Janome Day 02

Cathy uses the embroidery features of her machine and showed some wonderful pieces.

Janome Day 01

Janome Club day today and super as always with people drawn from a wide area who don't otherwise meet and all doing different things. There were 3 laptops out today while Cathy demystified intricacies of machine embroidery customizing. I was interested to see various completed version of the hearts and star rosette (designed by Jeanne Gentry) and others in progress. The black and white one by someone relatively new to quilting was particularly stunning.

Pam's

Pam's -detail

?

Rose's

Cut out star used on end

Bagging it

Latest bag



Magazine pattern

 The bag pattern in the magazine looked promising so I started to collect my fabrics and delve into my aged stock of iron-on interfacing and spend what seem to be an interminable time cutting odd shaped pieces. First off I felt my large blue floral should feature at the side of the bag rather than hide underneath so I replaced the top two patches with one check and reversed the placement. The main problem though was I hadn't quite taken on board how wide the base was - 8" plus and likewise the sides so the bag is more of a cube.
However I have learnt a lot - using a magnetic clasp, placing the lining inside the bag right sides together with the front and topstitching and curving the base of the side panels. I'll use these ideas again but with different dimensions and piece and then add interfacing etc.


In the afternoon the Bonny Quilters Farmers' Wives met (one on holiday) and drew more templates and Trish and I showed our blocks (Mavis is just  back from her travels so will catch up later).


My blocks



Trish's blocks



Bargello Bag
At the Oast "Corners" meeting Wendy demonstrated Bargello. I thought this would be just the thing for Alan's antimacassar only to find I didn't like it but no worries I made a bag with stiff vilene/interfacing in lieu of wadding. I've covered the seams and added a zippered pocket to the inside so hope this will raise some funds at our show. The bag I'm making  now has been driving me mad. The pattern is from a magazine and  must have been developed by an interfacing manufacturer as it has you cutting out separate pieces of interfacng for all the pieced patchwork of the bag but why not join the pieces then back with a single piece of iron on vilene or pellon I'll never know. It is taking shape at last but the result won't justify the effort. I've only persisted because I've been using some of my precious Amy Butler scraps. Pictures anon.
Meanwhile it was quilt washing day today as the grandchildren's albeit very lovely dog took a shine to these when she came to visit this last weekend. Again pictures of the fronts later. This was the first time things have almost dried outside this year, a sign of Spring on the way. I could hear the birds all busily signing up for dating agencies and looking in estate agents' windows when I was in the garden. I hope all those folks who use the electric drier as the default setting for drying laundry consider the outdoor option when the weather is right, a way to make the planet last a bit longer for us humans.



Out to dry, note QAYG revealed on back.

Cushion Cover




Detail

 Today I've made a cushion cover. The first centre I made was awful so I fell back on a log cabin. the contrast was a bit stark so I added bondawebbed sections of the frame fabric. This is not particularly practical for a cushion which will be used so I'll try to locate some organza to overlay the whole to be machine quilted down.

Farmer's Wife Quota

Singer 99

I've finished my quota of FW blocks (nos 9-14) in good time for the next Bonny Quilters' meeting. I sewed them on my hand turned Singer 99 machine.

Usual Suspects Day

Usual Suspects had a lovely day with lunch, sewing and chat and Valerie actually finished her quilt in the course of the day, nearly all handsewn and quilted bar borders and binding so quite a feat.



Valerie's quilt



Bag

Bag pieces

I decided I would make a bag from the rosettes I made at the Janome Club. In its turn the bag will be for the tombola at our quilt show.
This is a method I learnt from a pattern in Popular Patchwork Sept, 2005. I quilted both sides of the bag and cut out a 2" square from the bottom corners which makes for a neater finish when you join the side seams and then the bottom one.The bottom seam is pulled up to meet the side seam and sewn making for a more accurate and neater way of achieving a 3D  effect than the triangle of surplus bag in many patterns. I had already sewn a pocket to the inside and before putting on the binding I pinned on the handles and ties. Then I sewed the binding on and brought up and top stitched the handles as shown.

