Fancy Forest

I have embarked on a quilt for a friend's first grandchild, a boy, using Elizabeth Hartman's "Fancy Forest" pattern. I'm not too sure of how it's going, still less whether the extra piecing effort is worth it. . .First up four foxes.

Spur of the moment

Cherrywood Fabric cushions

On the spur of the moment I decided I should make some kitchen cushions - I made a "Secret Garden" oe some time ago to replace the worst of the bunch but the remaining three were a disgrace. So with speed the essence I quickly pieced three more from my stock of Cherrywood fabrics and walking foot quilted each one from end to end. Today I made zipped backs for them and put them in place. I won't keep them as long and perhaps next time take a little more care with design.
I missed posting one of my Farnham pictures, Cabin Fever by Rebecca Handyside made for son Harry. I made an improv. quilt in similar style - it was fun to do/

Cabin Fever by Rebecca Handyside

A moment of weakness

In a moment of weakness I enrolled for a Liberty Quilt of the Crosses EPP BOM with Sew & Quilt and my lovely parcel has now arrived. I won't be doing it any time soon as I have lots of hand sewing on hand but I did used to have a hand project that I could do when there was nothing else to hand sew before the TV in the evening. In this way I completed my wool felt applique Santa block from a Houston class and combined left over Hexagon rosettes from my very first quilt into a small piece. So my conscience is appeased. This BOM will fill the gap.

Farnham

Last Sunday three of us made the trip to Farnham an annual event where traders sell off surplus stock  and one or two private vendors sell off surplus stash - usually the best ports of call. We were all pleased with our purchases but best of all are the quilt shows mounted by local groups along with demonstrations.
I always look for Brigitte Gillespie's quilts there and we usually have a little chat - she said everyone would be happy for me to post pictures here.

This is Brigitte's Patchwork of the Crosses which she was demonstrating last year. I like the
larger format.

Detail - longarmed by Brigitte herself 

Another quilt by Brigitte called Circles of
Life based on one seen on Instagram.

detail

Frisky Frogs for Zebedee by
Valerie Lillie

Ruth Harrison - Cottage to Castle. I love the soft muted shading. Design by Pam and Nicky
Lintott.

Linus quilts on a maritime theme

A lovely quilt by Brigitte: Polkadot Garden, a Minick and Simpson pattern. This quilt
won several prizes at Sandown

Dot Darrell: Sylvia's Garden. The Village Quilters held a Viewers Choice vote
and this got mine.

Fiona Moss: You are a hidden star. I loved the restrained setting

Back with the U3A

Blocks from my term of blocks last year made by Bid - great colours.

First meet up of the New Year and members shared Completed projects, mainly the bag taught by Margaret.

Bid's with embellishment

Rosemary's

Sylvia

Georgie's

This term's projects are a runner led by me though most seem tempted by the table mat variation.
Margaret is doing a reversible quilt as you go block. Her method is intriguing and I plan to give it a go.

Margaret's quilt

Detail

The reverse

Detail

Margaret#s T quilt variation

Steady as she goes

I have been making steady progress with my applique blocks. I'm doing the top row and have just finished block 1 and number 2 will follow shortly.

Block 1

The layout so far with block top right

Doing the laundry

The blue fabric in of the quilts we made in Judi's Abracadabra workshop ran so today I washed the quilt with a handful of colour catchers to pick up excess dye. It's emerged looking good while the colour changers are blue - perhaps I should have taken the opportunity to dye some pieces! I hung it in my boiler room to dry - you can just see a colour catcher on the side of the wash basket. Now it's been ironed and is lying flat on the carpet. The lovely quilting is by Judi, an expert. The technique is one where you piece a simple 4 patch then cut it and reassemble.

Hanging

Lying

Quayquilter night

One of our members along with her partner does a lot of professional photography work and we are lucky to have them take pictures of our raffle quilt for publicity purposes. I took in my quilt stand to hang it on and many of us took the opportunity to take pictures. It's Gwenfai Rees Griffiths' "Houston Stars" pattern which appeared in British Patchwork and Quilting magazine a number of years ago (2003?) as a part work. Trish masterminded it and Mavis and I were her assistants but everyone in the group has contributed blocks. It's the first one not to have been hand quilted. We shall be selling tickets and displaying it at our quilt show in June in aid of a meningitis charity as we lost a dear member to this illness last year.

This is my photograph. I have another full on one but the colours appear garish in it which they are not!

Quay quilters Raffle Quilt

Hilary showed the quilt she made in time for Christmas - we loved the rick rack and the use of printed pictures and Pauline showed a charity quilt her daughter started using scraps backed with a fleece throw. After the first three rows it was down to Pauline to complete it! On which subject Mary B. bound two Linus quilts for me over the holiday which I collected. Pictures to follow anon.

Hilary's Christmas quilt which I'm sure will get a lot of use over the years.

Quilt for Linus, cuddly and soft.

Table Mats

Mats with central square

Vice versa  reverse side of mats with strips backing whole pieces. 

On a similar theme to double sided runners I decided to make a couple of table mats so that U3A members could opt to make a smaller project. I got rather carried away and made six and the two simpler ones on the basis that if we all get together there are more than six of us.
I learnt some useful lessons:
1. that fabrics in the same line do not all play well together
2. More blenders and backgrounds are required than stars
3. More of fewer colours is best
4. Each side can  need not two but three fabric groups allowing for the previous point.
Now I have to bind them all and look out for some of the pale gold print blender type fabric at Farnham on Sunday.

Just a simple square and side strips

Reverse side - I needed to add a bit of extra quilting to
 this version.

First Finish

My first "finish" of 2017 is yet another Linus picture play quilt. It's 159(f) in the inventory of quilts I have made. T he smaller ones and items like this in which other makers have had a greater or lesser share only count as part of a work.

Back with matching faced binding.

36 by 48: alternature framed and unframed 12" blocks.

Running into 2017

First one: I always use this side up

Reverse: the dark indigo shows every speck of dust in no time.

We are starting a fresh term with the U3A patchworkers and Margaret is going to be showing members two-sided quilt as you go blocks while on a similar theme I shall offer the option of a two sided table runner. I made the first one in a house group with friend Marion.

From the magazine:This one is extra long, 48" by 16" and stresses different colours of the same fabric range on each side

 Since then I found Karen Montgomery's pattern in Australian Patchwork and Quilting vol.8 no.1 and I note that the one I made with Marion had an extra square in a square in the middle and no extra triangle on the end, whether by accident or whether that was Marion's variation I don;t know. I later went on to make another one with Bonnies, smaller to fit my bedside chest and with no end triangles.

Bedside version: no end trangles

Reverse side

 (The first one is on my bedroom chest of drawers). It would also be possible to make a placemat sized version.
The first one I made had very differing fabrics on each side and I could't source a binding fabric to fit both so made my first double sided contrast binding.

Binding detail: single fold with two contrast 1.25" strips sewn lengthwise together.