Quadrille Quilters

Quadrille Quilters October Newsletter

2011-10-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

Report Back of Previous Meeting:
All members and visitors were welcomed by Grace.
Members were reminded to switch off all cell phones or turn them to silent as they do disrupt the flow of meetings.
Members were also reminded to wear their name tags at all friendship meetings.
The craft table was complemented on their interesting wares, but members were kindly asked to take home their unsold items at the end of the meeting.
The books sent by Maggie have still not arrived. Maggie has just returned home, and has had a wonderful holiday. She will look into the missing books.
The challenge entries are to be hung at the next meeting. It was disappointing that although 20 ‘kits’ were sold only 5 were returned and one unfinished one. Edwina suggested that the theme for the next challenge be sent out earlier, perhaps in November or December already. The Committee will take this into consideration at their next meeting.

There is still some silver jewelry left over from our 25th anniversary celebrations. Charms, pins and earrings are available at R100.each. Please contact Averil Barker on 011 802 1426.
Leonora thanked all members on the vast improvement of the show and tell slips and asked members to continue including tit bits of interesting information.
Members were again reminded that if asked to provide tea they are also required to help with the cleaning up in the kitchen area.
Members were reminded of the exhibition in the Heathway shopping centre on the 29 October. QQ will require volunteers to help hang up and take down as well as quilts to be hung. Volunteers to do demos will also be needed. Quilts, especially Christmas quilts for sale are popular, so should you wish to sell a quilt or two please bring them along. A quilt donated by Maggie Ball will also be raffled during the exhibition.
Members were reminded to keep looking at the notice board as there are always new items being displayed.

The Handbag Project has been adopted as our next charity. Should have an old handbag or two please bring them to one of our meetings. Instead of the proverbial Christmas gift members were encouraged to donate any of the following items at the December meeting:
Face cloth Panties (med. or large)
Sanitary Towels Soap Tooth Paste
Tooth Brush Shampoo Deodorant
Body Lotion(small) Bubble bath (small )
Comb Tissues Chocolate
Hair clips/bands Small soft Toy
Note – words of comfort/care
Bag to place above items in
QQ will consider making some of these bags with the mile a minute strips left over from the previous charity project. Dates for these sessions will be announced soon.

The Library reported that they are getting new books soon, which will then be reviewed.
Lesley reported back from GRG that they were looking for a new venue. Apparently a version of Bingo was played and much fun was had by all. The Part Time quilters also showed some of their quilts. The I Africa quilt show at the Emperors Place next year has attracted many overseas teachers and members were encouraged to keep a look out for their bookings. The event is to take place in July next year.

Jenny noted that the last house in this years back page is a real challenge. She did a lot of unpicking and changed her way of working. Tiny strips were sewn through freezer paper. She suggests to cut larger pieces and then trim it down. There is a cactus in the picture which she suggests you colour in beforehand.

Guest Speaker: Marina Sigalis
Marina was born in Greece into a rich culture of crafts and spinning. However her move to South Africa and the birth of her second child did introduce depression. It was not a chemically introduced depression, but rather one associated with loneliness. which was not surprising being new in a country with no support system in place. Her doctor told her to get a hobby.
She remembered her weaving skills and went to the wool board in Pretoria for a visit. She took a week long course and one thing led to another. From weaving, spinning was introduced. This led to her interest to dye yarns. She experimented with natural products such as turmeric, saffron, marigolds and celery. Chemical dyes were easily available but they are poisonous. Dying fiber to dyeing fabric was a natural progression. A book by Adriene Buffington “Hand dyed Fabric made easy “ she still maintains to be the best available.
She progressed to mixing her own dyes and made her own colour wheel. Dying is the second most stressful job around. Reproducing the exact same colour with every dye lot is almost impossible. She generally dyes on calico, but stresses to be careful as colours vary when dyed onto white or cream cloth. She loves immersion dyes as so called imperfections result in very interesting products. She started rainbow dying with yarns, but now uses the technique with fabrics.
Marina uses various methods of dying but finds the Sun dyes the easiest. This also allows for interesting additions of leaves , salt and other creative produce, including old door mats.
The book ‘Complex cloth’ by Jane Dunnewold taught her to combine different methods She now confidently combines stenciling, bleaching and stamping .
The embellishing of fabric, Marina claims can bring out your inner child(which we all should strive to maintain).
Marina strongly suggested to keep a log book when entering the dying world – as future reproductions might not be possible without one.
Marina now also teaches her dying skills, but is very reluctant to sell
any of her fabrics. She just packs them away neatly and “visits” them on occasion.

Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds
On the heel that has crushed it.
Mark twain

Giving from the Heart…Our Charities…
Remember to save your scrap fabric and put them into an old pillow case for the SPCA to use for all the unwanted animals. Your old towels and sheets will also help with bath time.

CHOC is always in need of bed socks and beanies and scarves for children of all ages…so get some wool from QQ and get knitting.

Also keep knitting vests for all the aids babies.
Wool donations have arrived.
Bring your old egg boxes, cotton reels and other useful recyclables to be given to St Vincent School for the Deaf

Bring your old glasses and glasses cases to be used by the Lions Eye Clinic in Roodepoort, for people with no money or medical aid but in need of glasses. They use your old frames.
Have an ‘old’ bag just taking up storage space? Why not support our Handbag Project?
Instead of the proverbial Christmas gift please donate any of the following items at the December meeting:
Face cloth, Panties (med. or large),Sanitary Towels, Soap, Tooth Paste, Tooth Brush, Shampoo, Deodorant, Body Lotion(small), Bubble bath (small), Comb, Tissues, Chocolate, Hair clips/bands, Small soft Toy and a
Note – words of comfort/care
Bag to place above items in
QQ will consider making some of these bags with the mile a minute strips left over from the previous charity project. Dates for these sessions will be announced soon

Which are You?
Some members keep a group so strong.
While others join just to belong.
Some dig right in; serve with pride;
Some go along just for the ride.

Some volunteer to do their share,
While some lie back and just don’t care.
Some do their best, some help, some make;
Some do nothing, only take.

Some greet new members with a smile,
And make their coming so worthwhile.
While some go on their merry way,
No greeting or kind work to say.

Some help the group and grow,
When asked to help they don’t say “no”.
Some drag, some pull, some don’t some do;
Consider, which of these are YOU?

Color my Memory
By Margaret Kaufman
The jewelry will be easy to divide-
The books will interest only one of you,
But one day you will stand here
Side by side, unfolding these quilts,
Exposing to light their color, the blue,
Rose, white, saying their names
Of things I loved, Ocean Waves,
Ships at sea

Perhaps you will grow silent and puzzling
Remembering me, the way I folded
Myself into silence,
Piecing and puzzling until
Design came clear.
If you find it hard to keep
What took me often far away from you
As I worked, intent on making whole
What I’d begun,
Pin my quilts on the clothesline.
Let them fly in the autumn sun.
Summer joy, cover my memory
With color.

A smile for You
Smiling is infectious; you catch it like the flu,
When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too
I passed around the corner and someone saw my grin, when he smiled I realized I’d passed it on to him.
I thought about that smile, then I realized its worth,
A single smile, just like mine, could travel around the earth.
So, if feel a smile begin, don’t leave it undetected,
Let’s start an epidemic quick, and get the world infected

Quadrille Quilters Sept Newsletter 2011

2011-10-08T12:26:00.001-07:00

REPORT BACK
Grace welcomed all visitors and members with a special welcome to Maggie Ball.
There were several apologies, including, Jeanette Trichardt, Cathy Pollitt, Ira Auf, Carol Poutney, Rhona Lobbin and Avriel Barker.
Ladies were reminded to please switch their phones off or to silent. Ringing phones do disturb the smooth running of our meetings.
Grace commented that it was always good to see previously ill members back at meetings.
A buddy system is to be introduced. This will make it easier for new members to ease into the Quadrille circle. It would also make it easier to let the older members know of possible ways to improve our group.
Tall ladies were asked to please help with show and tell; Bridget Ferguson and Ann Robertson have volunteered to help for 3 months.
Members were reminded that photograph fees are to be increased to R5.00.
It has come to our attention that there are 25 members whose fees are still outstanding. Should you no longer wish to remain a member, please let us know. Our lists do need to accurate as they affect the general running of meetings, e.g. how many newsletters to print, tea duties etc
QQ charities did very well this year, 53 quilts were given to the orphanage, 10 were sent to
Japan to help those affected by the Tsunami, we still have 12 available.
Members are reminded to wear their name tags, we are all getting older and memories are not what they were.
Thank you to all members helping out with the tea and helping to keep the tea area clean. If you are tea duty and are not helping, please do so next time round.
Several unusual and useful things are appearing on our craft table. Please take a look and keep things coming.
The notice board always contains something of value; please take the time to read it.
Jenny’s back page: Apparently last month’s challenge proved problematic, it being an asymmetrical block. Jenny suggests you reverse when you cut the pieces. The facia boards proved most problematic. This month’s block is a contempory double storey house. Jenny suggests not to use freezer paper as it shifts, photocopy onto paper and work from there. Reduce the size of your stitches. Fold along the lines of the paper to weaken it so stitches are not ripped. Number the units as they appear e.g. 1st row left and so on. Please speak to Jenny should you have missed the last meeting as several changes needed to be made on the actual pattern to simplify the stitching.
Members are reminded that membership fees are due next month. R150.00. should you prefer to pay in February the fee will increase to R160.00.
It was noted with concern that the noise levels during QQ meetings are increasing, even while speakers are presenting their speeches, and especially during show and tell. This shows a lack of respect towards speakers and all members trying to listen. Members are encouraged to please not talk during meetings. Should you wish to be heard and have something of interest to contribute or a question to ask, please stand up (it helps others hear better) and state your name (not everyone knows who you are and most of our memories are not what they where).
Any teachers who wish to have their pamphlets/leaflets/business cards handed out during the Christmas Exhibition held at Heathway Shopping Centre in October, are to ensure that they are handed to Grace before the exhibition

Giving from the Heart…Our Charities…
Remember to save your scrap fabric and put them into an old pillow case for the SPCA to use for all the unwanted animals. Your old towels and sheets will also help with bath time.

CHOC is always in need of bed socks and beanies and scarves for children of all ages…so get some wool from QQ and get knitting.

Also keep knitting vests for all the aids babies.
Wool donations have arrived.
Bring your old egg boxes, cotton reels and other useful recyclables to be given to St Vincent School for the Deaf

Bring your old glasses and glasses cases to be used by the Lions Eye Clinic in Roodepoort, for people with no money or medical aid but in need of glasses. They use your old frames.

A Visit from Maggie Ball.
Maggie is the author of various quilting books, including books on quilting with Kids. Originally from England, she now lives in Bainbridge Island in the Pacific North West of the USA.
When she came to America she noted quilts hanging over fences for sale. She wanted to learn the art, so frequented her local library until she discovered the local quilt group. When she moved to a different town she joined a larger group who was a little more adventurous in their quilt making.
A few years ago she received an e-mail from Selinga, a lady who lived in Mongolia and had visited the USA, fallen in love with quilting and wanted to bring quilting to Mongolia, to help empower women living in Mongolia. The long term aim was to start a quilting centre. A symbol, the Olsii Symbol was prominent in Mongolia, so Maggie designed a quilt capturing this important symbol of prosperity and longevity.
Maggie and her daughter went to Mongolia with 5 sewing machines and other sourced materials.
She found the materials available in Mongolia out dated, but the women very willing and eager to learn this new craft. She taught and lectured in Mongolia drumming up interest in the art of quilting and after more visits and much fund raising; Mongolia now has a quilting community centre, where women are making articles for sales using the Olsii symbol and other quilt articles.

Maggie shared her knowledge of the Olsii Quilt with Quadrille members and her other quilting skills. Two classes were offered – One the Olsii quilt and the second a Kaleidoscope quilt. Quadrille members were all eager to get started, and all were rather brain dead at the end of each day. But so inspired!

Thank you Maggie for being so patient and so supportive. And thank you Grace for making this happen.

We left exhausted, inspired and few inches thicker in the waist.....all that food.....
If you missed it, shame, you will just have to salivate when you see our show and tell..
Written by Leonora Cloete

There is one sad truth in life I found
While journeying east and west-
The only folks we really wound
Are those we love the best
We flatter those we scarcely know,
We please the fleeting guest

Grandmother’s Quilt
A tattered quilt all frayed and torn,
Beneath whose warmth a child once slept.
A memory in each patch is kept
From clothing long ago well-worn.
This cherished quilt brings back the touch
That wiped away a tiny ear, and softly rocked while giving cheer….
Sweet comfort always treasured much.
Now generations feel the love
Of someone they have never known
The seeds of love forever sown By grandma, smiling from above.
Author unknown

Quadrille Quilters Feb 2010

2011-04-17T12:08:00.000-07:00

Grace welcomed back all members and visitors. The following apologies were received: Erichka Bick, Nola Mayes, Rona Lobban, Lorna van Doorene, and Merl van Niekerk. As always members were asked to please ensure their cell phones do not disturb the meeting or the speakers. Thank you notes were received from Choc, SPCA and Ina Le Roux from the Venda ladies; all were overwhelmed by the generous response from all the QQ. All the love quilts are still handed in. Every quilt tells a story – it was made for a reason, something inspired its creation, perhaps something significant happened whilst in the making – when sharing your quilt with us during show and tell, please include this in your slip. It makes for interesting reading and could even inspire someone. Members were reminded to wear their name tags. Name tags can be ordered from Jeanette Botha. Tea duty: Ladies if your name is down for tea duty you are also required to help in the kitchen –even if you have brought your own mug. Members were also reminded to have a look at the notice board. MEDALLION QUILTS -A talk by Ansie Reyerse Medallion style quilt making was favored from the 1780s through the early 1800.in America. In Europe however this style remained in favour well beyond that time. A medallion quilt has a large central area. The Centre is usually surrounded by two or more borders. The borders can be plain, pieced or appliquéd. The centre piece can be a large solid piece of fabric, a large print such as a tree or basket, embroidered pieces or even a large pieced star or a set of stars. Some early fabric manufacturers specifically designed panels to be used in the centre of medallion quilts. These prints could be square rectangular or oval. The borders could be plain, pieced, some featured stars, or printed fabric or fabric strips sewn together to make patterns. Borders could be pieced triangles in border patterns such as sawtooth or pyramid style. Squares could be turned on point along a border strip or simply sewn together. The hourglass and modified nine patch patterns were some of the simpler blocks used in borders while various intricate star block patterns were created for more elaborate borders. These borders were often made of varied fabrics giving scrappy look. Often the pieced borders were alternated with strips of fabric in prints or solids. Some borders were made of a chintz print or even a special border fabric. Fabric manufacturers noted that quilt makers wanted fabric for these multiple borders and, “Around 1790, prints on a dark background became fashionable and were often printed in strips ready for the quilt maker to cut out for borders”. 2011 CHARITY DRIVE The main charity chosen for 2011 is the Bronkhorstspruit Orphanage. Suzen Bornman has identified this orphanage as being is need of some extra sunshine to bring that extra bit of love to the children. This orphanage receives no government help is looked after by the Church and the Bronkhorstspruit community. Yvonne Jordan and her Western Line Dancers are doing their best to make the children feel as normal as possible, by holding charity drives to fund things normally unavailable to the children such as pocket money, if and when they manage to go on holiday, but funding mostly food shortages. Quadrilles have committed itself to make a quilt for every child in the orphanage. There are at present 34 children housed in the orphanage, some helpers, and the house mothers. The idea is also to make this a community project – to get as many QQ members involved as possible. You are therefore encouraged to join a group of about 4 to 5 members and by doing so get to know one another, and at the same time learn from each other. Groups can decide where and when they could meet. Should your time be limited and you unable to participate, you can still be involved. Perhaps you are able to sponsor backing flannel? The batting will be sponsored by Quadrilles. QQ members have already produced 7 quilts. Thank you ladies. All quilts will be shown. Wendy and Suzan gave a very informative talk of how to use up fabric scraps. They warn that scraps can look too busy, thus suggest you look for unity. Arrange the scraps from light to dark. Join the scraps together then cut strips; add a few bits before cutting into blocks. Another suggestion involves foundation piecing. Narrow strips can be sewn onto a foundation. From this various shapes, such as squares or triangles can cut out. The idea is to have fun and expand your horizons. FROM THE HEART SPCA – Instead of throwing your fabric off cuts, thread off cuts into the bin – collect them in a used old pillow case. When full sew it closed and bring it to your next QQ meeting. We will give these to the SPCA. The animals of the SPCA are really greatfull for these scrap cushions. St. Vincent School for the Deaf – Old egg boxes, empty toilet rolls, cotton reels or other recyclable goods are appreciated – as they are used by the children in various artwork projects. Just drop off your bag at the next QQ meeting. CHOC – feel like knitting? Beanies and socks are always appreciated. Patterns are available should you require. STRESSED ? ….. keep stitching…. We live in a new world – a world spinning so fast we are all literally and figuratively in danger of falling off. Stress takes many different forms, stress at work to perform, pressure from the boss, pressure from home, divorce, school, study, illness, death the list is endless. The secret seems to be how we cope with stress. It is estimated that between 60 to 90% of illnesses seen by GPs are stress related. Too much stress leads to illness –sometimes mental illness, a well known one depression and insomnia. But more often than not physical illness, the most common being heart related problems, high blood pressure, and cholesterol. Psychologists have identified through research that other common illnesses are also stress related. Headaches, muscle related illnesses, diabetes basically name an illness and somewhere along the line it can be linked to stress. But stress has been around as long as man himself, what has changed, why are we no longer coping, why is our coping method in the medicine chest. Think back. Think of our grandparents lives. Surely life then was more difficult. They had very few of the luxuries we have now. Crime, our political situation and the recent economic depression have without doubt contributed to our stressful lives. What has changed however is our coping mechanisms. We constantly seem to be on the go, we do not take time out to relax or recharge our bodies. Yes we take holidays, which takes our minds off things for a week or two, but does little to help with our daily stress. So what to do? Exercise is a wonderful stress relief, but so is meditation. With meditation the persons attempts to enter a deeper state of relaxation and awareness. This makes me wonder – is embroidery, quilting or crafting in general, not a form of meditation? Surely you have been told ‘I don’t have the patience for this or you have a lot of patience’ the answer should be– no embroidery, quilting teaches you patience. It forces you to slow down, it forces you to relax. Think, can you really cut or sew fabric when you are tense. And if you are rushed and flustered and pick up your work – how long before you slow down, you cannot embroider fast, each stitch has to be formed one at a time, if you are tense your work will be tense, so you unpick, or re cut and redo properly this time. What happens to your focus? You are forced to concentrate on your work, your brainwaves shift from the right frontal cortex, which is associated with stress to the left frontal cortex, which is calmer. When you think about what you are doing let’s say stitching flowers, you think about the flower you are stitching and then other flowers and your mind is released, your thought patterns change, you start to contemplate, think things through – should you lose focus your stitching brings you back. You calm down – so yes embroidery and crafting in general, teaches patience. It slows you down, in my mind there is no doubt it is a form of very powerful form of meditation. MRIs and EEG have shown changes in brain waves in Monks during meditation. It increases the beta waves which result in a more relaxed state. Therefore in general, meditation reduces stress, produces inner calm, lowers blood pressure, slows heartbeat, quiets breathing boosts the body’s immune system. As does any form of crafting or a good hobby for that. So ladies, when next you sit down with a quilt in hand – know that you are starting a healing process – so relax, release your mind, and know that you can only benefit from this wonderful experience. Let your family know that this is your “ME” time and you need it to remain sane and stress free! Leonora Cloete What is a Love Quilt? A Love Quilt is a quilt is sewn by QQ members for a member. A Love quilt is usually given to a member going through a difficult time; it is meant as form of comfort –to remind the “patient” that there are people who care, and people thinking of them, in their time of need. Love Quilts are usually kept by the “patient” for a period of time (usually a month or so) and then returned so it can be passed onto another member in need. A booklet is included with the Love Quilt to allow you to express your feelings at time.

