Tuesday 22 December 2009

Timing


It's just after that time in the morning when you get toothache (2.30am) - never mind; it's the school holidays now, and true to form, I have a cold. I'm sat up in the living room, with the Snug Rug around me, hot blackcurrant next to me, contemplating whether or not to pick up the Harlequin quilt to continue quilting it, whilst listening to Radio 2. What else do you do when you can't sleep at night, when it feels like you are too tired to sleep? What have I been up to recently? Well, here is a picture:

This is the stocking that I made for my tutor group - the first CMH tutor group, who are now in their final year. There are several musicians in the class - hence the treble clef, quaver, and guitar; the flower - some of the class (including me) are interested in gardening - and there are two girls with names of flowers; the horse is for those of an equestrian slant; the key is made with Beatles fabric - which says 'All you need is love' - which is the key to success; the star and the Christmas tree are evident - they are Christmas symbols. So - what did I put in the stocking? Each pupil had a present, consisting of: two pens, two pencils, a pencil sharpener, a rubber, a notebook, a mini packet of sweets, and a party toy (e.g. a spring, a pinball game, stickers, a puzzle keyring...). The stocking was also filled with lollipops and chocolate coins. Why did I do this? Well, a treat for my tutees, and also it made sure they had what they need for the mock exams that start in January! I now have a couple of days in which to get a stocking made for Keith, and then I can work on one for the house. The idea of doing one for the house, is so that we have Secret Santa in the house next year! And I shall use the tutor stocking again next year, with my new class - if it is year 7 I intend to do Secret Santa with them.

I was pleasantly surprised with the response from my tutor group; I used the party favours section at Sainsbury's to get the party toys, and I did the stereotyping - boys gifts for boys, girls gifts for girls; and there was one boy saying 'I wanted a spring'. Some of the girls got really excited about getting stickers! There were a couple of interpretations of the horse - one boy (the one wanting the spring) asked why there was a dog on it, and some girls said that I'd forgotten the antlers for the reindeer. There is a ribbon attached to the side (in addition to the ribbon to hang it up), which has the names of all the tutor group on it; I wrote the names on the ribbon with biro - I auditioned fabric pens, but they bled through to the back of the ribbon, and I wanted to use both sides of the ribbon for the names. I shall add another ribbon next year for the new tutor group.

Where did my inspiration come from? Well, it is all down to my mum, and something that she did for my sister and I back in 1978 - 31 years ago. Here it is - the one she made for me:

Later today I shall be back in my sewing room, preparing for Friday, and trying not to get too frustrated when things go wrong, when I can't find things, and when I find that I can't do what I want to do easily. Such is life when you have a cold - it makes me really grouchy, especially when I don't get enough sleep. Anyway, time to publish this post now.

Monday 23 November 2009

Quilting and television

I've just finished writing emails and updating my blog, and commenting on the Patchwork and Quilting magazine, December edition. There have been some very interesting articles this month, including one on blogging. The author of the article - Sue House - has her own blog, which I've added in the blogs I'm following. As time allows, I shall add other blogs I'm following / trying to follow as well.

I've been extending my quilting skills with Block of the Month projects from Antique Angel. There have been numerous times when I've cursed myself for starting them, but I'm glad that I'm doing them - learning new techniques, trying new things.

There are some interesting competitions in Patchwork and Quilting this month, including one about making a Christmas container - I'm tempted by this, but I think that I may end up submitting a stocking - and it will probably be one that I've made already, and that features on this blog. I suppose I could try something else, but timing is the issue, and there are already so many other things that I want to be working on.

