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Chris Franses wrote a new post, Curved seams – or Drunkard’s Path 7 years, 6 months ago
Each month we have a Technique of the Month class at The Corner Patch where I teach. My blogs this year have been largely based on these classes. This last month in class we looked at stitching curved seams by making…
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Jane Galley wrote a new post, Should I Go, Or Should I Stay 7 years, 6 months ago
This coming weekend sees the first retreat for those the Bloggerati, the wonderful group that write your blogs, provide you with hints and tips and other goodies on the website. It’s also the first retreat I have…
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I’m nervous about things like parking and food too (being disabled plus coeliac) which also makes me a bit nervous sometimes about going new places. WE WILL BE FINE! We will thoroughly enjoy ourselves and even if things don’t go according to plan it will work out. See you there!
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Look forward to meeting you Corinne, and I’m sure everything will work out well
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YI am sure you will have a great time. Rescue Remedy gets me on planes…sheer cussedness makes me stay on them, despite the rising panic. Just keep to the 15 minutes. Then another 15..and so on
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and then we wonder what all the fuss was about 🙂
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I’m nervous about going too. Not for the same reasons, but still a bit worried. And go from ‘I can’t wait’ to ‘hmmm, not sure’. So I will feel a big sense of achievement once I’m back home again. Look forward to meeting you. x
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I think that picture perfectly sums up the pendulum swings the brain goes through. I’m sure we’ll all have a wonderful time.
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Jane – thank you for this blog – I too am feeling a bit unsure about this weekend, trying to get everything ready, and wondering what I’m going to bring along to it to work on. We will have a fantastic time – the retreat will be what we make it! Now I just have to make it through until Friday, and try to sort out the quilting on a quilt that I said I would make for a raffle – it needs to be finished by Thursday, and I’ve unpicked the quilting twice today…
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Oh, that must be so nerve wracking Christine. I am sure it will be wonderful when it’s finished. Look forward to seeing you
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Jane, you are a very brave lady! Although I am not going (too far to go from Spain, and we are over at Christmas – so the expense is another factor), I will be thinking of you all and hoping that you all have a great, rewarding and enjoyable weekend. I used to live about 2 miles away from the venue – so I can picture you all there. I am sure you won’t need that corner to hide in – you will be just too busy enjoying yourself. Hugs xx
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Thank you and hopefully, you’ll get there one year Sue.
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Juliet Nice wrote a new post, Weighted Quilts and nekkid mermaids 7 years, 6 months ago
Weighted blankets were invented by Keith Zivalich of California. According to Forbes “Zivalich came up with the idea 15 years ago when his daughter draped a Beanie Baby over his shoulder while he was driving. “I…
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Thank you, useful and you have reminded me that my daughter would like one of these, I rather fancy the idea as well.
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Have heard a lot about weighted quilts, have had friends ask me to make them, but the research about child weight to quilt weight was a step too far for my calculator & brain. I have heard it helps with SEN (Special Educational Needs) pupils, but was not prepared to endanger them (some of my friends children) by getting it wrong. So why is weight important, why is it soothing? I do the opposite in the winter, heavy down winter quilt goes on and I get pains in my feet, cramps in my legs, breathlessness, because of the weight, unable to cope with the weight, I throw the wretched thing off & get a towel from the bathroom as a blankie so I don’t freeze 🙁
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Chris Franses wrote a new post, Gardens and quilting 7 years, 7 months ago
An odd combination? Perhaps not – I find when I’m teaching that many of my students are as keen on gardening as they are about quilting. As am I. Our problems arise in the months from about April to October when we…
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Wow..beautiful garden Chris.
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Beautiful pictures. I love gardening, too, which does take time away from quilting in the summer but I do make up for it in the colder months.
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Sue Griffiths wrote a new post, Baby Starfish Quilt 7 years, 7 months ago
I’m so excited about my latest pattern. I have designed a row by row quilt for beginners to teach techniques, which is still in progress. But I just thought the starfish are adorable and would make such a cute baby q…
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Lyn Butler wrote a new post, Natural History Museum 7 years, 7 months ago
When https://ukqu.co.uk asked for a couple of us to review some Natural History design fabrics from The Craft Cotton Company , I didn’t hesitate to respond. Our granddaughter, like most children, is just mad abo…
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Rally lovely. The fabrics are great aren’t they.
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Yes great fun.
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Chris Franses wrote a new post, Light, medium or dark? 7 years, 8 months ago
How can you tell which fabrics are ‘light’, which are ‘medium’ and which ‘dark’, let alone ‘light-medium’ or ‘medium-dark’ or any of the other variations you may have come across?