Quadrille Newsletter January 2011

2011-01-31T13:06:00.000-08:00

REPORT BACK
Grace opened the meeting by welcoming all members and visitors. With a special welcome back to Els Cleet.
The ladies were reminded that cell phones should be switched off or turned to silent.
Several apologies were given.
Choc is still in need of socks. Jean’s mom has undertaken to help fill this need.
The members were reminded to please wear their name tags.
Members were encouraged to bring items for sale at the craft table, to make it more interesting.
Bridget has gone to a lot of trouble with the notice board; members were encouraged to keep themselves updated with what is available.
A Round Robin exercise was explained – the ladies worked in groups of 6. Each initially made a block and passed it on to the next person, who adds a border to this block. This is repeated until after 6 months you get your original quilt back. The ladies found it to have been a great learning curve.
The Heathway Quilt Exhibition was reported on in the Randburg Sun.

From the Heart
Thank you so much from….
The Venda Ladies. for the embroidery cotton received, and especially for the generous donations of Dawn Body Lotion.
Choc
The SPCA has sent out a big thank you to all who so generously donated cushions throughout the year. All the love quilts have been returned and a special letter of thanks was received from Annette Grobler

2011 Charity Drive

The main charity chosen for 2011 is the Bronkhorstspruit Orphanage.
Suzan Bornman has identified this orphanage as being is need of some extra sunshine to bring that extra bit of love to the children.
It was decided to make a quilt for every child in the orphanage.
Suzan will report back on the ages of the children and their sex and perhaps any special request they might have.
Quadrille members are encourage to do what they do best, and make a child feel special by giving them a quilt made especially for them.
Quilts are please to be for a single bed and not be smaller than 190x150.
Work parties at Quiltec 25th ,26th, 27th Jan
9am to 1pm

The History of the Christmas Stocking.

There are several stories as to the origin of the Christmas Stocking. One theory maintains that once upon a time a poor man and his three daughters lived in a peasant’s cottage. There was no money for the girls to get married and the man worried about what would happen to his daughters after his death. St Nicholas was passing through the village when he heard about the girls and wanted to help, he also knew the old man would not accept charity. So he waited until night fall and crept in through the chimney. He had three bags of gold and was looking for a place to keep the bags. All he could find was the stockings of the girls hanging over the mantel piece to dry. He placed the gold coins in the stockings and girls could get married and lived happily ever after.
The story changes in regions and the gold coins are actually replaced with gold balls.
Hence the tradition evolved of children placing their stockings over the mantle piece or at the ends of their beds in the hope that St Nicholas/Santa Clause will reward their good behavior with presents in their stockings.
At times the stocking gifts are the only gifts the children would receive; while at other times the stocking contains only small gifts which are now called Stocking fillers.
Today the Christmas stocking is no longer the child’s everyday socks, but elaborate stockings especially created for this purpose.
A second theory originating from Germany – is that children would place their straw, carrot or sugar filled boots near the chimney for Odin’s flying horse, Sleipnir, their effort would be rewarded with boots filled with candy or gifts.
Another theory claims the tradition was started in Holland where children filled their clogs with straw and place it near the hearth for the reindeer. Sintaclaas (Santa Clause) would reward their kindness with gifts. With time the clogs were replaced with stockings and Sintaclaas with Santa Clause.

Another tradition claims that the tradition goes back to the XIX Century to an illustrator Thomas Nast, who illustrated a story by George Webster about a visit from Santa Clause. In his poem “The Night Before Christmas” Clement Clark Moore the Christmas Stocking is mentioned twice – once in the beginning and again towards the end.

“Merry Christmas” in different languages
Australia – Happy Christmas Spain – Feliz Navidad
Germany – Frohe Weihnachten Thailand – Ewadee Pe-e Mai

Please Diarize……….

QQ Meeting Dates and Talks 2011
10 January – Ansie Reyerse - Medallion Quilts.
Talk: Wendy Burtenshaw – Scrap Quilts
2 February – Diana Perrerson – Machine Embroidery
2 March – Jenny Svvensson – Maths and Quilting
6 April – Tertia Duvenhage – Felt Applique
4 May – Leslie Pahl-Stain Glass Window
1 June – Jeanette Botha – Bargello
13 July – All the girls – Festival Report Back
3 August – Marina Sigalas – Quilt Manipulation
7 September – Wendy and Suzan – Surprise!
5 October – Rose Espach – To be announced
2 November – Bridget Ferguson - All Appliqué
7 December – Ina Keyter - Art is Good

GRG Dates for 2011

The Golden Rand Quilting Guild is the umbrella body for the PWV area. They meet 4 times a year at the Alberton City Hall.
19 February, 21 May, 20 August and 19 November.

Jakaranda Dates 2011

The Jacaranda Quilting Group meets in Pretoria 3 times a year on 12 February, 11 June and 8 October.

Quiltec Open Day

Saturday 5 February 9am to 2pm

National Quilt Festival Stellenbosch
1 to 7 July 2011
Clubs…
…Classes……Courses…….“out of the Box”
This is a new group which will be held on the last Thursday of each month at Quiltec from 9am to 12pm unless otherwise stated. Please contact Grace for details o11 679 4386
24 February 24 March 28 April
26 May 23 June 25 August
29 September 27 October 24 November

Block of the Month

Piece makers Times and Seasons 2011
28 January 25 February 25 March
29 April 27 May 24 June
29 July 26 August 30 September
28 October 25 November

Share and Care Dates for 2011
Share and Care is our Masibambani School held at the Methodist Church in Linden for our African Ladies.
22 January 12 February 12 March
9 April 14 May 11 June
9th July 13 August
10 September 8 October 12 November

Mayflower Meeting Dates
10 January 14 February 13 March
11 April 9 May 12 June
11 July 15 August 12 September
10 October 14 November 28 November

Websites to visit
http://www.artfabrik.com/ Laura Wasilowski
www.originalquilts.com
http://www.craftown.com/
http://www.ellyienkiewicz.com/
Joyce Becker can be checked out on uTube
Hobby X is advertising exciting courses on
in2crafts@Hobby-X

Quilt Festival 2011

The 2011 National Quilt Festival will be held from the 1 - 7 July at the Bloemhof Girls’ School in
Stellenbosch, in the heart of the Cape Wine lands. The Exhibition will be from the 1 – 6 July and the quilts will be taken down on the last day of the Festival to give quilters an opportunity to collect them.
The theme for the 2011 Festival is “Alive with Colour”, which should inspire all traditional, innovative and art quilters to make amazing quilts for the exhibition. Our logo depicts Table Mountain, all dressed up and colourful to suite our theme.
We trust you are all working industriously on the quilts you would like to enter for the 2011 National Festival. The Exhibition hall is large and we therefore need lots of quilts to make the Cape Town event as successful as previous Festivals.
The winning rosettes for each of the quilt categories have been designed and made by Mari Claase, with the help of the Langeberg Laslap Guild, who have generously sponsored the rosettes.
We chose Stellenbosch for our Festival so that quilters can escape from the rat race of the city and come to the country to relax and enjoy the historic town and its beautiful surroundings, such as the lovely wine estates that can be found on the outskirts of the town!
The Bloemhof School has excellent hostel facilities that can accommodate up to 160 delegates. There are 2 big lounges (with DSTV) where delegates can socialize and relax during the Cape winter evenings. The hostel is in close proximity and within walking distance to the school.
For those who prefer a different type of accommodation, there are many B&B’s in the vicinity of the school. Related B&B information is available on our website.
Our challenge packs have been sent to guilds all over South Africa, but we still have a few left and they are available from Jenny Hermans: hermanshome@telkomsa.net There are fantastic cash prizes to be won!

Some time ago invitations were sent to a number of overseas teachers and three were selected to teach at the Festival. The Committee is in the process of finalising the local teachers and workshops. This is an enormous task and is being done with great care and consideration as we want to ensure that there is a good mix of quilting techniques and workshops. This process should be completed by the end of June 2010.
We were impressed with the high standard and quality of workshops offered by our overseas and local teachers. Besides the planned workshops, there will be demonstrations for beginner quilters, “Kids can Quilt” - workshops for the younger generation of quilters

Rules for Quilt Shows

By Krista Sheehan ,
I want to do this! What's This?
Quilting is a hobby shared and enjoyed by many people. In fact, quilting has become such a popular craft that a wide variety of quilt shows are now held across the country. If you are thinking about entering one of your quilts in a quilt show, it is extremely important that you review the show's rules and regulations. Although each show varies, the rules for quilt shows are often quite strict and unwavering.
Appearance
1. To be entered into a quilt show, all entries must be free of dirt, smoke and animal hair. Quilts must be completed and ready to hang with a stitched-down sleeve of a specific size.
2. Many quilt shows maintain that they will not hang incomplete, dirty or torn quilts, and these quilts will not qualify for entry into the show. Typically, quilts also will need to have a label sewn in a specific place on the back of the quilt. This label will need to detail the name of the quilt along with the name and address of the quilter.
Size and Construction
3. To be considered a "quilt," most shows insist on a work with three layers: a backing, filler and top. These three layers must be held together with stitching through each layer. Each show has its own determinants regarding the size of the quilt, too. Most quilt shows judge several different categories of quilts based on size. For example, some shows simply categorize quilts into large, small and miniature groups. Other shows, however, have more extensive categories: bed quilts, crib quilts, wall quilts and fabric art, among others. Refer to your specific show's rules for size regulations.
Additional Information
4. All shows require that the quilt is the work of the person who enters it into the show. If you received help, inspiration or guidance from another source, most shows require you to name those sources on your entry form. Some shows do not allow you to use kits, while others will accept this as long as you have disclosed the kit information. Check with your local show for its rules on presentation; some will require you to submit specific pictures of your quilt before judging. Also, most shows have time restrictions on all entries. For example, they may require that your quilt was completed during a certain period of time, or they may require that your quilt has never been shown in a previous quilt show.

2010-12-23T11:15:00.000-08:00

Quadrille Quilters December 2010

2010-12-23T03:48:00.001-08:00

REPORT BACK

· Grace welcomed all visitors and members.
· Thank you from choc for all our support throughout the year.
· Thank you also from the SPCA for all our cushions – we are currently supporting Randburg and Roodepoort.
· The Heathway exhibition was as always a good show case for our group. There seemed to be a growing interest in the purchase of completed articles – it was suggested to start collecting/making articles for sale next year. There was also an increase in interest in classes especially from African ladies.
· A letter of thanks was received from Erichka for her gift and all her support for her year as chair lady.
· QQ members were asked to please remember to wear their name tags – it does make communication easier between members.
· A list was sent re learning computer skills, should you have missed the list and be interested please speak to Grace. These classes will be offered free of charge!

Giving From the Heart

You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.
John Wooden

· Bronkhorstspruit Orphanage provides shelter for many children abandoned by their parents – and to provide some cheer and warmth the QQ committee has decided to make this their main charity for 2011. The aim is to make a bright cheerful Quilt for every child in the orphanage – a total of 35 quilts by June! Suzen will be the quilt block co-coordinator. Watch this space to see how this wonderful project will be organized.
· The SPCA is always in need of something soft to sleep on for their residents – so please continue to collect your scrap fabrics in old pillow cases.
· CHOC is helping on average 110 new children per day –so if you have spare time and enjoy knitting, please keep beanies, scarves and socks coming.
· Margaret Bowyer is still collecting egg boxes and other materials with which the children of St Vincent’s School for the Deaf use to make masterpieces.
· Should you have any old clothes or other unused items, please bring them to QQ to be given to Go Sizwe.

Shadow Applique and Shadow Embroidery
By Lesley Glover

Shadow appliqué is a form of appliqué that uses a sheer or transparent fabric to give a shadowy effect.
Shadow appliqué was used to repair worn clothing in days gone by. The stitching done by hand would be simple. The aim being to secure the layers together, with stitching such as back stitch, blanket stitch, stem stitch and running stitch. In Shadow Appliqué, you begin as with normal appliqué. A design is chosen and cut out of fabric. A better result is obtained by using good big images such as line drawings of butterflies or clear bif leaves. Appliqué the design onto the background fabric as normal and embellish with embroidery stitches.Then overlay with your voile (you could also use netting or any other see through fabric). Lesley adds her batting and backing at this stage as she finds it simplifies matters in the end. Now either hand stitch or machine stitch around each piece of the design.You could get really creative and bend the rules as Colleen Harris does. She sometimes adds more than one layer of different coloured voiles. Using free motion quilting patterns are put into work. Once complete, she burns the top layer in parts to create interest and expose the exciting parts underneath. Basically the shadow effect is created with a sheer fabric overlay. White fabric was traditionally used, which resulted in an opaque effect and subtle colours. But experimenting with other colours, can result in interesting effects, Lesley found that a darker voile allows one to see the background more clearly.
One also has to take the type of voile used into consideration –There is a soft cotton, very see through available, that lends itself to this type of work. Lesley found that synthetic voiles pucker easy and do not lie flat. By using a stabilizer, puckering an be avoided. The message is clear – use the best quality fabric you can afford for the best results. Even though voile curtaining is synthetic does seem to be of a better quality and does yield good results. With Shadow Embroidery the design is drawn onto the voile. The outline is back stitched and the design filled with a herring bone stitch. Only the underside of the voile is stitched to create a shadow effect on the top side.Although an old technique, it can be modernized to create new dimensions.

Membership fees

Ladies – a friendly reminder! Our year runs from 1 November to 30 October. This means it is time to pay your subs again! There has been an increase of 10%.
The amounts due are as follows:
o R150.00 per year
o R25.00 / visit – visitors are reminded that after 3 visits you are required to become a member.
o An extra R5.00 / meeting for the security guards.
· Existing members who are exempt will remain so.

History of the Month!

