UK Quilters
The designs for modern quilts can come from so many different design elements: architecture, nature, art to name a few. This week I will explore several design starting points for modern quilts, Minimalism The Tate define minimalism as: an extreme form of abstract art developed in the USA in the 1960s and typified by artworks…
While it is possible to use all sorts of threads for hand quilting, which is the best, and why? There are two things to consider: What will the finished appearance be like? How easy will the thread be to use? Both of these things are, of course important! Most people start off thinking about the…
Hi Everyone, I said I’d be back soon, well that didn’t work out did it. It’s a year since I did my last very emotional post, and I think it was hard to get back blogging after that one. I’m back and hopefully, back to regular blogs. So what to start with? We have just…
Last week Modern Quilts – Fabric Part I was published and this week we are continuing the theme of fabric. So far I have talked about solids or fabrics that read as solid but that is not to say that prints cannot be used in modern quilts. They most certainly can! My On the Plus…
Blocking a quilt is a bit like blocking an embroidery or a jumper. You do it to help the fibres settle into the shape that you want. Quilts are just much bigger and you need to have the space to do it. I always block wallhangings and cot quilts on my design board. If I’m…
As requested… These were left over from demonstrating Eccentric Log Cabins (not so much a Log Cabin, more a Pile of Sticks, see the image at the top for my Dusk quilt…) at Festival of Quilts in 2017. Oddments like this are inclined to reappear at moments when I really need to tidy up. I…
How do you start hand quilting? This webpage will discuss the types of wadding (batting in the USA) that you will need. The thickness and the density of the wadding makes an enormous difference to the ease of the quilting, and also to the finished appearance. Feathered heart design using high loft wool wadding Feathered…
Last week I gave you a brief introduction to modern quilts and their history. Over the next few weeks I am going to explore different facets of modern quilts in more depth. But before we start on this I have something to say: there are no hard and fast rules in modern quilting just as…
There are many reasons for needing to make templates for cutting shapes. Some shapes simply cannot be easily cut with a rotary cutter and although you can buy acrylic templates for many of these shapes it can get a bit expensive as you need a separate template for each size. Sometimes you may want to…
March is upon us and the months are flying by, well to me it feels that way. This month’s block is slightly different. As it is reverse appliqué, this entails layers of fabric sewn together and sections cut out from the top layers. I hope you all had chance to purchase and find some good…
Where to start?! In my last blog about re-creating a quilt I looked at the stars quilt I had made using lots of left-over bits and explained how you could deconstruct it to work out how it might have been made. I lightly tossed in words like ‘Variable Star’, ‘Sawtooth Star’ and ‘Ohio Star’ and…
Now, as I have spent more time quilting, and as I have learned how to do it better, I find I want to make less and less of a statement with it. It’s really important to quilt your quilt, as it’s not complete without this joining-of-layers and adding-of-texture… Many of my recent quilts are simply…
Abigail Sheridan de Graaff
Carolyn Gibbs
Carol Munro
Sue Griffiths
Helen Howes
Chris Franses
Denise Inkson