Welcome to the final blog post for the year everyone and it's a long one so grab a cuppa and enjoy!
Nineteen ladies attended the Sunshine Linus retreat at the House of Happiness, Bribie Island and what a fantastic time was had by all! Even though the weather was a bit contrary it did not dampen anyone's enthusiasm.
And first 'off-the-mark' to get organised after arriving was Yvonne! Yvonne's group was also the first table to start sewing!
It wasn't long before most people arrived, and the sound of sewing machines dominated the room.
Lucky door prizes have now become a fixture at Retreat so Kaye asked Denise to draw the first ticket.
And the first name out of the bowl was..........Chris!
After lunch some of the ladies took time out to refresh. Val found a good spot by the pool to sit and relax.
Jenny, Chris and Robyn went for a dip in the swimming pool.
Later in the day one group of ladies went for a walk to the lookout for some fresh air and exercise.
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| Chris and Jenny enjoy the walk |
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| Val, Deb and Denise enjoy the view |
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| Yvonne, Chris and Jenny enjoy the surf |
By Tuesday everyone had found their rhythm and was hard at work sewing and stitching.
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| Two of the Jennys compare notes |
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| Deb, Dawn and Denise stitching up a storm |
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Pam needed some extra space to quilt her
large quilt. |
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| Barbara, Kaye and Yvonne |
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The experienced retreaters: Pam, Jenny,
Chris and Robyn |
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| Gail, Glorianne, Carole and Anne hard at work |
After lunch Barbara and Chris demonstrated a number of new techniques, all of which were very interesting. Barbara began by showing everyone how to 'crumb piece', a wonderful way to use up small scraps of fabric.
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| Trim to create the finished block |
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| Sew into a quilt |
Chris also had a number of techniques to demonstrate including the 'scrappy sixteen-patch' using two and a half inch squares.
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| Finished block |
Chris also showed us how to foundation piece strips of fabric onto docket strips. Again, a great scrap buster.
That afternoon the Home Ice-cream man arrived, to the delight of those ladies who had a sweet tooth.
Found Sharon in the kitchen enjoying her sweet purchase.
Val decided it was time to learn to crochet.
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| Val and Dawn perfect their crochet skills |
Deb came equipped with an extra custom-made sewing table that provided the perfect setup to sew.
By 5:30pm it was time for another 'happy hour' and more lucky door prizes including a special draw for a beautiful hand stitched wall hanging made by Kaye.
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| The ladies gather for Happy Hour |
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| Kaye draws the special prize ticket |
And the winner was.......
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| Yes, Chris again! |
By day three the ladies were racing to finish some of their projects or attempt one of the new techniques they had seen demonstrated. But first there was a trip to Lynette's house at Beachmere to secure some bargain fabric!
Sharon decided to give Kaye the full open-air experience on their way to Lynette's.
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| A small portion of the fabric that was purchased |
Then it was back to some serious sewing and stitching.
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Dawn shows her curved piecing using her
new sewing machine |
When Gail returned from her fabric purchasing expedition, she discovered Barbara had secretly finished the scrappy quilt she had started.
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Gail is delighted to find the quilt top
finished! |
And then there was time for one more teaching session. Barbara demonstrated a clever way to cut and sew 10-inch squares to make a very versatile block.
And another trick to make an easy pinwheel block using 10-inch squares:
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| Instant pinwheel block |
Then Chris demonstrated a scrappy technique called 'Mile A Minute'.
'Accordion half-square triangles', you might need to look this one up on You tube.
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| Another scrappy nine-patch technique |
And one more, an easy version of a 'square in a square block'.
By this stage most of us had tried at least one of the techniques that had been demonstrated over the course of the three days with plans to try more once we got home.
On day four the ladies had the opportunity to show what they had accomplished, and the result was amazing!
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| Jenny H's panel quilt using orphan blocks |
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| Some pretty Geisha blocks |
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| Jenny D's very cute, crocheted cactus |
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| Adorable! |
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| Val's fingerless gloves in various sizes |
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| Val's crochet blocks |
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| Pam's handy project bag |
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| Placemats |
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| Pam's gorgeous Christmas Quilt |
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| Gail's strip-pieced bag |
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| Scrappy quilt from strips of fabric |
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Gail added cream and green sashing
to great effect. |
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| Glorianne's Sailboat quilt |
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| Blocks and quilt designed using EQ8 |
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| Kaye's strip quilt with a touch of applique |
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| Square in a Square |
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| Brickwork quilt |
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| Pretty dog themed quilt |
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| Sampler blocks with a difference |
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| And one more set of blocks started |
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| Yvonne's Snowball scrap quilt |
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| Strip-pieced quilt on flannelette foundation |
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| Barbara's Cowboy themed quilt |
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Quilt made using the 10-inch square technique
to make oblong centered blocks |
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| Stained glass quilt |
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| Disappearing nine-patch |
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| Crazy crumb block quilt |
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| 80 of Jenny's 100 block quilt |
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| Row of hearts for friendship quilt |
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| Chris' Pioneer Braid quilt |
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| Woodlands Clover quilt |
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| Row by row for friendship quilt |
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| Cosies and placemats |
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| Robyn's En Point quilt |
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| First month finished for the Temperature quilt |
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| Group project by the Woodford Quilters |
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| 365 Day Challenge by Katherine Kerr |
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| Baby quilt |
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| Close-up of beautiful machine embroidery |
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| Scrappy sixteen patches |
After that display of creativity there was a short period to sew some more and then it was time to pack-up and say farewell, but Gail and Barbara were determined to keep creating until the last minute!
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| Pack-up time |
Until next year House of Happiness!
Dates for the retreat next year are November 27th -30th
PS Keep an eye out for the new calendar for 2023 arriving soon!
So, dear members and friends, until Sunshine Linus' next meeting in the new year (Monday 30th January) stay safe and enjoy a much-needed break during this Christmas and holiday season!