Kente Cloth

Kent Cloth is native to the Akan people of Ghana. It is a type of silk fabric made of inter woven cloth strips. Usually the pattern consists of bright multicoloured geometric shapes and bold designs.
The cloth is locally known as ‘nwentoma’ and is a sacred cloth worn only in times of extreme importance. Kente was the cloth of Kings! But over time it became more widespread but has retained its importance and is still held in high esteem in the Akan family and the whole of Ghana.
Kente Cloth is made by the Akan people, and is the best known of all African textiles. Kente comes from the word Kenten, which means basket –it is therefore referred to as Nwentoma or ‘woven cloth’. It is an icon of African cultural heritage around the world.
Kente cloth is chosen by the Asante for their names colors and pattern. The names are derived from various sources –e.g. proverbs, historical events, chiefs and plants. The colors also are chosen because of their meanings e.g.
· Black – maturation, intensified spiritual energy
· Blue peacefulness, harmony, love
· Green –vegetation, planting, harvesting, growth
· White - purification, sanctification rites, and festive occasions.
Patterns woven also have certain meanings e.g. Emaa Da symbolizes novel creativity and knowledge from experience.
Legend has it that Kente was first made by two friends who went hunting in a forest and found a spider making its web. The friends stood and watched the spider for two days and then returned home and implemented what they had seen, thus claiming the cloth to have originated independent of outside influence.

Quadrille Quilters November Newsletter

2010-11-06T05:58:00.000-07:00

Report Back

· Grace welcomed all members and visitors.
· A big thank you to Erichka and her committee for all their hard work and good luck to the newly elected committee! We wish you well and look forward to a successful new year.
· Leonie Malherber’s classes have been cancelled.
· Quiltec will no longer be at QQ meetings. However should you require anything, please let Grace know and she will bring your requirements.
· Quiltec will from 2011 only be open on Thursdays and Fridays.
· Thank you to all who donated items for the Nobili Foundation during the year.
· QQ photo albums are always available at Quiltec for that trip down memory lane.
· The Editor welcomes any contributions to the newsletter; the deadline for submissions is the 20th of the month.
· A friendly reminder also to our advertisers – please remember that your advertising fee of R130.00 per year is also due now.

Giving From the Heart

QQ members are encouraged to continue their generous support with all our charities.
Remember:
After the verb “To Love”…..”To Help” is the most beautiful verb in the world. Bertha von Suttner
· Bronkhorstspruit Orphanage provides shelter for many children abandoned by their parents – and to provide some cheer and warmth the QQ committee has decided to make this their main charity for 2011. The aim is to make a bright cheerful Quilt for every child in the orphanage – a total of 35 quilts by June! Suzen will be the quilt block co-coordinator. Watch this space to see how this wonderful project will be organized.
·
Please diarize……………
Provisional dates for 2011 QQ Meetings
12 January 13 July
2 February 3 August
2 March 7 September
6 April 5 October
4 May 2 November
1 June 7 December
1 – 9 July SA Quilt Festival
Hole in the Wall – is a baby shelter for abandoned babies. QQ would love to give them a Christmas gift of Nappies (especially new born) fissan paste and baby wipes

. Please support us in this drive by bringing your donations to our December meeting.
· Embroidery Ladies who sell their work to provide for their Families.

QQ thought it would be wonderful to spoil them with a bottle of body lotion (they seem to love Dawn Body lotion) as a Christmas gift!
If you would like to help, it would be much appreciated.
· The SPCA is always in need of something soft to sleep on for their residents – so please continue to collect your scrap fabrics in old pillow cases.
· CHOC is helping on average 110 new children per day –so if you have spare time and enjoy knitting, please keep beanies, scarves and socks coming.
· Margaret Bowyer is still collecting egg boxes and other materials with which the children of St Vincent’s School for the Deaf use to make masterpieces.Should you have any old clothes or other unused items, please bring them for Go Iswe

QQ Calendar of Events

1 December 2010 –Julia Heaney: The History of Christmas Stockings and a fun morning of Demonstrations.
12 January 2011- Ansie Reyerse: Medallion Quilts and Wendy and Suzen will demonstrate Scrap quilts.
Watch this space for many more interesting Histories, General talks, Demonstrations and other surprises!

PLEASE NOTE
Membership fees due

· Ladies – a friendly reminder! Our year runs from 1 November to 30 October. This means it is time to pay your subs again! There has been an increase of 10%. The amounts due are as follows:
o R150.00 per year
o R25.00 / visit – visitors are reminded that after 3 visits you are required to become a member.
o An extra R5.00 / meeting for the security guards.
· Please remember that the package you receive costs you R12.50 a meeting and R5.00 for security. Much less than the cheapest fat quarter at R20.00. So please step up and pay your subs.
· Existing members who are exempt will remain so.

Want to make friends with your computer?

Grace has kindly offered to help get interested QQ members computer literate. Classes will be held at Quiltec on a Tuesday morning and afternoon to accommodate the working ladies. Classes will consist of 10 ladies per class and will start next year. The newsletter will keep you updated.

The 2010 Quadrille Challenge Results.

Each entrant was given 3 colour swatches and a quilt had to make using the given colours.
As always the judges were impressed with the quality of the work and choosing a winner was no easy task. But a winner had to be chosen!

Congratulations to

-Tilly de Harde for walking away with the First prize.
-Shirley Prakke for taking the second place
-Tertia Duvenage for 3rd place and
- Patricia a Bear for Highly commended
The next Challenge will be launched in January 2011. However there will be split judging.
This means that there will be two categories of judging so to speak. The Winners circle group – consisting of previous 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners and the general group, all judged on same category. This is to encourage more members to enter challenges.

The 2011 Quilt Festival
Members are encouraged to visit the website to keep abreast of all that is being planned.
www.quiltfestival2011
Vendors who have not received their notices by November should contact Jeanette or visit the website.

Jenny’s Back Page
The new set of 12 back pages will all consist of foundation pieced houses. They will start easy and get progressively more difficult as time goes on. When finished the houses should be 8” by 8”.
Hint: Take photos of finished squares to help with colour choices.
Number and label your blocks e.g. top, 3rd left etc.
Sew units together in rows.
Remember to cut on the dotted lines and sew on the solid lines.

OOOOps Something went wrong with last month’s print! It seems the design got stretched somehow! The pieces did not match up! Please see Jenny if you are making this house for original correct copies.
The printers have been made aware of the problem and hopefully the problem has been sorted.

Websites to visit;

www.molaartandcraft.com
www.womenfolk.com/baby_quilts
www.100mile-house-log-homes.com/christmas-bedding
www.denacrain.com/blog/?page_id=337
mysite.mweb.co.za/residents/dorisf/group.html

Quadrille Quilters October newsletter

2010-11-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

Report Back

Erichka welcomed all members and visitors.
Thank you – as always to all the ladies who support our various charities giving so freely of both their time and money.
Should you require cushions for the S.P.C.A please speak to Erichka.
A special thank you to Grace and Wendy for putting together a Love Quilt.
Tea
Please provide a plate of eats and assist in the kitchen, should your name appear on the tea list. If for whatever reason you are unable to provide eats, please arrange for someone else to take your place.
Ladies please also remember to bring your own mugs.
Events.
Christmas in October at the Heathway Centre will be on 30 October 9 am to 2pm. Volunteers and quilts to hang will be required.
The Traveling Exhibition entry form deadline is
15th October and quilts have to be handed in by the 1st December. Entry forms can be downloaded from the SAQG website.
Festivals:
Your request of entering non original quilts at Festivals is being discussed by the Committee.
General:
Please be aware that the travel scam is still ongoing.
A semi finished Biggie Best double bed quilt was auctioned as was a bedspread/blanket of crochet squares with enough wool to complete the project.

Did you know…..?
Bonnie Leeman 83 years old founder and Editor of The Quilters Newsletter Magazine and the Quiltmaker sadly passed away on the 5th September 2010.
She was an Icon of the Quilting Industry.
She developed the magazine into a family business started in 1969.
In 1982 she was inducted into the Quilters Hall of Fame and that same year The Quiltmaker Magazine was launched.
The subscriptions totaled over 200,000 subscribers in over 100 countries and in 1996 she passed on the baton of leadership of QNM to her daughter Mary.

Santa's Shoe Box Project
Kidz2Kidz Santa Shoebox Project is an inspiring community initiative that collects uniquely personalized Christmas gifts for socially disadvantaged youth. Equally, the project is about parents teaching their own children the pleasure of giving. This is a gift to be shared with a child from a distinctly vulnerable social background, who may never before have received a Christmas gift. The project is unique in that the donor knows the name, age, gender and residence of the child the gift is intended for.
Fill the box with new and age appropriate item of which the following are required
Toothpaste and toothbrush
Bar of soap and face cloth
Item of clothing
Educational supplies
Sweets and a toy

Interested then go to: www.santashoebox.co.za for more information and to register. Boxes need to be dropped off towards the end of October, so in order to participate there is not too much time.

History of Mens Ties:

The Necktie (or tie) is a long piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck or shoulders, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat. Variants include the bow tie, ascot tie, bolo tie and the clip-on tie. Neck ties are generally unsized, but may be available in a longer size. Men & boys wear neckties as part of regular office attire, formal wear or as part of a uniform
The earliest historical example was found in ancient Egypt. The rectangular piece of cloth that was tied and hung down till the shoulders was a very important part of an Egyptian’s clothing because it was showing his social status.
In China, the life size terracotta statues in the grave of Emperor Shi Huang Ti, bear a piece of cloth around their necks, which is considered an ancestor of the modern necktie.
In art from the Roman Empire, men are also depicted bearing neckwear that resembles the contemporary necktie.
The modern necktie, ascot, and bow tie are descended from the cravat. This can be traced back to the time of the Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648) when Croatian mercenaries from the Military Frontier in French service, wearing their traditional small, knotted neckerchiefs, aroused the interest of the Parisians. These neck cloths struck the King’s fancy and he soon made them a insignia of royalty as he created a regiment of Royal Cravattes. The word “Cravat” comes from the Croatian word for Croats, Hrvati, and the French word, Croates.
The new article of clothing started a fashion craze in Europe where both men & woman wore pieces of fabric around their necks.
During the Battle of Steenkerque in 1692, the princes, in a hurry getting dressed for battle, just wound these cravats around their necks. They twisted the ends of the fabric together and passed the twisted ends through a jacket buttonhole. These cravats were generally referred to as Steinkirks.
By 1715, another kind of neckwear, called “stocks” made its appearance. Stocks were initially just a small piece of muslin folded into a narrow band and wound a few times round the shirt collar and secured from behind with a pin.
The Cravat fashion became very popular in England due to the Macaronis, returning from Europe, who brought new fashion ideas with them from Italy.
Remember the song Yankee Doodle?
Yankee Doodle went to town A-riding on a pony Stuck a feather in his hat And called it macaroni.
This is a song from Pre-Revolutionary America. The singer was not referring to the pasta “macaroni” in the line that reads “stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni. “Macaroni” was a fancy (dandy) style of Italian dress widely imitated in England at that time. By sticking a feather in his cap and calling himself a “dandy”, Yankee Doodle was proudly proclaiming himself to be a gentleman of some social standing.
Between 1800 – 1850 there was much interest in the way to tie a proper cravat and this led to a series of publications. First book published was Neckclothitania.
1860 – 1920 - The Industrial revolution created a need for neckwear that was easy to put on, comfortable and would last an entire workday. The modern necktie, as is still worn by millions of men today, was born. Bow ties also became popular at this time and also the Ascot tie, which had wide flaps that were crossed and pinned together on the chest.
In 1926, a New York tie maker, Jesse Langsdorf came up with a method of cutting fabric on the bias and sewing it in three segments. This technique improved elasticity and facilitated the fabric’s return to its original shape. He patented this innovation and later sold his invention all over the world. Since that time, most men have worn the “Langdorf” tie.
In Britain, Regimental stripes have been continuously used in tie designs since the 1920s. Traditionally, English stripes ran from the left shoulder down to the right side; however, when Brooks Brothers introduced the striped ties in the USA around the beginning of the 20th century, they had theirs cut in the opposite direction.
In the 1980s in the 1990s, novelty (joke) ties or deliberately kitschy ties designed to make a statement became very popular. These included cartoon characters, commercial products and pop culture icons.
Ties made of unusual materials such as plastic & wood were also made.
The first novelty ties were designed by Salvador Dali, whose artwork and illustrations on ties took the art world by storm. Men from all sectors continued to express their interests and sense of style by wearing ties that make statements.
Interesting facts about ties:
In silk production, one cocoon is made up of 1,000 – 3,000 feet of silk yarn. You will need 150 cocoons per necktie.
Red is the most popular tie colour & pink is a fairly common business tie colour in Japan.
Burgundy (dark red) is a classic business tie and usually worn by politicians & blue is the colour of choice for spring.
Brown is the colour for casual wear & black is the colour for formal wear.
White is worn by judges, lawyers and defenders & grey and silver are perfect for Birthday parties.
Around the world, the tie is still the most popular Father's Day gift.
In 2002 the tie industry in America saw sales slump by 10% due to the popularity of "dress down days".
Health and safety hazard:
Entanglement is a risk when working with machinery and possibly violent jobs such as policemen and prison guards, and certain medical fields.
Vascular constriction can occurs with over-tight collars.
Infections are spread by Drs & Dentists through ties. Ties don’t get cleaned regularly.
Peanuting – form of bullying, where the tie is pulled to tighten around your neck, it is supposed to embarrass the person, but there are reported cases of spinal injury.
Anti Tie sentiments:
Ties are being seen as a symbol of submission and slavery (i.e. having a symbolic chain around one’s neck) to the corrupt elite of society, as a wage slave.
In Iran, the tie is seen as a symbol of Western oppression.

"What is a Quillow?
"A combination of a quilt and a pillow is called a quillow. (Some people spell it 'quillo'.) The basic idea is that you fold the quilt into an attached pouch and when it's all sealed up it looks like a pillow. Some people sew a carrying strap to their Quillows, some don't . They are popular for kids' sleepovers or for grownups being cozy by the TV.
The quillow can have a theme. Give one made with dog print fabric to a dog lover or one with underwater images to a SCUBA diver. A teeny quillow is a nice for a baby shower.
You can do as much or as little patchwork on the quillow as you wish. You can quilt just the pillow part, or the whole main fabric or even just use solid, "unpatched" fabric. Polar fleece makes a warm, cozy quillow.

2010-08-05T12:55:00.001-07:00

2010-08-05T12:52:00.000-07:00

2010-08-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

Quadrille Quilters Newsletter August 2010

2010-08-05T12:22:00.000-07:00

Report Back.

GENERAL MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR

Erichka welcomed all members and visitors!
 CELL PHONES – Please Ladies remember to switch off your cell phones or turn them to silent for the duration of our meetings. Ringing phones not only disturb speakers but also the people around you.
 GET WELL SOON! Grace Nobili and her mom, so if you were expecting an order form Grace, please speak to Wendy! Deline’s mom – please ladies enjoy your library books one month longer as there will be no library today. Charmaine Collins’s son is also very ill. In our thoughts and prayers we wish you and your loved ones a speedy recovery.
 CONGRATULATIONS! Grace Nobili became a first time granny to a beautiful baby girl!

and to Suzen Bornman first time Granny to a lovely baby boy! We all hope that the memories you will share together will be long and warm with tons of laughter.
 LOST PROPERTY: Someone left their knitting behind after our June meeting! Please collect from Erichka.
 QUADRILLS CHALLENGE: Keep working Ladies – the challenge ends next month.
 GRG MEETING; 22 August. Should you have any nominations for member of the year, please ensure they are submitted by 15 October. Nominations for committee members are also welcome.
 2011 TRAVELLING EXHIBITION: Jewels of the Earth – a reminder that entries are due soon.

SHOW and TELL
July 2010.
Well this Show and Tell was more like Quadrilles even though I missed the whole thing. Thank you to Tertia for the photographs to keep me up to date

Jeanette Triegaardt made Quilted Backpacks at Part Time quilters.
Sandi Crear made “Star Crazy Swan song “ 2009 Block of the month with Grace.; Sampler Quilt “Stacey’s Quilt” Wendy’s block of the month and a quilt made for a friend more info please !!
Gail Osborn made “Tertia’s Treasure” started with one bock made for Tertia and then could not stop with the square within a square blocks.
Dorinda Mckane 2009 Star Block of the Month with Grace made in beautiful Kaffe Fasset fabrics.
Rosemarie Sheward made “Birds at my Window” as a gift for her brother she will be visiting in October. Class by Wendy and Suzen
Maureen Smith made her Star Block of he month with Grace with lovely fruity tutti fabric and turned it into a wonderful tablecloth and given as a gift to her daughter in law.
Tilly de Harde showed her Broken Telephone Challenge called” Sunbirds”
Tilly also made a lovely Lee Hackman technique quilt with Wendy and Suzen.
Barabra Macdonald made a Stars with a Twist block of the month with Grace.Also to be used as a lovely tablecloth.
Carol Poutney made “Perseverance” Star Quilt block of the Month 2009. Well done Carol now you can do anything.
Ira Auf made her perfect “Birds in my Garden” Quilt in Wendy and Suzen’s class.
Erichka Bick made “ Candy Floss Hearts” High Tech Tucks technique made in class with Grace. Erichka also made “The Beerbox Quilt” in a class with Grace
Jenny Svennson made “Skinny Santa” Two quilts skinny Snowman and Christmas Wreath made in the Xmas club.
Wendy Burtenshaw made “Love Is” wallhanging made with squares from an old calendar.
Colleen Harris made a Raggedy quilt and a Lee Hackman technique quilt.
Pat Warren made “Squashed Butterfly” a Lee Hackman technique quilt made in Wendy’s and Suzen’s class
Tertia Duvenage made a “Beerbox Quilt” a wonderful
collection of Charm squares quilted by Grace.
Maureen Douwes ( a Visitor) made a lovely “Images of Africa “ quilt done with Wendy and Suzen
Patricia a Bear made “Diamonds, Amethysts and Rubies” a Lee Hackman technique quilt done on course with Wendy and Suzen.
Jean Funnel finished “Yellow Stars Quilt” Pieced top was given by a friend in California with instructions to go practice.
Anna Castleman made “Labarinth of Life” technique class with Wendy and Suzen.
Tilly de Harde made a lovely oriental landscape for Lynette Ho’s birthday.

