Canberra Owls :: November meeting

Hello Canberra owls!

This Saturday 23rd November we're holding our last crafty get-together of 2013 - and it's a super special one!

We're teaming up with the lovely ladies at Canberra Creatives for a craft de stash market!

Come along between 2pm-4pm to pick up some craft supplies bargains!

We'll also be running a limited number of stamp carving workshops - this is a fabulously easy and effective craft so do come along to try it out.

And of course as always you're welcome to bring along whatever project you might be working on - and a plate to share for arvo tea if you'd like - and join us for a cup of tea and a chat.

Don't forget we love show and tell too!

Hope to see you there!

Xo

Canberra :: March meeting

Hi all!

This  Saturday 23rd March is the 4th Saturday of March, which means it is Canberra Brown Owls time again!
We will be meeting at the Downer Community Centre at 2pm

Please bring along what ever crafty piece you have on the go, and join us for a cuppa and a chat. We love show and tell, so please also bring along anything you've finished or are working on and would like to show (off) =)  

Please also remember to bring $5 for room hire, and something to share for arvo tea if you would like!

It would be wonderful if you could RSVP in the comments below so that we know how many owls to expect.

Please let us know if you have any questions!


Hope to see you on Saturday!

Canberra Brown Owls :: February 2013 meeting

Helloooo Canberra owls!
Thanks to everyone who has already gotten back to us to let us know you would like to stay on the mailing list!

And thanks to everyone for your patience while we finalised our meeting dates.
I'm very excited to let you know we do have our 2013 bookings confirmed.
We will be meeting from 2pm until 4:30pm on the 4th Saturday of each month, at the Downer Community Centre

This means that our very first meeting for 2013 will be held next Saturday 23rd February at 2pm

Please bring along what ever crafty piece you have on the go, and join us for a cuppa and a chat. We love show and tell, so please also bring along anything you've finished or are working on and would like to show (off) =)  

Please also remember to bring $5 for room hire, and something to share for arvo tea if you would like!

It would be wonderful if RSVP in the comments so that we know how many owls to expect.

If anyone hasn't had the chance to let me know that you would like to stay on our mailing list for 2013 please do - future emails about our meetings will be sent to our updated list, and we would hate to miss anyone!
As in previous years, we will continue to put the details of our meetings on the Brown Owls members blog.

Hope to see you next weekend!

Bron xo

Canberra Brown Owls: Spring means Stencilling!

It's stencil time again!

Come Spring we love to roll out the freezer paper stencilling. It’s always one of our most popular meets!

 

 Image from here

You'll need to bring:

• a photocopy/printout of a design you want to stencil,
• something you want to stencil on to (t-shirt, tea towel, fabric),
• a pencil for tracing the design on to the freezer paper,
• an exacto or paper cutting knife (and a cutting mat if you have one), and
• a plastic lid or some kind of paint palette

For the princely sum of $3 we can provide you with a 50cm length of freezer paper, and access to fabric medium, paint (black, white, red, blue and yellow) and brushes. If you're a quilter you may already have access to your own freezer paper, or you can bring your own paints. You can buy a piece of freezer paper for $1, or some fabric medium (turns regular paint into fabric paint) for $1. Let us know if the comments if you want a 'package' or just freezer paper.

Here are some great places to start looking for a stencil or for a bit of information about the process. Best to try something simple to start with.

http://painting.about.com/od/freestencils/tp/free-stencils.htm
http://www.stencilry.org/stencils/
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?board=140.0
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=154651.0

And try using the image function to search Google for possible stencil images too. And don’t forget Pinterest – a great source of inspiration!


Look forward to seeing you there - Sunday 21 October at 1.30 pm at the Downer Community Centre. Leave your RSVP or any questions in the comments, and let us know if you need supplies. Don't forget - $5 for the room hire and a plate of something yummy to share if you're so inclined!

Canberra Brown Owls - September BYO meet

Hello lovely Owls,

Its that time already - our next meet in coming up on Sunday 16 September.

This month we're keeping it simple and giving you the chance to have a little spring clean of those WiPs - bring along anything you're working on! It might be crochet, paper peicing, beading, knitting, embroidery...whatever takes your fancy. BYO craft and relax for a chat and a cuppa.

 image from here

The important details:
Sunday 16 September
1:30pm
Downer community centre
Please remember to bring $5 for room hire, and something to share for arvo tea if you would like!

Please RSVP in the comments so that we know how many owls to expect.

See you Sunday!

Bron, Naomi and George x

Canberra :: August 19 :: granny squares

Hi Canberra owls
It's nearly brown owls time again already!

