Bits and bobs

Trish's setting square

Trish has designed a very successful pieced setting triangle. My problem is a shortage of fabric and I am still hankering after appliqued dragonflies. I shall have to set aside a time for play.

Gargantuan

Today we changed the bed and Gargantuan will be a regular pre Advent choice (ie pre pre Christmas!).
Yesterday was Usual Suspects day and it was so good to get together after what seems a long gap. The main event was poring over Judi's purchases and very interesting projects.

Judi's quilt top for a very lucky baby.

Belinda's for a very lucky girl too!

Last week the Quay Quilters meeting went well with Show & Tell and more work on our group quilt - it is mainly hand quilted.

Jane's

Jane again, a small gift

Mary B's made entirely from recycled
fabrics, everything except the
batting.

Jenny's table runner.

Vanessa's to hang behind the Christmas
tree.

Gillian's, very straightforward and very effective.

Onwards and upwards

I made my correction (thanks for the kind words, Tracy) - it's that kind of quilt and I've settled on my layout for the now completed Bonny blocks. Six are extras - my companions are making a larger quilt. Now I'm thinking about the setting triangles. I'll see what Trish comes up with next time.

Correction

Bonny blocks layout

The rejects, probably for a charity
piece.

Grrrr!

I have pieced and framed all the twenty Bonnie blocks but when I was starting to quilt them I found this. How did I did not see it !!! I wondered whether to leave it but decided it would bug me too much.

A finish

I had some owl blocks which I didn't use for my project but thought I should use them up: hence this Linus quilt. Far from perfect but sturdy enough and hopefully the child recipient will like it.

The larger owl prints were cut from a panel.

Bonnie Blocks

I've just added text to yesterday's blog; yesterday the keyboard wouldn't type b's or n's which made for a load of gibberish. My husband has cured it by a talking to and a severe bash!
Here are the latest Bonnie blocks; mine appear in an earlier post. Only four more to go.

Trish's at top. Mavis's left and Fran's on right.

Assembly

After many stages along the way and many hours we were ready to assemble our handquilted blocks. We had three machines on the go and we all chipped in with the necessary ironing and hand sewing. It was a pleasant social time with more opportunities for chat than in regular meetings and we shared a lovely lunch too. Once assembled the quilt had a look of an old American one though there are many up to date fabrics included and the illusion of circles around the sashing squares was a lovely surprise. Vanessa is going to do some expert machine quilting on the sashes and Trish is going to machine embroider a label on the negative space of our one spare block. No wonder we look pleased with ourselves.

The team minus me

The team with me in Lime cardie and apron

Catching down the wdding so it doesn't gape

Heather, Trish and Mavis

Not far to go now

Sewing with others

I think that after this post I shall be up to date with my photosharing; then shortly I'll have some finishes to upload, like buses they'll be done all at once. Just now I'm piecing a back for my Linus owls quilt and stitching the binding on the paisleys swirls and then on the green U3A quilt. Lots to do while watching television. Meanwhile here are the blocks from the Bonnie quilters' (Mavis in purple, Trish in Repros., me in blues and Fran in b/w)  last get together. I also attended the local Quilters' Guild birthday party where we did a very successful hand sewing project in the morning. I need to be dragged kicking and screaming through anything 3D and/or  folded but Sally guided us very successfully through the various stages of making origami butterfly broaches.

Group photo; it looks like a cabinet drawer has been pulled out.
Mine is bottom right.

Mine is suitable for a (girl) child.
 

Last from the Retreat

Julie's double wedding ring; the lighter centre is inspired.

Julie quilted it herself on her longarm machine

Another project from Julie, all made from scraps

detail

Linus Quilt from Kathy. She kindly gave me a handout on how to make the
dancing squares border.

More from retreaters

Pam's jelly roll quilt; In the background you can see Heather's apple
core units.

As well as Heather my other companions on our set of tables were Pat and Kathy. We all enjoyed our time together. I sat near Pam last year and we like to share a glass of wine together in the evening. In the summer we found ourselves at the Traditional Quilters' Group retreat and were both in the same Jackie Taylor workshop and making the same quilt. Pam finished her top on this  retreat. Mine awaits quilting at home. She also worked on a colourful diamonds quilt from a Kaffe Fassett workshop at Lady Sew and Sew. I'm familiar with this as two of the Usual Suspects have made one from when he taught at FOQ.

  Meanwhile Kathy worked on quite a complicated design using 30's style fabrics; she'd also added to her stock of exquisite Liberty Star Rose hand sewn blocks since I last saw her. Like five others on this retreat she is a professional long armer and had made a lovely quilt with linen sashing which added an interesting texture.

Detail of jelly roll blocks

Kathy's 30's quilt taking shape

Pam's Fassett diamonds in bright jewel tones

Kathy's Star roses made in Liberty fabrics

Kathy's quilt

Detail of Kathy's Christmas quilt
showing linen sashing

Sitting near Heather

Usually on these retreats I sit near Heather and I always enjoy seeing her work. She has an unerring eye for colour and design whatever style she turns her mind to and is always trying out new ideas. This visit was no exception. For more check out her blog (link above and there is a pattern site too) but here's what I photographed this time.

Heather's Modern Logs

Detail

Mandy's quilting on Heather's Oakshot quilt

Heather with "A Walk in the Woods" made with supplied
Oakshot fabrics.
 

Retreat still

Red Riding Hood block

Top done

Detail

Still more from last week's retreat. After completing the little people top minus border I opened up a kit I bought from Quilters' Haven a couple of years ago featuring Aneela Hoey fabrics, rather Scandinavian looking. The mindless sewing I'd hoped for didn't come my way as matching the two way directional pale grey print frames (more or less) proved tricky and there were a few miscuts and wails too but I learnt a lot so it wasn't mindless. I learnt about cutting slanted frames, that a 30 degree angle was involved and just how I needed to consider the direction of stripes when cutting. I needed to align them horizontally for one pair and vertically for the  other. I worked it out only to realise the pattern diagrams showed it if only I'd looked carefully. The blocks finish at 8" so this is a good sized child's quilt. Isla might want it.

Yvette with her completedred and white top

Mandy's huge piece; thank goodness she has a longarm

Detail

Suzy's leaf blocks

Still with the U3A

Wreath shapes applied to wrong side of fabric,
paper side UP, sticky side DOWN.

Betty's pinwheel cut out.



Betty's pinwheels

We are on Week Two of making heart wreath runners based largely on a Jeanne Gentry project published in British Patchwork & Quilting. The members completed pinwheel blocks last week and traced the  heart wreaths (which I redrafted just to check how they worked) onto fusible web at home. Now we cut out the tracings roughly and applied the sticky side to the wrong side of the wreath fabric. We protected the ironing boards with a cloth and the irons with greaseproof paper. Then a teabreak to allow the fused units to cool; these again we cut out roughly and then exactly on the drawn lines, We took especial care with the central star as the cut out piece could also be used to decorate.



Doreen's wreath and discarded paper backing; note
the St John Star in the centre achieved by
placing the outer star points on the pinwheel lines.

Denise's, I think, all done and dusted
and a different star in centre as the inner
star points were placed on the
diagonal seam lines.

Maureen's wreaths ready to apply and the cut out stars can also
be used.