Stitching News

 A lovely busy day in my classroom. You won't believe the subjects that are covered during a day, it's very educational and highly amusing.  You can't beat a good giggle to lift your spirits can you.

Rose had started her new project last week. Lots and lots of cutting up of fabrics in readiness for the start of sewing this week. Those little clipper things are really good for organizing. The block is about 20" square, so not many are needed for the quilt. Which is just as well because piecing all the bits in the right order took quite a lot of brain power. Looking good though isn't it.

Gail's little Great Grand Baby safely arrived now and, luckily, The quilt had it's borders stitched on yesterday in readiness for a sandwiching session. Baby won't have to wait too long for the quilting to be done. It's a very cute quilt, you will see that soon.

We often work in what looks like chaos to the untrained eye. Little bits of fabric get spread all over any surface near by. Mostly we know exactly where every bit is, mostly. This is the spare table next to Beano's table, see what I mean... and with that skillfully co-ordinated colour of the empty Jar, not staged either.

This is the table next to Jackie's table. I think it's about 4 layers deep with finished blocks, block units,  many auditioning fabrics and tools a plenty. Jackie is working on the Jen Kingwell pattern that used to be called Gypsy Wife. I asked whether the fabric scraps had gone down in number, the answer was, NOPE!

Jean Bean had her beautiful Bunny finished by the end of the day. How splendid she is too. Co-ordinating pins are holding her in place on that shelf of beautiful green bolts. Again, pink pins are not staged, just a natural talent of Beano's.

The list of people for on our Annual Pilgrimage to the NEC, Festival Of Quilts is growing.
We're up to 26 now so if you want to book a place you might need to get a wiggle on.

This year the Cost is £36.00 and includes your entrance ticket.

First Pick up at Robin Hood Travel in Leek at 8.15am.
Main Car Park in Cheadle at 8.45am and
Uttoxeter Bus Station by about 9.10am.
Obviously we can pick up en-route in Tean High Street and Checkley Village Hall as we usually do. 

angiequilts@gmail.com or 07807530441

Rabbit Holes In Quilty Quarters

I'll bet it's happened to you too.You have sooooo much to do but can't decide where to start? So you make coffee and look on t'Interweb! Crazy? One click leads to another and, before you know it, an hour has passed and you've added 6 more projects to your list that's already reaaaaaallly long enough and that's what got you down the rabbit hole in the first place, ha!
I see an interesting design and try to figure out how it was done. Then, I purchase the quilt pattern PDF to see whether I was right. I think it's only fair to purchase the pattern, even though I could make it without as the designer deserves all credit. But, for this Rabbit Hole Quilt, the designer used a completely different method which was interesting, She, Erica, didn't call it a Rabbit Hole Quilt though, I did that all by my very own self! Link to The Libby Quilt.

Intrigued, with enough things waiting to be worked on, I started choosing fabrics and chopping them up. I thought I would take them, pre-kitted up, on the next retreat BUT, something came over me and before I knew it

I had finished!!!

These are all Alison Glass fabrics. A Fat Quarter of each colour is sufficient. Don't you love the woven design? Obviously you need more of the background fabric, half a metre. I have to warn you that all of the edges are on the Bias which means they can very easily distort. So, lick-etty-split, I stitched borders on to prevent trouble happening. Well, then I couldn't stop could I?

I had it sandwiched the next day and, after finishing the Tomte quilt I told you about yesterday, I started on my chosen quilting design. This project is the reason I was in such a 'hurry' to get the binding done on Tomte. And now I have the fabrics all ready for another quilt so I want to finish quilting this one so I can do that, good grief, I might need to go into rehab!

Once again The Libby Quilt pattern link

I made the Baby size and added wide borders, you will see why I did that soon.

There is a typo in the cutting chart but it's just that you need to cut 3 squares to cut into 6 background triangles, no-one can make 6 triangles from 2 squares.  