Next weekend we're getting together for some crochet! Don't worry if you don't know how - lovely Renae will be teaching how to crochet granny squares!

lovely granny squares by Pip from Meet Me at Mikes

If you'd like to learn you just need to bring along a crochet hook and some yarn. Probably about an 8 ply (dk) yarn and a 3.5mm or 4mm hook are best for beginners.

As always everyone is welcome - if crochet isn't your thing we'd still love to see you and what ever you're crafting on just now. Don't forget we love 'show-and-tell' too!

The important details:
Sunday 19 August
1:30pm
Downer community centre
Please remember to bring $5 for room hire, and something to share for arvo tea if you would like!

Please RSVP in the comments so that we know how many owls to expect.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Canberra July - learn to embroider!

Hi owls!

Not long to go now until our July meeting!
We're meeting on Sunday July 22 at 1:30pm at the Downer Community Centre and we'd like to invite you all to come and learn how to do embroidery!
We'll be using this ace sampler tutorial to practise 6 different embroidery stitches!

 

 To make a cute pin cushion, you'll need to bring along:

• A copy of the sampler pattern - you can print it out here
• A piece of fabric to embroider on. Make sure it is a bit bigger than you want your finished pin cushion to be - you'll trim it down once it the embroidery is done. The tutorial recommends a 6"x6" piece for a 3"x3" cushion.
• Backing fabric for your pin cushion - this should be just a bit bigger than you want your finished cushion to be (to allow for seams)
• A fabric marker
• Needle
• Embroidery floss
• A button or any other embellishment you'd like to use
• Stuffing

We'll have some extra supplies on hand, but it is super important that you let us know in the comments when you RSVP if you will need anything - so we can make sure that there is enough to go around =)

As always, everyone is welcome - so if embroidery just isn't your thing, or if you have another project on the go that you just can't put down, please join us and bring along anything you'd like to work on! 

Please RSVP in the comments so that we know how many owls to plan for!
And don't forget to bring along $5 for room hire, something for afternoon tea if you would like, and of course any show and tell you'd like to share! =)


Please get in touch by email or through the comments below if you have any questions!
(please remember to leave us your contact details in the comments so we can get back to you if you would like!)

Hope to see everyone soon!

xo Bron, on behalf of the Canberra Prefects

ps. Don't forget to save the date for our August meeting - on Sunday August 19 Renae from Suzy Hausfrau will be teaching us to crochet granny squares!

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

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

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

Appliqué May :: wrap-up!

Hello Owls!

We had such a fabulous time at the Canberra Brown Owls May meeting, that we had to share with you all!

One of our clever owls, Danielle, taught us a cheaty method for needle turn applique.

 Danielle's 'Whirligig', pattern from Sarah Fielke's Quilting from Little Things

It was very simple, and Danielle brought along some gorgeous, and super inspirational examples of her own work - so don't be surprised if you hear there's an applique epidemic in Canberra!

Danielle's 'Lilly Pilly',  pattern from Don't Look Now

This method uses a wash out fusible, which is available online here and here (as well as many quilting shops, I'm sure!)

We can't thank Danielle enough for sharing her skills, teaching and inspiring us!

You can see more of her work on her blog!

Canberra's next meeting is being held on Sunday 17 June, and another of our talented owls will teaching us a quilty skill - Michelle is going to give us a beginners' guide to english paper piecing!

Watch this space for more information on that, and our next few meetings really soon!

Canberra Prefects

x

Canberra - stamping and shrinking

Hi Canberra Owls!

Our next meeting will be held on Sunday 29 April, and this month we're having another crack at something we've had lots of fun with before: eraser stamp carving! Speaking of fun, we had so much with shrinkies last month, we're getting double crafty this month and will be shrinking again too!

You can pick one or try both (or, as always, bring along something else you're working on!) - here is some more info to help you decide:(or skip to the end for all the important information!)

Eraser stamp carving
I always think eraser stamp carving sounds a bit crazy, but really you can get the most amazing results by carving a plain old eraser! You can have a look at what we've done with eraser stamps before here, and there is loads of inspiration on flickr, pinterest and heaps of tutorials you can turn up with google - just search for 'eraser stamp carving'.

What to bring:

• erasers for carving - just any will do, but make sure they are big enough for the design you want to carve. You can pick them up super cheap at $2 shop type places - my favourite are the HUGE ones you can get at hot dollar. We'll have some spares you can buy if you get really stuck.
• the design for your stamp - remember to think about size - unless you get your hands on one of those lovely big erasers, your stamp will be little and cute!
  
• a pencil for drawing your design onto your stamp
• tracing paper to transfer your design to your stamp if you aren't confident drawing it on by hand. (greaseproof paper like Glad Bake works really well for this!)
• a stamp pad and paper for testing your stamp when you're done with the carving!

