I Passed!!

 'Crop Circle'

I finally took my work for my Diploma in Patchwork and Quilting to college today to be 'signed off' so I have officially completed - hooray! The photo above is of my quilt which was one of 3 pieces I had to design and make from scratch. It measures 60 inches square and was made with my hand dyed fabric (the background) and batiks. Here's a closer view:

 The other two pieces were this foundation piced miniature made with silk fabrics measuring 12" by 12":

 ....and this bag which features a photo of a flower which I manipulated in Photoshop and printed onto cotton fabric:

There was a lot of other work involved too, such as research into the history of patchwork and quilting, work on mathematical patterns and reseaching the work of comtemporary quilters as well as presentation books on how the above three pieces were designed and made - phew! Many thanks go to my tutors Diane, Ann and Sue for their expertise, guidance and patience.

I'm really pleased to have finished all the work and now am looking forward to catching up on all my other WIPs!

Hand Dye Quilt

My dyeing class is fast approaching and I want to have a quilt made up with my hand-dyes to show the participants. So today I spent a happy couple of hours making nine patch blocks from half a dozen colours and solid white.

 

Then I held my breath and cut each block into quarters. Phew! that wasn't too bad. Now I just have to arrange them. Here are half of the blocks. I think it's going to take a bit of fiddling til I'm satisfied!

                                      

Clarice Cliffe Quilt

I have actually been doing some City and Guilds work today - I can't put it off any longer! I have finished the sewing but to complete the course there is a lot of paperwork to do. I have to put the finishing touches to my quilt history section, and complete a book for each of my final pieces on how they were developed. You are  really supposed to document the development first then make the item. I found I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to do and resented having to draw, paint and write about my ideas. I just wanted to get on with the making!

The above quilt measures 12" square which was the maximum size allowed for one of the pieces.The starting point for this was a Clarice Cliffe jug with brightly coloured geometric designs. I drew blocks in EQ6 the played with different arrangements and colours.  I'm happy with the design but not with the execution. I decided to make it with my hand dyed silk as the colours were so bright. It was paper pieced on dissolvable paper. Unfortunately when I removed the paper the patches all shifted and skewed and I couldn't get it to press very neatly. The quilting was a nightmare! I have no intention of ever again making anything so complex in miniature size. I would like to make it again in a decent size and using cotton fabric!

August Linus Quilt

I set myself a target of doing one Linus quilt per month and here is the latest. It's pieced but not yet quilted - that may have to wait a week or two. The design is from an old issue of Quick Quilts (Sept 07) and is really easy to put together - essential for a charity quilt I think! I changed the dimensions slightly. The large squares are cut 6 1/2" and the smaller 3 1/2" and made up the blocks with one large and two small squares. There are 6 by 6 blocks so the quilt measures 36" by 54" but I may add a small border. Anyway it was quite relaxing to do lots of chain piecing and I'm really pleased I could use up more of my stash!

When Jen the Vet came to stay at the weekend I had to clear my 'Studio' which doubles as a bedroom. Here is a rare glimse of it tidy after I got my sewing machine out again.

The machine folds away into the Horn cabinet which can be pushed to the side to allow the second bed to be wheeled out from under the bed you can see so in theory it's very quick to do. Of course this doesn't allow for clearing the fabric thread UFO's etc etc which normally adorn both the table and bed!! The storage cabinet was a christmas present from Mr Photographer and is fantastic - it holds 6 artbin storage boxes and just fits perfectly under the table. Click here for a supplier.

I also have an iron permanently set up which is a great timesaver. This one doubles as a steam iron for my tailoring projects. So a compact but functional space. Now if only I could get rid of the beds......

Red Square and Two Boxes

After a busy few days with family (and dogs) I had a bit of me time this morning and went fabric shopping. This time I was looking for fabric to make clothes and went to Bradford to 'The Suit Length Centre' which as the name suggests sells fine woollen fabric. It's suberb quality and still in demand the world over the proprietor told me. Anyway I succombed to a couple of rather nice trouser lengths to make up next week during my little retreat to Knuston Hall.

On my return I again sorted through photos and found some more to post. The one above is a quilt I made for my City and Guilds Certificate. The design is pretty simple and the inspiration came from a stunning exhibition of ceramics from St Petersburg which I saw in London. The exhibition was entitled 'Circling the Square'.


The box shown above was another City and Guilds piece inspired from a cruise along the Norwegian Fjords and has a mariner's compass inset in the lid. The book beside it is my presentation about the development of the piece with samples of fabrics and threads on tags in pockets on the pages.

Finally another box with a sunflower appliqued on the top. I've made this design a couple of times and because these are made with Timtex they are very quick and easy.

Dogs

Here's another quilt made in 2006 from a pattern by Daisy Chain Designs. It features some adorable doggies with bones and pawprints. I didn't do much quilting on this and looking at it again I wonder if I should add some more now.

Today we'll be dogsitting while Jen the Vet goes to her friend's wedding. She now has two dogs (Pringle and Fudge) as she recently got a new puppy. We have two of our own - well really two more of hers which she decided we should have before she went to uni! Only Meg is a recognisable breed - a farm Border Collie, the rest are 'lurchers' of varying heritage. All have unique and (sometimes) endearing characters of course!

Fudge the new puppy is a Whippet and Bedlington Terrior cross.

Meg and Pringle (Greyhound and Saluki) posing.

We persuaded Kate to join them.

Old Photos

I'm afraid I haven't been doing much sewing the past couple of days but I have come across some photos of quilts I made in 2004. The bunny quilt was for my neice who loved pink - just as well!This jungle quilt was for my nephew. I made a matching pillowslip for this so the quilt could be folded inside. They were both thrilled with them. Perhaps it's time I made new ones - another couple to add to my to do list!

A Tag and Skewed Blocks

I didn't do as much sewing as I intended today but I did make this luggage tag. I got the idea from my quilty friend Jean at our Tuesday Quilters meeting. She was stitching one she had made in her favourite colour (cerise pink) and it looked fab-u-lous!
I didn't have a pattern but it wasn't hard to figure out as it's just 3 quick flying geese blocks layered with wadding and backing, sewn round the edge and turned through.
Jean told me that she and our friend Sue had made 50 of these to take for everyone on their quilting tour of New England last year - what a great idea. They are very clever and generous friends!
Sue commented recently on my Fibonacci quilt and suggested using the sequence to skew quilt blocks. I had a (long!) play today with doing just that in EQ6. Here are a couple of quilts I designed using my skewed blocks.




I really like these. I think they look very Art Deco and really want to make them up so they are now on my to do list!