Anyway - the title of this post. I'm just wondering what other quilters do when they sit and quilt. I'm lucky enough to have my own sewing room to go to - although the cats have assumed it as their room - with one of them sitting on the chair I use at the sewing machine, and the other sitting on the cutting table - and on the cutting mat. I like to sit in there listening to a talking book, or watching a film (generally listening to the film rather than watching it). When I'm upstairs doing some hand quilting (on my Harlequin quilt), I sit watching whatever is on television - such as CSI, Bones, Lie to Me, House, Criminal Intent, Deep Space Nine. I've recently seen some programmes advertised for quilting. Some of the CCTv programmes on MyChannel - (Sky 171) about textile artists, and Quilt in a Day on Rural TV (Sky 279 - I think). I shall watch these with great interest. However, all of us have some guilty pleasures - and mine are old soaps. A couple of years ago I watched Howard's Way to it's conclusion (from start to finish), and also Dallas (except the television company didn't have all the series, so kept showing series 1-5 - and I wanted to see the rest of them!). My current guilty pleasure is Dynasty. It is great - it is so bad, it's good! Don't you just love seeing all those shoulder pads, seeing Steven Carrington walking around like a wet weekend and looking depressed all the time; barely hearing what Krystle is saying due to her husky voice; seeing Fallon being such a scheming and manipulative little minx; Blake Carrington looking like a caring patriarch, and actually rivalling JR Ewing for the baddie. This is not how I remember Dynasty - I remember it with Fallon being taken up in a spaceship, and later coming back as someone different, with Alexis Colby coming in, and then the spin off series - The Colby's - with Sable Colby, and Maxwell Caulfield then whisking Fallon away...Oh, what delights yet to come!

Why do I sit and sew with the television on? What do other quilters do? I sit and sew and watch programmes because that is what I did 20 years ago (okay, maybe only 18), when I was at home. I remember Friday evenings sat with my mum and sister in the living room. I would be sat in a gold colour Parker Knoll recliner, with a twin lamp on my right hand side. We would sit and watch television - we would watch Coronation Street (I think), Gardener's World, Love Hurts (who remembers that with Adam Faith and Zoe Wannamaker - I'd love to see that again), and I would sit sewing. At that time it was English patchwork, and I still have the templates somewhere. The Harlequin quilt that I am currently quilting (by hand, as the rest of it has been done by hand), was started later, and I've not yet quilted the quilt I was making at that time. However, I have quilted my first quilt - the one that started this hobby / passion / obsession.

The quilt on the left shows my first quilt. I finally quilted it in 2002, having started it in about 1986. I bought my house in 2002 (which I have since sold), and that summer I went to Hythe to house sit for Grandad Banks. I took this quilt along, and sat handquilting it. It is all done by hand, and has vermicelli quilting on it. I dind't bind the quilt, I used a different technique - I used the self-finish, by folding under the backing, and then sewing through all the layers - using a running stitch. I had already tacked down the seam allowances of the hexagons.

Time for me to publish now, as I've just been asked if I have any buttons (stupid question), and how fast am I at sewing buttons on trousers - so I'm doing a bit of work for a stepson!!

Thursday 22 October 2009

Wow!

Well, where to start? I'm sitting in the lounge upstairs, with my snug rug over me (a brilliant invention - and one of the best birthday presents ever!). I'm waiting for the postman to arrive - I'm expecting several packages. One of the packages I'm expecting / waiting for is the block of the month from Antique Angel (http://www.antiqueangel.co.uk/). I saw their full page advert in the September edition of British Patchwork and Quilting, and liked the look of a couple of the quilts in the advert. I signed up, and have been cursing myself and the 'stupid idea' ever since! The blocks can involve some very small pieces, which means the piecing can be rather tricky. However, I don't regret my decision - except for the fact that I check the site to see when the blocks are being sent out, and have now seen another new block of the month on the site which I really like the look of! It has been a really good experience for me, as it is making me try different piecing methods, and use techniques that I wouldn't otherwise have tried (Suffolk puffs, for example - they don't really do anything for me).


Possibly you are looking at the date and time I am writing this post. Well, true to form, I have got a cold just before half term. I've fought it as long as I could, but I'm now croaking and coughing; people at school wouldn't thank me for passing it on to them in time for the holiday, so I'm staying at home. I thought I would take a bit of time to update the blog.