If you are using a monochrome…
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Sue Griffiths wrote a new post, New Zealand quilt shows 7 years, 8 months ago
I’ve just had a week of holiday in New Zealand visiting family and enjoying old haunts. I also got lucky enough to go to two quilt shows and a couple of shops. (I mean quilt shops of course, the rest don’t cou…
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Thank you for sharing your trip and the pictures. Brings back a lot of memories for me. There is something quite special and different too about quilting in the antipodes – I suspect it is a bit like NZ regionalist painting – the light is different, and so the way light and colour is used in quilting is quite different too.
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Corinne, you are so right. The light is so different and so is, I think, the colour perception. I think New Zealand has a very saturated palette with the blues and greens, whereas Australia often has a dustier palette, more olive, dark teal and rust. I noticed Switzerland tends to have a clear clean palette, whereas England has a very soft palette. These are generalisations of course, and I know we all pursue our own particular tastes. Did you like my pic of Ruapehu?, so lucky to get it so clear from a plane window.
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Loved reading this Sue. Rose City Quilters was the second quilt show I ever went to – after helping out at Kowhai Quilters Quilt Show in Feilding. Ruapehu looks magnificent – such a great road trip head up or down SH1. This has bought back so many memories and is all located in our patch of NZ – thanks!!
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I’m glad it brought back happy memories Abigail. It seemed like it was a weekend for quilt shows, though I missed the one in Wellington – I could have gone, but the traffic getting back out is horrendous, even leaving at 4.30 we crawled down to Kapiti, (the plus side was getting some good photos of the island). It’ll be good when the new road is finished. The Horowhenua quilt show was at Nga Tawa and the rose city one at PNGHS. I was so pleased with that photo of Ruapehu, I got Ngauruhoe, Tongariro and Mt Taranaki as well. Amazingly lucky.
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Sue Griffiths wrote a new post, Holidays, aeroplanes and sewing supplies 7 years, 8 months ago
Well, firstly, yay for holidays. I’m off to visit family, which is nice, but I need to make sure I’m well prepared for waiting at airports, and have small things to do while relaxing with family. I fly bec…
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Some great ideas Sue. I love your home made EPP book – can work for other things as well I think.
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Thanks Ruth for your kind words. It’s much appreciated.
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Lyn Butler recommended the post Classy Stained Glassy 7 years, 8 months ago
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Lyn Butler wrote a new post, Xmas Angel 7 years, 8 months ago
Many years ago I was in our local W.I. group, and my job was to organise the speaker’s calender for the following year. This was challenging trying to find speakers to suit us all. When it came to November I vol…
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Loved making those angels, and remember that night well!!! The night of the Demon Angel still makes me giggle!!
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Was a hoot!
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giniscanlan wrote a new post, The story of Lola’s Quilt [As seen on TV!] 7 years, 8 months ago
UKQU are doing a second mini quilt swap and I have been lucky enough to have been asked to be a Swap Mumma. This involves looking after a group of swappers, helping and guiding them and offering support and…
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That’s really lovely Gini. Such a kind gesture. Beautiful quilt. I too have made many new friends through the site, one who in particular lm sure will be a lifetime friend.
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Gorgeous xx
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That is super.
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Chris Franses wrote a new post, Perfect? Or not? 7 years, 9 months ago
How important is it that your quilt is ‘perfect’? Do all the points and seams have to match exactly? Does your colour choice have to meet with universal approval? Should your stitch-in-the ditch stay there and nev…
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I wholeheartedly agree with this Chris! As I often say (because my mum used to see it) – a blind man would be glad to see it! Also – better finished than perfect. I’ve got a couple of BOMs that I’m working on – including Gravity, and I will get Jack out if it is too far out, but slightly out (if it all goes together) is good enough for me!
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This is such a great article…….I’m very much a beginner patchwork and quilter, and one of my many unpickers (I have invested in a few!) seems to be permanently attached to my hand! I’m loving my journey though and my quilt is for me – “mistakes” and all!
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Chris Franses wrote a new post, Designing quilts, writing patterns 7 years, 9 months ago
What actually goes into writing a quilt pattern? It should be easy, shouldn’t it? Especially if your design uses traditional blocks. So why do patterns cost (sometimes) a lot of money; why aren’t they all free, or…
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What a superb explanation of the research, development, and creation of a quilt pattern!
