Annettequilter

Colouring Cloth

2011-08-07T01:25:00.001+01:00

Last weekend I had 6 quilting pals come to my house to do a session on dyeing cloth. I think colouring your own cloth is one of the most pleasing of activities. The first session I did a few years ago had me thinking I would never use the fabric I had dyed. It was so lovely in a freshly pressed pile with vibrant colours and unique markings. However, within months it was gone and I was on to my next dyeing session. As ever, if you click on the pictures on this post you can see the detail.

There are lots of ways to colour cloth and we were doing only one but the one I find really simple, straightforward and highly effectively. This method involves dyeing fabric in poly food bags and is a reasonably mess free way of having 6 quilters in one dining room creating a couple of dozen colours. I use the method set out by Helen Deighan in her book 'Dyeing in Plastic Bags'. This is a really clear book and amusing to read. If you would like to find out more about it you can see it at the following link and buy it directly from Helen. http://www.crosswayspatch.co.uk/index.php/how-to-order

I have also just found a website all about hand dyeing and among other really interesting science stuff there is a chart for mixing colours. You can find the chart at this link http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/FAQ/procionMXdyemixing.shtml

Procion dyes are chemical dyes that bond with the fibres of the material you are colouring. They are used on all natural materials; cotton; silk; linen; wool felt and so on. I really like using them and the effect is strong and - most importantly - dye fast.

The sight of 6 quilters all enthusiastically mixing and pouring chemicals, squishing dye filled bags and passing round the dye solutions would shake the faint hearted, house proud person. Happily I am neither so it was simply great fun. The various, Mary's, Margaret's, Nita's and Fiona's who took part were also charged with the emptying of the bags and the rinsing in their own homes as it takes several hours in the bags for the reaction to be completed so my neighbours must have been intrigued by the line of ladies all with bags various and a basin under each arm of strange bags of liquid marching out of our house and up our little lane.

So... the end result - well you can see that here. What a great outcome. I think everyone was delighted. A variety of fabrics were put in each bag of dye and the difference between linen, cotton and silk in the same dye bath was remarkable. Indeed different weights and types of cotton can give markedly different results in the same bath.
I highly recommend this method of dyeing your own fabric with two notes of caution - firstly it is not a spectator sport and secondly, it's addictive. Have a go!

Poldrate quilters show

2011-07-30T06:08:00.002+01:00

I really enjoyed the show in Haddington last weekend. Poldrate quilters are a very active group and the group of chums I went with really liked the exhibition. It was very well displayed and the venue was excellent for a quilt show. I really liked a cazy quilt that had been done as a workshop with Sarah McIntosh and some of the quilters from Poldrate kindly shared how they had done it. This quilt on the left is one of several done by members of Poldrate in this design and was made from recycled cotton shirts. It is really clean and fresh looking.
As with all the pictures in my blog if you click on it you will get a larger version so you can see the detail.

So next morning, after the show and very bright and early, I decided to have a go - maybe just make a block or two for fun to see how it made it. Several hours later I had up-ended my newly tidied stash, chosen over 20 fat quarters in blue fabrics, along with some smaller scraps and cut out enough squares to make 100 block. I know I said in a recent post that I would absolutely not start any new quilts till I had finished the ones I am on but it was too tempting. You can see here some of the work in progress. I have about half of the blocks completed and I think with a bit of an effort the top could be finished in one more day.

Hopefully with my holidays starting now I will get a few more quilts finished to make room for more inspiration.

July workshop

2011-07-09T19:59:00.000+01:00

In this post I am bringing you some pictures from our young quilters workshop in Bonnyrigg. There were 5 girls in all, mostly supported by their Grandmas however some of these young quilters are becoming much more independent. They all did really well. The rail fence quilt that I have been obsessing with over the last few months was the subject of the workshop. As well as the Young Quilters a good number of adult quilters had a go at the quilt too and with a bit of luck I can bring you some pictures of those quilts when they get finished.

The lovely thing about a workshop is that all the quilts turn out so differently depending on the colour and placement - even in a simple design like this one. This group of young people are meeting again in a month to finish off or to start some quilted postcards. We hope too that a few more young people will join us who were on holiday this week and they can start their rail fence quilts.