For those of you who don't read the British Patchwork and Quilting Magazine, the title of this post refers to the November edition of said publication. I've won the star letter for the month! This means that I've had my letter published, along with the pictures I sent in with it, and for being the star letter, I also get some fabric! I was quite delighted when I read the magazine, and saw it! I had received the publication a day or two after my birthday, and I read it in bed. I had been thinking of skipping to the end of the magazine, but then decided to read it all the way through from the front to the back. The letters page is right at the back, and I didn't realise that I had been published at first. I saw a picture of a quilt (the Celebration quilt), but it wasn't until I saw the quilt for Thomas that I realised that I was looking at my own creations!


Having re-read the letter (several times, just for good measure), I suppose I feel like I might have misled people into thinking that I had made the quilts and the aprons all in the summer holiday. That was not my intention at all, and people looking at this blog will see that the quilts were completed within the past 15 months. It wasn't until I re-read the letter I realised how some people might read it - it was not done deliberately however.


I've been busy with the block of the month projects recently, and also with finishing mum's kimono panels - I'm quite pleased with how they have turned out. I've also mentioned the aprons - so here is a picture of one of them.
The apron was a project featured in P&Q, and I didn't like the colours of the one in the magazine at all, but I thought that I really needed an apron, and I saw that the pattern had possibilities. I used charm pack squares for the aprons, and this worked well, although the seams do not always match up, because the size of the squares is approximate. However, if I let myself be worried by imperfections, I would never make anything! I've made five aprons in all - 2 for me, one for mum, one for Caro, and one for Joan (my mother-in-law). I still have several other projects on the go - but information about those will have to wait for another time, as I can hear the bed calling to me...

Monday 6 July 2009

Seeing Is Believing

Today I thought that I would show you two quilts. For those of you who are not up on quilting terminology, a quilt is something the consists of a top, a wadding and a backing, and uses some technique (sewing, knotting) to attach the quilt top, wadding and backing together. By this token, it is possible to create pieces that are termed quilts, but would not be used on a bed - they may be 'just' for show.

At around the same time as I was getting on with the Catch 22 quilt, another challenge appeared in the Quilting Arts magazine. The idea was to take a quotation, a phrase, a saying, and create a quilt 'based' on it. The magazine article took us through the process of developing the ideas - writing down the thoughts that occur, the textures, the colours, the quilting patterns, the words we associate with the phrase. There was a choice of 4 phrases, and I chose 'Seeing Is Believing'. I had a lot of different thoughts about this - all of which I have noted in my quilting journal (the type with a magnetic flap and a pocket at the back). My thoughts included the following: optical illusions, religion, senses - sight, sound, touch, taste, smell. I then thought about the images - love, ear, music, radiation, biological threats - religion came in many different ways.

I pieced two backgrounds - trying to create a 'half dropped blocks' design, like the optical illusion. As I had pieced two backgrounds, I could then create 2 quilts. The first quilt I'm going to show you, is the 'senses' quilt - the one to dispute seeing is believing. My whole basis for the quilts has been - Seeing Is Believing - Really?? Can that really be said? Is it really true?

The first symbol (top left) is the radiation symbol - can you see radiation? Do you need to see it to believe it exists? You can certainly see the effects of it, but partly, the fact that you can't see it makes it menacing. The heart - a sign of love - can you see love? It can be seen in the things we do for others, but not the concept itself. The tongue - modelled on the classic Rolling Stones symbol - you can't see taste - you may be able to imagine what it will taste like, but sight can be deceptive. Smell - the sight of something can conjure up the taste, and the taste of items can be extremely powerful memories - but the sight of an item does not guarantee the taste. The two eyes are shown for the sight - one shows an eye clouded over - perhaps with cataracts or glaucoma. Does a blind person believe nothing, simply because they cannot see? The hand symbolises both touch, and can also be seen to show religion and friendship. The ear is fashioned from musical fabric - we can hear things and believe them. The bars at the bottom are to show a graphic equaliser - the thing that goes up and down to show the intensity of music. The last symbol shows bio-hazards - you can't see them (easily). The quilting is sine / cosine waves - how light and sound can be shown.

