Making Progress

I'm feeling very pleased with myself as I have got quite a few things done in the last couple of days.

I have finally finished off the quilting on my Disappearing Nine-Patch quilt. I very naughtily put the binding on before the quilting was finished, because I needed to take the quilt to a couple of places for display, so the border got a bit puckered up in places (definitely won't be doing that again). Despite that, I am rather pleased with the results.

I'm really enjoying quilting now that I have got into the Free-Motion technique. It used to be my least favourite part of quilt making, but now I would have to say that making and attaching borders is the bit that I don't really like doing. However, I can get past that because I am looking forward to getting on with the quilting.


Talking of which here are two other quilts that I have just attached the borders to so they will be next for quilting. First is the Foundation Piecing Block of the Month Quilt.

I run this as a class here, but I am also working on making this available by Mail Order - just need to put a bit more detail in the handouts, since I won't be there in person to explain what to do.

Secondly, the quilt for the Stack and Shuffle Class. This is made with a Layer Cake (in this case Boutique by Moda) and I have called it Four In a Box.

I've also got ahead of myself and made the binding for these last two quilts plus one other. I like to make the binding while I'm in 'sewing' mode, and I've got the right thread / needle / foot in the machine. That way as soon as the quilting is finished I can get the binding on and do the last bit of hand-sewing, which I strangely enjoy!

Showing Off

Saturday was a very successful day at Newick Village Hall. It was lovely to have a good selection of quilts on show - things that some of my students had made at workshops over the past few months. Here are a few of those on display:

Newick Fabric Sale

Just about finished loading up all the boxes of fabric ready for the Fabric Sale tomorrow.
Fabric from £5 per metre.
Special Prices on the day:
Olfa - Large Cutting Mats (36" x 24") £25.00
Micro-Stitch Tacking Gun £17.00
All Moda Jelly Rolls and Layer Cakes £20
All Moda Charm Packs £7.50
June Tailor Cut-n-Press I  £18
June Tailor Cut-n-Press II  £28
June Tailor Shape Cut 12"  £20
 Click Here for a Map

Two Quilt Shows and loads of fabric

Quilts in the Garden / Racecourse
Didn't get around to posting any pictures from the Quilts in the Garden/Racecourse show. It was a busy 3 days, although a bit quieter than usual on the Saturday. Due to the unfortunate last-minute change of venue, I think a lot of people, especially coaches, had planned to spend the afternoon at Trentham Gardens, so they all went off and left us a bit earlier than expected (and then of course had no chance of coming back for a last minute bit of shopping!). We had a relatively uneventful drive home, thanks to the SatNav which helped us avoid a major traffic delay on the M1, unloaded, returned the van and crashed out for the night at about 11:30 pm.
In Between
Took a day out after QITG and then had to get straight back into the swing of things with Stitch and Chat at Partridge Green and Newick, two days on the trot. Then four workshop days, a visit from Brian, the Makower Sales Rep (ordered some new Jungle fabric, a few odd bits and pieces and a nice selection of batiks) and then getting ready for the Wealden Quilt Show. Meanwhile new fabric arrived - Moda's Garden Party and Butterfly Garden, plus Bubbles, Georgia and Claire de Lune. Alistair worked hard to get them all up on the web-site and to send out a couple of newsletters.
Wealden Quilt Show
This is a great show in a lovely part of the Sussex countryside and the weather this year really helped to make it an enjoyable two days. Loaded up the car first thing on Friday, drove over the Ashdown Forest to Crowborough and got set up in less then 90 minutes - good going eh? Lots of familiar faces, but met a lot of new people too. Lynette and her team do a great job organising the show.

Quilts at the Racecourse - Set-up Day

An early start today. We were up at 5am and out of the house just after 6. A fairly trouble-free drive, just a few slow spots, but the lovely weather helped make the journey more pleasant. Stopped a couple of times for coffee and a sandwich and arrived at Uttoxeter at 10:15.
Not only is this a different venue for us, we have also decided to change the look and layout of our stand quite drastically, so we took a while to decide exactly where we wanted everything before unloading the van and getting all the fabric out on the shelves.
Of course I forgot to take any photos today, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how it all looks.
Looking forward now to a busy weekend - hoping that the good weather will bring out the crowds to see the fantastic display of quilts. I've only seen a few of them so far, but the standard looks high as usual.

