Quilty Quarters

Yes, news from Quilty Quarters! I have been sewing. I sew quite a lot really, in short bursts of time, but I don't seam to say much about it. Going on a few extra sewing retreats recently (I'm sure you have noticed that little tit-bit of news) gave me a kick up the doodah to get on with my projects. I'm an expert procrastinator.

I started making these wonky Churndash blocks on a retreat in March 2024, just to use up some very small strips which were the left overs from cutting my Beautiful Batik Six Packs for the shop. I also had a few metres of the black fabric, purchased about 20 years ago, that I'd never used because I didn't like how thick it was. It's good quality fabric, Free Spirit in fact, I just didn't like it, but it really needed to be used so it got chopped up into 41/2" squares. 

Once the Wonky Churndash blocks were all made, I had completely run out of the black, excellent! You can see in the first picture I had started to choose random Batik strips to use for sashing. I didn't like it though. I wondered about making random triangles for the sashing, I liked the idea but, weirdly, not the wonky-ness. So I made some very accurate half square triangle strips, and loved those.

Okeydokey, that decision was made BUT, I didn't have any large enough batik bits to make all of the HST units, so in a mad moment, I decided to make the sashing strips Foundation Paper Pieced. Not my favourite piecing method! But many hours later, and after digging into my very own Beautiful Batik Fat Quarters too supplement the scraps, all of the sashing strips were complete, including around the perimeter.

I decided to make a further pieced border using this design...

Obviously using a different black fabric. After making this one block, I wasn't keen to make 40 or 50 more!!! So that plan was dumped! I decided just to add a plain black border. The quilt top actually looks great with no further piecing. I won't waste this block though. It will become something.

I needed to play Thread Chicken too. With just those few inches to sew on the last border, the bobbin alarm was bleeping on my UX8, it's a clever little sausage you know. It says 50 stitches are left on the bobbin. I sewed a bit slower!!! Yes, do you do that? In my head, if I sew slowly, the thread goes further! Ha.

Anyhow, I just about won that game. That's how much thread there was left on the bobbin, 3 inches or so. My Colourful Black Quilt top is finished and, once I decide on the backing, it will be sandwiched.

Our August Retreat Plan

Sewing Retreat August 2025. Hillscourt Hotel, Lickey Hills. B45 8RS

Arriving Thursday 21^st August from 11am to set up your sewing space.
with Morning refreshments. (Room Check in after 2pm) 

Full Buffet Lunch @ 12.30pm
Afternoon tea, coffee, biscuits.
3 course dinner served @ at 6pm

Sew into the night?

Friday 22^nd & Saturday 23^rd August
Full Breakfast menu, available from 7.30am - 9.30am

Mid-Morning tea, coffee, biscuits.
Full Buffet Lunch @ 12.30pm
Afternoon tea, coffee, biscuits.
3 course dinner served @ at 6pm

Sew into the night?

Sunday 24th
Full Breakfast menu available from 7.30am - 9.30am. 
Room Check Out 10am.

Mid-Morning tea, coffee, biscuits.
Full Buffet Lunch @ 12.30pm

Sewing into the afternoon
You can leave any time after lunch, before 5pm 

The total cost is £555.00 with a £50.00, non-refundable deposit when you book.

Please feel free to tell your sewing chums, so long as they are independent workers. This is a 'Sew your own thing' relaxed retreat.

For more information: angiequilts@gmail.com or call me 07807530441

Stitching News

I've been battling with my computer gremlins again this morning, just for you! So that you can see how very marvelous the projects are, done by some wonderful customers of my very own, rather glorious, quilt shop. That's a bit of happy cheese for a Sunday morning! 

In no particular order, here goes a catch up...

Christabelle is continuing to piece her Pie In The Sky Daydreamer blocks. It's a free pattern from Tilda's World free pattern web pages. There is a lot of piecing, lots of tiny bits but well worth it and Chris has a lot of patience, which helps.

Our Pam started, yet another, baby quilt top. The pattern is in an Annie's Quilting book, excellent value books  Fast & Fun Quilts for Kids available in my very own shop, of course! Pam was concentrating to make sure all the football blocks were the right way up, a thing she tortures herself with sometimes!

Shirley loves all the French General from Moda fabrics. Rich reds and creams, you can't go wrong really. These are just a few of her multi sized Churndash blocks. She's making her own version of the lovely Churn Baby Churn quilt. 

Jackie has started to make blocks for a sampler quilt. She is very keen to perfect her piecing skills and this project will certainly help with that. A few Tilda Fat Quarter bundles were a perfect and irresistible starting point. So many tiny pieces to be cut.

Clare is a new arrival in my classroom. Another lovely lady joining in the Thursday crew. She pleases her very own self, which I encourage, a lot, but sometimes I have to bite my very own tongue. especially when Clare didn't trim her crusts off before adding the binding, I think she might be a rebel.

2 quilts in one day for Clare. Both were for gifting and needed to be finished Lick-etty-split. No wadding between the layers but that soft, baby-fluffy fabric on the back should be fine.

Jackie came to make her huge Log Cabin quilt sandwich. As you can see, the quilt was too big for all of my tables so it was pinned in two stages. Same result though. We discussed lots of quilting design ideas and Jackie went home to flex her muscles in readiness for the quilting process

Apparently, Beano started this Stack-n-Whack project back in 2014. She can't remember why she stopped making the blocks. All the fabrics are cut out and kitted up. Packing them away helped them to be un-remembered! Like forgotten, but less tragic. No matter now though as Beano is back on the Kaleidoscope train/horse!

