April meeting

Oh dear.  It's nearly time for the next meeting and I haven't even posted about the last one!  And it's not as if it was a forgettable meeting either, which would have given me a (possible) excuse!  We were lucky enough to have Helen Spence as our speaker and she kept us all enthralled by her Tricks with Triangles!  We all learned something new, whether beginners or experienced quilters, and it was a very enjoyable evening.

Something which added to the enjoyment was our trader.  Lots of eye candy, and few people were able to resist a fat quarter or charm pack to add to their stash. 

 Show and tell was kicked off by myself.  I have taken a challenge to finish a quilt a month, and this one is March's finish.  It's a Mile a Minute, and since it's bordered in pink and quilted with a floral motif in pink thread, I've called it '100 pink flowers'.  It's destined for my cousin's grandaughter when she's 18, later on this year. 

 This quilt should have a close up photo with it.  It's a crazy quilt, and has beautiful embroidery and embellishment on it.  It was a group effort, and absolutely stunning.

 Ann was given some striped fabric, and she decided to cut triangles out of it and make these hexagons with them.  The quilt is all hand pieced and hand quilted.  I can't believe she's donated such a beauty to Project Linus - but delighted she has!

 Another hexagon quilt, with a palette of smokey blues and browny yellows.  Lovely.

A cute quilt with appliqued rabbits.  A gift for a lucky child.

 Another child's quilt with a nautical theme. I bet that was fun to make.

 Last month Jane showed how to do a technique which is half piecing and half applique, called Piece-lique, which is ideal for curved shapes.  She inspired one of her group to make this beautiful quilt, with all these perfect circles. 

 Gaynor used a collection of feature fabrics she brought from a trip Down Under to make this quilt.  It's a very clever arrangement, and showcases the fabrics superbly.

 Doreen made a little top from squares, but doesn't like quilting.  Liz kindly took it away and quilted it for her, and then Doreen gave it to Linus!  Thanks you two!

  Here is another Linus quilt.  It's a string quilt with blocks made by members of Chesterfield Townswomen's Guild and members of Lutterworth Knit and Stitch.  Paula put them all together in this barn-raising design.  It's a wonderful result from a bag of bits! 

Well done all those who brought show and tell, and I'll try and be a bit quicker at posting after the next meeting!

We're all human!

We were all looking forward to the March meeting and hearing all about quilts and the Underground Railroad, but when it got to 7.30 and our speaker, Janice Cook, hadn't arrived, we began to get a little concerned. Although Walcote Memorial Hall is notoriously difficult to find, Ruth was sure she had given clear directions. Eventually Ruth rang to check, only to find that Janice had written the booking onto the wrong page in her diary, and was all set to come the next day!  It's always heartening to find that it's not just me who does that kind of thing!  So Ruth has rebooked Janice for 2013 and we had an evening of show and tell, and then some lovely social time.  Quilty chat - we all love it!

Sarah brought her 'Highly Commended' quilt from the Bletchly exhibition for us all to admire.  It's gorgeous!  (The back is really interesting too.  For some reason, the photo has ended up at the bottom of this post.  Sorry, Sarah!)

This is the lovely Lynne Edwards sampler quilt which Muriel made as a Flutterwheels challenge.  The group challenged themselves to make different blocks from Lynne's book, and then assembled them using 'quilt as you go'.  Muriel enjoyed (most of) the blocks, but wasn't impressed with the assembly method.

Here are some more Flutterwheels quilts.  This year's challenge is to make scrappy quilts, and we started with Bonnie Hunter's scrappy bargello.  Everyone loved making this quilt, and were surprised at the super results.  If you like this quilt, the instructions are on Bonnie's website, Quiltville.

Paula is indefatiguable in her support for Project Linus, and she has a great way with colour.  These pinwheels blocks were orphans (they aren't actually as wishy washy as they look here!) and she decided to zing them up with some bright orange.  They have certainly been zinged!

Here is another Linus quilt from Paula.  This one was a set of little panels, beautifully sashed.  Thanks Paula.

Jan is another big supporter of Project Linus.  She did a workshop on maling cushions with a group of ladies, and had bought lots of panels to make the job easier.  These were left over, and have made this lovely cot quilt,

and this lovely cot quilt.  Thanks Jan.

Doreen went to a fabric bowl making workshop, and has made this gorgeous bowl out of silk waste.  The photo hasn't done it justice, as the colours and the silk really make it glow.

She was also inspired by Jenny Rolfe to make this little rectangualr bag decorated with buttons.  Very effective.

She is also a Linus lady, and had made this colourful top.  She loves piecing and binding quilts, but not layering and quilting, so Liz kindly took this away to finish.  What teamwork!

And here is a knitted log cabin!  Doreen said it was very easy and described the method, which sounded far from easy to me!  Maybe it was something you had to do, rather than listen to.

