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!