I have spent the last couple of days tidying out my stash and sorting it and sorting out projects. I ironed and refolded my entire fabric collection (!)and am delighted to report that it all fits into two under-bed roll out storage boxes. OK they are big boxes but nonetheless to get the entire stash under one bed is impressive. This is the result of trying to use it up over the last year. I also sorted out my 'works in progress' and there are 11 in all. Most of them partly pieced and good number just waiting to be quilted so that this my next mission. It was a really productive use of a couple of days when the rain was teeming down and the crash and crack of thunder and lightning made going out impossible.

One quilt I did finish is this small wedding ring quilt. It was already finished barring a few lines of quilting but I was really unhappy with it and have spend a few hours a week over the past few months unpicking the machine quilting. I have re quilted it and am much happier with it now. So, now, my 'works in progress' is down to 10!

I am heading off to Jeburgh for a quilt retreat with my 'quilt adventure squad' the first week in November and have booked our quilt retreat to Caithness next June (already - we really missed not going this year) so am already planning that by late November all my existing half finished items will be dispatched. Now where have you heard that before.........

2011-06-20T07:33:00.001+01:00

Coffee and cream rail fence

Had rather a busy week and weekend at work but managed to squeeze in a little bit of stitching and finished off the next in the rail fence series. I have become a bit addicted to this very simple block as it is brilliant for experimenting with colour. Regular readers will know from two weeks ago that I was at a postcard workshop and made some cards based on my wedding dress as little 'sketches' for a piece I am doing on Gretna Green. I loved the muted and limited colour palate so much, and the textures of the different silks, satins and cottons was so appealing that I just had to rattle up a small quilt in the same shades of cream. Adding a brown inner and outer border set of the creams. It's quite a difficult quilt to photograph because of the limited range of colours and the subtlety of the shades but I thought you might like to see it anyway. This is the quilt I am doing a workshop on in Bonnyrigg in July for young quilters and any interested experienced quilter who just want a quick make. I may have got it out of my system by the time I have worked my way round the colour wheel. I am thinking of doing one in hot oranges and reds (silk) as celebration of the great wall of China where I recently had the great good fortune to be standing. I have started collecting the fabric but given that I have imposed a ban on myself starting anything new until at least 6 unfinished or needing to be quilted projects are done it may be well in to the autumn before I get to that.

Happy stitching and thanks to those who leave comment - it's a real incentive to keep the blog going.

Little Gracie emerges from hibernation

2011-06-13T00:07:00.001+01:00

Busy weekend quiltwise. Lots of finishing off and a trip to a quilt show which makes for a very good weekend indeed. I finished off this piece which is part of my year long Bordering project based on places in the Scottish Borders. I should have 12 pieces by the end of the project. This piece is based on Soutra Aisle - an ancient site on Soutra Hill which was a medieval hospital used by pilgrims and travellers. It is also near the Roman Road so there are many layers of history in the area.

On Saturday I went to see the Souter Quilters show in Selkirk. It was a really nicely presented show with some lovely work. I really like these two quilts. The double stars below is by Seonaid Brown was beautifully stitched and had great colour choices. The piece on the right by Charlie Rutherford was really vibrant and I loved the quilting. There were loads of other smashing quilts but too numerous to show them all. The tea and cakes also very good!!

The Souter quilters show made the very best use of the space they had with little 'rooms' filled with quilts and larger quilts on frames. Everyone from the group was very welcoming and friendly.

Little Gracie in action

Inspired by the quilts in the show I dusted down Little Gracie, did a small practice then quilted two small lap quilts which have been waiting for ages to to be finished off. I love Rail Fence as a design. It is so simple, so easy to do and a brilliant pattern for playing with colour. I can't stop making them. I am also going to teach this as young quilter project in July. It is also a great project for a more experienced quilter looking for a quick project.

Happily both got finished and the bindings put on. It's ages since I finished a quilt ...... started lots. I am yet again promising myself not to start any more till I have completed all works in progress. Hmmmm..... I still have a cream and brown rail fence to quilt and finish so heading for having a collection.

Green fields and Sweet Peas

Quilted postcards

2011-06-07T06:08:00.000+01:00

Gretna samples

With the quilt season well and truly underway (is there a season that is NOT a quilt season I hear you ponder) and with a few nudges from chums I have decided to restart this blog. Let me know by posting a comment if you like it or are a regular reader. Thanks to all those who have encouraged me to get it under way again. There is so much going on in the world of stitch to blog about that I am once again trying to write a weekly blog (or more often on very busy weeks) to try to capture it. Contributions via comments are most welcome. If you post a comment it may not show up right away as soon as I have read your comments they will show up. Don't be shy!

