Large Reversible Bag Workshop

What a fabulous day... we didn't quite get all the bags finished but you can see how they were taking shape and what beautiful colour and fabric combinations the ladies used. I'll get pictures of the finished bags as they come in.

After Hours...

My very own Patchwork and Quilting shop is starting it's third year now.
As time goes on it's getting increasingly more difficult to find even enough space for one bolt of fabric as it's delivered.
The shelves that I had in this space were fine but I calculated that if I purchased...

... these shelves, from good old Ikea, I would gain an extra 20 cm, 8 inches... that's a little bit for each actual shelf width... you might think that was unnecessary but it also gave me an extra bit of height, enough for a second shelf... for fat quarter display maybe? Molly and Henry helped a lot!

Laying bolts sideways with the white shelves I couldn't fit a container of fat quarters as well... now, with these new shelves, I can... those 5 little cm are huge!!
Eventually, I filled the shelves back up, several times actually, until I was happy... though I will continue to ponder the lay out over the next few days... I ponder a lot!

 I vacuumed all the saw dust and mess... I tidied, titivated and pondered a bit more to get everything ready for opening the next day.
Some customers, not to mention the valuable volunteers who help me, might find they need to be on tippee toes to see everything on top, I hadn't thought of that but it's looking good anyway... and it's too late now... It's done!

As you might see from the clock.. all this happened in just three hours. Friday Quilt Club finished at 3pm and I sprang into action. I locked the door at 6pm and left thinking... that's it, there's no-where else to fit more fabric... but I have done that many times before! hahahaha

Stitching News With Tooting

My Wife Beth proudly held up her finished and fabulous rainbow quilt for a well deserved toot toot toot... Beth had scoured the internet and purchased little packages of colour co-ordinated strips of fabric. The design is made up by her very own self... clever chick isn't she... 
As the quilt progressed it became evident that some of the fabrics were not, in actual fact, 100% cotton as they shrivelled up when pressed so Beth had to do a little 'jiggery-pokery' to change the offending ones.

Beth made this lovely little centre panel, which she calls her 'Fudgello' for the back making it double sided

Wendy's finished quilt from last week. Fabulous and finished, toot toot toot... Made with an unwanted Jelly Roll... but didn't it turn out lovely!!

Another work in progress of Wendy's. Don't we all make the most wonderful quilts out of scrap fabrics that could very well have been thrown away? For sure Wendy does!

Wendy again here... making personalised kiddie play things... the border fabric is exactly that, fabric... it's printed like that... I thought Wendy had pieced all those little squares!

Chris The Foot finished her Quick Table Topper and moved swiftly on to one of  her Tennessee Waltz quilt blocks, this is a very clever block... it's called 54-40 Or Fight and gives amazing secondary designs...

My Wife Beth and Wendy created this little fella...
It is a very simple Bassett Hound... it only took the two ladies all day to complete him!
There was a lot of careful surgery involved! 

Stitching News

Lets start with a little tooting for Princess Jackie's, most lovely, finished and fabulous, Elephant quilt. This is/was a free on-line pattern that I printed off a while ago and placed in a folder... I have many folders of patterns to inspire us quilters, of course Jackie has a lovely flair when it comes to choosing the right fabrics... not to mention her appliqué stitching.

And tadaaaa... the back...
Lots of us love to make beautiful backings for our quilts.
Jackie got it just right... cute, bright and... just lovely!
I hope you noticed the great quilting too...

New Sue's decided to finish off a few things before starting another project.
This quilt is one of a pair... the first was finished a loooong time ago... but Sue wasn't in the mood for quilting the same project again so it got put to one side. Sue happily admits that, for her, making two quilts the same... just wasn't a good idea. It's almost done now though.

Fran Cup Cake is quilting too... she's deciding what to do as she goes.
She wanted apples stitching in the light areas so, our resident artist Jean Bean drew one or two apples, just like that!  Fran chose and then traced them in place using a Sewline Air Erasable pen... once stitched the apples looked fabulous.

New Sue is a mine of useful information... when teddy needed eyes, she stepped up and showed everyone how to make French Knots, even customers in the shop wanted to watch!
This is Lovely Lyn's latest kiddie play mat style of quilt, it's another cutie!

Classroom Catch Up

I decided to change the quilts hanging on the walls of my very own classroom.
My giant, and very cute, Log Cabin Bunny. He always makes folk smile...
I made him a looooong time ago and he comes out every year.
A few of the ladies will be making a bunny for their very own selves.

