Quilting Retreat

I've just been on a very enjoyable Quilting Retreat for five nights - we sewed from  morning till very late at night aided by copious amounts of food and a constant supply of beverages on tap. The running motif was the antics of Mr Frog and subsequently Mrs Frog seen here materialised accompanied by her tadpole offspring and a fresh generation of spawn.

The hall was light and spacious and and lot of tops were completed and others quilted and yet others embarked on. I painstakingly worked on my BOM but eventually learned I didn't have to be so painstaking, just cut the pieces the right size and sew them together with an accurate seam. This not surprisingly worked better than all my precautionary measures.
Here are some of the other attendees' quilts and tops I photographed.

Local Quilt Show

Popped out today to go to a local quilt show in Herne Bay. The group hasn't been going long but now has 30 members and a waiting list and the space was crammed with quilts and all sorts of crafty objects (the group do various crafts not just quilts).

I was surprised and pleased to see the quilt I donated to Project Linus a week ago decorating their table.

And I was intrigued by this poem.

Quay Quilters meeting

Here is the quilt Di made following the lesson Helen did for us on Japanese folded patchwork. Ready made quilt blocks are sewn together and each side forms a different pattern. One to get round to someday - a good travelling project!

I took my Patchwork Party quilt for Show & Tell but it's too high to hold up and fall straight.

BOM Month 4

In my catch up with the Quilt Show BOM I finished Month Four today.

Janome Club

Another room another group. This is the first convening of the Janome Club instigated by Cathy who is hugely knowledgeable and is doing this "for love". Thank you, Cathy; we all enjoyed ourselves today and learnt a lot. We practised using a range of our decorative stitches with the idea of using the finished fabric to make a bag. As usual I was so absorbed I didn't take a picture of my own work. I'm making a Japanese Twist bag. Sorry about the poor quality of the pictures.

This is Margaret's (there were at least three Margarets) wonderful stitched satins overlaid with different coloured strips of organza.

Sheila's colourful stitching on black.

Stitching on striped ticking.

Quilters' Guild Birthday Party

Every October East Kent members of the Quilters Guild http://www.quiltersguild.org.uk/ celebrate the Guild's birthday at Aldington Village Hall, a very friendly event where everyone has a great time. We began by making split nine patches for Project Linus quiltshttp://www.projectlinusuk.org.uk/. Judi and I combined our efforts and completed a quilt top with the help of two friends who pressed and pinned for us. Judi's taken it home for quilting and I'll bind it. I omitted to take a photo but will try to remember to post one later. The quilt shown here was one made earlier and brought in for quilting.

In the afternoon we enjoyed a lovely talk by Dinah Travis who brought in several of her early quilts to show us. Her work covers the whole gamut from traditional to innovative and she is knowledgeable about so many aspects having been involved with the Guild's heritage collection and a teacher of general classes and City and Guilds courses as well as helping to set up the Guild's judging course.

This was followed by the cake and our inimitable raffle - there are always more prizes than people so those who win twice defer collecting a second item then those whose ticket wasn't drawn get to choose and then the second prizewinning ticket holders. I was lucky to get the item I wanted - the clear project bag Judi brought with the Quilt in a Day Kaleidoscope book inside it. As always it was a lovely day and I've noted the date of the next one.

Christmas Table Runner

More than a year ago Marie demonstrated a Christmas table runner to Quay Quilters. She stressed it wasn't her own design so I don't know the source. At first sight it looked too complicated but then she showed us how it was a relatively simple way of achieving a very effective result. Trish made one at the time and now all four of us Bonnie Quilters are making one. We gathered at Fran's this afternoon and here are pictures of the one Trish made earlier and the one she's making now. From now until Christmas we plan to use our meetings to finish this and the Galaxy of Stars quilts. Mavis is ahead of the rest of us but is making other quilts for family members so we'll all have plenty to do before embarking on the mammoth Farmers Wife project.

A Finish!

I finally finished the Patchwork Party Quilt. As it was Quilt as You Go the finishing was a longer process than usual. I can't say I have a use for this quilt which was a sew along project with Bonnie Quilters and I used stash to make it but I like the retro colours and the soft feel of the quilt with its Hobbs Poly wadding. I'm not sure how well it would hang though.

This is Quilt 101!