Some of the end results

Saturday just past was an area workshop for the south east of Scotland run by Liz Duke our area rep for the guild. Held in Dalkeith, all the places were used up and it was well attended. The workshop was based around making fabric postcards. Very appropriate with the holidays coming up and lots of postcards winging their way round the world. I wanted to use the day to learn more techniques and do some small post card sized pieces as samples for a bigger project I am doing. These were based around the idea of Gretna Green and it's connection with weddings. I am doing a piece as part of a journal project on Scottish Borders towns and Gretna is one of them. So the workshop was very timely.

Hard at work!

We were given lots of hints and tips and participants all contributed their ideas. We had a display of a large number of postcards, made and swapped, which was a great source of inspiration. And of course, there was the chance to catch up, chat and have a bit of fun. These workshop days just fly by and I never seem to get half as much done as I think I will but there is always the chance I will get it done later........ If that fails it can be added to my other hobby pile - stuff with potential but not quite finished.

Last year at this time we were off to Caithness to Lyn Ball's great quilt retreat holidays (Patchwork Pleasures). Our 'travelling ladies' group have a plan to go off on a retreat in early November somewhere in the Borders but already we are thinking ahead to Caithness next year so that plan too was being hatched on Saturday.

On Sunday I went to the Dancing Light gallery which is at 'Whitmuir The Organic place'. http://www.whitmuirorganics.co.uk/

If you live in South East Scotland or are visiting Edinburgh it is a 40 minute drive from Edinburgh near West Linton. Whitmuir is well worth a visit.   You can see round the small farm, get excellent organic foods, gifts etc. There is a lovely restaurant for coffee or a meal and of course the Dancing Light Gallery. http://www.dancinglightgallery.co.uk/

Dancing Light Gallery is an exciting rural art gallery . The exhibitions change regularly and you are made to feel really welcome.   There were some really interesting works in the current exhibition and for quilters and textile addicts the work by Moy Mackay which uses traditional felting methods and wool tops to create vibrant landscapes is a real treat. The gallery also exhibits glass, ceramics jewellery and a range of textile work including scarves and handbags. Whitmuir and the Dancing Light gallery are well worth a day out.
Next weekend is the Souter Quilters exhibition in Selkirk.  It is open on Saturday 11th 10-4 and Sunday 12th 12- 4 at Selkirk Parish Church. I am looking forward to that as I enjoyed their last exhibition very much. I will bring you news and reviews of that show in next week's blog.

If you know of any patchwork, quilting or textile related events in and around South East Scotland and you want me to post information about it just let me know via this blog (leave a comment and I will post it up). That's all for now. Happy stitching

Dyeing new cloth

2010-12-31T10:28:00.001Z

Dyeing new cloth

I had a great time yesterday with my chum Mary P doing a whole batch of fabric dyeing. I used the method of dyeing fabric in freezer bags that Helen Deighan uses in her very helpful book. I love dyeing fabric and had promised to show Mary a simple method for producing primary, secondary and tertiary colours round a basic colour wheel. Using Procion dyes and starting with only three basic primary colours (turquoise, lemon yellow and cerise) and black we produced a range of fabrics. Then we varied the red the blue and the yellow to get a great range of other hues and some lovely muddy colours.

Silk and linen pieces

The fun part was in using 11different cotton, linen and silk fabrics so each batch of colour had several samples of between an eighth and a fat quarter. We also popped in some silk waste, spent cocoons and undyed cotton and linen thread for fun. The day of course also involved lots of lunch, chat and laughs. It's amazing how much fabric two people can dye, rinse, dry and iron in the course of 7 hours!

the spoils of the day

I have already made use of some of the fabrics in one of my 'Bordering Project' pieces which should hopefully be completed by this weekend. I will bring you news of that in the new year.

Wishing you fun and much stitching in the little that remains of 2010 and into 2011.

Squeezing in a little stitching

2010-12-26T17:35:00.001Z

Frozen stems

Merry Christmas to all. I have been out taking close up pictures of plants frozen in the snow and frost as a basis for a series of ATCs. There is so much to see and to get inspiration from in this white frozen landscape.

In the days up to Christmas things are pretty hectic and there seems to be little time to catch your breath let alone do some stitching but there are always though few snatched minutes which present themselves. Never enough time to start (nor indeed finish!I) any projects but I had a sudden urge to turn my boxes of buttons into little treasures by attaching them to small pieces of vilene. I make backs for my ATCs (artists trading cards) from heavy duty pelmet vilene and these are great for collecting sets of buttons or even groups of single buttons in the same colour.

