Blue John Block #5

These are the Blue John Blocks I have sent to quilting friends around the world as part of a friendship block swap. They were a surprise for my fellow swappers so I couldn't put them on my blog until I was sure they had arrived. 

It was arranged by Nancy Leston in Canada and involved 24 quilters. We each had to make a block with a finished size of 12.5 inches square (for a 12" block). 

Participating in this swap has really helped me to develop the design as a paper pieced pattern and is now the basis for a design and paper piecing workshop.

Hope you have enjoyed some of the combinations I made. It is a really dynamic block and I am very pleased with how it has worked out. This is only the beginning of the Blue John Block family and I will share the development of my special block with you. (Please note that I retain the copyright on this block and the Blue John Block family)

Bev

Blue John Blocks #4

Happy New Year to you all and wish you all a creative 2014

Now that all the Blue John blocks have arrived at their destinations round the world I feel that I can continue to share the development of this special block design.

 I wanted to make a quilt which would go across the bottom of a double bed  as foot warmer. Out of the blocks I had started to explore from the photograph 

 I liked the 7 Piece block pattern the best. I also decided that I wanted each of the 7 pieces of the block to be of different tonal values.

I also thought  that each block should be different so that it would have the appearance of a tile floor.

However making a whole quilt in this way did not give me enough contrast in movement across the quilt.

So I decided to add in stripes and squares to the design, this added more interest to the design.

Having the squares and stripes cut out  of coloured papers allowed me to play around with the composition of the quilt, until I found a design that I was happy with.  

This pattern was too much like a tiled floor and I opted for a more asymmetrical design.

Once the design choice was finalised, and the fabric dyed, I then had to think about the quilting pattern.

Bev

Raggedy wreath

My friend Anne has sent me this photo of her raggedy wreath to share on my blog.

She used 5 fat 1/8ths and a wide gold organza ribbon on a double florists hoop.

It looks stunning 

Thank you Anne

for instructions on how to make your own raggedy wreath see my previous post

Bev

WOW where has the time gone?

The last few months have been super busy what with decorating, moving office and finishing projects before Christmas. 

Firstly I just want to say a huge CONGRATULATIONS to all my students for completing their City & Guilds level 1 courses, ( machine embroidery, hand embroidery and patchwork & quilting) We heard yesterday that they had all passed so it is a wonderful early Christmas present to everyone. 

I also heard today, that I can offer level 2 courses next year so I am over the moon. I will need to get back down to earth soon but will enjoy today.

Last night my friends popped round for a Christmas make - raggedy wreaths. A great make as there was no stitching or sticking involved.

To make one you will need a wire hoop and at least 2 different fabrics and some ribbon ( 1" wide)  or organza to add a touch of glitz

 The above finished hoop was made with a florist hoop which has 2 rings. 

The pictures below show a single hoop which is of the sort used to make dream catchers and lamp shades. I purchsed it from Fred Aldous and I have to say delivery was super quick.

Fabric - 2 fat quarters and some ribbon or organza to add a bit of glitz.

A double hoop will take more fabric and some of my friends used 5 fat 1/8ths which worked very well.

Cut the fabric, ribbon and organza into strips 1" by 5" (2.5cms by 12.5cms)

We found that knotting the fabric with the right side on next to the hoop made the knot lie better. 

Keep knotting the fabric round the hoop (randomly choosing the fabric strips, ribbon or organza) until it is covered.

Then fiddle and tweek to fluff up the fabric. The left side of the photo is before I fiddled and the right side shows some tweeking.

Bev x

Marbling

Are you like me?

I buy something which catches my eye at a show and then wait months before I get round to using, playing or experimenting with it. 

Or do you delve in as soon as you get home?

Well a  few months ago I purchased a marbling kit and it is only in the last few days that I have managed to start playing with it. 

marbling4fun

As you can see it is now well used

These are a couple of pieces on fabric

And as Christmas is galloping towards us 

I couldn't resist making a few gift tags. I think I may go all brown paper parcels and home made gift tags this year.

Bev

Out and About

It has been a busy few weeks and I feel that I have lost touch with my blog.

To get you up to speed, my current City & Guilds students have finished their courses in machine embroidery, hand embroidery and patchwork & quilting. There is just the final push to make sure all the samples and notes are completed before the student showcase at Bee Crafty in November.

I have been out and about visiting new sewing shops. It has been lovely going to new places and meeting some wonderful people. 

The first was Tudor Rose in Oakley near Bedford. With a lovely coffee shop and and an enticing display of cakes it took a lot of self control to restrain myself. However their fantastic range of batik fabrics could not be so easily passed by and I couldn't help buying a few for my stash. There is an impressive range of patchwork fabric, wools, and haberdashery just to name a few of the items 

My next visit took me in the opposite direction up the A1 road to a brand new shop near Oakham. Rutland Sewing Centre in the Rutland Village next to Rutland Garden Centre in Ashwell. This shop has only been open a month and things are certainly looking good. With a lovely workshop area it is a lovely bright airy space.

I am looking forward to many a visit over the next year to both these new venues.

Also don't forget the second of Grayson Perry's lectures

The Reith Lectures on BBC iplayer

Reith Lectures

Grayson Perry is giving this years series of Reith Lectures on BBC radio 4.

 Not a usual blog post but I have just listened to the first and want to share it with you.

Playing to the Gallery - Democracy Has Bad Taste