Sewing in strange times…..

Tags

English Paper Piecing, fabric, Foundation paper-piecing, Love patchwork and quilting, patchwork, Patchwork quilt, quilting, quilts, Sewing, sewing techniques

Well, I don’t think that any of us could have imagined such an eventful start to 2020. If you had told me at the beginning of the year that we would all be confined to our houses without the option to even visit close friends and family, I would have raised my eyebrows incredulously and voraciously insisted that it absolutely couldn’t happen.

Yet here we are. I have been working from home for the past two weeks, the cat has seen more of me than she ever dreamed possible and, pause for dramatic effect, I was so fed up that I actually agreed to go for a run. Those of you that know of my aversion to anything related to exercise will know how serious things are getting.

We have been forced to take a break from normal life. It’s unnerving. But perhaps we quilters are better equipped to deal with this enforced confinement than some others. After all, we are always complaining that we don’t have enough time for sewing and that all of the expectations of life get in the way of quality quilting time. Now all normal activities have ceased we can finally get out that pile of UFOs and make some progress. Well, perhaps those of us who don’t also have to home-school their children for the foreseeable future that is.

So, what have I been up to since my last blog post nine months ago I hear you ask? Has there been any sewing at all? Well, I am delighted to report that there has indeed been some sewing and I even finished a few items! In February I took part in my very first quilt exhibition, which was a display of work by the Canalside Patchworkers who meet at Beeston Canalside Heritage Centre. This meant that I had a deadline for the sewing and it would seem that I am a great deal more productive if I have to work to a deadline…

I contributed four items to the quilt exhibition, one of which was the Dresden plate quilt that I made for my friend Sally, which you can read about in this blog post. The others included the modern wedding-ring quilt that I started to sew in 2016 (based on a pattern bought as part of a Craftsy class though I think that they are now using the Bluprint platform) and two mini-quilts. I was quite pleased with my contributions and it was really thrilling to see my work displayed in the Heritage Centre:

I am not sure if I will attempt another double wedding-ring quilt. It was quite challenging! Each arc was pieced using the foundation paper piecing technique and I found all that curved piecing quite time-consuming and difficult. As everything is pieced on the bias the fabric slightly stretched and I then had to spend a fair bit of time squaring up the blocks, which I definitely did not do perfectly (just don’t look too closely!!) I would have liked to have added a bit more quilting but I ran out of time (and patience) so just quilted around the curves.

The first of the above mini-quilts was made using a pattern from one of my Love Patchwork and Quilting magazines. I hoped that it might inspire a bit of general craftiness amongst our visitors, even if it wasn’t quilting 🙂 The second of the mini-quilts was hand-pieced using English paper piecing and it is one that I started in one of my regular sewing classes. It was intended to be a cushion but I think that it looks quite effective as a mini-quilt. Both of these will hopefully be hung up on the wall at home when I get round to it!

I absolutely loved being a part of the exhibition and, even though the organisation was a little bit stressful, we’re definitely hoping to hold another one in a couple of years. Everyone who attended was so enthusiastic and so complementary of the work that was on display. More than 300 visitors came to see us over the course of the week and I loved chatting to everyone during the days that I was ‘staffing’ the event (e.g. drinking tea, eating cake, having lovely gossipy conversations and, occasionally, doing the odd bit of patchwork). I have written an article for our local Quilt Guild magazine Cobwebs so I might share it on this blog once it’s published 🙂

There was a lot of frantic sewing in the lead-up to this exhibition and, once it was over, I felt a bit flat and stopped doing anything creative for a few weeks as I didn’t have any new projects planned and had finished my quilting UFOs. Thankfully, just before I fell into a sewing-related malaise I came across a new block of the month club offered by Alice Caroline (who are specialists in Liberty fabric) to make the Jewel Palace Quilt which is entirely hand-pieced and uses a huge range of delicious Liberty fabrics. I signed up in February so I didn’t receive anything until March, when the post brought three beautiful boxes filled with everything needed to make the first six blocks. I also treated myself to the Aurifil thread pack that complements the fabrics. So I have something beautiful and a mindful activity with which to occupy myself in these troubling times.