Suddenly after a couple of hours in front of a seasonal movie I am beginning to have a button collection instead of a button heap. The clear ATC sleeves also serve to protect them. I have a vision of boxes of carded buttons all colour collected and looking very usable. So what will I do with them. Well probably put in the cupboard with the rest of the stuff. But who knows. Maybe inspiration will strike.

Let it snow!

The Christmas hanging made from a panel by Makower did not get finished in time. Quelle surprise! However I am having a lot of fun finding and applying beads to make snow globes snow and angels wings sparkle. Perfect for a very relaxing evening.

Wings of gold

Five gold ring

Bit of a seasonal challenge coming up though. My chum Mary P and I have agreed the date of the 29th December for a fabric dyeing fest using Procion dyes -we might even get some snow dyeing done. The challenge comes from the fact it is well below freezing outside so turning the house into a dye bath and laundry at mid winter will be fun. Will let you know later in the week how we get on.

Since my Christmas gifts included some wonderful jelly rolls and fabric pieces from Kaffe Fasset I am spinning with ideas and inspiration. Hopefully all to be realised soon. I have also been working today on another piece for the Bordering project. This piece will be patch worked, quilted and will include a piece of weaving I have had on small loom for more than 25 years waiting to be finished. Watch this space!!!

Happy stitching to all and to all a good night.

Bordering

2010-12-05T19:45:00.001Z

I managed to spend a little time this weekend working on my Bordering project which should be ready for exhibition in April or May of next year. There are several of us working on different aspects of the theme Bordering. It is set around 12 places in the Scottish borders. This piece which is now finished is based on a visit to St Abbs - a very pretty little working fishing village.

The detail shows how shells with natural holes in them have been beaded into the piece. The piece also includes silk waste couched in with cotton, cotton fabric, scrim and beads. The outer border is beaded all the way round too.

I am now working on a piece for the town of Wigtown. Wigtown though a small town has a book festival each year which is growing in size and importance so I am going to try to do a mixed media piece. This is one of my 'sketches' for it. I usually do a fair bit of rough work before deciding on the final piece. For this project I am working in different media and all the pieces will be different sizes and shapes.

Travelling from Aberdeen to the Borders yesterday was a real pleasure since I was on the bus and not driving. The entire country is white with great mounds of snow at the sides of the roads. It has made travelling difficult but I do think we should enjoy it while it is here. I have been keeping up with the weather at home by following Freida Oxenham's blog. You can find a link at the side of this post. Not only does Freida do beautiful stitch work she is also a very good photographer. Have a look if you don't already follow her blog.

Well with almost no Christmas shopping done and only 20 days to go I have abandoned all hope of doing any further seasonal projects before the holidays but intend to spend a good deal of time during Christmas and New Year catching up with stitching . Keep warm

York and the frozen north

2010-11-30T21:53:00.001Z

The A1 Southbound

I did no stitching this weekend but did have the opportunity to admire the work of other quilters and textile artists. My chum Mary and I set off on Friday for a weekend trip to York and Harrowgate. The trip down on Friday was a challenge for the driver (not me thank goodness but Mary who is very intrepid).

York Minster

We did however make landfall in York at about 4pm which gave us time to have a quick scoot round the town, get money and decide where to go for dinner. York is a wonderful place for stitchers. Apart from the fact that it was the Harrowgate show there is so much to do and see in York.

Hats at York Art Gallery

We went to the York Art Gallery where there was a great exhibition of hats. The exhibition was made up of paintings where hats were a feature and there was a display of hats from different times. The gallery also had an exhition of ceramics some of which were inspirational. If you are going to York or if you want to see a bit more on line here is a link. http://www.yorkartgallery.org.uk/Page/SpecialExhibitions.aspx

The exhibition at the Quilt Museum at St Anthony's was of course one of our main must sees. The exhibition Freedom to Stich was excellent. The exhibition has work by some of the country’s leading practitioners of art embroidery, including Michael Brennand-Wood, Julia Caprara, Alice Kettle, Paddy Killer, and Audrey Walker. Find out more at http://www.quiltmuseum.org.uk/ There was a great deal to inspire.

