Stitching News

Firstly I'd like to remind you that we have a Sunday Sewday this weekend at Checkley Village Hall. If you are planning to come and you haven't booked, you have until lunchtime Friday 27th to decide. Don't forget to bring your mug!

It was a very busy classroom on Tuesday... I did manage to snap a few piccies...

Princess Jackie is back with us and the new hip is stitching up a storm!!  Obviously it's OK to sew but not to do the home chores.  This beautiful and colourful quilt top was only at the trace it, stick it, cut it out stage last time Jackie came. It's all stitched and ready to be sandwiched, once the pieced from bits backing is finished

And after a naughty girl telling off in my last blogpost, Christabelle gave one last push and finished Kitty's quilt. There were a few little details to be added and the beautiful label to be sewn on to the back... look at the detail in the next picture!

Attention to detail, as we have come to expect from Chris... The tiny little 3D Mini Mouse and the 3D fish trinkets for the cat collar took ages to make, fiddley little things do take longer than we would expect. It's an absolutely fabulous and finished quilt toot toot toot. Kitty is one Lucky little girl.

New Sue was productive too. She arrived for class with 12 finished Log Cabin blocks and went home with a sandwich and a few quilting ideas. There are so many ways to quilt the Log Cabin blocks so Sue will have fun.

With all the Kitty Quilt pressure gone, Christabelle was able to officially make her two trial quilt blocks. you can't quite make out the secondary pattern yet, but it's definitely there!!

Stitching News

I can't really apologise for being missing in action this week. It might be like this for a while until I get used to this new busy life! I'm not used to late nights and working in a bar is definitely a late night!! But, needs must and I will get used to it I'm sure.

Susan came to make her beautiful flowers quilt sandwich last weekend... I've been trying to blog this for you but I'm too late every morning, ha ha ha. It's such a lovely pattern isn't it. Susan will quilt it on her very own Juki. She purchased a spool of thread to match each flower.

Janis also came to make a sandwich, a week later, ha! We discussed quilting options as we pinned the layers. There were so many options and we will just have to wait to see what Janis chooses to do. It's a big lap quilt but not too large for lovely quilting.

New Sue spied a few vacant tables, which is a rare thing in a quilting classroom as we soon spread out with all our paraphernalia, so she was able to lay out her blocks to see the progress. Log Cabin blocks are so interesting and these, with the square details, are just fabulous. It's going to be a Table Runner.

Naughty Christabelle... She purchased the fabrics for her next project... then she declared/swore she wouldn't start it until the quilt was finished for Kitty, remember the heart one for Tabitha? Well, humbugs... Christabelle started the new one!!! It's more purple-y than it looks in my photo. We forgive you Chris, we would all have done the same thing!

Our Pam is continuing with gusto... determined to finish lots of her PhD's and to empty all those lovely project boxes. The centre is complete and Pam still has hundreds of Hexagons prepared so she's going to use lots on the border, it will be fabulous!

During Uttoxeter Quilt Show I was demonstrating how I wrap the fabric strips around the Pot Cord, I finished a long enough length to make a small pot.... so here is is, a fabulous and finished wonky pot!! not sure why it ended up so wiggly though... must be something to do with concentrating?

Right back in May 2020 I thought I still had time to sew... it was deep in those lockdown times.... I cut out a pair of dungarees each for the grand-kiddos. Then, all of a sudden I had to rush about decorating ready to move home. I found the cut out pattern pieces last Sunday and made them up. Faye tried them on... three inches too short in the body!!! My make was Only 2 years too late, ha ha ha The baby ones I had cut out had no chance, so they are in my scraps box!

Next weekend we have a Sunday Funday Sewday at Checkley Village Hall, have you booked to come?

9.30am to 4.30pm. £20.00 which includes a light lunch and refreshments.

You will need to book, but that's easy, just email me angiequilts@gmail.com or call/WhatsApp me 07807530441

Also On Monday evenings, for the forsee-a-bubble future, Social Stitching in Cheadle will be every week for you!!!  

Stitching News

I've had quite a few deliveries this week. Just as I got the shop looking tidy in came the boxes. 

Another lot of the very popular, Tilda bundles... 

I don't stock much Tilda fabric on bolts, but I love these beauties. 

10 Fat Quarters in each bundle, co-ordinated, pretty and fun!

Applique usually gives instant gratification... For Patchwork, We chop up fabrics into little pieces and pile them up ready for stitching together but we don't get to see a block until it's all pieced together. With applique, we cut out shapes, we glue and stick a picture and Boom!! there is is, happy progress... then we sew. This is Princess Jackie's new project, so pretty.

Left overs... Our Pam is super chuffed to have a quilt top and an empty plastic box. It all takes time, of course. There are mathemisms involved when you are using bits and bobs.. but this time it all worked out great. And I got a sale because Pam had to purchase backing, ha ha ha.

Rose has this Spring project sorted, it's had a ot of 'free-wheeling'. She doesn't know whether it's quite finished, in fact I'm sure there will be further embellishment added, probably hand stitching. The Summer version in the set has started, so it's back to the tricky curved piecing for a bit...  

My Social Stitching Experiment

Sewing, Knitting, Crochet, Lace, Embroidery.... anything you like involving stitches? Monday 16th May. 7pm - 10pm. I won't be clocking you in or out so any time between those hours is good. Cheadle Conservative Club Building. 39A Tape St, Cheadle, Stoke-on-Trent ST10 1ET. It's a bit dated but Clean, cheap and cheerful and there's plenty of parking.

The first evening 16th May, will be free of charge.

We could meet up every Monday between 7pm and 10pm but you wouldn't be expected to come every week.

