Sizzling Strips!

On Saturday I ran a workshop for 12 people based on the techniques Margaret Miller outlines in her book 'Strips That Sizzle!'. Margaret is an inspirational teacher whose main area of interest is colour - a vital part of a successful quilt. The technique involves cutting lots of strips from two colours, making sure you have dark, medium and light in each hue.

June hadn't managed to cut her strips before she came to the workshop (which may be why she is hiding behind her machine!), but quickly cut a selection of green and yellow strips. Betty chose blue and yellow - a classic combination.

Muriel chose purple and green, and had a selection of wonderful green batiks (many of which were lime green and much admired by myself!). Carole's choice was blue and green, which will make for a fabulous shimmer.Carolyn was busy sewing her green and yellow strips together, while Ruth had another set of blue and green.Vicki also chose to use yellow, and was amazed at how many different yellows she actually had in her stash - 'I never use yellow!' she protested. I don't know whether Ann benefited from some of the same yellows, but her selection was gorgeous.Ginny and Alison were quite nervous, as they are both fairly new to quilting. Ginny found it hard to assemble a variety of shades, but people were very generous at sharing their fabrics.

Nik and Sue worked very hard all day, Nik with some lovely African fabrics and Sue being the only one to choose a scheme of red/purple and brown.Here are the fruits of her labours, in a pinwheel arrangement. Nik suggested that it should be called 'Fry's Turkish Delight' as the colours reminded her of the wrapper and contents of this delectable confection!Ginny decided to put her 16 blocks together and intends to border them to make a Linus quilt. They look lovely. Thank you for that.I'm really sorry, but I can't remember who made these next two arrangements. They are both beautiful though and showcase the technique splendidly.I can hardy wait to see the finished quilts which will be coming to show and tell!

March meeting

March's meeting was lovely and relaxed. All there was on offer was a mug bag demo, the sales table and a display of the balloons which have been made for the group quilt (apart from show and tell, of course!) However the highlight of the evening was the presentation of a cheque for £200 to the Air Ambulance and a visit from the local press photographer, more of which later. A quiet meeting in comparison with some, but the chance to chat and catch up with the latest happenings -and gossip- were very welcome.

Carolyn showed how to make an attractive yet practical bag to carry your mug to meetings.

Paula was demonstrating too, so that everyone had a chance to see the method easily.

Sylvia manned the sales table, which appears to have been stripped by now, giving her time to joke with Nik.

Everyone taking part in the group quilt had returned their balloons - what a lovely variety there is. (The duck one is Stephanie's - what a clever idea!)

At the beginning of the meeting, we had all been given a slip of paper with the name of a season on it, and before show and tell, Di announced what it was all about. The committee had decided to give a small gift to all the members to say thankyou for all their support over the last year. Everyone was able to take a bundle of four fat quarters and some toning thread! What a lovely idea! And was I pleased that my 'Summer' bundle contained a piece of beautiful lime green fabric! Ruth had a summer bundle too, but chose one without lime green; why would she do that?! Thank you committee.

Show and tell had the usual variety of treats. Three people had completed their Jennie Rayment Sudoku quilts. All very quick workers!












Fran had been on a workshop which needed a Layer Cake as supplies and found this pile of co-ordinating squares made a very attractive quilt.This whimsical Hen House is a Mary Mayne design and make a perfect Easter (or spring) hanging.Paula is tireless in her work for Project Linus. She made two Mile A Minute quilts with cream sashing. They look fresh and clean in this arrangement.One of Nik's friends has had a baby in the ICU and was pictured lying on a quilt. Nik thought it must be a Linus quilt, but now the baby is safely home, the quilt stayed in the hospital. Obviously not a Linus quilt, as they belong to the child, not the institution. So the family didn't feel deprived, Nik made this jaunty sailing boats quilt, and called it 'Your not-Linus quilt'! Fabulous!

Jennie Raiment's 'Sudoku quilt' workshop

Some people might think of Lutterworth as a bit of a backwater, but that's not at all true when you find out all the things that go off in the town. Many people would give their eye teeth to attend a workshop by an internationally renowned artist, but that's exactly what lucky Piecemaker members got to do when Jennie Raiment taught her 'Sudoku quilt' class.

