'Quilting with a Difference' workshop with Sue Woodward

On February 16th we had a workshop on using various embroidery stitches for quilting. Sue brought along many examples of her work, using this technique, for us to examine. She began teaching this workshop after attending a class with Nikki Tinkler, who has written an informative book on the subject bearing the same title.

Sue and some of her examples
  We then went on to start a sampler of the various stitches, using different threads.

Samplers and threads
This gave each of us an idea about the stitches we would choose to use and, more usefully, those we would not! As to be expected, everyone had their own view on what they did and did not like stitching. Making the sampler was a very useful process even though you might be itching to get started on your project. Sue also showed us how to stitch on Shisha mirrors and everyone was keen to have a go.

Hard at work
After lunch we selected a stencil design from Sue's collection and transferred the design to our chosen fabric and got started. There were also some lovely variegated silk threads from Steff Francis to purchase, should you decide your own threads needed something a bit more exotic.

Transferring the design 
By the end of the day, which seemed to fly by, we were well under way with our stitching, with some very interesting interpretations.

WIP
We all had an excellent day of stitching, sustained with tea and cake, and went home satisfied with the progress we had made. Our thanks to Sue for her instruction and encouragement throughout the day.

February 2019 - Using stripes in quilts

It seemed like a long time since the last meeting in December, so it was nice to catch up with each other. We started with a talk, accompanied by brief notes and samples, to demonstrate some ideas for using stripes in quilt patterns.

Examples using various striped fabrics - including diagonal stripes (purple and orange)
There are some interesting effects to be had when using stripes. The internet is a good source of information and You tube videos showing techniques, so some links were included with the notes.

Another pattern suitable for for use with stripes is the well used T-shirt block. There is also a dress block that would suit them too.


We had lots of members work to share.

Some interesting stripes
The ever popular EPP

Red and blue flower strip

Neutral tones

Up-cycling embroidered cloths

Bordering a 1/2 inch hexagon quilt
Quite a variety of projects are being worked on at the moment.

Ready cut 9 patch blocks donated to the group that meets in Wallington library on Tuesday afternoons

Present for a friend who admired her postcard challenge quilt (2017 challenge)


Cushion cover with a border from husbands shirt

HST strip

Project Linus quilt from a panel