More Fabulous Finishes

Lady Judith finished her kiddo quilts...
This one's obviously for William! Did you guess?
 Toot toot toot Judith it's lovely with beautiful hand embroidery too.
The pattern is from one of our Art to Heart books

This one is exactly the same but WOW they look different don't they.
Not just that it's for Edward! ha ha ha. It just shows how unique quilts can be with all the fabulous fabrics we can get these days. More tooting then for Lady Judith...

PM Pam's turn for a toot toot toot fanfare for her fabulous and finished Stargazy Daisiez quilt. As you can no doubt see, Pam had great fun with her fabric placement.The Daisez block was a workshop a while ago and we should be repeating it in the Autumn... if you're interested?

This is the back of Pam's Daisiez... What a fantastic backing!!!
I often receive phone calls asking whether I stock the extra wide backing fabrics... here's a perfect example of why I choose not to...
We can have loads of fun with quilt backs!!!

Toot toot toot for Gail's fabulous and finished quilt. Unique as it's Gail's very own design... Of course I helped but that was just the technical stuff and mathemisms! ha ha ha. The photo had to be taken with the quilt held sideways on as it's very long and neither Jean Bean nor Gail are very long!!!

here's the back of Gail's tootable quilt... well... this in only half of it as it's folded in half so you will have to take my word about the fabulous-ness! toot toot toot Gail. A wonderful job has been done on this commissioned quilt.

Christabelle finished another kiddy quilt... she used an 'About A Boy' panel making it a very interesting playmat with lots of pictures and details to talk about...
and that's just the adults! ha.
Toot toot toot Christabelle, just fabulous!

Annbacan made covers for her memory quilts so that they can be used as cushions and with the left over fabrics she made a cushion to match, the one on the left is the cushion and the one on the right is the quilt cover-cushion! We're tooting for Ann...

Here's Annbacan's last cushion that's really a quilt cover... blimey it sounds complicated but I hope you follow... Whatever your thoughts about my confusing rambles... it's yet another fabulous  and finished project for todays perky post!

Easter Holiday Opening And Closing

My very own patchwork and quilting shop is about to have a little break...

We will be open as usual  for Good Friday, 3rd April, with Friday Quilt Club for those who wish to come.
Saturday 4th April... after a normal shop opening day with sandwich making in the classroom, we will close the doors for a few days.
Bank Holiday Monday closed
Tuesday 7th April, closed
Wednesday 8th April, closed... though we never open on Wednesdays anyway do we...
I'm hoping thst my Easter Bunny quilt made you smile? He's hanging on the wall in my very own shop and he's making all the customers smile when the see him... just like he does every year when he visits us.

Stitching News

Jeanette Milly provided us with quite a WOW moment...
Bargello quilts never fail to impress our eyes do they?
This isn't the whole quilt it's a WIP... Work In Progress.

This lovely quilt also belongs to Jeanette Milly...
it's huge and will be machine quilted with shadow quilting following the patchwork design... a very popular method that most of us can do successfully, have you tried it?

Brenda Barbara's Denim Circle picnic quilt is getting larger...
It's been made with 9-Patch units so the decision on the final size can wait.
This is a great way to use up jeans that shrunk in the wardrobe!! 

Joan The Shop is working on her commission project.
6 quilted Kaleidoscope block cushions and they are looking great.
Each one has it's very own zip with a perfectly positioned and co-ordinating flap

This is another of Longport Lynda's projects... She had acquired a Strip Roll... like a Jelly Roll but from a different company... and decided to make up this design after seeing it in a Jelly Roll pattern book. It's lap size now and it waiting to be sandwiched.

Left over from another project, these Art Gallery, silky soft fabrics have been patched together by Longport Lyna... they will be made into cushions soon enough...
and each will have it's very own zip!

Longport Lynda.. again!!!
She acquired 'one of those piles if little bits you can get'... 
She meant those little 2 1/2" squares that Moda started to do a while ago... unimpressed with it, Lynda made a cushion front.

and.... Longport Lynda.. again!!!
This Advent Tree is almost finished... the binding is pinned in place ready for hand stitching in front of the TV. I had forgotten about this project and, as it is fabulous, we will have another workshop so more of you can make it... 
on Saturday 15th August... just so you know.