QQ Calendar of Events

Sept 1st – Talk by Jackie Green
on Story Dolls
October 6th Talk by Marietha
Sri – Lankan Applique Embroidery.
November 3rd – Lesley Taylor
Shadow Applique
December 1st --
Fun Morning of Demonstrations

National Quilt Festival 2011
1st July to 7th July 2011
“Alive with Colour”
Good Hope Quilters Guild
Venue
Bloemhof Girls school
Stellenbosch

Membership Update
Will all ladies please note that after your 3rd visit to QQ as a visitor you are required to become a member.
This is necessary for us to be able to prepare a Budget for the following year to deal with our expenses.

Etiquette for Quilting Lessons.
Please keep this information
As it applies to All classes that are offered by local and visiting Teachers.
1.Make every effort to be Punctual.
2.If you are unavoidably late – apologize and without distracting the class take your place. The Teacher will probably take you over any points missed when it suits her.
3.Please do not talk while the teacher is instructing the class.Give attention when given instructions and do not ask unnecessary questions.
4.You decided to take this class.It is unfair to the teacher to constantly try to be more knowledgeable than the teacher.
5.Ask the teachers permission before taking any photographs in class.
6.You will be asked to sign the “plagiarism” clause. This protects the teachers work
7.Complete an evaluation form and hand it to a volunteer who will seal it in an envelope. Be honest, it is confidential.
8. There are other students in the class
Allow the teacher to give everyonean equal share of her time. In otherwise do not monopolize the teacher
9.Make sure that you have all the basic requirements for the class. It can be distracting and to some people irritating if you start borrowing all the time

DVD Library.News
At last we will be getting our DVD library on its feet
This is how it is going to work.
This service will be dealt with after each QQ meeting. Grace or one of the Quiltec ladies will be in charge of this service.
A list of available Dvd’s is to follow.
You may only borrow the Dvd for the period of ONE month
If you forget to return it, a fine of R150 will be levied against you. You have one days grace to return it to Quiltec and have your fine returned.
The cost of Borrowing a Dvd each time is R20 These funds will go towards the purchasing of new Dvd’s as will the fines.
Once the Dvd has been confirmed to be in order your deposit will be returned.
Should the Dvd be damaged you will be liable to pay the full cost of purchase to replace it.
If you have any personal Dvd’s that you would like to add to the QQ library, once approved QQ will purchase it from you at market price.
The most important aspect of this Library is going to be COPYRIGHT.
All these Dvd’s are COPYRIGHTED
It is ILLEGAL to make copies, if you absolutely must have a copy of your own, we can organize to purchase a copy at cost.

WEBSITES TO VISIT.
www.quiltwoman.com
www.ashecountyarts.org/BarnQuilts.html
www.busythimbles.com.au
www.fabriccafe.com
www.valeriehearder.com
www.quilting-warehouse.com

THE DIABETIS YOUTH QUILT RAFFLE was won by Sandra de Wet. The raffle raised R2000.00 for the organization.
 ST. ANDREWS SPRING FESTIVAL is to be held on 18 September and QQ has been ask to again exhibit. Volunteers will be required.

 WHERE IS THE WORLD is a book about all the countries that took part in the world cup. It was published to be of educational value to children. Erichka has 10 copies at R50.00 each.

 WELL DONE Jill Rex. Her quilt is featured on the front page of the Northcliff Times! We are so proud!
And to Erichka – who managed to go through the US without stepping into a quilt shop! Hmmm…..

SKRI LANKEN EMBROIDERY – is to be demonstrated at our October meeting. Kits will be on sale. So ladies be prepared.

 FOR SALE – a machine cabinet that can hold 2 machines R2000.00 and a cutting table R1000.00. Please speak to Colleen Harris.

Please help…..

CHOC still need socks. Look for the pattern on this page
Margaret Bowyer is still collecting recyclable waste such as egg boxes among others.
BRONKHORSTSPRUIT ORPHANAGE is selling bags for R50.00 to raise funds. Choose your bag and pay your money to Suzen.
If possible please bring a bag of rice and a tin of tinned fruit with you for the next meeting.
Timbali would appreciate DMC stranded embroidery cottons – should you have some spare or unwanted please bring to our next meeting.

Ting Cotter is looking for the instruction manual for a Stella Air electronic TSPL sewing machine.

FROM CHOC: To all who donated, knitted and in any way contributed to all the beautiful scarves completed.

FROM GO SIZWE: The food and clothing you donated is much appreciated and needed

FROM THE SPCA: The dogs and cats are very grateful for their pillow keeping them warmer and a little more comfortable.

PLEASE NOTE
Quadrille Quilter Subscription Fees
Membership WoesDue to the passing of time many of our Quadrille group has become Pensioners, so how can we run a club without subs?
Everyone will have to pay subs.
There will be the normal 10% increase
For next year 2010

Quadrille Quilters Newsletter June 2010

2010-06-04T13:07:00.000-07:00

Report Back.

Hope you all had a Good
Mother’s Day

There is a need for extra Love Quilts.
Erichka has taken an Executive decision to make 2 more Love Quilts. Quilters to please get sample pattern and colours from Erichka direct. We will also be needing 2 more bags to keep the quilts clean and ready for delivery.

Love quilt and get well wishes go to Reinette Nel who is recovering from surgery. Also well wishes to Tertia who’s Father is sick.

With great sadness sincere condolences to Grace on the death of her Father.

Craft Table requires more items for sale.
Auction Thread on wooden cotton reels were sold to Tertia for R150 The money was given to Margaret Bowyer’s Friend who was selling these Thank you to QQ her friend was really thrilled to receive so much

From the Heart.

Thanks to all for the donations and funds raised for The Children of Fire amounting to R4000 to date.

We have also received 150 Knitted Teddies well done Ladies

CHOC ---- Knitted scarves are also growing in leaps and bounds. Bev Dutton’s Aunt fixed and donated 47 scarves, which she acquired from a factory outlet …. These rejected scarves have small flaws which Bev has fixed. We need a few volunteers to fix another bag of scarves which have also been donated.

Nola has asked for further help with this charity … power outages and the increase of Escom Tarriffs make it necessary to economize on electric heating so bed socks are the new project and will help in keeping patients cosy.

Other needs .. old clothes for GoSizwe and more cushions for the SPCA.
Yvonne and Suzen are asking for Orphan Blocks either 12” x 12 “or 12” x 10”.These do not have to be finished off These will be used to raise funds for an orphanage in Bronkhurstspruit.

SAQG
The challenge is for the 2011 festival hosted by the Good Hope Quilters Guild
.This is a quilt challenge,the theme being “Showtime”

.R100 entry includes the entry & fabric(black & white)
Packs for the challenge can be collected from
Carolyn Kode,tel # (011) 880-8833,
however,out of 100 packs issued,only 9 are still available

Inspiration …
PARENTING
JOB DESCRIPTION:

Long term team players needed, for challenging, permanent work in an often chaotic environment.
Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours,
which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.
Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping site on rainy weekends
and endless sports tournaments in far away cities! Travel expenses not reimbursed.
Extensive courier duties also required.
RESPONSIBILITIES:

The rest of your life.
Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs R50.00.
Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also,
Must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case,
This time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.
Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair,
Mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers.
Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects.
Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.
Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, and a total embarrassment the next.
Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices.
Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.
Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION:
None.
Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining,
Constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:

None required unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis..

WAGES AND COMPENSATION
Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses.
A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent.
When you die, you give them whatever is left.
The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS:

While no health or dental insurance, no pension,
no tuition reimbursement,
no paid holidays and no stock options are offered;
this job supplies limited opportunities for personal growth,
unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right. And, THERE IS NO RETIREMENT – ever!!!

Natural Dyes - Tropical dyes from wood

Article on Natural Dyes by Teresinha.

Brazilwood, logwood and fustic are famous traditional natural dyes that produce bright colours on wool, cotton and silk; brazilwood yields rich reds, logwood purples and fustic strong yellows. These three dyes are made from the heartwood of medium to large trees originally found in tropical forests. With proper care, all three dyes have a good light-fastness. Eventually they mellow to paler but still pretty colours.By late 1500’s large quantities of brazilwood, logwood and fustic were imported into Europe from Latin America.
These three new dyes cost much less than those previously available therefore allowing more people to have colourful clothes.
Brazilwood is found both in Asia and Latin America and Brazil takes its name from the tree. The wood comes from several species of Caesalpinia trees and it gives lovely rich reds.Even though I was born and brought up in Brazil, I never saw a brazilwood tree, never read about the fiery reds it produces and was never taught that the word brazil comes from the Spanish brasa which means glowing embers. It was only when I came to live in England and became interested in natural dyes that I learnt more about this tree. I was very surprised to learn that my country of birth was named after the wood found there, rather than the other way round.Brazilwood, however, was well-known for centuries, long before Brazil was discovered by Europeans; it was first mentioned as a dye in 1321, sourced from East Indies and India.Most of brazilwood sold as a dye now comes from Asian trees. The species from Brazil, Caesalpinia echinata, is also known as pernambuco and is sometimes referred to as the music tree because its wood is used for making violin bows
Logwood dye is made from the heartwood of Haematoxylon campecianum, a forest tree from Central America. Haematoxylon literally means blood wood and it refers to the colour of the heartwood, while campecianum refers to the city of Campeche in the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico where this tree was abundant. Logwood was floated down rivers as large logs, hence its name.Logwood chips produce purples, greys and blacks, the colours depending on the mordants used and the acidity of the dye bath. The dye haematoxylin produced from logwood is still used as histological stain for microscopic slides.
Old Fustic, or Dyer’s Mulberry, is made from the heartwood of Maclura tinctoria, a medium to large tree of the mulberry family originally found in the forests of Brazil and the West Indies. It is a beautiful wood for wood turning and is then known as Amarillo, which means yellow in Spanish.Fustic yields a range of colours from strong dark yellows to an attractive peach colour on silk, cotton and wool and it has good light-fastness. It was used extensively from about 1600 to 1850, as it produces a strong colour at low cost. During the WW1, fustic was one of the dyes used to produce khaki for army uniforms.

Quilt Class

A Quilt Sleeve lets you hang your Quilts
Learn how to make a quilt sleeve

You will need to add a quilt sleeve on the back if you intend to hang your quilt or wall-hanging. You can slide a rod or dowel through the sleeve and hang it on two nails.
Most quilt shows also require a sleeve on the back of your quilt to facilitate hanging the quilts.
Here's how to make a 4” sleeve. Measure the width of your quilt, then cut a strip of fabric 8 ½” wide, by that length. For a large quilt, you may have to sew two strips together to get the length required. For a small wall hanging which is not going into a show, you can make your sleeve narrower.
Fold your strip of fabric in half and press. Fold the end in ½” and then again ½” and sew. Repeat at the other end. If you hav e not yet sewn on the binding, pin the sleeve to the upper edge of your quilt, flush with the edge. As you are sewing your binding on to your quilt, you will sew through the sleeve and secure it. In order to secure the lower edge of your sleeve, you must hand stitch it through the back of the quilt only. In order to accommodate the dowel or rod, push the outer layer of your sleeve up about ¼” and pin in place. Hand sew the side next to the backing. Viola!If you want to add a sleeve to a quilt which has already been bound, cut as above, and with right sides together, sew a ¼” seam along the long edge to make a tube. Finish the ends as above. Pin the tube to the top of the back of your quilt just below the binding, and hand stitch along the top edge. Finish the bottom edge as above.

Quadrille Quilters Newsletter May 2010

2010-05-14T12:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day

From the floor;

A warm welcome to all members and visitors, especially a visitor from Australia, was extended by Erichka.

All present were asked to please ensure all cell phones were either switched off or turned to silence at all meetings, as a matter of courtesy to the speakers and other members present.

Three love Quilts were sent out. Our thoughts and prayers are with June Hanson recovering from surgery and Mavis Snyman whose daughter passes away and the last one was given to Els Cleet who lost her husband and has been very ill too.

A huge Thank you was again extended to all who helped at Hobby X- it is really a wonderful way to meet new people and spread the word.

Thank you to Bernina Heathway, especially Charlie’s husband who brought a whole lot of magazines – all are invited to help themselves to one copy.

A big thank you to Helmein Rudram for the knitted and sewn teddies for children of Fire and also to Sheila van Dyck ( a friend of Kathleen Otto) who donated a huge bag of knitted teddies for the children as well

FROM THE HEART.

S.P.C.A cushions – please
remember to bring these to QQ for distribution direct to Erichka or S.P.C.A

We have raised R 4000 for Children of Fire This amount represents all QQ raffles from October 2009 to April 2010, the raffle at Hobby X and at Heathway
The amount has been transferred into Children of Fire Bank a/c.

Raffle Winner;
A very excited Sue McWha received the raffle quilt. She has never won anything before and believe it or not she is a novice quilter !

CHOC - Thank you for a wonderful response, with beanies and scarves.

GIRL GUIDES - One of the quilts made by Jeanette Noble will be completed and raffled to raise funds for the rehabilitation of a 26yr old drug addict in KZN.
Remember DRUGS destroy not only the lives of the addict but also their families and friends.

MAKE A BLOCK FOR CHARITY
Please give this some thought. You may even have an orphan block lying around. The charity is still to be decided. It is never too soon to start.

Challenges.
QQ Challenges - keep working
Ladies, due dates often creep up
Faster than anticipated.
GRG NEW CHALLENGE - Stories Untold
Speak to Allyson or Erichka

2010 WORLD QUILT
COMPETITION
This will be 10th year South Africans will be given the opportunity to exhibit their quilts in America.
The competition has categories for both Traditional and Innovative quilts, with prizes and cash awards be won.
Entry forms must reach Odette Tolksdorf on or before 17 May 2010. Please speak to Grace re entry forms.

A Poem To Mom

A mother's love determines how
We love ourselves and others
.There is no sky we'll ever see
Not lit by that first love.
Stripped of love, the universe
Would drive us mad with pain;
But we are born into a world
That greets our cries with joy.
How much I owe you for the kiss
That told me who I was!
The greatest gift--a love of life--
Lay laughing in your eyes.
Because of you my world still has
The soft grace of your smile;
And every wind of fortune bears
The scent of your caress.

Newsflash
Missing Love Quilts GRG.Unfortunately 3 love quilts have been mislaid.
Should anyone know where they could be or maybe you have found one accidently in your cupboard, please return it so others may take comfort from them too.

QQ Calendar of Events

May 5th Carolyn Kode Embellishments on Quilts
June 2nd Nola Mayes Reversible quilts
July 7th Lydia Lomas Photo Transfer / Memory quilts
Aug 4th Suzen Bornman Piecing your Patchwork by hand
Sept 1st Di Pettersen
The art of Machine Embroidery
Oct 6th Marietta Sri- Lankan Appliqué / embroidery
Nov 3rd Lesley Taylor Shadow Appliqué
Dec 1st Fun Morning of Demonstration

Quilters Tips

Do you know the magic formulae for setting triangles not to be cut on the Bias ?
Measure diagonally across your block, take that measurement and multiply by 1.414.
With the resulting measurement cut a block that size and re-cut diagonally into 4.
You will now have straight edges around your quilt as opposed to pure bias edges.

Paper Piecing Tips

Use a size 90/14 needle The larger needle perforates the paper and makes it easier to remove.

Reduce your stitch length to ensure that your stitches are stronger.

Spraying your paper wet once your project is complete facilitates its removal

Dates to Diarise. NB

GRG Meetings 2010.

May 15th to be held at The John Barrable hall Benoni

Aug 21st to be held at Alberton Civic center

Nov 20th to be held at Klip River Recreation centre

Buried in Quilts

By Barbara S. Wysocki.