Gaynor had made some curved chenille at the recent workshop, and used the sample to make a bag.  Beautiful colours!

More Linus quilts, this time from Sue.  It's a pity I didn't get a photo of the backing, as it was umbrellas - very suitable for a Noah's Ark quilt! Thanks, Sue.

And here, to end with, is the back of Sarah's quilt.  What fabulous quilting!

If you have anything you have completed, please bring it to show, as we never criticise and love to see others' work.  Looking forward to even more inspiration next month!

Bletchley Park

Last Saturday Ruth organised another of her fantastic trips, this time to Bletchley Park, home of the WW2 code-breaking Enigma machine, and for two days only, to a super quilt exhibition.
The weather was gorgeous (if you sat in the sun) and there was lots to see if (heaven forbid) you hadn't been attracted by the quilt show! So, while various husbands were well catered for, we were all able to enjoy the quilts.

There was a big competition about codes, and we were delighted to see that our own Sarah had a 'Highly Commended' sticker on her quilt! Way to go Sarah! It's a shame that the venue wasn't altogether suitable for displaying quilts, and this one was right next to a big pillar, making it almost impossible to photograph (which explains the image below) but I'm sure we'll have a chance to see it closer at the next meeting. If you can't wait till then look on Sarah's blog (a link is on the sidebar to the right).

I spent much of my day in the documentation room, looking at old quilts (look here if you'd like to find out about the quilts I took) but here are some of Ruth's photos.

Here is another amazing quilt.

This one was in the codes competition with lots of lovely applique.

And compare this one with the photo at the top of this post. Amazing!

Thank you very much for giving us all a lovely day, and a chance to visit an important historic building.

February workshop evening

This month we had one of our very popular 'hands-on' sessions. Over 40 people came out on a cold inter's night to learn something new! Excellent! My workshop was probably the least popular, with just 4 students, but since it was a complete beginners 4-patch session, that was only to be expected. Liz kindly lent a hand and I think everyone enjoyed it, well, they all had beautiful 4-patches to show at the end of the session, so that's good.

Jenny showed a curved piecing technique which would make a lovely table runner. You can just see the sample on the back of the chair next to Doreen. Despite their hard work, nobody completed one in the time!

Jane showed Piece-lique, which is a technique half piecing and half applique, suitable for accurate curves. Everyone managed this one. Is it Jane's clear teaching style?

This workshop was for 3D flying geese. (Why is Gill hiding hers? Have they flown away?)

The chenille workshop was very successful, and I'm looking forward to seeing the pieces when they've been washed. They will be stunning.

Ruth had the clever idea of buying a roll of Bondaweb and one of wadding for people to buy at a discount. The wadding was so popular that 15 metres were sold that evening. Di was kept very busy cutting it into lengths.

In the autumn, we will be having a two day workshop for beginners or people who haven't managed to make a full-sized quilt. The pattern is Jacob's Ladder, and here is Ruth's take on it. Her colour choices are gorgeous. Any colour scheme would look great, so long as there is a good contrast between the darks and lights. Show and tell was as varied as ever. Paula kicked it off with this Linus quilt. She had taken a bag of 4" blocks and squares and put her own stamp on them. That pastel green sashing and border is a perfect foil.
I'm sorry, but I can't remember who had made this can-can dollies quilt, as it's super! The bright colours add an extra layer of fun to the quilt.
Di has just had her first grandchild - how lovely! So, of course, a quilt was needed, and a cloth book was a fun project too.

Stephanie had made this cot quilt from a strip of those little squares. They have been framed and look lovely.

She also used an alphabet and number panel to great advantage. How creative!

My New Year's Resolution is to finish a UFO every month, and so far so good. Here is my February quilt. It was made from a set of calendar baskets I made in 2005, and I'm really pleased with the setting - it gives the blocks plenty of movement.

Four years ago a lady brought an old quilt to our exhibition. She wanted to know how to repair it, but was quite phlegmatic when we told her that it was beyond help. She let me keep it, and I wanted to repay her kindness by giving her another quilt.

Here, finally, is the quilt I have made. The design is similar to the old quilt, and I hope she likes it.

Di has made this lovely bag with cute little sheep on it. Can you see that one is actually knitting?!

She had also made these penguin wall hanging as presents to take on a forth-coming foreign trip. What fabulous gifts!

Liz always has something gorgeous to show. This quilt is made from 4-patches, but the colours make it even more stunning.

She has also made this Scrappy Bargello. It's a Bonnie Hunter pattern and never fails to delight.

Here is a variation of the design which has been made for Linus. It's Scrappy Trip Around the World. Beautiful.

Sue had made this bright Linus quilt from fabrics ahe as given many years ago and struggled to use. Lucky Linus!

However, this Linus quilt takes the prize for BRIGHT! Hooray!

We always love seeing your show and tell, so please bring it along to the next meeting.