The second quilt was actually the first one finished! The quilt is the religious side of 'Seeing Is Believing'. Religion is all about believing, without having to see. There are / were some doubters, and they have been shown here - in some form. I did a little bit of research on the internet, for the symbols of different religions. I printed a number of symbols, and used them to create the symbols - using a lightbox to help. I used raw edge applique and bondaweb to attach most of the symbols. Some of the bigger symbols, I used satin stitch. The hand shows stigmata - the idea of Seeing Is Believing and Doubting Thomas. The quilting uses embroidery threads, and I used the names that different religions use for God. I suppose that this quilt could prompt some controversy; that was never my intention. I respect the rights of everyone to believe in what they will - this quilt is a way of celebrating those different beliefs; I certainly don't mean to offend anyone by including the names that God is known by - again - it is a celebration of difference and belief. For all religions - Believing is not Seeing - we don't have to see things to believe them. I was quite happy with how the two quilts turned out, and these were the first 'series' quilts I have done - and they certainly will not be the last!

Sunday 5 July 2009

Twisted Tiffany Box

Today's project is another one using the revelation burning technique. I did a workshop last week at Step by Step, by Jennifer Trollope, to create the box; I finished it today. http://www.stepbystep-quilts.co.uk/ is the website for Step by Step, and well worth a look! I think that I will have to play with the pattern a bit - maybe try to enlarge it. It isn't perfect by any means, but it's not bad.
I used an Erté inspired print by the Woodrow Studios as the fabric, and three layers of organza. I used vermicelli quilting in gold thread on the 'ears' of the box, and red thread in sort of vermicelli - but with some sharp points too, to emphasise the shapes I had burned out. I added some beads as well - I think I should have added the beads later - some of them broke when doing the outside edge.

The only things I have to do now, is decide which project to do next!

Saturday 4 July 2009

Performance management

Today's offering is a piece I created a couple of years ago. The inspiration came from Quilts UK - the 2005 challenge, which I think was called 9 patch delight. I mused on the subject whilst completing my first year of exam marking. I doodled whilst listening to pupils mangling the German language, and came up with a design which is not traditional patchwork. My first idea was to have the different size squares each showing a different 9 patch pattern. However, I didn't end up doing that, perhaps as it took longer for the idea to become a project. I'm not sure how the colours were decided, but I do know that the fabrics had to be bright, and with minimal pattern - but not plain fabrics. I got ideas from Patchwork and Quilting magazine (the shisha mirrors - which are real mirrors), Popular Patchwork (the spirals / swirls), and Quilting Arts magazine (the quilting pattern).
I used contrasting colours for the edge of the shisha mirrors, and brightly patterns fabrics for the snakey bits and the swirls - also to give some contrast, and I suppose to give some movement to the piece, and to draw it all together - that is why some of the snakey bits cross some of the squares.

I started by deciding on the colours, and the order of the colours. I cut squares from paper, and then paper clipped the squares together to arrange the layout. This 'template' was smaller than the piece, but I used the dimensions of the squares to scale the fabric to the correct size. Once I had decided on the dimensions and cut the fabric, I then pieced the fabrics individually - straight stitch to start (I think). My brain couldn't cope with cutting the unusual shapes into the squares of fabric, so once I had pieced the squares, I turned the piece over and cut away the excess fabric, before adding the next square. Once the project was pieced, I used satin stitch around the edges of each sqaure, in a variegated thread similar to the colour of the square. The next task was to add the shisha mirrors, which was a very steep learning curve - I didn't realise that the thread mesh had to go through the fabric first - I was trying to create the initial frame on the mirror alone!! - I can't believe I've just used some jargon in here - 'a steep learning curve' indeed - I apologise now, and will try not to let such phrases creep in again! Anyway, once I'd sorted the shisha mirrors, I added the shapes, using raw edge appliqué. Then came the fun part - layering the piece for quilting! I free machine quilted the piece using toning threads, and had a 'crossing squares' type design. I had tried a different design on paper, but preferred the freedom of crossing squares. Once the piece was quilted, I went round the outside edge with satin stitch, to finish it off, rather than trying to bind it.

