Lovely Liberty Lawns

This one is speaking to me already!

I’ve just received this beautiful top for custom quilting and I’m itching to get on with it. But it is going to take me quite a while if I am to do it justice. So I thought I had better clear the decks of the other pieces I have been asked to quilt first, so I can devote some real time to it. Look at all that blank space to fill in!

Earlier this week I quilted the ‘Garden Quilt’, which we made at Studio Quilters last year under the guidance of Jean Hipwell. 

It looks so fresh and bright with its lovely flower beds, green gardens and ‘paths’ and I’m pleased with the texture of the edge to edge five pointed flower pattern, which is my current favourite all-over design. It just needs to be bound and it will be ready for our stall at the NSPCC Christmas Fair in November.  

Next one up is the scrappy ‘EPP’ hexagon quilt which we have been making by hand at our ‘at home’ afternoons. Yes – even I did some hand sewing! Susan has made a lovely job of setting them all together on a cream background. I will show you when it is done.

Somewhere down the line I will get back to my ‘Four in One’ project which is ready to quilt!

Happy Quilting Everyone!

Janet

www.englishquilter.co.uk   

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Hearts and Flowers and Fibonacci!

It’s been a fairly productive week one way and another. 

My little heart cushion was finished by the early hours of Sunday morning. It is something of my Mum’s that I have treasured and I’ve been meaning to make a special cover for it for years. I played with the embroidery stitches again and learned that the stitch around the binding is extremely difficult to unpick!

If I’d known I was going to become a quilter I’d have paid more attention to maths at school. But you’re never too old learn something new. On Saturday, I attended a workshop by Sheena Roberts for Connecting Threads where she demonstrated the ‘Convergence’ block by Ricky Tims. (The maths bit is Fibonacci’s series of numbers 0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 etc where each number is the sum of the previous two.) We applied this formula to the ratio of sizes of strips cut from four squares of fabric which were sewn together then turned 90 degrees then cut and sewn again. The result is a pleasingly proportioned block with the four fabrics ‘converging’ throughout. Of course, I had to be difficult and start with smaller squares (purchased wrong size at Festival of Quilts). But Sheena was brilliant and worked it out for me. Here are my two blocks which I’ll probably make into a cushion for the NSPCC Christmas sale at Allum Hall in Borehamwood in November.

http://groupspaces.com/ConnectingThreads/photos/

Checkout our website for pictures of everyone else's.

Finally, I have just finished quilting this top for a lovely lady called Pat, having had to stop half way through because I ran out of bobbin thread. Her piecing was superb, every seam pressed the right way and no loose threads. This was my first attempt at this edge to edge design and it was such fun to do. I hope she likes it!

Happy Quilting Everyone!

Janet

www.englishquilter.co.uk   

Crumbs!

Treasured Scraps!

Many moons ago I dragged my daughter all the way to Dorking for the January sale at The Quilt Room. I think she saw a different side to me, as I unashamedly elbowed my way through the crowd to get my hands on all the bargains! She did quite well out of it too, as I bought all the bits she needed for her school design and technology project – a superb appliquéd Nursery Rhyme book (of which we were both very proud).

The best find of the day was a sample card of beautiful fabrics from the Mary Rose range from Quilt Gate. It had no price on it, but I was determined to have it at any cost. So when the lady at the till scribbled 50p on it, I paid up and got out of the shop before she could change her mind!

After several more years of just admiring it, inspiration finally struck and I made this Diamond Lattice quilt with some recycled cream linen from a Laura Ashley duvet cover and several similar fabrics I had managed to find in the meantime.

The result, though perhaps not my most accomplished piece, is still my favourite thing I have ever made. The fabric was so pretty and of course I saved every last sliver.

Today was the day those treasured scraps came out to play! 

My compulsion to use up the smallest bits (crumbs) first led me to make this crazy patchwork piece sewn straight onto wadding and then reverse appliquéd into this 7 inch heart block. It is intended as the centre of a cover for a small heart shaped cushion that used to belong to my Mum.  

The cut-out centre was covered with Heat n Bond Lite (which will be used for a later project). I left a good quarter inch of the adhesive around the inner outline which I clipped and then turned under and pressed. Finally, I tried out one of the many decorative stitches on my new Brother machine to finish and then trimmed away the excess wadding from behind.

This pleased me so much that I put the cushion project to one side and made another piece of crazy patchwork which I have just finished making into this little scissor / needlecase.

A productive day – I need to make more small things in between full size quilts!

Happy Quilting Everyone!

Janet

www.englishquilter.co.uk   

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Celtic Jewel

Meanwhile - back in the loft....

‘Auntie’ and I have been busy again! One look at the beautiful colours in this top made by Mary and I knew it would be a joy to work on. As soon as she left it with me, I was straight up in the loft to load it on the frame.

Mary has an embroidery machine, amongst her other machines (she is a collector too!) She had stitched out a lovely feather wreath design in the snowball blocks and didn’t want too much quilting which might detract from it.

So I circled round the design with some simple curls and stitched the pieced blocks in the ditch. Then I had fun doing the freehand curly waves and leaves in the borders. Mary had also created a striking inner border with a pale gold coloured broderie fabric with plain black behind.

