Progress

Here are two ATC's I have just completed.  If you would like to know more about ATC's, how these were worked or the North East EG ATC Swap please visit the blog here.

Once promised task finished.  I have spent today tacking a quilt together.  The top has been pieced by another Quilters Guild member who has kindly donated it for the raffle in aid of the Air Ambulance organised for the Pins & Needles Needlecraft Show in March - details here - and I am quilting it. 

I have decided to do it by hand - just the thing for these cold winter evenings but I will have to be organised to make sure it is finished in time.  I am looking forward to the show.  I am teaching some workshops and will have a stand there so if you visit the show do come along and say hello.

I still have to start my sketchbook for the challenge.  The theme for January is 'Highly Prized' which I found hard to get my head round at first but now I suspect I will not have time to draw all the things that could come under that category.  I hope to get started this week but our dog Oscar has to have an operation to remove a tumour tomorrow so all will depend on how much nursing he needs afterwards.  Apparently he will have to wear a collar to stop him licking the wound.  Last time he had one he had it off in 5 minutes..........  We are all worried and hoping that it is benign but I don't suppose we will know for a few days. 

New Book

I had a surprise in the post today, a copy of Cloth Doll Artistry by Barbara Willis which I won in a draw at ukclothdollmakers.  It is a lovely book, a mix of clear instructions and sheer inspiration so thank you Jules who organised the draw.  Here is the link for it at Amazon

I am not usually lucky in draws but this week I also won a fat quarter of fabric at a Quilters Guild event.  It was a pie & pea supper at which American Quilter Faye Labanaris was talking about a series of quilts she has made entitled America's Stately Wreaths each one featuring the apropriate state flower.  The fabric is two William Morris panels - I'm not sure how I will use them yet but no doubt inspiration will strike sometime.  Any suggestions anyone?  Last Sunday Faye ran a workshop to create an applique block of British wild flowers using a variety of ribbons, fabric markers and ultrasuede.  This last was new to me but very nice to work with.  It was really enjoyable to spend a day hand stitching in good company.  I completed about a third of the block on the day and will post a pic when it is finished.

Amys Quilt Festival

Discovered this event via Mogs Blog and thought it sounded interesting.  Amy is hosting an online quilt festival and if you visit Amys Blog you can not only see (at the present count) 252 quilts but you can also share a picture of one your quilts and its story. 

Here's mine.

I'm not cheating - it is only one quilt but I made it double sided.  I made it for my daughter and started it around 4 years ago when she was 13.  She chose the animals she wanted from A Quilters Ark by Margaret Rolfe and I set to work piecing them using freezer paper templates.  When the animals were finished I then took a while to work out how to place them and also in finding a fabric that would blend with them all.  By now she is 17 and, although she says she still likes it, I am worried that it is too childish.  In addition we had been collecting fabric for this quilt at all the quilt shows we have visited together and I hadn't used half of it - it must be the most expensive quilt in history!  I decided to use some of the stash to create the backing, keeping the animal theme but in a more (I hope) sophisticated way.  I was pleased with the second quilt but it did give me a headache when I came to quilt.  In the end I free machine quilted leaves on the top using a varigated thread but put invisible thread on the bobbin so the quilting did not detract from the pattern on the back.  I know patchwork and quilting is traditionally about using what you have and improvising but I would have made life easier if I had followed a pattern or at least created my own plan when I started.  It was fun though and she still uses the animals on top - at least for now.

Star Cross Patchwork

I started this at a workshop with Celia Eddy in March and have just finished it this afternoon - part of my blitz on UFO's!  I didn't like it much before I quilted it - I think I should have reversed the fabrics which would have made the stars more prominent - but it has improved with the quilting and I am going to make it into a cushion.  It was constructed from two templates which needed to be very accurately cut.  I haven't been quite accurate enough and some of my stars are a bit wobbly.  I think I prefer rotary cutting and strip piecing.