A Trader for our Show

A Trader for our Show

Viv from, “Purple Stitches” in Basingstoke has agreed to be one of the traders at our show.  She is planning to bring Kona plains; pre-cuts and fat quarters; children’s dress patterns and some adult ones.  May sees the launch of Viv’s new “Block of the Month” called, “Chocolatier” and she will have that quilt with her too.  

You can find Purple Stitches's website here

On with the show.

I can't believe it is just over 2 weeks until Christmas.  I am so  unprepared.  Yet again, all my plans to make beautiful things for Christmas have fallen by the wayside.  Instead I have a lot of City and Guild homework, some of it already overdue, that has to be done in the next 5 weeks if I am to stand any chance of finishing the course and getting the qualification. Still there is nothing like a bit of pressure to get the creative juices flowing!!

Talking of creative juices, a couple of weeks ago I went to the bi-annual show of the North Hampshire Quilters.  As usual they put on a lovely display of all their recent creations.  they are quite a traditional group but they do some gorgeous work.

This one and the next are both by my mother, Thelma Winn.  The picture above isn't great but it is a quilt with dogs on which she made for my younger son who is dog mad. Rather a quilt than a real dog imo but unfortunately he isn't fobbed off that easily and 'a real dog' is top of every birthday and christmas present list he is asked to make.

 The next one is a beautiful bit of piecing which she had long armed quilt by another NHQ, Mandy Parks.  I think my mother is particularly proud of this one.  If I remember correctly it is a jelly roll quilt.

This one caught my eye for the accuracy of the piecing.  I am not sure that I have the patience or the probably the skill for this sort of thing!

Normally the colours of the next quilt wouldn't appeal at all but I really like this one.  It is a double quilt by Francis Tozer and I think the darker creams which are almost lemon really lift this.

These next two are both included because they are just so colourful and I do love a bit of colour.

The one above is called Over the Rainbow by Doris Dove and the one below is also by Doris and is called A Mystery No Longer although quite why is still a mystery to me! LOL.

Oh no, I have just read the card which is hung with the quilt (zooming in on digital photos is a marvellous thing).  Doris lead a quilt making session where everybody what told what colours and sizes of fabrics to bring and then they were told what sizes to cut.  Apparently they didn't see the finished design they were making until lunchtime of the day they did the workshop.  Sounds like an interesting day.

Anyway, these are a few of my favourites but if you are interested in seeing some more photos of their show and finding out more about their group, their website can be found at http://www.north-hampshire-quilters.org.uk/.

I shall be back in a few days with some more of my own samples for my course and probably with a list of my WIPS!!.  Does anybody else want to share a particularly big or significant list of WIPS?  I would love to know I am not alone with so much outstanding work!

Thanks for reading.

Bits and pieces.

It is half term week this week so I have my boys home and a break from my City and Guilds course to catch up with some of the homework!  The tutors weren't joking when they said that the day on the course would be matched with a days work at home.  It is certainly that and more if you include the assignments.

For the last 5 weeks we have been shape and pattern as part of the design component and blocked pieces for the stitched bit.  I have a new camera which is fantastic, a proper SLR as I have been disappointed in the photos I have taken on my bridge camera - they haven't been as sharp as I would have hoped and it has been bugging me.  I have given the new one a bit of an airing by taking some photos of what I have been doing.  I have tried the manual settings and although the photos are OK I need to work on the technique and learn some theory.  The photos taken on auto are fab though!  I really like them.

We started off with some hand piecing which, if I am honest, I think I prefer to machine piecing.  It is so much easier to tease and shape the pieces into place and certainly a lot less hassle and kinder to the fabric when you have to unpick as I seem to have to do all too often.  This is a simple four patch.

Not the best composed picture in the world but you can just about see how all the seams line up and the edges are square which is always a bit of 'yes!' moment when you open it out and realise it is spot on!

After that we had to machine some simple blocks which is much more tricky in my opinion.  Probably I haven't had as much practice.  If it works it is very quick but if it doesn't, well, lets just say you might well have been quicker doing it by hand the time it takes to unpick!

This is a simple nine patch.

Again not the best photography (I did say I had a lot to learn) but the seams are lining up so I was quite pleased.  The next one, whose name escapes me for the minute, was better both in terms of the machining and the photo!

Having said it was better, now it is uploaded I can see all the creases in the fabric and the fact it isn't straight. <<sign>>  I can't win - either the sewing is great and not the photo or the photo is great and not the block!

I have a few more complicated blocks that aren't finished.  A union star handpieced block which is looking a bit wonky on the bias seams and machine block square with inset triangles and squares where the two halves don't meet in the middle properly.  I will hopefully do those this week and more if I can.

Did anybody go to the Knitting and Stitching show  at Ally Pally?  Great wasn't it.  So much to see and so many fabulous knitty stitchy things to try.  I could have spent a fortune but since I had just bought my camera I resisted.  I am making this scarf from one of the lovely balls of yarn I  bought there. It is great because it ruffles all by itself!

It is simply 7 knit stitches across and it grows quite quickly.  I feel a bit guilty doing anything else when I have so much sewing to do but at least with this you make a lot of progress with very little time and effort so I have a little go every now and then, when it isn't worth getting my sewing needles out.  I am not sure how long it is going to be but I shall keep going until there is no more yarn left!  I reckon it will be long enough.

That's it for now.  Got to do some proper work.  Please feel free to comment - I would really appreciate knowing that somebody is reading some of this.  It gets a bit lonely when you don't know who, if anybody you are writing for. 

Thanks for reading. xx