UK Quilters
Do you chain piece? What is chain piecing I hear some ask? This is where we have numerous units to join and piece them one after the other without breaking the thread between each. It is a method which speeds up the piecing and also has the advantage of using less thread as you don’t…
Recently I was sent a pack of quilting needles from Clover – Black and Gold Needles. On opening they are certainly great to look at. The black colour comes from the special plating which allows the needle to pierce the fabric smoothy, reducing drag. The gold, from the top eye of the needle. Black and…
In the next (long awaited) instalment of the ‘Sew a Fine Seam’ series from Strictly Quilting, I thought we would look at one of the basic pieces of equipment we need – the humble scissor. It is believed that scissors probably originated in ancient Egypt. Earliest examples in existence come from Mesopotamia and date from…
Wow….. wow…..and again, wow. Some quilts just grab your attention when you first see them and you can’t help saying wow. The Best in Show at the Festival of Quilts should be one that does this and this year, it certainly did. ‘Our Ladies’, Oliver and Vendulka Battis Vendulka Battais and her husband Oliver set…
It has been a while since I’ve done a blog as I’ve been so busy moving all my stash, equipment and furniture into the new cabin at Strictly Quilting. One of the things I was determined to do was to keep the cabin tidy with everything in its proper place. My fabric stash has been…
It has been a while since I’ve done a blog as I’ve been so busy moving all my stash, equipment and furniture into the new cabin at Strictly Quilting. One of the things I was determined to do was to keep the cabin tidy with everything in its proper place. My fabric stash has been…
Well, at last the Big Build Strictly Quilting HQ is complete. My new workshop from Dunster House is up and running. The furniture is in, the lights and electrics are on and, other than those little jobs which always need finishing up, I’m in… <img class=”ui-sortable-handle” src=”https://ukqu.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_8708.jpeg” alt=”” data-eio=”l” />Moving in It has certainly been…
We’ve all done it, sewn a seam that turns out to be wrong and have to ‘deconstruct’ – frog the stitching (ribbit, ribbit), get Jack out (Jack the Ripper). There are many funny comments we use to try and make light of the fact that we are human and even the best of us resort…
Pins are often underestimated when we consider the equipment we use for sewing. How many of us have pins which we have had so long their origins are lost in the midst of time? I know I have some that were probably from my mum when she taught me dressmaking for my Cindy and Barbie…
I frequently get asked how to make rotary cutting easier for the beginner or for the experienced quilter who has joint issues. This can strike anyone at any age as someone who suffered RSI throughout my 30s and 40s quite severely, holding a quilters ruler steady whilst cutting can be difficult. My son’s girlfriend has…
I’ve heard it from all quarters “this year has been hard”, from the front line workers who have given their all (to them I say a huge thanks) to those of us who lost all jobs and incomes and we are the lucky ones. So many have lost loved ones that if we make it…
A couple of weeks ago I read on the UKQU Social Group Facebook page a message regarding an auction which was happening in which there were some old sewing machines. It was said they rarely reach more than £10 or so each. Well, it would have been rude not to have a look. I went…
