ONLINE SCQUILTERS PUB GATHERING AT THE PENNO PUB. (It's been 12 Weeks since we've been able to meet in person... TWELVE weeks!)

 Some History of our twice monthly Sydney Pub Gatherings.

I'm not sure of the exact date of our first SCQuilty Pub Saturday's but I do remember meeting up with and enjoying a bit of fabric shopping, a chat and a lunch with a few SCQer friends when we needed to visit a Quilt Fabric Shop, sometimes at 'Patchwork Products' in Rydalmere and sometimes at 'Craft Depot' at Pennant Hills. (Both have closed down now 😢 )

It was Liuxin who asked if I could organize a gathering of SCQuilters who would like to meet some visiting American Quilters, this would have been in the very early 2000's.

So I put it out there on our SCQ Yahoo Group  inviting SCQuilters to meet up at the Hotel Pennant Hills, which is right next door to a railway station and has a large car park plus there was a Patchwork shop in the car park. Boy oh Boy did a lot of us turn up, SCQuilters drove from all over Sydney, north from Canberra, south from Newcastle and west from the Blue Mountains, a truly wonderful round up.

The American visitors were bowled over by all these Aussie Quilters and even more amazed to see our wonderful handwork!  I remember thinking at the time that they weren't really expecting to see so many beautiful Quilts.

I can find no photos of this occasion so I decided to dig out some other old SCQuilty photos starting with the trip we made from our Sydney SCQers Retreat to 'Patchwork Products' in 2005.

 David, my husband brought along our old 1947 Albion Double Decker Bus for this outing and as you can see this delighted our SCQuilter friends.

 Outside the now closed 'Patchwork Products' it looks like some, or should I say... a LOT of shopping has been enjoyed.

 Back at our Accommodation, loaded down with fabrics.

 Bus Driver David on far right, Conductor and our youngest son Gwilym in middle and Michelle's son Jed on left, my how these young lads have grown since this time.

 Ruth from WA and Stephanie from NSW.

 Lovely happy trip with SCQuilters from all over Australia and New Zealand.

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 Hotel Pennant Hills - February 2006.

Hotel Pennant Hills - April 2006. 

Hotel Pennant Hills - November 2006. 

 Hotel Pennant Hills - December 2006.

 Stickers, have you got one of these??

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October 2007.

We moved to the Blue Gum Hotel.

Our beautiful room at the Hotel Pennant Hills had been turned into a Smoking area, laws were changed making places such as Pubs allocate one area for smokers, smoking was all through hotels and restaurants before this, as our favourite well lit room had open windows etc it became the 'Smoking Area'.

Of course we didn't want to be in this room any more but all the Penno Pub could offer was closed in darkened rooms which of course just wasn't going to be good for all the handwork we wanted to do!

So... we moved to the Blue Gum Hotel in Waitara, no Patchwork shop nearby unfortunately but it does have a good car park and a well lit room a bit out of the way from the rest of the Pub.


Who remembers these???  They are called A.T.C.'s and this bundle belongs to Maggie.

We started a 'Challenge', the first one was to make a mat to place your Pub meal vibrator on so when your lunch was ready and it started making vibrating noise it did it without making everyone in the room jump in fright, here are some below

December 2007.

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January 2008.

February 2008.

May 2008.

July 2008.

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February - 2009.

July 2009.

August 2009.

November - 2009.

December - 2009.

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December 2010.

Welcome to our SCQuilters 'Online' Pub Outing that should have been at the Blue Gum Hotel.

So many projects for you to enjoy, some underway and some completed!  Enjoy Enjoy!  😊

Lets start with a small group of friends who each year do a 'Quilt Challenge'.   Our 2019 Challenge was chosen by Lyn who challenged us to make something using 'Solids'!

Ku-ring-gai Quilters -

 Lyn -  Challenge #1- This wall hanging has solid felts in the centre and her quilt below is all Solid fabrics.

And the back of Lyn's Quilt.

Lynne's Challenge has lots of cute little animals on the solids.

Pennie's Challenge - #1-  I cut out 100's of squares using these solid fabrics of mine, (oh yes I did have many many solid fabrics in my stash, still do) with the plan of making lots of quilts for Charity, I got one finished then...........

