A Quilters Journal

Borders for Little Log Cabin Trees

2012-02-15T16:35:00.000Z

The Little Log Cabin Trees quilt now has two borders and is all layered up ready for quilting.

It was quite difficult to decide which border fabric to use. I had run out of the white on white background fabric and any other white fabric I put next to it just made it look too cream in colour. I knew I wanted a really skinny border made out of my scrap bag strings and then one more border.

After auditioning most of the green fabric in my stash I decided on this green spot on a white background.

I really like the skinny border, a bit fiddly to do at 1/2 inch finished width!
I decided to do mitred corners on the outer border.

This little quilt finishes at about 28 inches square and is now layered and tacked. I am quilting it in white cotton thread, outlining the trees first and then I will see how the mood takes me!

Trapunto Workshop with Philippa Naylor

2012-02-13T09:57:00.001Z

On Saturday I was lucky to attend a workshop with Philippa Naylor. Actually I organised it for my embroidery/patchwork group! We have a lovely big venue at the church where we meet so Philippa is able to teach 20 ladies in one class. This is the fourth year that Philippa has taught for our group and this years technique was trapunto.

Before you ask, last year it was curved piecing, and that is still a UFO so I am hoping to do better this year.

I have decided to share my progress and hopefully this workshop sample will turn into a small quilt.

The first photo shows my progress of as last night. This is the first stage completed but I will guide you through the process in a series of photos.

First we drew our design (Philippa's design actually!) onto fabric.

Then we added a double layer of 80/20 wadding behind the design and stitched just inside the motifs using water soluble thread. This was done using Free Motion Quilting so the line is a bit wobbly - the stitches are supposed to be as long as possible so they are easier to remove, mine vary quite a lot!

Then you start to cut away the wadding just leaving the areas that you want to have the trapunto effect.
This is a fiddly process but actually quite enjoyable in a theraputic sort of way!

This then leaves this pattern of wadding shapes on the back that remind me so much of flock wallpaper!

The next stage should be to layer it up with some more 100% cotton wadding and start quilting but I have a little problem! My motifs are quite near the edge so I am going to have at add a border before I do this.

It is half term this week and I have no classes so I hope it is not too long before I can report on the next stage of this small quilt. However I do have my two class samples, my Little Log Cabin Trees and another UFO to work on this week!

Robert returned from New York on Saturday having had a fantastic time - he has taken 800 photos and has bought himself loads of trendy clothes! He would love to go back but not until he is 21!

Little Log Cabin Trees become a little quilt top!

2012-02-06T13:08:00.000Z

Well, I just couldn't resist joining them together!

It was a work of art squeezing enough white fabric out of the bits I had left from a previous project to make sashings and setting triangles but I made it with just inches to spare.

This was my version of a Super Bowl Sew In as I had it on TV last night while I stitched - just up to the Madonna half time show.

I haven't made many quilts 'on point' but it is something we have been discussing in my Tuesday quilt class so I thought it would be good to have a go. There you go I was 'working' after all!

I have now cut some of the very thin strips in the original bag for a very skinny border and then I need some more white on white to finish it off.

Rob is now on his way to Heathrow and my parents are on their way to Scotland so it should be a quiet week around here (hopefully!)

Little Log Cabin Trees

2012-02-05T11:17:00.000Z

This weekend has been the nearest we have had to a snow weekend this winter.

For various reasons my ongoing class projects did not seem very appealing and I decided to start something new. I have loads of projects that need borders, basting or quilting but really I just wanted to piece. 'Mindless piecing' I call it, just feeding sections through the machine one after another, getting lost in the process and taking your mind off issues going on in your life.

I saw an article on the internet about these little trees and decided to give them a go. Here is the first one I made.

It all started when I remembered these little bags of scraps I had bought at the Festival of Quilts last year. Just how much fun can you have with a £1.40 bag of fabric?

Well, you can make these cute little log cabins!

But first I decided to make a batch of trees. I started with some dark brown scraps which were not in the bag and some white background squares.

I pieced these to make little trunk sections. Then I sorted my green strips out of the scrap bag.

The first row of the branches!

Then the second!

Finally the third row added, 13 little tree blocks were squared up to just under 4 inches each.
Now all I need to do is add a round of background fabric and join them together....
Or shall I make some more log cabins out of the remains of the bag?

In reality I will be ironing clothes and helping my son, Rob pack for his trip to New York which leaves tomorrow.

Civil War Quilt

2012-01-23T09:20:00.003Z

You may be aware that 2011 was the 150th Anniversary of the start of the American Civil War.

In my Tuesday class we have been making a Civil War Quilt. We have been making blocks from Barbara Brackman's Civil War Blog Each week I have taken 2 blocks and written instructions on how to make them. By February 7th we will have made 38 of the 53 on the blog. I have decided to use 36 of the blocks for my quilt. Each block will finish at 8 inches square.

The fabric is Portobello Market by 3 Sisters for Moda

This is the layout I have chosen - although it may change

My design wall is a piece of thick cheap wadding from Dunelm Mill which has been tacked to the wall. Gizmo likes to have a snooze whilst contemplating the layout of the blocks!

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Here are 4 New England blocks made by some of my students a few weeks ago. I took the photo to illustrate how different a block can look depending on the fabric choices.

I am now at the stage of sashings. On Saturday I cut 84 sashing strips out of the fabric I had left, to make scrappy sashings. On Sunday I decided I didn't like it so I cut out some more strips out of a red fabric I had bought for the borders. I stitched this with green cornerstones. This morning I have decided that I don't like the cornerstones, I think the sashing will look better without them! More reverse sewing today! I always change my mind a few times as I am making a quilt!

Wonky Trees

2012-01-14T17:28:00.001Z

As you may already know I love liberated quilting and improvised piecing in particular.
In November I started a new patchwork and quilting class and decided to do some improvised piecing for the first few weeks just to get everyone loosened up.
A couple of weeks before Christmas we did wonky trees and these little beauties are what they produced!

I've got some really talented ladies in this class!

Christmas!!

2012-01-07T10:15:00.001Z

I wanted to share the handmade gifts I made for Christmas - but had to wait until after the big day of course, in case they were spotted on my blog.
This year I made blackwork cushions and gift tags.

These were made for friends and my great neices, Freya and Elsie.

Butterfly Quilts for Barnsley College

2011-11-28T15:47:00.001Z

Earlier this year I was asked if my Embroidery and Patchwork Group would like to be involved in producing Art Work for the new building at Barnsley College. Of course I said 'Yes!'
The theme was butterflies.
We asked members to produce an embroidered butterfly block which we then joined to make this very attractive quilt.
It now hangs proudly in the Library of the new building.

We also made some Butterfly Blocks in my Tuesday patchwork class, which I joined and made into this quilt.
This now hangs in one of the corridors.

I think it is really great to see quilts hanging in public places. I think they look really good!

Hello - I'm Back Again - With lots of quilts to show!

2011-11-14T10:57:00.000Z

Hello! I'm back again!

Don't really know why I have stopped blogging recently. I have been busy with new quilt classes and lots of workshops but I suppose really that you just get out of the habit.

The first photo I am going to show is very special. This quilt top was made by my good friend Chris who sadly lost her battle with cancer and passed away on October 28th.

This is the quilt she was making for her new Gandaughter, Charlie who currently lives in California. The block comes from Quilters Cache and is called California.

I was lucky enough to meet Charlie at Chris's funeral, Chris didn't quite manage to complete this quilt before she died but me and a couple of her quilting friends will make sure that its all finished for when Charlie comes back at Christmas.

Recently we had a show and tell at our embroidery and patchwork group and I took some photos of quilts that were made in my classes last year. This is Kath, hiding behind her 'Handbags' cushion.

The cushion holds this quilt which Kath designed using my little handbag block.

This is Kath's Blue Ridge Beauty which is a Bonnie Hunter design. We worked on scrap quilts and using recycled clothing last year. This quilt is made entirely from recycled shirts.

Smruti made a baby quilt using Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Irish Chain block.

Jean's Scrappy Irish Chain Quilt.

Look at the back!

And Celia's Scrappy Irish Chain.

What lovely quilts!

Pieced Quilts from Festival of Quilts 2011

2011-08-30T11:10:00.001+01:00

More and more I am drawn to pieced quilts, preferably scrap quilts, based on traditional quilt blocks with lots of small pieces.
Somebody wrote on a blog recently that as modern quilters, we often move away from traditional piecing and would rather use applique, fabric painting or other modern techniques in our quilt designs. I suppose what she was driving at was that we go for speed of completion rather than the actual journey of piecing.
So perhaps we need to slow down sometimes and enjoy the repetitive nature of piecing lots of small pieces into blocks and quilts. There is nothing that gives me more pleasure than an uninterupted piecing session at the sewing machine, feeding through chain pieced sections and building up blocks in a lovely methodical way.
So when I go to quilt shows I love to look at pieced quilts, the scrappier the better. I love quilts with lots going on.

This morning I am going to treat you to a little quilt show of pieced quilts which were on display at Festival of Quilts. None of these won any prizes, if you think about it pieced quilts seem to be out of fashion with quilt judges in the UK.

I love the kaleioscope block and the way that the maker has substituted a blue triangle in the photo above.

A pineapple block quilt. Controlled scrappy - interesting placement of the orange scraps.

A miniature flying geese quilt - Flying Goslings by Dorian Walton. This was probably only about 8 inches square!

Following my visit to the Elegant Geometry exhibit in Nebraska I was drawn to this quilt made from elongated hexagons. and squares made in the mosaic patchwork style.

I really loved this pineapple block quilt.

I also loved this tumbling blocks variation.

Hope you enjoyed these quilts. I fancy going to do a few hours piecing now but instead it will be back to completing my book for my City & Guilds course. I will hopefully get time to baste a quilt this afternoon though.

Pictorial Quilts at Festival of Quilts 2011

2011-08-29T09:29:00.001+01:00

I really enjoy looking at pictorial quilts. I love to look at how they are constructed and marvel how the makers manage to translate a picture or photograph into fabric.

The first quilt is called 'The Bayeux Tapestry to Quilt'. The maker isn't in the catalogue because it was a late entry but I think it was made by an Australian Quilter.

Absolutely beautiful applique and quilting.

This quilt is called 'Ab-Original' by Valerie Wheeler.

