GETTING CREATIVE ON TUESDAYS

When Annette left for Australia recently, she left behind lots of goodies for the Craft group. Here is Lorraine going through some of the bags......

 And here is what she brought one week later, a table mat made from some of the skinniest scraps!

 Loraine is definitely our most prolific and productive members.  In just one week she produced this piece from some 2" squares I had given her a week before.

 And this wonderful top was also made in double quick time from more of Annette's scraps!

 We all admired it, and wished we had some of Lorraine's focus and energy.

 For two weeks, former group member End came to visit us, while holidaying on the island and visiting her son. Enid says she does not do a great deal of sewing anymore, but she enjoyed browsing through our stack of Craft magazines and chatting with us.

 Agnes had a chance to go through some of my ENORMOUS collection of stranded threads, finding the right colours for an embroidery project.

 Here is the longstitch that Shirley is currently working on.

Joy has been making these wonderful "bedrunners" for a year or two now. This lady has the most wonderful colour sense - the brighter and richer the better!

 Connie has just re-joined the group after many years absence. It is so good to have her back!

 Helen, Agnes and Shirley compare notes.

 Joy and Enid both engrossed!

 Believe it or note I am also working on an embroidered  linen tablecloth which I "acquired" recently. It is not really my thing, but I will persevere...check back on this one in a couple of years!

Andrea sometimes finds her ricepaper decoupage a bit tedious - so she has relieved the boredom and posed for the camera by wearing it as a hat.

 Andrea always does the washing up of the coffee cups - and if any of us try to help, we are told to get out of her kitchen!



Helen and Andrea share a special moment.

This is a lovely Craft group. We have been meeting for about 17 years, and our Tuesday "time-out" is very important to us. Acceptance and support and encouragement are so important to all of us.

FINALLY FINISHED

The other day, I went looking for a quilt top I had made some years ago, thinking I might make an effort to turn it into a proper quilt. I did not find it, but I did come across a number of other UFO's (unfinished objects) and WISPS (works in slow progress.) Among them were a couple of crazypatch squares that I had intended for some cushion covers for the lounge.

So off I went to some of my upholstery fabric stash (I am gradually working through it). In two up's I had two new cushions. Made me wonder why I had left it so long!

 The centrepiece for each of the cushions is a silk print that I made from photos of the front of Devon House.

 I also found a leftover square from my fruit and vegetable CQ quilt, so that became a cushion too, using some leftover fabric from the upholstery fabric in our window seat.

 It complements the quilt really well.

We tend to be a bit on the "safe" side when it comes to decorating, and our paint finishes are extremely neutral for the most part. So I am glad I can add this colour to the home through my creative crafts!!!

OLD GIRLS LIKE TO HAVE FUN TOO

Our Tuesday Craft Group must have been going for more then 17 years. Well, for the first year or two I recall it was a Thursday morning, but for absolutely yonks, Tuesday afternoons have been a sacred appointment in our diaries for a gentle time of stitching, chatting, and a bit of peace from the normal household routine. There are usually about 10 of us, and people come and go. I think only Shirley, Andrea and myself go right back to the start, although Agnes was there early in the piece. she came back to the group a year or two ago after a few years' break.

We are all starting to get on a bit, but Joy (pictured here) would probably be our "grandma". Joy is also the most productive of us, with by far the greatest output! She makes wonderful colourful quilts - big ones!! - and we are really in awe of her level of productivity.

Here Joy is working on beautiful bedrunners for her granddaughter's tourist apartments.

Lorraine is also a very productive lady. She has recently returned to live on Norfolk Island with her Norfolk Islander husband, and we are so glad to have her here as a very inspiring member of our group. Lorraine recently had a spell of working in blues, and is busily quilting a table runner.

Annette, in the foreground, is an extremely resourceful craftswoman, and can turn her hand to all sorts of things. Her current project is a baby's jacket knitted from a very old, but practical pattern.

We sit around a long table in the SDA Hall. Sometimes when we have extra visitors, we need to draw up another table. We have a strict rule that if you come along and just don't feel like working at anything, then you are allowed to sit and do nothing - just enjoy the company and conversation!

