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Chris Franses wrote a new post, Books of blocks 6 years, 1 month ago
Having decided to make a quilt using blocks how do you choose which block (or blocks) to use? Do you find a theme (stars for instance) or look for a name that appeals (how about Cats and Mice?). Perhaps you want to…
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Chris Franses wrote a new post, Books, books and more quilting books 6 years, 3 months ago
I thought I would start off this journey through some of my quilting book collection by looking at some of my general how-to books. These are the ones I first bought when starting out on this hobby of ours and the…
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What a fabulous resource, Chris! There are so many books, when I was a new/apprentice quilter, I didn’t know what does or does not help. But your blog really spells it out.
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Chris Franses posted a new activity comment 6 years, 4 months ago
And I fear many of them will be available online still – even if its as ‘print on demand’ or as e-books. Hide the credit card!
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Chris Franses posted a new activity comment 6 years, 4 months ago
Thanks, Maggie! I feel its a good way for me to revisit long forgotten friends on the bookshelves and to find new ones too.
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Chris Franses posted a new activity comment 6 years, 4 months ago
The Magic Faraway Tree was my daughter’s favourite too. I’d forgotten all about it. I still have my Just William books!
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Chris Franses wrote a new post, Books, books and more books 6 years, 4 months ago
I like books! I collect books – all sorts of books, not just quilting books. I probably have more gardening books than quilting ones and if you add in the books about plants in general then I have way too many (is t…
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How nice! More access to books without buying and storing them. Bring it on! I will be eagerly awaiting your blogs.
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Thanks, Maggie! I feel its a good way for me to revisit long forgotten friends on the bookshelves and to find new ones too.
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Before I started doing Patchwork and Quilting again after a break of over 35 years I was an avid Cross Stitcher. I designed cross stitch embroidery professionally, and still have hundreds of resource books and art books. I have had a cull of all my fiction paperbacks and given those to charity shops, but I still have all the art books and all my quilting books left. I fear another cull is now necessary and that is going to be a toughie. The one book I will never give away is my Enid Blyton “The Magic Faraway Tree which Is from my childhood, which was a considerable time ago.
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The Magic Faraway Tree was my daughter’s favourite too. I’d forgotten all about it. I still have my Just William books!
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I’m really looking forward to your future posts about quilting books you own, though I fear it may lead me to searching online to find copies of them for myself!
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And I fear many of them will be available online still – even if its as ‘print on demand’ or as e-books. Hide the credit card!
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Chris Franses wrote a new post, Doing a Runner 6 years, 5 months ago
It’s that time of year again – Christmas is looming, presents still to be bought/made, decorations to be found in the loft, rooms tidied away ready for visiting relatives and seemingly vast quantities of food to be…
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Super! What a lot of lovely runners! I too have a round table-what about doing a cruciform one?
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Guess what I’m making too? One down one to go … shush – don’t tell the family!
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Chris Franses posted a new activity comment 6 years, 8 months ago
Thank you, Ami. I had a lot of help – from the book I had and from my niece.
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Chris Franses wrote a new post, A Wedding Stole 6 years, 8 months ago
Earlier this year my brother, a widower, announced he had ‘met someone’. Not only that but they were getting married the next month. Cue much family panic – insufficient time to buy an ‘outfit’; how grand a wedding,…
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Chris, what a wonderful story, you are so clever to have made such a meaningful stole. I wouldn’t have known where to begin. Congratulations to your brother and his new wife.
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Thank you, Ami. I had a lot of help – from the book I had and from my niece.
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Chris Franses wrote a new post, Simple Shapes . . . 6 years, 9 months ago
. . . . Stunning Quilts – the title of Stuart Hillards’s new book says it all. The five main chapters each take a simple shape (or combination of those shapes) to make twenty very different blocks and quilts. Whe…
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Chris Franses wrote a new post, Design your own quilt block Part 2 6 years, 10 months ago
Last month we looked at designing your own blocks by taking a traditional block and adding or subtracting a few lines. This month we will look at drawing what you might call ‘skewed’ blocks using graph paper with a d…
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What a really fascinating and encouraging post! Thank you!
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Chris Franses posted a new activity comment 6 years, 11 months ago
It boggled my mind when I first realised it was not only possible but ‘allowed’! Hope you enjoy playing around and being further boggled by what you can achieve!
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Chris Franses wrote a new post, Design your own block. Part 1 6 years, 12 months ago
The simplest way to design your own block is to take a traditional block and add or subtract a few lines. The Ohio Star block for instance can be changed into Swamp Angel by turning the corner squares into…
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WOW that just completely boggled my Mind!
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It boggled my mind when I first realised it was not only possible but ‘allowed’! Hope you enjoy playing around and being further boggled by what you can achieve!
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Chris Franses posted a new activity comment 7 years ago
Thanks, Juliet! I’ve had fun dreaming up different ways to put blocks together so students feel they are getting something new if they return each year.
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Chris Franses posted a new activity comment 7 years ago
Thank you, Teresa. Orphan blocks can be a challenge (and I have quite a few myself) but the settings can often bring quite different blocks (and colours) together.
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Chris Franses wrote a new post, Sampler Quilts 7 years ago
Sampler quilts are a great way to learn a lot of different techniques and still end up with something useful rather than a random collection of blocks stuffed in a drawer (or a folder with notes if you are truly…
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Wow those are gorgeous!
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Thanks, Juliet! I’ve had fun dreaming up different ways to put blocks together so students feel they are getting something new if they return each year.
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Some amazing ideas, particularly useful because I am in a group making charity quilts from sometimes donated orphan blocks.
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Thank you, Teresa. Orphan blocks can be a challenge (and I have quite a few myself) but the settings can often bring quite different blocks (and colours) together.
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Yours quilts are fabulous, I have never made a sampler style quilt and you have inspired me to have a go when I have time
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Chris Franses wrote a new post, Skimpy seams 7 years, 1 month ago
That moment when you are pressing a quilt top – from the back – removing stray threads and preparing to layer it up for quilting . . . and you find a seam that is hanging on by a few threads. What to do? There’s no…
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Most excellent tip! Thank you
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This is such a good tip and I will make sure that I remember it, I’m rubbish at keeping a consistent 1/4 inch seam, thanks for doing this blog!
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Chris Franses wrote a new post, Drafting, Making and Using Templates 7 years, 2 months ago
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…
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Chris Franses posted a new activity comment 7 years, 2 months ago
Thank you , Karin. It’s good to know that the graph paper is probably still available – I only have a couple of sheets left!
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Chris Franses wrote a new post, Octagon quilts 7 years, 2 months ago
The octagon and its tessellating square was a popular design in tiled floors as well as quilts – the kitchen floor in my last (Victorian) house had such a design with terracotta octagons and black squares. In Hannah…
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UK Quilters
6 years, 1 month ago
This is a really valuable blog for anyone who uses blocks. There are so many books about and they vary immensely in content and quality, so to be given a guide to a set of really detailed staple publications is enormously helpful.
6 years, 1 month ago
Thanks, Maggie. Although as a caveat – my bookshelf doesn’t include anything more up-to-date that last century when it comes to block books I’m ashamed to say. I’m really missing the quilt shows this year as it it such a good opportunity to browse for books.