I loved this one - it is actually constructed from tiny hexagons! It is called 'Billie Joe Armstrong'

This beautiful mountain scene drew a lot of attention and looked better the further away you viewed it. It is called 'Lyngsfjord I' by Jane Ashe.

This quilt is so life like. It is called 'Dassehra' by Bette Kultorp Andresen of Norway.

I really loved this one as it was very 3 dimensional. It is called 'Loss of the French Schooner 'Jeune St Charles'' by Anne Taylor.

Finally this trio of quilts really stood out in one of the galleries. It is so clever - the piecing fascinated me. In fact I love it more because it is pieced rather than being appliqued or painted.

'My Way' by Solvi L. Krokeide of Norway.

Marina Mamonova - my favourite gallery at Festival of Quilts 2011

2011-08-23T10:11:00.000+01:00

I have decided to do a couple more posts about the Festival of Quilts and then I will bring you up to speed with the sewing I am doing at the moment.
Every year I choose a favourite gallery and this year it had to be the quilts of Russian Quilter Marina Mamonova. I didn't think they would be my style as I usually am attracted by pieced quilts these days but as I started to view her small gallery I was totally amazed by them. One of the things about her exhibition was how different each quilt was and how texture played such an important part in her work.

I love her use of weaving in some of these quilts, and the wonderful texture she achieves. Lots of inspiration here.
I also loved the Japanese silk quilts but forgot to go back to take any photos of those quilts.

Festival of Quilts 2011 - some of the winners.

2011-08-15T10:12:00.001+01:00

This morning I thought I would share some photos of some of the winning quilts from the festival.

This is the winner of the Group Quilt category - Mere Kats.

Click on the photos for more detail. Not sure about who made it as it does not appear to be in the catalogue(!). However it was much loved by all the visitors - it was very hard to get close to it!

Below is the winner of the Pictorial Quilts - Janneke de Vries-Bodzinga from the Netherlands. It is titled Hot Africa.

This is also Janneke's work - winner of the Art Quilt category and Best in Show. This quilt is titled Octopussy.

Below is the winner of the Contemporary Quilt category - made by Valerie Mullally from Ireland. It is titled 'Dear Jane. Its the 21st Century'. It is made from felted wool.

Below is the winner of the Miniature Quilt Category - made by Kumiko Fredyl from Texas USA. It is titled 'Blue like a Wedgwood.'
It is a wholecloth with trapunto and free motion quilting.

Below is just a section of the winner of the Traditional Quilts category. It was very difficult to get close to this and I was going to go back but forgot! It is made by Deborah Kemball from London. It is titled 'Heart's Desire'.

There were other winners in other categories but I'm afraid I don't have photos of those.
Of course I do have my favourite amongst these I have shown in the post - can you guess which one it is?

Wonky Houses at Festival of Quilts

2011-08-12T23:20:00.001+01:00

Tonight I have arrived home happy, but tired from two days at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham. The show must be the highlight for British Quilters and this year has been as enjoyable as ever.

The best things about it are - meeting up with old friends and making new ones, seeing some of the best quilts in Europe, great shopping opportunities and the feeling of being part of something special.

I really didn't want to come home when I was 'kicked out' at 5.30pm today but I have come away with lots of inspiration for future projects.
The quilts were of a really high standard as ever. My observations were - less entries from 'big names', not always agreeing with the judging, less entries from outside Europe and lots of quilts which were entered in the wrong category (makers have to decide whether their quilts are art quilts, contemporary or traditional)
As always I have taken lots of photos, over 300 actually and I will try to share some of these over the next few days.

We will start with a quilt that I came upon by accident - I didn't see it in the catalogue.
One of my current areas of interest is liberated piecing and this quilt is a masterpiece of liberated wonky houses. It has been made by 178 quilters from the Czech Republic and is 6 metres wide by 2 metres tall. It has been awarded a Guiness World Record although it was not clear what this was given for.

Lots of liberated, improvised piecing, each house individual and interesting to look at. It was a highlight of the show for me!

Log Cabin Cushion Workshop

2011-08-10T11:45:00.002+01:00

One of the things I have been working on recently are these Log Cabin cushions which are workshop samples for Running With Scissors in Sheffield. The workshop will be on Saturday 12th November, details on their website.

This one was made using a Moda scrap bag that I bought last year, lovely bright Christmas fabric.

This black version was made using scraps - of which I have many! In fact I am in the process of sorting them all out for my Strings and Crumbs workshop that I am doing in October.

Today is an exciting day because in a couple of hours I am heading down to Birmingham to the Festival of Quilts! This is our biggest quilt show here in the UK and is one of the highlights of my quilting year! I will be there on Thursday and Friday. Hoping to meet up with friend Sue who I haven't seen since she moved back to Dorset and this year I am staying in the hotel with three of my quilting buddies, Lynne, Sheila and Kath. Bring it on!

Visit to the Hepworth Gallery Wakefield

2011-08-09T00:16:00.001+01:00

My eldest son, Jonathan is home for the summer after completing his first year at University. We decided that it was time for a day out and the new Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield was our choice of destination. It opened in May and due to our travels we hadn't had chance to visit before today. It is dedicated to the work of the sculptor, Barbara Hepworth who was born in Wakefield.
Photos were allowed in a couple of the galleries so we made the most of the opportunity!

These are plaster casts of some of Hepworth's iconic sculptures.

This is Jonathan with Corinne, a friend from College who has been studying Fine Art in Brighton.

I can highly recommend the Hepworth Gallery for a visit, there's lots of sculpture (of course!) but also paintings on display. Ideally you should combine it with a visit to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park which is even nearer to where we live.

Students' Summer Progress

2011-08-03T00:32:00.004+01:00

My Tuesday Patchwork Classes are on summer break but that does not mean that the students are having a break from patchwork and quilting! While I have been away they have continued meeting on an informal basis and they are making some beautiful quilts.

Reena is ready to quilt this beautiful baby quilt which has lots of exquisite hand embroidery. This will be for a new baby in her family.

Liz is also making a baby quilt featuring the cutest applique sheep! I really love the borders too - tiny foundation pieced hearts and a lovely scrappy border made up of tiny squares. This will be going to a friend's new grandchild.

Kath had finished this very colourful string quilt which is going to become a charity quilt. It goes back to some of the first classes I did in 2010 when we started with string piecing. It was started by Anne and finished by Kath - a great collaboration!

This quilt top has been completed by Chris and the quilt will be for her beautiful new grandaughter Charlie who was born just a few weeks ago. The block is called California and was chosen because this is where Charlie was born. We were talking about names for the quilt - I suggested 'Born in California' but as I have been writing this I thought of 'California Girl'! I love to name my quilts and always think about names as I am sewing them.

This is Kath's Handbags quilt top - this is another of my class projects from 2010. I love the borders which remind me of bunting! This is a lovely quilt but browns are not Kath's usual colours - she loves bright colours like me.

This final quilt belongs to Peggy, she will be joining the classes in September. Peggy does a lot of hand applique and hand quilting and this is a lovely example of her work. She made it by the quilt as you go method so that it was easier to work on smaller sections.

Hope you enjoyed this little quilt show! We are looking forward to starting our classes in September when we will be making Civil War Quilts as 2011 is the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War.

Teenage Angst featured in British Patchwork and Quilting magazine

2011-08-01T12:52:00.002+01:00

Exciting news! After British Patchwork and Quilting Magazine featured this blog a few months ago, I wrote to them about Jonathan's university quilt and how he had designed the diamond block for it. They asked me to send photos, the block design and to write a feature and the result is a lovely article in this month's issue.

There are loads of photos of the quilt already on this blog so I won't bore you with more!

I was really pleased with the article - I think they did us proud! If you want to read it properly it is available in the shops until August 18th.

Liberated Quilting for Tuesday Quilters

2011-07-29T10:24:00.004+01:00

On Tuesday I visited Hazel's quilting group to give a talk on Liberated Quilting. I showed examples of some of the liberated quilts I have made and some of the quilts I have collected from the states. You can see photos from the talk on the Tuesday Quilters Blog.

The group made me very welcome and I really enjoyed meeting them. I am very pleased to have been invited back to teach a workshop in October

The photos show an Amish liberated string star which I saw on my recent trip to the USA. It is currently on display in the museum in Kalona Illinois.

Gaudy Quilt Progress at Quiltworks

2011-07-19T08:37:00.001+01:00

Last Thursday me and 5 of my quilting buddies made a return trip to Quiltworks, near Penrith for another Quilt Retreat. It was 3 days of paradise, sewing from morning till evening with delicious meals our only interuption!
This year we decided that as well as working on our own projects we would help Lynne with her sampler quilt - known as 'Gaudy Quilt' due to its bright colour scheme.
The first photo is one from last year so I am using it as a starting point although I suspect she had a few more blocks done.

We were really pleased with our progress as this is the result at the end of the retreat. Only the celtic knot block to finish.
It is going to be a lovely, bright quilt!

Here we are in the Quiltworks studio - it is a lovely workspace.

If you are looking for a venue for a Quilt Retreat - Quiltworks is excellent.

Elegant Geometry - Quilt Study Centre Lincoln Nebraska

2011-06-28T04:42:00.001+01:00

We spent last weekend in Lincoln, which is the capitol city of the state of Nebraska. The University has a Quilt Study Centre which is a unique place to visit. The building is purpose built for the study, exhibition, storage and conservation of quilts. It has been funded by generous donations particularly from Robert and Ardis James who also donated their collection of quilts.
I know that I am lucky enough to live near the British Quilt Museum and Gallery but I would love to live within travelling distance of the Quilt Study Centre.
It has a main gallery on the middle of its three floors which is very large and easily houses two quilt exhibitions.
The first of the current exhibitions is called Elegant Geometry and has been curated by Bridget Long who is a past president of the British Quilters Guild and a quilt historian. The exhibition has examples of British and American quilts done in the mosaic style ( over papers). Bridget has decided that this should not be called English Paper Piecing as it was not only done by the English!

This is the area outside the main gallery.

Hope you enjoy these photos of some of the quilts on display. Although the hexagon is a favourite shape as you would expect there were also quilts with squares, diamonds and triangles.

Monument Valley

2011-06-22T14:37:00.001+01:00

I have been having loads of problems with blogger recently so I apologise for some gaps between posting. Mostly the problems have been with posting photos but also had problems with erratic internet connections and not least my little laptop which is on its last legs!

