Very Important Information

Very important 

Today sees the end of April so, as I remind you every month,

 there's a first Thursday of the month coming up with a meeting of 

Stafforshire Patchworkers and Quilters SPQ ... 

The important bit, 

and could you please tell everyone you know that might be coming, 

There's a venue change. 

It's a voting day on Thursday and Walton Community Centre is a voting station. 

Plans have been made to meet at 

Christ Church Hall in Stone,

 which is the hall were we always used to meet. 

Click on the SPQ link to see more information.

What did you think?

Were you able to go to the Uttoxeter Quilt Show this last weekend? I was there on Friday and Sunday wearing my volunteer hat and being ever so helpful! I guess some people thought I was annoying, in fact one lady made it quite clear that she thought I was rude! Moi?... but, in general, I think I was put to good use.
We're so lucky to have a quilt show close to us each year... but quilters will travel! I met people from near, far and very far.
This year there were lots of changes to the show we've been used to and I was wondering... What did YOU think? I would love to hear from you if you have something to say about the show, please email me angiequilts@gmail.com

Did you notice my wonderful advert for Angie'a Patchwork and Quilting Shop on the back of the show programme??? I chose the picture you voted for, thank you for helping me.

Stitching News With Tooting

In no particular order we shall first toot the fanfare for Morning Judith's finished quilt. The pattern is from the book, Two From One Jelly Roll Quilts, quite an excellent book actually but you don't need to use a Jelly Roll should you not want to. Like Judith, you could cut your excess fabrics into the right sized strips... 
What a fabulous quilt Judith made... toot tootety toot !

Merrily finished her quilt, Toot toot toot...
Now this one is a little different... No book with a pattern for Merrily.
A picture, that's all... the rest has been made up. It's actually a large pocket and there are ties at the bottom. Merrily is having a piece of wood cut to size and this quilted pocket will slip, very cleverly over the top making a rather stunning bed head.
 What a fabulous idea!

Sheila has finished, for now, making the Mile-a-Minute blocks and she's joined them together. There's going to be a sort of hand dyed green inner border... I think you can just about see that, followed by more scraps, maybe... a kilometre per hour? Don't worry... I will get a picture soon.

Michelle My Belle finished her centre quilting at home and a few more minutes were needed to make ribboned border stitching. Binding was made and almost stitched on. This quilt most probably won't be finished for a couple of weeks.... Belle will be off on her jolly holidays.

Lynn Scatterpin finished adding her two border strips, made a sandwich and prepared to start quilting. Alas she has a machine that wouldn't play with any of my walking feet so, a little time was taken up. We did thread up a Juki 210 so at least she had a go.
Good old internet will help Lynn find the right walking foot.

An Ode To My J Team

At the recent, and most wonderful, 1 Year Anniversary celebration party for My Very Own Patchwork and Quilting Shop, we thanked the three fabulous ladies who helpfully helped during the day and very often jump to assist me in My Very Own Quilt Shop.
It gave our 'chief poet' a little idea... and I am extremely delighted to present to you...
the latest poem written by the very talented... Lovely Lyn

A  Belated Thank You to the ‘J’ Team on the occasion of the 1st Anniversary of Angie’s Shop

When there’s much to do and little time

There are folk who always shine!

The ones who stand out from the crowd

They’re always willing – never too proud

They don’t let others do the work

They buckle down and never shirk

They helped with cleaning and tidying up

They moved the chairs, they washed the cups

They stacked the shelves, they ran the shop

So that Angie’s “Birthday” was no flop

Their names are Jenny, Jean and Jo

Give them a J cloth and watch them go!

Thank you team what can we say

You served, you helped, and you made the day

Where would we be without you team?

You turned a nightmare into a dream

Of cakes and bunting all around

No sad faces were there found

So here’s to the ‘J’ Team – long may they reign

And keep poor Angie from going insane!!!

Stitching News

Wendy loves to make art quilts... and no wonder really because for sure, without any doubt and most definitely... She's a very talented lady!
There's so much detail in this beauty, I hope you can see it?

Maggie spied her opportunity and started the sandwiching process. She wanted it carefully and precisely done so... after laying it all out as you see here... she went for lunch! Revived, fed and watered... it was pinned before going home time.

This is a funny angle for you... sometimes quilts are so big that I can't get them into my camera. Two million pins later, Helen rolled it up not wanting to start a new task... now she gets to do the quilting... her favourite part of the whole quilt making process.

My Wife Beth joined us for the first time. She had started to make this cute little patchwork dog at home and, with a few 'hopefully helpful' tips, she took him home ready for stuffing.

Chatty Cathy has all of her four quarters sewn together so she needed to make the four quarter sandwiches (square ones... not those posh little triangles you have for Sunday tea! ha ha) She put a few more pins in after the picture was taken, just to keep the centre more stable.

Fran arrived with a pile of finished blocks and asked the big question
"What do I do now?" Some blocks were being a little awkward as they had been stitched with a different seam allowance... so the answer was...
"We Fudge!"
Looking at the finished quilt centre, you would never have known would you.

