Sunday 27 September 2015

Jelly roll race for charity

Capital Quilters in Lower Hutt New Zealand had a jelly roll race where teams of three made a quilt top which will then be quilted and donated to a charity the club is supporting.

Here are the quilt tops plus one of the teams (permission to post their photo given).



Glennis, Lesley and Maria the PJ Quilters.  Probably the most comfortably attired ladies on the day.

Lesley and Maria have made this gorgeous quilt (below) which is currently being auctioned on trademe for Breast Cancer. Lesley will also be participating in the walk/run next weekend for breast cancer.



This quilt (below) was displayed at today's "show n tell".  Debbie has used Amy Butler fabrics.  Beautifully pieced and placement of strips well thought out.


Great fun club meeting.
Shirls

Piecing while Quilting as you go

Quilt as you go is the process of piecing and quilting blocks at the same time then joining them together.  This weekend I have been further exploring piecing using this process but rather than sewing just strips - I am testing out other types of traditional blocks. 

My two larger blocks (4" & 2" pieces) were quick and easy to make, though due to my fabrics choice (men's suit sample fabrics and men's cotton shirting) I lost a few of my points because of the stretchiness of the fabrics. Never mind..... you don't notice them from afar.

With the smaller block (1" pieces), I made the block first then secured it to the batting and backing by re-stitching row joining seams. 

Why would I do this?  Why not just pin the block to the batting and backing?
When piecing a quilt I usually make a decision on the quilting style after the top is complete.  In this case - I am making this quilt up as I go along and at this point in time haven't really decided in the final look.  So by securing the smaller block - its ready for quilting when I'm ready to do it.
I have started adding a little quilting to the larger block.

The batting is a black cotton blend.  I use this a lot as I find the lighter batting fibres can work their way through onto the front of the quilt.  Dark blocks do tend to show up lint (especially men's suiting).  I was tempted to test out fusible batting however as it requires you to spray water onto it to activate the glue, I was not convinced it would work well with suiting and shirt fabrics.

Will keep you posted on this project.

Happy stitching Shirls





Monday 21 September 2015

Quilt As You Go - Needs List

QUILT AS YOU GO
Tutor Shirley Mooney

Do you have difficulty manipulating a large quilt on your sewing machine or are you concerned you may damage applique, embroidery or embellishments on your quilt when quilting? 

Quilt as you go is a technique which allows you to sew and quilt a block then join them together with what appears to be thin sashing strips both on the front and back of your quilt.

In this one day class you will create three or four blocks and join them together using this technique.  From here you can then build your quilt to whatever size you wish.

The quilt sampler for this class is made using scraps and can be built up to whatever size you wish.  We will discuss the various ways blocks can be assembled using this technique. 

The Needs List below covers the requirements for the class, not necessarily the whole quilt.

Fabric requirements
Please pre-cut fabrics before class to save time

Background colour and Front joining sashes.
These will be the same colour.  I used a variety of white 2 ½ “full length strips. Whatever colour you use for your background, it should make your feature colours stand out (pop).  You will need to bring to class 6 x 2 ½” full length strips of background fabric.  I recommend full width as opposed to fat quarter lengths which will create a lot of waste.
Suggested quantity for larger quilt 1.5 to 2 meters. This will vary depending on the size of your quilt.  If in doubt – buy more.

Block colours 
Please bring four different block colourways for the class.
For each block colour you will need four shades from dark to light.
For each block cut one dark fabric into a 8"x 4 1/2" rectangle.  This will be cut into smaller diamond using class templates.

Cut the other three shades for each colour into 2 ½” strips full fabric width (112cm) or cut 2 of each if using fat quarters.  These will be sub cut using class templates.

Backing Fabric
Back of quilt
This technique uses more backing fabric than the standard quilt.  If you intend to make a large quilt, then I suggest you purchase at least 4 metres.  You can also use different fabrics on the back for each block.  This is another way of using scraps from your stash.
Cut two 12” full width strips (across the bolt 112cm) if using one backing fabric or
Cut four 20” x 12” pieces for each block if using different fabrics.  You may wish to match these fabrics with those of your colour blocks.
 
Back Sashes
You can use either the same fabric as your chosen backing fabric or a contrasting fabric.
Cut two  1 3/4” full length strips or four if using a fat quarter. 
Batting
Cut 2  12” full width strips or cut 20” x 12” pieces if using scrap batting. Any batting will do however I have noticed that students using Dacron find it very slippery and have had to heavily pin their strips before sewing.
Sewing requirements
Sewing machine with walking foot attached.
Two pre-wound bobbins with thread matching that will work with your backing and background fabrics.
Rotary cutter (fresh blade please) and cutting board (Medium size.  Small board will not fit large template)
60deg triangle ruler (optional – only bring if you have one)
Long ruler (24")
Quilting pins
Scissors
A marker that can draw and be seen on your batting.  If using white or a light coloured background fabric, please bring a marker that will not be seen through your fabric or irons out i.e. frixion pen.
Quilting gloves (optional)
1" x 6" ruler that has 1/4" lines marked (Optional - only bring if you have one)
 
I will provide you with a templates for your main block.  There is a charge $4 which covers the cost of the template materials.

 
 Shirls

 
 

 



Friday 4 September 2015

Stacking bow tie classes

I still have places available for this class at Sawmillers 3rd of October and Krazy Cow 28th November.
In this class you will make one panel using this technique which you can then convert into either a quilt centre, bag or cushion.  Great idea as a gift.


Shirls

Tuesday 1 September 2015

Anna Hicks Eco fashion designer

Anna Hicks spoke at our recent Pinestream Quilting Club meeting.  She designs garments from pre-loved fibre, wool, tapestries etc.  Her pieces are out standing, inspiring and rich in colour.  All the fibre she uses in these garments have been hand dyed.

View more of her work either on Pinterest or on her web page.
She has inspired me to get moving on my next wool piece.  Now just need to master my knitting machine.
Shirls