Anyway we are now on our way back to Chicago taking in as many places, mainly National Parks as we can. So far we have visited Zion National Park, Death Valley, Monument Valley, Natural Bridges National Monument, Lake Powell and we are mow on our way to the Rocky Mountains National Park near Denver, Colorado.

We tried to visit Monument Valley on Sunday but it was being attacked by a wind storm so we stayed nearby and went back on Monday when the weather was much better.

We went on a guided tour which is really the best way to see it as the road is only suitable for 4x4 vehicles.

Monument Valley was made famous by the old Western Movies. Here is a 'cowboy' posing for the visitors. You could have your photo taken on the horse for $2! Not that I would of course!

Two examples of 'window rocks.'

We had lunch in the restaurant of the 'View Hotel'

A very aptly named hotel - always fully booked in the summer - $300 dollars per night.

The famous mittens

The mittens and Merrick Butte - you can just see the dirt road in the foreground.

Death Valley

2011-06-20T04:18:00.001+01:00

A hot day in Las Vegas!

2011-06-17T06:56:00.002+01:00

Here are some photos from our long hot day in Las Vegas.
Donny and Marie were playing at the Flamingo but it was a little too expensive for us.

No trip is complete without the Bellagio fountains.

There was a surprise in the shopping mall of the Cosmopolitan Hotel - windows full of old sewing machines!

We visited the Luxor which was a return visit from 2002 - it hasn't changed much. This is the sphinx at the entrance to the hotel from the monorail station.

The black pyramid is in the background.

New York New York and the MGM Grand.

California and the end of Route 66

2011-06-16T18:01:00.003+01:00

The official end of Route 66 is Santa Monica Pier in California and we made it there 2 weeks after leaving Chicago.

The weather was poor - more like Scarborough than Southern California! The summer mist that often comes in the summer came down a few miles before we reached the coast.

This last photo reminded me of 'Hotel California' by the Eagles - it was taken on our way through Beverley Hills.

Yesterday we turned around to head back to Chicago - first stop, Las Vegas!

Oatman, Arizona and into the desert

2011-06-14T05:46:00.001+01:00

Today temperatures soared back into the 100s as we headed into the desert to visit the 'wild west' gold mining town of Oatman famous for its wild donkeys. If you have seen the movie 'The hills have eyes' - that sums up the terrain on the way to Oatman - disused mine shafts and abandoned villages.

This woman had brought carrots with her and was mobbed by the donkeys - one even tried to steal her bag!

At high noon they have a shoot out!

We went for a drink in the Oatman Hotel - the walls and ceiling are covered in dollar bills signed by their visitors.

Then we drove through the desert into California.

This is one of the very long trains that pass through this area.

We are now in Barstow, California - hoping to get to the Pacific Ocean tomorrow and so complete our Route 66 road trip!

Standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona - again!

2011-06-13T03:00:00.001+01:00

After we left Gallup it is not far to the Arizona State Line and our first stop is always one of the Route 66 highlights for me, as an Eagles fan. For those of you who are not aware of the connection, the song 'Take it Easy' has the line 'Standin' on a corner in Winslow Arizona, such a fine sight to see!' I am lucky enough to have visited 3 times, the first in 2000 on our first USA trip.

On our travels we keep meeting up with a large group of New Zealanders who are all driving Mustangs like us. Here are all the cars, with ours, parked right down the street!

After this we drove into Flagstaff to spend Saturday night.

Alberquerque and Gallup New Mexico

2011-06-13T02:39:00.001+01:00

I haven't blogged for a couple of days as the internet at the last two motels we stayed at was rubbish. As we are here for a month we can't afford the top motels, we are using coupons, sometimes they are good and sometimes not so good! All part of the experience!
On Friday we were in Alberqueque and we visited the National Museum of Nuclear Science. As you can imagine this was Geoff's choice and although the subject matter is not of great interest to me it is a very good museum, well worth a visit.

These photos were taken at 9.30am - already very hot!

Inside in the entrance hall they have this really cool tiled floor which shows the periodic table.

After the museum we went antique shopping but not so good in Alberqueque - city prices I think! I did love this quilt hanging in the yard of one of the antique shops - it was actually in better shape than most of the ones for sale inside!

Then we drove to Gallup, New Mexico and stayed in the El Rancho Hotel, another iconic Route 66 hotel. In the morning we went to Earl's Restaurant for brunch. We discovered this place last time we visited in 2008. I love it! Not for the food, although that is good but because many of the Native American craftspeople have stalls outside the restaurant and they also bring their wares to the tables inside so you can buy from them. I had a lovely time talking to the jewelry makers, and bought a turquoise ring, necklace and lots of earrings.
I don't know that much about buying turquoise jewelry but it seems to me that I got the best prices by buying direct from the makers!

If you click on the photo you can see the stalls under the canopy. If you ever go to Gallup, you must visit Earl's (although they may only have the stalls on weekends).
Then we drove on into Arizona.

Texas

2011-06-10T04:52:00.001+01:00

It seems that my photos did not appear in the previous Texas post - so hopefully it will work this time!

Vintage motel sign - significant for Bonnie Hunter fans!

The obligatory sign!

It was very hot!

Vintage gas station in Shamrock Texas, featured in the Disney film, Cars.

Spent the night in Amarillo where we visited the Big Texan Steak House. We were collected in a limo with horns on the front!

The dining room features lots of deer and moose heads. The 72oz steak is free if you can eat it within the hour. Many try and fail including a guy that tried while we were there.

Next was Adrian, the mid point of Route 66.

The cafe is owned by the lady who inspired the character of Flo in the Cars movie.

New Mexico

2011-06-10T04:44:00.001+01:00

Last night we stayed at the Blue Swallow motel in Tucumcari, another vintage motel on Route 66.

Hexagon quilt pattern on bathroom floor!

From there we drove to Alberquerque and went antique shopping but no bargains so far.

Had dinner at the famous Route 66 diner.

This afternoon the air conditioning broke on our car - which is not good in temperatures around 100 degrees. We took it back to the rental company and managed to get a free upgrade to a Mustang convertible which was the car Geoff really wanted but was unavailable in Chicago. How lucky is that!

Carthage Missouri

2011-06-07T04:03:00.001+01:00

One of the things on our list was to visit a drive-in movie and on Saturday evening we got our chance.
The night was hot and still as we queued up with loads of other cars.

It certainly was an experience with everyone making a real night of it, sitting on chairs in the backs of their pick up trucks. We got to watch 2 movies for $7 but it didn't end until 1.30am!

On Sunday morning we met this duck family at the side of the road.

Sunday night we stayed in Tulsa Oklahoma and tonight we are in Clinton OK. Off to Texas tomorrow!

Antique quilts in Missouri

2011-06-05T01:50:00.002+01:00

Managed to visit quite a few antique malls today. I managed to buy a quilt, a quilt top and 4 feed sacks but all the photos below are of interesting quilts which I didn't buy.

This was a lovely dolls bunk bed with two star dolls quilts - $42.

A large tumbling blocks quilt with hexagons on the back!

Crazy crumb liberated quilt backed with an old curtain. Very nearly came home with me at $25 but just a bit too much damage and much too heavy.

Lovely feedsack Ohio star quilt top - $45 - but just a bit too much staining and damage. Very tempted though!

I made a friend in one of the antique malls!

Love this quilt block - I might have to copy it - this one was $100 - just a little too steep for me.

This quilt above was the star of the show - hand pieced and quilted cathedral windows - click on photo for a close up - with graduated shades of blue. Stunning, would love to own it - $745.

Lovely bright, tied quilt.

One of the malls showing all the booths, taken from the first floor.

The Munger Moss Motel, Lebanon, Missouri

2011-06-05T01:31:00.003+01:00

Here are the photos from the vintage motel we stayed at last night. Known as a motor court motel all the rooms are single storey chalet style and you park outside your door.

The Gateway Arch - St Louis Missouri

2011-06-04T03:25:00.001+01:00

This morning, before it got too hot we walked to the Gateway Arch from our motel.
The arch dominates the skyline of St Louis and represents the Gateway To The West as it was from here that many of the early settlers left for California. It is very high - over 600 feet and you travel to the top in a tiny pod - like elevator. Not for anyone who is claustrophobic or scared of heights!

It was a misty, hot humid day so the photos are not that clear I'm afraid.

You can see the shadow of the arch on this one.

The Cardinals baseball stadium.

Me at the top!

St Louis Missouri

2011-06-04T03:06:00.001+01:00

We arrived at St Louis last night with temperatures still in the 90s. We checked into our motel and then went out to dinner.
Everywhere there were people in the red shirts of the St Louis Cardinals as there was a baseball game on last night.
I took this photo as we drove past the stadium.

We had dinner at Blueberry Hill but were too early to see Chuck Berry!

Today the weather was still in the 90s so it was great to get ice cream (or frozen custard as they call it) at Ted Drewe's, a famous Route 66 roadside attraction.

This afternoon we have driven to Lebanon Missouri and are staying in the Munger Moss Motel, famous on Route 66 - photos tomorrow!

From Springfield Illinois to St Louis Missouri

2011-06-03T04:51:00.001+01:00

Today we drove from Springfield to St Louis.
The highlight was probably the rabbit ranch at Staunton Illinois - especially as we got lost and had to ask the way in a quilt shop! (And I just had to buy a Moda Charm pack and half jelly roll that were on sale!)

It even has real rabbits as well as the VW car variety.

These are VW Golf cars buried in the ground in the style of Cadillac Ranch in Texas.

And also a return visit to Shea's garage in Springfield.

Antique quilt shopping in Illinois

2011-06-03T04:38:00.001+01:00

Only managed to visit a couple of antique malls so far but have taken a few photos to share.

Very attractive cot quilt - I really like this block.

Quilts hanging on the walls of the shop. The one below looks like it could have come straight from a Cath Kidston store - proper vintage shabby chic.

The only thing that I bought was this printed feedsack which is in excellent condition. It even has the washing instructions printed at the top. For those of you not familiar with these sacks the idea was that you washed them to remove the printing and then you could use the fabric for other things. Of course I will be keeping it unwashed! I love the fact that it comes from Illinois and has the state outline on it.
A great find for my feedsack collection at $12.