Rose not only sandwiched her quilt... she soon attached her walking foot and quilted the day away, undisturbed except for a little chatter and a few giggles... 
and I'm sure you know what luxury that is!

Princess Jackie admitted that she's been totally hooked on making her Snowman Collector quilt blocks. She's fussy cutting fabrics for every piece to get the desired effect, the extra attention to detail is worth it... every block is fabulous.

Giggly Gillian spent the first part of her day (booking a morning class and an afternoon session  gives a full day of stitchy pleasure) finishing off her cutetty-cute little duck cushion.







With a fun little detail on the back, 'Bottoms up'... the idea borrowed from Princess Jackie's 'Bunt'. Gillian then cut the strips for her Bargello, a slightly different way of making this one... it'll tax our brain cells for sure!

Early Sue came to play and not only started her quilting, she almost finished it... all in the one stitching session... all day actually so it was two classes. Just a line or two for the outer border to stitch. Binding purchased and ready to be added... this quilt will be ready for tooting very soon... providing 'Life' doesn't get in the way! he he he

Hooray For Geoff

I just about ran out of space for displaying the Moda Layer Cakes... a wrapped pile of 42 x 10" squares of a series of fabrics. They can be stacked, but then you can't see them properly. They can be laid out over a shelf but hooooolyhoo they take up a lot of space, and you know I don't have much of that left at all... anywhere, don't you.

Lady Judith's hubby... came to pick up Lady Judith (a Lady has to have a chauffeur!) after class one day, just as I was puzzling over where I would put the latest set of Layer Cakes. 

"I know what I need..." 

"What's that?" asked the victim Geoff 

"One of those shoe stands, you know... they're in all the shoe shops. They tip the shoes up so you can see them and they have little walls at the end to stop the shoes falling off. Of course it would be a small version... hmmmm... actually, maybe I could use a double one."

"Really... well, that doesn't sound too difficult" he replied "Have you got a tape measure?"

Well of course I had a tape measure...

Look what Clever Mr. Geoff made for my very own Layer Cakes!!!! 

I love it!!! love it... love it!

It fits perfectly alongside all the thread doofas, still leaving enough space in front to display some of the very popular, Moda Charm Packs

A view from further back to give scale to the fantastic display.
I bet you spotted that I still haven't taken the Birthday Bunting down!
I hope you don't think I'm shockingly lazy!
It's just that I've been busy and there are people are still coming to see it. 

Maybe I will take it down this weekend while you're all at the Uttoxeter Quilt Show!
I hope you take note of your show programme, especially the back page!

Stitching News

This quilt belongs to Morning Judith. It's been made with the very same pattern that New Sue used here's the post with a picture of it, blues and creams 
Judith used strips cut from left over fabrics, making up her very own jelly roll,
 Sue used an Indigo Crossing Jelly Roll from Moda.
 How very different they look don't they?
Yet they are exactly the same really!

Penelope Baskerville spent her time free motion quilting,
Up and down and up and down with the most fabulous Rainbow thread....... see the back of Pennelope's quilt below, this is excellent practice for free motion designs. I'm thinking this quilt is going to make one little girl very... very happy.

Chris's kiddy play mat (quilt)... bright, no doubt about that and I love it!
Chris had cut out the fabrics at home and put the bits for each block in a little bag, like a kit so that she didn't get muddled up. There are two different blocks in the quilt and the pieces for each are similar.

AnnBacan sashed and bordered her Crumb blocks, sandwiched and started quilting using her walking foot... with points and bellies drawn on with a little template we made. The template was a bit too big so it created quite a nifty little corner loop, I'll get a close-up next time.

PM Pam had made Mile -A-Minute blocks, some with Crumb centres. She sees scraps and left over fabrics with much excitement since coming to the workshop...
and no wonder... Just look at the beautiful sandwich she made!!!

Hex On The Beach...

Another delivery guy came...
Usually, it's a very exciting time when a delivery truck pulls up outside my very own quilt shop, happy, clappy, screechy, squeals of excitement-ly excitement actually... and that's only the customers! ha ha ha,... Just lately... they're pulling up almost every day, and some days more that one truck... the parcel size varies a lot, sometimes it's new books or buttons, often... very often, it's fabric.
I should confess that have officially run out of shelf space for bolts of fabric... thank goodness for my cute little, space saving trollies!
Anyway, let's think about this situation for a moment... Do you know of a quilter who would actually mind seeing a few piles of fabric with no-where to live? ha!... I thought not.
So, I have a few unruly fabrics placed here and there... I'm sure they will be snuggled up on a shelf soon enough.
Right, back to the delivery guy I mentioned in the first line of this post... I got a little sidetracked there...
Have you seen this lovely project? Hex On The Beach... Here's the link
It's a relatively new thing from Free Spirit Fabrics for Tula Pink and I now have the boxed kits available in my very own, full to bursting, Quilt Shop.
Are you wondering what's in the Hex On The Beach boxed kit?
There's a carefully written and detailed pattern, 1008 die cut fabric hexagons and 100 paper hexagon templates... enough to keep you busy on the long hot summer evenings (I know, but hope is a wonderful place!) if you're hand stitching them... there's another great thing... if you've mastered the "Y" seam, you could machine piece these little beauties because they are die cut and are super accurate.

