Hobart Brown Owls - June Meeting

Hobart Brown Owls had a slightly more owl-ful meeting for June, thanks to some new owls and some old.

There was lots of yarn work:

Jaci is knitting three scarves (one for each of her two year old triplets..!) and left-handed Lis is learning to crochet:

A blur of crocheting :)

I finished a crochet owl (but forgot the pipe cleaners to make his feet) and continued with the final sleeve of Marcus' jumper, which I started a while back at a different Brown Owls meeting:

Hilary and Liz made felt owls:

Hilary adding the eyes to an owl

Liz sewing an owl body

And Virginia amazed us with her commitment; reaching hexagon 102 of about 750 in a hand sewn quilt for her little boy:

Basting the fabric around the freezer paper

Some of the many finishing hexagons

We ended up with 1 finished (and gorgeous) and two nearly finished owls; and are looking forward to more next time - or maybe a different theme? 

St George and Sutherland Brown Owls - JULY MEETING

Apologies for the late notice but we've had to change the date to Sunday the 15th July 2012!

We will be meeting at BUZZBAR Mortdale from 2pm - 5pm!

Let me know if you can make it!

See you then!

Brisbane Meet Up: Born to Knit

Brisbane Meet Up: Learn to knit for a great cause!

The Born to Knit campaign asks supporters to knit woollen blankets and squares for vulnerable children. Their aim this year is 6,500 beautiful, warm blankets.Through their programs in Australia and in countries such as Laos and Cambodia, all knitted blankets donated to the Born to Knit campaign will make their way into the arms of caring mothers.

A little bub in Cambodia, read more on the Born to Knit blog

The Born to Knit campaign runs from 1 June - 30 September, we'll be having a few meet ups during this time where you can come along and learn or practice your knitting and contribute a square for the Born to Knit campaign.

Our last meet up (thanks to all who came along!)

Meet Up Details

Date: Sunday 1 July 2012

Time: 10:30am - 12:30pm

Venue: Carindale Library, Westfield Carindale, 1151 Creek Road, Carindale

What to Bring: 

4mm needles and 8ply 100% pure wool.

For those who would like to get a head start each square should be 20cm x 20cm (44 stitches wide, 88 rows high). Final blanket size should be around 80 x 80cm.

More details and the Born to Knit guidelines are here

You can drop squares off to Brown Owls at any of the meet ups from now until the end of September or send them directly to Born to Knit.

Tea and coffee will be provided but feel free to show off your baking skills by bringing along a plate for morning tea :)

RSVP: By Friday 29 June to brisbanebrownowls@gmail.com or leave a comment on this post.

See you then!

Happy hexing :: Canberra :: June wrap-up

We had a WONDERFUL time at Canberra Brown Owls this month - Michelle taught us the art of English Paper Piecing, and I think it's safe to say a hexidemic has broken out!

This little guys are so cute and so EASY that every one is a bit hex-addicted!

I'll spare you any more gushing (and avoid serious overuse of words like CUTE and ADORABLE) and just show you some pics of some of our Owlie's work:

Here are George's hexies-in-progress (I adore those vintagey prints - infact some of those same Denyse Schmidt fabrics feature in my hexies too!)

Here is Sandra's first ever joined hexy pair - I love fussy cut hexagons! They are perfect for featuring cute a gorgeous fabric like that owly one!

This is Jo's current hexy work-in-progress - the fabrics are just divine! This piece is destined to be a table runner - you can read a bit more about it on Jo's blog

And (one of) Michelle's current hexy project(s). There's a lovely story behind this piece - you can read more about it on Michelle's blog

Morea was  trying hexies for the very first time too, and look at the result - such a perfect corner!

I sat next to Renae, and it was all I could do not to slip her pack of pre-cut hexagons into my bag when she went to make me a cup of tea! The mix of fabrics in the pack is just so cute adorable precious! Renae's hexies have made an appearance on her blog today too.

We can't thank Michelle enough for teaching and inspiring (and enabling!) us this month!

If you think you'd like to have a go at hexies too, but don't have access to your own Michelle, now is the perfect time! A fabulous hexy quilt-along (which a couple of our Canberra Owls are alonging with) was announced last week over on the Fat Quarterly blog - over the next little while Katy from I'm a ginger monkey will be posting instructions on how to make your own version of her AMAZING Hexy MF quilt!

