Stitching News

Obviously I wasn't telling the truth when I declared that things would slow down this week! Life is so very unpredict-a-bubble, isn't it. I've another busy week ahead too, mostly fun stuff!

We had a great day yesterday at Checkley Village Hall, Sunday Funday Sewday. (Next one is 25th February) Everyone was so happy to be getting back to normal. My lovely Light Lunch offering has been missed too! People love a Jacket Spud! and, to top it all off, we had a glorious, sunny weather day, I think we're all very tired of getting soaked lugging our toys in and out of the hall AND it was still light when we all went home, hooray hoorah!!

These are some of the photos I took last week in my classroom

Starting with a Fabulous and finished quilt made by Jean Bean. She's recently discovered Facing the quilt in place of adding a traditional binding. It worked perfectly for this design. Look at all the quilting too, It's Beano's very own design that evolved as it was in progress. Toot toot Jean Bean.

Rose had fabrics left over from her enormous Log Cabin quilt (pictured in my previous post) She decided to make two co-ordinating cushions. The binding just needs to be hand stitched to get them finished. I've been reliable informed there's still enough fabric to make a matching lap size quilt too.

PM Pam likes to keep a few 'just in case' baby quilts.  She's often receiving requests for them from family and close friends. Pam had a bit of a surprise when she last went in search of a baby quilt, she found they had all gone! She's on a mission now to get a few made, in between all of her other projects. This lady is a little factory!

This very smart fellow was made during Pam's class on Tuesday. 

Is't he fabulous! As you can see from the little peek at the pattern, there will be many more bunnies made. Pam's going to prepare all the cutting and kitting so that she can sew them during our next retreat.

Christabelle had a dilemma. The quilt top wasn't quite wide enough. We had a little con-flab about various options. It would be tricky to choose a perfect border, especially as the top was already long enough. Fortunately, Chris was able to find enough of the same fabrics to be able to carry on with the 3D design... 

Christabelle continued chopping up the fabrics when she got home and was very relieved to find that there were exactly enough diamonds to complete the desired width for the quilt, now that was lucky! No borders will be needed.

Gail had a very calm day with her applique. Her favourite thing to do. The rhythm of the Juki as it stitches is so very relaxing. Each thread colour is matched up to the fabric piece. It's going to be a very cute gifting quilt.

I have a few more photos but I will keep you in suspense until I blog again. Maybe tomorrow!!

Stitching News

This next week should start to see things settling and getting back to some kind of normal in my very own world. I hit the ground running on the 9th, my first day back in my shop after sewing prevention season. I had to do a lot of mathemisms! People were so very pleased to be getting back to creating. 

Princess Jackie found a bit of stitchy time during the break. She was racing the arrival of an important little bundle, a race she has now won. A first for this year, Fabulous and finished, very bright and cute, a baby gifting quilt. Toot toot toot Jackie.

Jackie made a fabulous pieced backing using up all the extra bits left from making the top.

Christabelle spied a few vacant tables during class, so was able to plan the layout of the last third of her 3D project. Just one diamond in the wrong position would have been a small disaster. Not really, nothing a seam ripper couldn't solve. Not that it was needed, Chris is a smart cookie and uses labels!

Mrs. Lou Lou wanted to lay out her blocks. She only needs three more trees but wasn't sure whether to make light, medium or dark ones. Laid out it was obvious really. Any would have been fine, ha!

Farmer Lynda is working with the same Elizabeth Hartman pattern. Inspired by Merlot and Mrs' Lou Lou's work she got started lick-etty-split. Now she's gone off on a tangent and decided she wants Autumnal trees too. She is Pleasing her very own self, we love that! 

Rose's enormous Log Cabin Quilt. A Wedding Gift. Wow! 

Natural colours, just as requested. Diagonal lines quilted with her walking foot and free motion quilting of ferns in the borders.

Looking from the back you can see the quilting as it really stands out.

This is a King size whopper of a quilt. It's Fabulous and finished with time to spare, well almost. there will be a few evenings of hand stitching the binding now. But we won't see this beauty again, so toot toot toot Rose. Hope you enjoyed your workout?

This weekend we have our first Sunday Funday Sewday of the year. That's Sunday 28th January.
We still have space if you would like to join us. 

9:30am - 3:30pm, it's a one day stitching retreat. £20 per person paid in advance. Please book before Wednesday 24th. It's £25 to pay on the day.

Refreshments and a light lunch are included.

I almost forgot this. Again I'm tackling "Work /Life balance"

My shop will not be open, often known as 'CLOSED', on Friday 2nd February. 

On Saturday 3rd February my shop will be closed but able to take pre-booked shopping appointments in the afternoon. I hope that makes sense? 