Archeologists are always digging up lost civilizations. It’s hard to imagine, but it is likely that in the year 2996 some university field study group will be looking for fragments of the late twentieth century. What will happen if they unearth a quiltmaker’s sewing room ? I wonder how they will interpret the artifacts they find.
Those future archeologists will work carefully uncovering and preserving everything. Then they will have to identify and label all those items that have not been used for a thousand years. When it is time for the field study group’s report, they will have to explain what’s been found. That report might look something like this:
Condition of Site ; Room appears to have been hit by an earthquake. Piles of material found on shelves, tables ,desks chairs and floors. Tilting stacks of magazines and books may be the result of volcanic action.
Unusually large amount of clutter found in this room. No discernable pattern exists to explain the disorder.
The report will include description of items found at the site The digging team will have to figure out how these items were used. Here are some examples of those entries;
Item Description; Copious amounts of woven cloth with traces of original colours. These colours indicate that no two lengths had the same design, Examples of these designs used in special padded clothing. Several boxes and bags with tiny pieces of woven cloth some as small as 1 inch square. Possible use; Stacking sequence seems to indicate ornamental use.Most stacks appear to be undisturbed since purchase. Perhaps these lengths of cloth were to be worshipped in some religious ritual.
Here’s another one;
Item Description; Metal object made of two pieces, both tapered at one end and circular at the other. These metal pieces are joined in the middle. Extremely sharp on two edges.
Possible use; One end may have been poked into the ground to indicate the direction of the nearest source for more woven cloth.
One final example
Item Description; An assortment of thin pointed metal objects in a variety of sizes. These metal objects were often found embedded in the woven cloth.
Possible use; Metal objects may have been capable of transmitting ideas from humans to cloth. Large number of them indicate they may have been used as currency.
You can see how confused archeologists might become after several hundred years I don’t know why that should surprise us.
Even now, those of us who make quilts aren’t always able to explain to family and friends what we do with all our fabric, scissors. Pins and needles. If our sewing rooms seem like jungles to modern man, what will they look like to the social scientists of the future?Conclusion; Twentieth century artisans created works of amazing beauty using only rudimentary tools. Clearly this was an artistically advanced society well worth further detailed study.

Starching – A Good Solution
Don’t you wish fabric wouldn’t wobble when you cut it, wouldn’t stretch when you sewed along its bias, wouldn’t creep forward when you sewed it to another patch?
The solution is Starching your fabrics
Mix up 2 tablespoon starch powder to 1 cup cold water and 1 teaspoon surgical spirits and place in a spray bottle.
Always apply the starch on the wrong side of your fabrics and press dry.
You will feel that your fabric has acquired body which will enable you to cut and sew with a greater deal of accuracy as there is very little movement.

Some Do”s and Don’ts
General.
Starch only as much fabric as you will need , it is not a good idea to store starched fabrics as it will call the fishmoths to come eat up your fabrics.

A good idea is to roll the pressed starched fabric onto a cardboard tube to avoid folds - good way to recycle your paper towels cardboard tubes. To remove any starch from your iron, rest the sole plate of the cold iron on a wet towel for several hours. The starch will dissolve and wipe away easily.
Patchwork.
Finger press allowances while you are sewing and then steam set for a final set.

Use starched fabric for grided half square triangles. The fabric will be more stable for easy marking.

Applique

For the starch and press technique. Lightly mist the starched patch with water before ironing the turn under allowance over the template.
Finger crease as you go to turn under the allowances on starched fabric.
The needle turn method is not satisfactory with starched fabrics – it refuses to be nudged !

Finishing

For basting, safety pins need a bit more push to slide through starched fabric, but the method is still a good one.
Alternatively you make wash you quilt top before sandwiching it for quilting.
Quilting by machine is best for a quilt top of starched fabrics.

Handling during construction softens the threads so your quilt will be flexible
Hand quilting is difficult through starched fabric.

Starching is an easy way to tame your fabric. It won’t wobble and it won’t stretch so patches will keep their shape.

It does take extra time to prepare the fabrics but well worth the effort, as your end results in accuracy and perfect piecing give you great satisfaction.,

When working with miniatures and really small pieces the stability is essential.

Starching your bindings can also give excellent results to your finished quilt especially if it is to be a competition entry.

Admirers of your quilts will wish they new your secret.
Do not forget to visit;www.sharonschambernetwork.com

Quadrille Quilters April 2010

2010-04-09T08:22:00.001-07:00

Erichka welcomed visitors and members.
Our prayers are with Elize and Tertia, that their loved ones recover fully. Condolences to Els Cleet on the passing of her husband and wishing her a speedy recovery.
Quadrille car guards have been given new QQ vests.
A reminder of the Guide Dog Quilt Exhibition on their premises in Witkoppen on Sunday 16 May.
Many thanks to Jeanette Trichaardt who made a . beautiful bag to house the love quilt.
Pet Wise can no accommodate our cushions for the SPCA. Please bring the cushions to QQ and they will be delivered direct to the SPCA.
Liz Dobbins is still collecting egg holders and other usable recyclables for St Vincent.
Congratulations to QQ members who took part in the GRG derby challenge. We came a proud second.
Photographs taken by Pauline can be order from between R2 and R3 per print. Advance payment would be appreciated. NB please remember to collect your prints.
Our craft table is bare! Please ladies bring goodies to sell. Charmaine’s yummy quiches can be pre ordered. Tel no 011-672-2642The travel scam we were made aware of is still going strong according to the Sandton Chronicle

From the Heart

A letter of thanks was received from Choc for the donations of beanies. We are now sending scarves. Beautiful knitted scarves and embroidered fleece scarves were shown, and members are reminded that this will be an on going project.
Children of Fire – have requested baked beans instead of chocolate eggs over the Easter period. Since they cannot use a quilt, members were asked to knit teddy bears. Look for the pattern on pg 3.We are collecting food, clothes and toiletries for Go-Sizwe, who look after the homeless.

HOBBY X 2010

Quadrille Quilters set up a wonderful display of quilts and host the tables
every year at Hobby-X.
There is a fabulous team there, we spend all day letting the public know what quilting is all about, we guide people to teachers and groups and also distribute pamphlets to inform everyone where they can find the different teachers and groups all over Gauteng mostly using our diaries as a database.
This year there was a huge contingent of ladies from the Rustenberg/Brits area, anyone with information about groups there , please pass on to me for use at future displays.
We sometimes get visits from quilters from other countries and generally spread the word.
Its difficult to judge but generally we find the meeting after Hobby-x that there has been an increase in visitors to our group, hopefully that its also has positive feedback to other groups and teachers . Should you wish to see a smilebox of National Quilt day kindly contact Grace.

2010 WORLD QUILT
COMPETITION
This will be 10th year South Africans will be given the opportunity to exhibit their quilts in America.
The competition has categories for both Traditional and Innovative quilts, with prizes and cash awards be won. Entry forms must reach Odette Tolksdorf on or before 17 May 2010. Please speak to Grace re entry forms.

A Family.

A Family is like a Patchwork Quilt,
With kindness gently sewn.
Each piece an original,
With beauty all its own,
With threads of warmth and happiness,
It’s lightly stitched together,
To last in love throughout the years
A family is forever.

Hints and Tips

Fat Quarter Squares.
What can you get from a Fat Quarter

99 x 2” squares
50 x 2 ½” squares
42 x 3” squares
30 x 3 ½” squares
20 x 4” squares
16 x 4 ½” squares
12 x 5” squares
12 x 5 ½” squares
9 x 6” squares
6 x 6 ½” squares.

Stains the “Buttermilk Recipe”.

To remove stains try the “Buttermilk Recipe”
Put 250 ml buttermilk and a teaspoon of lemon juice in a litre of warm water.
Soak the item, obviously for a whole quilt you have to quadruple the quantities ,the natural bleaching agents in the buttermilk and the lemon juice will brighten the whites and colours ,while being gentle with the fabrics.
This is a great way to brighten old linens and doilies too.
When washing old quilts, minimize handling them when wet.

Little Bits of Fabric

Little bits of Fabric
sewn into a quilt.
Form a warm and loving blanket
From which memories are built.
And when you seek peace and comfort
In the quiet of the night.
It will keep you warm and snug
Until the morning’s light

Author Sue Mullane

QQ. Calendar of
Events for 2010

April 7th Question and
Answer Panel
May 5th Carolyn Kode Embellishments on Quilts
June 2nd Nola Mayes Reversible quilts
July 7th Lydia Lomas Photo Transfer / Memory quilts
Aug 4th Suzen Bornman Piecing your Patchwork by hand
Sept 1st Di Pettersen The art of Machine Embroidery
Oct 6th Marietta Sri- Lankan Appliqué / embroidery
Nov 3rd Lesley Taylor Shadow Appliqué
Dec 1st Fun Morning of Demonstration

Websites to visit;
www.thegoldenthimble.com
www.patternsfromhistory.com
www.catswhoquilt.com www.blankquilting.com

Quadrille Quilters March 2010

2010-04-09T08:12:00.000-07:00

Oops sorry This one went up so late, going off to an Island does that to you !!!

Erichka welcomed visitors and members . Our prayers are with Anna and her Family.
QQ members were requested to order name badges if they did not have one.
QQ has been invited to exhibit quilts at the Guide Dog Ass premises in Witkoppen on Sunday the 16th May.
The group is still collecting all recyclables for Liz Dobbins who teaches at St Vincent for the Deaf.
Teachers were requested to prepare leaflets of their classes for hand out publicity at HobbyX. These are to be given to Irene before the time.Nola Mayes thanked members for the items made for Choc 100 bonnets were knitted. An additional request has been made is to knit some small scarves for the children.

Jeanette Botha presented the Youth Block Challenge. 3, pieces of fabric will be donated by Moda fabrics for a schoolchild, Primary or High School to make a 40cms x 40cms block under your guidance. This is to encourage the Youth to start sewing. Entry cost R25. Entry forms and additional info available on website www.into2crafts.co.za Please let make a huge effort to participate

Show and Tell.

Rosemarie Sheward ---- made a lovely Sewing Machine Cover from Novelty fabrics bought in Australia by a friend.

Pat Warren --- showed us a Xmas wallhanging with lettering plus an stenciled Angel Wallhanging.

Judy Pavey --- made a baby quilt using a piece of hand embroidery made by her late Mom. She quilted it magnificently.

Bernice Momonid -- made a lovely scrap quilt from the swap of 6inch squares in 2008 with Jenny Smith

Grace Nobili ---made a mini
“Ties of Friendship” made with scrap leftover ties given by Tertia and Erichka

Sandra Nobili -- made a memory quilt for her best friend’s wedding present.

Next Traveling Exhibition

The Theme has been announced;

“Jewels of the Earth”
Entry forms can be
Downloaded from the
S.A.Q.G website

Deadline Sept 2010
Size not be larger than 60cms x 1,20cms

GRANDMOTHERS
(by an eight year old schoolboy)

A grandmother is a woman
who has no children of her own,
so she loves the boys and
girls of other people.
Grandmothers have nothing to
do, they only have to be there.
If they take you for a walk, they go slowly past beautiful
Leaves and caterpillars.
They never say
“ Come along quickly,’
or ‘Hurry up, for goodness’ sake.’
They are usually fat, but not
Too fat to tie up my shoe laces.
They wear spectacles and
Sometimes take out their teeth.
They can answer any question,
For instance why dogs hate cats
And why God is not married.
When they read to us, they never leave anything out. They do not
mind if it’s always the same story.
Everyone should have a grandmother especially those
Who do not have television.Grandmothers are the only grown ups who have plenty of time.

APRONS

The inspiration for this topic came from Lynette Ho in the latter part of last year. There was a wonderful article on the history of aprons in her local newspaper the Southern Courier! She forwarded the article to me and I will share it with you shortly as it is delightful.

But it got me thinking about aprons and why I collect them. When I travel, I buy aprons from the countries that I have visited as a reminder of happy times, or the food I have enjoyed, just as my husband buys beer mugs!

An apron is an outer protective garment that covers primarily the front of the body. It may be worn for hygienic reasons or simply to protect clothes from wear and tear.

The apron is a common part of the uniform in many occupations, e.g. waitresses, nurses and domestic workers. Many homemakers also wear aprons to protect their clothes. In time gone by, aprons were worn over garments (mostly by women) to protect their clothing. Garments were expensive and had to endure. In other words, the apron protected clothing and could easily be replaced as it was inexpensive to make or replace.

In addition to cloth, aprons can be made from a variety of materials. For example, rubber aprons are commonly used by people working with dangerous chemicals, lead Aprons are worn by X-ray technicians who work near radiation. Old fashioned carpenters wore aprons with pockets to keep various tools on hand.

Waterproof household aprons, made up of oil cloth or PVC are suitable for cooking and washing dishes. These aprons can just be wiped down and save on laundry.

Believe it or not, aprons have various styles, depending on the use or purpose of the apron. Basically, there are 2 types: the waist apron which covers the body from the waist down, and a bib apron which also covers the upper part of the body.

The apron is usually held in place by 2 ribbon-like strips that tie at the back. A bib apron usually has a strap around the neck.

Aprons today come in many shapes and colours (like our fabric), from vintage to Disney cartoons, and can commemorate world events, e.g. K2. Sadly, the apron is not as popular today as it used to be, largely due to the fact that we have access to cheaper clothing and washing machines. I can still remember my late mother’s aprons and the smart hostess one in which she served her canapes at dinner parties! This was in the late 1950’s – I’m dating myself!
While researching aprons, I was amazed to learn just how popular aprons (vintage and retro) are. There has been a huge resurgence of interest in aprons and patterns abound, whether for traditional Japanese field garments to the feel good “Norman Rockwell” era in the 1950’s, which depict family life, far removed from our frenetic lifestyles today!

The History of ‘Aprons’

I don’t think our children know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children’s tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears!

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds!

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to eat.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ‘old-time apron’ that serves so many purposes.

Remember:
Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.

Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.

I don’t know anyone whoever caught anything from an apron.
Forwarded by Anne Boxall to the Southern Courier

Colour Challenge.

Entry fee R20
Size no side bigger than 75 cms.
Date of Completion 1st August 2010
Each quilter will receive an envelope with 3 colour swatches in it.
You are to use one colour from each family and you are allowed to add one more colour No cheating your swatches are numbered according to your entry number. When you are finished you are required to pin the colour chart to the back of your quilt We would like some original work from each entrantQuilts must be 3 layers, quilted. Labeled and with a sleeve.

Quilt Facts –
What each Quilter should know
When Quilts are handed in for exhibitions they must each have 2 very important things
A label with your name, the quilts name, date made etc.
A 4 inch wide sleeve so the exhibitors can hang your quilt properly and not just pinned up.In addition once quilts are taken down after an exhibition they should be signed out if you are collecting personally or there should be someone that you know will be responsible in getting your quilt back to you. In this way control can be had over the quilts and there is less likelihood of quilts going missing

Quadrille Quilters Newsletter February 2010

2010-02-06T11:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine’s Day.

May this month be full of love for each other.

From the Floor.

Erichka welcomed the members and visitors and gave her best wishes for 2010. A special welcome was made to Sandra Pheiffer from Q-East and to Maggie Ziehl ex member visiting from Canada.
Apologies from Pat Warren and Carol Poutney.

Report Back.
We received a letter from Jean Hill who now has finally retired to the coast and from Ting Cotter who thanked us for the love quilt.
Our thoughts and prayers go to Carol Poutney after her nasty experience
Our collections last month were very successful and a letter of thanks was received from both Children of Fire and Go- Iswe. Please remember we are still collecting recyclable material for Liz Dobbins and cushions for the S.P.C.A.
Dates to Diarise. NB

GRG Meetings 2010.

Feb 6th to be held at Alberton Civic Centre

May 15th to be held at The John Barrable hall Benoni

Aug 21st to be held at Alberton Civic center

Nov 20th to be held at Klip River Recreation centre

QQ. Calendar of Events for 2010

February 3rd Jenny Smith Quilt as you go
March 3rd Margie Letts New Ideas in Design
April 7th Ronda Shiva Paint sticks use in Quilts
May 5th Carolyn Kode Embellishments on Quilts
June 2nd Nola Mayes Reversible quilts
July 7th Lydia Lomas Photo Transfer / Memory quilts
Aug 4th Suzen Bornman Piecing your Patchwork by hand
Sept 1st Di Pettersen The art of Machine Embroidery
Oct 6th Marietta Sri- Lankan Appliqué / embroidery
Nov 3rd Lesley Taylor Shadow AppliquéDec 1st Fun morning of Demonstrations.

Jeanette Botha presented the Youth Block Challenge.
3, pieces of fabric will be donated by Moda fabrics for a schoolchild, Primary or High School to make a 40cms x 40cms block under your guidance. This is to encourage the Youth to start sewing. Entry cost R25. Entry forms and additional info available on website www.into2crafts.co.za Please let make a huge effort to participate

Next Traveling Exhibition

The Theme has been announced;
“Jewels of the Earth”
Entry forms will be
available Feb 2010
Deadline Sept 2010
Size not be larger than 60cms x 1,20cms

Quadrille Quilters has been invited to hold an Exhibition of Quilts for the Guide Dogs Ass in May further details to follow.
Avreil Barker alerted us to a
Travel Scam which is currently on the go.
Remember if it sounds to good to be true, its because its not true don’t get caught out.