My Mum Gwynneth made this little, not too girly, quilt with one of our panels...
 She added just two side border strips, sandwiched, quilted then added binding.
Another quilt made in just one day. Fast, fabulous and finished... toot toot toot

This wonderful quilt was made by Joan The Shop. I have it hanging as a guest quilt for one week because I want to show another fabulous setting for our Mile-A-Minute and Crumb blocks. It's just an idea... Joan's block centres were carefully planned using strips cut all to the same width.

This wonderful little quilt belongs to PM Pam.
It's one of twelve blocks from this book by Edyta Sitar. Pam doesn't plan to make the quilt though, she's going to make each block into a mini quilt so every month she can have a different one hanging on her wall.
Do you think we should we be wondering why Pam started with December?

Monday Sheila finished the lovely Lone Star block started at Dotty's workshop. She's now making four more Lone Star blocks, but with narrower strips. They will be smaller stars of course, and that's part of Sheila's plan... they will be floated in the corners as Sheila wants the quilt to be a Super King size when it's finished!

PM Pam's Lone Star block had Saw Tooth Star blocks added to the top and bottom because Pam wanted a rectangular quilt, as opposed to a square one. We're working together on the outer border... which is proving a little tricky but, it will all be worth the fiddle... I promised Pam!

Stitching News

Christabelle made her fabulous sandwich... perfectly and comfortabubbly.
Our sandwich Saturdays are proving very popular.
Sandwiching quilts on the floor is very successful too...
 but 'ooooher' the knees and oooch-ouch those backs!

Barbie finished her football supporter's quilt for the new Daddy. Toot toot toot
New Daddy was delighted with the little quilt and very impressed with the attention to detail... Barbie had been well advised on both the home and the away colours, Sporty Sue was chief advisor on hand.

Barbie made this little quilt top in just one day. She had arrived for class with fabric already chosen, which we sliced up into squares. It's fun to stitch simple shapes together, fast and easy too! Barbie went home with a wonderful sandwich ready for quilting. This one's for the new Mummy...

The pre-cut packs we make and sell, containing 30 x 6" squares of different novelty fabrics, can make a fabulous play mat measuring approximately 1m x 1.20m... depending how wide you choose to make your borders of course. 
Jenny Barlaston had a cunning plan... she split the pack in two and made two smaller baby play mats.. 15 squares in each one, great idea eh?

Keeping It In The Family...

My lovely Lilly made this.
It will be in the programme for the upcoming Uttoxeter Quilt Show

Stitching News

Joan The Shop has almost finished her Poppy wall hanging quilt...
Beautiful eh? The crusts were trimmed and the binding was machined in place.
Hand stitching will be done at home.

Little Annette says she's really pleased with her little Twister Heart.
The borders were all on by the end of the day.
Annette had decided to wait until next week to start her quilting

Wendy hand stitched her binding to the back of her quilt.
She took this one to Show And Tell ant this months SPQ meeting.
Hopefully I will get a fabulous and finished picture next week.

My Wife Beth also stitched on her binding, she too will be hand stitching at home. What a lot of new projects we must be planning... so many ladies are binding. Beth's quilt is a rainbow of craziness... her own words.

Just Edna finished her Stack-n-Whack Kaleidoscope quilt centre.
As we were planning the borders we spotted a little woooopsie... can you see it?
Enda decided to do a little unpicking and all was good by the end of the day.

Helen finally made her giant sandwich.
Last time she tried we noticed that there was too much fabric in the borders.
They had to come off and be re-measured. Worth all the trouble though...
good and flat now... ready for free motion stitching.

Chris The Foot is back from her globe trotting.
She sandwiched and quilted yet another Quick Table Topper.
Chris followed the circular design on the fabric, result?
Meanders all of an even size... tricky but fun!

Jean Bean continued quilting with her walking foot. All the bright jewel like centre squares are having the ditch hopping treatment before Jean starts her free motion detail...(ditch hopping is like stitching in the ditch but you are allowed to pop over the line sometimes... very liberating!!)  

My Mum Gwynneth finished this most fabulous cushion front.
It will be gifted to a very special lady for her birthday...
obviously it will be a cushion by then... with a zip!!!
We are loving the Basic Grey Grunge fabrics!!!