our newer SSSers is working on regaining her confidence and skills in dressmaking. Her next project is a wonderful winter skirt to go with her red boots. With a bit of advice and assistance from our resident expert, she now has all the pattern pieces cut out and has a game plan for the next part of the project. We are looking forward to seeing how the skirt develops. The colour combination was very eye-catching and the style very complementary to a pair of boots.

Our regular cross-stitcher/puller-outerer is walking on the wild side and experimenting with her second "beginners" quilt kit. Obviously the kit-makers have moved so far beyond beginner quilting that they have forgotten what beginning is like! After looking at the cutting out instructions from many angles without any degree of comprehension there was a conference with our resident expert in all things textile who has quite a number of quilts to her credit. She also looked a little puzzled by the instructions but eventually worked out which fabric was which and how to cut up one of the fabrics. There has been the outline of a game plan sorted but just getting started could be a long-term project in itself. This beginner quilt could be sometime in the making and certainly far beyond the 6 to 8 hours mentioned in the instructions!

It was wonderful to see so much creativity and productivity at SSS. Our SSSers continue to comment on how wonderful it is to work on the large tables we have available in the GWL Community Meeting Room. The tables can be moved around quite easily, making tasks like cutting out patterns and quilt pieces more manageable.

Looking forward to seeing how all of these projects progress.

Looking forward to seeing you at our next SSS on Saturday 25 July at 1.00pm at Gordon White Library's Community Meeting Room! Bring along your project and all the bits you need to make it happen or just come along and check out our library's craft books and magazines for inspiration!

We're socialising and stitching this Saturday!

Just a reminder that we'll be meeting this Saturday to sew, knit, crochet or whatever crafty or textile techniques you are into. Just bring along everything you need to continue with your project and settle in for a lovely stitch and chat!

After one of our members introduced us to the KKA knitting kits, I have been doing my best to encourage folks to give them a go. I will bring a couple of kits along on Saturday and if you're short of a project,  enjoy knitting and would like to give this worthwile project a go, just bring along some 3.75 mm and 3.25 mm knitting needles and we'll see how we go! (They were on sale at a store that has a name a bit like K M... if you can't find a spare home at home.) I find the kits a bit fiddly to start and the whole project is a lesson in mindfulness but they certainly look cute when they're finished!

Looking forward to seeing you and your projects this Saturday at 1.00pm at the Gordon White Community Meeting Room.

Cooler weather brings out the crafty ones

We had a lovely roll up on Saturday with four new sewers coming along to talk about many things sewing. Several of our regulars were not able to attend due to other commitments but fortunately a couple of our regulars were on hand to welcome our new stitchers.

One of our regular stitchers worked on some embroidery and then enjoyed a bit of therapeutic pulling out. Then it was time to concentrate on trying to develop a pattern of overlapping circles for her next project.

Another of our regulars worked on her knitting for a while before having to leave early. At the Sarina Craft Show she had discovered these wonderful knitting kits which enables knitters to knit 100% cotton protheses for cancer survivors. The kits have a great name but I dare not use it as, when I used it in an email, our work email monitor had conniptions - let's just say the name goes something like 'Knitted Kn------ Australia'. At least she was able to relax and spread the word about these wonderful kits in the cool comfort of the Gordon White Library Community Meeting Room before having to re-join the hurley burley of life beyond the sewing circle. We're looking forward to seeing how this project develops.

One of our newcomers brought along some mending projects which are easy to ignore in the home but become worthy projects when stitching in a social environment. Mending is just a lot more fun when you have other sewers to chat with about projects. The creative juices begin to flow and one becomes inspired to develop ideas and possibilities and begin something new.

Another of our newcomers is crocheting a wonderfully warm fluffy two-tone pink blanket. This project has a deadline which is fast approaching so SSS provided a fun environment in which to be encouraged and to work that little bit more to meet the deadline. SSS also provided the opportunity to chat about proposed embroidery projects once this fluffy project was complete. This sewer brings a great breadth of sewing experience to our group which will certainly contribute to the ideas pool when other's projects stall or hit those pesky creative blocks.

Another of our new SSSers has a wide experience of sewing and being a newcomer to town was encouraged by a family member to attend as an opportunity to meet others with similar interests. We look forward to seeing what projects are forthcoming.

An interest in sewing those practical yet personal gifts brought another of our newcomers along. She was experimenting with various tiny lavender-filled cushions made from a diverse range of colourful fabrics. Her selection of delicate Liberty prints evoked much admiration from the other sewers. There was discussion about the most appropriate seam type to use when sewing such tiny projects in such fine fabrics and the tried and tested French seam certainly gained a lot of favour. There was a lot discussion about the various pros and cons of overlocking compared with zigzag and how to get the best from both techniques. We look forward to seeing how these liberty prints sew up.

Another regular has been laid up for a while and now has a small tapestry and a rather cheeky cross stitch project to show for it.

Hopefully this cooler crafty weather continues so that inspiration progresses to project and leads to all of that satisfaction that comes with creating.

Looking forward to checking on project progress, or otherwise, at our next Social Sewing Saturday at 1.00pm on Saturday 27 June.