We'll bring two sets of carving tools to share, but we could use a couple of extra if anyone has any. We'll also bring a couple of spare erasers and some paper and stamp pads for testing the stamps, just in case anyone can't get their hands on some.

Shrinkies
There are plenty of tutorials and ideas around if you google ‘shrinky dink’ or poly shrink, and of course Pinterest and Flickr have heaps of inspiration too!

What to bring:

• the design or idea of what you’d like to do with your shrinky, 
• permanent markers - we'll have some, but if you have your heart set on particular colours it's best to bring your own
• jewellery findings - If you plan to make a brooch or pendant then you’ll need findings and adhesive. 
• scissors - to cut out your design (obviously!) 
• craft punches - Some craft punches will be strong enough to punch through the shrinky plastic (I made those bunny earrings using Martha Stewart and Fiskars punches) - if you're brave enough to try you could bring along your own punches

We’ll have some shrink plastic sheets for purchase at cost and some permanent markers, a hole punch and a light-box available for use.

All the important details to remember
 
When
Sunday April 29, from 1pm – 3.30pm

Where

Downer Community Centre

Don't forget to bring:

• $5 for room hire and a couple of dollars for shrink paper/erasers if you need. 
• a plate of something to share for arvo tea if you’d like.
• anything you'd like to share with us for show and tell!

And please RSVP in the comments so we know you're coming! This is especially important if you would like to purchase any supplies (including the shrink paper) on the day - we need to know how much to have on hand!


Please let us know if you;d like any more information!

Looking forward to stamping and shrinking with you all!

xo Canberra Prefects!

Canberra Brown Owls - dates for 2012

Hello Canberra owls!

Your prefects are busy putting together the final bits for our April meeting (to be held on the 29th), and will have all the details for you right here on the blog by the weekend!

In the meantime, here are all the dates for the rest of 2012 for your diaries!
(All meetings are Sunday afternoons!)

April-29

May-27

June-17

July-22

August-19

Sep-16

Oct-21

Nov-18

 Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

xo your Canberra prefects!

Canberra Brown Owls - I’M SHRINKING!

From etsy seller Cooccachoo

And you can too! This Sunday, 18 March the Canberra Brown Owls will be using shrink plastic to make, well, whatever you’d like! There are plenty of tutorials and ideas around if you google ‘shrinky dink’ or poly shrink, and of course Pinterest and Flickr have heaps of inspiration too!

We’ll have the shrink plastic sheets for purchase at cost and some permanent markers, a hole punch and a light-box available for use.

What to bring

• You’ll need an image or idea of what you’d like to do with your shrinky, and if you want special colours then you can bring your own permanent markers. If you plan to make a brooch or pendant then you’ll need findings and adhesive. I believe you can also use some stamps/pencils on the plastic – but we’ve not tested it and can’t endorse that approach!

• $5 for room hire and a couple of dollars for shrink paper.

• A plate of something to share if you’d like.

Where

Downer Community Centre

When

Sunday March 18 from 1pm – 3.30pm

RSVP in the comments so we know you're coming!

from here

Canberra February felty FIESTA!

Hello patient Canberra owly friends!
Your prefects are excited to announce that we have the details for our February meeting all locked in!
We're still in the process of finally having our dates and venues for this year secured, so this month we are on the road again!

We'll be meeting at 2pm this Saturday 18 February at Tilley's in Lyneham for a February felty FIESTA!

We love working with felt - it is easy to cut and sew, which makes it super portable and it comes in loads of colours - what's not to love?!

We won't have 'kits' as such, but there will be some felt available for you to buy from us in half or quarter sheets, but we can't guarantee how much or which colours - if you have something in particular in mind it might be safest to bring it along yourself =)
It is available from loads of places including art and craft shops, and both Hobby Sew in Belconnen and Addicted to Fabric carry some lovely all wool felt if either of those are in your neck of the woods.

So now what to make?!
There are LOADS of really ace tutorials out there for crafting with felt - you can make anything from play food to jewellery to super cute sewing accessories.

To help you out we've put together a list of some of our favourites from around the www!

Accessories for you!


Remember the gorgeous brooch Naomi whipped up at our January get together?

You can make your own using this tutorial

And here's a super cute owl ornament (but ace brooch too!) 

Cupcake brooch (not a tute, just a pic)
Raincloud brooch (we LOVE this!)
Robot brooch
Another owl
Heart and kisses
And a whole lot more brooches and pins!



Bits and pieces for your sewing box!

