Thursday Stitching

Starting off with a Toot Toot Toot for Princess Jackie's scrappy quilt, actually it's a multi fabric quilt as it wasn't made from scraps at all... what a fabulous, bright quilt this is... 

Take a look at the back of the quilt, made to use up some of the left over fabrics...
Can you see the brilliant quilting design, I hope so... it's 'Points and Bellies'

New Sue announced that she has a new grand baby... it's a blue one and he needs a quilt! Time to make a baby quilt car seat quilt with a free pattern on the Moda Bake Shop site. It's only about 25" wide finished, a really quick gift... at least you would have thought so.

Brenda Barbara found a pattern in a magazine for making a full table top set...4 place mats and a centre runner... we weren't sure we understood the cutting instructions properly so we got out the trusty 501 blocks book... Brenda cut the components for all 7 blocks before she started stitching.

Princess Jackie's decided to perfect piecing triangles... having never even cut a triangle before! Flying Geese blocks are tricky to get perfect for most folk, don't you think? but Jackie is not going to be beaten by a few pointy points! The Geese units turned out well actually, the seams are rolling over in this picture.

Ready, Steady....

My Very Own Patchwork & Quilting Shop has been closed for a few days... two actually, Bank Holiday Monday and one extra day, Tuesday.
There's no Caverswall Quilt Cave meeting this week either... My time "On Holiday" has been spent warehouse shopping (Sunday, I bought goodies and necessaries for my very own quilt shop!) home cleaning, food shopping and cooking to fill the freezer... so I don't have any stitchy photos to share with you...
I thought it might be very interesting to go back one year to see what we were all doing this time last year... I must say, I was very impressed!!! ha ha ha... click here to go see for your very own self!

Ready, Steady... in the title? September is just a few days away, kids will be going back to school, life can return to normal (?) and... There's a first Thursday of a month next week... that means there's a meeting of Staffordshire Patchworkers and Quilters (SPQ) There's to be a new Chairman's Challenge... The speaker for September meeting is Christine Porter , I'm looking forward to that. It's also the last chance to book for the Soup Sewing and Sixties Party, of course I booked my spot ages ago... are you going too?

Friday Quilt Club

 I bet you thought... "She won't blog... she'll be enjoying  her holiday"... he he he
I almost forgot that I had pictures from Friday Quilt Club to show you... here you go....
This is one completed quilt top, it's Dotty Maureen's. She had decided that her quilt would be completely different from all of the others before she even cut up her pattern repeats... and different it surely is. Who would have thought that the main fabric, you see it in the border, could make such amazing blocks... I wonder how Dotty will quilt this one?

 Jolly Jo is not in love with these blocks. She made them using a Jelly Roll for a quick, fun project... she does like bright colours so that's not the reason... maybe it's a little too busy? (I love it though) We played round with the block placement to give a good mix of all the fabrics and Jo agreed to stitch them all together... not easy as all the edges are on the bias... they can be tricky! There are a few ideas in the air to, hopefully, help Jo love the quilt... let's see what happens eh.

Not the same for Late Sue though, of course she loves her Kaleidoscope Stack-n-Whack blocks. She made enough to be able to set them On-Point, as you see in the photo. There will be two spare blocks that can either make an interesting backing or be used for a fabulous cushion to go with the quilt... By the end of the day the rows were all stitched together and corner stone colours were being decided.

Barbie came back from her holidays determined to get this quilt finished... She's surprised by the size it turned out as she thought it didn't look so big in the picture... ha ha ha... It does state the size, we just didn't pay enough attention to the numbers... too late now... It's a free pattern and can be found over on the Moda Bake Shop site, it's quite lovely isn't it? The pattern's for using a Jelly Roll but Barbie made up her own with 2 1/2" strips of fabrics she already had at home.

Ta daaaa... Maid Marion has the centre of her Heirloom Quilt finished... she is really happy with how it turned out. I think we are all impressed with the way the two ladies have worked relentlessly on all the blocks and stitching... it's lovely to see the quilts taking shape now... There is still a lot of stitching to be done for the borders, I think they're about 18" deep... the poor sewing machines will need to be treated to a good and thorough service after all the work they have had to do.