It is going to be a quillow for a relative who is off to University later this month, so I have the pillow panel to quilt too, as soon as it’s ready.

Happy Quilting Everyone!

Janet

www.englishquilter.co.uk   

It's official - I have a collection!

It is time to admit that I have a growing collection of sewing machines – large to small and old to new.

Apart from my amazing Handiquilter Avante 18 (longarm machine), I now have two working modern machines; my beloved Bernina Virtuosa and my brand new ‘portable’ Brother Innov-is 350 (best eBay bargain ever!).

Last year I acquired a pretty antique Singer handcrank machine (model 28k - 1902).

I had wanted one because they are so beautiful and as a reminder of my sewing lessons at school where I always chose the hand operated machines as I was scared of the electric ones running away from me! I got it on eBay and drove right across central London to Tooting to pick it up on a busy Saturday afternoon. 

Since then I have recently found a perfect little treadle table with three drawers either side. It had been converted with a decoupaged top, so I’m not able to treadle with it. But that was never my intention, as I have always wanted one just as a piece of furniture. I had only had the model 28k on it for a few weeks when my oldest friend’s mother sadly passed away and my friend passed on her old Singer to me, saying that her Mum would be happy to think of it going to a loving home. 

A little research identified it as a model 27k – 1905. This machine is a fair bit bigger and the decals are in even better condition, more complete, brighter and with a lovely sphinx motif. It now has pride of place on the treadle table and I’ve had to move the furniture around a bit to re-situate the smaller machine.

Towards the end of last year a friend remarked on the 28k and said she had an old machine that she was going to put on a skip. I couldn’t bear the thought of that and took it off her hands with the intention of listing it on eBay. I figured that, even if it only went for 99p, if someone was willing to collect it, they would have a real purpose for it and not just throw it away. I’ve still not got around to it, but I will soon.

It is a Vickers (as in WW1 aircraft and ammunitions) machine and in a comparatively poorly state, with no lid. The online information is not as comprehensive as for Singers, but I would date it from the 1920s. The history of the company makes interesting reading though.


So that’s six machines in the house. I don’t have space for any more so I’m not actually collecting them (like I don’t really collect china !)

Happy Quilting Everyone!

Janet

www.englishquilter.co.uk   

Fabric - What Fabric?

I didn’t buy much really!

Apart from the obligatory 2 half kilos of white sheeting off-cuts from Empress Mills which I had to lug around all day; a fully justifiable pack of hand-dyed cottons for Sheena’s Convergence workshop next month (which I’m now thinking won’t be enough) and 6 (mainly pink) Fat Quarters for £10 which I just couldn’t pass up – that’s all the fabric I bought at the Festival of Quilts at NEC Birmingham on Saturday. 

I did however find a few things that were on my wish list, including some new Westalee Rulers specifically for the long arm, and a gadget called Flex-Gauge for dividing up spaces evenly which will be helpful for marking up border designs. I am looking forward to trying these out.

But best of all, I think I should win the prize (if there is one) for buying the smallest ruler at the show – one of three Bloc-Loc Rulers I got for making Flying Geese units. It makes a finished size unit of 1/2 inch x 1 inch!

Now I really can’t throw anything away!!

But maybe I will reserve it for my most treasured scraps. Isn’t it the cutest thing ever? I haven’t dared try it out yet.

Apart from all the shopping, I donated 6 of my quilts and a few more from Studio Quilters to Project Linus, who seemed really pleased to take them.

The quilts on display were as inspiring as ever. I rather regret not entering my Hunter’s Star now- but maybe next year. I might even make a miniature quilt with my new rulers. But as always I came away with an extended mental ‘to do’ list – things I’ve been meaning to try out - maybe some hand stitching. I could use the practice if my calendar block for the Studio Quilters challenge is anything to go by – I’m not even going to post a picture of it on here!

Happy Quilting Everyone!

Janet

www.englishquilter.co.uk   

Downton Abbey Splendour

Lovely Fussy Cut

Sandra came over today to see what I’d done with her Downton Abbey quilt and to decide on the binding fabric. I’m happy to say she was pleased with it – it’s a bit scary sometimes to be entrusted with someone else’s precious project.

This was her first full scale quilt top and quite an ambitious pattern. Sandra had made a lovely job of the pretty appliqué, with some tricky curves to go round with satin stitch. (She tells me that she does a lot of machine embroidery).

There were some issues with different dimensions at the top and bottom ends but I managed to straighten it up to some extent and quilt out the extra fullness with a feather design flowing up through the quilt. I so enjoy filling in blank spaces like this.

The fabrics were from the Downton Abbey range from Makower, in really classy shades of black, grey, purple, mauve and beige, with a good balance of different scale prints. For the large sections in the centre of the 6 blocks, Sandra had carefully fussy cut matching patterns which I accentuated by quilting around the main motifs. 

Between us I think we’ve made a lovely quilt!

Next on my to do list is the calendar block challenge for Studio Quilters which is due back for the August meeting. I will get on with it next week if I’m not too distracted by what I see at the Festival of Quilts on Saturday!

Until then – Happy Quilting!

Janet

www.englishquilter.co.uk