Quilt Show BOM 02

The second month's assignment wasn't too onerous but cutting out lots of different units for the "Chain" blocks took time. However I carried on and cut out and sewed lots of units so I have a bank of pieces to draw on for the next ones. Whenever I cut pieces for the star blocks I'll cut a 1.5" short strip as well.

Crab & Winkle Sewing Day

Four of us met for a sewing day and I attach pictures of the quilt Maggie has made for her yet to be born grandaughter and the strippy Mary is working on. We're all making strippies but I was working on my Katherine Guerrier stars quilt that day and this is now to be a group project.

QUILT SHOW BOM

With the "Usual Suspects" I've embarked on the Quilt Show BOM designed by Sue Garman
http://www.thequiltshow.com/
somewhat belatedly but I have completed Month One (blocks seen here), only 11 more to do. I wonder if Ishould have a colour strategy but as we are swapping perhaps ths isn't possible anyway. I've laid out all my batiks; I'm not sure if this makes selecting easier or trickier. My main emphasis, though, is accuracy as the other four produce such beautiful work. So this is a good if slightly stressful discipline.

Quay Quilters Workshop

Cilla came to show our Quay Quilters Group how to make a "Little Treasure" last Saturday. We used fusible flexifirm as the sandwich filling. It was a good way to practise machine quilting on a small scale. I used curlicues for the treasure in the morning and squarish designs for the vase in the afternoon.

I didn't finish the vase in the afternoon because my beloved old Bernina seized up. I suspect it may be something to do with the tinsel like metallic thread I was using to quilt with. It was serviced last year and I regularly clean and oil. I do hope it can be mended. Anyway here are our efforts spread out at the end of the afternoon; my "vase" is the green one nearest the camera.

The Traditional Quilt Group's tombola theme at Festival of Quilts next year will be "Put 'em ins". These two items will be part of my contribution.

Sewing Room taking shape

This will be my regular layout though the table here will be replaced by an electric one of the same size that can range from 25" (sewing machine height) to 40+" high for (for Cutting). 

When machine quilting I'll raise the flap at the rear of the of the Horn Cabinet and set the cutting table along the wall so I have room to sit down.

Here is my stuff arranged on and under temporary tables until the new furniture arrives. It doesn't look much but there are more boxes and bags of fabric up in the loft. The notebook on the drawers is to jot down items that need to be stored and thoughts about where they will go.

Sewing Room Makeover

Yesterday the flooring went down in my sewing room more than a week later than planned. The decorator finished on Friday 1-2 days later than expected. I should know this is always the way with any job done in our house. Anyway it's a lovely clean blank slate. I can move stuff back in though quite a lot will be on or under temporary tables till the new furniture arrives. However this morning I have been taking some time considering how my new workspace will function and I have arrangement one for general sewing and an easily managed arrangement two for when I machine sew. As I transport stuff I've been thinking about how and where I shall put things. In town I noted the dimensions of various storage solutions and will sit and try to match up these to the things I intend to store. I'm making notes as I transfer things back into the room. My main aim will be for an uncluttered appearance - stuff lodged in organised fashion behind closed doors. Already in my chest of drawers which stores rulers, notions, batiks, bondaweb etc etc I have a card in each drawer which lists the contents so I know where to look and where to put things back.

Busy Time

If it weren't for my quilting passion my life would be very different; I am so grateful for all the friends, journeys and experiences it has granted me. I have been a member of the Stashbusters yahoo list for some time  and its philosophy of use up what you have, finish what you have started, buy less and declutter has helped restrain my acquisitive urges and keep me on track. I love the monthly albums of photos posted by members: lots of my kind of quilts and I turn to them for inspiration and in turn share my own efforts.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stashbuster/
List "Mom", Sandra, has been the main force behind the success of the group as she tactfully but firmly keeps us on topic and deals with posters who don't bother to crop the messages they are replying to. When I heard she was visiting London I couldn't resist getting getting in touch and inviting her to visit with us in Canterbury and it was so lovely to meet her and her husband in person though we had very disappointing weather - rainy AND windy!

She brought me a  couple of the potholders she sells to defray the costs of the Stashbuster website ( http://www.stashbuster.com/ )and a totebag with keyring,fabric strips  and a lovely necklace and earrings which go with all my clothes!