Mystery Quilt 1 - Step 1

Today it is time to make a start on the mystery quilt.

The first step is to make the half square triangle units from the 3"  and the 7" squares

A                     B                   C         

1. Mark one diagonal line on the wrong side of all fabric A, 3" and 7", squares. 

I have used a Frixion pen which disappears when ironed but any fabric marking pen or chalk will work just as well.

2. Place Fabric A onto the same size squares of fabrics B and C with the right sides facing each other. Pin in place.

3.  Using the marked diagonal line as a guide stitch a scant 1/4" seam on either side of it. You can see the effect on the wrong side of the darker fabric better as I have used a neutral thread.

4.  Cut along the marked diagonal line to make two right angled triangles with the stitched edge along the long side. Press the squares open to form the half square triangle units 

These will be larger than the 2.5" and 6.5" required so will need trimming back.

I know that for half square triangles the magic number to add is 7/8ths of an inch ( for a finished size of 2" the starting square should be 2 7/8" ) However I find that adding a little bit extra to the starting square and squaring up gives me more accuracy, as sometimes my scant 1/4" seams are not quite there.

 5. Using the 45 degree line on your ruler, square the half square triangle units to 2.5" and 6.5" 

6.   The 2.5" half square units will have a finished size of 2" when they are added into the pattern, and the 6.5" half square triangle units will have a finished size of 6" 

See you next Monday for the second step

Bev

Goldwork and Felt - A day out in Ely

We have just had a lovely day in Ely, Cambridgeshire. 

Firstly we stumbled upon a wonderful little restaurant for lunch called The Old Fire Engine House , which serves very tasty food using local produce. Fantastic.

I don't know if I should be recommending it or just keeping this hidden gem to myself. What made it even better was the exhibition of art by Lyz Gardner and Katrina Wilkie. Beautiful vibrant pieces evoking the spirit of the landscape.

From there we walked down to the Cathedral, which has the most spectacular octogon tower.

This month there is a beautiful exhibition of Ecclesiastical embroidery by the Royal School of Needlework. There are wonderful Goldwork embroideries on display and also a small piece of stumpwork and whitework. The half finished samplers are very interesting as you can see how the embroidery was stitched in more detail.

(These pictures have been taken of the catalogue.)

Student work from Kings Ely was also on display in the Cathedral, and it showed a high level of skill in the garments they had produced. 

We decided to save going to the Stained Glass Museum for another trip to this wonderful Cathedral and went in search of the Craft and Collectables Market. Here my husband spotted Mary Gostelow's fabulous book of Embroidery for the bargain price of £6.50  - lots of wonderful embroidery techniques from around the world for me to peruse.

Finally on the way back to the car my eye was caught by some vibrant handmade felt garments and bags in the window of The Handmade Hotspot   a shop and gallery selling work by local artists and designers. Just the place for a unique gift.

All in all a grand day out

Bev         

Mystery Quilt 1

Where has the time gone. It has been a very busy time and I want to start by congratulating my students who have just completed their City & Guilds courses. I feel very proud of them and enjoyed showing their beautiful work to the IV.

As I haven't posted for a while I am going to start the New Year with a Mystery Quilt Challenge.

A mystery quilt can be a bit scary as you don't know what the finished piece will look like but I have broken it down into small sections leading to a wonderful finished piece.

To get you started I will give some clues.

1. My mystery quilt pattern is made from 2 blocks, both of which have a finished size of 18" This means that if a full quilt is too much to start with you could make a block or two and they would make lovely cushion covers. 

The quilt is a throw rug size of 60" x 60" but blocks could be added to make it into a bed quilt.

2. You will need a light (fabric A), a medium (fabric B) and a dark/patterned (fabric C) 

See quantities below, I have allowed for a border in the measurements.