Apart from that it all went together, creamy-dreamy.

Right, back to my quilting!

Quilty Quarters

A couple of years ago I made a Scandinavian Tomte Quilt. I wrote a blog post about it, My first Tomte Quilt if you click the link, it should get you to the blog-post about it. Ever since I gifted the quilt I had wanted to make another, for my very own self! I do that you know, ha!

This is it. It is no longer crispy white though! there are 2 lively kiddos in that house, why ever would it still be white!! I had used the left over triangles from making the trees to make the fabulous border, but I definitely didn't want to mathemise all that again. It was a bit tricky.

So for this next quilt I used the left over triangles to make a few bonus blocks to be used on the backing. Much, much easier! Then I rooted in the Christmas fabric box for the rest of the backing fabric, I have amassed lots over the years, as you do!

I trimmed my trees down to 3 triangles each.

 I like Three's for my trees.... see that? Poetry!!!

I made a sandwich ages ago, last year in fact but I had lost my sewing 'thing', Mojo?

I only started quilting it a couple of weeks ago.

Tomte is so cute!!! 

He looks a bit 'Punky' with his safety pinned nose.

I quilting in the ditch of all the trees then set to with Free Motion to cover the background, the same design I stitched on the original quilt, I liked it you see. Loopy-loops with berries and Holly leaves are quite easy. Some holly leaves look troubled and some berries look like the birds got to them, but that's very typical of nature, isn't it!

Tadaaaah. 

There it is. Toot toot toot, fabulous and finished, finally!

Binding stitched on by machine front and back as I was just wanting to move on to my next quilt on the list. When your sewing Mojo is in the house you have to get on with it don't you

I took a photo of the back of the quilt

Thank you for popping back to check up! 

Don't you love a pieced backing, I know some people don't.

 It's a great way to use up the fabrics from your stash, those that you have no idea why you purchased them in the first place, I have an abundance of that kind!

I took the quilt to my shop to show it to a few interested quilters. 

Pop in to my shop if you want to see the quilt in real life, warts and all.

Stitching News

It's been a funny old week or two in my shop and classroom. There's been a lot going on. Lots of help given in my classroom with new projects and fudgery (not saying any more about quilty fudge, just know it is a very popular quilt production method often linked to PMS (pleasing my self)!)
I've had a lot of new fabrics arriving and a holy moly amount of wadding came too, goodness knows where I will put it all, again. You will think I've lost the wadding plot if you pop in, ha!

Quite a few sandwiches have been made this week. This is one of Our Pam's gifting quilts, a Trip Around The World design. A lovely photo opportunity with Pam's Savannah quilt on display as the background. It's certainly attracting a lot of attention with my customers. 

Julie is getting on very well with her new Juki DX7. This lovely Railfence sandwich is her latest project and the first one to be quilted with all the extra throat space the Juki has. The Railfence design is very good for perfecting your cutting skills and even more so for straight line stitching, ask Julie! 

A brief post, I know. But it's there!

October Sewing Retreat

We're already taking bookings for our next Sewing Retreat at Hillscourt Hotel in the Lickey Hills. Should you be interested to book yourself a place.  

I made this quilt top at the retreat in November last year. 

We were in a very large sewing room with lots of tables to spread out on.

And we really did spread out! 

I made this quilt top at the retreat in March this year.

We were in a smaller room but we still had plenty of space and tables.

RETREAT INFORMATION, in brief...

Arriving Monday 7th October, mid-morning and leaving (totally relaxed and refreshed) on Thursday 10th in the afternoon. 

The retreat is full board with excellent (and plentiful) catering, so there's no cooking to be done, no cleaning, no chores to be done at all!
We'll be in the very big room again.

The luxury of 4 days (and 3 whole nights if you have the stamina) with absolutely nothing to do but to please your very own self, relax and sew on your very own projects!!

All of the hotel rooms have en-suite facilities and there's no need to share.