New Christmas fabrics have been delivered too! It's a very good job I ordered a few more cute little, space saving trollies to be made by Lady Judith's hubby. 

Update... I have actually sold out of the Hex On The Beach Quilt Kits but another order should be delivered next week. You could reserve one if you like, just call or email and I will put yours on one side... Now aren't I a useful lady!

Daisiez Workshop

Another fun, fun, fun workshop.
Most definitely there will be a second Daisiez workshop.

Stitching News

Barbie, with the aid of her brand new Juki sewing machine, finished all of her projects just in time to gift them whilst on her jolly holiday visiting family... fantastic. You don't get to see them but I think you can trust me, they were wonderful. So, Barbie started a new quilt, these beautiful appliqué bluebells will be the focus blocks, beautiful eh.

Claire came for her second class, if you remember, she had purchased two beginner classes for her mum's Mother's Day treat, of course Claire had to come along too to make sure mum, Sandy, had a great time, he he he. They will be making sandwiches next time they come.

A short post, naughty camera was lazily hiding in my new apron pocket!

Today in My Very Own classroom we have the " Jan Mullen's Daizies, no accuracy required" workshop and, if all goes to plan, you should be able to see the progress pictures later this evening.

Stitching News

Brenda Barbara's latest project is coming along very nicely. The fussy cut diamonds give a most splendid centre, don't you think? By the time Brenda finishes this quilt, she will be an expert with 'Y' seams

Michelle My Belle came for her second class and boy is she happy with her project. She spent the last part of the day quilting it so, I'm thinking this one will be finished next week. Wonder what she will make next.

Lynn Scatterpin... and she does, she scattered her pins everywhere! he he he. Lyn's first class was booked for the morning session... and she stayed all day, that happens a lot in my very own classroom... it's not the room though, it's the general 'fun-ness and quilty-happy-chattery-ness' of crafting and making... folk just don't want to go home!

Annbacan continued on her fabulous seasonal calendar. Lots of appliqué stitching giving a most wonderful background rhythm to our day... you could almost dance to some of the stitch rhythms couldn't you...
awww we had a great day all in all. 

Stitching News

Giggly Gillian had been watching over Princess Jackie as she made her little duckling quilt a few weeks ago...  the urge to make a duckling took over...
"One duckling went swimming one day, over the quilt and far away.
 Gillian duck said "Quack quack quack and the duck landed on a cushion!
 ha ha ha... couldn't help myself.

Three Jelly Rolls make two single quilts, with enough strips to make fabulous backings. New Sue pieced the backing and, just had time to make one sandwich. She did make two quilts and the second is almost finished too. 

Oh my goodness, Rose did it again, a breath taking Bargello table runner.
Careful planning and stitching was needed to get the little dark blue square to land in the middle. It's sandwich time for Rose first thing next class.
By the way... what a fabulous corner shot of my very own quilt shop!!

One of the advantages of going to regular patchwork and quilting classes is watching what everyone is working on, their colour and fabric choices and how tricky a project is, or not. The Bargello quilts look way more tricky than they actually are... now that Gillian saw Rose cope well with her latest Bargello, she is going to make one.
Not the same at all... but a superb Bargello 'nother pattern.

Maggie finished this... but it's not a quilt top, it's the backing to her Stack-n-Whack Kaleidoscope quilt. WOW... she's been working on it for quite a while, just as an artist would I guess. It's a good job Maggie plans to machine quilt this one, imagine hand quilting with all those seams back and front?

This is Chatty Cathy having a quick lesson from Helen on how to piece all the segments together.  Sew this to this, then sew that to that... you know how it goes. They're a lovely lot at Caverswall Quilt Cave, they all help each other when they can.

Ta Daaah, Chris The Foot finished her Clarice Cliffe quilt top. It won't be sandwiched just yet though as all of Chris's safety pins are used up on other projects that are waiting to be quilted... now how weird is that?? Not.

Stitching News

Penelope Baskerville made her sandwich and started quilting. She decided to free motion quilt different designs for each colour double...
That's a technical term! he he...
Looks like fun eh!

Morning Judith made this design from a pattern in the Two From One Jelly Roll book, except she didn't use a pre-cut Jelly... she made one all by her very own self using up her very own left over fabrics from previous projects...
Thrifty and fun!

Jean Bean is also making a pattern from one of the Jelly Roll books... once again though, not using a pre-cut Jelly Roll... she's using yardage, actually, metre-age, he he... you can have more control over the fabric and colour choice if you make your own Jelly Roll... of course, when you just can't make those colour choices because you love them all...
Go Jelly Roll!

AnnBacan is getting ahead... the 'Too soon to mention', sewing prevention season comes around (without warning!!) every year, as you probably know... Ann will be ready though, she's started on her list for gifting...
Fun and smart!