Harrogate Quilt Show

Last weekend the Great Northern Quilt Show took place in Harrogate. This local show has open competitions for several categories of quilts and small exhibitions of the work of invited quilters. Unfortunately the number of quilts entered has dropped over recent years. I feel guilty that I didn't get around to entering any quilts this year. A friend and I have made a pact to enter next year with several quilts each!

I didn't take many photos but the wall hanging above caught my eye. The silhouettes of the dogs looked very familiar! They are just like our collie/greyhound cross lurcher Katie. She loves roaming on the beach and splashing through water.

I was so entranced that I forgot to make a note of the maker's name - sorry. Whoever you are I think this quilt is beautiful.

I did look quite closely at the miniatures. I once made a miniature quilt using paper piecing in fine silk. Not only was I disappointed with the finished quilt it took me longer to make than a quilt 4 times it's size because ot was so fiddly! I really have to admire the makers of these:

I've posted them in order of the prizes they won. The second prize was won by a friend Sandra Wyman with a lovely two sided forest scene - congratulations Sandra!

I was on the lookout for colourful block and applique quilts to show my students. I liked the colours used in these:

I'm teaching a free motion quilting course at the moment so I was thrilled to see this fantastic machine sewn wholecloth:

Amazing stitching! It makes me feel quite inadequate. I need to spend a lot more time practising!

Finally say 'Hi' to Anthea who is just starting up a business selling fabric in Settle, North Yorkshire. This was her first quilt show and she called it her 'Baptism of Fire!' Catch her next at the Edinburgh show in a few weeks time.

Bernina Club Inspiration

I'm afraid my mojo has been on an extended holiday lately so I have nothing of my own labours to show. I did go to a meeting of the Bernina Club in Leeds today and was treated to an excellent demonstration which might very well give me the kick I need to pick up a needle again!

Glenys (hope I've spelt that correctly) made the techniques for making this 'Noughts and Crosses' cushion seem very easy. She showed us how to fold and stitch the crosses in calico then tuck in triangles of patterned fabric and stitch very neatly with invisible thread. The noughts were a bit more complicated but it makes such a difference when you see it done rather than just reading instructions! The pattern for this was published in the May 2009 edition of Sewing World magazine and Glenys had asked permission to photocopy it for us. The techniques were developed by Jennie Rayment of 'twiddling and fiddling' fame. Thank you Glenys for the inspiring demo!

She had also brought a little bag which she used to practice an easy way to insert a zip:

There are many talented ladies at the club and they are all willing to share their ideas and skills. Mary had made a monitor cover for her new computer:

It was quilted using an automatic stitch on the machine (using a walking foot) and looked fabulous with the burgandy piping to match the thread colour on a calico background. I didn't get photos of all the other items on show but they included a trio of Easter gifts, two lovely bags and a lace embroidered twinset - hand knitted of course! The Bernina club is just one of the benefits of the sewing machine maintainence package at 'MKC Services' which sells Janome as well as Bernina machines.

The Bernina shop is in the very smart and attractive Brewery Wharf area close to the city centre and not far from the Royal Armories Museum. Sadly the Tetley brewery from which the area takes it's name will close for good this year as the beer will, in future, be brewed in Poland rather than Yorkshire - is this progress? Over the lunchtime break I had a nice stroll across the bridge spanning the canal to the huge Leeds market and a fabric shop nearby.   Here are a few pictures of the canal area:

Of course I had to buy something - it would be rude not to! A lovely lightweight linen and cotton mixture in a warm grey and white weave. I'm planning to make a new lightweight jeans style jacket for the summer. Another good reason to set my Bernina to work and to go out shopping again to buy buttons!

The ladies at the club said very kind things about my demo last month and I've booked a date to do a workshop there in August. I'm looking forward to that. I've also just booked a local village hall to start regular patchwork classes from September. So I have achieved some planning, if not some action!