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Thanks, Maggie. I hoped people would realise what a lot of work goes into writing a patterns and that is why we (often) ask to paid for them!
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Jane Galley wrote a new post, What to do with orphan blocks 7 years, 9 months ago
I hate anything going to waste and that included patchwork blocks. When I was doing some pattern testing for the Sew A Row Fire Quilt, I ended up with two blocks that weren’t used. They’d been sitting in the b…
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Even little three inch blocks can be quilted, bound, and used as cute coasters
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That’s a great idea
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I used my one orphan block from the sew-a-Row as a Mug Mat and gave it to the recipient of my Spring Mini Swap.
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That was a great way to use it, someone else can get pleasure from it too
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I sent mine to The Grenfell Quilts
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Lovely that they were able to become part of such a special project
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Sue Griffiths wrote a new post, Dunedin in the Snow A row inspired by winter in the South Island, New Zealand 7 years, 9 months ago
The brief we were given for the Sew a Row was ‘ice’. Now, I live in the subtropics in Australia and it’s a long, long time since I’ve been in the ice and snow. In fact the last time I was in the snow was …. aroun…
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This was an interesting read for me this morning. My daughter’s friend who moved from Northern Ireland many years ago to live in the South Island is currently holidaying here with us in Cornwall where we now live. We were talking last night about the type of houses in her area and to see photos of what she was describing this morning before I get out of bit is a bit freaky. Love your patchwork.
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Thanks Jenny. I’m glad you like it. The universe can be a bit weird, can’t it, You never hear of something and then it crops up again and again. I never understood British row houses in children’s fiction – how you could see people on the street from inside the house, and talk to neighbours over the fence so easily. Postmen knocking and train carriages with lots of doors were also a bit of a mystery. Then, as an adult, when I visited my sister in London, a lot was explained!
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Jane Galley wrote a new post, Clover Embroidery Stitching Tool 7 years, 9 months ago
Having seen lots of wonderful projects on Pinterest made using the Clover Embroidery Stitching Tool, I was eager to volunteer for the task of reviewing it. There was a press release about it earlier in the year, you…
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Lyn Butler wrote a new post, Patchwork Chair 7 years, 9 months ago
My daughter wanted rid of a tub chair and asked if I would like it, not one to refuse a freebie, I gratefully accepted to take it off her hands…I had a plan!
I have always loved patchwork chairs but ne…
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What a great job you’ve done in “upcycling” these chairs. It’s something on my (never ending) to do list
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Thanks Sheena,was fun to do.
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Absolutely lovely! Would love this sort of challenge and how brave of you to take it on. Both of these are great!
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Thanks Ruth..great challenge…you can do it!
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They are lovely Lyn! I am almost tempted to tackle a small sofa in a similar way, it’s only two tub chairs pushed together after all….
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Go for it Cathryn
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I love this Lyn, when I showed TC he said that like the one in our bedroom!! I might have to get him to pull it apart! Then all I need to do is find the box of Liberty samples that I was given years ago for and carefully put away for a rainy day!
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Would look be great in Liberty’s…go for it!
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Vendulka Battais wrote a new post, How one thing leads to another 7 years, 10 months ago
Do you ever wonder how do people develop a body of work for an exhibition? How they come up with the idea in the first place?? I’m now working on a series of quilts for an exhibition which will travel with G…
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What lovely examples of your design process. Really great to see how designs can develop from a single idea and a common process.
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Fabulous work and great to hear how the theme developed over time. Thanks for sharing your lovely work.
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I’ve loved your work since I attended a short workshop at Harrogate earlier this year and will definitely look out for your exhibit in Harrogate!
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I saw your miniature at FOQ. Astounding. I could not make out whether it was the tinyesy applique or paint, it was so small.
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Stunning, wow
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Sue Griffiths wrote a new post, Fusamat for applique: A new product for fusible or raw edge applique 7 years, 10 months ago
I was lucky enough to go to the Sydney Quilt Show and meet Sharon Bradley who was demonstrating her new product ‘fusamat’. I’d seen the product advertised but was a little unclear on how it worked. So I stopped for a…
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ordering one, that looks great!
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UK Quilters
7 years, 6 months ago
Thank you! I have avoided this block because of the curved seams. I had not thought about my dressmaking skills making it easier. No holding me back now, then!
7 years, 6 months ago
Good luck! I’m glad to have encouraged you to have a go. Not being a dressmaker I admit that curved seams scared me rigid for years; then I found I needed to teach how to do them – talk about staying one step ahead of the class.