Thank goodness that, for the time being at least, we can still receive packages in the post so, for those of us who need it, we can still get our fabric fix! Do leave me a comment to let me know what you are working on during this odd time!

I hope that, wherever you are in the world, you are staying safe, that you have plenty of fabric and, for those who need it, you have gin!*

Till next time,

April x x

*Or tea, wine, cake, somewhere to hide when needed, you get my drift..

Armfuls of arcs…

Tags

Amy Gibson, Foundation paper-piecing, French, Liberty fabric, patchwork, quilting, Quilting Bee, sampler quilt, Sewing

This week I have mostly been foundation piecing arcs for my next quilty creation:

Aren’t the colours just beautiful? They are all from Dashwood studio and I picked them all out with the help of the lovely Anne from Quiltessential. Even though I know that the finished quilt will be really quite pretty I’m beginning to get a little bit, well, bored of all this piecing and I’m looking forward to moving on soon to creating the blocks. I’m not quite certain how smoothly this will go as it involves curved piecing and possibly the use of something that is, rather entertainingly (for me at least), known as a purple thang. I do not currently own a purple thang and I had no idea what this was until I consulted sewing friends on a Facebook group. Apparently this is a well-known little gadget for keen sewers…I am wondering whether I can just get away with using some sort of straw with a flattened end….!!

Last Friday I had a much-needed day’s leave and I popped down to London to meet up with my very best friend. We arranged to find one another at the V&A and I was somewhat affronted to be asked to surrender my craft scissors. I thought I’d use the train journey to work on a little embroidery kit so I just popped them in with the thread completely forgetting that, in this age of heightened security, they might be questioned. I was able to collect them again on my way out of the museum but I did feel a little awkward when I presented my little keyring and they then proceeded to open a plastic ziplocked bag with ‘EVIDENCE’ emblazoned across it…

We could have spent all day in the museum but we had a great deal of catching up to do so we perused a few of the exhibits before deciding that we needed tea and some sort of cake. The V&A is housed in such a beautiful building and the tiles may inspire a future patchwork creation:

I also managed a little trip to Liberty where this beautiful collection of fabric just ‘fell’ into my hands:

I’m not completely certain what I’m going to make with it yet. I’m wondering about making a quilt using dresden plates but I’ll have to peruse Pinterest for a few ideas..

My favourite crafty blog at the moment is Blossom Quilt and Craft. It provides an opportunity to practice my French and I can look at pretty quilts at the same time! 🙂 Its author, Alice, participates in a lot of Quilting Bees and I’ve decided that I might like to take part in one at some point in the future. So, as a first step, I have of course purchased another quilting book….

Amy Gibson provides patterns for 50 different 12-inch quilt blocks that can be combined into hundreds of different quilts. She’s completely updated the concept of the sampler quilt and offers a few designs at the end to provide a little inspiration! This book is currently kept beside my bed so I can read it at the end of the day and fall off to sleep dreaming of quilt patterns…

And on that note, I think it might be time to say goodbye for this evening.

Wishing you happy, fabric-filled dreams….

April x

A wedding, a weekend away and some foundation paper-piecing..

Tags

fabric, Foundation paper-piecing, holiday, patchwork, Patchwork quilt, quilting, Vintage, Wedding

Hello again everyone. And hello to the sunshine! How lovely to feel the warmth on my skin and to be able to wear a floaty summer dress rather than leggings and layers! It’s been a truly glorious couple of days and, happily, I’m also on holiday. How fortuitous!

Last weekend we travelled up to Yorkshire for a family wedding. We stayed in a delightful bed and breakfast called The Cornmill. I loved all of the flowers and particularly the extensive vegetable garden. We were very envious as the slugs have been particularly vicious this year and have eaten almost everything that we’ve planted! Anyway, here are a few pictures (of The Cornmill, not of the slugs feasting on our vegetables..):

And a couple of ‘arty’ ones in black and white…

The wedding itself was held at Deepdale Farm. Sadly the weather was not quite as glorious but it hardly mattered. There was plenty of cake, plenty of laughter and a ceilidh. I thought that the styling was just lovely so took a few pictures:

We were very grateful for the cosy blankets! Although we soon warmed up when the ceilidh started (it really is good exercise!)

