New JQ's and mirror hanging

The pix and details of the next four of the Contemporary Quilt group Journal Quilt challenge for this year have now been sent off. This is September's, painted outlines of leaves from a tulip tree at Stapehill Abbey (see earlier posts), so will wait for the next batch . . . . . . . but these two are July and August. This one has prints made using eucalyptus leaves, also from Stapehil, and the surrounding strips are fabrics from a swap with an Australian quilter.
Infinity, the small CQ group that meets locally has been having its own challenge and this next jq is doing double duty, featuring in both challenges. For the Infinity one we pick ideas out of a hat - this is Bicycles. Oddly, while in the middle of making it I went to watch a bit of the Olympics coverage and cycling was on. All those wheels, with black solid bits over the spokes! I really didn't see them till after starting the jq! Must have had the image in my subconscious somewhere. There is monoprinting on a dyed background, black felt, and free machine quilting.
. . . and here's my effort from WCE last Monday, plus some more work on it this morning. You can see it is a mirror in the centre one! Now I have to couch cord round the centre holes, stick all the bits together and put more cord round the edges. Oh, and musn't forget to attach a hanging cord before sticking the back on. There will be another pic in due course.

Ruby Lever I have discovered did these in a workshop in March 2003 for Workshop on the Web, the online embroidery website run by Maggie Grey. The actual workshop is only available for anyone who was subscribing to it then but the link is to the homepage (hopefully!).

West Country Embroiderers, September

This month Ruby Lever came and showed us how to make a mirror hanging. It involved making a sandwich of fabric and felt, free machining all over it, then embellishing with beads etc three small squares, the areas to be cut out for the hanging. I don't have a picture of a finished one yet, but hopefully soon there will be some. Like the pincushions (see below). One by one they appear.
At the Dorset WCE groups exhibition last month there was an 8" cushion challenge, with the winner chosen by popular vote. This was it, done by Anne Barlow from our group! This sort of 'casual canvaswork' was another of the group workshops, led by our current leader Pat Jeram, who made this:
I've a feeling this one needs rotating, oops. It's another lovely example of the pincushion plus needlecase Beppy Berlin taught us at WCE.

We don't get a lot done on the day usually, though most of us beaver away and manage to talk at the same time. It is just a slow process, stitching, that can't be hurried usually.