When I arrived at the hall, I thought it was the Marie Celeste over again (without the sea, of course!) as the room appeared deserted!

I soon found everyone, clustered round Jennie as she gave them instructions for a Fancy Fandango - this time in English!

Everyone quickly went back to their tables, while the instructions were fresh in their minds. Bunty and Andrea look as if they are expecting me to test them on the blocks so far (and find them wanting) at any moment!

Muriel and Chris were busy, busy, and Carol was obviously enjoying herself immensely!

Jennie was continually checking that everyone was happy and knew what to do - the mark of an excellent teacher.

Here is a bright pink Fancy Fandango under construction,

and here are Chris's blocks so far. Good progress to say it wasn't even lunchtime!

Everyone was happy that the workshop instructions had been clear, the teaching was superb and new techniques had been made very accessible. Now all that remains is to make up the quilts!

Jennie Rayment

We were indeed fortunate to secure Jennie as our February speaker, as not only is she an inspiration with her wealth of ideas for adding texture to quilts, she's also a hilarious speaker and very much a character. She has a reputation for being a bit racey, and those who had heard this, were not disappointed!

Here she is, in a pose chosen by herself. In this country she is called the 'Calico Queen' after her fondness for using creamy calico to showcase her folds and tucks, but in the USA she goes by the name of the 'Muslin Mistress': I wonder which describes her best?!

Here is her Sudoku Quilt, where nine different textural techniques are used in place of the nine different numbers usually to be found on sudoku puzzles. Jennie kept us both amused (Beverley said she hadn't laughed so much for ages!) and entertained, while also managing to find time to demonstrate her Dazzling Fandangos (no, that's not another name for nipple tassels, although she showed those as well!) in French, no less. Ooh, la la!

She was going to be a difficult act to follow, but the show and tell was up to the usual standard (al

though strangely lacking in quantity this month).

Several people had been to Jenny Almond's drunkard's path workshop, and showed their finished items. It's always interesting to see how different people make up the same pattern.

Ruth had been given a bag of scraps from the Bramble Patch to send to the charity shop for rags. She was amazed to find large pieces of fabric in the bag, including enough fabric to make half a cot quilt, make the centre of this Linus quilt and a piece of black binding already joined and folded which was long enough to bind the quilt too! Obviously some people have a different idea of what constitutes a scrap!Nik's husband had surprised her by announcing that they would be going to a christening in a couple of week's time, but she still found time to make this lovely cot quilt as a present. Lucky baby!

Ann caused some merriment by producing this beautiful hexagon quilt. Much to Jennie's embarassment, she had earlier made a comment about 'boring hexagon' quilts, which Ann quoted back to her, but no offence had been meant or taken, and Jennie was fulsome in her praise of this stunning quilt. Since show and tell was unusually short, this gave the committee chance to start to prepare the room for Jennie's workshop tomorrow - of which more later!

January meeting

I can't believe it's nearly time for the February meeting, and I haven't managed to write about the January events! It's not because it wasn't interesting or enjoyable, it's just that life got in the way! (I imagine you know what I mean.)

Jenny Almond was our speaker, and although she has been our speaker before (once memorably helping us out when another speaker let us down at the last minute for no good reason!) she is always a joy. She is so down to earth and unassuming, yet her work is beautiful and varied.

Here she is, no doubt sharing a clever tip with Beth. She brought lots of quilts to share with us, mainly traditional, of the kind where you think to yourself, 'I could make that,' leaving us all feeling inspired and confident, rather than daunted. Her talk was amusing and gave us all a good laugh. Thanks, Jenny.

Show and Tell was excellent, as ever. It started, appropriately, with a couple of quilts which had been made at one of Jenny's workshops.

