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!
Wednesday, 26 August 2015
Monday, 27 July 2015
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!
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!
Tuesday, 30 June 2015
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!
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!
Tuesday, 23 June 2015
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.
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.
Wednesday, 3 June 2015
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.
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.
Tuesday, 26 May 2015
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.
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.
Monday, 23 March 2015
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!) .......
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!) .......
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