Classroom News

Generally, Thursdays are quite steady days in My Very Own Classroom, which is a good thing when there's a large sandwich needing needing making over all of the tables. This Kaleidoscope sandwich belongs to Brenda Barbara... I don't think we'll ever tire of seeing the lovely results of the Stack-n-Whack quilts, how many times can we say, "This One's My Favourite!!!" it's a good job we don't need to choose eh... what a dilemma that would be.

Sheila had purchased these red fabrics and one of the Tilda Christmas books a few weeks ago, from My Very Own Patchwork and Quilting Shop where we have loads of books on a rather clever spinning display thing that I'm quite proud of, he he... It was delivered free of charge because I placed my fist order of  over 80 books... I love free stuff!!
As usual, Sheila wasted no time at all in making these Jolly Fellows from the book. Apparently the book says to add the interfacing to the dress fabric first of all, Sheila highly recommends getting the stitched sleeves in place before ironing on the interfacing... a top tip... thank you Sheila! I have them displayed in My Very Own Shop should you would like to pop over to see them.

Stitching News

Chris The Foot announced that that this rather stunning Quick Table Topper would be her tenth... It's a little bit of a joke at Caverswall, they are so fast to make that some of the ladies have made several of them. The winner at the moment is Wendy, her total to date is 13... there are a few catching up though...

 Gilly laid out her Log Cabin blocks to check everything would work out... of course it did, the only problem being that the stage wasn't quite big enough! This will be a huge quilt so, apartment quilting is looking very good to Gilly. This can be quilted in two halves with the borders quilted and added afterwards... at least, that's the plan for now.

Oh lovely... Magi's  Stack-n-Whack Kaleidoscope quilt top is coming along very nicely... she got some superb centres on her blocks with that base fabric, don't you think? We played about with border options and once the decision was made, Magi set to...

Charlotte made this quilt top just before one of her University terms started, production had to stop right there. She returned this week to the Quilt Cave to make her very own, first ever, quilt sandwich and wasted no time at all making a good start on her quilting. Their house must look like a little quilting factory with Mum, Shirley Lerly and Posh Lizi at it too.

Monday Toot Toot Show

We started the week with a fanfare of excellent toot toot toots... a finished project almost everywhere we looked, he he he.
This Ten Minute Block quilt belongs to Cynthia, who apologised for saying how great her quilt is... I don't think there is anything wrong with blowing your own trumpet... toot toot toot... if you love your work, shout about it! This lovely quilt is extremely bright and cheery... perfect for Cynthia actually!

Afternoon Judith's, toot toot toot... Judith had really liked the two quilts made by Maid Marion and Helen not so long ago so she had purchased a panel pack too. She's done lots of lovely quilting, inspired by the others, and it turned out great. The pink binding is rather a give-away as to the kind of baby this quilt was made for eh! he he... It's very soft and snuggle-y too... I'm sure baby will love it!

A small quilt this time but the toot toot toot is just as loud as the others. PM Pam is tackling more complicated piecing whilst making blocks for her cushions. The various pieces aren't too small in a 12" block so it's a great chance to practice new stuff. I hope you have noticed that all of the hearts are facing the same way in the background fabric... I think that deserves an extra toot toot toot!!

Friday Quilt Club

Joan The Shop has, very much, been bitten with the Stack-n-Whack bug... every fabric she looks at now is considered for 'the chop'. This beautiful lilac floral was no exception... Joan made two of these dainty Kaleidoscope cushions and donated them towards a charity event... I have a sneaky suspicion that she will be the one buying them too! tee hee

It was the Festival of Quilts this week. Dotty Maureen had treated herself to a Master Class in Kaleidoscope making... turned out to be the same method that I teach at My Very Own Quilt Shop, well... the Stack-n-Whack part... as you can see, Dotty cut different triangles, 60 degree I think, in different sizes.

Jolly Jo joined us, she's making these blocks ready for an enormously long table runner... but when she placed them side by side, as you see in the picture... she found herself wondering whether there was enough fabric to make a few more blocks for a quilt... all thoughts perfectly normal eh!

You must have noticed the lack of blog posts over the weekend... So much fabric came in this last week that I have had to completely re-arrange all of the other bolts on the shelves, so... if you come to my very own patchwork and quilting shop this week... you probably won't be able to find anything! I'm not sure I have ever seen quite so much Christmas fabric all at the same time... hours of work, that was Saturday and I went to the quilt show on Sunday, yesterday... what a treat that was! Did you find time to visit?