Amish and English Quilts at the Lockport Gallery Illinois

2011-06-03T04:15:00.003+01:00

On Wednesday we visited this quilt exhibition at the Lockport Gallery which is part of the Illinois State Museum. Each Amish quilt is paired with an 'English' (non Amish) quilt.

There are lots of photos of the quilts on their facebook page but I have included my two favourites below. They are both Amish Quilts made in Illinois but much more colourful than the usual Amish quilts.

I like them because of their liberated style!

Route 66 VW Camper

2011-06-02T15:44:00.001+01:00

This is Bob Waldmire's VW camper which is also in the Pontiac Museum and was the inspiration for Filmore in the Disney 'Cars' film.

The Road Yacht of Route 66

2011-06-02T15:34:00.002+01:00

These photos are of the most amazing camper van you will ever see. It has just been donated to the Route 66 museum in Pontiac and it belonged to the legendary hippie Route 66 traveller Bob Waldmire. It started out as a school bus.

Its hard to believe that it ever moved! It has an upstairs sleeping area, wood burning stove, shower, sauna and toilet!

Starting out on Route 66

2011-06-02T15:29:00.001+01:00

We arrived in Chicago on Tuesday after a very good flight with Virgin Atlantic. When I checked in online I managed to bag two bulkhead seats which gave us loads of legroom - what a happy bunny I was!
We picked up our hire car and with a bit of gentle persuasion got the Dodge Charger we asked for.
Then it was off to our first stop in Joliet and a long sleep after a very long journey - almost 24 hours since we left our house.

Wednesday was hot and sunny as we set off on our Route 66 journey.

We spent the afternoon in Pontiac where they have a Route 66 museum and a great place for you to get a photo of your car.

Today is Thursday and we are in Springfield Illinois. There is a massive thunderstorm going on outside the hotel so perhaps we will go to the mall!

Rockabye Sweet Baby James

2011-05-29T20:20:00.004+01:00

One of my recent projects has been a quilt for James, first grandchild of our friends Melanie and Chris. We have known Ben, James's Dad since he was a young boy and he used to babysit for my boys when they were babies. When I heard that Ben and his wife Becky were expecting a baby in March I decided that the new arrival must have a quilt!

The quilt block I chose was the Shoofly Snowball block we used for the Block Lotto at the International Quilting Day. I decided to make it as an 'I Spy' quilt rather than a traditional baby quilt so that James would be able to continue to enjoy it as he grows up. Each block is made using a different novelty fabric and I have used images that are important to their family.

Here is a photo of the quilt label. I named the quilt for two reasons. Firstly right from when I heard that James was born the James Taylor song just kept coming into my head and I sang it to myself when I was piecing the quilt. I am a fan of James Taylor and particularly enjoy that song.

Secondly, one night years ago when we returned home and Ben was babysitting Jonathan, my eldest son who was then a very small baby, Ben was rocking him to sleep in such a gentle way that the image has stayed with me ever since. I knew that one day Ben would make a great Dad himself.

Here is a close up of some of the fabrics - lots of interest for a growing baby.

And finally here is a photo of the quilt, James and his proud Grandad. I forgot to say that James lives in Canada so it was a very special time for his grandparents who probably won't see as much of him as they would wish for.

Hello - I'm back again!

2011-05-29T11:58:00.003+01:00

Not really sure why I lost my blogging mojo - lots of excuses - all important - but I am still here and I am still quilting!
Since March I have been working hard on my final two City & Guilds pieces, desperately hoping to have them completed before the end of this month but it didn't happen.
My Tuesday patchwork classes have finished now for the summer and we had a fantastic end of year celebration and 'show and tell'.
I have also made a baby quilt for a dear friend's grandson, 15 yards of quilted bunting for another dear friend's daughter's wedding and two lots of birthday bunting for two lovely little girls.
I have been on holiday to Scotland last week and visited the Loch Lomond Quilt Show for the first time.
So as you can see I have been very busy but the good news is I have lots of photos of all these things and hope to share over the next couple of days.

The significance of the photos in this post is that these are two of the inspirational photos I have used for my City & Guilds pieces. I am making a red wholecloth quilt based on designs found on Welsh Celtic crosses and I am also making a 'Golden Wedding' wallhanging for my parents.

Their Golden Wedding anniversary is 15th July - so still a bit of time left!

The wholecloth is nearly finished - just four cornerstones left to quilt and millions of ends to bury!

I am in that strange pre-holiday limbo at the moment as we leave for a very special holiday on Tuesday (00.30 hours). We are flying to Chicago at 11.00 Tuesday to travel to California and back in a hire car, returning to the UK on July 1st. Our house will be turning into a teenagers hostel and so I am busy packing, washing, ironing, cleaning, shopping etc.

I hope that you will be able to join us on our special 'California Trip' (in the words of the song) through the blog. The first two weeks will be Route 66 in its entirety and then we return via Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska. It is Geoff's 50th birthday treat so lots of car stuff! Plenty of quilty stuff too!!

Maureen's 'Hard Collar' Bag.

2011-03-25T16:04:00.003Z

Maureen is a student in my Tuesday Patchwork group and this week she brought this bag that she had made out of the collars, cuffs and button bands from recycled shirts. I was so impressed with the design that I just had to share it with you. Maureen is a very keen, prolific quilter and she has already made a couple of quilts using the fabric from all these shirts.

The front is made of the collars and button bands - she has kept the buttonholes behind each button!

The top of the bag is made with the parts that have the stiffener fused to them which means that it gives a really firm top to the bag. The decorative flaps with the toggles are made from cuffs.

Here is the inside pocket rescued from another shirt! Maureen called the bag 'Hard Collar' because she broke a needle when she went over one of those plastic tabs found in the ends of some collars.

I'm sure you will agree that this is a fabulous bag. The only sad thing for me is that I recently had a clear out and threw away loads of collars and cuffs from the shirts I have recycled into quilts. I really want to make one of these bags!

International Quilting Day Report

2011-03-19T17:26:00.007Z

I know things have been quiet on the blog recently but I have been busy preparing for our International Quilting Day event which happened today.

We had an attendance of 43 people and have raised the grand total of £637.13 for Barnsley Hospice.

I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone who donated raffle prizes, charity stall items, baking etc and also to all those who helped to make the day such a great success.

Here is a report of the events -

These are just some of the 100+ block lotto blocks.

A selection of Ugly Fat Quarters waiting to be swapped.

A quilt from the Show and Tell.

Samples from Lynne's Applique People workshop.

And samples from Hazel's Postcard workshop. Make sure you go over to Hazel's blog as she has lots more photos from the day!

Thanks to you both for agreeing to do these brilliant workshops which were enjoyed so much by the participants.

All the lovely donations of home made cakes!

This lovely welcome quilt was donated by Sue before she returned to Dorset - hope you had a great IQD too!

Photos from the hand applique workshop.

The day went so well that I am already planning for 2012!

If you missed this one you better make sure that you will be there next year!

International Quilting Day March 19th 2011 - you are invited!

2011-02-16T16:33:00.005Z

The third Saturday in March is designated International Quilting Day. The philosophy behind it is for quilters to meet together to socialise and help others.

Sue, Lynne and I talked about hosting an event here in Yorkshire and after getting a few ideas together we decided to go ahead. The only slightly sad part is that Sue has now moved back to Dorset and can't be with us on the day - but I know she will be with us in spirit!

You are invited!

Here are all the details

Date - Saturday March 19th 2011.

Venue - Emmanuel Methodist Church, Huddersfield Road, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S75 1DT

Time - 10am - 4pm

Tickets - 5 pounds. Tea and coffee provided but please bring your own lunch. Please book in advance.

Activities - Block Lotto, Ugly FQ Swap, Mini Workshops, Raffle, Show and Tell.

All proceeds to Barnsley Hospice.

You will be able to participate in mini workshops during the day for a small additional charge and I am delighted to announce that these will be led by Hazel of Cotton Cocktails and Lynne of Linen Stitches. If you hop on over to their blogs you will be able to see some lovely examples of their work. Lynne will be teaching how to make delightful applique pictures and Hazel will be teaching how to use wax crayons to make fantastic fabric postcards.

I really hope you will come and join us - all quilters are very welcome.
Please contact me for more details and then I can reserve your place and send you a copy of the full programme.

I am getting a sewing room!

2011-02-04T10:32:00.001Z

This is because my sewing space downstairs is constantly being invaded by teenagers, husband, cats and.................small soldiers!

These are photos taken by my youngest son, Rob who is studying Interactive Media at college. They were taken for a project last term.
I am actually in the process of acquiring a sewing room - Rob's old bedroom but it is a slow process sorting through 16 years worth of toys and deciding which to keep.

It will be lovely to have my own sewing space soon.

Tuesday Patchwork Class

2011-02-01T19:11:00.001Z

Trying to get into the habit of taking my camera to class to get photos of my students progress. Today we started a new topic - scrap quilting and/or the use of recycled fabric.
The first photos show two different placements of Daphne's blocks. They are based on buckeye beauty blocks and are made with fabric from her son's shirts.

Cherry has completed a quilt top made with applique blocks made in a workshop I taught last August. All the participants donated their blocks and Cherry has put them together to make a charity quilt.

A lot of class members are working on a scrappy Irish Chain, Cherry has got a head start on this too!

Teenage Angst in situ

2011-01-28T00:00:00.001Z

Today we visited Jonathan in Leeds and I thought I would share this photo. I really don't like having my photo taken but I think this one came out quite well.

A better photo of the quilt label and a close up of Jonathan's Diamond Block.

Tuesday Patchwork Class

2011-01-25T22:32:00.003Z

I have decided to make more of an effort to share photos with you from my Tuesday patchwork classes. I am proud to report that I have been featured as Blog of the Month in the February issue of British Patchwork and Quilting magazine so if you have found my blog through that - welcome to you and I hope you enjoy what you find.

This first quilt is by Carol a lovely blue sampler quilt which features some of the blocks we made last term and a few Lynne Edwards old favourites. Note the cat block at the bottom - Carol is a cat lover and regular reader of this blog - hope you enjoy seeing your quilt!

These next two photos are back and front of a bag made by Kath. It has been made to hold her cutting mat. She acquired some scraps from Sue who was moving back down to Dorset and she set herself the challenge of using every single scrap - just adding the blue background fabric.
A beautiful result I'm sure you'll agree.

