July meeting

I was really sorry to miss this meeting, but luckily Di managed to take some photos of Ferret and her quilts. Apparently, Ferret was like 'a breath of fresh air' as she was so down to earth and full of common sense. My kind of quilter!

Here she is, displaying one of her fabulous quilts (with others in the background!) Don't worry if you think your eyes need testing since the photos look a bit blurred, because the photos are a little fuzzy. Di obviously hasn't got an anti-shake device on her camera! Never mind, at least it gives an idea of the goodies which were on show. (Also, it means that Ferret doesn't have to worry. When Di asked her permission to photo her quilts and put them on the blog, she asked whether it was possible to click on the photos and enlarge them. Di was able to reassure her that I'm not clever enough to have worked out how to do that yet! Ferret was pleased, as apparently some Japanese quilters have been finding her designs on the net, enlarging them and stealing her patterns! I can hardly believe that quilters would stoop so low! Still it's reassuring that not only can you not enlarge these photos, but the details are also fuzzy! Sleep easy, Ferret!)

This is Ferret's latest quilt - absolutely fabulous, and well worth a close scrutiny!

The group quilt is looking splendid, and was presented to the Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance as a fund-raiser. Can you spot your blocks?

Doreen is not only talented, but prolific. Here is a beautiful wall hanging which reminds me of a sunset. (I'd like to see it unfuzzy some time!)

Sue had made her Jennie Rayment tucked and twiddled pieces into lovely cushions.

Elaine showed this bag which has lots of useful pockets.

Last year's theme at Flutterwheels was curves, and Stephanie has made up these striking red, black and white curves into this sophistciated Linus quilt. Thank you Stephanie.

The year before last's theme at Flutterwheels was stars, and Bunty has made an excellent job of assembling these gorgeous Mariner's Compass blocks into a fabulous quilt. The orange background really sets the compasses off to perfection!

Gaynor had made this lovely poppies wall hanging. The blue border sets it off well.

This quilt, made by Liz, was from a pattern in MacCall's Quilting magazine. Liz had seen it and fallen in love with it, and knew it would be perfect for her Dad. It's turned out perfectly, and I'm sure he'll treasure it.

No more meetings now until September, so I wish everyone a good summer, and look forward to the show and tell in the autumn!

Beginners' workshop

On Saturday September 18th Lynda Hill will be leading a beginners' workshop. This is for complete beginners, although those with some knowledge will be very welcome. It will be at the Village Hall, Walcote from 10-4. Here is the pattern we will be making.

It is called 'Mount Hood' and is from 'Nickel Quilts' by Pat Speth and Charlene Spode.
We will cover all the basic skills, such as rotary cutting, seam allowances, pressing, chain piecing, thread savers, making four-patches, half square triangles, flying geese and hourglass blocks.

You will need to bring your sewing machine (so long as it sews a straight stitch it will be fine) with a quarter inch foot or a small piece of masking tape, scissors, pins, a soft pencil, thread which is either neutral (grey, tan, lilac, khaki) or to tone in with your colour choices, rotary cutter, ruler and mat (if you have them) and a mug.

You will need fabrics which are dark and light, and the more different fabrics the better! The smallest piece must be at least 5” square.

For a lap quilt (61”x68”), you will need 6 fat quarters of different light fabric (a total of 1.5 metres) and 6 fat quarters (a total of 1.5 metres) of different dark fabric plus fabric for borders, backing and binding.

For a small double (75”x99.5”), you will need 12 fat quarters of different light fabric (a total of 3 metres) and 12 fat quarters (a total of 3 metres) of different dark fabric plus fabric for borders, binding and backing.

To choose your fabrics, I suggest you think of a theme, eg a season - spring (creams, yellows, purples and pinks), summer (green, cream, red, yellow), autumn (gold, brown, red, green) or winter (blue, grey, white, red). This quilt would work well in monochrome, shades of blue, green or red or Christmas colours of red and green. Or, of course, you can just bring a mixture of fabrics which you like.

If you have not booked on this class and would like to join it, there are spaces left. Just leave a comment on this blog and I will add you to the list. For members it costs £10 and for non-members £12. This includes tea and coffee all day! Bargain!