Quay Quilters First Quilts 04



Jane's unusual first effort



Jean's

Another one by Jean

Joyce's



Ruby



Ruby's latest

Di's cushion

This is the final roundup including items from founder members Di, Ruby and Joyce who have all made lots of quilts and kept up with later developments through classes. Jane is a new member and her first quilt made from a pattern had a very fascinating individual look to it while Jean showed two items she had made.

Quay Quilters' first quilts 03

Karen's first quilt was all packed up so she showed the miniature work in progress. Helen's was a lovely sampler quilt made by hand with Susie Corke  and like many of these earlier quilts was extensively handquilted. Now we're in too much of a hurry to go on the next quilt. Mavis took her Houston Stars off the bed to show us - an amazing first effort. Trish's was an double Irish Chain made for her daughter and still wearing well after much use - also lots of handquilting carefully thought out.

Karen

Helen's sampler

Mavis's Houston Star

Trish's Irish Chain

Farmers Wives!

Bonny Quilters met today minus one of who is away on holiday and had a lovely time copying and cutting out Farmers Wife templates. We are making the blocks from Laurie Hird's book in order and showed off the last 6, nos, 3-8. All this and cake too thanks to Mavis's excellent baking.

Mine

Mavis's

Trish's

Janome Club January 2011

Heart wreaths on pinwheels

Bag piece



Margaret W's lovely work



It was our Janome sewing day and it was well attended and with lots going on with different members using different machines including embroidery models. Cathy darted about between us all giving advice, demonstrating possibilities and sharing her lovely samples and information on her laptop.
The main business of the day was a runner featuring heart wreaths bonded onto pinwheels with a star forming in the centre cut-out. The star pattern is different according to whether the inner or outer star points are place on the pinwheel seams. You can see this on mine above.
Having already made a runner I am making a bag using fabrics bought at Ardingly yesterday.
I was sharing a table with Margaret W. whose spectacle case made for Ann is shown here and a book cover in progress. Exquisite taste.

Ardingly

Four of us went to the Ardingly Show. Fortified by a pub lunch we set about tackling the traders downstairs and viewing the quilts upstairs. I bought a book which used charm squares to teach beginners the rudiments. I'm not a beginner but I have lots of squares!

Quay Quilters First Quilts 02

Pauline's first quilt

 Pauline's first quilt dates from 1979 and well used it has acquired a beautiful patina of age. Now she is doing a design course based on an old quilt made of tailors samples. The oblongs sport tailors tacks and other big stitches while the round one depicts stylised shears.

Pauline's latest

Pauline's work in progress

Mags' first finished quilt

Mags is a recent member and her first quilt is Japanese folded while Vanessa's is her own design manipulating a block and with fan quilting.

Vanessa's latest

Crab & Winkle Sewing Day

Today the six ox of us met up to work on our group quilt. We'd made stars and laid them out so they didn't jar too much - Much swapping round and standing on chairs! Then we added triangles to complete the blocks. Sadly, two of our members had to leave before lunch hence tha gaps but in a few weeks time we should be ready to assemble the centre.

Scrap Quilt Sensation
The design is taken from Katharine Gurrier's "Scrap Quilt Sensation" a book which delivers  what it says on the tin!

Quay Quilters' first quilts 01

Gillian's

Jean T's

Ann's

We had a lovely meeting tonight where virtually everyone brought in their first quilts and some their most recent projects as well. I learnt our group has been going since 1985 and had its genesis in patchwork and quilting classes in the early 80's. I joined the beginners' class in 1995 and was then admitted to membership the following year. We still run beginners' classes in the year following our biannual show but these are no longer a condition of membership.




Gillian was in the same class of 95 as me so I feel guilty that my efforts are still in block form. I think her quilt was mosly stitched by hand. Jean's beautiful sampler is also hand done in a class with Susie Corke. The hand quilting is dense and exquisite. Ann was in the year after me but I joined her for some of the beginners' classes in order to make yet more blocks. Now Ann works smaller and denser, lots of beautiful highly refined pieces.