Bargello Workshop

Stitching News

Merrily had these few T-Shirts left over from the main project (which will be hanging in the Uttoxeter Quilt Show to inspire you to get T-Shirting!!) This little number will be an extra surprise for the lady that commissioned Merrily to make the larger quilt in the first place.

Merrily's favourite method for making larger quilts is to divide the quilt up into manage-a-bubble size units, then get them all quilted and trimmed up... and finally Apartment-ly join them all together with co-ordinating sashing... this one was made in three long units... Toot toot toot Merrily, another fabulous and finished project!! I wonder what she will do next? Never 'run of the mill' with Merrily!

Annbacan has been working on this enormous quilt for quite a number of months... that doesn't sound as long as years does it, ha! This is all quilted in sections then joined together, but not with sashing... see, there is more than one way to get these large projects finished...

It also allows for all sorts of different designs for the backs... making quilts double sided, cunning eh? Toot toot toot Annbacan, finally it's a fabulous and finished quilt.

A fanfare for a fabulous finish is required for Princess Jackie, I'm not going to mention anything about Jackie making the Twister Heart Cushion alongside Gail... they decided to work on them together... but, Gail made two and already gifted them a while ago! Toot toot toot Jackie.

And a toot toot toot-etty-toot for this absolutely fabulous finish, a wall hanging, also by Princess Jackie. So beautiful with the tiniest details, (The quilt not Jackie, ha ha ha)... Those little teeny-weeny circles!! Bright and very colourful and quite breathtaking to most of us... I don't think Gail made one yet, unless there's one lurking in the magic garage?

Christabelle spied chance to get a baby sandwich made, ha ha ha. OK, I jest, it's a quilt being made  for a baby, you knew that! Christabelle enjoyed making this one and it gave her a short break from the trials and struggles with... 

This one!!! Wowzers.... This project has given Christabelle (not to mention my very good self!) plenty of grief... but, as you can see, my goodness it's going to be rather spectacular when it's complete.

Princess Jackie has also been constructing these Dwight blocks, there are 6 in all and have been made in the beautifully soft Moda Brushed Cottons, scrummy to the touch! Not the best photo I've taken with the perfect Purple Camera, Jackie was just laying them out to choose where each will be placed.

One Year Ago...

Just one year ago...
 We were toot toot tooting for this fabulous and finished little project...

Fabulous and finished?
Well, the baking part was finished...
but the project was most definitely not.
Happy Birthday To Faye xx

Our March Retreat

I can't even begin to tell you what a wonderful few days we had. So much laughter, good food and sewing happened... The weather was glorious, a little bit breezy but truly glorious... I had my bedroom windows open the whole time we were there.

My room looked out onto the back garden of the hotel... so lovely. Actually, the views are lovely everywhere around Alison House. One morning good and early, after a good old scrub in the tub, I was looking out and decided to embrace the good feeling... So I made my coffee, pulled the chair to the window and sat, naked!! with my feet up drinking the lovely hot brew with the breeze blowing in and with birds twittering (though they could have been laughing at the pretty sight, ha!... it was wonderful!! Just what I needed... until breakfast... which was and is ALWAYS wonderful!

I took the perfectly purple camera with me to snap piccies of all the projects we were working on... and/but... as you might expect, I forgot all about it! This is the Garden room where we spend all those happy hours laughing and sewing. It's the Saturday night, just after dinner, before a few of the others came back to sew.

If you ever plan on organising a retreat... not just quilting or sewing, I must tell you that the Alison House Hotel, facilities, the food and the wonderful friendly staff  can't be recommend highly enough. And so say all of us!

We have all been a little low this week.... we were so excited to be going on our retreat, and now we have been!... but ... there is a sewing sunday coming up for April 28th... A wonderful mini retreating day!

Quilt Angels For Uttoxeter Quilt Show

Friday 12th, Saturday 13th and/or Sunday 14th April.

I'm in the throws of getting the Quilt Angel rota sorted.