So much choice

As well as shopping for craft and unusual Christmas gifts there was much drinking of coffee and good food. Of course we visited the Viking Loom which is great for all things quilting, stitch and for a brilliant selection of beads. We stayed in nice guest house called Bowman's. A very friendly little guest house very close to the centre of York. It was cosy and very nicely decorated. Again you can find them on the web.

On Sunday we went to Harrowgate to the knit and stitch show. We had a good look round but had one eye on the weather as the snow was by then blocking our way home. I really enjoyed Harrogate. I thought it was better show than last year. Standing out for me was the work of Gizella Warburton and her exhibition Trace and Echo. http://www.gizellakwarburton.co.uk/ I really recommend checking out her website. Also intriguing was the rather dark work of Elizabeth Tarr. There were many other inspiring pieces by textile artists of very high quality. I came away with so many ideas.

Nearly Christmas

Now to find some time to do work of my own........

Cheese scones - Take two

2010-11-21T11:26:00.000Z

On a cold November morning there can be little more appealing that quickly making a batch of buttermilk cheese scones, some tea then settling down to a bit of stitching. Sounds easy and so it is if you don't use the wrong flour! However, like falling off a horse there is nothing to be done but to start again. So two lots of ingredients (ouch), two lots of prep time, and two lots of clearing up (the worst bit) and at last they are out of the oven. With the tea ready and the sewing machine set up then it's all stations go.

I am not a great baker nor producer of fancy sweet things generally but I do like scones. There is something simple and wholesome about them and everyone's scones taste different. One of the best bakers of muffins and scones I have come across is Lyn Ball who runs Patchwork Pleasures in Caithness. As readers of this blog will know I have been there with some chums two times now and the soup and scone lunches are really in themselves worth booking a retreat with Lyn for - then of course there is all the stitching. I am afraid my quilt started there this year is far from finished - but maybe over Christmas?

This weekend I have been catching up with my blocks for the 'Seattle Stars Block of the Month' I have signed up for. I am a couple behind and I am making the quilt not only in the kits provided by Seattle Quilt shop (in Aberdeen) but also making a red, tan and yellow version as well so it's two blocks each month. Whilst I have been keeping up with the blue version my yellow one has fallen behind. I am therefore making star blocks this weekend. It is really interesting to see how with different colours and, in some blocks, with different placement the block come out looking distinctly different as you can see.

I had a wonderful surprise in the post yesterday morning. My friend Jutta from Germany had been inspired by the books in the post two weeks ago to make a little book which she sent to me. The cover is an image of one of Jutta's own stitched pieces. It has pages of different textures and weights of paper and it has secrets like this little pocket with Jutta's stickers of her very distinctive work. She is talented as an artist with textiles being one of her media. What a great treat.

Scone's now cool enough to eat and sewing machine switched on so happy stitching all.

Sam's farm ready at last

2010-11-14T19:26:00.000Z

Sam's Farm

Some readers of this blog may remember that I made a quilt for a new arrival - baby Sam - a few months ago but thought it was not right for him. Well as Sam is now growing fast I finally got around to finalising his quilt which is really a play mat this weekend. It started with a panel and went from there so little piecing but lots of quilting. Just a few threads to sew in on the back then the label and that will be it ready to go. It has a nice autumnal feel and looks cosy so I hope it will suit him. The fabric is from a range called 'Bring me home'.

Christmas hand quilting project

Having panels in mind I dug out a panel I bought last year but never got around to before Christmas. Well no change there then! There was some snow on the hills around our house and mid winter seems to be coming fast. So here's the panel layered up and tacked this afternoon and it can now be my hand project for the next few weeks. I thought I would do quite a lot of quilting on it and add lots of beads. With a fair wind I will publish bits of it on this blog as I work on over the few weeks to Christmas. Readers can do the countdown with me to see if it gets finished in time to hang on Christmas eve.

I realise that anything I have bought to make for Christmas each year tends to get made for the following year. Still only one year late seems not to bad to me.

Hope your season stitching is going well.

Rail fences and books

2010-11-08T23:33:00.001Z

Green rail fence quilt

Busy weekend as I had a couple of days off so managed to finish the samples I had half made for the rail fence workshop last weekend. Well - I finished the tops at least. They have now been added to the ' to be quilted pile' that is stacking up nicely by the Little Gracie. All I need now is a roll of wadding and a weeks' holiday and all will be done ( I wish!).

pink rail fence quilt

I meant to say last week that some of the participants from the rail fence quick quilt workshop had gone to Seattle Quilts for their fabric and the staff there had been so helpful and kind.