Elzabe Lund made an appeal to all quilters our tea helper Lindiwe is expecting a baby any donations of baby items will be most welcome.

INSPIRATION FOR
THE MONTH

“ Each Day is a new
beginning ------
another chance to learn
more about ourselves,
to care more about others,
to laugh more than we did,
to accomplish more
than we thought we could,
to be more than we were before.”

History of Needle Cases

Needles, once quite labour-intensive to make, have long been valued as an important domestic tool. As far back as the Vikings, people kept their needles in ornamental boxes and cases.
These needles were usually fashioned from bone, either fish or other animal bones.
Sometimes wood/bark were also utilized to “sew” skins together.
In the Victorian era, needle cases were made of wood, bone, sterling silver and pewter.
‘Needle books’ were also common, generally handmade often heavily embroidered and embellished.
The making and decorating of booklets to keep our needles safe and easy to locate – both for ourselves and as tokens of affection – has been an enjoyable occupation for many generations of women.
Such is their charm that there was a time when the humble needle case was used commercially as a successful marketing gimmick.
Needle cases are easy and quick to make and the perfect platform for experimenting with a new technique, design, or embroidery stitch.
In earlier times, needle cases were favoured gifts for sewing friends – kept handy in sewing baskets – a constant reminder of a friend’s affection!
Needle cases can be as simple as 1 or 2 leaves of felt/flannel folded between a cover of reinforced fabric secured with a ribbon.
It could be left un-embellished or decorated to death. The choice was yours.
Advertisers soon realized that they had a captive market in women who utilized needle cases, so they began to offer paper needle cases as giveaways. These were a very handy reminder of the company or product advertised. They were mainly produced between the 1920’s & 1950’s. The marketing behind these paper needle books were sound – give something to the wife/woman that she will use on a daily basis and in so doing, provide a visual reminder of the product.
This is not unlike what we experience in television advertising today. However, the advertising of the product was in a functional object, constructed of lightweight cardboard, the size of a post card. It opened to reveal various sets of sewing needles of different sizes, grouped together by type, based on the kinds of needles that were in common use, e.g. sharps, darners, chenille, carpet, etc. I’m sure you can remember needle books that were still around in the 1980’s, e.g. coats and halls that had a selection of needles! The needles themselves were attached to the cardboard either in individual packets or threaded through a foil background with the all important needle-threader included!
The graphics on the needle book covers reflected the times in which they were produced and formed a frame of reference for the social history of the time. Clothing and hairstyles, indicated contemporary fashion trends, technological advances and world events were all captured and displayed on needle books. Common graphics were of a little girl sewing industriously or of a group of women sewing and sharing their latest projects. For the advertiser and manufacturer, these images could be updated on a regular basis to reflect changes within society at any given time.
Today these cardboard needle books are very collectable and fetch a good price at auctions. Although these cardboard needle books were only designed as ephemeral objects, many have survived the test of time. Many are still to be found in sewing boxes and drawers because women tend to treasure beautiful things!

Web sites to visit;
www.weallsew.com/freestuff.
www.craftandfabriclinks.com
www.patchworkposse.com
www.julieneu.com

What are the secrets to a Quilt that lies Flat.

Whether it’s a Miniature or a full sized quilt there are many reasons why quilts don’t lie flat.
The problem can start very early in your project with “ unsquare blocks”.
“Unsquare blocks” are those in which the height doesn’t match the width
For example a block that is supposed to be square might actually have a height of 2 ¾” and a width of 3”. So it is extremely important to make sure that your quilt blocks are as “square” or true to size as possible.

If you are setting “unsquare” blocks with lattice (sashings) there is a way to do a bit of fudging.First find the difference between the height and width of the blocks. Next divide that number in half.
Then add the result to the smaller of the 2 dimensions.
For eg. If we wanted to cut the sashing for a block measuring 2 ¾” x 3”.
We have a difference of a ¼” divide this in half and we get 1/8”This is the number we add to the smaller 2 ¾” so we now can our sashing 2 7/8”.
By cutting the sashing 2 7/8” long you will be able to ease in or slightly stretch each block as necessary while you join the strips and blocks.
The same formulae is used to determine the length of borders. It is therefore critical that you measure the height of your quilt on both sides and through the center The same must be done for top and bottom borders
Another reason for rippling is an uneven amount of quilting throughout the quilt. If you do a lot of quilting in the center of the quilt and not so much on the borders, the quilt edges will ripple.
On the other hand, if you do sparse quilting in the center and lots of quilting on the borders, the center quilt will puff out. There should be a consistent amount of quilting throughout the piece.It is very important to “square up” the quilt after quilting and before sewing on the binding. This is another major reason why quilts do not lie flat. Use your border seam line for squaring up the quilt trimming any excess batting. Backing and quilt top which has been pushed out by the quilting.

January 2010 Newsletter

2010-01-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW TO YOU ALL.May this year bring the best of all Blessings.

Report Back

Thank you to all QQ members who gave so generously for the Raffle and Go - Isizwe
R500 was collected and given to
Children of Fire and all items of food, clothes and toiletries was collected by Trevor Vosloo for Go Isiwe who were very appreciative of our efforts to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than us

Erichka welcomed all new visitors and the ladies from Husquavarna
QQ received thank you letters from Pat Parker, Pat Goldhawk, Judy Povey.
Judy made a beautiful patchwork bag to hold the Love Quilt –thank you Judy.
We received a letter from the Randburg SPCA thanking us for all the pillows donated.The group was reminded that there were still some Jolly Jozi cards for sale contact Maretha.

Words of wisdom for the New Year.

Remember Paradise is really a journey.
It’s not a place. It’s not your destination.
It’s the love, the laughter, the happiness, those moments of pure joy we experience along the way.
It’s in the hopes, the dreams, the fantasies, the plans, the details and the construction.
It’s the teaming with someone who shares your dreams and the journey. It’s the special moments that happen in our lives
Everything in life is a choice. You choose, so choose wiselySometimes we have to say no so we can have time to say yes to Paradise

Remember to visit;
www.qqquilters.blogspot.com
www.picasaweb.google.comthen type in Quadrille Quilters and view our albums.

Tentmakers of Cairo

When you see a suradeq (tent) for the first time it tends to take your breath away .Although very plain and grayish -white on the outside, the tents are usually
lined inside from top to bottom with exquisite geometric patterns -
in brilliant reds,greens.blues and yellows- every centimeter of them pain
stakingly sewn by hand according to a craft tradition rarely practiced
anywhere in the Arab world today except in the tentmakers bazaar of Cairo
The Suradeq has continued to serve a unique purpose the one of celebration
It is used for wedding feasts,the arrival of a new born child or a funeral.

The farrasheen are the workers who put up the tent specially skilled at
walking on high ladders. To read more about this fascinating art form just go to www.google.com and type in Tentmakers of Cairo.

YOUTH BLOCK CHALLENGE

Jeanette Botha presented the Youth Block Challenge.# pieces of fabric will be donated by Moda fabrics for a schoolchild Primary or High School to make a 40cms x 40cms block under your guidance. This is to encourage the Youth to start sewing. Entry cost R25. Entry forms and additional info available on website www.into2crafts.co.za Please let make a huge effort to participate

Xmas Poem

Festive Season,Feline Style
(sung to the tune of Away in a Manger)

Away from all danger,not covered at all;
there sits a plump turkey I'm hoping to maul.
There's nobody looking,my fate I will seal
;And don't you be thinking that guilt I will feel.
Now I am so clever,I am a good thief.
I have to choose quickly 'tween turkey and beef;
A fish in a bright dish or cream I will lick,
I"ll eat it all quickly until I am sick.
I know it is forbidden,I know that;s the truth;
To eat off the table is really uncouth.But this is so tempting,
I really don't care,And I blame my dear humans for leaving it there!

Next Traveling Exhibition

The Theme has been announced;
“Jewels of the Earth”
Entry forms will be available Feb 2010

QQ. Calendar of Events for 2010

January 13th Jenny Svensson Back Page demos
Febuary 3rd Jenny Smith Quilt as you go
March 3rd Margie Letts New Ideas in Design
April 7th Patricia a Bear Shiva Paint sticks use in Quilts
May 5th Carolyn Kode Embellishments on Quilts
June 2nd Nola Mayes Reversible quilts
July 7th Lydia Lomas Photo Transfer / Memory quilts
Aug 4th Suzen Bornman Piecing your Patchwork by hand
Sept 1st Di Pettersen The art of Machine Embroidery
Oct 6th Marietta Sri- Lankan Appliqué / embroidery
Nov 3rd Lesley Taylor Shadow AppliquéDec 1st Fun morning of Demonstrations.

The Presidential Shirt Quilt Story

In 1994 Desre Buirski gave Nelson Mandela the first of many shirts to follow.
That initial one was a viscose black and tan fish print shirt
In 1995 Desre was granted an opportunity to meet with Nelson Mandela and at that meeting Mandela requested that she make silk shirts for him and that is when the silk shirt era began.
Each of these silk shirts is one of a kind and is individually hand painted.
Each shirt also has an inner lining of plain silk in a contrasting or matching colour, to the outer print.
The 1st silk shirt was given to Nelson Mandela on his Birthday July 18th 1995, This was a green, black and gold shirt representing the colours of the ANC. Desre has made over 120 of these hand painted silk shirts for Madiba.
From the beginning she decided to collect and save all the off cuts from all the shirts she has made for him. Initially she did not know what she was going to do with all the bits and pieces of silk.
Finally after a few years the idea came to mind.. That was to patch and sew all the bits and pieces of silk together. She has now created two giant wall hangings that represent all the signature silk shirts that she has made for Nelson Mandela over a period of 12 years. These patches also include silk cloth that was given to Nelson Mandela as gifts from the Prime minister of India, the president of the Philippines and the President of Egypt. These silk fabrics were given to Desre to turn into shirts.
The quilts are a rainbow of all the prints, colours and inner linings from a large collection of shirts representing Nelson Mandela’s wardrobeIn February 2007 Desre was again given the opportunity to meet with Madiba and it was there she presented him with the two beautiful silk quilts .Desre was granted permission to insert Mandela’s signature onto these quilts verifying their authenticity and they were auctioned with the proceeds going to the Mandela’s Charities.

INSPIRATION FOR
THE MONTH

The Old Pieced Quilt

Grandmother’s Quilt is threadbare now, but it sheltered many a pow -wow and plotted an Indian Raid;
Hung on the clothesline, neatly spread it made a tent to shelter the head
of many an army, bravely led
and many a Hero made.

When you were a King and I was a Queen
that quilt took on a silken sheen
embroidered with threads of gilt!
Pinned to my shoulders, it trailed behind, Velvet and Ermine, the finest kind, and I never thought and you didn’t mind that it was only a quilt.

It’s a long, long time since we were ten, our world had no horizons then, but those our fancy made,
but that brave quilt still plays its part in those dim kingdoms of the heart, where childhood dreams are hid apart and memories are laid.
Jean Grisson Murray.

Warm Thoughts.
Love is a quilt – a quilt is love..
Both love and a quilt should be;
Soft enough to comfort you
Bright enough to cheer you,
Generous enough to enfold you’
Light enough to let you move freely,
Strong enough to withstand adversity
Durable enough to last a lifetimeAnd given gladly from the heart

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2009-12-02T13:22:00.000-08:00

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Quadrille Quilters Newsletter Dec 2009

2009-12-02T13:05:00.000-08:00

Q.Q. Calendar of Events for 2010

January 13th Jenny Svensson Back page demos
February 3rd Jenny Smith Quilt as you go.
March 3rd Margie Letts New Ideas in Design.
April 7th Patricia a Bear Shiva Paintsticks use in Quilts,.
May 5th Carolyn Kode Embellishments on Quilts
June 2nd Nola Mayes Reversible quilts.
July 7th Lydia Lomas Photo Transfer/ Memory quilts.
August 4th Suzen Bornman Piecing your Patchwork by hand.
Sept. 1st Di Pettersen The Art of Machine Embroidery.
Oct 6th Marietta Sri- Lankan Appliqué / embroidery.
Nov 3rd Lesley Taylor Shadow Appliqué
Dec- 1st Fun morning of demonstrations.

Dates to Diarise.

GRG Meetings 2010
Feb 6th
May 15th
Aug. 21st
Nov 20th
All GRG meetings will be held at The Alberton Civic Centre for 2010

Web sites to visit;
www.flyingneedles.com.au
www.quiltnstuff.net demo on binding
www.thequiltshow.com
www.hgtv.com www.alexanderson.com

Classes with Jenny Svensson.

Visit my Blogspot at www.chimpsquilts.blogspot.com
To see which classes you would like to attend.
Appliqué Club bring your own project and I will help you get started and work on it through the next year.

Christmas Club will run for 11 months
Work on several patterns that I will give you.
Watch out too. For New dolls by Tertia and Jenny.Tel no 011-760-1387

INSPIRATION FOR
THE MONTH.
I am a Quilter.
The beds are not made, the dishes not done……….
I’m at my machine, sewing up fun!!!
My only gardening is
Grandmother’s flower.
Only TV ? Eleanore Burn’s hour.
As I munch lunch,
I read quilt magazines
Or peruse Country Living for quiltable scenes.
I write quilt poetry, attend quilt guilds and shows,
work on my quilts if
it rains, shines or snows,
Only ironing I do,
is to flatten a square
Only cooking I do
is chocolaty fare
Only math that gets done
helps me build blocks,
leaving no time to sort socks
My stash is on shelves
Glorious rainbow display
Yards crammed in boxes,
bought more today …..
Dinners not on.
Nothing is dusted.
Husband comes home –
Quilter is busted.Melinda K. Galbraith.

PLEASE NOTE

Membership Woes
Due to the passing of time many of our Quadrille group has become Pensioners, so how can we run a club without subs?
From next year 2010 everyone will have to pay subs.
Existing members who are exempt will remain so
Please remember the package you receive costs you R12 a meeting and R5 for security.
Much less than the cheapest fat quarter at R20. So please step up and pay your subs.
Fees will be R140.00 per annum
For new members joining during the year,
Fee structures will be as follows:

Joining in June R70.00
Joining in October R40.00

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

We are only printing a set number of copies which covers the Members attending the meeting Plus visitors.
.

Please No extra copies to be taken before meeting starts
IF any are still available AFTER THE MEETING
Yvonne will be happy to give them out.@R5.00each

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Our meetings are from 9am -12pm
Please feel free to leave early if you have an appointment.

As it is Impossible to please everyone
Any Complaints Re The meetings can be put in writing to the chairlady to be discussed at the
NEXT committee meeting on the 10 th Feb 2010

Do we really know the Parts of a
Sewing Machine Needle !

The shank is flat on the back so it can be held firmly in the machine and so it will fit only in the correct position
Styles of needles that have flatter shanks bring the needle closer to the bobbin hook, so that stitches are not dropped.
The groove on the front of the needle above the eye allows the thread to nestle in the needle as the point pierces the fabric. Without a groove, the hole poked in the fabric would need to be larger to accommodate both the thread and needle.
The scarf, an area that is scooped out above the eye on the back of the needle, allows the bobbin hook to pass close to the needle and pick up the loop of the thread formed as the needle rises.
The eye is highly polished and it should be large enough to surround the thread without squeezing it. If there are burrs in the eye, they wear away the thread, which passes through the opening many times in the process of forming a stitch. If the eye is not large enough for the thread, the thread will break.The point makes a hole in the fabric for the thread to pass through. Point size and shape and needle size, make a difference in stitch quality.

HISTORY OF NOVELTY PRINTS

In the 1800’s, manufacturers began printing fabrics with recognizable images,including plants & animals.This practice continued into the 1900’s,when a whole new approach to these novelty prints began!Conversation prints really speak to us! They encompass a wide range of themes,products& events.These include sewing tools,holiday symbols & logos for games&sport,even farming equipment! These special fabrics,popular at the turn of the century, continue to be a popular today.
Early novelty prints,between 1900 & 1940,were designed to appeal to children & for those who sewed for them.Nursery rhymes,alphabets,baby animals & cartoon characters were the order of the day & easily recognizable to a young audience!
In 1902 Bertha Corbett’s hugely popular illustrations for Eulalie Osgood Grover’s Sunbonnet Babies appeared & were very quickly translated into quilt blocks & embroidery designs. Also other similar sunbonnet look a likes appeared example the Dolly Dingle.In 1930 Hollywood comes aboard with Mickey Mouse who made his debut in comic strips & film .Soon these lovable characters including Minnie,Goofy & Pluto were seen in fabrics.Disney ,incidentally were really innovative in marketing & licensing their products,even copywriting their fabric designs.Shortly following Mickey Mouse,came Snow White.Here,again,Disney marketed their wares,but extended it to several different designs & colourways.The film industry continued to dominate novelty fabrics & it seemed that when a new film was released,so was a whole range of fabrics to appeal to children eg Pinnochio in 1940,Alice in Wonderland & Popeye! Many of the designs were printed on feedsack.

