Electricity and sun back this week......

The sun shone this week so the hall seemed a little warmer than it has been the last couple of weeks, even though we had to make a drastic cut in the number of heaters used after I got told off for using so many appliances when I went to the town hall last week with cap in hand asking them to sort out the fuse box for us when it went bang from being overloaded!
Twenty three ladies came with a variety of things to show each other.  First off were two of Rozanne's beautiful quilts, as always, worked entirely by hand.  One was a very large white wholecloth quilt which unfortunately doesn't photograph too easily.  The other, a smaller strippy quilt in subtle colouring.  Rozanne says these quilts each take approximately six months to complete.

Detail from Rozanne's wholecloth quilt

Jenny continues to work on the traditional quilt left with her to be finished by a neighbour, and is now nearing the end of the commission, with just the layering up with wadding and backing fabric, then adding the quilting.

  Jill is enjoying making "yo-yos" with scraps of fabric for a lap quilt for her lounge and heard Yvonne say she had made a quilt many years ago using "suffolk puffs" as they used to be called before Clover made a plastic gadget to make the puffs more easily.  Yvonne made them the traditional way by running a gathering thread around the fabric edge and pulling it tight to create the puff shapes, and brought in her quilt to show us.

Yvonne's quilt above, made 10 years ago, with details of the Suffolk Puffs below

Louise showed us two crochet projects she has completed recently.  The striking hexagonal design blanket is to be used in her home, while the lilac and lemon blanket is a baby gift

Even though Linda is taking part in the Row-by-Row project she has found time to complete this small  stained-glass wall hanging.

Linda and Louise working on the Row-by-Row project

Ann working on the individual modules in her next Row

Pam working on the modules in her Row, while members in the background admire Yvonne's Suffolk Puff quilt

Some of Pam's paper pieced blocks

Jill and Helen working on their modules  

At the other end of the hall it was buy too, with various projects being worked on from cross stitch to applique projects.  Christine seen above in a white jacket, has just completed her Mackintosh Rose cross stitch. Christine says it just needs a press and then its ready for framing.  

Jenny continues to bind her quilt while Jan helps Katherine un-jam her machine.

Before Yvonne could complete the quilting on a sampler quilt she needed a stencil.  As she couldn't find the original one, thinking she'd loaned it to someone and it hadn't been returned, Yvonne spent the morning drafting and cutting out a new stencil from stiff template plastic, then as she was getting packed up ready to leave, she discovered the original one in the depths of her bag!!  Carol seen here with Yvonne, spent the session stitching the applique letters to a quilt she's making for her niece Savanah.

It was great to welcome Margaret ( sitting in the back of the photo above) back from her extended stay in the UK after knee surgery.  Margaret seems like a different person after the successful surgery has put paid to the pain she's really struggled with for the last ten years.  Margaret says she can walk pain free for some distance these days and actually enjoys going out and about again enjoying the countryside.

Merlynne working on her cross stitch project

Christine taking a break from the Row-by-Row project she's teaching, is binding a runner

The Blackwork design above, is being made by Ann .  Ann tells me that for her daughter's eighteenth birthday she paid to have her room decorated, but didn´t "give" her a present so said she'd make something for her later.  The delicate variegated grey thread will match her room perfectly says Mum Ann.

Jacqueline working on her latest cross stitch project

Vanessa spent the whole morning standing cutting triangles out of fabrics she bought for a new project after finding  a new Patchwork shop nearby in Rincon de La Victoria.  She can be seen here looking at the instructions for this project which she has downloaded on to her Kindle.  Vanessa says this is proving a really helpful gadget and says she finds it very easy to download patterns for patchwork or crochet and can so easily carry them around with her wherever she works

Vanessa with a crochet project she began last week while waiting to buy her fabrics

Part way through the morning we gathered round to have a chat about the plans for our future exhibition in the Autumn.  While I was in the town hall last week, the Mayor gave his approval for the event to be held in our regular meeting hall in Viñuela, so after a show of hands from Group Members, it was decided that this will be the venue for the exhibition this year.  Members put forward various thoughts and ideas and once we have confirmed the date, plans will go ahead in earnest.  The earliest thing we have to do is send advertising copy to the big patchwork magazines as they require  these details months ahead of events.  

I hope you enjoy seeing what our members get up to each week, and please don't forget to pop over to our Website to see the Members' Gallery updates which change each week.  Rachel