December 2022 Christmas Challenge Blocks

December sees us presenting our annual challenge. This year we chose to make a 12 inch finished block using patriotic colours of red, white and blue as a tribute to the Queen's Jubilee. It was well supported and we plan to make a Linus quilt with the resulting blocks.

Red, white and blue challenge blocks

There was a lot going on at the meeting, as well as eating Christmas nibbles we were managing to sew knit and chat.

Two lots of EPP from IM and MW

 

Two pieces of Sachiko from MM and SW

Snail trail blocks for a quilt HM

Section for a box by DG

 JN is knitting teddy bears

There were also some lovely pieces of work for the Show and Tell

These two pieces are from JK. The Santa will have a name label attached for use as table seating markers and a very pretty pink quilt made as a gift.

Another gift made by LE, a quilted jacket for her grand daughter.

An exuberant and decorative crazy patchwork quilt from HM. The starting point was the elephant panels given to her by a friend.

November 2022 - Foundation pieced Christmas cards

November sees us making foundation pieced Christmas cards. These are nice small projects ideally suited to using up those scraps we tend to keep, as they seem too nice and/or useful to throw away.

There is a second design with a star. This is a little more complicated as it made in several sections. Sensibly we started with the simpler design. Click here for all instructions.

Foundation pieced star card

October 2022 - Cathedral windows using Fleece

This month we tried our hands at Cathedral windows using fleece. As fleece does not fray you do not need seam allowances on your circles. We made small samples using 4 blocks.

There were also several Linus quilts on show.

Linus quilt MW

Linus quilts CH

Linus quilts CD

September 2022 - AGM

 September is our AGM, so after our discussions this month we had some Show and Tell.

HM crazy patchwork

LE Linus quilt 1

LE Linus quilt 2

August 2022 - How to make a Quillow

 August gave us a tutorial on making a quilt into a Quillow. This happens when you stitch a pocket to the back of your quilt so that you can fold it into a cushion - magic! 

To help demonstrate the process participants were asked to bring along two hemmed pieces of fabric, 12 x 9 inches and 3 x 3 inches. Instructions can found here.

Quillow samlples

There were also two other samples on how to make a quilt into a cushion using an envelope cover and a square with ties on each corner.

MW is still working on her paper pieced quilt from a stash sale. It is coming along nicely and I do like these colours.

July 2022 - Show and Tell

This month we had ordered the Contemporary Quilt group suitcase collection 'On The Road'. there are 55 quilts in the collection, so plenty to study and comment on making it an interesting evening. There were several quilts that had universal appeal and one or two that received opposing reactions from the group!

We had some Linus quilts for showing. One from MW using our group challenge blocks from earlier this year.

Several from LE, some made from left over fabric from other quilts.

A small wall-hanging by HM, made as an anniversary present.

 

May 2022 - Wholecloth quilting

This month we had a short chat, with some small examples, about Wholecloth quilting, history and technique. There were some small patterns available if you wanted to give it a go. 

Durham style strippy quilt

Small wholecloth quilt examples

We also had the group quilt from earlier this year. We decided we would layer it  and quilt it without borders, and finish it with a multi fabric strip binding. Thanks to MW for it's assembly.

Group quilt for Linus

HM has made this paper pieced New York Beauty quilt. H says that after making such a lot of paper pieced blocks the novelty wore off and she may never make another. It is a Beauty and worth the effort.

New York Beauty by HM

April 2022 - Sashiko

This month we had a visit from Jeff Trown and his daughter Debby. They brought along some of his late wife's quilts to show us. They were beautiful pieces of work with hand stitched applique and quilting. They were her own original designs, including a lovely patchwork jacket with bead embellishment. I was so busy admiring them that I did not take any photos. This amazing lady also made 80 Linus quilts.

Our scheduled activity was a Sashiko demonstration. This is a Japanese technique that uses simple running stitches to create patterns that range from simple to complex. Traditionally indigo dyed cloth and undyed thread was used for Sashiko. Its origins are uncertain as there are no written records or original surviving pieces of work than can be conclusively dated or attributed to an individual or group. It evolved as a decorative craft in Japan during the Edo era (1615-1868) but fell out of favour in the early 20th century as Japanese people started to wear western style clothing. It has seen a resurgence, possibly due to the current trends in recycling, as it was often used in clothing to darn worn areas. Also it is likely that the interest in Japan for Western quilting using 3 layers, may well have prompted a renewed interest in a disappearing traditional skill, as Sashiko was also used to stitch 2 or 3 layers together for warm clothing and bed covers. Instructions can be found here.

Sashiko examples

We had some Show and Tell quilts to look at

JN Linus quilt

LE large bed quilt

These two quilts are from HM who did not attend the meeting but forwarded the pictures for the blog

Quilt for a grandson

Quilt for a granddaughter

March 2022 - Folded boxes

 We had a good time making these little folded boxes this month. Most of them were completed on the evening the rest only needing a few more minutes to complete. We had 3 new enthusiastic participants all with a little box to take home. Click here for pattern.

A selection of finished boxes

Some members had projects on the go that they wanted to work on. This one a quilt continued from last month.

Some crochet to use up left over wool from other projects.

Finally 2 finished projects. The first one was a panel started by a friend, completed by another friend as a present to a third friend as a special gift for a significant birthday. The hanging has a dedication on the back detailing all this.

A perennial favourite with all ages is Thomas the Tank Engine. This one is destined for a grandson.

February 2022 - Simple block for Linus

 Hooray our first meeting of QoS for 2022. We started with a demonstration by MW using one 5 and two 3 inch squares, these will be used to make up a Project Linus quilt. The background fabric was supplied by the group, participants were asked to add 3 inch squares from their stash. It is a nice simple block that will make up into a colourful quilt. Instructions can be found here.

We also had some Show and Tell quilts for Project Linus.

These 3 by LE

This one by JN

This one by CD

MW was working on an EPP pattern that she picked up at a stash sale. It is a QGBI pattern that is now discontinued.