Can you believe it... Longport Lynda.. yet again!!!
Slightly different from Bonnie's pattern of Chunky Churndash and looking great.
This is also ready and waiting to be made into a sandwich... Longport Lynda will be all tooted out by the time all of her WIP's are finished! 

This one is Christabelle... lovely, funky fabrics and colours... she's just about finished meandering around her wonderful wonky squares and has started quilting the borders... it's a long way round this quilt.

Fanfare Time

Toot toot-etty-toot toot... just how big can we make quilts with the very fabulous apartment quilting method... the answer is obviously... Massive!!
This might well be the largest quilt I have ever seen...
I couldn't get it all in the photo but it's a wow quilt.
A fabulous finish made by Gilly over the last 4 years, what an achievement.

Another toot toot toot fanfare for a fabulous and finished quilt made also by Gilly.
This one was made with old, but rather gorgeous, curtains... The lining makes up the backing fabric. A much loved already, family heirloom in the making.
It's ever so soft and cuddly too.

Toot toot toot, New Sue did it again...
We all just stand with our mouths open as we say "Wow!"
Perfect piecing, perfect and precise quilting, perfect colour choices... and the best bit... we can purchase raffle tickets to win it... once they are printed!!

I couldn't not show you the back... just look at the fabulous quilting!!!
Once I have more details about the raffle I will post them here. It's all official and registered so we can safely purchase as many as we want to.

Longport Lynda is on a roll with her finishing spree.
This Paper pieced Christmas Tree wallhanging is now ready for use... it's been growing for a year or two, ha ha ha. This was a wonderful workshop a couple of years ago and we will do it again in the Autumn section of our year...
Tomorrow I will update the 2015 Workshop list.

Another toot toot toot for Longport Lynda. The fabulous and finished fruits of a Jenny Barlaston Hexagon happy workshop which will also be repeated in Autumn... (Is that OK Jenny? Perhaps I should have asked her first, no pressure now eh!!)

Sandy attended the 3D Folded Cushion workshop last Saturday and had so much fun stitching the whole day side by side with her lovely daughter, Claire Sainsburys, who had treated her Mum to the workshop for Mothers Day... what a great idea!! Sandy made a second cushion when she got home and has plans for 12 more.... though they may not be 3D folded ones... she has other ideas... but they will all have one of my fabulous 20" cushion zips which are a best selling notion!! ha ha ha

Is It Too Early To Start?

Evidently not!!!
I have just taken delivery of box after box of Christmas themed fabrics to help get your Christmas crafting started... the boxes contained
The Makower revamped and adorable Angel Advent Calendar

 Super stocking panels...

 The new and luscious Scandi range which includes an extremely cute and want-able Advent Stocking panel...

 And some totally traditional prints with good old Santa Claus featuring on them...

 Lovely label panels... the are multiple uses for these so they are usually very popular, not just for quilters... Christmas Greeting cards, festive sofa cushions, bunting, gift bags...

Is it too early to start?

Of course not!! Let's get stitching!!!

Stitching News

Toot toot toot Jenny Bean...
One fabulous and finished project and what a beautiful quilt it is.
Jenny says she learned a lot about accuracy while piecing the blocks...
I don't think we ever stop learning stuff actually... do you?

Morning Josie is having her first taste of applique.
She's starting with a cushion front but has plans for a full quilt. She's using my favourite method... Sticky Stuff and Edge Stitching... he he he

Toot toot toot for Brenda Duck's finished and fabulous table runner.
Inspired by all ready in situ curtain fabric so that it will co-ordinate with the room beautifully when it's gifted and used.

Sister Sue made a sandwich with her lovely Railfence Table topper and spent her class time shadow quilting by following the 'rails', tying off ends and threading them through...  

Fiona also made good progress with her shadow quilting. These ladies are in no hurry to finish their table runners... they want to enjoy the process... and they are! Two new Juki HZL G210 machines are helping them with that.

Farmer Lynda is super excited about her latest applique project..
oooooh how cute is the design!!! Loving this one!!

Will I Ever Catch Up...

