Scrub Stitchin’ - What We Worked On

 There is always such a variety of projects under way during the retreat.  For the last few years Chooky has come up with a project that we may like to stitch at the same.  This year it was a braided quilt featuring a zig zag up the centre of the braid.  

It required a ruler that is custom made by Picton Patchwork in Coonabarabran and is cleverly made using a jelly roll.  It is a very effective design with minimal wastage.

The designers visited one evening, bringing their version of the quilt to show us.

Most of us bought the ruler, but only a small portion of the group started the project.  I took along suitable fabrics, but ended up too busy working on other things to make a start.

This is how things finished at the end of the retreat.  The way it works is that you make one very long braid and then cut it into segments to make the columns in the quilt.  It looks so different in the various fabric ranges.  I hope some of the completed quilts are brought along next year for us to see.  Hopefully, I’ll have mine done in time.

I couldn’t resist getting a photo of the papparazzi.

Let’s have a wander and see what else was happening.

And me.  Well, as usual, I took far more than I could ever achieve, but there would be nothing worse than running out of projects…..as if.

While I think of it, I took a new item to Scrub Stitchin' this year.  I usually have a mish mash of different bags to take my sewing bits and bobs.  This year I was looking for a better solution.  I bought this vintage Singer sewing box a couple of years ago, full of various sewing items, but have never used it.  It proved to be perfect for all my notions.  It is even now resplendent with a star, thanks Jenny.  I must remember to take it again next year.

My priority was to get the appliqué leaves, stems and berries completed on my Laundry Basket Spring Mystery Quilt.  That took way longer than expected.  Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was talking and didn’t even stitch a stitch until after morning tea on Thursday.  Let’s face it, this is about more than the sewing, so it doesn’t matter.

Anyway, I did get the appliqué finished, the four quadrants joined and the hexy appliquéd to the centre by Saturday lunch.  Phew! Not the best photo, but you get the idea. Now I have to work out a final border.

What next?  I also brought fourteen fish blocks to appliqué.  Yep, fourteen.  After the last project I was over appliqué, so didn’t even touch them. 

I was in the mood for something simple and rather mindless. My two split nine patches for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge fit the bill nicely.

Two years ago, at Scrub Stitchin’, I made a heap of half square triangles as leaders and enders and they have sat in their little baggie ever since.  The plan was to make a baby quilt, but I would need to make a decision about layout.  After having a bit of a look through Pinterest I settled on a sort of off centre spiral pinwheel thing.  It evolved mainly due to the colours that I had.  Nothing, flash, quick and easy and once I quilt it, it will be another little donation quilt. It was finished by early evening on Saturday.

For the rest of Saturday evening and on Sunday I worked on my Number 9 of the Chookshed Stitchers’ Challenge.  This was my Harry Potter quilt.  Happily, I had the top pieced by lunchtime.  Now I just have to quilt and bind it by the end of the month.

It certainly was a very creative hub.