Thursday Stitching

 Pictured here In My Very Own Quilt Shop with some of my beautiful fabrics as a perfect background... Taa daa... Sheila finished her other bag, the one she started last week whilst promising that it was the last thing she would make with this fabric, he he he... actually there is one last 9-Patch block left and that will be made into one of those seat-belt cushions.. good idea eh!

Sheila spent her stitchy day making two of these Santa folk from the Tilda book you see there.. not exactly quilting... which is fine as stitching beautiful fabric is our main theme! he he
Brenda Barbara added borders to her Kaleidoscope quilt, no picture but you will see it as a finished top next week.
See the little triangles popping into the top of the picture there, I stitched too!!! well, if you can count 9" ... that's 3 x 3" seams, as stitching!

Caverswall Quilt Cave

Jean Bean needed to lay her block rows out to check the order... the stage being the perfect location, of course she had them perfectly pieced. Along side we have Chatty Cathy's Stack-n-Whack pieces spread out, she wanted to check she had everything going in the right direction, then proceeded to cut the background shapes and to kit her blocks up ready for stitching. I thought it was a great photo opportunity to see the block bits, before and after piecing.

Lynda had finished quilting the centre of this quilt and wanted to try something different for her borders... She's always keen to try something new... I hope you can see what we decided would be a great design because it really is a GREAT design, even if I do say so for my very own self.

Maggi had laid out her blocks last week to decide on the sashing. Once that was done she's been able cut all the strips and get all the blocks stitched together... see how neat the seams are on the back of the quilt top!

Posh Lizi's been quilting her most amazing Log Cabin quilt... it looks soooo good! For now though, she has a gift quilt that's running out of time... the top is done and Lizi wanted to make a pieced backing with her left over fabrics... mostly strips, perfect for two of these Bargello-ed blocks... they will be floating in some most beautiful Amy Butler fabric, we might not see it finished as this quilt should be gifted on Sunday? ooooer Lizi... tick-tock-tick-tock

Shirley Lerly's border treatment is taking shape very nicely... everything carefully and precisely measured, of course... it's a huge quilt so it's even more important to measure the borders through the centre of the quilt top... to prevent the edges going all  wave-y.

Chris The Foot made a quilt in a day! ha ha... which is good as it needs to be finished for Sunday this week! Making quilts for teddies is just about a sure thing to get them finished in just the one day! Here he is trying it out for size!

Chris's Quilt

Toot Toot Toot for Chris The Foot, she's finished this adorabubble baby play mat (quilt)... right on schedule. Not the best picture, I know, tis a little blurred... This quilt is made with framed Pin-wheel blocks alternated with blocks of framed Lollipop fabric... a most simple design that's perfect for a fast finish... Chris's Pin-wheel centres have been expertly pieced with all the pointy points landing just as she wished!

Tuesday Stitching

Rose has been quilting her stunning quilt. She's stitched-in-the-ditch on the straight lines, she's quilted round the circles to make them pop and to make it look really good, Rose has chosen one detail inside the circle, for example a tree truck, and quilted it... it looks brilliant!

Rose is working on this Jelly Roll quilt at the same time as the one above. She had been to a workshop not too recently, to learn the basics of making the blocks. This is such an easy pattern to make, I've put it in the beginners file!

Princess Jackie finished all the ditch hopping to stabilise her quilt. She wanted to try something different to quilt in the blocks so ... Points and Bellies it was. Jackie drew the lines on the first two blocks but, after only two she was able to do the quilting free hand, walking foot... not drawn lines... Points and Bellies is a bit like 'aim and fire'... you have to agree though.. it's very effective isn't it.

New Sue is adding a different style of sashing to her Kaleidoscope Stack-n-Whack quilt blocks. Her fabric is a delicate design so it needed a more delicate finish... I think we've done a great job... you'll see better next week as I'm sure Sue will have it all joined together by then. Unless she starts something new... she purchased gorgeous Christmas fabrics from My Very Own Quilt Shop... All the Christmas fabric is in now... I have lots shelves full and it looks fabulous!!!