If you would like to volunteer to don white gloves with a colourful sash in order to protect the quilts from the touchy-feely show visitors, please contact me and I will put you on the list. 
Duty will be for One Hour only, but you may volunteer for more than one session.
My email address is angiequilts@gmail.com 
Alternatively, you could pop into my rather fabulous quilt shop, and all of it's other temptations...
You will be entitled to a complementary entrance ticket and, hopefully, a thank you.

Quilty Quarters

It's fair to say that since I opened up my very own quilt shop, there has been very little time for my own projects. Most stitching revolves around workshop preparation and shop sample quilts. A little bit of experimenting "Ooooh that looks interesting, let me see if it works" sewing and "How can I help that lady do that more successfully?" A few commissions have been thrown in to the mix too. 

7 years my bricks and mortar shop has been trading!! Who would have thunk it!! I order the fabrics for my shop in the same way I would shop for my very own personal stash, it's the only way I know how, not being a professional retailer, ha! So every shelf it full of fabric I have a plan for! No wonder I don't sleep well!... all those ideas and creative thoughts wizz around continually. 

Not so long ago I decided to cut some of my 'Six Packs' from ditzy fabrics. They sat there unloved for weeks, so I thought, I will use them, doesn't matter if they are not popular if I like them!!

This is what I made. A Split Hourglass design, with not so Ditsy flowers in my border. Now, I was appliqueing the border flowers on with the trusted and favourite Blanket Stitch, while we were on our Westhope retreat... last year, in May... so that shows you a clue of how long I have been making this project! I finished it on Tuesday this week. Free Motion quilted and Faux Piped Binding... It's hanging up in my very own shop if you would like to see it. Those Ditsy prints look great with a denim blue colour don't they! Toot toot toot for me, for my very own self? THIS is my very own fabulous finish, a lovely shop sample.

The Economy Block... I think this is a much trickier block to make accurately than it's name suggests. The 4" finished Economy blocks have all been made with Moda's latest delivery of French General fabrics. I've added Flying Geese units to the edges, a moment of madness! It's only a little quilt at 20". I was going to make it into a cushion but I have a little table that will be a perfect spot for it when the quilt is no longer needed at the shop to show how lovely the fabrics look together. It's a finish, fabulous or not... Worth a Toot toot toot?

Stitching News With Tooting

I might well have declared that I had located the perfect purple camera but that hasn't helped me much with photo taking... people are so fast at packing their projects away that most days I have completely missed out. I don't think they (lovely though they are!) realise that I only have a quilt shop to make my blog more interesting!! I don't even know whether anyone reads it really, but I love looking back at all the project pictures and stories. Did you know that I started this blog way back in 2008? Lots of quilt blog writers have stopped posting, at least the many I have looked at, but I continue... here goes today...

I told you it would be finished lick-etty-split! New Sue wastes no time at all. This is a fabulous and finished gifting quilt and, luckily for us, the recipient has to wait until next week to get it because Sue wanted us to have good toot toot tooting time.... Little Four-Patches are lovely.

This is the back... That Four-Patch strip in the centre was the border on the front at one point... Excellent job Sue, and toot toot too for your fabulous and finished gifting quilt.

One beginner cushion made by a lovely lady called Sheila.
She arrived before the birds with all her paraphernalia...
She learned so many new and useful things... I heard her declare it!

Including a backing with a zip.
Flap made using a leftover strip from making the front.
Fabrics not from my shop!
Toot toot toot Sheila

Sporty Sue came to make her garage found quilt top into a quilt sandwich. I did ask whether Sue had quilted last weeks sandwich yet... such a rude question!! Ha ha ha, anyway... Sue has two quilts waiting to be quilted and has now started another top with 10 inch blocks... but it won't be huge!! We have heard that before!

Chris CAT was adding borders to this lovely teddy quilt. It's a Kids Quilts pattern and Chris has been commissioned to make it. It's a lot of work but look how lovely it is now!! Backing will be next. I feel a sandwich coming on!