Curved flying geese workshop

On Thursday 15 happy people gathered at the hall for a day workshop with Pat Deacon. Pat had already wowed us with her fabulous quilts and we were ready to find out how she managed to piece such complicated geometric shapes and sweeping curves and still have a quilt which hangs flat at the end of it all! (I'm sure I'm not the only one who has done some fancy piecing, only to end up with one of Madonna's bra cups, instead of the quilt block I had been expecting!)

Here is Pat, all ready to start us off. She was an excellent teacher, breaking all the work down into easily achievable steps and being very encouraging and inspirational all day.

She started us off with a mini workshop on foundation piecing curved shapes. We each drew a small teardrop shape and used her fantastic no-fail freezer paper foundation method for making it in fabric. That was the easy bit!

Next we had to draw our own patterns onto freezer paper (a choice of an easy one and a harder one), cut them into parts and then piece them.

Pat gave us some useful workshop advice. No matter what fabric you take to a workshop, the person sitting next to you has much nicer colours than you, and is producing better work. But remember, she is also thinking the same about you! It certainly is interesting looking at people's colour choices - all of which were fabulous.

Here is June proudly showing her first pieced goose, and her choice of fabrics - black and white! This is going to be stunning, especially if she follows her plan of adding a few red accents.

The first few geese were a bit tricky, but everyone persevered (although several people were glad they had brought their unpickers!) and gradually it all became much easier.

And then, as we became more confident, mistakes crept in. Jill was not the only person to carefully sew another goose, flip, press and then cut it right off! Some people thought it might make a design feature, but no, after a good laugh, off it came.

By the time four o'clock came, we were all well on the way to finishing our pieces.

Pat showed us a way of putting the parts together using 'invisible' tape, which certainly eliminates the distortion which pins can sometimes introduce.

The only question now is, will they actually sew together to make a flat block, or will it be another pop star's undergarment?

Group quilt revealed!

After all our hard work designing the blocks for the group quilt, Andrea has put in even more hard work in assembling the blocks. They look fabulous, and the free quilted border she has added (which unfortunately you can't see in the photo!) is first rate! I'm sure this is a winner, but in any event we have had great fun making it.

You may notice the posh stand which the quilt is hanging on. It is actually a photographic stand, but is so light, stores well and collapses easily that we decided to buy two for the group. This will make displaying quilts so much easier at meetings.

This month's meeting was very informal and enjoyable. Apart from the group quilt's unveiling, we had Jeanne and Vicky from Chaos Traders to tempt us with their merchandise and to stimulate us with two demos.

Jeanne was demonstrating an easy way to make accurate prairie points, for the edge or embellishment of a quilt. She had plenty of paper so people could practise.

Vicky was demonstrating Thangles, a way of making accurate half square triangles. They are foundation pieced, but mean you never have to trim a half square triangle again, as they are all perfectly formed! The downside is that each packet has only one size, but you can't have everything!

Their stall attracted a lot of attention, and I don't think anyone went home without something gorgeous tucked away in their bag, whether it was fabric, threads, needles, rulers or one of a myriad of other quilting 'essentials'.

Lots of people were tempted by the fabric (myself included), while Ruth was happy to be snapped looking for needles. Incidentally, where do needles go? I buy packets and packets, but rarely throw one away!

Sharon was perusing the excellent selection of rulers and templates. I wonder if she actually purchased anything?

This time I made sure I got photos of the show and tell. This was an example of holiday photos printed onto fabric and made into a beautiful wall hanging. What a special way to remember a holiday.Carolyn had made this attractive quilt which was made from a very simple four patch block. I have made a note of this pattern for future reference.

Jane made yet another Mile a Minute variation, with alternate white and coloured rounds. It looks fresh and vibrant. I never cease to be amazed at the versatility of this block.

Stephanie showed this lovely flower quilt in some of her trademark colours.

It's a shame this photo is a bit blurred, but you can get the general idea of this gorgeous quilt which Bunty made at a workshop with Jenny Almond. I think it's the fabulous red fabric she choose which really makes this quilt zing.