I'm really pleased with the piece, and now have to find somewhere to show it - in the house of course! I called it 'Performance Management' as I was stretching myself further - leaving my comfort zone if you like, and really experimenting with several different techniques at the same time. I enjoyed creating it, and I did get quite fussy about the shisha mirrors - if it went wrong, I started again, I wasn't going to allow shoddy work on the piece. Some of the shisha mirrors are not perfect - but little in this life is, and they got better as I went along.

On a closing note, I'm really touched (and thrilled) by the comment left on the previous post!

Saturday 27 June 2009

Celebrate!

Hi there again folks - especially hello to those people who have looked at my blog for the first time today. I must start this entry by saying a big thank you to Jennifer Trollope, who did the Twisted Tiffany boxes today at Step by Step. I have had a look at the explanation I gave in my last entry - and I hope that I haven't given too much detail about the technique - I think it is reasonable but not too much! I'm sure you will let me know Jennifer if it is too much.

Today was great - I got to show off the pieces that featured in the previous entry - and Jennifer even said that my kimonos were as good as hers! What more can a gal ask for? We were all looking for the Jacobean Garden fabric panels - but to no avail. It just goes to show that you have to buy the fabric when you see it.

I used a piece of Erté inspired fabric from Woodrow Studios, in the red / yellow / orange / purple colourway for the box today. However - as the design is quite intricate, and I wanted a lot of different coloured threads on the piece, I haven't got anywhere near finishing it yet. It will not remain unfinished for long, and it certainly will not be a UFO. What I do need to do is find somewhere where I can get more shot organza - apparently there is a shop in Barnstaple - on the ring road bit. I shall have to go and investigate!

So - this post - entitled Celebrate! What is the quilt about? Let me show you a photo to start with:

This quilt is based on a pattern in the Patchwork and Quilting magazine, August (I think) 2008. The fabric is mostly pastel colours - pale green, blue, pink and cream. The pattern shows cakes, chocolates - and glasses of champagne. The photo shows the whole quilt spread out on our bed. I've said that the quilt is based on a pattern, as I have adapted the pattern to make it bigger; I used four panels in the centre, rather than one, and then I included an extra border of flying geese units.

I really enjoyed the the fabrics, and once I had seen the pattern in Patchwork and Quilting, I knew that I wanted to make the quilt. However, the pattern in the magazine was really for a lap quilt, and I wanted a bigger quilt - I have a number of lap quilts already. That is why I decided to make the quilt bigger. I also pieced the back of the quilt. However - the back of the quilt is a very random affair, without any measurements at all. I used my quilting frame to quilt the piece - I forget which wadding I used. However - I used pastel YLI threads, and also pastel Coats Star Magic cotton (the Star Magic cotton is not readily available in the UK, but some USA websites supply it at a very good price) to quilt the piece. I free-motion quilted it with hearts and stars on a 'ribbon' - I suppose the hearts could look a little like ivy leaves on a vine. The stars are five pointed stars, with the lines crossing each other.

I really can't explain the delight I have in this quilt! It is so good to have it on the bed, and to be able to snuggle up under it. I can also take it down to my sewing room, and wrap myself up in it - something I haven't been able to do with any of my other quilts - which have been lap sized quilts. I shall let you into a secret now - when I took the photo, the quilt was not finished. There were a few threads left to tie / sew in, and I hadn't added the label either. However, the quilt is finished now - including the label.

So, that is all for this post. New visitors - remember, you can leave comments . I can also moderate the comments. But just to finish this post, I shall show you the remaining Jacobean Garden panels - I suspect that quite a few people will be searching for them high and low for some time to come!

Wednesday 24 June 2009

Revelation Burning

I've been 'told off' (!) for not adding to my blog recently - so here I am trying to add something (or two or three things) now! Of course - it's easy to add things to a blog when you are not working on any projects, but when you are eager to get on with things, it is not so simple.

