Kaffe Fassett crosses

I have decided to make the Maria Spiller workshop small version of crosses as a practice before my larger project. I am using nine Kaffe Fassett layer cake 10"  squares

Squares cut in half at an angle
and strips cut 1" wide

Strips added to one half

Pressed ready to join

Pieced square sliced again and
another strip inserted to make
the cross.

Trimming the blocks to the
 same size

Mine ended up at 9.75" square

Nine blocks sewn together. I will do the next stage
at the Oast Sewing Day on Sunday.

I

I wanted my crosses to line up and not to waste fabric so to join accurately I made sure the quarter inch line lay where the fabric pieces met. 

 

A Day Out

 Yesterday six of us set off to the Little Shop of Fabrics which turned out to be very large and very well stocked in a modern barn and on two floors with a very spacious workroom and two long arm machines for hire. I bought two lots of low volume backgrounds and black Grunge to use as required. 

Of course this was followed by a very reasonable ladies who lunch lunch at the Flying Horse pub then home to admire our purchases.

Paying for purchases

This just a small proportion

Disappearing crosses with Maria Spiller

 Yesterday I took part in a "Disappearing Crosses" day with Maria Spiller. The workshop piece finished around 24" square but needless to say I want to do something more body sized so while some participants finished I am still making crosses. I hope to make further progress when Maria teaches for Oast next week.

Maria offered three different options for the block using layer cake squares or a single background or multi coloured. I chose the second, using three different but related half yards.

One insert

Two inserts

So far so good

I did finish my leader enders and can't wait to lay them out.

Now my crosses will be leader enders while I sew my letterbox blocks together.

After that I really must finish the two fabric fusion quilts I have on the go. Then it is time to get down to  quilting some of my UFO's.

Always busy!

Leader enders

 I finished my plaidish blocks today - I think I will call this a Letterbox Quilt. Between each four patch I sewed "leader enders" (in this case the green crosses blocks), Bonnie Humter's  word and idea.

Going Going

 to the Hospice who have asked for replacements for those worn out by repeated washing and use. I sorted these out knowing which ones Isabel and Sophie wanted.

The top right one though has a different destination.

Every day I am trying to make sure something leaves my house never to return. Today it was a lot of redundant paperwork into recycling. 

SOLD!

By arrangement a lovely mother (Isabel) and daughter (Sophie) came round to look at my quilts with a view to purchase. In the days before this made me get round to sorting out and rearranging my quilts in storage which made me feel much better. And I always enjoy a chance to show my quilts to people especially appreciative ones like my visitors who bought three.

To Isabel for £150, not a market price but I don't charge for the
enjoyment of making.

This one for Sophie for £45 which was the price still on it from the Arts and Crafts Show. It has been around for quite a time with no takers.

And this one which was made as an example of Log Cabin for Quay students. I'd forgotton it had such a nice layout. it went to Isabel for £125.

 A

Colonial Ladies

 

At Quay Quilters this week Vanessa brought in this quilt she was quilting but as she didn't particularly like it wished to pass it on. She had been sent the vintage blocks by her sister and made them up very successfully.

The quilt found a new home, not with me as I have enough!!

New Year, New Project

 I should really be tackling one of my many UFOs but I have long been on the  look out for a suitable project for Laura Ashley scrap bag fabrics, many offcuts from garment manufacture plus other brushed cottons and stripes and checks. There is some viyella added too. Most date from 70s/80s.

I am using Sandy Bonsib's method from her 2005 "Tried and True" book now I guess out of print but available secondhand. She made 6" blocks while mine will finish at 7 1/2", the largest I could get with the size of the scraps.

To make two blocks I cut two 3.5" squares from a contrast fabric, mostly floral scraps and added the same size main fabric squares on either side and finished off with 9.5" strips top and bottom. There was no need to be super accurate with the latter as blocks will be trimmed.

