Saturday, 7 June 2025

Gone but not forgotten

I've just given this longish ago Checkerboard quilt to the girl who comes and cleans for me once a fortnight as she's just got married.  There were lovely wedding pictures.  As usual it was given no strings attached but I think it will prove useful on the arm or back of a sofa.

It is made from Cherrywood fabrics and it was a bit of a wrench to lose it but I thought it was better out in the world rather than occasional use in my home.





Thursday, 22 May 2025

Last from the retreat

Colette was piecing this - lots of novelty fabrics

Sue was making this by request.

Debbie's from African wax prints

Detail of Colette's hexagons

Chris's minus border

Julie's beautiful Show & Tell

 

Wednesday, 21 May 2025

More from the retreat

 Yvette, a Linus organiser, was making Linus quilts to show what can be made from 5" squares.







Pink Hearts

Double Carpenter's star









She had other Linus projects too . . 


Made with stripes bordered on
two sides to make squares









This super one suitable for a boy was a made using a technique suggested by Heather.



Heather herself came to visit and show us her completed Jen Kingswell "Wensleydale" quilt.

Wensleydale
One of our members has sadly died fairly suddenly leaving tens of fabric collection packs to make children's quilts for a local charity. I have got one to make at home but others got to work on the retreat itself.

Simple but effective

This one makes good use of the fabric


Quilt a lot of sewing needed here

Great DNP

More squares


Saturday, 17 May 2025

Retreating at the Ivy House Country Hotel Lowestoft

 Ivy House Country Hotel

We had a lovely time here in large rooms, workspace, brilliant food and best of all a country location at the end of an unmade rooad and the Angle Path and great walks at the edge of the grounds.

Passed these when I turn left walking to the Carlton Marshes Visitor Centre.

This was turning right along Oulton Broad to Lowestoft
outskirts.
























We liked the fact we had room to sew but also could be near each other in the workroom. 

View from my sewing station/  


The others all had SewEzi tables but knowing I only had a single table I had "kitted up" my projects which also meant I got a lot done and came away with a sense of achievement and three quilt tops done.

Mirrored Mountains, demonstrated on Missouri Star.
A  Bonnie Sullivan Pattern made in her Woolies flannels by Maywood Studio

Cosmo quilt patterned by Brigitte Heitland and using her "Olive You" and "Still More
Paper"
collections.

Made from swapped ninepatches scraps collected over the
years sewn using an old technique popularised in Karen Hellaby's
"Simple Pineapples"
book.


Just a reminder of my previous "Africana" Cosmo taken to Bind in Madeira.

Africana Cosmo


Finally I got the borders, sashing and posts cut for my Fragmental quilt and sewed a few more blocks. I am making it bigger to finish at 81" square but there will be only 36 six inch blocks to make and then join with wide sashing and borders. Lots of pretty background fabric. 

Friday, 16 May 2025

Progress

 I am making progress with Mirrored Mountains see previous post for source. Can you see the accidental mistake?


Now all the blocks are done and joining them will be my first job on retreat starting tomorrow.



Meanwhile on the bed is quite a technical sampler on account of the feathered star centre. The fabrics are nice too but I don't really like it. I don't think I like the harsh contast between blue and white. However I did enjoy making it and the different blocks alongside Bonnie Quilters. It does have a price tag on it from the last Arts & Crafts Show and I will have a second selling attempt at Quay and the 2025 Arts & Crafts in November.



In the sewing room I am prepping samples for an Oast Corner all based on cutting strips from sewn units and rearranging them starting with Mirrored Mountains and now "Navaho" piecing taken from an article by Dawn Pavitt in an an old Quilters' Newsletter
(June 96)
60 degree triangle unit

Cut up strips, not yet sewn



And this is how Mirrored Mountain blocks were sewn, here with Bonnie Sullivan's extra of a snowballed centre.
Two mirror imaged HSTs

The left hand one cut up

Lefthand one rearranged

Right hand one cut up and rearranged

Completed

Snowballing corners

Corners pressed one back, one down

Sewn half block unit: two make the block.




Friday, 25 April 2025

My Sewing

 My Woolies quilt has come back from Maggie - I am delighted with how the quilting pattern looks and the density.




and by what it looks like on the back.

The back
















I still have lots of Woolies and am now making a Mirrored Mountains quilt demonstrated by Misty using Bonnie Sullivan's pattern on the Missouri Star site. The addition of the centre "snowballs" really makes the design.

Woolies flannel and lovely black.grey textured cloth - I had yards from a previous project.

This is the project, a long in the making sampler from Bonnie Quilter sessions. I hesitated about the sashing (plenty left for the Mirrored Mountains background) and then about the border but now I am pleased and will sandwich and hand quilt it.

Modernish sampler: the border squares float.

Bonnie Quilters are making a table runner led by Sue. It was quite straightforward to piece especially as I decided  to omit the border I'd chosen - it just didn't "go". The trimmed Woolies backing piece enclosed by Maggie was just the right size for the back. Now I have some restful hand binding to do.

It was straightforward but I still
made a mistke, too late to correct.

Now shorter


Finally I couldn't resist the Olive You line by Brigitte Heiland of ZenChic and bought a fat quarter bundle. I made up a Cosmo quilt "kit" to take on the upcoming retreat and then cut out the pieces for  her Fragmental pattern.

Even More Paper and Olive You by Zen Chic

Block 1







So many projects so little time!