Oast January meeting

 It was our first meeting of the New Year today and a great start, the speaker being Nancy Adamek of Lina Patchwork.

Seven Sisters

Here's what I wrote on my Blip page

"Nancy of https://www.linapatchwork.com/
gave a most wonderful talk on how she came to quilt making and started up her business cutting and selling papers for EPP along with kits and appearing at shows. She is such a skilled and exquisite maker along with being very nice and very efficient. Orders appear in double quick time. 
Her mother was making this quilt for her before she died and Nancy finished it. Tracy giving the vote of thanks finished with "Your mother would be really proud today". Tears all round and not just Nancy's."

and on the Oast Facebook page

"My EPP days are done apart from joining up QOTC BOM blocks I misguidedly signed up to a few years age. It was only by month nine or ten I realised the joining four 1" pieces to make a 2" square and two 1" separate pieces to make a 2x1" oblong was silly I hesitantly asked Nancy if she had 2" square and 1x2" oblong pieces thinking she must think me an idiot when she said "of course" and they arrived pronto and the later blocks look much better as a result. Before her Lina days even I would take Nancy's quilts to Hever and feel very proud to be the bearer of such beautiful pieces. And before that I singled her out as maker of some lovely quilts at Dragonflies shows."

And it was good to see Show & Tell with my Letterbox quilt and Belinda's beautiful Carolyn Forster QAYG BOM from Today's Quilting. I made the latter too but with virtually no hand piecing or quilting. Belinda's superior care and skill shines out (but I still also like mine too!)

Letterbox

Belinda's BOM

Oast Sewing Bee

 Under Liz's guidance we made log cabin santas. This is not my kind of thing but they did look jolly. My husband was taken with them and more so with the idea people would spend a day making them.

On a similar note Tracy once taught a class to make mug bags and now we all have one and they appear at Sewing days.

Sewing Day at Chartham Hatch, Tracy at left.

Mug bags, mine at left. Only four of us that day.

And at the same time I'll include pictures of two runners in the making, started in an enjoyable Guild workshop which I sold at the Arts and Crafts Show.

Just the blocks

Aja's Quilt

 I have quite a few bits and bobs of photos backed up and will pick and choose what to post at this late stage. New year's resolution to keep up with blogging as I like to read it and refer back.

A major preoccupation at the end of 2024 was a "commission" from my daughter in law. It was a 60x70" piece and as close as we could make it copy of one she had seen on the net, largish angled pieces and insertions and improvisational in appearance. She selected solid colours from a fabric colour chart.

I wanted to contact the original maker but it turned to be a commercial design to be reproduced to order so I can't show it here.

I will content myself with a picture of the two colour binding, blue on the front and aqua on the back and the back was a lage scale vibrant print I've had for some time.

I had to sew 1.5 inch strips together
and the join them lengthwise

Sewn and pressed

The back

This was such a challenge but the outcome was very exact - I drafted a full scale pattern laid out on the living room floor - and I'm so pleased I rose to it. I usually go for the easiest option.

Letterbox Quilt

Letterbox Quilt 73.5x79

 I have so enjoyed making this quilt. I will check out the book that inspired it. I have referred to it in earlier posts. It includes long held scraps of fabrics Laura Ashley scrap bags and dressmaking pieces including my first maternity smock, brushed cotton, viyella, wovens  and shirtings as well as ditsy cottons and lawns.It is a keeper holding memories of earlier times and was made as such. So many of my quilts are made to explore a technique, made in a workshop, to use certain fabrics and made to sell or give away.  Sometimes one of these turns out to be a keeper and sometimes a keeper is disappointing.

The back

Marking proved impossible. Chalk and soap threatened not to rub out or show at all. The wide back was plainish and I could mark slightly wayward flattened clamshells as I went with a frixion pen. I had bigstitch quilted in the ditch first so I could keep reasonably straight. For the rest of the quilting I used regular quilting cotton as I didn't want anything to interfere with the piecing too much. I enjoyed every cosy minute.

Once done I ironed away the markings. I left on excess wadding and backing. I had tacked all round the edge in perle thread at the outset as a guide for quilting so was happy to take it the launderette for washing and drying.

Then I trimmed and bound it using what I had, not "perfect" but cheery. I have the sleeve ready to attach and then will label it. I often incclude a snatch of poetry. The words to the Beatles song "Please, please Mr Postman" suggest themselves.

This is the third quilt finished this year and I have two more "significant" tops awaiting borders.