Auntie and Me

Getting to know Auntie   

                    

Welcome back to the second part of my story.

By the time I had taken my retirement, I had begun to buy fabric wholesale to sell online and set up my own website shop at  www.englishquilter.co.uk   

Needless to say, I had quite a bit of stock to play with in addition to my personal stash – it is amazing how it grows isn’t it?! So I was quite prolific in producing quilt tops. Like so many of you, I found the process of layering a large quilt such a chore and I couldn’t see myself crawling round the floor with  hundreds of safety pins in the years to come. (Okay, maybe I was justifying the idea of frame system to myself.)

I can’t seem to stop myself making big quilts and the last one I did on my Bernina was this ‘Compass’ quilt with the Storm at Sea wavy border. It was as much as I could do to quilt straight lines out from the centre.

(Interestingly, I made the whole border first as a complete piece and then had to appliqué it onto the centre).

That was probably the last straw and I resolved to visit The Cotton Patch in Birmingham to test drive the Handiquilter Avanté 18. I was sold on it before I walked through the door, in truth, but the staff there were great and there was no pressure to buy. I signed on the dotted line and arranged to have it installed by their engineer Alan, as it had to go up in the loft. After sleepless nights wondering how it would fit through the hatch, I had a friend on standby with a rope and tackle. But when it came to it, Alan just slung it on his shoulder and waltzed up the ladder with it! He got it up and running beautifully, gave me a demo and left me to it. Here she is – I call her Auntie!

Then my real panic set in – it was such a large investment - what if I was no good at it? I had a few small quilt tops to practise on, but I knew I needed to do lots and lots to gain my confidence. So I gingerly suggested to my friends that I could do some of their UFOs, provided they weren’t too precious and I had a fair few takers! I also did a batch of charity quilts that the ladies at Studio Quilters in Borehamwood had made to send to an orphanage in Africa. I really got stuck in and before long I was attempting feathers and all sorts! I quickly realised that I needed to start with simple shapes and then build on them. They weren’t perfect, of course, but I was having so much fun! Here is one of my early experiments with curved rulers.

As my confidence grew, so did that of my friends, who were now entrusting me with some of their lovely pieces to quilt. Here are just a couple:  

 Pieced by Valerie Jefferies
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 













Pieced by Jean Smith

I found that the all-purpose quilting favourite ‘stippling’ design (or vermicelli) just didn’t work well for me. Somehow my brain doesn’t seem to work that way and it doesn’t feel natural. So rather than struggle with something I didn’t like, I tried other styles and focused on improving the things I enjoyed.

YouTube was a real boon – there are so many excellent artists out there who have so generously shared their skills in videos. I learned so much from them and very soon I was achieving results I never believed I was capable of.

I love piecing and finishing quilts of my own and I get just as much pleasure in helping my friends finish theirs. They are such a talented bunch, though they won’t admit it. I am lucky to have the benefit of a machine which gives me the scope to quilt better, but I am just as much in awe of their skills when it comes to embroidery, design and artistry. Between us we’ve produced some pretty special quilts.

 'Outside the Box'

 'Scrappy Baskets'

  'Sampler' (For Lesley)

Last year saw a major milestone as I entered my first quilt in the Festival of Quilts at the NEC. My Scrappy Stars quilt was the result of over a year’s work (between other projects). I designed a different layout for a set of star blocks which were featured in a Block of the Month pattern called Jackleberries Quilt by White Country Cottage Crafts. I added a border inspired by Edyta Sitar’s Flea Market Treasure Quilt.  It was so wonderful to see it hanging alongside so many fabulous quilts in a major exhibition.

And best of all last year, I was commissioned to make a wedding guestbook quilt for my oldest friend’s daughter Claire and her lovely husband Tom. I gathered signatures on the day, on patches of calico, which I pieced together (in the shape of a heart) to make the backing. Then I set about designing, piecing and quilting the top. Claire had chosen my prettiest fabric and it was a real labour of love to make it and give it to them.

This year has been just as busy, so far. I’ve taken on some challenging UFO’s to complete for a couple of ladies who had started hand-piecing these projects several decades ago. I admire anyone who can do that much hand sewing (something I’ve studiously avoided). How nice to see them finally finished!

As always, I’ve got a hundred and one ideas and projects on the go. Next time I will share a sneak preview of my ‘Four in One’ quilt......

Until then – Happy Quilting!

Janet