                    
One of Shirley's favourite crafts is longstitch. When asked what she will do with it, she usually says it will go in the cupboard with all tyhe others! One of these days, Shirley..... Meanwhile, it is the process, and the opportunity to gather with others in this relaxed way that is most important.

Margaret is staying on the island for about three months, while her husband is the Church of England Chaplain. She says the group is a wonderful way for her to get out and meet new people. Margaret is working on some fine cross stitch.

Last week I was working on some of my cards. I took along a heap of pressed flowers to arrange on silk paper backgrounds.

Val is a regular visitor from Australia, and joins us when ever she is here on holiday (she has been to Norfolk Island 34 times!) Val is a very versatile craftsperson. This time she is doing some "redwork" (in green!)

 Andrea's favourite activity is rice paper decoupage - in fact it has been her only activity for years. But she really enjoys the regular outing and the company.

 Here are some closer shots of Joy's bedrunners. Joy has a most wonderful gift with colour harmony!

 And here is one of Joy's larger quilts, this one with a poinsettia theme. She has been working on the binding, and we all admire the finished product!!

 Almost every one of Joy's quilts (and she has made dozens)  use the "Drunkard's Path" block. Joy uses it because they give her quilts a more flowing and organic look. Every quilt is completely individual, with the use of different fabrics and colours and different arrangements of the blocks.

I just love this group, and it would have to be a pretty important commitment for me to let something take its place on Tuesday afternoons!

QUILTNORFOLK

Hands at work.

The Gentle Art of Stitching.

For the last two years, a dedicated little band of ladies on Norfolk Island have organised a "QuiltNorfolk event in October.
The word is put out all over Australia and New Zealand, and quilters are invited to come to Norfolk Island for a week to enjoy what the island has to offer, and to take part in workshops related to their craft. Visiting tutors are invited from both countries, and there is a whole range of activities available. Sightseeing and get-together dinners add to the experience, and mid-week, there is a quilt exhibition featuring the work of both local and visiting quilters.

This year I was asked if I would like to participate as a tutor.
I thought about it and said yes, as long as the numbers were kept to about a dozen and I could do it in our covered patio at home.

I decided to do a Crazy Patchwork workshop, where the participants would make either a small Christmas stocking or a hanging heart. I thought both were projects that were easily achievable in a couple of days - and so they turned out to be. In fact, several went on to a second project, such as the little patchwork chickens they had seen in my display.

It turned out to be a lovely two days. We all felt very peaceful, stitching away.
I told the group right from the start that I did not really like the word workshop. I wanted them to think of it as a "playgroup", and that there were no rules, and that they were to follow their own dreams and visions and colour preferences.

I said that most "mistakes" could be covered up without unpicking, and may be opportunities to try something new.

I had put out baskets of scraps and embellishments, and containers of buttons (from my stash - I can well spare it, In fact, I really need help in actually using just a small fraction!) I also had a fair bit of "eye candy" and books on display in case anyone needed inspiration.

I cannot mention the workshop without mentioning Basil. He went from lap to lap. Fortunately most quilters are cat lovers.

The vibes were really good, and everyone seemed relaxed and engaged.

Everyone's bits and pieces covered the tables - fabrics, laces, beads, threads, ribbons, buttons, needles and pins....

Refreshments were "on tap" to help the concentration and relaxation!

Even a couple of partners enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere when they came to collect their wives.

I was really delighted that many people actually finished their projects, and moved on to another one of their own choice. They were all so motivated, and that is really satisfying for a tutor!

I was not surprised when Rowena, the organiser of "QuiltNorfolk" said the feedback was really good. I was really encouraged, even flattered when she described me in the newspaper article as the local guru"anything is possible" Mary Christian-Bailey. Because "Quilt Police" are banned from my place. Everyone deserves the opportunity to get in touch with their own "Muse." The point is to enjoy what you are doing, and to get personal satisfaction from your own creativity, without worrying about the expectation of others. That way you are more likely to give pleasure to others, and encourage them to work with hands and heart in a fulfilling way.