 

There's going to be full, in-depth instructions for every step, so even if you don't feel ready to tackle a whole quilt the posts will be a fabulous resource for anyone who wants to learn how to hexy!


***

The next Canberra Brown Owls meeting will be held on July 22, and Bron will be teaching beginner's embroidery - make sure you pop it in your diaries, and keep an eye on the blog here for more details!

See you then!

x

Brown Owls Melbourne 3000 - June gathering

a few projects in progress - what to work on next????

Hi there

Please come join us at the Melb 3000 CBD gathering this month. It's a casual BYO'er. Come one come all. It really is jolly nice

Details:

when: Tuesday 26th June 2012
at: 6.30 - 9pm
where: The Parlour, Madame Brussels, level 3, 59-63 Bourke St, Melbourne 3000
bring: BYO project of your choice
cost: no fee for attendance but you may like to purchase a drink or a delight from the Madame Brussels menu, by way of a thankyou for room usage
RSVP: in the comments section below please - indicating your name eg. Sue H

 

Look forward to seeing you.

 

Sue x

Brisbane Meet Up: Little Granny Squares

 

Hey there Brisbane Brown Owls!

Want to make some cute little granny squares?

We'll be teaching the basic granny square at our next catch up. Beginners can start on a standard granny square and slowly work your way down to something teeny enough to make this:

 Image and tutorial here

There's loads of things you can make with granny squares, anything from cushions to gloves, business card holders, pin cushions, slippers and loads more! Check out the Pinterest page here for some inspiration!

Meet Up Details

Date: Saturday 23 June 2012

Time: 10:30am - 12:30pm

Venue: Inala Library, Inala Civic Centre, Corsair Ave, Inala

What to Bring:

Beginners: You don't need to bring anything, we have enough yarn and crochet hooks to get you started then you can work out colours, sizes etc after having a go at it and buy your own crochet goodness then :)

Anyone who can do a granny square already: Have a think about what you might like to make and what size, shoot us an email at brisbanebrownowls@gmail.com and we can have a chat about what you might need. Otherwise just pop to your local crafty outlet and grab some thin crochet cotton and a hook to suit and we'll go from there :)

 

The library have very kindly offered to put on tea and coffee for us, if you'd like to show off your fab baking skills then feel free to bring a plate for morning tea!

RSVP: By Thursday 21 June to brisbanebrownowls@gmail.com or leave a comment on this post.

See you then!

Mitcham Brown Owls

Hi There Owlies, What perfect weather for the craft yarns and the open fire! I seem to be making the most of it, and its time for us to get together and share our creativity again. This month, apart from bringing along your own projects to finish off, we also have learn to knit and crochet available. We'll look forward to seeing you and don't forget to bring along any finished pieces to show off! From Lianne. The Details: Where : Gallery One, 1 Torrens Road, Mitcham PH: 8272 4504. When: Saturday June 23 from 1.30 to 4.00 pm. Cost : $7. per person room hire.

Canberra Owls June :: EPP

Hello Owls!

This month Michelle will be teaching you everything there is to know about English Paper Piecing. It's a fun, portable method of piecing quilts, or creating shapes to applique onto bags, shirt or whatever! And maybe you'll become addicted to EPP like Michelle is!

We'll start out by piecing together some 1 inch hexagons into a Grandmother's Flower Garden arrangement, but of course you can do anything you like. Take your inspiration from other English Paper Piecing sites on the internet, like here http://www.flickr.com/groups/englishpaperpiecing/ But if you're a beginner, I recommend the 1 inch hexagons to start with.

As you can see in the pic there, for your EPP hexies you need those little hexagon papers.
We recommend that you purchase a pack of "Patchwork with Busyfingers" 50 x 1 inch hexagon papers, which also come with a perspex template for cutting out your fabric. You can get these packs from Addicted to Fabric in Phillip, or online from Busyfingers. We can organise getting a pack for you for under $11, but ONLY if you get back to us by Sunday 10 June! This is so it gives us enough time to order online from Patchwork with Busyfingers. So please mention that you would like a pack in the RSVP on the blog post. If you'd like to buy some of the hexagon papers, but don't want a full pack of 50, let us know and we'll match up some people to share kits!