Mary Mayne workshop

Mary Mayne has sent some images of the kinds of things people will be making with her when she holds her workshop in June.
There will be a variation of the beautiful snow scene which several people in the group have already made, called spring. If anyone feels adventurous, they could make Rainforest, which is the same basic technique, but obviously more exotic!
If you want to book a place on this workshop, please speak to any member of the committee.

Group quilt evening

Bunty and Andrea were waiting with some trepidation to see how many people had managed to complete their blocks for the group quilt which will be displayed at the Festival of Quilts at the NEC in August. 25 people had taken kits (which would make a lovely 5x5 block quilt) so they were hoping for 25 blocks back - or at the least 24, no less! They need not have worried, all the blocks bar one returned (and that one is promised asap) and they were magnificent!

Every one was individual, with applique, beads, sequins, embroidery, embellishments, buttons and lots of other clever ideas too. It was easy to identify each season, even if you couldn't spot the labels, as eveyone had worked so hard at interpreting their theme. Now Bunty and Andrea have the difficult job of putting them together. They haven't exactly decided how to do this, and there will be a lot of playing, rearranging and auditioning of sashing fabrics to be done before they make a final decision.

They have decided to put them together using 'quilt as you go'. This is a great method for those not confident enough to machine quilt a whole quilt, as each section is quilted individually and then the blocks are joined together afterwards, making the whole process much simpler - especially if it's Bunty and Andrea who are doing it!

Andrea gave a demonstration for those who didn't know the technique, or those like me, who had forgotten how to do it!

There were two more demonstrations. Jill showed how to do trapunto, a method which stuffs extra wadding into certain areas, to give them an extra defined look. Why did it look so easy when she showed us how to do it?

Sharon showed easy crazy pieceing. She used a piece of fabric as a foundation, and sewed the scraps onto the backing. What a clever idea! It makes the whole block easy to handle, and ensures that it lies flat when completed. She brought some beautifully embellished examples for all to drool over.

A very popular feature of this meeting was the sales table (or tables). This photo shows one of the tables after the mass had descended! There were lots of goodies for all - fabric, books, patterns, kits, gadgets, bags, bowls, notebooks and for those who could really smell a bargain, I had brought a rummage box of bits and bobs, hoping to get donations for Project Linus.

Paula, Jill and I were so busy with the sales table that I completely forgot to take any photos of the show and tell (which was fantastic as usual and included all the beautiful boxes and stunning Tiny Treasures). When we came to count up the money, and then had taken off 10% for our charity, the Air Ambulance, we found that we didn't have enough money to pay everyone, never mind have anything over for the charity! Back to the drawing board, and much scratching of heads, as we recalculated all the sales labels. Hooray! We found a mistake. We owed Bunty another £1, which made the situation even worse! We were beginning to despair, and Paula even took her shoes and socks off to help with the mathematics, when we discovered a £20 note which had managed to hide itself under the chair. Phew, the relief was palpable! That meant that everyone got their money, and we made 17.60 for the charity. The Project Linus box made £10. 35, so everyone, buyers and sellers, went home happy!

Tiny Treasures Workshop

On National Quilting Day, March 15th, what better thing to do than spend the day with friends learning new quilting and embroidery techniques? Jenny Rolfe led a workshop with 16 participants making 'Tiny Treasures'. These were exquisite little embroidered and embellished panels which could be used to make book covers, boxes, cards or just enjoyed in their own right.

Here is Jenny cutting some wire for June to use to decorate her work.

Bunty and Andrea looked very serious, but it was the strain of trying to dodge the camera rather than any problems which the workshop posed them which has resulted in such worried faces!

Jill looks a bit happier - maybe it's because she has chosen such beautiful, rich colours for her design.

Paula is very sociable (and tidy - look at her lovely uncluttered workspace!)

Beverley was having a little trouble with her machine. I thought we were pretty good friends, so was a bit surprised when she managed to get the end of her shuttle to shoot me on the cheek. Good shot, Bev! Sylvia had chosen the other design (ie. not the one nearly everyone else was doing). What a surprise, as she is not known for her independent mind!

