QAYG Another class variation

Last week I attended Coastal Quilters club meeting and was excited to see another quilt completed from my QAYG class held early 2016.

This is Leonie's quilt. I love it.

TOWRAGS

I had the opportunity to attend an exhibition at Old St Pauls church  of 150 quilts made by seven quilt makers calling themselves the  T.O.W.R.A.G.S (Totally Organised Women Religiously Attending Group Stitching).  Was an outstanding display.  My photo's don't do this exhibition justice.

 

 

 

Meet the Quilters (from left to right)
Sheryl, Irene, Pat, Deborah

 

 

(Left to right) Gaynor, Ngaira and Jeanie

 

 

Great show ladies, thank you

 

Shirls

Shetland Belt

Yesterday I held a Zip Art class.   Ladies learnt how to manipulate pieces of zip to enable them to create their own zip art. One of my students Lillian is a Shetland Knitter and brought her knitting belt to show us.  It was a wonderful privilege to touch and try it on.  The purpose of the belt was to enable the knitter to continue with their chores / work while knitting as they go.
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/180/a-shetland-woman-knitting Follow this link to view a similar belt in action.

 

Lillian's Shetland Knitting belt made by her Father out of leather.

Close up.  Different hole sizes for different needles.

Lillian's shawl she made when she was 12 years old using her belt.

 

Traditional Shetland Man's cardigan made for Lillian's husband by her mother in the 1970s.

Check out both sides of the gloves.

The inside of the cardigan.  So perfectly and evenly knitted.

 

I'm wearing Lillian's belt.  The needles used are double pointed.

 

Thank you Lillian for sharing.

 

Shirley

QAYG class variation

These are two variations using my QAYG template.  The white background quilt has been my main class sample.  During my classes we have played around with layouts using students blocks.  I finally have put together another variation in the greys.





For those of you who have attended my previous QAYG classes, you can use the same templates but instead of laying the first piece at the bottom of your diamond batting/backing, you place it on the side of the diamond.
My grey quilt isn't finished although I have sewn on the binding.  In the future I will eventually square up the sides to create a more functional quilt but for now its an ok size and weight to travel to Christchurch for my QAYG 2017 symposium class.

One of the major hiccups when creating QAYG blocks is demonstrated below.  See even I do it!! - Sew without checking the previous seam has been sewn in correctly.

 

There is no getting around this.  I took out the block and unpicked it.
Here are two tips I hope you will find useful when unpicking and recreating your block.

Use a lint roller to help pick up your unpicked threads.

Close your sewing holes by lightly spraying water onto your fabric, then gently rubbing with your finger making sure you don't warp any bias edges.  Finally iron dry.










I have been focused on finishing a knitted blanket which needs to be completed this week.  Will post you the photos soon.

happy stitching
Shirley

The Iron Caddy Tote

Happy New Year - this is my first posting for 2017.  I have been busy working on a couple of projects that are not going too well.  Bit sad really as I have been doing an awful lot of unpicking.

To take a break from these projects I started making an Iron Caddy for a friend's birthday last night.  I also need to make a couple for my class irons.  I used the free pattern available from Tri Country Quilters.com.  http://tricountyquilters.weebly.com/uploads/3/0/2/4/3024945/iron_caddytote.pdf

 

This pattern is easy to follow however I did find a little error on the diagram page regarding measurements.  The final height is 19 1/2".  The lower and upper middle sections should be 6 1/4" in height not 6 1/2".  My other recommendation would be not to precut your fabrics and batting to the correct size before sewing.  It is easier to trim down to the correct size.  I found my fabrics moved & shrunk quite a bit when sewing and I was very reluctant to put pin holes into the Silver Iron Board fabric.
I used wonderclips to hold the layers together instead of pins.  This worked very well.

The only material I had difficulty in finding within New Zealand was the Silver Iron Board Fabric.
I spoke with quite a few suppliers late last year who are unable to bring this product in the country due to the cost plus shipping.  So if I can't find a product in NZ my next best place is :Nancysnotions.com.  Product link below.
http://www.nancysnotions.com/product/by+the+yard+-+iron+quick+fabric.do

I didn't make my own binding or handles - opting for ready made bias binding and webbing for handles.  I used flat buttons rather than ones on a shank.  When the mat is laid out  shank buttons will raise the corners.

Back to my "stalled" quilts.

Happy stitching
Shirls

 

New QAYG techniques class

There are several ways in which you can assemble blocks and join them together using Quilt As You Go techniques.   These techniques are fantastic especially if you have trouble quilting a large quilt (strength, injury, space etc.).   Your quilt may consist of blocks that need to be handled with care so rolling it up and pushing though your machine could damage your blocks.
There is also the cost factor.  We have all sent our quilts away to be quilted.  They look stunning when they come back however, if you make a lot of quilts, this can be extremely expensive.

Most QAYG quilts are made using a set quilt block design.  In this class we work though different block constructions  and joining  techniques. 

Regard this sampler as a reference.  Its all about planning and how to avoid the pitfalls.  Use up your scraps.  Its not meant to be pretty - just a great opportunity to learn, understand and practise.  Once finished, you have it always to refer to.



Most of all, its all done on your sewing machine NO HANDWORK including the binding. 

Next years class dates to be advised.

Happy stitching
Shirls.

Wedding gift

I can now show you my latest piece.  It was a gift for a lovely couple who married last month.

It's thread painted using wonderfil.  The image drawn first using fabrico pens.

Shirls