Sewing away and at home

Sewing at Lower Hardres Village Hall

I got back from the retreat to enjoy two days of friendship and and stitching, one at Lower Hardres and a delicious Usual Suspects lunch day at Judi's.

This is Tansy's wonderful top following a pattern from an Australian designer

Meanwhile at home I have been completing the big stitch quilting on the Carolyn Forster strippy. At Judi's I asked for reassurance about my choice of surplus jelly roll strips for the binding.

Carolyn Forster Strippy 45x54"

The fabrics are pretty
but too washed out to
photograph well.

I have completed the top from Mandy Munroe's workshop and am very pleased with my fabric choices.

54" square

Then it was time to bite the bullet and rearrange my sewing room furniture for a machine quilting session. It wasn't so bad once I got started. I've quilted and attached the binding of the Peggy Martin Jelly Roll Jive and I think I have enough of the binding for the Marti Michell fat quarter log cabin which I am currently quilting.

Set up for machine quilting Jelly Roll Jive

Choice of Binding for both 
Westminster quilts

Diagonal lines on log cabins done but more to do on the straight and around the blocks.

When I've finished machining for the day I pop this giant tea cosy of a cover on my machine. I used left over pieces and  then machine appliqued flowers to decorate.

  

On a final note here is another Carolyn Forster inspired project, her BOM from Today's Quilter magazine, currently on the bed.

Retreat

When I got home from the cottage it was time for a quick washing run and transfer from one case to another ready for the West Watch 5 night retreat. It was back to East Anglia but I travelled with my friend Belinda so didn't have to drive.

Lots of charity quilts and children's quilts were being produced this time and while I thought I knew who made what now the details escape me.

This is Jackie's with a very effective offset
arrangement.

Chris's: the printed sashing is
another idea to copy.

Not who the maker was now.

I am fairly confident this was Debbie's.

And likewise, Julie's

Shades of Attic Window

Definitely Debbie's

Day 3

 I went home very happy after this morning's carousel, a new departure, as it was a collectors' carousel where quilt collectors talked about their collection or a particular aspect. I wish I could have gone to all of them.

Waiting for the start

I started with the two ladies Maxine and Jackie who between them have amassed 70 Canadian Red Cross quilts. These were sent over in World War II for the relief of bombed out families and such like. Some still have the Red Cross label attached to them. 

They made handling versions of some
designs used

Then I sat at Elizabeth Nally's table where she talked about two quilts made by ladies called Mary, one North Country and one Welsh and their quilts reflected very different styles of quilting. Elizabeth had done quite a bit of research into the makers which I appreciated very much.

Then Sally Stott and feedsack quilts but also lots of examples of feedsacks themselves whether with simply manufacturers' details on then or with prints to attract female purchasers. 

And finally the very knowledgeable Carolyn Gibbs whose heritage club I have belonged to over several months. She was talking about frame quilts, my favourite. Carolyn's day job teaching chemistry enables her to understand when and how fabrics and colours were made.

In excellent condition

A lovely design

I checked out the Sutton Hoo wall hanging all along one wall of the Atrium.

The icing on the cake was when I went along to the Big Party Tent for a final coffee and to check the various raffles was to find I had won the Oliso iron and wool mat in the Chinese auction and a beautiful pack of fat quarters from Euro Japan links with whom I had already spent spent most of my outlay.

Day 2

 

The afternoon (AGM in the morning) began with a a delightful talk by the inimitable Lynne Edwards. Her sampler books have been my mainstay.

There are always regional and national challenges for members to admire and vote for their choice. This was "Gems from Beyond" which gave rise to lots of possibilities. The hanging method along a corridor was very clever with clip hangers and a ticket label attached by a clothes peg.

And the label

This was my choice - so graphic.

And the label

The regional challenge was Treasures from the Earth and Maria Spiller's "The Amber Coast" was my choice.

The label

Quilts hung in the entrance hall of the mansion.

By Jane Cheshire
I loved the pale washed out look.

This was made by Rosemary Muntus

The lovely muted foliage
was made by Carol Donnison

The large strata quilt was made by
Helen Howes

Trademark isometrics from
Helen Butcher

When I got back to the cottage I thought the wicker fence provided a good photo location  for the quilts I had with me.

This Becky's nine patch block was made in 2006 when I retired from a stint as a prison librarian

There was a Black and white challenge and my quilt was called "No such thing (as black and white)" and I included words from John Donne's poem on the label "Stone walls do not a prison make . . ."

The quilt lives in my car but Alan likes a quilt to put over him when sitting so it's come inside for our stay.

And this is my Fibonacci quilt as seen on the bed in my last post. This was a workshop
(Carol Lyles Shaw) quilt but I love it partly because it contains two long hoarded favourite fabrics 

Quilt Display

 There was a varied display of quilts  the wall of the Atrium.

This quilt took on quite a different aspect seen from a distance.

Nine patches alternated with snowballs are also effective.

A version of Helen Howes'
sampler quilt

I love this

Cushions from Region 8 display a range of modern techniques

And lastly from me I brought my Fibonacci quilt to go on the bed in our lovely holiday cottage.

Quilters'Guild Agm and Conference weekend

 We woke up to snow and drove through snow when we set off but the weather eventually cleared and I got to Wherstead Park just in time for the Carousel, starting with Rosemary Muntus and the meditative practice of Boro. We each had a kit so got to do some stitching.

Rosemary's table

My Boro kit

Rosemary's sample

Next I made a beeline for Helen Howes and Tiger Blocks, a demonstration this time but one that opened up lots of possibilities.

Helen with her hand worked
Singer

Tiger blocks

Then Helen Butcher, Aitch Bee, who uses paper piecing to sew accurate 60 degree shapes. She demonstrated on a 99K hand cranked singer except hers was made in 1949 and mine in 1954, both in Scotland.

More isometric shapes with the delightful Betty Ball, a retired maths teacher, this time made using mostly EPP but also some applique.

Betty printed the text fabrics herself

In the afternoon I listened to her talk on the masterful and very varied work of Katie Pasquini Masopust followed by Helen Howes' lively talk about modern quilts.