Bunty made hers in Christmas colours, as she thought the stars were suitable for Christmas, but didn't mean the quilt had to be put away after the festive season, but could be used all winter. Good idea.It's hard to believe that Andrea used the same pattern, but her colour choices have brought out completely different areas of the design, and making the stars really hard to find!Eileen and Jenny made these stained glass 'windows' in a Gail Lawther workshop, and again, they have turned out very differently. Chris and Muriel have been stripping at the Bramble Patch. No, not that kind of stripping, just using strips (Jelly Rolls, actually) to make quilts. This quilt of Chris's is a log cabin, arranged in a straight furrows set.

Ann prefers to hand piece and hand quilt, and here is her latest quilt, which she has kindly donated to Project Linus. It's simple but very effective, and beautifully quilted.

Here is some more hand work, a fabulous sampler of different applique blocks. The bright colours looked vibrant in actuality.

You may be interested to know that 29 people are taking part in this year's group quilt, and I look forward to seeing their first blocks completed at the next meeting.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had as good a Christmas and New Year as I did and that you're all ready to get back into the normal routine again! This is just a reminder that the next meeting is on 21st January, and the speaker is the well-known local quilter, Jenny Almond. Jenny is a traditional quilter who is very down to earth, and has a lovely natural style, as well as being an excellent teacher.

Members need to bring two things with them. First is their membership fee of £15 (cheques made payable to 'Piecemakers Quilters' please) in an envelope with your name, address, phone number and email on the front.This will make it easier for fees to be counted and receipted, and also allow Stephanie to update contact details. Secondly, your own mug.

This will mean that you get a larger cuppa, and mean that the refreshment ladies won't have to spend ages gathering cups and washing up.

Apart from Jenny's talk, there will be an opportunity to collect a kit for the first part of the group quilt and sign up for the 2009 workshops.

See you there!

Christmas meeting

Although we haven't got to the end of November yet, Christmas will be upon us before we can say, 'tree skirt'! So it was good to have the opportunity to get together and get some nspiration for Christmas presents, makes and goodies.

There is no shortage of talent in Piecemakers, and we had six different demonstrations of things which could be made for Christmas.

June showed how to make little Christmas tree decorations from circles of scrap fabric - a perfect project for in front of the television on a cold night.

Carolyn and Lena showed how to make her gorgeous little children's bags with little pockets for Crayola crayons on the front. Not only an appealing present, but one with the ability to keep a child busy colouring too.

Di showed how to make gorgeous necklaces from a tube of silk or organza and a few beads. I can see these being made to match every outfit over the party season! Gaynor was busy making lovely little Christmas decorations with a circle of fabric and some beads. Ingenious.

Muriel and Chris showed how to make coasters for under wine glasses from a few charm squares. These would take minutes to make, and would make an ideal last minute present.

And I demonstrated my reuseable Christmas gift bags. People did come and look at my demo - honest! I didn't sit there alone all evening!

Ann brought a stall full of lovely handmade items for sale. She's a very creative lady and has lots of items for stocking-fillers.

Of course, lots of people took the opportunity to catch up with the gossip and quiting news,

and then to tuck into the delicious refreshments which had been made by the committee. Thank you ladies.

The committee were in generous mood, as there was a free raffle, with lots of intriguingly wrapped parcels! Sharon is having great difficulty deciding which one to choose!

Then to show and tell.
Nik had made this stunning quilt from blocks made by the memebrs of Flutterwheels. It's a pity I haven't worked out how to get closeups of my photos, as the quilting on this is beautiful.

Muriel and Chris have joined the Bramble Patch's strip club - no, not that kind of stripping, but using the very popular jelly rolls!

There are lots of possibilties for using these precut strips.


Muriel has been very busy 'finishing off' and had finished this lovely Magic Tile quilt for her daughter. What a masterstroke using purple as sashing!

Some organised people had brought things they have made for Christmas. Eileen showed this clever Christmas table mat with Father Christmas and his reindeer flying all round the edge.

Sue made everyone laugh when she explained that this clever little tree decoration had been realy difficult to make, and had taken her ages. To add insult to injury, she had found the pattern in 'Patchwork and Quilting' on the children's page!

Let me take this opportunity to wish every one a very happy Christmas and a healthy and quiltful New Year!