HISTORY OF NOVELTY PRINTS

In the 1800’s, manufacturers began printing fabrics with recognizable images,including plants & animals.This practice continued into the 1900’s,when a whole new approach to these novelty prints began!Conversation prints really speak to us! They encompass a wide range of themes,products& events.These include sewing tools,holiday symbols & logos for games&sport,even farming equipment! These special fabrics,popular at the turn of the century, continue to be a popular today.
Early novelty prints,between 1900 & 1940,were designed to appeal to children & for those who sewed for them.Nursery rhymes,alphabets,baby animals & cartoon characters were the order of the day & easily recognizable to a young audience!
In 1902 Bertha Corbett’s hugely popular illustrations for Eulalie Osgood Grover’s Sunbonnet Babies appeared & were very quickly translated into quilt blocks & embroidery designs. Also other similar sunbonnet look a likes appeared example the Dolly Dingle.
In 1930 Hollywood comes aboard with Mickey Mouse who made his debut in comic strips & film .Soon these lovable characters including Minnie,Goofy & Pluto were seen in fabrics.Disney ,incidentally were really innovative in marketing & licensing their products,even copywriting their fabric designs.Shortly following Mickey Mouse,came Snow White.Here,again,Disney marketed their wares,but extended it to several different designs & colourways.The film industry continued to dominate novelty fabrics & it seemed that when a new film was released,so was a whole range of fabrics to appeal to children eg Pinnochio in 1940,Alice in Wonderland & Popeye! Many of the designs were printed on feedsack.

During this time,Princess Fabrics intoduced product /logo fabrics.We see these still today in company logos on t-shirts ! Eg the bell telephone co& planters peanuts.Even the singer sewing machine co created a line of signature fabrics in their trademark red & green.This continued well into the 1960’s with juvenile audiences wanting clothing & room furnishings in their favourite either cartoon characters,or cereal.Eg snap,crackle&pop & green giant veges!

Interestingly,during WW11 ,when textile production was limited to war related issues eg military uniforms,the textile industry still produced fabric for clothing & furnishings,but with a patriotic theme,We have all seen fabric with the US flag etc.The post war baby boomers fuelled a re-surgence in sewing & novelty fabric became popular again.Once again, the movie industry led the way with the wild west & the American frontier being popular fabric images.

Just as today,teenagers drove the market for innovative novelty fabrics A whole range of fabrics appeared on the market to cater to their needs egflower power & surfing.The textile industry converted peace symbols & psychedelicflowers from counterculture to mainstream chic!

World events were also immortalized in fabric.In 1959 fabric designed by Alfred Shaheen celebrated Hawaii’s statehood.As were the space race & the subsequent moonlandings.

Today we can get fabric printed with just about anything on it!Just about any endangered species,includuding Elvis,shows up on fabric to satisfy the public need for new & more! Are’nt we lucky to have such choice as quilters today! I wonder how soon it will be before we see Michael Jackson fabric on our fabric shelves,perhaps a before & after surgery!
History of Novelty Prints Cont.

Interestingly ,during WW11 ,when textile production was limited to war related issues eg. military uniforms,the textile industry still produced fabric for clothing & furnishings ,but with a patriotic theme ,We have all seen fabric with the US flag etc. The post war baby boomers fuelled a re-surgence in sewing & novelty fabric became popular again. Once again, the movie industry led the way with the wild west & the American frontier being popular fabric images.

Just as today, teenagers drove the market for innovative novelty fabrics A whole range of fabrics appeared on the market to cater to their needs eg. flower power & surfing. The textile industry converted peace symbols & psychedelic flowers from counterculture to mainstream chic!

World events were also immortalized in fabric. In 1959 fabric designed by Alfred Shaheen celebrated Hawaii’s statehood. As were the space race & the subsequent moon landings.

Today we can get fabric printed with just about anything on it!Just about any endangered species, including Elvis ,shows up on fabric to satisfy the public need for new & more! Aren’t we lucky to have such choice as quilters today! I wonder how soon it will be before we see Michael Jackson fabric on our fabric shelves ,perhaps a before & after surgery.

Words to Inspire you.

You never conquer a Mountain
Mountains can’t be conquered,
You conquer yourself,
Your hopes ,
Your fears Jim Whitaker

Quadrille Quilters Newsletter Nov 2009

2009-11-04T11:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome;
Tertia welcomed all visitors. A special welcome to Wendy’s sister Shirley visiting from Cape Town

From the Floor

As outgoing Chairlady after 18 months of leadership Tertia
thanked her out going committee with a lovely Pot Plant
Erichka our new chairlady thanked Tertia for all her hard work with a gift

Condolences to;
Pat Parker on the loss of her husband.
to Jeanette Noble for the very sad loss of
her son Garth, to Pat Goldhawk on the loss of
her Grandson and to Lizette van Huysteen on the loss
of her father. Our prayers are with you all.

Report Back

Jeanette Botha gave Quadrille quilters a report back on the S.A.Q.G origins and its aims.

She also explained the reasons as to why Quadrille ‘s application for regional Guild status
was declined.

Show and Tell

PLEASE .!!!PLEASE !!!! I A Reminder Ladies give more detail and write clearly on your slips for Show and Tell we need more info for the Newsletter and the Photo albums

Rosemarie Sheward --- made a “Memory of African Houses” a mini quilt for a friend immigrating to Australia

Helmein Rudram --- “Inspiration” 1st quilt for a Cat crazy person.
Leonora Cloete -- A Secret Garden Quilt taught by Wendy and Suzen.
Pat van Gool --- Friendship quilt started with 60 pieces for a 60th Birthday.
Ditto -- Rustic Quilt made for Pat’s daughter to put in her Wooden cabin.
Colleen Harris --- “A Midsummers Night Dream” made all from stretch lace and clothes.
Tilly de Harde --“ Ways and Means” quilt made in a class with Dena Crain.

Ditto “Where have all the Butterflies Gone.” My silent protest against the destruction of the rain forests.
Yvonne Jordan ---“My Elephant” class taken
with Lesley Pahl
Grace Nobili – “Beer Box Scrap Quilt” made from Charm squares – blocks of different sizes.
Jenny Svensson ---“ Mary Xmas” A doll made for a class to be taught. She was made as companion for hooded Santa made last year.

Newsletter

If you have any relevant information of interest to fellow readers, the editor would appreciate your input. Printing deadline is 20th of each month.

Grace Nobili Email gracenobili@icon.co.za

GOLDEN RAND GUILD SCHOOL
Meetings will be held from
1.30pm to 4.30pm on
Every 2nd Saturday afternoon
Volunteers are needed for
Two afternoons a year.

Scraps of Quilting fabric or suitable
Cotton are Always welcome.
Please contact
Irene Florence Tel .011 788 9922
Dates for the school are;

Oct 24th Nov 28th 2009.

TEA DUTY for December

Helmein Rudram Lyall Schwikkard
Rosemarie Sheward Marina Sigalas
Carla Smit Jenny Smith
Maureen Smith Anneke Smith
Erica Stern Jenny Svensson
Deline Taljaard Lesley Taylor
Kim Tedder Jeanette Trigaardt
Lorna van Doorene Amaryllis van Druten
Pat von Gool Maryna van Heerden

Please supply a plate of eats savory or sweet to feed approximately 15 people.

Would these ladies please also help in the kitchen? If for any reason you are unable to provide eats for the month allocated to you, please find someone to replace you and inform either
Maureen Smith
Or
Rosemarie Sheward

Please remember to bring a mug
If you do not wish to bring your own mug
Please feel free to use the mugs on the tea table but we would appreciate it if you can wash the mug so it can be packed away quickly after the meeting
This is just a way of making the tea ladies lives easier THANK YOU.

Each Friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive,
and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.
By Anais Nin.

Happy Birthday
November

2nd Joy Cowan
5th Joan Prinsloo
7th Pat Goldhawk
10th Pat von Gool
14th Marina Allison
15th Hazel o’ Shea
22nd Jane Manson
24th Magda Pretorious
24th Martie Erasmus
28th Lali Mitchell
30th Anna Castleman

Quilters.

Jane Nicolai is now the BirthdayAngel

Great things are not
done by impulse,
but by a series of
small things
brought together.
Vincent van Gough.

Classes with Jenny Svensson

Visit my Blogspot at www.chimpsquilts.blogspot.com.
to see which classes you would like to attend.
Applique Club Bring your own project and I will help you get started and work on it through the next year
Christmas Club will run for eleven months
Work on several patterns that I will give you.
Watch out too, for New dolls by Tertia and Jenny

For the Xmas meeting we will be supporting Gsiza Isizwe (Go help the Nation ) Charity.
Please bring anything from non perishable food to 2nd hand clothing, shoes, and 2nd hand toys
Visit www.gosiza.com Let us think of others during the Festive Season

“ Anything loving that we can do or think contributes
to the Healing of Humanity” Marianne Williamson.

Dates to Remember

Calendar of Events For 2009

4th Nov. Crazy Patch embroidery -
Lesley Taylor.

2nd Dec. Table Hop demos by 5 different Teachers
Jeanette Triegaardt and Anna Castleman
Xmas Decorations (balls)
Grace Nobili 30 minute Basket
Rosemarie Botha Folded Star
Nola Mayes Thumb Pin Cushion with Kit.
Wendy Burtenshaw Quick Magic Four Patch

Wanted
Assistant Newsletter
Editor.
Come on ladies, Grace requires
someone to play with.
just one afternoon a month for couple of hours.Learn awhole lot more about the computer and see just how it is done.

Most Common Quilting mistakes.

What are the most common mistakes. Looking back over the last 30 years I think that I have probably made most of them .
My first huge mistake was marking all my template shapes on the right sides of the fabric and not the wrong – had to do it all again and it was a Lone Star quilt – not ideal for a 1st project.

The correct ¼” seam allowance and squaring off solve many of the problems, that go towards making that quilt lie flat.

We always ask ourselves why isn’t the sewn block perfect? Because fabric is Flexible. It stretches out of shape every time we handle it and during the pressing process.

We can use starch when we press the uncut fabric which will give it a little body and prevent excess stretching. We can use steam sparingly and yet still the fabric stretches.
The next most frequent error everyone makes is to sew a piece, a block or a whole row into a quilt upside down.
Just like when joining two strips together there is one right sides to a wrong side – yeah yeah been there done that !
Sometimes only when the whole quilt top has been assembled do we spot an error – by then it was planned like that wasn’t it?My best one is of course is when working with specifically small pieces the ones that totally vanish and only re-appear once you have cut a second one – that is why little plastic bags work wonderfully.

INSPIRATION FOR THE MONTH

JUST FOR YOU.

This Quilt is made of cloth and thread
To place upon your little bed.
It’s not an heirloom just to keep,
But to lie upon as you count the sheep.

Or perhaps the floor’s the perfect place
For a Doll and Teddy picnic place.
This quilt can be anything you can dream
From Superman’s cape to the robe of a Queen
Pretend it’s a raft adrift at sea
Or just cuddle up when you watch TV

So use it up and wear it out
I promise I won’t yell or pout.
Just tell me when its days are through
And I’ll make another on just for you.
Kathy Sherlock

Place your Advert
for 2010
Please speak to Marilyn Poustie about renewing your adverts for 2010
New adverts will only be put in the newsletter,if you supply printed or copy email of your advert.
The editor does not do the layout or content This is to ensure print quality and correct information.

New Quilting sites
to visit

www.quilt-lovers-guide.com
www.quiltingboard.com
www.quiltersbuzz.com
www.quilterstv.com

New Quilting sites
to visit;

www.quilt-lovers-guide.com
www.quiltingboard.com
www.quiltersbuzz.com
www.quilterstv.com

Crazy Quilts;
History , Techniques and Embroidery Motifs. By Cindy Brick.

It may interest many to know that the first “crazy quilt” was made at Tewkesbury (Mass) almshouse by a demented gentle inmate, who delighted to sew together, in hap- hazard fashion, all the odd pieces given her.
One day a lady visitor was shown the quilt as a sample of poor Martha’s crazy work. The conglomeration of colour, light and dark, of every conceivable shape and size caught the visitor’s fancy and within a week she herself, was making a crazy quilt. And thence the furor spread !!
Part one of this book’s the History of the Crazy and it is fascinating. Crazy Quilts contains many beautiful color photos of significant examples of the style in the 1890’s into the present dayPart two is the inevitable and indispensable section on how to make your own crazy quil=

Quilt Care

Quilts are made to be used and even old quilts should be used.
However , if we want our quilts to survive we should consider what we should do to protect them as best we can. This is not easy as fabrics are under constant attack from the environment in which we place them.

The biggest threat to textiles is light – visible light and the invisible ultraviolet radiation in daylight. Ultra violet radiation is also emitted by fluorescent tubes. Light causes dyes to fade and weakens the fibres of textiles.
Our modern atmospheric pollution damages quilts. The Sulphur Dioxide content of urban air harms textiles and will continue to do so wherever machines emit their destructive fumes.
Dust especially gritty dust can work its way into textiles and cut and abrade the fibres.
Extreme heat and dryness can affect quilts Damp, especially warm damp, encourages mould to grow and creates a good environment for insects.
Too much dryness weakens fabrics. It is well known that cotton and linen are stronger when they contain moisture.
There are in spite of all these threats a lot we can do to protect and care for our quilts to ensure that they will be around for coming generations to enjoy

When storing quilts they should be protected by wrapping them in an old well washed and rinsed sheet. Acid free tissue paper is available and is fine for small pieces, but a bit difficult for wrapping large quilts.
Do not place quilts directly into cardboard boxes or onto wooden shelves The acid of wood products cause damage to textiles
Plastic bags are not good. Some plastic give off acid fumes and plastics in general seal off your quilt, preventing a flow of air around and through the fabric.
Don’t leave your quilt stored away for more than a month or two before you air and refold it.
Don’t fold it the same way every time as this leads to permanent creases.If possible have the cupboard in which you store your quilts on an inside wall of your house. This helps prevent extremes of heat and cold in your storage space.

AGM – QQ October 2009

- Quorum (67 members or 75 % of members)
82 members present.

- Apologies from committee members not present today: Lynette Ho, Lesle Mc Hugh & Rose Espach
- Subs increased to R140 and members will automatically be included in the Birthday club, where you will receive a little gift on your Birthday.

- Visitors fee will stay at R20

- Entrance fee of R5 – for the newsletter and car guards.
If you want to take an extra newsletter copy for a friend, it will cost
R5.

- Entertainment portfolio – Not successful will try again later.

- DVD’s for Library? Would you be interested in taking out DVD’s
and paying R20 hire every time?
Members are infavour of having DVD’s in library.

- SAQG affiliation - We were not given the Regional Guild Status.
Jeanette Botha is going to give us a short explanation of what the role of the SAQG is and answer some of the questions we have received regarding this.

- Edwina Reading thanked Quadrille Quilters for sponsoring the
classes with Dena Crain.
- Tertia Duvenage – Thanks to my committee for all the work done and your support in the last year. I had fun and enjoyed the whole experience. Thanks also to all the members for all your support.

NOMINATION FOR QQ COMMITTEE FOR 2010:

CHAIRLADY: Erichka Bick

VICE-CHAIRLADY: Grace Nobili

TREASURER: Marilyn Poustie

RECEIPTIONIST: Yvonne Jordan

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY: Irene Florence

NEWSLETTER EDITOR: Grace Nobili

LIBRARIAN: Deline Taljart

CARE BEAR: Jane Nicholai

PHOTOGRAPHER: Pauline Harris
NOTICE BOARD: Irene Florence
BACK PAGE: Jenny Svensson

BIRTHDAYS: Jane Nicholai
FUND RAISING: Rosemarie Botha
TEACHER LIAISON: Grace Nobili
Erichka Bick
SHOW & TELL: Jill Rex
Ann Robertson
Judy Pavey
Tilly de Harde
Jenny Smith
TEA LADIES: Rosemarie Sheward
Maureen Smith
Store the urns Suzen Bornman
Store extra mugs Grace Nobili

CRAFT TABLE: Charmaine Collin
Jean Hill
Phyllis Robers
POLE LADIES: Irene Florence
Suzen Bornman

SOUND SYSTEM: Jenny Svensson
Jane Nicolai

COMMITTEE MEMBERS WITHOUT PORTFOLIO:
Gail Osborne
Elize Burger

Proposed: Pat Goldhawk Seconded: Pat Warren

A VERY BIG THANK YOU

To all the Committee members for their hard work
and dedication to Quadrille Quilters

Another month went by too fast

2009-10-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

Dear Blog followers my sincere aplogies for the tardiness of placing the October Newsletter up on the blog.will endervour to keep up in future
Grace

Quadrille Quilters Newsletter October 2009

2009-10-24T14:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Spring.

Thank you to all who helped at the Birthday meeting which was a great success.QQ received
Greetings were received from Marianne Sheldon in Dubai, and a letter of thanks from Carolin for the beautiful quilt made by all the QQ members.

FROM THE FLOOR

Quadrilles NEW BANNER has been completed. Thanks goes to Jenny the designer, Wendy Suzen and Grace for execution.