A strawberry needle book
A flower pincushion
A watch pincushion!
Hedgehog pincushion 

Gear for your gadgets!
 ipod/iphone/other gadget covers

Groundhog!
Sheep!
Monogram!

Other cute stuff!


Here's a really cute felt owl mobile pattern (second one down)
A forest of felt hearts
 

(sideways!) Strawberries!
There are loads of tutorials around for felt food - check out these ones George has collected on her pinterest board


Phew! It's going to be tough to choose!


Now - the important things to remember!


Our felty FIESTA is happening at 2pm this Saturday 18 February at Tilley's in Lyneham!

You need to bring:
felt - remember we'll have some available for you to buy, or you can bring along your own
a copy of your tutorial if you need to refer to it for instructions
a needle and thread if there's sewing involved
other things that might be handy are scissors, a pencil and paper if you need to draw a template, toy stuffing if your felt needs to get stuffed (hehe)

And if you're not feeling the felt we'd still love to have you along! Bring your latest crafty project to work on, or just join us for some cake and a chat!
Ooh and don't forget we love show and tell too! If you have any new shiny books/mags/finished projects to show off us we'd be very excited to see them!

Please let us know in the comments if you'll be able to make it - that way we can make sure we've booked for the right numbers! =)
And if you have any questions please get in touch with a comment below (make sure we have your details so we can get back to you!)  or an email!

Looking forward to seeing lots of you on Saturday!

Love Bron, Naomi, and George! xo

Canberra Brown Owls - 18 Feb

Image from http://lolpetpics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/happy-owl-1.jpg

Your prefects have been working hard behind the scenes to get dates finalised for our meetings in 2012, however we’re having some problems confirming things with the new bookings officer at our venue. At this stage we are still planning to go ahead with the meeting planned for Saturday 18 February from 2-4pm – but we will confirm the location when we’ve locked it in. Please keep us pencilled in your diaries and we’ll be in touch soon! And as always we love new owls so drop us a line if you want to be kept in the loop.


Naomi, George and Bron

Canberra Owls - New Year get together

Hello and happy New Year Canberra Owls!

We'll be starting our crafty meetings proper in February (the 18th we think - we have something super exciting planned, so pencil it in your diary!), but would like to invite everyone to join us for a drink and some afternoon tea on Saturday. Bring some crafting to do too, if you like!

Date: Saturday 21 January
Time: 2 pm
Place: Tilley's Devine Cafe at Lyneham shops

It would be lovely to see you! Come and enjoy a relaxing arvo chat - we'd love to hear what you've been up to over the summer, and whether you have any suggestions for things you'd like to try at our meetings this year!
We are also hoping to be able to confirm dates for the year by next week!

Please RSVP in the comments so we know how many people we should snaffle a table for.
See you there!

Love Naomi, Bron and Georgie

Canberra Brown Owls Christmas break up

The crafting at Brown Owls has finished for the year, but why don't you come along for a drink and some afternoon tea on Sunday. Bring some crafting to do too, if you like.



Date: Sunday 11 December
Time: 2 pm
Place: Tilley Devine's Cafe at Lyneham shops


Would be lovely to see you. Come and enjoy some relaxing chatty times with us this Sunday! Let us know what your Christmas crafting plans are!

Please RSVP there so we know how many people we should snaffle a table for.

Love

Naomi, Bron, Georgie and Michelle

Canberra Owls - 'tis the season!

Apologies lovely Canberra Owls, that we haven't been back to you yet with details of our next meet.

But we hope we can make up for it by telling you that the crafting - christmas decorations - is on us!

image

We will have all the makings available for Danish woven hearts (julehjerter), german folded stars and redwork embroidered ornaments. If you have a small embroidery hoop, please bring it along, otherwise have a go free-hand.

image

The details are as always:

Downer Community Centre

2 - 4 pm

Saturday 19 November

Please bring $5 for the room hire, and a plate to share for afternoon tea.

Please, please rsvp in the comments, so we know how many folk want to come! New owls are always welcome, we would love to meet you!

Ho ho ho

Michelle, Bron, Naomi and George xo

Canberra Owls - Save the date!

Hey there Canberra Owls!

We are putting together the final details for our next meet, but wanted to post a little save the date for your diary.

Our next meet will be Saturday 19 November, 2pm to 4pm, at the Downer Community Centre as always.

As for the theme - well, just in case you hadn’t noticed, its NOVEMBER and that means that (GASP!) Christmas is lurking right around the corner! Christmas ornaments will be on the agenda, but we're still finalising projects and supplies. We'll have a couple of different options and kits for cheap.

So put the 19th in your diaries, and watch this space - we'll be back SOON with the details!

Bron, Naomi, Michelle and George x