We're sewing and socialising this Saturday!

Just a reminder to bring your projects along this Saturday at 1.00pm  to the Gordon White Library Community Meeting Room and enjoy some interrupted 'creative me' time! Remember to bring all those bits and pieces you need to progress your project.

If you're out of ideas, there's plenty of magazines and books in the library to inspire you!

So.... seeing you sewing (and socialising) on Saturday 30 May at 1.00 pm at the Community Meeting Room at Gordon White Library.

Too hot to sew?

Bring your projects along this Saturday to Gordon White Library Community Meeting Room and sew in the cool comfort of air-conditioning!

I can't wait to see how much I sew and then pull out this time!

Looking forward to seeing what clever projects folks are working on this month!

See you at Gordon White Library at 1.00 pm on Saturday!

Sewing, talking, drinking coffee (or tea!) .......

A little stitch, a little social.....

It was bliss to stitch in the cool of the GWL Community Meeting Room on Saturday, considering the hot and muggy weather.

Out of the blue visitors prevented our resident expert in all things textiles from attending SSS as planned but that is life. Was it John or Julian  Lennon who said something along the lines of "Life happens while you're busy making other plans"? Another of our regulars was unable to spend the whole afternoon at SSS but still popped in so that her daughter could model a dress her clever mum had made from a t-shirt and fabric recycled from another garment.

A newcomer came armed with Burda Style magazines and paper ready to start preparing some paper patterns. Further investigation of the pattern of her daughter's choice, decided her that it would not be a flattering style thus warranting further perusal of more magazines to find something more suitable. Fortunately she had borrowed several from the library's collection thus finding much inspiration.

One of our regulars brought along a sewing project that was not quite matching expectations. After experimenting with several notions, the siren call of the  Burda Style magazines proved too much so the project was hastily packed away and periodical perusal began. So much of the fun of sewing is browsing through books and magazines looking for ideas. The beauty of Burda Style is that it is bit of an indicator of what fashion is coming our way so one can be ahead of the latest.

Our resident cross-stitcher verged on being cross when after much careful counting it was discovered that way back at the beginning ........ there was a mis-count, hence necessitating, for the second SSS in a row, some more therapeutic pulling out! It has taken nearly six hours of work to achieve next to nothing! Hopefully new glasses will assist in preventing repetition of this at next SSS! Maybe cross-stitch is not a good choice when sewing socially!

A cup of coffee, biscuits and some social commiseration helped dimish the pain!

Hope you continue to enjoy that Burda Style browsing and stitching. Keep on sewing!

Time for a 'stitch-a-thon'!

Hello everyone!

It's time to escape this heat and humidity! Bring your sewing projects, sewing equipment and sewing accessories to the wonderful cool of the Gordon White Library Community Meeting Room this Saturday at 1pm!

Looking forward to joining for you for some chilling and social stitching!

Social Sewing Saturday kicks off for 2015!

Having our first Social Sewing Saturday on Queensland's election day was not great timing! However the lure of space, quiet and blissful cool proved too much for three stalwarts.

One of our regulars popped in to model a delightful summery dress that she had been sewing at SSS last year. It was great to see the wearable result after witnessing the planning, the cutting-out and then the start of the stitching. Some modifications she had incorporated were discussed and  examined in fine detail. Wearing your own unique creation is such a source of satisfaction.

Another sewer is experiencing a baby boom among her friends so is busy sewing gifts for the mothers-to-be. Her daughter has created this wonderful reversable pattern for playsuits that make it easy for mothers to dress and undress their babies. They are simple to make and easy to wash, making them an ideal present for busy new mums. This clever sewer was selecting a variety of cheerful colour co-ordinated combinations that would look cute on any baby.

One of our long-ago regulars has a different schedule this year so was able to come along again. In her Christmas cleaning, a set of favourite curtains developed frayed tape so after much therapeutic unpicking, she had bought replacement tape but needed a big table and cool to sew such an awkward project. After several trips to the car, she was well-equipped and ready to sew. After a few minor hiccoughs she had a beautiful set of curtains ready for hanging. Apparently she'll have the next set ready for repair at our next SSS! The big tables and air-conditioning make sewing large projects in summer so much easier and more pleasant.

Our regular cross-stitcher was enjoying stitching some wording and after some meticulous counting reached a point where it was discovered that the whole process had started one square out! So, after a couple of deep breaths and a tiny bit of unsocial muttering, the meditative unpicking began! Eventually, she was back to where she started and after moving one minute square, the process began again. Sewing can be such a lesson in patience and mindfulness.

Hopefully your stitching projects continue to progress and see you all again in the quiet cool of GWL Community Meeting Room next month!

Need a de-stress after voting?

Just a reminder that SSS for 2015 starts this Saturday at GWL Community Meeting Room at 1.00 pm. It looks like it could be rather quiet as many folks have contacted me to say they won't be able to make this Saturday!

However if you are looking for a quiet time in the cool of air-conditioning, don't forget to pack up your project and bring it in for a bit of un-interrupted progress.

Happy stitching!