Class action

 

 

My teaching schedule is back in full swing again and here are some pics from recent classes....

Anni's Chocolate Stars

Same class, different version.

Helen's Ferris Wheel. My version is in the current issue of Quilters Companion magazine.

Julie's Jacobean Star. She won 1st prize at the Gunning Show with this!

One block from a Lots of Dots workshop

Jill's Mariners Madness PLUS. It's massive and made for her son who loves it.

The flying geese were a challenge but look fantastic!

Matiah's Chocolate Stars centre - lovely fussy cutting.

Roz's Hatchet...

...and Sandra's version. Love them both.

Trish's NYB quilt. The border is sailing boats - sorry about the rotten pic.

 

I'll be back next post with some pics from my Cooma workshop last weekend. A great time was had by all!!

In the meantime here are a couple of interesting links...

 the Olympic quilt

http://www.graphicart-news.com/the-olympic-patchwork-quilt-sochi-2014/#.UwFba2dWHX6

and the IQSCM quilt of the month - love this

http://www.quiltstudy.org/collections/quilt_of_the_month/

 

Ferris Wheel quilt

Have you seen the latest edition of the new-look Quilters Companion magazine? It's Volume 13, number 1.

The new look is great with a fantastic cover and great contributors - and I'm one of them with my Ferris Wheel quilt.

Basically blue and white with a touch of yellow, it's a string-pieced circle block with "spokes" that join to the other blocks in the layout.

I used scrap fabrics for the strings and some pieces cut from embroideries and doilies eg. the bluebird above. It's a good way to use some strips and is very roll friendly.

There's a bit of applique on the setting triangles just for fun and you can see all these pics were taken before it was quilted.

An article in the same edition covers a visit to my friend Kay Haerland's studio on the Central Coast. Kay and I have roomed together as tutors on a couple of occasions and she's a delightful person plus an amazing quilter. Check out the ribbons on her studio wall!

On the local scene we have a new fabric shop in Blackheath called Blackheath Fabric and Haberdashery, owned and run by Karen Adamson. Karen's forte is dressmaking but she's stocking a few patchwork fabrics and starting classes in February. I'm one of her teachers so if you're handy to Blackheath I'll be there on the 1st Thursday of every month for an all-day class.

And if you're a Blue Mountains resident don't forget to download an entry form for our Springwood Community Quilt Show here.

And finally here's a of link you might enjoy....

from the International Quilt Study Centre, Quilts in Common and Around the Globe.

They have lots of on-line exhibitions - check out the list on the left hand sidebar.

 



I'm excited!

 

Last year I started corresponding with Laura from Common Threads, a quilt shop in Waxahachie Texas - don't you just love that name!

She was interested in doing a Block-of-the-month through the shop using my Spring has Sprung pattern. I must admit I'd forgotten about the whole thing til I received this pic of the shop's version.

What a beautiful surprise! Doesn't it look great in reproduction fabrics.

 Below is my quilt and you can see Laura's stuck to the original design all the way through. I'm so pleased and flattered this is happening - the world sure is getting smaller!

They've already had some sign-ups so if you're interested in the BOM featuring LOTS of applique and some foundation piecing too have a look here. You get the pattern and fabric for the quilt at a VERY reasonable price. Thanks again Laura!

Among other things over the break I started putting these blocks together.

 

In 2008 at Houston Quilt Show I bought a bundle of 1940s stars, machine pieced but no background, just the stars. Over the last few months, by hand,  I've been adding a mixture of solid backgrounds to all the stars. 

 

The fabrics are so typical of the era and even tho the stars weren't all the same size you can't really tell when they're trimmed back.

 

A couple of fabrics for the setting triangles are vintage as well bought on etsy here. It's been a fun project - just needs a border now.

Busy year!

It's been a big year for me in one way or another. Despite a busy teaching schedule of regular classes plus away-workshops I still found time for some sewing of my own.

In no particular order here are some finishes...

The Hatchet quilt - foundation pieced with some hand applique and lots and lots of diamonds.

I machine quilted this one myself on my good old Bernina 150.

I've called the one below All at Sea -  it's basically red, white and blue with a bit of cheddar thrown in and looks a bit nautical to me. Can you see the fish?

Haven't quilted this yet but it's next on the list for the holidays.

 

Asian Strings is at the quilter's now - just an all-over for this one which was a good scrap buster. Big 20" blocks so it came together quickly.

Love those oriental ladies.

Below is Broken Arrow. The centre came from an antique quilt and I jazzed it up a bit with modern fabrics and a wonky border. The photo looks a bit wonky too!

Red and turquoise look great together and grey is the "new black".

Still in the to-do pile.

