Last UFO Night of the Year

The monthly UFO nights are fun – a casual evening where everyone does their own thing, with generally a whole lot of chatting going on too.  This was the last one of the year, with only a small turn out of about 8 ladies or so.  I didn’t make it in time for the shared evening meal, but arrived a little later.  But tasted one of Mary’s yummy Lemon Tarts, and the chocolate fish and grapes were offered around during the evening.

Mary had brought along her own “Show and Tell”, showcasing her many years of P & Q.  Everything used to be done by hand when she first started, she told us, piecing, appliqué and quilting. Mary does such beautiful work, and here are a couple of her creations which I especially liked.

Mary’s quilting bag

Tui surrounded by circular grape-vine

Sandra was as busy as ever, and the only one who brought a sewing machine along for the evening.  I was intrigued by her black and white quilt and she described how it was done.  Lots of cutting, stitching, and slicing, I think.  It certainly is very effective with the black and white fabrics and the splashes of colour.

Sandra’s Shattered Angles

Lots of scrappy squares combined with stitchery blocks make this lovely child’s quilt.  Sandra is making this one for the Ronald McDonald House, and it is sure to bring a smile to a young patient’s face when they cuddle up with it.

Lovely quilt for a sick child

Kaye was working diligently on her Ngaire Brooks block of a tui on a kowhai branch.  This is all needle turn appliqué, and we heard her muttering quietly to herself about the size of those tiny kowhai leaves.  I really admire people who take the time to do this type of appliqué, mine is machine appliqué or nothing!

Just beautiful – Kaye’s tui on kowhai branch

Nan was sitting quietly beside me finishing off pot holders for Christmas gifts.  These are the last two, she told me, after making 12, or was it 20?  She had made a whole heap of them, to pop in with Christmas presents.

Colourful pot holders

This Lil Blokes pattern, Gollies ‘n’ Dollies, was purchased by Hilary from Lynn Hyland’s shop while on an Aussie holiday.  Lynn is well known for her cute Golly patterns, and Hilary spent the evening tracing her pattern pieces out, all ready to appliqué.

Gollies ‘n’ Dollies pattern

Kathy was crocheting a baby’s blanket together, for an expected grand-child.  Such pretty pastel colours too.  Most of the ladies are not too keen to get their photo taken, but I snapped Kathy while she wasn’t looking.

Baby blanket for a new arrival

As for me, my plans for the evening didn’t eventuate.  I had spent most of the day machine quilting the borders on my Christmas quilt, and expected to get the binding on so I could hand stitch it down during the UFO night.  But because I had already unpicked some earlier machine quilting, the border fabric was not behaving, and seemed to have stretched a little.  So out came the unpicker yet again, and I pressed and pinned, and stitched, trying to get the darn thing finished.   Needless to say I didn’t manage to sew the binding on after all, so took along some hand stitching instead.  I really want to get this quilt done and dusted, so I’ll just have to keep on working on it!