Block 11

Block 11 awaiting applique circle and outer frame

 When I made the previous block after a long gap I forgot my approach to machining these. I struggled because I made finished size templates to cut out the pieces so I had no markings to assist me with tricky inset seams and angles. This time I placed finished size templates on the fabric and outlined the sewing line adding dots to the stopping places and then inserted the pencil in my brass quilters' wheel to follow around the card template to mark the cutting line. The latter is a wonderful device.

In the process

This shows the template, wheel and my drawn lines on a background piece.

Jelly Roll Crosses

 I have sewn down the last of the binding on my jelly roll crosses quilt. The jelly roll came "free" with a magazine subscription and the quilt be be sold or donated. Like many jelly roll projects the result is a little bit unsatisfactory and sameish but I think it will fit in with a lot of home decors. It's a lockdown quilt. 

After the rather mindless lockdown sewing I'm returning to some ongoing challenges starting with the Carolyn Forster BOM from 2019 Today's Quilter magazine. It's a hand piecing project but just to be awkward I am doing it by machine which for many of the blocks is MORE difficult and time consuming. This is Block 10 of 13 and there are 12 setting blocks.  It took up my sewing time over three days and there was a lot of unpicking.

Queen Beez get together

Queen Beez Mary and Maggie

 Last Thursday we managed to hold our long postponed Queen Beez meeting at Mary's, sitting outside under a vast umbrella in the morning and as a concession to the virus eating our own lunches then inside for shadier cooler sewing. I brought my bag of lockdown quilts to show. Mary was working on projects the school she works at had asked her to help with but had also sandwiched the houses top which her daughter likes. Maggie has completed a stunning summer quilt commission which I'll photograph when it's exhibited, a small piece for her workroom wall and a lovely modern quilt with lots of black and white background fabrics.

Maggie's baby quilt

Maggie's quilt top

Mary's very pretty houses quilt

Sewcial

Chairperson Liz in the crown she has made to celebrate Queen Ethelberga festivities.
The village church is named for this queen who was instrumental in spreading Christianity in her realm.

A small group, mostly local, met in Tayne Field, Lyminge, to sew and chat, It is so nice to meet in person and I wanted to quickly discuss dates with our group chair, secretary and vice chairperson who were all there. Much easier than email. There was a bit of Show & Tell too as we sat in the shade of an ancient oak.

Scarecrow spotted in Elham on the
way home

Assignment completed

 The Quay Quilters' raffle blocks proved very time consuming as I was at pains to be accurate with little margin for error. Because of the sharp navy/white contrast in the ditch quilting was done very slowly with an open toe walking foot on my Janome. They will be joined quilt-as-you-go.

The fronts

We had to supply our own fabric for the back, something to reflect on lockdown. I chose telephones for remote family communications, scissors for all the sewing and chicks/birds either for birdsong and the consolations of nature or for food and weight gain!

The reverse

Trip to Yorkshire

This is my first post since the new blogger. I am am just plunging in fingers crossed. I am just back from a trip to stay in a "bubble" with my husband's cousin in Ilkley. I took a quilt to sew the binding down but didn't do any stitching at all, too tired after a lot of fresh air and too busy talking. I can just offer up the "patchwork" tiles above.

We enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the River Wharf. I took a picture from the bridge at Ilkley - various young lads were splashing about. We walked several miles along the river from Barden Bridge on the Duke of Devonshire's Bolton Abbey estate. One of the Duke's Cavendish ancestors must have done quite well out of the dissolution of the monasteries. And yes the Devonshire Duke's main estate, Chatsworth, is in Derbyshire, Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire and there's a castle in Ireland too.

Ilkley High Street with Sunday market selling specialist foods.

River at Ilkley seen from the bridge

Flower meadow at Harlow Carr RHS garden.

Dancing hares at Harlow Carr

On  the way to Grassington we stopped to take this picture of the lovely valley below.

On the way home we stopped at the American cemetery near Cambridge which commemorates nearly 9000 dead, some with graves and others with no known resting place with inscribed names. The chapel was so beautiful. It is so sad to think of those young lives cut short. The visitors' centre highlights many individual stories and research is being carried out to learn more about each individual as far as possible.

Each cross inscribed with a name

The chapel