.... Then...  I realized that for years (starting back in 2005 in fact) I had been sewing these 'Solid' left over  half inch hexagons, mostly when I had no other handwork to take to the Pubs, so if you saw my Hexi kit come out you knew I was bored 😐

I had started making stars with them not knowing what I would do but -  but -  but a month or so before we were to reveal our 2019 Challenge and while enjoying a quiet evening sewing with these friends of mine it HIT me!  Solids!  😀😀😀

We always make sure we keep our Challenge secret and quiet from each other during the year but here I was -  sewing in full view of everyone!  So very quickly I put those solid stars together in time for our Reveal!

Penny made herself a Table Runner.

Here are lots of beautiful works of art from our SCQuilter Friends.

Yan - Has been busy that's for sure.  Yan takes us on a  Virtual Bus Trip with Gratitude for a Stash beyond measure.

- Sorry for New York.

- Using my Playful Hand Dyes.

-  Made eight, I found a box of blue and whites.

Stephanie M - Here’s a top I’ve finished but not yet quilted.

Selina - The restless hands of Selina!

Sarah  - I’m crocheting - during Skype / Zoom meetings if I’m on audio only and don’t need to take notes! It will eventually be a cushion

Rita - made more Laundry Bags and Masks.

Pennie - Finished the first sleeve of the 'Most Difficult' Jumper I have ever Knitted.

 I wrote this book for all our Grandchildren to remember the visit from our Macao family.  They saw Covid19, drought, fires, rain, flooding, blackouts and sunshine while doing their 6 hours of online school work each week day.  There were many happy times, with family and especially cousins.  I've put 179 photos in this book, three books are now on their way to Macao! 

 I have almost, almost, almost finished these UFO's from I can't remember when but waaaayyyy back.  12 Place mats!  My sewing machine broke down in this process so is at the repairers but I did manage to borrow another 😊 thanks Lyn.

As promised - here is another work of art by Grand Daughter Abigail.  

Here is a school project she had to do by choosing an Artist.  Abi chose Frida Kahl

 

Michelle - Sorry (don't be sorry Michelle, your crochet is beautiful) but I’ve only been crocheting. Have just put these blocks together and now doing the border so it’s kind of like a quilt. 

Maureen, has missed a few Pub days but is catching up here, some of her photos are from projects made last year.   Thank you Maureen.
1.5m sq play mat for tiny cousins.

Then you’re left with lots of triangles.....

 
 I had enough red and white stash to make a Queen bed and lap quilt!

WIP Improv picnic quilt for my daughter from scraps!

  
Reinvention of bicentennial event, now lots of dragonflies replacing some of the older fabrics.

 Yellows squares from stash!

 Cars quilt for my daughter’s 3 yr old godson’s birthday.

Maggie - Thinks these 1” solid 9-patches came from a SCQuilters swap from a while ago.

Below, some of Maggie's Hexagons.

Liz in S.A. - Has just had her Quilt quilted and is now on her bed!

Lissa - Finished my crochet project. The two green stripes at the bottom are the border. It is supposed to have 7 rows of the same but it got boring real fast and thought two worked. 

Loz - N.Z. - Look what Loz found while going through some of her belongings.  I made these little brooches back in 2003 to give to everyone in a little group we once had called the Kambrachallenge.  Hey who still has theirs?

 Of course I had to go and see if I could find my little broach... Yes there it is in my sewing room 😮 is that a cobweb on it?   Maybe  I could do some dusting during my 'Self Isolation'  😞
I made these back in 2003!

Jean - I picked up this pattern in a Californian patchwork shop some years ago and the making of it has been over time - first the piecing, then the quilting. Now, thanks to the skill and speed of my sister’s ability to add binding, it’s actually finished! All Kaffe Fassett fabrics that I’d had for ages.

Jill -  One of the quilts I had entered into a quilt show this weekend. It isn't happening, of course.

Joy -  Have just finished this top but it will have to wait till I can get to the quilt shop for backing and wadding.

Glynis - Doing some much needed mending (Hey!  Maybe that can be our next post?)

 

 But not just mending... I'm teaching our friend patchwork. She is staying with us at the moment and is an experienced seamstress. I let her choose her first block. She chose foundation piecing! First quadrant completed and she can't stop; she loves it. 

Fiona -  Playing binding-chicken!!  😉

Cate - I’m not quilting at the moment, unless you count the laptop cover I made.  (YES, Cate we do count it!) 

 But I have started a new crochet scarf - Virus 🦠 in straight rows rather than the traditional Virus Shawl shape. The pattern has been around for years but I decided I needed to mark the occasion appropriately

Becky - Two old finished quilts in action. My life is chaos at the moment.. Lovely to see everyone's work!