Long time no see

I feel very remiss in not posting - I have been away again to the Rossendale Valley for a family meet up and a week of not quilting but revisiting old haunts including a former spinning mill at Helmshore (photo). Checking back through the blogs to see where I'm up to I realise I do have some quilting achievements to my name since the last posting. Firstly I've pieced the Twisted Sisters blocks from the workshop. And I've also completed three more Patchwork Party blocks, making six in all so halfway there. A lot of my time has been sorting out text, drawings and photos for a project to submit to a magazine. This was suggested to me by an editor ages ago but I had to keep making more quilts but the Rambling Roses afternoon session when I gave kits for a charity version has concentrated the mind so I rejigged the piecing sequence and sorted the pressing instructions and its gone gone. Running out of colour on the printer and buying a new printer (which uses cheaper cartridges) didn't help. Anyway I'll blog a lot about this anon once the pattern's been in the magazine and becomes a back issue.

Last day on retreat and Group Sewing Day

On the last day of our retreat Tracy came to spend the time bringing fresh rolls for lunch and cake for tea. She was handsewing a detailed mosaic design with lots of fussy cutting in her favourite fresh greens and bright pinks.
Today, a week later, I've spent the day in Maggie's workroom with fellow Crab & Winkle members making totes and peg bags for the Oast Quilters' show next year. Maggie is quilting a piece made jointly with her mother and daughter and we also looked at a quilt of her mother's ready to bind and a piece started in a Janet Bolton workshop.

RR Workshop: Twisted Sisters

On the 3rd October I taught a "workshop" or rather a charity sewing sewing day, more properly known as Mary's sweatshop. In the morning everyone had an Ami Simms Twisted Sisters ruler and pattern and made blocks for a charity quilt though Andy and Mellony made a practice block and went on to make their own blocks, Andy using brown and deep pink. The afternoon's project I have been asked to submit to a magazine so I'll keep it under wraps here for a while. Problem is I keep having to make more examples!
Any way here are the Twisted Sisters blocks. The aqua one with fish has been made by Melanie (another spelling, another quilter) from another quilt group.

More Katharine Guerrier blocks & a wedding

Although many Oast members are making KG star blocks they all look different because of the nature of our stashes. Liz's are BRIGHT and Belinda's include lots of dots. Also while there Liz finished a group wedding and 60th birthday quilt for a member. It will have been presented by now.

Back to the Quilting retreat

During the retreat last week I largely worked on my Katharine Guerrier blocks. I cut out and sewed more than enough of the centre stars and then completed the blocks - I now have 42. I'm looking forward to setting them out but am waiting till I have a good block of time. In the meantime I'm going to make a 36" sample for my magazine project and an alternate centre block arrangement, write the instructions and submit. I'm also committed to a demonstration/practical session for our group, Quayquilters, on special rulers in November so have to plan that out too. Today though we are having a pub lunch, visiting Sissinghurst and admiring the beautiful autumn foliage.

Quilters' Guild Birthday 03

On the quilt front at the birthday party Hilary showed an interlaced star and Jean, who had been inspired by Katharine Gurrier's talk at Oast Quilters, showed a scrappy ninepatch. A lot of people hadn't brought anything which was disappointing as I think Show & Tell is so enjoyable. I was probably too much in the other direction as I'd brought my U3A quilt and a Twisted Sisters top to show and I was handquilting my batik ninepatches plus snowballs which went on show too. What an insufferable swot!

Guild Birthday Party 02

Here are some non quilt items from the Guild Show and Tell: Caryl's textile book of her holiday, a pincushion worked in the Japanese folded technique and Hilary's jacket from a Guild workshop with Prue Bell where strips were sewn onto a sweat shirt to make a jacket.

