We had a wonderful group turn up to enjoy the cool and to have a bit of uninterrupted time on those projects which we want to work on but somehow just find it hard to get around to when there's all those household chores shouting at us to be done.
One of our regulars had been merrily sewing away at home and then was flabbergasted to realise she had sewn too many triangles together for that part of her project, so decided SSS would be a great place to come along and socialise as she engaged in therapeutic unpicking!
Another of our social sewers is working on a king-size quilt project which requires the assembly of diamonds flanked by several surrounds as her base piece, so she was able to add a few more diamonds to her growing collection of blue, lavender and green pieces. A project of this magnitude really requires resilience and persistence as the number of pieces needed is huge while there needs to be a standard of consistent accuracy as well. We look forward to watching the construction of this quilt of wonderful fresh but calming colours.
One of our sewers is always producing wonderful clothes for her children but this Saturday it was her turn! This fabulous red fabric flowing over the table was going to be converted into a great summer dress following a pattern gleaned from the internet. This sewer is always very productive and in no time at all the fabric was cut into pattern pieces and assembly begun. A bit of discussion ensued as to how one goes about lining such a dress and then construction continued. We're all looking forward to seeing the finished product.
Several of our sewers bring along several projects as they are never sure which creative current they will feel like riding at the time and sometimes they like to change rafts mid-stream. One of our serial crocheters (it doesn't seem be a real word but it should be) has been making a series of coseys for smaller sized teapots. These delightful coseys are adorned with an assortment of multi-coloured flowers and will certainly enhance one's experience of a cup of tea. When the thrill of crocheting a cosey wore off she then continued to create these felt-centred flowers made from a circle of fabric from the scrap material in her stash. These colourful yo-yos made with the assistance of the versatile dental floss are then attached to this lavender corduroy blanket making a unique lap blanket that is not only cosy and warm but beautiful as well.
A new skirt was on the to-do list for another of our regular sewers. A nice and easy sew-up and attach elastic to the top was the plan. She chose a firm knit fabric with a sort-of check design from blue stripes on a white background. It did get cut out but there just too much discussion required to progress much further into the project.
Another of our regulars is making a valiant effort to restore and re-activate her sewing genes. She has battled and persisted with a recalcitrant lined winter skirt without a great deal of satisfaction. After deciding to sew the lining and skirt separately she still was not happy with her progress so she has decided to regroup and start on another simpler project to regain her shattered confidence - table mats! She had ironed the interfacing to the back piece and after advice from our resident in all things fabric, cut out the front piece to utilise the fabric design to its best advantage. Theoretically then, it was just (never use this term just) a matter of sewing the two pieces together, leaving a gap, turning it inside out etc but...... somehow that uncooperative back piece ended up with the interfacing on the outside not the inside! When our tenacious sewer realised her mistake she collapsed in fits of laughter. Much hilarity ensued as we have all been there, done that and knew how she felt! Many complicated plans followed endeavouring to avoid the great unpick but eventually she opted for making another one entirely! We look forward to seeing her set of table mats next time!
One of our new-comers has been a long time coming to our SSS but last Saturday she eventually made it, complete with projects to be worked on! First she toiled on all the laborious cutting that a rag quilted wall hanging requires. Then when that was progressed as far as could be, away with the scissors and out with the crochet hook to work on a multi-coloured stripey lap rug with purples, greens and whites in the mix so far.
Another newcomer to SSS brought along a long-stitch with a story, to work on. Apparently her husband started it then asked her to work on it a bit, then he decided to work on it a bit more and now she is back working on it. It certainly is a family project. It is called
The Great Barrier Reef and contains all the joyous colours of the reef. It will be a stunning picture for a wall in the family home when completed.
Our resident cross-stitcher spent most of the time setting up a canvas for a new project. The edges are now taped and the half-way lines both length-wise and breadth-wise are marked with a running stitch. The colours have been separated and attached to the card but the correct colour codes have yet to be added. Then all will be ready for the real fun to begin.
Thrown into the mix of all of this sewing, crochet and conversation was a visit from a delightful journalist from
The Daily Mercury. Hence, page 6 of Monday 29 February's edition has a lovely collection of photos as well as some of our comments. We certainly look and sound an industrious bunch!
As Easter falls at the end of the month and there is a local election on the Saturday before that, our next Social Sewing Saturday will be on Saturday 2 April. It'll be interesting to see how everyone has progressed by then.
Happy sewing!