1. Here are the two starter blocks side by side.

2. Now right sides UP on top of
each other.

3. Slice in to at a slight angle but
more or less centrally.

4. Put one of the cut pieces
underneath so that two
different sections are
on top

5. Join the top two and then the 
bottom two sections matching
 centre seams as far as possible

6. Trim the block to it's unfinished size using a ruler or square and wonky angle. The left one is complete. 

7. The final pair of blocks; they come together very quickly.

Starting the New Year sewing with friends

 

Five of us met to enjoy time sewing and chatting in the delightful Chartham Hatch Village Hall within memory a two classroomed primary school.

I was able to carry my machine, a Pfaff Passport bought from a deceased friend's estate and cut and sewed the square in a square blocks I'd completed the night before. On the table they have been divided into three piles divided roughly by value, the completed blocks in the foreground.

By packing up time I had cut sewn and trimmed 38 blocks to 8" squares following a pattern in the Sandy Bonsib "Tried and True" book (2005). 

My source

I made this mug rug last year and because the applique was a bit naff I didn't think much of it but now I've forgotton what the original source looked like  I'm fond of this this especially the outline hand quilting and the machined asterisks around the edge and the spaces.

Christmas mug rug made following a U3A applique course.

 Handwork while watching TV these dark winter days. EPP Quilt of the Crosses, mostly in Liberty fabrics.

What's Occuring

 A New Year's resolution should be to keep up with blog posts. Anyway here is a collection of bits and bobs.

On the 16th the Queen Beez had a lovely day at Maggie's with us each contributing parts of our lunch. Delicious! Once more I saw Maggie's great stack and whackery squares quilt using two different but coordinating fabrics.  Very taken with this idea.

We are embarking on a second joint quilt and started with a selected fabrics from the kit. We shall shop our stash and a shopping trip is planned.

Kit fabrics

Matching up with stash

I am very excited about my current project, a disappearing block from a book by Sandy Bonsib. I am using brushed cottons and a long held basket of Laura Ashley scraps from the early days of her shops, mostly offcuts from clothes manufacture.

Using such a plethora to cut from makes a mess but I am loving it.

Advent quilt on the bed which I should have changed on Christmas Eve.
I shall change it when I get back from my son's where we've spent Christmas Day.

It has a wool blend wadding and
 is hand as well as machine quilted. Very cosy!

Christmas gift from Mary I bought from Material Obsession on her recent trip to Australia

Commissioned snails screen printed
by the very gifted Penny Jeffries

From Maggie a beautifully worked pincushion

Pile of quilts for the Ukrainian family to choose from.

This was one of the selected ones.

And this is the tree skirt I made under the direction of Mary I.

Lower Hardres Sewing Day

 We enjoyed a lovely shared lunch and treats today. I cut out hexagons for Green Tea and the opportunity to lay out Dancing Tildas (again!!) only finished on Sunday and Snails finished last night. Only then did I notice the misturned blocks in the bottom corner but I rather like them. No going back now!

Snails

Jenny got a lot done on her madly scrappy quilt joining it in sections rather than rows - a much nicer way with lots of small blocks. 

Jenny's

Quay Quilters' Sewing afternoon

 

Manx patchwork

Today Quay Quilters held a sewing session from 1pm to 6pm in St Catherine's Church Hall in Faversham. Three of us did our own thing while the others learnt how to do Manx Log Cabin with Pauline with the aim of making a cushion. Pauline also showed with very clear instructions and samples how to make a zipped cushion back with a flange incorporated to cover the zip.

The top picture is of Pam's first block which uses the front and reverse of her chosen fabrics. The Manx ladies used measurements of hands and joints to measure their pieces and the resultant version of  folded log cabin is self quilted.
I listened and learned and will give it a go when I have time.
Meanwhile I finished binding my Tilda quilt the last of my official Ukrainian donation projects.

Hilary's with a clever use of stripes - the other one is Pam's. She used front and back of a couple of her fabrics.

My Dancing Tildas quilt 47.5x58.5"

Green Tea and Sweet Beans

 I am up to date with the first two stints of Jen Kingwell's multifarious quilt pattern.

I did the top left block by machine - so many inset seams. I resorted to handsewing for the other two which was probably as quick.

The propellers were made from self drafted templates and machine sewn and the lozenge blocks from sew and flip squares on two corners of a rotary cut square.