Caverswall Quilt Cave

Barbie must hand stitch at the speed of a machine because all the hearts are done, hand applique... takes me blooooooming ages but, if you remember, Barbie is stitching against the clock. Sashings and corner stones were chosen, cut and almost all stitched... so hopefully the borders will be added this week and we can get to the quilting next meeting.... out of breath? me too!

Brenda Barbara added another two rows of blocks to her project and is adding two borders, one bright yellow 1" and the other 5" bright red with fish, perfect kiddy play mat colours....

Dotty Maureen's project done without the special rulers, great isn't it? we had a short demo on mitred corners and Dotty managed to do all four of hers quite successfuly, see the tiny left over bits... they are for the next border... very fiddly!

Kate quilted the borders on her Jennie Rayment quilt, she's done a great job with the quilting and has inspired others to finish theirs... next time she will be trimming and binding... and hopefully a label?

Margaret continues to work on the three dimensional butterflies, did you know the collective name for butterflies? Lerly looked it up for us, there are several words and we all felt very educated after hearing the list... I'm not going to tell you the answer....

Lynda continued making the piano key border segments for her black and white project. There looks a lot here already but more are needed. Then we will lay all the pieces in order so that we can choose corner stone fabrics.

Shirley Lerly spent the day quilting her triangles with her walking foot, "Straight Lining" as Annie Pie would call it. King Tut thread is so lovely for quilting with, it's a bit thicker so it shows up really well.

My Mum (Gwynneth) made a quilt sandwich, this is her biggest project to date so quilting it will take some time... in theory.. once she gets started she doesn't stop so, I guess, it could be finished by next week? let's see...

Maid Marion's blocks are coming along nicely. The book gave the instructions using templates so we have improvised.. using templates takes so much longer to cut out, we rotary cut all the bits, allowing a little extra on the triangles and it all works out beautifully, great colours, don't you think!

We meet again next Wednesday, when it will be February!!! Holy Moly... is this year going faster than the last one???? so that's Wednesday, February 2nd... 10am - 3pm.

Caverswall Quilt Cave

If you have lovely bright colours and you're not sure what you want to make, this is a great idea. Make a pile of squares, all the same size, 5 - 8 pieces work well, chop them up, mix them up and stitch them back together adding black strips... easy!
Arty Beryl has been making quite controlled projects of late so she's having a week of freedom, she really enjoys the crazy piecing... throwing in all colours and types of fabric... she's very good at it too.
Annie Pie, it's hard to keep up with her now... this is a huge quilt and she spent the day "straight lining"... that's what she calls quilting with the walking foot... we will have our own quilty dictionary at this rate, what with the ditch hopping, PMS (Please My Self) and all! ha ha ha
If you remember, last week my Mum (Gwynneth) added accidental cornerstones to her first border... Jenny Bowker tells us... "if you make a mistake, repeat it and call it the pattern"!... so she did and it is fabulous.. no-one would ever know the corners were to cover a tiny blip.... unless they read my blog, he he
Joan The Shop is on the home straight now, all three segments are complete and the backings are pieced, we will make the remaining two sandwiches on Friday so Joan can start the quilting.
Dotty Maureen left us a little puzzled last time, it was not at all obvious what she was making... apparently it was the borders for this project.... quite fiddly but very clever how it works....
Foxy Margaret has started a new project, this is the centre and it will have a pointy Dresden Plate block added to the top and bottom, a wider border and half square triangle blocks around that... you will have to wait to see if you can't visualize it....
Irene continues to work on her log cabin blocks, she has quite a lot completed now so I will try to get a picture of them spread out next time... bet it looks great!
Gilly announced, with a happy,hoopy dance, that the fiddly blocks are all TOGETHER! wooohooo. There is a slight difference in the sized so we have a cunning plan which involves my favourite fudge... no calories in quilty fudging.
Annie Pie only started this project last week... I did say she is hard to keep up with didn't I. She found a perfect border fabric at the Nantwich Fabric Sale on Sunday. I've seen the upcoming fabrics from Moda... there's a lovely blue and yellow collection due in spring... our Annie Pie is a trend setter!
Maggie tells us that she has been working on these blocks for two years, you can imaging how pleased she is to see them put together... rightly so as they are lovely.

We meet again on Friday, tomorrow, 28th January 10am - 3pm
Kettle Corner and the Table Top Shop, wadding on the side would love to have you visit... you could always consider coming to play ALL day?

Quilty Catch Up

Not a lot of time for playing in my Quilty Quarters this weekend but slow progress is better than none, don't you think? I have made all the capital letters.. I wonder whether you have guessed when my border will, eventually, say?
On Sunday we went to the fabric sale at Nantwich Civic Centre. There were too many people there all scrambling for the bargain fabrics... fortunately I did/do not need any! It's not like I don't already have enough is it...
I chatted with lots of lovely ladies, some had been to the Quilt presentation thing I did on Wednesday 19th... and they all had positive comments to share... which is brilliant news. Some have even threatened to join us at The Quilt Cave, he he he
I took this picture because I thought the border was brilliant, great quilt as well of course, but the border is fabulous... I shall use this on a future project.. very easy to do and quite different... check out the corners!