Anyway - the weekend before the start of the summer term, I attended a workshop held at Step-by-Step at South Molton, held by Jennifer Trollope - http://www.jennifertrollope.com/ . It was great! We used a kimono panel, acrylic felt, acrylic shot organza (two layers), a soldering iron, some cotton, cotton thread, and wadding. Having layered the felt, organza and panel, we then decided which elements to emphasize and satin stitched around them. Once happy with the design being created, we burned out the enclosed sections - creating a unique piece of work, from a pre-printed panel. Here is the first of the kimonos I have created:

This is the piece that I started during the workshop. I have another workshop this weekend, at the same place, also run by Jennifer Trollope. This weekend is Twisted Tiffany Boxes.


After the last workshop, I bought a number of other kimono panels, and have almost finished the second panel. However, after the workshop I also looked for other fabric that I could use the revelation burning technique on. I found some other panels - and here they are:

Saturday 21 February 2009

Stockings!

I've got back from another workshop at Step by Step Patchwork Centre at South Molton. Today's workshop was called Boxes of Delight - and the tutor was Jan Tillett. The very first post on this blog shows a piece of work I did at another of her workshops - that was Stitched Herbaceous Borders. I shall update this blog later (might be later today, later this week, later this month - you'll just have to wait to find out!).

Today's posting is about the Christmas stockings I made for Christmas 2008. Three stockings were for youngsters (babies / toddlers), the others were for adults - the children in this house!

The first stocking shown was for Karla - Mathew's girlfriend. I embellished the Christmas tree with threads and beads. I used embroidery threads for the name, date, my initials and the hand embroidery, and rayon threads for the satin stitch around the appliqued pieces.

The next stocking shows the one I made for Mathew. Those of you who know Mathew will understand the significance of the appliqued pieces - and those who don't know Mathew will be able to guess at the significance! I didn't embellish the Christmas tree to the same extent, but I did include some bead work on the guitar - for the tuning pegs and the frets. The strange shapes - in case you are wondering, are guitar picks - plectrums - or is it plectra in the plural?! Mathew is the guitarist in the family - although Nathan also plays.
Nathan's stocking is the next one up: no prizes for guessing which instrument he plays! I used bright musical fabric for both the guitar and the drum kit - fabric that has guitars on, and musical notes. Nathan has a bit of a thing for candles, so he has a candle. I tried to make the drum kit like his - but as his drum kit is HUGE - I didn't try too hard to replicate it - it wouldn't have all fitted on! As a total deviation from the subject of this blog, why is it that the past tense of fit is fitted, and yet the past tense of sit is sat? I like the idea of saying that something wouldn't have fat on!
Anyway - that's a whole different subject, a whole different topic for a blog.
Back to Nathan's stocking. I included a treble clef and a quaver (note) on the stocking - continuing the music theme, and used music fabric for it. The cat is included as Joey (big black cat) has a thing for going into Nathan's room. Joey lets us ALL know that he wants to go into Nathan's room. Problem is, Joey is getting a bit old, and has earned himself the name of 'bone bonce'; this is because Joey will miouw and scrape at Nathan's door when Nathan isn't there! Still, you have to excuse him, he is in his latter years.
How to I get the patterns? I've used clipart and done internet image searches (I used Google) to find pictures. The treble clef has been adapted slightly, to make it work well as an appliqued shape. The cat I drew myself, as I did the star and the candle. The drumkit was a little different, in that I found a picture of 'Nathan's' drumkit - the same brand as his kit, and then tried to identify the key shapes of the kit. I took these key shapes, and applied them. It doesn't really stand up to close inspection, but the shapes are enough to make the image clear.
I've used shapes from childrens books previously - Dick Bruna's 'B is for Bear'. I've had the book for a very long time, and mum used the pictures first for the stockings she made for us back in 1978. I've continued the tradition - I must have made between 15 and 20 stockings now. I don't sell the stockings. I have offered to make them for family and friends. I have taken orders for them at church; I have not taken any money for them - I have asked for a donation for the church funds. The donations go straight to the church - I have donated my time and fabrics.
I have found the internet fantastic for developing my talents - especially my talent of drawing! I'm useless at drawing, but the images on the web allow me to reproduce shapes to a decent standard. There are so many images that can be used to help the production of a quilt - either quilting patterns, applique patterns, or ideas for quilts. It's for this reason I have Dali pictures and optical illusions on my blog.
Until the next time...