Guild Birthday Party 01

Today we celebrated the Quilters' Guild 30th birthday by first a postcard workshop with Caryl Baldwin whose beautiful cards are displayed here then a show and tell session, tea and cake and the fun fat quarter game. I didn't end up with the one I wanted but a pretty good second. The unfinished turquoise postcard is mine - having brought no fabric I could just about cover the timtex with a few scraps from my workbox. Postcards are not my thing although I loved Caryl's and am tempted by the idea of some Christmas ones.

Back in the flow

Well after the August hiatus the quilting season seems once again in full flow. I've been to my Quayquilters group meeting, my Crab and Winkle group meeting, a week long retreat and today, the Log Cabin quilters though we've transferred our venue to a member's conservatory. Tomorrow it's the Quilters' Guild birthday party in Aldington and oh yes I taught a charity quilt workshop at another local group. EEEK!
First off the retreat: three of us stayed throughout, another for a long weekend and we had a visitor join us for the day as well. We weren't very far from home but our holiday rental house was just perfect, clean and very quiet. We sewed on a large dining table with the light from a big bay window. Here are Belinda and Liz with stunning quilts begun in a Jan Hazzard workshop. Mine is largely in strip form and will remain so for some time to come. Belinda sewed a little quilt to showcase some special pretty fabrics and Judi quilted a reversible quilt, bright animals on one side and pastels on the other for a lucky little baby. Thanks to this quilt I knew the sea mammal beginning with 'n' that cropped up in the crossword today - narwhal.

Home again

Home again and I've very busy with all sorts of domestic things, catching up with post, washing my fabrics etc etc. I have sewn in the evenings, the binding on one quilt and quilting the border on another. More anon. Meanwhile here are pictures of "our" house in Portland and the view across the street through our lovely flowers to the beautiful garden of my fellow quilter opposite. I've also included the quintessential Douglas firs against an Oregonian bluest of skies taken in Hoyt arboretum.

Farewell Portland!

Well it's goodbye to th lovely house we've been living in while here, the cases are packed (what a relief it all went in) and now I can't wait to be home but we shall have some lovely memories. And in the basement bedroom were a couple of quilts!

Sewing all done

Today (still Friday here, just)I packed up my sewing things ready to go home. I've handquilted all six of the setting blocks for the Patchwork Party quilt and I've done 16 Katharine Guerrier blocks which with the six at home makes 22, more than halfway as I plan to do 6 by 7 which will be 72" X 84" plus an HST border to finish at 78" x 90", a good size. Despite my initial concerns I shall miss my borrowed Singer 600E - the sewusa site and most of all the vintage Singer yahoo list were very helpful in this respect. The latter had the whole manual in their files. I shall also miss our feline companions here, especially Max who would keep me company in the sewing room.

Northwest Quilt Expo

I had a very pleasant day at the Northwest Quilt Expo yesterday. I went by public transport where I met a fellow Brit quilter now settled in the US. It took up one large airy exhibition hall and wasn't too crowded. There were various special exhibits from Lynette Jensen and local Guilds as well as the main show - think Sandown but a bit bigger and of course lower prices. There were some interesting stands selling African fabrics, Burmese silks, Australian fabrics and wools too as well as the usual stunning batiks, country fabrics and stunning collections. In the entrance lobby local groups manned their raffle quilt stands. When I first started going to US shows I was impressed by the sheer amount of hand quilting that went onto quilts. I saw no examples of that here but there was some stunning machine quilting.

Browsing on Mississippi

Today we're off to the city Art Gallery downtown. Yesterday was hot so we sat on the stoop after a trip to Fabric Depot in the morning where it was 30% off till next Monday. I was glad I'd waited till the last week befor buying wadding. Who spotted this offer in the paper - my husband! What a star. Monday we visited local park; yet more roses which are everywherehere and took a stroll down Misissippi where were a few bric and brac shops - pictures of a couple of quilts and $10 feedsacks still in sack form. The red and white quilt was priced at over $400. A lot. It's the Expo tomorrow so I must have a weigh in day today - may need that fourth bag.