Stephanie takes a moment to ponder the next step.

Ann and Sue are struggling a bit with invisible thread. It's nearly impossible to see!

Merleen is another one doing the alternative shape - another free thinker! Both she and Doreen are engrossed in the task.

Sharon and Eunice were concentrating so hard, they didn't even realise I was taking their photo!

Everyone was really enjoying the workshop, and fully absorbed in the task. Most people had arrived at the embellishing stage (the best bit!) well before 3 o'clock, so we look forward to seeing the fruits of their labours at the next meeting.

Box Day

On Saturday 23rd February, we held one of our popular workshops. Seventeen people gathered to make a beautiful box under Di's excellent tutelage. Di is an excellent teacher, well-organised, methodical, encouraging and patient. Here she is checking that all is well.

We are lucky that the hall at Walcote has plenty of room for all to have the space to work comfortably yet companionably.

All the participants worked really hard all day, as you can see, to try and get their boxes finished. The drying time of the glue was a major irritation. Why does it take so long, even when you have used the whole contents of your peg bag to hold the fabric layers together and help it along?


The variety of fabrics which people choose for their projects is always interesting, and if Freud were there, he would have a field day, identifying characters and the inner workings of the mind. Some people chose beautiful fabric with sewing items on (a safe and suitable choice), some fabrics which were chosen for their colours (the arty choice), floral fabrics (the feminine choice), a stunning black and white fabric (the discerning choice) and some fabric with tea bags on it (the divergent thinker's choice!).



You can see how many pegs were needed to hold the layers together while they dried.


Here, Paula concentrates on the task in hand while Jenny has a break and a natter.
Di shows how the finished box base will look when it has been assembled. Unfortunately none of the boxes were actually completed on the day, despite all the hard work. However, the participants assured Di that they will complete them all for show and tell at the next meeting. We'll look out for them all.

Friday 22nd February 2008

At our February meeting we were lucky enough to have a talk by Jenny Rolfe. She is a member of the Midlands group of five quilters, TextileARTS, which was set up in order to exhibit their work. While still thinking of herself as a quilter, she is currently working with fabrics, which may be dyed or painted to give them a contemporary feel, but always with dense machine stitching.


She started the evening by showing us a selection of gorgeous quilts, many of which she was generous enough to pass round for us to inspect more closely. Her work is meticulous, beautifully quilted and embellished. Most of her quilts were designed to be wall-hangings, and we recognised several which we had seen in national exhibitions or in patchwork magazines.

Some people felt the need to admire her work very closely! It was certainly very inspirational.

After her talk, Jenny set up her machine and gave a tutorial on machine embroidery. She made it seem very easy! I think it's one of those skills which has a certain mystique about it, but actually demands lots of practice. There is no secret about how to machine quilt or embroider, just the willingness to put in the hours of stitching and practising which are required.

Since Jenny is running a workshop for us on 15th March, she had brought along some samples of the kinds of things could be achieved on that day for all to admire.

Gill had had a bout of spring-cleaning fever, and had had a clear out of quilting books and magazines. This attracted a lot of attention from those deluding themselves that they needed more quilting patterns and tips! There was also a rummage bag of fabric for those poor souls who have no supplies at home. Quilters are always happy to adopt stray pieces of material which will 'definitely come in' one day!

Bunty and Andrea unveiled their ideas for a group quilt to be displayed at the NEC in August. Twenty five people have agreed to make a block for this, on the theme of The Seasons. Each block will have a foundation pieced background and a Bondawebbed tree and then each participant will have free rein to embellish their block in any way they desire, in order to depict their designated season. All blocks must be returned by the next meeting to give Bunty and Andrea time to join them together for the exhibition.

The evening ended with 'Show and Tell'. Here is Bunty's stunning 'Stack and Whack' quilt.

Gaynor showed her lovely 'Card Trick Variation' quilt which has turned out so big that she had had to unpick and modify it to make it fit her bed!

Lynda thanked all those who had bought the 'Green Book' as it had raised £140 for Macmillan. She also reminded us that National Quilting day is on March 15th, so get your needles ready!