Liebster Award

2011-01-24T00:18:00.004Z

I have been awarded the Liebster Blog Award by my quilting buddy Hazel of Cotton Cocktails. This award highlights smaller blogs that have 300 followers or less. When you receive the award the idea is to nominate 3 - 5 blogs that you enjoy that also have a smaller following.
I am really pleased to accept the award and I nominate the following blogs because I love to read them and I think you should check them out.

1. Art with a needle by Kathleen Loomis.
Kathleen has some interesting ideas about the quilting world. art quilts and improvisational piecing. And lots of great photos.

2. Deb Rowden's Thrift Shop Quilts
I love antique American quilts especially those everyday ones found in thrift shops and antique malls in the US. I am lucky enough to have some that I picked up on my travels - just wish I had more. Deb's blog is a visual treat.

3.Little Welsh Quilts and other traditions by Mary Jenkins.
I also love Welsh quilts. Mary co-wrote one of my favourite books 'Making Welsh Quilts' and I was really pleased to discover that she also writes a blog. I even discovered that I was mentioned on one of her posts regarding the Sundial Quilt in the recent V&A exhibition,

4.Angie Quilts
Angie contacted me after she had seen my sewing machine cover at the Festival of Quilts. I have been following her blog ever since. She is a quilt teacher who writes every week about the progress of her students which is always interesting. She also has tutorials on her blog.

Hope these blogs inspire you as much as they do me.

Teenage Angst completed

2011-01-20T22:56:00.003Z

Most of my Christmas holidays were taken up with the completion of this quilt. It didn't quite make it for Christmas but the last stitch was put in on New Years Eve. I was very pleased with the final result and so was Jonathan.
Here is the finished quilt.

Each block is surrounded by a quarter inch of red which although time consuming really enhanced the colours of the quilt. The red represents the fire of a mother and son's relationship in the teenage years.

Many of the blocks have special meanings to Jonathan - particularly the cat block - we do still have four cats but they are a different four to the ones we had when the quilt was started!

The back is also pieced - as I said before I really love pieced backs! I have used sample blocks for the back and Ohio stars which we have been making in my patchwork classes.I didn't actually have one piece of fabric big enough for the back so piecing it was the natural solution.

And finally a label made on my new Janome.

Life has been hectic over the last few weeks with lots of celebrations for Geoff's 50th Birthday. I have also embarked on a large project to turn one of our bedrooms into a sewing room. This is a very big job as it currently houses loads of toys and other teenage stuff. Spent today packing Rob's extensive Jurassic Park dinosaur collection into boxes for storage in the loft.

My next big project is my City & Guilds wholecloth quilt which is based on Welsh Celtic designs. I will try to keep you up to date with my progress.

Snow, Cabin Fever and a giveaway.

2010-12-04T10:24:00.005Z

Here are the inevitable snow pictures! Everything I have tried to do this week has been cancelled due to the white stuff and now I feel that I have a dose of what can only be described as 'cabin fever!'
These photos were taken by Geoff on Wednesday and things are not much different now. Our street is treacherous due to compacted snow and ice and we live on quite a steep hill.

Fancy a camping trip? Ironically we have just acquired one of those 'camper covers' but who knows when we will be able to use it!

What about a nice sit on the patio?

This weekend I was supposed to be at college for my City & Guilds course. This also has been cancelled - although I don't think I would have attempted the drive to Skipton anyway.

The down side with this is that I don't get to spend time with my classmates, Rachel, Anne-Marie and Hazel. This is a real shame as we have become good friends over the 3/4 years I have known them.

However you can get to know Hazel a little bit better by heading over to her blog where she is having a great giveaway with 3 prizes all relating to the Quilt Show.

Teenage Angst - Final Layout

2010-12-01T10:42:00.003Z

Well winter is well and truly here in Yorkshire and yesterday I had to cancel my patchwork classes due to snow. Today is even worse with probably a foot of snow falling overnight. So today I will continue with my sewing on teenage angst.

The photo shows the final layout of the blocks and I decided to change a couple of them.

I put a black circle in the centre of this one as I felt it needed some black.

I changed the rail fence block as I thought it was too heavy. I like it much better now.

I will try to take some photos of my progress as I have now joined all the blocks together and hope to add the borders today. I have also made a couple of blocks for the back.

Had a good trip to the knitting and stitching show in Harrogate on Sunday but had a nightmare journey home as the snow started falling heavily in the afternoon. It took us 5 hours to get home instead of the usual 1!

The 12 blocks of Teenage Angst.

2010-11-27T11:11:00.001Z

If you regularly read my blog I apologise for the lack of content in the last month. No real reason - just didn't feel like sharing I suppose. That doesn't mean I haven't been quilting of course!
Progress is being made on Teenage Angst and I am hoping to have it ready to give as a Christmas gift. The photo shows the initial layout of the 12 blocks before sashings added. Since this photo was taken I have altered two of the blocks and started the sashings. Today I am going to work on a couple of blocks for the back.

I actually love pieced backs - I suppose you could say it is my latest fad - along with mug rugs! (more of that later). My feeling is that if you have to join backing fabric because your quilt is too wide you may as well put in a few blocks to add interest. Also it is a great way of using sample blocks or those that didn't make it onto the front.

Snow has arrived in Yorkshire overnight which is a little too early if you ask me! It is very cold but sunny - winter shouldn't have started till Dec 1st but looks like it had other plans. Tomorrow I am going to the Knitting and Stitching show in Harrogate so looking forward to lots of retail therapy!

Diamond Blocks

2010-10-24T23:45:00.001+01:00

Recently I have been working on Jonathan's university quilt which is titled 'Teenage Angst'! It was started in 2003 when I began a couple of the inevitable Lynne Edwards Sampler Quilts. Strictly speaking this is my second quilt after I started quilting in 2002. One of these days I will have to show my first quilt also made for Jonathan titled 'The Road to Baghdad'!
The colour palette is very restricted - black and grey which matched his mood for most of his teenage years.
It will be 12 blocks and the corners will be foundation pieced diamonds - designed by Jonathan himself.
Here is a view of the paper side of one of the 4 blocks.
Foundation piecing is the only way to get those points to meet at the bottom!

The fabric side after trimming.

Background expanded.

Borders added.

Soon I will show all 12 blocks although a couple of them need small adjustments.

Edinburgh Museum of Modern Art

2010-10-17T09:11:00.002+01:00

Last week we were on holiday in Scotland and we visited Edinburgh which is a spectacular city. The purpose of our visit was to go to the Museum of Modern Art and the Dean Gallery. When we arrived at the Dean Gallery I was surprised by the neon message! I really liked it - in fact I do like the use of words or messages in art.

It reminded me of my son's piece that he did at college.

We went to see the surrealist exhibition Another World which was excellent. Details here

A Textile Weekend

2010-10-13T07:56:00.003+01:00

At the end of September I had a textile weekend with my friend Lynne.
On the Saturday we went to Farfield Mill Sedbergh to hear a talk by Alice Kettle and see her new exhibition Allegory.
The photo is taken from their website and shows an example of her work. She is known for her machine embroidery and the talk she gave was excellent.
On Sunday we went to the Textilia III exhibition at the Piece Hall Halifax. The work which impressed us the most was by Janet Browne.
The photo is taken from her website.

She does raw edge applique building up many layers and then cuts away the background areas.

Anthony and Natalie's Wedding

2010-10-12T23:54:00.002+01:00

Since I last blogged I have been very busy - my patchwork and quilting classes have started again and I have enrolled at college for my last year of City & Guilds.

On September 18th we attended my nephew's wedding - actually it was a blessing as they got married in Thailand in August.
Here are the happy couple with their parents outside the church.

Here is a photo of 3 generations, my father in law, husband and my two boys. Jonathan has now started his degree at Leeds and is enjoying it although findind it difficult to get a job to supplement his student loan.

Rob has started his media course at the local college.

My favourite quilts at Harrogate

2010-09-08T08:52:00.001+01:00

This first quilt is made by my friend Joan. It was made for her Grandaughter to celebrate family holidays in Southwold. Hence it is called 'The Southwold Quilt'. It is completely hand made, pieced, appliqued and quilted.
I was disappointed that the judges did not recognise the skill that had gone into this quilt. I did manage to persuade Joan to enter and I am really glad she did - the quilt looked stunning Joan!

My other favourite is this traditional tumbling blocks quilt made by Gill Young. I have a love hate relationship with tumbling blocks and I will make one someday probably for my eldest son who loves this design and used it in his graphic design studies.
When I go to quilt shows there are some quilts which just shout out to me and this was one of them.

Here is a close up - as you can see the black diamond is always in the same position but the others seem to be completely random.
This quilt won the award for Scrap Quilt and Judges Merit.

Harrogate Quilt Show

2010-09-07T16:05:00.002+01:00

Last Friday I visited the Harrogate Quilt Show which is much smaller and very different from the Festival of Quilts. I just wish that the only two quilt shows that I attend regularly were more than two weeks apart.
I exhibited three quilts in the show - no rosettes this year but I was pleased to see my quilts on display. The quilt above has been on the blog a few months ago but I only got it finished in time for the show. I really like it probably because I love improvisational piecing but I know a lot of quilters just don't get it! All the fabric started as a pale blue and white stripe but I overdyed it in all those bright colours. It is a medallion style quilt - another one of my favourites.

The second quilt was in the cot quilt category and you haven't seen this one before. It started as a sample for my Tuesday classes and then grew from there. The stars are liberated and the whole quilt is quite heavily quilted as a FMQ workshop sample. All the quilts that got rosettes in this category were very traditional this year so obviously mine didn't fit in.

The final quilt was my black and white miniature quilt that you have seen before.

I haven't shown many cat photos recently so I thought I would share this one of Gizmo helping me quilt the striped quilt!

My favourite gallery at Festival of Quilts - DeAnne Hartwell-Jones

2010-09-01T07:13:00.003+01:00

As promised here are photos of quilts from my favourite gallery - welsh quilts by DeAnne Hartwell-Jones. As you may know I love Welsh medallion quilts and this lady is a prolific maker of them and the amazing thing is that they are all hand made, mostly by the piecing over papers method.
The other great thing is that she also makes quilts out of the traditional Welsh wool and guess who came home with two big bags of offcuts from the Welsh woollen mills?

