Yesterday was our patchwork group meeting, and we had a sewing bee. Last time we met we talked about the quilts that have been donated to bushfire survivors, and I asked them all to bring along some fabric this time so we could make some blocks for the cause. In order for us to make some speedy progress I asked them all to cut five 2.5" strips of light fabric, and 5 of dark, sew them together into pairs of light and dark and bring them to the next meeting. Which they all did.

Damn camera batteries keep draining themselves overnight, so no photos of our day, which is a pity because we had a great time.

At the start of the day everybody gave me their strip sets and I set to work cutting them into 4.5" slices. Mereth took all the scrap bits and cut them into 2.5" slices. The others sewed on their own projects until we had a pile of pieces cut, and then helped us sew the blocks. This is such a simple block, it just flew together. I paired all the slices of fabric like this and gave them to two machinists, who fed them through the machines steadily. It was hard work keeping up to them! From there they were whisked away by the Iron Fairy for pressing, and then back to me for pairing up again and pinning. Then back to the machinists, and the Iron Fairy, then onto the stack of finished blocks. It was astounding how much we got done, and with no fuss whatsoever. Even the pressing is simple with this block, the seam allowances just fold over nicely, and fanning the seams in the middle makes it very flat.Mereth was doing the same thing with her team of girls, but they were sewing 16 patches.

Some aren't exactly the right size, but we will trim them to a constant measurement and they will make a border, or we may even put them into a strippy quilt. Every bit will find it's place, and we should be able to make 3 or 4 quilts.

We made 105 blocks after lunch, and everyone had a great time; lots of laughter and fun, and a wonderful feeling that we were helping others through a difficult time.

We also have a collection of fabric and sewing notions to send to Jenny's step-sister, Alice,
to help rebuild the sewing supplies of bushfire survivors; I'm touched by the generosity that our little group has shown. A lot of good wishes and sympathy have been sewn into these blocks.
That pile of beautiful Oriental 10" squares in the top left hand corner was donated by our friend Sue, and another friend showed us the perfect pattern for them, so we will try and have that finished, quilted and donated soon. The nights are getting cold over in Victoria now, and the quilts are needed.