Fabric A   - 1.25 m  ( 1.5 yd)

Fabric B -  2.50 m   ( 2.75 yds)

Fabric C - 1.5m       ( 1.5yds)

    A                     B                     C

(I have used these fabrics for the photographs)

3. Cutting Instructions All the instructions will be given in inches

Fabric A - 3" x 3" squares  cut 30

               7" x 7" squares cut 12

               2.5" x 2.5"  squares cut 40

Fabric B - 3" x 3" squares cut 20

               2.5' x 4.5"  rectangles cut 40

               2.5" x 18.5" strips cut 4

               10.5" x 10.5" squares cut 10

Fabric C - 4.5" x 4.5" squares cut 5

               2.5" x 2.5" squares cut 20

               3" x 3" squares cut 10

               2.5" x 18.5" strips cut 8

               7" x 7" squares cut 12

Next Monday I will post the first instructions for the quilt.

I would like to thank Tudor Rose Patchwork  for their help in choosing a different colour combination for the mystery quilt

A                       B                      C

Bev

Studio Weekend

This weekend some of my students came to my home studio to have a bit of a messy time. Graded dyeing, silk painting and batik were among some of the techniques we explored.

My husband had bought me a wax pot for my birthday and this was the perfect opportunity to try it out

Lots of wonderful experimenting going on

Transfer paints with a stitched resist. I love the mottled background.

Bleach effects on hand dyed fabric and velvet.

Silk painting and salt effects

Folded and pegged fabric it looks like a tiled floor. I am very pleased with this one.

Tray dyeing before rinsing out.  The colours will be paler when it is dried.

Stacks of dyed fabric to take home.

Jenny's silk painting

Sarah's 

And Jan's

I am looking forward to our next lesson to see how the dyed fabric has turned out.

Bev

Kathleen Laurel Sage Workshop and more

It has been wonderful to be on the other side of the fence and be a student for a couple of days. I have had the most fantastic time with Kathleen Laurel Sage making a fairy doll

She is a great teacher and I had a lovely time doing something quite different to quilting. I have not stitched and burnt organzas for several years or done so much embellishment so had great fun letting go.

This little fairy will be finding her way into someones stocking this year.

Making some Christmas gifts this year has made me think that this is the way to go and next year most of my gifts will be made (I will have to start in January I think as I want to make a few quillows)

Luckily I now have my new studio and no excuses for lack of productivity.

This weekend I am having my first students to have a dyeing, using resists and discharge pastes weekend. Should be messy and fun.

I have also been involved in a lovely group project making a lap quilt for a very special friend. We each made a block of blues and greens with a pop of orange.  You can see more of this on Pams Blog

Bev

Christmas is coming

Christmas is coming and it is time for the Christmas make with my friends. This was the first time they had been in my new studio and I was excited to see what they all made of it.

We made Christmas decorations from polystyrene balls and wide ribbon.

These are the samples I made

Sue had a great time making matching decorations

And these are all of the decorations we made in the evening. 

It was a very productive time.

Instructions

Carefully score the  polystyrene balls into 8 segments using a craft knife and a cutting mat. 

Cut a piece of ribbon slightly longer than the distance from the top to the bottom 

From the centre of the ball, gently push the edge of the ribbon into one of the cuts using a butter knife.

Repeat on the other side of the ribbon 

Trim the excess away at the top and the bottom and push the ribbon into the polystyrene ball.

Take another length of ribbon and repeat to cover the next segment. Repeat this until the ball is covered.

Add cord along the segments and a hanging loop to finish 

Happy crafting

Bev

Sloe Going

I finally feel as if I am starting to get sorted in my studio. I have ordered new tables which should be arriving this week and then I can post photos of a neat and tidy ( but not for long knowing me ) studio.

I have been taking a bit of time away from sorting - how did I get so much stuff? to start experimenting.

This is an experiment to distort an image. I have made it slightly more difficult for myself by using diamonds. 

I have also been working on a small block inspired by a friends photograph.

I need to add some more stitching but am pleased with how it is starting to look, although scale seems to have gone out of the window.

 I have also found some time to go sloe hunting and make some sloe gin.

This large jar will be decanted into smaller bottles for Christmas gifts. I now need to start thinking of jams and chutneys.

Bev