In the few hours that I’ve had spare I’ve been working on a paper-pieced block (from a pattern found on Wombat Quilts). This block will become a mini quilt that I’m hoping to send to my Granny. As it’s such a nice day, I’ve managed to take a reasonable picture:

This block was quite challenging. I thought that I’d been reasonably precise when I traced each copy of the template. However, once I started joining each piece together, I discovered that I hadn’t been terribly accurate after all! A few choice words may have been uttered! This is definitely ‘high-faff’ sewing but I think that the finished block was worth the effort. Hopefully my Granny will appreciate it too (and won’t look too closely at my uneven points!). With a bit of luck, I’ll be able to share the completed quilt on my next blog post.

Well, I’m off to sit in the sunshine but, just before I go, here is a summery picture of a couple of deck chairs (taken at a recent trip to vintage fair):

Enjoy your evening 🙂

The simple joys of sunshine and sewing…

Tags

Foundation paper-piecing, Love patchwork and quilting, patchwork, quilts, Sewing, sewing techniques, stained-glass

Hello everyone. I do hope that you’ve been enjoying the glorious sunshine. It is amazing how a little bit of sun can improve your overall wellbeing. Indeed, my energy levels are much improved of late and I’ve been feeling quite creative. In the past couple of weeks, I have written a blog-post for another blog (which will hopefully appear on littlebigday.ie very soon) and I’ve also learned two new sewing techniques.

A few weeks ago I attended another sewing workshop run by Hilary Adams at Artworks: a crafting and arty shop that is quite near to our little house. During the workshop, Hilary taught us how to create stained-glass effect patchwork. It’s a technique that I had never tried before and, although I did find it a little bit fiddly, I was actually quite pleased with my finished picture.

Most of the other women in the workshop chose to create a Glasgow Rose. I, however, decided that it was highly unlikely that I would complete this design during the time given so I went for a much simpler tulip. This was my finished block:

To create this effect, you first need to copy the design onto paper to create a template. Once copied, you use this to cut out your fabric then tack the pieces onto your backing-fabric. When you have sewn on all of your pieces, you then use bias-binding to create the effect of the lead borders. Bias-binding is particularly good for curves as it is sturdy enough to create the curve but flexible enough to allow you to create beautiful designs. If you are interested in attempting this technique, there are plenty of designs to be found online.

For some time now, I have been pondering over the intricacies of foundation paper-piecing. I mentioned this to Hilary but sadly the technique had already been covered in a previous class. On my return home however, I was extremely pleased to be greeted by the arrival of not one but two issues of Love Patchwork and Quilting (Issue 19 had been a little delayed). Rather fortuitously, Issue 20 was accompanied by a guide to Foundation piecing and also included the templates for these rather funky designs.

I wasn’t certain whether I would use the designs in a project. However, I thought that the star-block could be incorporated into a future make so I decided to use some of the leftover fabric from the workshop and have a go. I had a look at a Youtube tutorial by Karen Johnson of Connecting Threads. Foundation-piecing has always seemed a little bit tricky but I was determined to conquer my fears. I traced the template onto baking paper (which is surprisingly good for this sort of thing) then set about cutting out the bits of fabric. Naively, I thought that I could piece the whole block in a couple of hours. However, I quickly became confused between the front and back of the template and it took several evenings before I managed to complete it (definitely not one to attempt when you’re a bit tired after work!):

I experienced a real feeling of satisfaction when I managed to complete this. The block of the month at the end of each issue of LPAQ often includes patterns for foundation-pieced blocks so I’m definitely going to have another go. I also quite like the idea of completing a quilt that’s been made with FPP blocks.

I’m back to commuting to work by train and I can’t help noticing just how much time we seem to spend tapping away on our mobile-phones. I’m just as guilty and often use the time to check personal emails, Facebook and Twitter. However, I’ve consciously tried to spend a little bit less time on my mobile this week. To keep my fingers busy with an alternative activity, I’ve been sewing little hexies instead. I even managed to find a bit of time to sit in the sunshine sewing on Wednesday afternoon:

The town-hall square in Leicester is particularly lovely in the sunshine. Just before I finish today’s post, here is a picture of the lovely fountain. You could almost imagine that you were in a European city rather than the UK!

April x