Here you can see the papers still in the back of this quilt.

This lovely quilt is made from Welsh wool flannel, lovely colours and great use of striped fabric.

Lots of lovely medallion quilts.

This courthouse steps quilt is also made out of Welsh wool - foundation pieced by hand.

So much inspiration for me to make my own Welsh Quilt - I have three planned in my head already!

Two more quilts from the Festival of Quilts.

2010-08-29T20:09:00.001+01:00

This weekend is one of those long holiday weekends here in England and tomorrow is a bank holiday. So in true tradition the weather has been dreadful! We have been away since Friday at a VW festival in Derbyshire and at lunchtime today our marquee decided to fly away due to the gale force winds. About 10 people helped us to try to rescue it and the VW models that we sell and we did eventually get home safely. So now I am having to have a 'lie down' before finishing the bindings on my competition quilts for Harrogate.

I have been amazed by how many people have been reading my FOQ reports so I have decided to share some more of my photos and thoughts.

As you know I am a Dear Jane fan and came across this quilt in the contemporary quilt category. It is called 'Confederate Jane' and was made by Penny Chattey of Stevenage. The pattern is based on the confederate flag.

Here is a detail shot - it looks as if the blocks are painted which seems like a great idea to me as some of them are a real challenge to piece!

This next quilt was one of my husband's favourites due to the subject matter. (We send a lot of our toy cars out mail order). He particularly liked the inclusion of the red rubber bands which are controversial as some posties litter our streets with them.

The quilt is called The Romance of the Envelope made by Charlotte Soares of Richmond.

Still have to share the photos of my favourite gallery from the festival. Wonder if you can guess which one I liked best?
Clue - she lives in Aberaeron, Wales!

Some of my favourite quilts from Festival of Quilts 2010

2010-08-23T13:28:00.001+01:00

I would like to share photos of some of my favourite quilts. None of them are winners and most of the winners did not inspire me very much. I am not saying that the judges made a mistake, they were just not my choice.
I will start with a Dear Jane because I always love to see them - this one is called Frugal Jane and was made by Cathy O'Neill from Ireland.

Detail of a hexagon quilt made of triangles of striped fabric. I am interested in the use of striped fabric in quilts and I thought this was a lovely example. Made out of recycled fabric, made by Alison Davies from Nottingham.

A quilt made from recycled shirts - loved the use of different shapes in this one and the hand quilting. Called 'Where have all my shirts gone?' by Rosalind Gregory and Joan Herrington.

And finally Elvis - probably my favourite, just made from squares but so effective. Called Kingsize, made by Gabrielle Collard from London.

Festival of Quilts 2010

2010-08-22T22:40:00.004+01:00

Just returned from the Festival of Quilts at the NEC Birmingham. I visited the show for 3 days, Thursday, Friday and today. It is the first time that I have visited for more than one day and I have really enjoyed it. Even so I don't think that I saw every quilt!
The first thing I did on Thursday morning was to visit my pieces in situ just to make sure they had arrived safely and that they looked ok. I was pleased to find them looking great and not out of place, meaning up to standard.
Of course I did not win a prize but entering and seeing my pieces on display has given me confidence to keep entering more shows. I heard some good comments when I was standing near them and someone took a photo of my quilt so that was positive!

Here is my miniature quilt on display, top row 2nd from left. You can see the winning miniature quilt here - it went on to win 'Best in Show'.

And here is my sewing machine cover in the Quilt Creations category.

Here is the winner of the Quilt Creations -a puppet called Dirty Bertie made by Sarah Bailey.

Second place went to this doll - 'Child of the owl clan' by Marie Roper.
I think that this category must be difficult to judge as it contains quite different items, wearable art, bags, shoes, books etc but it is also one of the best categories in my opinion.

So lots more to tell in future posts. Didn't buy much fabric or supplies but have bought a new sewing machine which is about 3 years overdue. Spent lots of time talking to old friends and new. Lovely to see Pat and Paul from Cornwall, Sue from my embroidery group, Sandra from Leeds, Annedore from Germany to mention just a few.

Lovely hexagon quilt from Wales.

2010-08-05T11:40:00.001+01:00

I always enjoy looking at hexagon quilts and I have a couple of examples in my collection of antique/vintage quilts. I also have a lot of hexagon fabric pieces of vintage Laura Ashley fabric and an unfinished quilt top made of them!
This is a quilt on display at the moment in the Jen Jones Welsh Quilt Centre and it is a really interesting example.

As it says below it is made of silk and velvet. I love the use of the black background and the way she has appliqued each 'flower' onto a black velvet hexagon. I think this is a great idea as it separates each flower giving them more impact.

As you can see she has embroidered around each flower - I assume this is to attach it to the black hexagon. The embroidery stitch looks like a fly stitch to me.

Some of the fabrics have disintegrated and the papers are shown underneath. This is the strange bit - I wonder why she left them in when the quilt appears to be finished?

Here is the entire quilt. A fabulous example of a hexagon quilt.

Quilting Holiday in Wales

2010-08-04T09:18:00.001+01:00

Hello everyone - I'm back after our 10 day holiday in the Cotswolds and Wales. We started with the Classic Camper National Rally in Alcester, then to Bristol and Bath and then on to Wales.
We visited the American Museum in Bath which has a special quilt exhibit this summer which was very interesting but I was not allowed to take photos. So I will concentrate on the other two quilt exhibitions we visited - the Jen Jones Welsh Quilt centre in Lampeter and the Minerva Gallery in Llandiloes.
The first one we visited was the Jen Jones Centre in Lampeter - it is housed in the old Town Hall building (sorry I mamaged to cut off the lovely clock tower in this photo) which also included a lovely deli/cafe.
The exhibition is excellent - very professional and the standard of the quilts on display is excellent. Lampeter is a lovely small town with lots of shops including a quilt shop next door to the town hall!

I have lots of photos to show so will start with the distinctive turkey red paisley shawls which were often made into quilts by welsh women. These are not my favourite welsh quilts - I prefer the pieced medallion quilts and the wholecloths.

Lots more photos to come!

Queen Bees Quilt Show Whitby

2010-07-15T23:50:00.001+01:00

Have just returned from a week away in North Yorkshire.
Last Saturday we went to Whitby, home of Dracula and Captain Cook, to visit the Queen Bees Quilt Show in the Spa Pavilion Whitby.
The weather was sweltering, the hottest I have ever known in Whitby.

The members had put on a lovely display of quilts, great work from one quilting group.
The photo below was my favourite quilt, simple and graphic but it caught my attention more than any of the others.

And what a location - probably the most scenic in the UK if not the world!

Student Showcase 4

2010-06-28T09:16:00.003+01:00

Janice's Quilt.

Janice was another beginner - another addict now!

Kath's Quilt.

Kath is an experienced quilter and also helped me greatly when I started quilting. She is a very precise quilter so I was not sure if she would like the liberated blocks but she has really enjoyed making them and has produced this lovely quilt for one of her great-neices.

Ann's Quilt.

Ann is really pleased to have completed this quilt for her grandaughter. She had started patchwork a few years ago but never really took to it. Some of the blocks on her quilt are from previous classes.

Chris's Quilt.

Chris has done lots of sewing in the past but I think this is her first quilt which she will be using as a wallhanging. She has used an automatic machine stitch to quilt the borders which has produced a lovely detail.

Student Showcase 3.

2010-06-28T09:06:00.003+01:00

Pat's Quilt.

Pat had started P&Q a few years ago but had never really got to grips with it. She is really pleased to have completed this small quilt which she will be using as a wallhanging. She also has made more blocks to make a bed quilt for the same room.

Carol's Quilt.

Although Carol has done lots of sewing and crafts in the past I think this is her first quilt.

It has been made as a sofa quilt for her lounge. Beautiful choice of colours!

Liz's Quilt.

Liz was another beginner and is very pleased with her first quilt. It is hanging in her bedroom so that she can admire it every day.

Anne's Table Runner.

Anne is an experienced patchworker who helped me a lot when I was a beginner myself. Even so she has enjoyed making the liberated blocks and has put together this lovely scrappy runner.

Student Showcase 2

2010-06-28T09:01:00.002+01:00

Angela's Quilt.

Angela was another complete beginner who has produced the most beautiful quilt. She is another addict who has even bought herself a sewing machine during the course!

Judith's Quilt. Judith, another complete beginner, hand quilted this little quilt while on her holidays. She has done a lovely job with it and I love the use of the scraps in the borders.

This quilt will be a gift for her sister's cat - good job I am a cat lover!

Joan's placemats. Although Joan has done loads of sewing in the past she really enjoyed making her blocks into these lovely placemats.

Showcase of my students work 1

2010-06-28T08:58:00.004+01:00

All around the country students are exhibiting their work at the end of the academic year. Next Tuesday is the end of term for my P&Q classes and I have decided to do an online exhibition of their work.

The progress that has been made by the students is astounding and I am so proud of them all. Also many beginners have become addicted so I have acheived my original goal of sharing my enjoyment of P&Q.

And the breaking news is that I should be able to continue these classes in September.

Jo's Quilt. Jo used a 'Hungry Caterpillar' panel and the blocks from our class to make this stunning quilt for her daughter. Jo had never done any quilting before joining the class.

This is Maureen's Christmas table runner and a cushion she made to use up her scraps. Although Maureen had used a sewing machine a lot in the past she was new to P&Q.

Daphne's Quilt. Daphne was also a beginner before the class and is now hooked!

She has made this beautiful quilt for her guest room.

The end of one era and the beginning of another.

2010-06-27T18:31:00.002+01:00

This week Jonathan, my eldest son completed his BTEC National Diploma in Art & Design.
These photos were taken at his end of year show and give you an idea of his style of work .
His area of interest is Graphic Design and in September he is moving to Leeds Metropolitan University to study for a BA in Graphic Design. Geoff and I are very proud of what he has acheived so far and are sure that he has the drive and motivation to continue to be successful in his studies.

If only this slogan reflected some of the teenage / parent disagreements we have had over the last few years!
But it is something that I think I should heed in some areas of my life.

Robert, my youngest son has just completed his GCSE exams and will be studying Media at the local college in September.
So its the end of an era and in the words of Alice Cooper 'School's Out Forever!'