There's a very basic bar... which might be cash only for this first meet up but a card machine will be available soon.

Please feel free to bring along your very own stitching project and we will just see what happens, We'll 'go with the flow'. We might be able to use sewing machines in the future.

It would be very helpful for me to know how many might attend so if you could let me know me if you plan to come along please. Especially for this first one.

I'll be there anyway!

Thank you

Angie

If you have questions, just ask... I might even know the answers!!

07807530441 call or WhatsApp

angiequilts@gmail.com

Quilty Quarters

If I get chance to go into my Quilty Quarters, I often start off making samples and testing a few ideas, then end up with no time left to do what I should have been doing when I entered Quilty Quarters in the first place, and lots more scraps!
Does that happen to you?
Recently I decided to make a Union Jack quilt... It was such a good idea a few months ago. It's actually ever so hard to make a Union Jack block with all the correct proportions, with the lines lined up and all angles correct. I researched online and found a few tutorials. I even purchased one PDF pattern. None of them were what I wanted...

These are some of my experiments, each one slightly different. The top one is Foundation Paper Pieced, the most accurate 'proper' flag proportions, but I didn't want to do Foundation Paper Piecing... the others are just fun. Yesterday I found some small bits of wadding, made sandwiches and got them all quilted. There's a round one too but it's in my shop already, I made it into a cushion, you know I love a cushion!! There probably won't be a Union Jack Quilt now, my brain already moved on, ha ha ha

Stitching News

A busy classroom week. Lot's of new projects planned, supplies purchased, stitching and cutting has started, which is always a good sign, especially with me owning my very own quilt shop! 

Rose got to grips with the method for Improvisational Curves and waves, even to adding 'slithers'. The embellishing has started too... free-wheeling (that's Roses terminology for Free Motion work) and wool felt doodahs! This small wall hanging will be the Spring edition.

Our Pam is on a mission to use up her scraps (aren't we all?). She's become a little overwhelmed by beautiful left overs and has decided, they will be used up!! Quarter Log Cabin blocks with multi coloured and multi sized strips. That's a good start eh.

Pam had a plastic box full of left overs from making the Cat's On The Fence quilt. It was a kit but there were still plenty of bits left. I should have taken a picture of all the bits before we came up with this very smart 'Bonus Quilt'... Pam did need to purchase the bright pink dotty fabric but all the rest was in the box. 

And a finished quilt... what and absolutely fabulous quilt it is too. Christabelle designed it, all by her very own self!!! Tabitha explained exactly what she wanted and Chris ran with those wishes...

I'm not sure you will be able to see all the lovely details, the tiny, weeny buttons, the embroidery, the 3D little charms on the cat collars!! It is an absolutely fabulous and finished, totally toot toot toot-a-bubble Gifting quilt... and there's another coming soon for Tabitha's little sister.

After coming up with a paper plan for using a printed panel for Just Jan's needed fast finish last week, I decided to make up a quilt to show other customers the idea. We often struggle with the using pre-printed panels because, usually, they are too long for how wide they are. The sample is in my shop if you want to see it. I'll be writing up simple instructions, some time soon-ish.

A little reminder that there's a Checkley Sunday Funday coming up at the end of May, 29th to be exact. 9.30am - 4.30pm. You will need to book, and you will need to bring a Mug. Though that reminder never works!!

Stitching News

There's a lot going on behind the scenes in my very own shop. I've been having a bit of a declutter and spaces are appearing, they are teeny-tiny spaces and you probably won't even notice them but I know they are there. Many cardboard bolt centres had only a very small amount of fabric on them so I folded them neatly and discounted them, along with buttons and some thread. There are only a few fabric pieces left now and my rooting rack has gone back in the store cupboard (like a loo!)
It's all a work in progress.

Sister Suzie has been waiting for a sandwich making opportunity... kids on school holidays, Bank Holidays and a quilt show got in the way a bit but yesterday she was able to get it done. It's the 'Not Ugly Birdhouse Quilt'. Suzie's largest project to date... we will watch this one as it's quilted. 

There are no longer 'regular' classes in my shop on Fridays which is good for catching up on jobs in the shop, like cutting a gazillion Fat Quarters, or for special request workshops. It's a good day to pop in if you need a little help choosing your projects and fabrics.
Fridays and Saturdays are available for workshops or for small groups to book to spend a luxurious day sewing with help on hand, should they need it. It's great customer service really!!

A lot folk lost the urge to get sewing during this pandemic. Groups have folded and shops have closed... But I AM STILL HERE!!!! So if you want to, you can book my classroom for you and your very own chums to have your very own one day sewing retreat.

3 Ladies booked up for last Friday. They came all the way from Market Drayton for a one day retreat treat and went home refreshed, relaxed and raring to continue with their projects... and a load of fabric they didn't know they needed, ha ha ha.

Linda had this cow appliqued all ready for finishing. There's lovely embroidery detail on madam too, it's funny how cows are huge, bumbling creatures and somehow we see them as cute! This is going to be finished as a cushion, a Cute Cow Cushion!

Gina had purchased a pattern and templates to make a king sized Double Wedding Ring gifting quilt. She declared that she wasn't confident with the cutting so I stepped in and helped there. She went home very happy with loads of sewing homework!

Sally had a new machine to master. When I say new... she's had it for ages (2 years) but it was a first outing on Friday. Most machines work the same way so it wasn't too tricky. She finished her quilting and got the binding sewn on. Next time Sally comes I'll show her a few binding top tips as she said she doesn't really know how to get mitred corners.

Our Pam has piles again!!!

Watch this space!