Lovely hexagon quilt from Wales.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.