A Visit to the Farne Islands

2010-06-25T22:11:00.001+01:00

We have spent the last few days in Northumberland with my parents and yesterday we visited the Farne Islands which are a paradise for bird watchers.
Although the weather was cloudy it was very warm - here is a photo of me with my parents, waiting for the boat to collect us.

One of the main attractions of the islands are the puffins which live in burrows, often those abandoned by rabbits.

Here are a selection of seabirds on the rocks - the noise and the smell are quite intense!

By far the best bit was seeing the Arctic Tern chicks which are seriously cute! However their parents protect them fiercely and we were all dive bombed and often pecked during our visit.
But the attacks were worth it to see these little creatures.

Here are two chicks with Mum, one of them is hiding in Mum's feathers.

And here is a classic puffin photo to finish.

Blocks from Week 6.

2010-06-13T21:19:00.001+01:00

In Week 6 we started with Liberated Log Cabin. I used a square made from bonus triangles as my centre and then just used up strips from my leftovers which is why they vary so much in size. I tried to encourage the students to do the same.

Then we did a liberated version of Courthouse Steps. I used a little orphan block for the centre, using up my cut strips as before. I had loads of striped strips cut so I used them to make a border. I even pieced the bottom border as I did not want to cut any more fabric, I wanted to use the pieces I already had cut.

Finally I encouraged my students to try crumb piecing which is just using your leftovers to piece in a random fashion. I had a lot of strips cut so thats why there are quite a few with a striped effect. I like to keep my crumb blocks quite small so I joined them all with borders.

Here is a layout for a quilt top from some of the sample blocks I made. I am going to sash it in the black fabric. The bright pink border stands out too much so I am going to replace that.

Our 6 weeks of piecing were now over and the students moved on to adding sashings, backings and quilting their pieces. In the next post I will show some of their finished quilts - prepare to be impressed!

Blocks from Weeks 4 and 5.

2010-06-09T09:38:00.001+01:00

Good progress is being made by my students in the Tuesday classes. Soon I will be sharing finished quilts. Some total beginners have produced beautiful quilts to a very high standard and I am very proud of them all.

Week 4 was one of my favourite blocks - Liberated Stars. The points of the stars are free pieced so that you never get two stars the same. I particularly like it when the stars are all made using the same background fabric so that the stars appear to be 'floating' on the quilt.

Week 5 was Flying Geese - such an important block in many quilts so I decided I needed to include it but decided that we would make the folded version which is only made from rectangles and squares.

Even this last one was quite easy to make using folded flying geese units.

Students Liberated Square in a Square Blocks.

2010-06-07T09:12:00.001+01:00

Week 3 Blocks.

2010-06-07T09:06:00.001+01:00

I am seriously behind with my posting on these - so need to start catching up!
On week 3 we did a foundation pieced heart which would also lend itself to free piecing of course! Some of my less experienced students found this block a bit confusing so I need to revisit this block in a future class.

The rest of the class was spent working on liberated square in a square blocks which are quick and easy to do with no worrying about matching corners. These blocks were a real hit - everyone seemed to enjoy them! The only problem with them is that the edges of the finished block are on the bias so you need to be careful when joining to another block or adding sashings.

I also made some 6 inch blocks but did not like these as much.

Goodbye Chloe - and Bonnie.

2010-05-14T11:38:00.002+01:00

Sadly we had to have Chloe, one of our rescued, ex-battery hens put to sleep this morning.
She had almost two years of freedom since she left the battery farm in June 2008.
I have not been keeping you up to date with the chicken situation, Bonnie died a few weeks ago and we lost Maggie last September.
Here is a photo of Bonnie and Chloe from last Autumn.

This is not meant to be a sad post as all three girls enjoyed their freedom to the max and we were so pleased to have them as our pets.

I made a quilted piece last year to celebrate their freedom which I don't think I have shown on the blog but will be exhibiting at the FOQ in August. Perhaps you might see it there?

Patchwork & Quilting Course - Week 2 Blocks.

2010-05-01T22:54:00.002+01:00

Each week I have been producing three sample blocks for my students. Week 2 was the good old shoo fly block. I decided to use this block to demonstrate how to make half square triangles out of two squares - a skill that every new quilter needs.

For the more experienced quilters in the group I made a block out of four six inch blocks. I love the way that secondary patterns appear in this block.

I also included the churn dash block as it is a variation of the shoo fly. I used the bonus triangles from the string blocks to piece the centre of this one. I really enjoy making blocks out of tiny pieces especially since I learnt they work much better if you press the seams open.

Patchwork & Quilting Course - Blocks from Week 1.

2010-04-29T22:57:00.006+01:00

I know I haven't blogged for a while - one of the main reasons is that I have been going through a mini crisis with my City & Guilds course.
The main highlight of my quilting life at the moment is teaching my classes every Tuesday.
We have just completed week 7, the progress that the students are making is excellent so I thought it was about time that I shared some of their work. Apologies to anyone whose work does not appear but my photographing of blocks has been a bit random!

When we all returned for week 2 I was amazed to find that Kath had made an entire quilt top using the string blocks we had made in week 1.
I must point out that Kath is a very experienced and accomplished quilter. It is lovely to have her in the class because she was my first patchwork teacher and has been very supportive and encouraging as I have progressed in my quilting journey.

This is Angela's first ever patchwork block - Angela is now hooked and has even bought herself a sewing machine!

Mary's block - colours are much nicer than shown in this photo.

Maureen's block - she is making a Christmas table runner.

Judith's block - another first timer!

Carol's string block with sashings.

Liz's Block.

Kath's second block in another colourway.

Pat's block.

It was fantastic to see these blocks in the second week.
The course is going very well and I will try to get up to date with our progress.

My aim for the course was to encourage people to try patchwork and quilting, to help people to develop their skills but most of all to show how much pleasure and satisfaction you can get out of it. I think I already have some new P&Q addicts!

Quilts 1700 - 2010. Two contemporary quilts.

2010-04-04T15:47:00.001+01:00

There are quite a few contemporary quilts in the exhibition. There has been much discussion about whether they fit in or not. My view is that the old quilts were the stars of the show but I do appreciate that some people will not have seen the work of contemporary quiltmakers.
I have to admit that many of the contemporary quilts did not inspire me and I have seen better work at quilts shows - but these two below did catch my attention and were my favourite contemporary pieces.

This quilt is called 'Chinese Dream' and is made by Susan Stockwell. The quilt is made entirely out of Chinese paper banknotes. It features a map of the world and is supposed to represent the rise of China in the global economy and the way in which bank notes are recycled in the same way that other quilt materials can be.

The second quilt is by Pauline Burbridge. We are studying her at college and I am only just 'getting into' her work but it is growing on me and I do like this quilt.

Quilts 1700 - 2010 A quilt from Belfast.

2010-03-29T09:31:00.001+01:00

Here is another of the quilts that I loved at the exhibition. At first I thought it was Welsh but then discovered that it was made in Belfast by a lady called Elizabeth Magill in the 1930s.

I love the fact that it is made from fabric remnants in the true spirit of patchwork.

I can't imagine where Elizabeth got her inspiration for patchwork designs but to me it has elements of Amish quilts, Welsh quilts and African American quilts in it.

Click on the photo to enlarge it and you can read about Elizabeth's life.

Quilts 1700 - 2010.Two more important quilts.

2010-03-24T16:43:00.001Z

This first quilt is one of the highlights of the exhibition even though it is one of the simplest. It was made by Girl Guides in Changi prisoner of war camp in Singapore during World War 2.
You can read more about it here

If you click on the photo to get a close up you will be able to see some of the girls names embroidered onto the patches and the Girl Guide logo.

On loan for the very first time from the National Gallery of Australia,the Rajah quilt was made in 1841 by women convicts aboard the HMS Rajah as they were being transported to Van Diemen's Land (present day Tasmania). The women used sewing provisions donated by Elizabeth Fry's social reform initiative to create what is now the only transportation quilt in a national collection, never before shown outside Australia.

The quilt is in a glass case so difficult to photograph. The centre panel is broderie perse and the rest is made up of hand piecing and applique. From what I have heard this quilt is not even on regular display in Australia so this is an excellent opportunity to see it.

A close up of the applique -I think that the red flower looks very modern!

Quilts 1700-2010 Quilts by Tracy Emin and Grayson Perry.

2010-03-19T17:14:00.004Z

Two of the exhibits at Quilts 1700-2010 have been made by contemporary artists rather than quilters and the presence of these exhibits will prove to be controversial among quilters I am sure.
The first is another bed by Tracy Emin - made famous by the 'other bed' of course. Lots of people do not like her work but I must confess I am a fan of hers - I even walked right through the exhibition to find this piece as I was keen to see it. It is not a quilt - I don't think any of it is actually quilted but it is patchwork and it is art. And I liked it.

If you click on this photo you will be able to read the information on the boards.

The other contemporary artist to show his work was Grayson Perry. I had never heard of him until I saw him on TV a few months ago in 'Have I Got News For You' dressed as a woman!

Again I have to admit to finding him an interesting person with interesting opinions and I love his quilt!

Here is a close up - I like the fact that it is based on the tumbling blocks pattern and I like the repetition even though some would say that the subject matter was a bit gruesome even shocking.

There were quite a few quilts by contemporary quilters such as Pauline Burbridge and Jo Budd but I felt that they were totally overshadowed by the old quilts which were without doubt the stars of the show.

Quilts 1700-2010 Victoria and Albert Museum London - the George III Quilt.

2010-03-18T14:10:00.004Z

This is a famous quilt, apparently often shown in books but rarely on display.
I have to admit I did not know about it until yesterday but I will not easily forget it! Made in 1803 you will be hard pressed to find a finer example of applique and piecing anywhere.
This is another one that you must go and see!

This is the central applique motif.

Not only is the piecing tiny with many pieces in each motif but it is circular!

And all around the borders are these stunning applique scenes, which must be of as much importance to historians as they are to quilters.

As I heard someone remark yesterday - you would travel to London just to see one of these quilts never mind the whole exhibition.

The overwhelming feeling for me today is the pride of being a British quilter. So many times I have felt that Americans had a better quilting heritage than us but this exhibition is going to do a lot to show that much of the American quilting heritage originated in Britain.