Christmas in October
At Heathway Centre on the 30th/31st October
.We will need volunteers to help set up, do demos on quilting related matters, lend quilts for hanging & take down the quilts afterwards.
Quilters will also be able to sell any items that are not available in the Heathway Centre & would need to book a table.

The Travelling Exhibition
This will be held
At Quiltec
From Tuesday 13th October-21st October

:Q.Q .Committee meetingwill be held on the 21st October at Quiltec.

INFORMATIONTO KEEP

MORE SITES

www.eleanorburns.com
www.quilterstv.com
www.cindybrick.com all about history
of crazy patch.
www.kayewoodtv.com
www.Beginningquilting.com
www.sewbatik.com

www.pambonodesigns.com
http://www.quiltville.com
www.freequiltideas.com
www.kameleonquilt.com
www.thepatternco.com www.nancyrinkdesigns.com

SPRING DAY AT ST ANDREWS
QQ Quilters were invited to participate in St Andrews first Spring Expo
on the 12th September 2009.
This was quite a honour for us not only to showcase quilts but also to have a magnificent venue to sell our quilts
.Volunteers were called for at the last QQ meeting.

Sadly only 6 people responded!!
We had a fun quilting day in beautiful surroundings.
Thank you to all the ladies who lent quilts for display
.We had a lot of interest in the quilts &QQ.
Thank you to Tertia Duvenage, Anna Castleman,
Tilly de Harde& Jenny Svensson for setting up
& giving up your Saturday to fly the QQ flag!
Thanks too, to Irene Florence for delivering the poles & bums to the school.
Sadly only 6 people responded!!
We had a fun quilting day in beautiful surroundings.
Thank you to all the ladies who lent quilts for display
.We had a lot of interest in the quilts &QQ.
Thank you to Tertia Duvenage, Anna Castleman,
Tilly de Harde& Jenny Svensson for setting up
& giving up your Saturday to fly the QQ flag!
Thanks too, to Irene Florence for delivering the poles & bums to the school.

A Colorful Vocabulary (by Lisa Boyer)

I’ve often heard that Eskimos have over 100 different words for snow. This is because, needles to say, snow is important in the life of an Eskimo. They have to build with it, walk on it, drive through it, and lots of other things that I can’t even imagine because I live in Hawaii. I am only familiar with two types of snow: One type is the stuff that builds up in my freezer, letting me know it’s time to defrost. The other type of snow I’m acquainted with is the kind I see on television and in movies.
People standing in real snow on television always have that same look: slitty eyes, runny red noses, and goofy hats. They breathe out white fog and stomp about, flapping their arms and generally looking quite uncomfortable. This leads me to believe that, although they may not have 100 words for snow, they must have a snow vocabulary quite different than mine, some of which may be quite unprintable here.
I often think of Eskimos and their snow words, when I am trying to select fabrics for my quilts. We quilters need to follow the Eskimos example and come up with an expanded vocabulary of color. Oh, I’m not talking about impractical color words like “mango,” “taupe,” and “willow.” These words are not specific enough, and men always tease us about them. To add to the confusion, some words pertaining to color are regional. I haven’t seen a willow tree in years, so how do I know what sort of brown a “willow” is? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a “taupe,” unless it was one of those stripedy horned animals at the zoo. And do you really know what color “mango” is? I’ve seen real mango fruit in every shade of yellow, pink, red, orange, purple, and magenta. “Mango” can be any thing, even brown or black, if you leave them in the refrigerator to long.
We need a system of color that is less descriptive and more practical. This is why I have invented my own system, which I will generously tell you about here. My system starts with the basic colors that most of us agree upon, i.e., red, yellow, green, etc. Then we blend the words, just as we blend the colors. For example, is your blue a blue-green? If so, it’s a “bleen.” Or is your blue more of a blue-purple shade? Then it’s a “blurple.” See how simple it is? No more going to the fabric shop to pick out a red and coming home with a “rue” when you really needed a “rorange.”
My system ingeniously give us more colors without having to learn more words for them. No more trying to figure out what “chartreuse” is. And my system can be very subtle, too. Is your brown more yellow than brown? Then it’s a “yown.” Or is your brown more brown that yellow? Then it’s a “brellow.” And what if it has some threads of grey-black running through it? It can be “brellow with grack stripes.” No more dragging little scraggly snippets of fabric to the store for matching. You can just remember that you need a “riolet with globs of orey.”
As a quilt teacher, I find my newly-engineered color vocabulary to be a real time-saver. When one of my students needs a fabric for a block, I don’t have to stop and try ineffectively to describe the color that might work. I can simply say: “Go out into the shop and find a rink with a smudge of grue and a hint of peen.” She’ll know exactly what I am talking about. Well, if she comes back into class, that is. If I hear tires screeching out of the parking lot, I can see that she didn’t quite appreciate the genius of my system.
My personal dream is that, one day, I’ll be able to walk into my local quilt shop, and all the fabrics will be arranged and labeled according to my vision. All the plues will be separate from the blinks; all the whellows labeled differently than the wheys.
Someday, I dream that I will be able to walk into a fabric shop and ask, “Where are your blurples?” and they won’t laugh. They’ll just point out a rack between the bleds and the grues.
I’m confident that eventually my system will catch on, much like the metric system in America. Eskimos will sit around their fires at night and tell stories of how many words we quilters have for different colors. And I will have done my part for quilting history once again.
Excerpt from “Stash Envy and other quilting confessions and adventures.

GOLDEN RAND GUILD SCHOOL
Meetings will be held from
Every 2nd Saturday afternoon
Volunteers are needed forTwo afternoons a year.

REMEMBER.
To visit;

www.qqquilters.blogspot.com.
And www.picasaweb.google.com

Classes with Jenny Svensson.
Visit my BlogSpot www.chimpsquilts.blogspot.com

To see which classes you would like to attend.
Coming in 2010;
Appliqué Club
.and
Christmas club.Watch out too, for new dolls by Tertia and Jenny.

INSPIRATION FOR THE MONTH

That I wanted to share with all of you as this is my last Newsletter as editor
Taken from
Old Chinese Wisdom
An elderly Chinese woman had 2 large pots, each hung on the end of a pole.
Which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For two full years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.

“I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.”

The old woman smiled,” Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side.

That’s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walked back, you watered them.
For 2 years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.”
Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.”
Each of us has our own unique flaw ….

But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.
You’ve just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

To all of the crackpot friends, Have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path.Thank you for putting up with the flaws in the last 2 years of newsletters..

Quadrille quilters Newsletter September 09

2009-09-12T11:52:00.000-07:00

Welcome: to 3 new members joining us this special month.

We were really fortunate to have 3 of the Quadrille Quilters founder members – Grace Nobili, Carolin Copeland & Liz Dobbins – present at our 25th Birthday Celebration. Sadly Kathy Muller could not join as she now resides in Canada.

FROM THE FLOOR
Pizza Box Challenge
The winners of the challenge
1st Tertia Duvenage
2nd Wendy Burtenshaw
3rd Irene Florence
Highly Commended… Jane Nicolai
Art Quilt …Colleen Harris.

Beg, Swop, Borrow Challenge
The winners of this challenge
1st Patricia A Bear
2nd Colleen Harris
3rd Barbara MacDonald
Highly Commended …Grace Nobili
Thank you to all who entered
and especially to our Judges on a job well done .

Gail Osborne raised R900 from a quilt raffled for the Kitty Haven.

Get well soon to Averil Barker who is having a knee Op this month.
Congratulations to Cathy Pollitt on a new grandchild
Please Remember Recycled Items
for Liz Dobbins to help the art classes at St Vincent’s school for the deaf.

Quiltec
Visit our website: www.quiltecfabrics.co.za

Open Spring Day
on Saturday
17th October2009. 9am to 4pm.

Quilters are invited to tea and to view
new fabrics and new stock in the shopThere will also be a continuous video show on quilt topics Great Specials on offer

AT LONG LAST!!!
Thank you members
The books and Magazines from Quadrille Quilters donated to the Bulawayo Quilters
Have at long last arrived in Bulawayo
( I sent the parcel to Zimbabwe 4 months ago)..
They were at long last delivered this week.
I received this From Bulawayo Guild

Dear Anna & Quadrille Quilters,
Thank you also HUGELY for the two big packets of magazines
and another CD for Lucretia which Drew brought home yesterday.
We are overwhelmed with your generosity
and very much look forward to advising our members
of the new additions to our library.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!! Love Dee Grant Bulawayo Quilters Chairlady

Quilters Birthday Song

Happy birthday to you,Happy birthday to you,
Have you finished that quilt yet?Happy birthday to you!
How old is your stash?How old is your stash?
Did you pay plastic or cash?How old is your stash?
Did you see the new Hoffman?Did you see the new Hoffman?
Did the price make you cough, man!Did you see the new Hoffman?
Have you bought the new book?Have you bought the new book?
So many UFOs, shouldn't even look!Have you bought the new book?
Will you make the show deadline?Will you make the show deadline?
An hour left, plenty of time!
I can make the show deadline!
(Author: Cindy Thury Smith)

Show and Tell

PLEASE .!!!PLEASE !!!! A Reminder Ladies give more detail and write clearly on your slips for Show and Tell we need more info for the Newsletter and the Photo albums

Lesle McHugh… “Jenna’s Quilt”Made especially for her Granddaughter.

Pauline Harris … showed A Box Bag made after seeing a demo at the Festival

Rhona Botha………………………. “Home sweet Home”
And “Purple Blues”

Elize Burger …………. made Shwe Shwe bag for a friend.

Maureen Smith… “Kaleido Star” a miniature for her friend Magda, Maureen also made “Lady Liberty” a miniature for her daughter Zunetha Both Quilted by Suzen Bornman..

Elsie Opperman. “Canadian Almanac” Started in 1998 top
Finished in 2003 and just Quilted in a class with Caroline Copeland.
Dot Davis..Quilt as you go A quilt for her 2nd great grandchild in Thailand. Baby Due next month.

QQ History of 25 years & Still going strong.

If we were to ask the question “What is Quadrilles”
The answer is surely to be “the people”. You are what has made the group so special. Through the years many of our members have come and gone, some to greener pastures others to their final resting place.
Our members are all over the world and hold fond memories of their time spent with the group. They can now log onto our Blog spot and feel right at home again. www.qqquilters.blogspot.com

When we look back at the last 25 years and take stock of all the activities we have been involved in and the fun we have had, we can only wish for the next 25 years to be just as exciting and as much fun.

In 1984 QQ was founded by 4 members, Kathy, Carolin, Grace and Liz. 3 members which are here today.
We choose the card trick block as our emblem because we were 4. Over the years we continued to grow and kept the group open at a time when other groups were closing ranks at around 8 –10 members. Once our homes became to small we hired the Florida Library Auditorium which has been our home now for more than 10 years.

The 1st Quilting Retreat was held by Carolin in Rustenburg.
It was a weekend of heavenly patchwork where we all learned to make Quillo’s.
We have had such fun at Festivals, always having a strong QQ presence, no matter where it was held.

One of the most memorable must be the Durban Festival “Stars for Africa” in 1996.
It rained torrentially for a full week (festival week), snowed in the Drakensburg, and stranded quilters, some even traveling 900kms up to Pongola land to get to Durban.
What great times !

The Swaziland Festival in 1997 was quite a different adventure and the Quilters Guardian angels were hard at work.
Everyone should have the experience of eating, sleeping and living patchwork 24 hours on 24 hours – its magnificent.

QQ also participated in The Lady’s Circle Patchwork Magazine Round Robin which was a great learning curve for many of us.

A week before Carolin was due to leave for Canada the 1st time round we had a whole night quilting retreat sewing from evening till the morning – what loony tunes we were and by the way still are !!!

We are so fortunate to have the greatest hobby of all and have made the greatest friends of all.
The best thing about having Patchwork and Quilting as a hobby is that there is so much to occupy your mind and you know that there will never be enough time to complete all the projects you want to make that it leaves little time for the other nonsense that usually occurs when a whole lot of ladies are together,
We have our “love quilts” that are a regular reminder to a quilter going through a bad patch that we are thinking of her.
QQ has been involved in many Charity projects and is still very active in this field.
The 1st batch of 45 quilts we made for the Abused Children in Kensington, Baby quilts for crèches, more quilts for San Salvadore.

Collection of Toiletries for the old age home and the people in Zimbabwe . The list is impressive and this is just to mention a few things that have been done.

Our committees work well together and the best part is that no matter who, no matter what we can always rely on each other. A group that knows how to work hard and play hard is the key to our success. We are always up for a Challenge no matter what form it may take.

Although it does not seem as all this time has passed, just looking at some of the photographs shows us that unfortunately time ticks on regardless.
I would like to thank all the past chairladies and their committees and each and every member of Quadrilles, for without you we would not be what we are today.
Grace Nobili

Grandparents:

1. She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup, under the watchful eyes of her young granddaughter, as she'd done many times before. After she applied her lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, "But Grandma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!" I will probably never put lipstick on again without thinking about kissing the toilet paper good-bye...
2. My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday. He asked me how old I was, and I told him, 62. My grandson was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, "Did you start at 1?"
3. After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. Finally, she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the three-year-old say with a trembling voice, "Who was THAT?"
4. A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like: "We used to skate outside on a pond I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods." The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all in. At last she said, "I sure wish I'd gotten to know you sooner!"
5. My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, "Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?" I mentally polished my halo and I said, "No, how are we alike?'' "You're both old," he replied.
6. A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather's word processor. She told him she was writing a story. "What's it about?" he asked. "I don't know," she replied. "I can't read." 7. I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colours yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what colour it was. She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last, she headed for the door, saying, "Grandma, I think you should try to figure out some of these, yourself!"

8.. When my grandson Billy and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a few fireflies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered, "It's no use Grandpa. Now the mosquitoes are coming after us with flashlights."
9. When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, "I'm not sure." "Look in your underwear, Grandpa," he advised, "mine says I'm 4 to 6."
10. A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, "Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today." The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. "That's interesting," she said, "how do you make babies?" "It's simple," replied the girl. "You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'."
11. Children's Logic: "Give me a sentence about a public servant," said a teacher. The small boy wrote: "The fireman came down the ladder pregnant." The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. "Don't you know what pregnant means?" she asked. "Sure," said the young boy confidently. 'It means carrying a child."
12. A grandfather was delivering his grandchildren to their home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog's duties. "They use him to keep crowds back," said one child. "No," said another. "He's just for good luck." A third child brought the argument to a close.” They use the dogs," she said firmly, "to find the fire hydrants."
13. A 6-year-old was asked where his grandma lived. "Oh," he said, "she lives at the airport, and when we want her, we just go get her. Then, when we're done having her visit, we take her back to the airport."
14. Grandpa is the smartest man on earth! He teaches me good things, but I don't get to see him enough to get as smart as him!
15. My Grandparents are funny, when they bend over; you hear gas leaks, and they blame Contribution from Kim Tedder

INSPIRATION FOR THE MONTH

FAKE FRIENDS / REAL FRIENDS
~The only people you need in your life
Are those who need you in theirs~

FAKE FRIENDS: Never ask for food. REAL FRIENDS are the reason you have no food.
FAKE FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr. / Mrs.REAL FRIENDS: Call your parents DAD/MOM FAKE FRIENDS: never seen you cryREAL FRIENDS: cry with you
FAKE FRIENDS: : keep your stuff so long they forget it's yoursREAL FRIENDS Borrow your stuff for a few days then give it back
FAKE FRIENDS: know a few things about you REAL FRIENDS: Could write a book about you with direct quotes from you
FAKE FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that is what the crowd are doing REAL FRIENDS: Will kick the butts of whole crowds that left you
FAKE FRIENDS: Would knock on your front door REAL FRIENDS: Walk right in and say 'I'M HOME!'
FAKE FRIENDS: Are for awhile REAL FRIENDS: Are for life

Quadrille Quilters History

2009-08-26T12:58:00.000-07:00

Quadrille Quilters

Quadrille Quilters is the largest quilting group on the West Rand.

The group was started 25 years ago, in 1984, with only 4 members: Kathy Muller, Liz Dobbins, Carolin Copeland and Grace Nobili.

They named themselves after the Card Trick Block which has 4 cards – therefore Quadrille.

Initially the members met at each others’ homes. Since the group membership has increased, larger premises were required.

Our membership has increased to +/- 140 members.

The Florida Library Auditorium has become our permanent venue.

The group meets once a month, usually on the first Wednesday of the month.

We publish a monthly newsletter, full of relevant information for the group.

We have a Constitution which has been in force for over 20 years and Quadrille Quilters is run by a full committee.

Quadrille Quilters is registered as a Non Profit Organization with SARS.

The group has also been very involved in various charity drives having made quilts for 45 beds at San Salvador.

Baby quilts were made for a crèche in Randfontein.

We have raffled quilts to raise funds to go to Cancer research.
Presently we are heavily involved with the Nobili Foundation feeding scheme. www.aidsandchildren.blogspot.comv