 

Scrappy Windmills is waiting to be quilted too and it's my updated version of our Springwood Quilt Show raffle quilt which is in reproduction fabrics. The blocks are 22" square so it's a big quilt.



Can't wait to get it quilted!

 

This feathered star will be the centre of a "wonky" quilt and it's just percolating at the moment.

It was one of the workshops at our annual quilt camp and it's one of my classes at Hobbysew's summer school in a few weeks time.

Shocking photo but this looks amazing in real life. I've taught so many classes on the New York Beauty blocks that I've redrawn another for myself. 12" blocks this time and there are 20 different ones. It was a joy to make and such fun choosing the fabric combinations for each block.

I'm quilting this at the moment, doing all the ditching on a Janome 6600 then I'll go to town with free-motion on the Bernina.

 

Haven't got a name for this - any suggestions??

I drew a circle with scallops in EQ7 then elongated it to be an oval. The centre is 30" x 40" so it's quite a large medallion. I actually emailed the drawing to the copy shop and they printed it to size for me - too easy. I like the NYBs around the oval and the spiky border is really scrappy.



Snowball is quilted and bound and was another fun scrap buster. I seem to have been on that track lately but the pile doesn't seem to get any smaller!

 

Love that border fabric.

1800s Sunflower was a hand piecing project throughout the year and is with the quilter now.

Lots of repro scraps and  foundation pieced sashing.



 

EPP flowers which were then appliqued onto various background squares. A very enjoyable project for in front of the TV each night.

 

And this is my latest, finished last week. The block is from from an antique quilt and I drew it up to be foundation piecable (is there such a word?). Totally scrappy backgrounds for each 1/4 circle which meant lots of bias around the outside of each block.

The sashing fabric is vintage bought on etsy and was just perfect for this.

You can see the piecing better here and the border was a bit "wonky" too.

When you look at these quilts/tops it's not such a bad effort is it? Let's hope the creative juices keep flowing in 2014!!

Happy New Year to everyone who reads my ramblings - how about leaving a comment sometime!

New patterns in the shop

I've just listed three new patterns in my etsy shop.

Below is the Noodle Box wallhanging which is constructed using the Quilt-as-you-go method.

It measures 45" square when finished and the blocks are a generous 17" - nice and big for lots of quilting. The large print centres are surrounded by foundation pieced flying geese.

 

As you know with Quilt-as-you-go the blocks are pieced, layered with wadding then quilted individually. The border is made in the same manner. They are then sewn together, in this case with thin sashing and the job is done apart from the binding.

It's a great technique and makes the quilting process so much more manageable.

The next pattern is Crown Jewels - an interesting take on that old Dresden plate block.

The quilt measures 62" square and the blocks are 14".

The plates are made using the English paper piecing technique with the corner points added to the ring. Templates are in the pattern for you to make your own papers.

The fussy cut centre is reverse appliqued and the plates are then appliqued onto a background square. 

 

Folded prairie points are inserted around the blocks and it's all framed with a large print border.

It's a lovely project if you're looking for some handwork over the holidays.

Next one is the Deco Lamp wallhanging.

 

Foundation pieced New York Beauty blocks sew together quickly to make this stunning "lamp".

 

Large setting triangles are surrounded by a foundation pieced sawtooth border and with extra borders added the top could be the centre for a medallion quilt .

The pattern includes extensive instructions and diagrams plus foundations for all the arcs and the border.

 

If you see something you like don't worry about waiting for delivery. I'll be mailing all over the break except for the Public Holidays

Winding down

As classes finish for the year there's lots of show and tell and xmas lunches.

Lorraine's Hatchet is back from the quilters and looks so bright and beautiful.

Alice is ready to quilt her Chocolate Stars top too.

She also made this for our Saturday class xmas lunch. Yummo!

We had an unexpected visitor to the aviary recently. A diamond python who was after mice. He got in but couldn't get out with that bulge in his belly!

Sue's Oriental Mariners looks fantastic and I know she's ready to start quilting it herself.

Jacobean Star from my Hobbysew class at Top Ryde. Love it.

The pattern is also available as a PDF in my etsy shop so no waiting for the post. It'll be there in a flash!

Daphne has been working on this centre from the Emperors Wheel quilt for a while but the end result is certainly worth the time taken.

Heather has started the Noodle Box quilt which is Quilt-as-you-go. Too easy - and she's also been working on this gem! What a fun project and it looks just like her too.

This is part of Margaret's third or fourth NYB quilt. She makes them and gives them away to the family.What a woman!

Kathy has done a fine job with her Supernova quilt in reproduction scraps - and how good does it look.

 

Just two more classes til I finish for the year and I'm looking forward to actually quilting some UFOs

Wish me luck with the growing pile.