Quilts 1700-2010 at the Victoria & Albert Museum London

2010-03-17T23:57:00.003Z

Today has been a special quilting day. I was invited to the press preview of the Quilts 1700-2010 exhibition at the V&A London.
I travelled to London with my quilting buddy Hazel and we have had a fabulous day.
I was invited due to the writing of this blog and quite a few quilting bloggers were there. We were allowed to take photos as long as we use them to promote the exhibition so here are the first batch.
These photos are of the 'Sundial Coverlet' - one of my favourite quilts in the exhibition. I loved it because it was so old - predating most American antique quilts and I loved it for its intricate piecing.
It reminds me of the 'Dear Jane' American Civil War Quilt of 1863 but it is 66 years older and it is English.

These blocks are probably about 6 inches square. I love the use of striped fabric in some of the blocks and the wonderful applique.

The exhibition is excellent - much better than I was expecting - well worth a visit and there is a shop full of quilting goodies to buy.
Liberty's have made special reproduction fabrics from some of the quilts - I just had to buy a fat quarter or 6!

Patchwork and Quilting Course - Week 1.

2010-03-14T11:50:00.002Z

On March 2nd I started teaching my first Patchwork and Quilting course and of course I want to share my progress and the progress of my students.
I have 20 students, 10 in the morning and 10 in the afternoon, all lovely ladies keen to learn about patchwork and quilting.
The students range from absolute beginners to very talented quilters and it is great to have such a mix of abilities in the class.

Week 1 was all about string blocks as I wanted to get everyone stitching without worrying about a perfect quarter inch seam or exact cutting.
I made three sample blocks each made up of four subunits which were joined together. The strings were all sewn onto thin fabric foundations.

The first block was for the experienced quilters - the four units were joined using sashings .

The other two blocks, for the beginners, show the alternative ways that the units can be joined to give two different blocks.

The strips were pieced onto 7 inch foundation squares which were trimmed to 6.5 inches and then joined together to form a 12.5 inch block.

More Birthday photos!

2010-03-05T11:41:00.001Z

Just a couple of photos from our celebrations last night - mainly for family members who read this blog.
Back to quilting soon!

Happy 18th Birthday Jonathan!

2010-03-04T17:36:00.002Z

Today my baby turned 18!
This is how he looked at 2 years old. How time flies!

Last night he celebrated with his friends and tonight we are celebrating as a family.

More workshop samples.

2010-03-03T10:39:00.001Z

Here are the other workshop samples I promised to show earlier.

This is a coaster to stand your mug with cozy on.

This is a heart made with felted wool blanket from a charity shop. The stitching is done with tapestry wool which was lovely to work with although you can use ordinary knitting wool.

These last two samples are from a workshop I did in January when we did hand piecing and needleturn applique.

I started my new 10 week course yesterday and it went very well. It was wonderful to have so many enthusiastic ladies, many of them complete beginners so keen to learn patchwork. Over the two classes I will have 20 students which is brilliant. I will post their progress on the blog and keep you up to date with how we are doing. Hope I can manage to get them addicted to P&Q!

Workshop - Mug Cozy!

2010-02-23T19:06:00.002Z

As I have mentioned previously 2010 is the year that I am starting my Patchwork and Quilting teaching career. I have taught 3 workshops since January 1st and today I taught a day workshop at a local church here in Barnsley. We made mug cozies using applique and stitchery techniques. I have posted some photos of my workshop samples below.

I will share more workshop photos soon.
Starting next Tuesday, 2nd March I am teaching a 10 week, 2 hour patchwork and quilting class. Tuition is FREE just provide your own fabric etc. Location is just off Junction 36 of the M1. Anyone like to join me?

Also on April 10th I am teaching in Sheffield for Running With Scissors - details on their website.

Quilt Retreat at Quiltworks.

2010-02-17T19:01:00.000Z

I know that quilt retreats are very popular with American quilters and I have read about them with envy on quilters blogs. It was my ambition to go on one myself and this weekend I organised my own quilt retreat for my group of quilting friends.
After a recommendation from someone on BQL I booked a retreat in Cumbria at Quiltworks hosted by Maureen.
And what a wonderful weekend we had - continuous quilting from Friday afternoon to Sunday lunchtime with gaps for marvelous meals and cakes cooked by Maureen.

The first photo is of the spacious, warm quilting studio. Loads of room for the 6 of us.

Here is the corner for relaxing with quilting books and magazines and a view of the wonderful stove which keeps the studio toasty warm.

We didn't have any taught classes - just worked on our own projects. I managed to baste two quilts and worked on putting together the log cabin blocks from the Birthday Block Swap from last year.

The weekend was wonderful, much better than I could have imagined. If you can get to Quiltworks I know you will not be disappointed and Maureen has regular classes with Pat Archibald as well as some workshops with Gloria Loughman and Dena Crain coming up this summer.

Remember these blocks?

2010-02-10T23:08:00.003Z

In August I ran an applique workshop for my quilting/embroidery group. Some of the ladies donated their blocks to Kath, our charity quilt coordinator.

Look what she did with them! What a lovely charity quilt!

Woven Fabric Mini Quilt

2010-02-08T22:15:00.002Z

This is actually one of my City & Guilds 10 inch square mini quilts but I thought I would share it on my main blog as it is a technique that I have never tried before. It is a lot of fun and you can achieve quite good results with a minimum of effort.
The fabric is cut out as two squares, one blue and one pink. Bondaweb is applied to each. They are each then randomly cut into wavy strips which are woven together. The whole thing is then ironed to stick it all together abd then the raw edges are zig zagged in satin stitch.
I then appliqued a flower using bondaweb and used raw edge applique and stippling on this.

The inspiration for this little quilt came from this book which is full of lovely woven quilts.

Liberated Amish Quilts.

2010-02-01T10:50:00.002Z

Just a quick note to say if you fancy making a liberated Amish quilt this year there is a new blog which you can join here.

Philippa Naylor Workshop - Precision Piecing

2010-01-30T15:40:00.002Z

Last Saturday I attended a workshop with Philippa Naylor who visited our embroidery/quilting group here in Barnsley.
I finished the sample last night so here it is....
Not quite as precise as it could be but better than I have acheived in the past. I used hand dyed fabric which I really enjoy working with.

I have picked up quite a few tips which I will use in the future. For example - pressing seams open can help to improve accuracy in complicated designs, try to use finer cotton fabrics for intricate piecing and never underestimate the importance of correct pressing!
I also learned how to make mitred borders which is something I had never tried before.

We had a lovely day, Philippa is an excellent teacher - try to get to one of her workshops if you can!

This is a photo of the room we use - loads of space, we are very lucky!

On Wednesday Philippa returned to talk to our group - four ladies had finished their samples.

Philippa is on the left with her pile of magnificent quilts. She gave a very inspirational and interesting lecture about her life in Saudi Arabia and her quilts.

Liberated Quilting

2010-01-28T18:51:00.003Z

This is the book I have waiting for ever since I discovered Gwen Marston's style of quilting last year. I had it on pre order from Amazon since Christmas and it arrived a few days ago.
It is an excellent book and has loads of ideas I am looking forward to trying.

It also goes well with my liberated stripes quilt which is still not quite finished.
What have you been doing with your time? I hear you ask!

Well.........

Since Christmas I have taught my first 3 patchwork and quilting workshops which went very well. I have been to College for a weekend for my City & Guilds. I have also made my first fabric postcard which I can't share until it arrives at its destination.

Also, almost at opposite ends of the spectrum I have taken a workshop with award winning quilter Philippa Naylor in precision piecing! I have not completed my workshop sample yet but will hopefully report soon.

So as you can see I have not been too lazy - except perhaps when it comes to updating my blog!

Liberated Stripes Quilt.

2010-01-11T10:31:00.003Z

The weather is no better here today - still snowing and school closed again. The novelty has worn off now and I want it to go away. Indoor quilting activities are great but this week I have two important quilting events that require travel and at the moment both could be under threat so that is making me stressed.

Over the weekend I have been working on the second quilt made with the over dyed striped fabric. This came about because I had so many leftovers and trial blocks fom the first quilt and also because I wanted to try more liberated quilting. My interpretation of liberated quilting in this particular quilt is using up all the leftovers in as pleasing a pattern as possible.

This is my progress as of last night. It is 33 inches square and has one more border to go on which will be a nine patch border.
I know that some of you in blogland will hate it because it is loud and busy and a bit chaotic but I rather like it and I love being able to use up all the bits so that I can feel a project is truly finished.

Here are photos of the various stages. When using scraps I find the medallion style easier to work with.

I started with 5 metres of striped fabric (it was probably a little extra as they are often generous with the cutting of sale fabric) which was 56 inches wide. Some was over dyed with procion dyes, some dyed in an indigo dye bath and some left undyed. If I have calculated correctly I will have managed to make two quilts with this fabric, both approx 40 inches square including both backs and bindings! So you can see there won't be much fabric left!

One quilt will have a plain undyed back and the other a pieced back which I have made but not had chance to photograph.

A visit to Rob Ryan's Exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

2010-01-07T18:46:00.003Z

The snow is still really thick here and driving on the side roads is treacherous especially after dark. However my son Rob's school reopened today and we are trying to carry on regardless!
Today is Geoff's birthday and we decided to venture to Rob Ryan's exhibition at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Most of the exhibits were closed and access to the sculptures in the park was only for those with long wellies!
However Rob's exhibition was open and more than lived up to expectations. If you are in the Yorkshire area before Feb 21st I thoroughly recommend it. Admission is free but you do have to pay to park.

Rob Ryan is an artist famous for his papercuts and screen prints. You can read more about his work and the exhibition on his blog. He has made loads of vinyl stickers for the windows at the sculpture park which are really striking - I really love his birds!

These window pictures were too big to take proper pictures of but you get the idea!

I first heard about Rob's work in an article about Clothkits in Sew Hip Magazine as he has designed some fabric for them.

The other reason we knew about his exhibition was through the Arts Council Own Art scheme which we watched a TV programme about. This is a scheme where you can have an interest free loan to buy contemporary art.

The photo above shows our first purchase of original contemporary art which we will buy through this scheme.

I also bought this limited edition card only available at the exhibition. I love it because of the birds and its connection to sewing!

All this was followed by a fish & chip lunch so it was a good birthday for the birthday boy!