Region 2 Lullingstone Show

Jenny Rayment opening the show in inimitable fashion

The Region two Show has moved from September to July and from Hever Castle to Lullingstone Castle. The setting was lovely and the host Hart-Dyke family were very hands on. The craft stalls that used to be at Hever have moved with us and under the aegis of the Guild. Lots of quilts were submitted for display in the house and in a marquee. Set up took a long time because of the unfamiliar surroundings and the difficulty of fitting everything in but we did it.
Here are my quilts.

Kona Bay DNP

Westminster Chimes

Last of the retreat

On the last day I took these last two pictures of Marigold's strippy (we loved the sashing fabric) and Stephanie's Anita Solomon project from a Houston workshop made in a very clever way.

Marigold's

Stephanie chose super fabrics for a graphic effect

More from the retreat

Marigold's churn dashes

Isabels "propellers"

Mandy's cobblestones

and detail

Mandy's DNP

Isabel's applecores

Retreat activities

I brought a variety of things to do with me this time. Everything took longer than expected but I'm pleased with having moved so many things further along and having brought years old projects to the fore.
First up was a back for the Map quilt top I made here in April. I wanted to use up my leftover fabric and made some more blocks. It still isn't big enough so fellow retreaters brought back some lovely textured black from the shop to add to all four sides.

Back mostly complete

Top done in April

My Westminster strip quilt from a Jane Hall workshop at Houston was supposed to be an evening respite from more concentrated work but once started I couldn't stop not least because of the messy plethora of strips and fabric everywhere. It was done quite thoughtlessly and it shows but at least it's now out of the bag. I will make seven more blocks and possibly border it if I have something suitable in my stash.

Just testing for size

Lastly I am so pleased with Judi's help to have completed the last two blocks of my Roundabout quilt from Karla Alexander's workshop at Sisters which we sewed together. The fabrics were provided as a kit and now the blocks have been trimmed look great together. Just 6 by 7" oblongs to fill the gaps to do.

Block layout

Letha's Fan

This is the Siblings together block for the month, Letha's Fan or Electric Fan. Mine came out a bit too big but hey!

Deceptively lurid photo

Making headway

Final section of basting

I spent the best part of two decades on and off hand piecing blocks in sizes from 3 to 9 inches in multiples of 1.5. As I went I noted how many of each size I had made and the total square inches till I had reached my minimum. Then I made some more. The blocks lay fallow but eventually I took a piece of squared paper, each square to represent 1.5" and drew my 6 squares by 6 nine inch blocks dotted about, then the 7.5" blocks, the 6", 4.5" and 3" filling in remaining spaces with 1.5" squares. I marked sections to be sewn and it involved lots of complicated multiple partial piecing but the sewing was so enjoyable and the drafting plan which had seemed such an obstacle was quick and straightforward to do.
Back and wadding cut and sewn and another pause but I put on my weekly target "sandwich "Joseph's Coat" " and now it is done -  tacking taking three days with respites. 
I have been worried about the quilting but put aside a design that seemed a possibility. The spaces are 1.5" but I may reduce that slightly to allow for drawing in chalk around the templates. I'll stick my photo copy onto card .
Anyway I've made a small piece of 4.5" rail fence units to try out the quilting and thread colours first.

Sample piece tacked ready to try out the quilting pattern.

A picture of the top taken in 2017

Sandown 04

I didn't take pictures of the showiest quilts but the ones that spoke to me or inspire me. Maureen Crawford had a special display and I liked her varied pieces.

Maureen Crawford: Modern Quilt with applique rather than piecing.

Maureen Crawford:Falling Leaves
I have a pattern similar to this.

Gill Cannon of Oast won third prize for her miniature quilt, "Cornish Harbour"

 .

Striptease by Qercus Quilters of  Sevenoaks, Kent., a personal favourite.

Detail

Sandown 03

Quilts from Quilts in a weekend
by Pam and Nicky Lintott

Detail

Detail: lovely jelly roll

Sandown 02

Maggie and I both had other quilts in the show as did Tracy.
Also Margaret Harrison, my U3A colleague, won a cup for embellishment.

Tracy's quilt is a masterpiece.

Here am I with Stepping Stones

Maggie's Rainbow Nation

Margaret's "Obsession" : machine embroidered blocks with lots of extra
handwork and joined with exquisite handwork and sequin stars

Sandown Quilt Show

I went with four friends to the Sandown Quilt Show yesterday and we had the best time of socialising, shopping and quilt viewing. Three of us had quilts in the show and we stayed until the very end in order to collect them. After coffee our first stop was the quilt Maggie and I did for our friend Mary. We shared the piecing then Maggie custom quilted it on her longarm machine and added the binding which I hand sewed down. A joy to make and a labour of love. As a bonus Maggie won a first for machine quilting.

Mary's Garden made by Maggie and me for Mary Inglis

Detail

And here we are, me on right.

Wash Day

Lovely sunny day yesterday so I thought I would wash a quilt, the ninth one I made with fabrics now much faded, one of two log cabins I made in tandem. I used to wash quilts quite frequently but now I am approaching two hundred they don't get used so much. I do think washing improves drape and feel.

Block of the month

I caught up with the June block but made a hash of the appliqued centre square so I unpicked it resulting in a haystack of messy threads and I replaced it.

The original version

Horrible centre square 
badly sewn

Replacement piece

Final version

Blocks so far laid out

Quay Quilters evening - very strange photo. I am holding up the bag for syringe drivers for cancer sufferers so they don't have
 to wheel a mast around the place.

On and off the bed

It's nearly time to remake the bed. This is a quilt I've always thought of as a single but I've laid it sideways on our bed and it's been very nice to see the rather unusual blocks and very nice hand quilting. I'm not sure I can do it as well now.

Today's Quilter BOM block

May block

For the first time I fell behind with my Carolyn Forster block of the month project. But now I am up to date having completed the May block and have just a small square to applique onto the June block. The July block will be Letha's Fan a block I have made a few times and had hoped never to do again! This is a hand piecing project but I have set myself the challenge of sewing by machine which is more fiddly in most cases than working by hand. 

In the Post

The back

The front

As part of clearing up for family visiting this weekend I folded and wrapped and posted off the DNP variation quilt to Siblings together. It's a good size - they want quilts to be at least 50" on the shorter sides - suitable for an older teenager.
Have three more to donate to Linus next month.

June block

I was a  bit late with my Siblings Together block for May so was determined to be on time for June. These monthly exercises are always very intriguing.  This is an unusually constructed version of  a traditional block from The Fat Quarter Shop. This is a link to the video. If you google Fat Quarter Shop Hunters Star pattern the pdf link will come up too. I made a mistake with my first attempt - I cut the larger squares in half instead of leaving them whole and I should have trimmed my block before adding the corner pieces.

A finish and a start

On the floor

Vertical

I used some long held knights and castles fabric to make a simple child quilt. I added the rows quilt as you go sew and flip fashion onto the backing and wadding then added a bit more quilting.

My blocks

At the weekend I went to an Oast "Hever Stars" workshop with Judi Kirk. I had helped to make the original quilt which was raffled in aid of the Quilters Guild Region 2 but this was a chance to sample Judi's methods of block construction and extras she had learnt along the way. I was originally planning a large quilt when I signed up but after a reality check decided on a smaller child sized project. I'm using a grunge background - fortunately repeatable as I need more and plentiful Alison Glass and bright prints for the stars.