New Sue's Quilt

New Sue finished another stunning quilt. It's made with a Layer Cake and a pattern from one of the Layer Cake books. This time Sue stitched a little curved quilting... 'Points and Bellies'. They're very effective as they form a free flower shape in the block centres... they're a great step to free motion quilting.
Sue finished her quilt with the much loved Faux Piped Binding, she's quite an expert at it now... the faux piped bit is good and plump all the way round, that takes a little practice... and what does practice make?

Monday Classroom

More and more people are starting to make Christmas themed projects these days. Judith purchased a Moda Charm Pack and decided to join all the squares together. Sometimes the most simple of designs is perfect. These were all stitched together by the end of the day and borders will be added as homework.

Penelope Baskeville finished her very own Mat and Ruler Bag, isn't it beautiful. It's got amazing free motion quilting all over both the front and the back panels, it's been great practice for Penelope's future quilted projects, which was the original idea when I decided to design the bag in the first place.

PM Pam has almost finished 5 cushions now, this one being the fifth block... the thing is, Pam had more fabric bit's to be used up, so... number 6 has been planned already... purchasing a new sofa to house all of the wonderful cushions would be a little extreme wouldn't it?

We had three of the new ladies sandwich and start quilting their Rail fence quilts... this one belongs to Carole, it will be a wall hanging. See the little white thing entering the picture from the bottom left? thats a magic eye, he he... actually it's a bendy light from Ikea... black thread is hard to see so we have this gadget on hand to help out.

Pauline quilted the centre of her quilt by shadowing the Railfence design, as do most beginners, it's easier than 'Stitching In The Ditch' or better, 'Ditch Hopping' as it's come to be known in these 'ere parts, ha ha

Gleny's also sandwiched and started to quilt her quilt. She had a little fight with her machine breaking the thread, but she kept her cool.
All three quilts are exactly the same, made with the same measurements yet, all three look so completely different don't they. Binding next week wooohooo!

Afternoon Judith's Quilt

It's Afternoon Judith's turn for a Toot Toot Toot... she's finished her baby play mat... and is't it just the cutest thing...
"Awwwwwwwwwww"... that's what we all said when she did her grand reveal, he he he.
The pattern can be found in this book 'Sweet Nursery Chic' how fabulous that we can look through books on line!
Judith really enjoyed doing the appliqué stitching, we use the 'sticky stuff and blanket stitch' method... super easy to do indeed.

Classroom Stitching

Toot Toot Toot for our Maid Marion... her Stack-n-Whack Kaleidoscope quilt is finished... which is just as well because it's going to be gifted, very soon, to one very lucky couple.
Marion has quilted with 'Points & Bellies' making a flowery design in the centre of each block. See the little line of white around the edge... that's the much loved 'Faux Piped Binding'... finishes off the quilt a treat me thinks, how about you?

Brenda Barbara almost completed the top of her gorgeous Kaleidoscope quilt too. My Mum Gwynneth and myself were pinning and passing to Brenda to sew... it was like a production line... he he he... very much fun! We quite often get customers coming into the shop thinking that the classroom is a little quilt production factory... and it sure looked like one on Saturday.

Sheila not only made this Mat and Ruler bag covered in extremely useful pockets from her quilt left overs, but she also had enough to make a Big Quilted Panel Bag! I'll show you a picture of that as soon as it's finished. These two pictures show you both sides of the Mat and Ruler Bag.

Caverswall Quilt Cave

The last few Stack-n-Whack Kaleidoscope quilts that were started at the first workshop, are coming together very nicely... here's Wendy's quilt top. Her pattern repeat was 24" so she was able to make many more blocks, which is how come she had enough to make half blocks for the setting triangles, and don't they just look great...

Maggi also finished making her blocks, started to decide how to arrange them and the auditioned sashing fabric colours. I think she chose the yellow as sashing with the deep aubergine as corner stones. The original fabric will be used for the borders, it's always good to see the fabric used to make the kaleidoscopes, at least I think it is... but you can practice PMS (Pleasing My Self)...

This is Posh Lizi's centre third quilt sandwich. She's sort of decided how to quilt it and wanted to draw lines to help her stitching. It's much easier to draw a new design and let it wear off if it's not what you want, Lizi used a Sewline pencil so that the lines would stay visibubble for long enough. We're so lucky to  have air eraseabubble pens (for which I say hooorah,!hooorah!)  but they disappear a little too quickly for some jobs.