If you would like more details about the retreat, you can just email me angiequilts@gmail.com and I'll sent you the full itinerary, with no obligation, of course.

Stitching News

I hope you've all enjoyed the long weekend and found a little stitching time? I suspect the sunshine had you mostly out in the garden, though that didn't last very long did it.
My classroom was super busy last week, little time for taking pictures. It's so lovely to see the ladies improving their skills. A few new sewing machines have been ordered and lots of fabric has been purchased, surely that's a recipe for success!

Pam made this Lap quilt as a special request. It's all Moda Flannels so it's super soft and very warm and snuggly. It's a Licketty-Split make, now fabulous and finished and a very toot toot toot-a-bubble Quilt, Which is just as well really. 

After gifting the Snuggly quilt to it's new owner, 2 more orders rolled in, rather Licketty-Split-ly, Mum and Dad decided they each would like one too. Pam changed up the design for number 2. I wonder what design Pam will use for the next one. Will it be the last one?

Norma finished all her 9-Patch blocks and declared the top finished. Then she re-read the pattern and saw that there are 4 x 8" borders to be prepared next, with applique flowers and bias strips. Norma does enjoy applique stitching with the Juki blanket stitch with hover/pivot feature turned on.

Rose finished her Nautical cushion, isn't it lovely. The little embellishments, from stitching to buttons, make all the difference. Can you see the waves the dolphins are making and the different stitching designs on the doors. Toot toot toot Rose a truly fabulous and finished project.

I had a little event in my shop on Good Friday and Good Saturday. Nothing to write home about really, I just randomly chose all these fabrics and reduced the price of them rather drastically. I have, once again, run out of space and I figured that one metre each from a few bolts would give me an inch or two! Don't worry, most of them went back on my shelves... it scared me too much to think I might run out of them! How crazy is that? Anyway, I'm sorry if you missed out on a bargain or two (only a bit sorry!)
I have left a few bolts in my 'Temptation Trolley', like the Easter fabrics you see at the bottom of my photo, should you be interested in popping in to peruse. The 'Rooting Rack' is stuffed full of bolt ends too, it's a bit wobbly under the weight. It's stock taking time, not my favourite thing to do, so all the bolts are having a good seeing too!

Back to normal opening hours from Tomorrow. Thursday is 9.30am to 5pm.
As always, out of hours shopping appointments are availabubble.

Easter Weekend

Please remember that my shop will be 

CLOSED 

on Tuesday 2nd April

A Quilt For Anders

Our Little man is now 4 years old. It's hard to believe that the Covid Isolation/Lock down happened so long ago. Anders was born on the Friday before lock-down hit us. We were on one of our wonderful retreats at Alison House in Cromford when he was born. Life changed immediately and he was several months old before I met him, I saw him over the garden fence but that's not the same as a snuggle and squeeze is it. Here's a linky to the post about the first quilt I made for him. 
4 years old and he's having a big bed so, Nangie felt the urge to make him a new quilt. He loves vehicles, I had a plan.

 It takes blooming ages to do all the preparation, trace off all the bits and pieces, cut them out, stick them on and cutting out again. After these 6 vehicles I got fed up so I went rooting in my cupboards for a solution.

I found these little pictures, all cut up in 5 1/2" squares, so I decided to sash them with pebble-y fabric and use them as a center panel. A bit of retreat sewing. 1" corner stones, yikes!

I did all the blanket stitching during our last retreat, which takes ages, luckily I had ages! I got the top completed by the Saturday evening so that was good going.

I made the sandwich when we got home the next day and got directly started on the quilting. I was in a birthday present race you see. It took two whole days to quilt and bind.

Finished in the nick of time, wrapped up in birthday gifting style and delivered.

Anders opened the gift with gusto, saw what it was. Then declared that he didn't want it and gave it back to me, ha ha ha I think he would have preferred a toy! Bless him xx I loved making it. That's the important thing. It will be fabulous on the big bed.