Local retreat

 Six of us stayed in all of the six large comfortable bedrooms in a local pub and  spent five happy weekdays sewing in the spacious function room. Three were all or mainly hand sewing while Maggie and I got to work on our machines, expert Maggie being incredibly skilled and productive. Here is some of her handiwork:

Here is the Fabric Fusion quilt she did after seeing mine. She used two fabrics with alternating blocks, an idea I'd like to try in my turn. She added the wide borders while we there.

These fussy cut flowers are framed so that the blocks are self sashing. Wonderful use of black and white.

More wide extravagant borders

Maggie's strippy quarter square spiderwebs will be added to later. Strips are organised into their own separate bags.

I liked how the blocks
combined to form a double
Irish Chain pattern,

More flamboyant borders.

Sunny

 

Sunny 78.5" square

This is "Sunny" last in a long line of rotary fussy-cut  four patch quilts started in a Judy Johnson class at Sisters. The feature fabric is a Westminster, I think by Philip Glass and the woven sashing  and border fabrics are by Alison Glass. The dyed framing fabrics came from a friend who attended committed to cloth. It's nearly 80" square and the lovely quilting with flowers, sways and feathers was done by Maggie Breakspear.

I am trying to pay a little bit more attention to the backs of my quilts.

The back

Off and On

 At the moment I am putting single quilts on our bed laid crosswise. It isn't very cold at the moment (though our bedrooms are cool being built into the slope of the site) and it's a chance to enjoy them more fully. 

Quay Quilt

This is the quilt I took off my bed yesterday. This dates from 2000. The Q in the centre refers to my group Quay Quilters which used to have a tea towel with blocks printed on to sell at their quilt show. I drafted the blocks and made the quilt. It was started in Kuala Lumpur at the end of our year there and finished back home in the UK.

A River Runs Through It quilt

The one on my bed now was made from Mary Fisher (the Aids campaigner) fabrics I bought from her at Houston. I have made several quilts whereby four fabric repeats are secured on top of each other and four identical stacks are cut and arranged to form new patterns. Squares give the most options but here are HSTs (two options) and QSTs (one option) as well as strips. It is hand quilted in fish net style. I love it.

Home Today

62.5 x 73" approx.

Shortly after eleven last night I sewed the last mitre on my stack and whackery squares quilt using Brandon Mably's map fabric. Making this was a chance to play with colour and pattern. I will try to sell it eventually and if no one buys it it will be given to Linus or Siblings Together.  I think it works and I'm very pleased.
Tomorrow I'll trim and press the mitres, pack away my machine and cut the pieces for my Woolies kit.

And again!

Fabric Fusion

I made the top based on  Judy Johnson's Fabric Fusion class at Sisters some time ago but as it is a "keeper" hesitated as to how to quilt it. In the end I hand quilted it using curves derived from a CD and a card circle drafted to fit the unit size. Most of the feature squares are four patches of identical rotated squares, stack and whackery I call it. The Tuscany wool wadding was easy to quilt through and makes for a very puffy and bouncy effect. I'm about halfway round the binding which uses more of the Little Black Dress feature fabric.