Just a reminder of where we are - Quilts in the Garden (now at Uttoxeter Racecourse). Come along and say 'Hello'.

Non-stop classes

Another string of busy days.
Starting last Monday - I went out to Sandhurst (near Tenterden in Kent) to do a 1 day workshop on Foundation Piecing. I was very well looked after by the ladies there, who even provided a sit-down lunch - very civilised!
Tuesday I had a couple of 'catch-up' sessions with people who had missed classes earlier in the year because of the snow.
Wednesday was another busy but fun Stitch and Chat afternoon at Newick. Alistair came along to help with the refreshments. Even so I still find it hard to get round and say hello to everyone and see what they're working on.
Thursday - day off!
Friday - Applique class - we were making the fabric flowers that were in my last posting.
Saturday I had my real beginners here all day for Part 2 of the Introduction to P&Q, teaching them to do rotary cutting for the first time, after working with templates and paper piecing in the first lesson.
On Sunday afternoon I went to Ditchling to help out at a charity event in aid of Computer Aid International. We had about 15 people sitting round the table making simple patchwork blocks using fusible Vilene to applique hearts and flowers. These will be made up into a 'community quilt' which will be auctioned in aid of the charity.
This Monday was Foundation Piecing Block of the Month - a catch-up session with one student, followed by a full class.
Tuesday I had a lovely day out with my Mum! This was in lieu of Mother's Day. I usually find that I have something happening on Mother's Day, so it has now become a tradition that I take Mum out a few days afterwards, instead of on the day itself. (it also means that restaurants aren't fully booked and we're not fighting for a table with all the other mothers!) It was a lovely sunny day - we started off visiting a 'special place' in Cudham and then took a drive out to Westerham and found a little Italian restaurant for lunch. Then back to Mum's house for a cup of tea and some sewing - I showed her how to make the fabric flowers which we had done at the Applique class last Friday.
Wednesday afternoon was the Beginners Block of the Month; they were also being introduced to rotary cutting and made really good progress.
Today (Thursday) I have people here for the Sew-a-Row-a-Month quilt.
Tomorrow I have two ladies here for part 16 of a 15 part course! They had both got a bit behind with their blocks and borders each month and so had asked for an extra session to help them get it finished.

And somewhere in amongst all that a couple of fabric deliveries arrived - with a definite 'Spring' feel to them:
Verna and Cottage Garden.

A Productive Day

I managed to tick quite a few things off my 'To Do' list yesterday.
First, I sewed a binding around my Shadow Quilted Baltimore Wreath block.
Aesthetically, I'm not that happy with it, but as a sample for this particular technique to use for my Applique class, it does the job.

Secondly, I made a few fabric flowers using different techniques. These will be part of another block in the Applique class. I just need to make some leaves and stems and put them together into a Flower Garden!

And finally, I made quite a bit more progress with the quilt for my Stack and Shuffle Layer Cake workshop.
I'm calling this quilt Square Dance.

I'll finish it off by adding a light border, a patterned border made from the remains of the layer cake and a final light border.

Stack and Shuffle

Started making up my Stack and Shuffle example ready for the workshop at the end of March. Used the new Boutique Layer Cake. I came up with a good idea for keeping all the bits in the correct order. I'm glad I took these photos, especially the one of the completed blocks. When you're working on them at close quarters it all looks a bit busy, but when you step back, as in the photo, you can start to see the overall pattern emerging.

 
I can't wait to get it finished now, but I have other more pressing things to work on - like the Medallion Quilt.

Jelly Roll Workshop

Another fun day yesterday with a full class of four students making Jelly Roll Quilts; two were making the Basketweave Quilt and two were making the Star-Crossed Quilt, which was a good balance. It works out that one group are cutting whilst the others are sewing and vice versa.

 

 

Charming Squares

It's been a hectic week, hence the lack of posts.
I did manage to get a bit of sewing done to finish off my second Charm Square Quilt - called Shadow Boxes - in time for the workshop yesterday.
This one's made from the Birdie Charm Pack.

If you want have a go, you can buy my pattern which includes this quilt and also the Disappearing Nine-Patch (below), both in one booklet.
This one's made from the Tranquility Charm Pack.