Raffle Quilt

This year sees our quilt group celebrating 10 years of being in existence and is also our quilt exhibition year. Our group is called Apple County Quilters and we are busy preparing for this event. Yards of colourful bunting has been made along with our raffle quilt. You will remember it in it's unfinished state a few posts back. Well, a huge thanks to Kate for taking on the task of doing the quilting. No mean feat as she had the builders in and stitched around them and then got delayed in the Cape Verde Islands due to Volcanic Ash (jammy devil). You have done us proud Kate. Also a big thank you to everyone who took part in the Challenge to make a block for this quilt. Ladies you too should be proud of yourselves. We are raffling this quilt off to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.



You can see the quilting on the back. Each alternate block has either a cross or a circle. Very simple but very effective and Kate has called it Hugs and Kisses. Which somehow seems appropriate. The binding was just turned over from the back to the front and is perfect. For the cost of £1 someone is going to get a wonderful quilt.



I am busy filling small jars of goodies for the sale table. Kath gave me her button tin and said to help myself. These little tiny buttons are lovely and a few of them may have to come back home to live with me. Have just the right pattern to use these little darlings. The jars need their little hats and labels on and they will be ready.



"Apples" is our theme this year and so people have been busy making these lovely coasters. Don't they look good enough to eat. Some are destined for the tea room and then some are going to be displayed with the quilts.



Yesterday morning I happened to glance out of the window and couldn't believe my eyes. My neighbours have a huge Leylandii tree in their garden and perched right on the top looking rather like an odd christmas tree decoration was the biggest Heron you have ever seen. By the time I had grabbed my camera and switched it on the seagulls flapped around it and scared it off. I hope it will come back. We have some odd things come into our garden when you bear in mind we are less than a mile from the town centre. One Christmas day we had a large grouse just wander in. The kids started to hum the tune to the whisky ad and I suppose it could consider itself lucky not to have ended up on someone's dinner table.

Happy Stitching

Love Shirley.x