I've just taken delivery of millions of spools of Presencia thread. This is great for piecing as it is 60 weight, less bulk in your seams helps to get accurate pointy points. It's also great for quilting if you want finer stitching, (we love King Tut because it's thicker & very visible, I have most colours in stock) I had to buy a lot to get a great price, as you can see.... There's 600 metres on each spool for £4.20 and I have all the colour you can see in the picture. The Table Top Shop, wadding on the side is always happy to serve!

No Tuesday Uttoxeter Class today... wonder what I shall do with my time........
Caverswall Quilt Cave meeting's tomorrow, Wednesday 26th... 10am - 3pm ... and it looks like it will be a very busy, fun day... what's new eh?

Caverswall Quilt Cave

Barbie thought she had until September to finish this quilt... but things have changed... she has the luxury of trying to finish it for February. The hearts will be appliqued by hand while she is away on holiday!... yes, finish it in two weeks even though she's going on her holidays!!! just a little bit of pressure eh...
Shirley Lerly has her huge quilt all stabilized so she was able to add the binding before continuing with the free motion quilting. The edges of the quilt were starting to fray a little so adding the binding will keep everything neat and tidy.
Oh lookey here... Lizi's quilt is about 80" x 90" so the middle was a long way to reach with sandwich pins (not safety pins... sandwich pins!). Lizi jumped up onto the table to make it easier to reach... Dotty Maureen couldn't resist joining her, not quite so gracefully it has to be said... and very much to my amusement! They got the job done though and the tables survived!
My Mum (Gwynneth) has added all her side triangles and was able to audition fabrics for the borders.. this was the final choice. She used the gold fabrics for the accidental corner stones... do you know what they are?
This is Dotty Maureen's project... I can't tell you what it is. It looks pretty fiddly though... I will ask more questions next time....

Joan The Shop was working on the last two pieces of her purple quilt, unfortunately she stitched the triangles for the top and bottom of the quilt, without checking the pattern and they were all the wrong way round... unpicking for Joan's homework!
Brenda Barbara is making a play mat and wanted it to have as many pictures and different things to look at, as possible... and I think it's safe to say that she has achieved it... by the end of the day all these pieces were stitched together. Brenda has decided to make a few more blocks to make it bigger.

We meet again on Wednesday 26th January, 10am - 3pm new fabrics have arrived for The Table Top Shop and, as usual, waddings are on the side.
Now stocking Presencia threads... they're rather lovely, especially for piecing, a great price to boot! See you there.....

Caverswall Quilt Cave

Joan The Shop had pieced her backing at home so was ready, good and early, to make a sandwich. This is one third of the final quilt, only when all three sections are quilted, they will be joined... to make life easier.
Helen's Grandmother made this hexagon quilt, Helen remembers where lots of the fabrics came from which makes it extra special. It was made without wadding or quilting so, Helen removed the backing and will make a 'propa' sandwich ready for her to quilt it, a lovely idea.

Foxy Margaret is joining her scraps together 'without a care'.. good for her! She is using some other scraps to make flying geese blocks, just to practice, if she likes them... she might go on and use some 'good stuff'... I can say stuff for fabrics, look here.

I thought Irene had brought a rather extravagant lunch to The Quilt Cave, but no... she had this rather brilliant idea of wrapping her ready-cut strips in cling film... when you think about it... using little bags doesn't stop them moving round and getting frayed edges, this way they don't budge an inch! A top tip me thinks
Annie Pie has been cutting, cutting, cutting... all of her bits are ready for stitching into blocks now... this is another great colour-way for the not so economy block that Lizzy from Uttoxeter is doing, it's going to be fabulous.
We were finishing class a little early to make time for my Presentation Of Quilts, which sounds rather grand but it was just yours truly holding up loads of quilts made over the least 13 years and talking about them, one of my favourite things to do actually! he he
'twas my birthday yesterday, my lovely ladies had been very cunning, co-ordinating Uttoxeter ladies, Wednesday and Friday ladies to get together to treat me to a card and flowers... beautiful, favourite freesias and fruity bits... just lovely... thank you so much ladies, my house smells wonderful.

The talk was a success, we had more ladies sign up to join our fun in Caverswall Quilt Cave, some beginners, some who already 'do it' and just want to spend a luxurious day stitching without the interruptions they get at home... and the chatter, laughter and inspiration that always accompanies our meetings!
Friday 21st January 10am - 3pm... that's our next one... are you coming too?