Angie: 07807530441 If you want to call or send a WhatsApp message

Stitching News

You won't believe how long it's taken me to find these photos. My computer had hidden them somewhere special. I'll get the hang of it, eventually. I've actually spent a couple of sessions in Quilty Quarters, hooray!

I decided to go with Faux Piped Binding on the Hidden Wells. Have you ever tried this kind of binding? It's very effective. You need 1 1/2" wide strips of the main colour, grey on mine, and 1 3/4" srips of the fabric you want to use for the piping, obviously the pink, Alison Glass fabric on mine. Oh, both fabrics are Alison Glass.

After making both strips long enough to go the whole distance around the quilt ( the joins need to be diagonal. like you do with normal binding) you sew the two strips together, lengthwise.

Then press the seam allowance towards the accent colour.
Next, and this is a very important bit, carefully fold the binding over ensuring you fold the seam allowance in half, that's what gives the plumpity appearance to the the binding (I wrote plumpity, maybe it should be plump-ity-ness ?) 
I've just looked online and found that there are loads of video tutorials to make Faux Piped Binding. None of them do this tacking bit and you will see (if you do go to watch any) that lots look more like binding with a flat flange.

I like to tack the whole way along the binding to stop it, the faux bit, from going flat, the seam allowance will want to stay flat so you have to show it who is the boss!

 You can see I used a bright turquoise thread to tack mine, which also helps when it comes to unpicking those large stitches after it's all stitched down.

You will need to sew the binding to the back of the quilt rather that to the front, as we usually do. Check first that you won't have any joins landing on the corners, if you do have joins hitting corners, that's a nightmare you won't like!
Once the binding is stitched in place and the ends carefully joined together, press the binding from the back side to make a good crisp seam, this will help a lot when you pull it over to the front.

You really need to use your Walking Foot with all the layers.

Having just told you that, it is very tricky to sew your binding right in the ditch of the piping with a walking foot, only because of the width of the foot's plate. See how you go. If it's too tricky, try your zipper foot as you need to get up close to the piping really. 

This zipper foot, in my photo, is a Walking Foot!!! I kid you not... the Juki UX8 has a built in Walking foot that can be used with lots of different feet, even the Quarter inch one. (I know it's extravagant and pretty pricey) but it makes the BEST faux Piping with the most accurate and wonderful finish.

I'm not brilliant at describing stuff like this but, if you want to pop in to my shop, I can go through it again and give you a little sample to guide you. I keep all the left over bits exactly for that purpose. Alternatively come for a little lesson?

If there's a small group interested, we could make a sample together, like a workshop. I'm sure I could cope with that, ha! 

My binding is done, now I can go back in and do a little bit more quilting. It won't be anything too fancy, the patchwork pattern doesn't need it really. Don't hold me to that. I will please my very own self when the time comes!

Remember that my shop will be back to normal opening hours from Tuesday and there's a Checkley Sunday Sewday coming up on January 28th, have you booked and paid for your place? There's still plenty of time if not.

Happy New Year

Hello, hello, hello. Welcome to another stitchy year. I hope you found a little bit of time to craft. It's never easy during sewing prevention season is it. 

I've worked a bit on my Hidden Wells quilt, just in small sessions. With it being so huge, I had decided to stabilize it by  'stitching in the ditch', basically a lot of long diagonal lines. With larger quilts this is a very helpful method. Getting the whole quilt stabilized, taking the pins out as you get to them, reduces the bulk of the task significantly. Then I quilted the borders, trimmed the crusts off (that's trimming the wadding and extra backing from the edge of the sandwich) and started to make the binding. When I say started, I mean I chose the fabric. That's as far as I got. Technically it is progress I guess. I'll get the binding on then go back into the 'Wells' to do a bit more quilting, hopefully soon.

I'm afraid my awful lurgy stayed with me, and it's still here, so that's hindered production. I'm being investigated so we should evict the beggar as soon as we know what it is, ha!

On a positive note (I think) I took the plunge and purchased a new computer. I finally gave in with waiting for updates on the other one, turning it's very own self off willy-nilly... while I was using it! was so irritating. So I am on a learning curve with a new one. My kiddos got me all set up, well... the computer is all set up, I'm a bit slower. But the very fact that I found that photograph up at the top, without emailing it to my very own self is a good sign of progress. AND, my quilt is looking rather good, don't you think?

My shop and classroom will open up on Tuesday 9th January, it will be back to normal-ness. I know it's a long break and a long time for a shop to close but goodness knows it was and is, needed! 
I had planned to do lots of things in my shop while it was closed, organizing and painting and moving stuff, prettifying really. But, as yet that has not happened, so we will still find what we were looking for! Always a positive eh.
As always, if you do need anything before Tuesday, just call me.