You can also find EPP hexie templates free online - you'll need to print these and cut them out then bring them along to the meeting. You'll be able to find loads using Google - here's an example we found. You could also find different sizes or shapes the same way.

Here's the important details!
The meeting is on Sunday June 17, from 1:30pm - 3:30pm, at the Downer Community Centre.

You need to bring:

"Patchwork with Busyfingers" 50 x 1 inch hexagons, which comes with a perspex template from either us ($11) or Addicted to Fabric OR your printed and cut out papers

Cotton fabric for the hexagons

Sharp sewing needles

Thread

A pencil or fabric marking pen

Scissors for fabric and snipping thread

Your $5 hall fee

Some afternoon tea to share if you'd like.

As usual, tea and coffee is available all afternoon and the usual friendly chatter is guaranteed!
Of course if EPP doesn't take your fancy we'd still love to see you! Just bring along whatever you'd like to work on! =)

Don't forget to RSVP on the blog post, especially if you want us to purchase you a kit, before Sunday 10 June. And if you have any questions, ask away and one of the prefects or Michelle will answer your questions.

 See you soon! xo

Southside Owls ~ Thursday 14th June ~ BYO at Miss Jackson

Hello ladies!!

Michelle will be sunning it up in Fiji next week! Woo hoo!! So we'll be meeting at Miss Jackson again for some winter craft action!

Date: Thursday 14th June

Time: 7:30pm onwards

Venue: Miss Jackson, 2/19 Grey Street St. Kilda (through the big rusty gate)

Close to the #16, #96 and #112 trams, and nearby parking below

Craft: Your BYO project

Goodies: We will have tea, wine and baked goodies, please feel free to bring something along if you would like to show off your baking skills!

RSVP: Add a comment to let us know you are coming along!

Feel free to email me or tweet me with any questions.

Really looking forward to seeing everyone! And we will have the open fire roaring too!!

Canberra Brown Owls :: June & beyond!

Hi Canberra Owls!

We've got some really excellent crafty projects planned for the next few months,  so to help you plan which meetings you just can't miss here's a peek at what we'll be up to at our June, July, and August meetings!(remember, all our meetings are held from 1:30-3:30 on Sunday arvos, at the Downer Community Centre)

17 JUNE :: English Paper Piecing

At our June meeting Michelle is going to give us a beginners guide to English paper piecing.

Michelle's Sunny Day Baby Quilt

EPP is a patchwork technique used for piecing quilts. It's a load of fun, and once you know how to do it, the possibilities are endless! You can make a flower out of hexagons and applique it to a skirt or a tote bag ... or make a doll quilt ... or a cushion! Check out Flickr for more ideas!

We'll be in touch really soon to let you know what you need to bring!


22 JULY :: embroidery how-to

If you've always wanted to try your hand at embroidery, but weren't sure where to start, you have to come along to our July meeting!

Bron will show you all the stitches you need to make something like little red up there (the pattern is from A Little Sweetness). We'll make a little embroidery stitch sampler pin cushion to practice 6 of the most common stitches, including those tricky french knots!


19 AUGUST :: learn to crochet granny squares


One of the crafts we most often hear people say they would love to learn is crochet, so in August Renae is going to teach us how to crochet granny squares!

lovely granny squares by Pip from Meet Me at Mikes

***

We hope you're as excited about our upcoming meetings as we are - don't forget to pop the dates in your diaries!

Keep your eye on the blog and your emails from more details closer to each meeting.

As always, everyone is welcome - if our craft for the month doesn't take your fancy then bring along whatever you're working on!

If you have any suggestions/requests of things you'd like to try, or if you'd like to share your own crafty skills by leading one of our meetings we would love to hear from you! ! Leave a comment below or email us at canberrabrownowls[at]gmail[dot]com! 

xo your Canberra Prefects

Preston Brown Owls June Meeting

Preston Owlers,

Our next meeting is on Saturday June 23 and it's our sewing month again.

So bring your sewing machines and projects to

GJ's Discount Fabrics

(upstairs room)

443 Lygon Street, Brunswick East

12.30 - 3.45pm

Cost is $5.00 for the room hire, payable to the lovely ladies downstairs.

Last time folks did dressmaking, quilting, making belts, softies and bags. If you've never come to a meeting before, make this your first one.  We would be delighted to welcome you.

See you there,

Rebecca