Uttoxeter Quilt Class

Another very productive day full of laughter. This is a very small group these days but boy do we enjoy it! Lizzy continued to work on her Economy Patch blocks... why on earth this block is called "Economy Patch" escapes me... it's lovely, it uses the same amount of fabric as any other block and it has some tricky piecing to get all the triangles 'dead centre'... Economy? As you can see it looks great so far. You can just make out Jenni rather engrossed in her blocks, all the hour glass bits are done now so she is able to start putting the full blocks together.
Messy Maureen joined us again.... she decided to have another go at free motion quilting... now that's what I like, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again... and it paid off.. there's curly wurly, hoopy-loopy's all over the cushions now...
Giggly Gillian is back from her travels in the USA. This quilt was supposed to have been finished for Christmas but with the snow forcing us to cancel a few lessons and a last minute illness, those ideas were scuppered. Now it can be finished before September... plenty of time? Actually Gillian only needs to add the borders and it's done.... I have to tell you... this picture doesn't even begin to show how lovely this quilt is, the colours are much richer and the sashing is richer, the corner stones are brighter... it is a truly stunning quilt!
We meet again on Tuesday 1st February, 10am - 3pm.

Quilty Quarters

I was going to keep my borders secret until they were finished... but I can't... I'm sooooooo pleased with how things are turning out, I just had to show you!
Still lots of words to make...
I thought making a scrappy crumb quilt was the messiest job in the world... seems I was wrong... the new champion mess making task is... making words! ... but it's clean mess and nothing a quick whooosh around with a vacuum cleaner can't sort out....
later though... there's much more fun to be had in my Quilty Quarters... before I submit to chores!

Caverswall Quilt Cave

This is My Mum's present project, in this picture, the angle is making it look a bit like floor tiles don't you think... it's not it's 100 % cotton... actually the colours are much more crisp in 'real life' I found the camera was on the wrong setting but it was too late to get another shot.

Messy Maureen came to play... she's making cushion covers and after adding the final border we made the two sandwiches. Maureen quilted using her walking foot then popped on her darning foot to try a little free motion, she soon decided that she didn't like it... which is just fine.

Brenda Barbara has decided to make a play mat for her visiting grand daughters. The idea is to throw lots of interesting picture fabrics into it, to give the kiddies lots of things to look at and to search for... the design is based on the one Lizi is making.

Lizi has finished her top centre so is adding borders. This blue is absolutely perfect in colour but crikey it is so thin, making it very difficult to work with... but Lizi persevered and pinned for England... all turned out very well. Border number two is a lovely pink patterned one....

Shirley Lerly is continuing to improve with her free motion quilting. She's getting great even curves.. and she's getting much more confident about the "FREE" of free motion...

Here we have Joan The Shop, a few changes to the original design ( Lilly's Colours) three strip sashing and corner stones AND apartment quilting... holy moly.. so much math-ing....

Dotty Maureen found a pattern online.. it was meant to be done using a specific ruler but we figured out how to cut it with a standard rectangle... it looks great don't you think?

Here's Barbie's project.. she is loving how it's turned out, thank goodness. It's quite a responsibility choosing patterns for the ladies... what if they don't like them after cutting their fabric into tiny bits? This particular design has never failed to impress though, so I was onto a winner really... he he he.
Now, don't forget that we meet again next week on
Wednesday 19th January. 10am - 1:30pm.
From 2 pm there will be a "Presentation Of Quilts".. my quilts, believe me there are lots... I love all the quilts I have made over the years... so I've kept most of them... all for my very own self! and the beds, the sofas, the banister, the chairs. the tables, the wardrobe, the walls... need I continue?

Caverswall Quilt Cave

Shirley Lerly spread out her quilt to check it over before starting free motion quilting... and the ladies all flocked to have a look... we always do that! Lerly then showed the two smaller quilts that she'd made from her lovely left overs....
This is Chris's Mat & Ruler bag... could actually be the biggest mat & ruler bag in the world.. he he he... we agreed that it could double up as a sleeping beg should anyone need it...

Arty Beryl's work just takes your breath away... the things she thinks of , the bits and bobs she adds to give 'just the right' zing to her quilts... amazing, fluffy bits, shiny bits poofed up bits... she's having so much fun.


Lizi brought in her 12 rows and was able to get them all joined together today... it's fair to say there was plenty of Wowing!!! this is Lizi's first quilt, after helping her mum with table topper that is... fabulous.


Remember Dotty Maureen started her new applique project last Friday... tis finished quilted bound and all... (not sure about the label) This picture doesn't show how very beautiful the colours are, especially the purple.
Annie Pie made a huge sandwich but decided to practice her free motion quilting before getting started on 'The Big One'... this is the 'full up' practice sandwich with all her doodles, loops and swirls... she's really getting the hang of it...
Diane made this top over the winter break... actually, this is the centre panel, there are two side panels about the same size but they will all be quilted separately, well, it totals over 2.5 metres square so it is a good plan to do apartment quilting.
All the sandwiching and new project calculating and sashings and all, meant your truly had a very mathy day... bet I sleep well tonight.. me and math don't play nice! ha ha ha

There were other ladies with us... everyone was too happy and busy to remember photos to share with you though.... sorry... see the room here... just buzzing buzzing... love it!
We meet again on Friday 14th January, 10am - 3pm. It's really lovely to be back in our proper Quilt Cave!