Scrub Stitchin’ - Make It, Bake It, Fake It

A feature of our retreat each year is the Make It, Bake It or Fake It swap.

I like to make something each time, but always seem to leave it to the last minute, which is not good.  As a result I generally make something simple.  Last year I made a cute little zippy pouch using some orphan blocks and filled it with some bits and bobs.  You can see it here.

This year, I decided to make another one, but with a different design.  I used quilt as you go crumb piecing.  Something quite new to me.

It was fun selecting colourful scraps and making them fit, and doing some rather organic straight line quilting as I went along.

I think I may try this method again.

Once again I filled the pouch with some bits and bobs.

We did our gift swap at the Red dinner on Saturday night.  I had quite a chuckle when I saw my gift being placed in front of Harriet, as she was the recipient of the one I made last year.  She chuckled too.  Fortunately, she was quite happy to receive a second one, as she uses the first one I made and actually had it with her at Baradine.

I commented to her mum, Tina, that I will have to make something different next year, but Tina says another pouch will be fine, so long as she is the recipient.

So what did I receive?  Well, I’m not at home at the moment and haven’t taken a photo, so will just provide a link to show it. The gift came from Annette.  It is one of those very handy stands that you can stick scissors, pencils, quick unpicks etc in. I was very happy to receive it, as it is one of those things that I see and think would be nice to have.  It is also pink, which suits my sewing room and will sit nicely on the shelf above my cutting table.

And that about covers everything from our wonderful weekend away.

And, I now have something to share for One Project a Month hosted by Kris - bonus.

Scrub Stitchin’ - Show and Tell

Show and Tell is always a feature of the weekend.  

Di shared another of her machine embroidery pieces.  Stunning.

Tina shared her progress for the weekend.  So colourful.

Miranda shared her minecraft quilt.

And her Elmer block.

And her jelly roll quilt from last year’s weekend.  This was the first quilt she had made.

Brenda had been very busy.  This bag is super cute.  It is a pattern I have been wanting to make for years.

This quilt was made from a kit she purchased last year.

And a mini quilt.

As well as making her table runner, she did nearly all the quilting on her “Letters to my Daughter” quilt. It is beautiful, with some blocks customised to suit her better.

Harriet pieced this quilt last year, and quilted it this year.

She has made this quilt recently.

Julie has made a beautiful sashiko table runner.

And a nice chevron quilt top.

Mary made a sweet Liberty fabrics draw string bag.

And a beautiful Tilda jelly roll quilt.

And continues to work on the Field Journal stitcheries.

Lea continues to make stunning quilts.

Gail had a couple of beauties.

Jenny;s hubby bought this panel when in the US.  Her borders are perfect.

Jenny had finished this top that was started some years ago in a stitch along.

She also completed her table runner from Nundle (shown here by Gail).

Her final one was this colourful HST quilt.

Sue shared her Sylvias Bridal sampler.

And the quilt she made from the kit she purchased last year.

Jo’s self designed quilt was beautiful.

Di had these two beauties.

And finally mine…

This is one I haven’t shared before.  It is a yo yo quilt made by my Mum.  I have a photo of her working on it in 1983. When packing it up for this weekend I discovered a label saying it was finished in 1994 and has 2600 pieces.  I can identify several fabrics from things that existed in my childhood.

Most importantly, did anyone finish last year’s project from Scrub Stitchin’?

Yes, I made the cushion, Brenda stitched the block and turned it into a bag and Sue appliqued the wreath to the back of a shirt.

And that completes show and tell.  There are some rather talented ladies, aren’t there.

Scrub Stitchin’ - Part 3 - Saturday

Saturday dawned with clouds, but sunny.  The pavilions looked lovely in the morning light.

The camp is such a peaceful place, with lots of bird life.  The blue eared honey eaters are always present.  Unfortunately, this year there was one that took to swooping everyone, which was a bit annoying. It must have had a nest somewhere.

Those of us that join in with Zoom stitching sessions got up at the crack of dawn to partake in a short session with some of the international stitchers. It was a nice way to let them join in with Scrub Stitchin’.

Like Friday, we were all very industrious, with plenty to show for our efforts.

Some lovely versions of our project were complete, but not mine, I didn’t even make a start.

Jo made a placemat with the tiny twister blocks made from the scraps from her big twister quilt.  So fiddly, but very effective.

Brenda completed her twister table runner.

Chooky completed her twister top, ready to send off to the quilter.

And after much unpicking, as I had blocks and then a row around the wrong way I completed my twister quilt top.  Chooky’s and mine are from the same fabric range, I just omitted the white blocks.

Saturday night is always our special themed dinner.  This year the theme was RED.

Our caterers each year are Ronnie and Janine, who are now just as much one of the girls as all the ones stitching.  Here, Ronnie is looking the part for the Red dinner.

The table decorations were very red, as were the attendees.

Lynda even coordinated her wine.

After dinner it was show and tell, but that is a separate story.

We were leaving for home early on Sunday morning, so I packed away my sewing on Saturday night.  In the end, I managed to complete two quilt tops, one swoon block and my RSC blocks as shown before…..and

A pile of half square triangles as leaders and Enders to make a baby quilt - now ready to trim down to size….and

Some black and white HST as leaders and Enders, ready to press open and trim to size.

I also stitched some jelly roll strips together as the start of another baby quilt.  Rather a productive few days.

Before we headed home on Sunday morning the group photo was taken.  Jenny, Gail and Lynda had already headed home.

It was such a wonderful weekend, with a great bunch of ladies. Now we just have to wait for twelve months to do it all again.  I can’t wait.