Norma had collected two of her quilts from Amanda in Stone so she spent the class time making miles and miles of binding. All stitched on by the end of the day and ready for hand sewing to the back,  a lovely sewing job that Norma enjoys. I'll have to give you the pattern/book details another time. Probably in Norma's Toot toot post.

Norma used a solid white fabric for the back so that the coloured thread would show up the wonderful quilting Amanda and her trusty Long Arm machine stitched.

Norma's second quilt, tadaaaaah. Boho Heart, by Jen Kingwell. I have quite a few ladies making this pattern. Like the Gypsy Wife, it's a great one for using up, and creating more, scraps! Norma enjoyed making it so much that she has decided to make the Gypsy Wife one too.

Sue wanted to learn how to do machine applique, the sticky stuff method, my favorite! This lovely design is in the book Wild Blooms and Colourful Creatures Isn't it sweet! The book patterns are for Wool Felt but we just please our very own selves and use quilting cotton, because we can! Sue will make a few cushions with this design before making a quilt.

Merlot has been rooting in her piles at home. She found several panels, 12 actually. She can't remember buying them, she can't remember what she was thinking she would use them for either, they must have been an impulse purchase, but now, all 12 are in the process of being made into lovely cushions.

They are lovely, Merlot has been artsy with her quilting too. I'm not sure you can make the stitching out but click in for a better look, there's a bucket and spade on one of them!! Toot toot toot Merlot, 2 fabulous finishes so far.

Deb has been working on this quilt top for as long as she liked. She has very much enjoyed the whole process. Every block with carefully chosen fabrics and embellishments. It's the Snowman Collector Quilt that was a block of the month back in the 1990's. Deb spent her class making a fabulous backing in readiness for making her enormous quilt sandwich on a Sandwich Saturday, which, as you know, will be on a Friday!

That's all for this post.

Just please remember that it's time to pay your deposits for the Sewing retreat in August. I'll post the details for you again shortly. I think there are 4 places remaining.

Also, if you plan to join us for our next Checkley Funday Sewday on 29th June, it's time to pay for that too.

Stitching News

My blooming computer has decided to practice PMS! Pleasing My Self is for creative people, not blooming computers. I don't want it to do things without my choosing. These days I'm not even turning it on daily as it annoys me so much. "Auto Pilot", Copilot is not needed here!
Anyway, enough grumbling and a few pictures.
It's been very busy in my classroom and quite productive in between all my fun trips.

This is another on Pam's rather long list of baby quilts. She was very happy to make this one using pink-ier fabrics. So many people want neutral baby quilts these days. Neutral as in, neither boyish nor girly. This baby came early and she said "I'm a girly quilt please Pam!"

Julie had taken a brief break from classes. She hasn't stopped sewing at home though and on day one of her return to us, she surprised us all by needing to make a huge sandwich! Isn't it fabulous. Made with a Batik fabric Jelly Roll

Cheryl Cheryl has also been missing her classes. Sometimes life makes us stop what we really want to do doesn't it. Work, life and a huge family wedding did that job very well. She's back with us now and this beautiful Batik Jelly Roll quilt needed sandwiching!

Mary designed this quilt using her computer and a spread sheet! It's her first large quilt sandwich. As is quite usual, Mary hadn't quite realized how big the quilt was, even though she knew, ha! There will be quite a few hours of stitching to keep Mary busy for the next few weeks.  

Jackie is very pleased with her Log Cabin project. This is the centre, complete and looking fabulous, just as Jackie had planned. I couldn't quite get it all in my picture, but you know I will, one day! There will be a Piano Key border added to each side next.

Farmer Lynda is making this lovely Llama baby quilt for gifting. She knew what colour baby it was going to be given to before she started, can you guess? It's a design Lynda has made before, the pattern is an Elizabeth Hartman, of course. The little heart applique was a little bit of PMS!

Princess Jackie is working on a few different quilty projects, all at the very same time. This pattern caught her eye as a perfect gifting quilt for a cat lover. The pattern's called Cat Scratch, a purrrrfect name for it, don't you think. Jackie has a plan to make this  quilt double sided. More cats!

While enjoying home sewing, Julie has been learning lots. YouTube is such a helpful tool! The video tutorial for this Lone Star was done by the Missouri Star Company, Julie says it was a very good job there's no limit on how many times it can be paused and rewound to watch again, ha ha ha, I think we all do that!

Joanne made a splendid skirt! Not having sewn any garment since she was at school. (We won't be mentioning how long ago that was, a few years should cover it!) She is super chuffed that it worked, and rightly so. Beautiful Art Gallery Rayon fabric makes for a lovely, light and floaty feel. Toot toot toot Joanne, it's finished and it's fabulous!

This is a scary picture! It's what I've been wasting my time doing just lately. Inspired by some of the ladies on my last retreat and by Beano, who's also dabbling in dressmaking. I'm sure it is easy... If only my body wasn't quite so bumpy, ha ha ha

Back To Normal

 

I'm home from my trip with sewing shenanigans!

It was a lovely break from every day life, except for the sewing bit!
I met some lovely and very talented ladies, from all over the place.

Back to real life now...
My shop will be open as normal for a while, at least for most of May and June.
Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays 9:30am to 4pm, with out of hours shopping appointments available.

We've started to take deposits already for the August Sewing Retreat at Hillscourt in the Lickey Hills.
A £50.00 deposit secures your place on that. The deposit is non-refundable, I'm sure you'll understand why that is.
I might be working on this very same project when I go, it takes ages to make all those little half square triangles and, because I messed up my mathemisms, I now need to make 100's more! Hey Ho, it's a good job I love it!