Hoooo dear, I'm so far behind with these blog posts... I don't think I will ever catch up. It's been a busy ol' time in my very own shop and an even busier time in my very own classroom... not just the number of customers, I don't mean that... more like a busy-bee, you know those times, don't you? Every which way you turn there's something needing doing. Then there's the quilt designs to choose... more and more ladies making it up as they go, PMS (Pleasing My Self)... just the way I work! ha!! Colours and fabrics to choose, mathemisms to calculate, top tips to share.... usually there are lots of top tips in my very own shop... and of course lovely customers to serve... we give GREAT customer service... and YES I do say so Toot toot-etty-toot for our customer service... he he he
Last week we had a lady trying to find a particular colour pallet in my fabrics... I asked whether she needed any help and she declared that she did...
She wanted to match this

The dog biscuit was the perfect colour so she brought it along to use as inspiration
Now that takes the biscuit eh!!!! ha ha ha
These are not the fabrics that Brenda Duck chose but it's the only picture I have of that perfectly Salmon-y coloured doggy treat... ha ha ha

Two Workshops, One Day

Well, what a fun day! I've never booked two separate workshops for the same day before...  it was soooo much fun!
Sheila had her ladies on one set of tables to make the fabulous 3D cushions... I only got pictures of three of them though....

Then we had a Basics For Beginners workshop on the other half of the tables with me, My Very Own Self... and the ladies did a great job. They even made the backs for the cushions with zips!!

Stitching News

This fabulous Bunny is one year old, even though he is no where near finished!
It's his birthday, Lady Judith decided he might enjoy a few hours of cosmetic surgery... with a few rows of pinning and machine stitching he was well on his way to completion... but there was no promise about being ready in time for this Easter! ha

Giggly Gillian finished her quilting, made binding and stitched it on. She always likes a little help for the joining bit at the end/beginning of the binding...

So, I had a lovely email from Ursula, in Germany, that I would like to share with you... it's a little bit like blowing my own trumpet but hey... makes me happy!!!

Hi Angela,

First I thought to write on your wall in facebook, but then I was not so sure, whether you like that or not. So I thought it is better like this and you can decide if this is private or public.

I read your blog everyday, but now I wanted exact help. And I found it. And it was so wonderful and easy to follow and you made me so very happy.

I made the mitred corners with your very clever guidance!! They turned out beautiful!!!

Then I fiddled and struggled as always, with the end of the binding. But when I followed you today, exactly and step by step, it was so easy and turned out so wonderful! You are a very amazing good teacher and I thank you very much. I thank your for your help and your blog every day.

Beijinhos

Thank you Ursula, in Germany, you made my day!! I hope we will be treated to a photo of your finished project?.x

Krafty Karen spent a giggle filled day quilting...
If I remember correctly, this quilt will be gifted very soon. Alas we have no more of this alphabet panel left in stock, just in case you were wondering... as you do!! he he he

Jolly Jo brought in her brand new, yet almost antique, blocks with the full intention of finishing a quilt. It took a few ponderous moments to remember what the plan could have been all those years ago but... it's all happening now... decisions were made!

Gail had finished all the stabilising quilting so was able to go around those circles in no particular order... it's quite heavy on the shoulders going round circles so Gail can do a few each session without worrying, the blocks will not be shifting... this technique works every time... stabilizing the blocks means that the borders can be quilted and the binding can be finished completely... then we can go back to do the more fiddly quilting.

Princess Jackie also brought in a neglected quilting job...
It's been pinned and waiting for some months... lots of us do that while we decide how on earth we want to quilt this big thing! Do you?
Good progress was made too, Jackie decided and marked up each block with a Clover Chaco Marker... wonderful little invention!! and yes I do! ha 

Close your mouth!!! ha ha ha
Jackie's most favourite stitching thing to do is Applique, you must have noticed that?
She's completed many, many purchase patterns over time but now...
she's gone all arty-farty and is designing her very own projects, and this one, now a sandwich, is just amazing!! I said... Close your mouth!!! ha ha ha

Lovely Lyn also spent her wonderful day in my fun filled classroom, quilting.
Lyn is one of the few ladies that enjoys Free-Motion quilting... this is the back of Lyn's quilt... which is actually her favourite side...

This is the front, or rather top of Lyn's quilt... she announced that she doesn't like it at all... she might very well call it the back when it's all bound and finished...
 PMS... Pleasing My Self... very much encouraged in my world!!