Quilting Arts August/September

This year I subscribed to the digital edition of Quilting Arts. Yesterday I got the email to let me know the latest edition was available for download. What a fabulous issue! You know how it is: some months a magazine seems to have nothing much to interest you then along comes one which really gets your pulse racing. There is so much in this one I want to try out: thread sketching to add depth to a quilt, design variations on a single motiif, creating quilts from photos, painting on fabric and more. I need to make more samples of techniques for my college course and this magazine will provide loads of inspiration!

Why a digital subscription? I like being able to browse through the magazine on the computer, zooming in to see detail in the pictures and clicking on links in articles and adverts to go to the relevent resources. The magazine gets to me here in the UK much quicker than by post, is cheaper than the printed version,  is filed on my computer so I can easily find it and doesn't take up space on my groaning bookshelves  The downside is I don't have a paper copy to curl up in a chair with a cup of tea and read from cover to cover. It's not quite the same reading off a screen although I could print off some pages. Perhaps I do need both versions after all!

Two Shows in One Weekend!

At the weekend my college held it's annual show of students work. Visitors admired the fantastic pieces and accompanying books which document how the makers developed their designs. My fellow students are certainly very talented embroiderers and quilters. It's a great opportunity for us to see everyone's work too. I didn't exhibit anything this year as I haven't finished my course yet - my turn will come next year. Congratulations everyone for putting on such a marvelous display, and many thanks to the tutors too!

Make a free digital slideshow

On Sunday I went to visit a village near York for the Priory Patchworkers Exhibition. Elvington is a lovely quiet village and the patchworkers had set out their quilts in the church. What a beautiful place to hold a show of work:

Bunting guided me to the church and later to the village hall for tea and traders!

From the moment I stepped through the doorway I was surrounded by beautiful quilts:

At the rear of the church were wall hangings and delightful quilted articles for every occasion:

The pews were used to drape larger quilts and window ledges displayed clocks made by group members as a mystery quilt - they were given the clock mechanism when they finished the quilt!

The group had worked on a circle challenge so there were several quilts on this theme including the one above by Glenda who was inspired by Louisa M. Smith's 'Strip and Curves' and also used the '6 minute circle' described in Dale Fleming's book 'Pieced curves so Simple'. Glenda and I attended a workshop a few years ago where Sue Propst taught us this technique.

Even the choir and altar were transformed with quilts:

Someone in the group is like me - they look at floors too!!!

Well I spent quite some time drinking in the lovely quilts and the friendly atmosphere then followed the bunting back down the lane to the village hall for a cup of tea and a bit of retail therapy. Thank you Priory Patchworked for a memorable day out!

P.S I put my name down to join the group too  ;-)

Baltic Inspiration

Do you see potential quilt designs everywhere? I certainly did on our cruise! I took lots of photos which non-quilters might find a little strange but to me shouted 'Quilt'! So in Copenhagen when everyone else was listening to the guide explaining about the Danish Royal family outside the palace I was taking photos of the ground! The mosaics above were just gorgeous. Actually I was in danger of being shouted at. The guards outside the palace keep an eye on tourists and bang their rifles on the ground and shout if anyone strays too close to the palace walls - there aren't any railings like at Buckingham Palace. We did see one couple being told off this way when they went to take a close loook at a sentry box. The guide assured us they don't really shoot people.......very often!

Copenhagen is really a wonderful city with many beautiful buildings and open spaces, We went on an hour long canal cruise and spent a lot of time walking around the city. Here's another pattern in a water feature which caught my eye outside a museum:

We spent some time inside the National Museum which houses thousands of historical artefacts and helpfully has labels in English as well as Danish. I loved this illuminated wall display as the colours are stunning:

Towards the end of the afternoon we found the botanical gardens and sat for a while to rest our feet. On the lake were some pretty floating bowls which wobbled in the breeze.

 From our seat we took photos of leaves in silhouette and later we found some ferns:

So plenty of ideas just from this one port of call. Back on the ship there is more inspiration. Again I spent time photographing the floor! Look at thes carpet patterns I spotted:

It's a clamshell quilt!

There are bigger designs in the lobbies - these are stunning!

Unfortunately I didn't get a decent picture of the last one - people kept standing on it!

So if, when you're out and about, you see a crazy woman taking photos of the ground or a carpet ... it might be me!!