Silk cover with stitched card

I also had some chums round for soup and books on Saturday. They kindly showed an interest in some little handmade books I had made and came round to combine their stitching skills with bookbinding. And of course for a blether.
These are two of my samples. This is a straightforward little book which measures 4 inches wide by 5 inches high. If you want to have go here is how.

Flock fancy wrapping paper cover

First get a long strip of paper 32 inches long. You could use leftover wallpaper or lining paper or brown parcel paper or children's drawing roll paper. So, it's 32 inches long and you need it to be 10 inches wide. Fold it in half lengthwise. Now make a concertina by folding in half and half again till you have 8 sections.

Sugar paper insert pages stitched in

Now you need to decide on a front and back cover. Take some light card and cut two rectangles 4" by 5" and cover with nice paper of some stitch or quilted fabric. I attach it with PVA and stick down the folded over edges with double sided tape. Now stick your front and back covers on to the front and back of the concertina book. Now make some pages to go inside each fold. I used 2/3 sheets measured 8" x 5" each folded in half to make the insert pages. Sew them inside the book using linen thread. I use bookbinding linen thread as it is waxed and will go through beads well. Sew with a figure of eight into the spines of your concertina fold book to attach the pages. See my pictures. Leave a long tail of thread a the start (in through the middle of the page) then a long tail at the end when you tie the thread off in a knot. Now for the fun bit. You can now add beads and embellishment to the long thread tails. You will find that with linen thread you can thread beads on without a needle. Just tie a knot under each group of beads. All you have to do now is think great thoughts and write them down in your new book. Another use is to list the many things you need to buy at the quilt shop- invaluable.

Doreen's book

Here is a lovely book made by my friend Doreen - brilliant! She beaded silk with wadding in behind for the cover both back and front.

So whether it's with paper or fabric - happy stitching

Halloween

2010-10-31T19:15:00.001Z

Green tomato chutney - yum!

Halloween today and the clocks went back. Very spooky! It takes me ages to get used to the change in light however an extra hour in a weekend when I was teaching a two day workshop was welcome. I think especially for those in the class! I love this time of the year. The green tomato chutney is done and there are loads of squash in the shops which makes me feel like cooking. The christmas lights are up (but not yet switched on) in the main street and it feels like the best bit of Autumn - just before the Winter really gets going.

The two day workshop was a real treat to teach. A willing and enthusiastic bunch. Not all were beginners but those who were not also seemed to enjoy being there. |I love hearing people's stories - which quilt groups always seem to bring out. The project was a quick quilt in a weekend. It was a simple block - rail fence. My first sample (left) was inspired by a visit to St Abbs in the late summer with the sea blues and the life belts in the harbour. I have two other samples on the go: one in green and one in sweet pea colours. I have those to finish now that the class is over and they have served their 'in progress' purpose. It's a really delightful block and ideal for colour play. Here are some pics from the class which shows the diversity of colour. Most participants got the stage of putting on the binding. Not at all bad in a weekend I think.

Next weekend I am meeting up with some chums (at my house) and as well as gossiping we will be making some small handbound mixed media books. Ideal for keeping ATCs in, or notes for quilting - or for inspiration for writing. Here is a preview of a number I have already made. I will say a bit more about how to make these in my blog next weekend.

Meanwhile I think it's time to dig out the green and red stash and think about yule tide and cosy warm houses.

Happy stitching

Busy month for quilters

2010-10-26T22:29:00.001+01:00

Hello all! Chatting to some quilters last Saturday got me to thinking about what someone said about being able to find some quilting thing to do every weekend if you prepared to travel. It's true. It also true that you can go to lots of quilt, textile and art events and do no work of your own ( a speciality of mine) and you can go for months without writing your blog without meaning to leave it so long!

A number of quilt chums asked last week at the Guild workshop why I had stopped and though I had a reasonable excuse I thought I would have another go. It's great when people leave messages - that lets me know that someone is reading and I enjoy the comments as I am sure others do. So if you visit this blog do leave a note.

So what is going on on the quilting and textiles front. Well October is a busy month for workshops. Two weeks ago I was the lucky tutor for a group of young quilters who were making bags. These girls from Midlothian managed a bag each in the course of the day. Some were ably assisted by grans and mums and some quilters came without a young person and did their own bag. It was a lovely day and these promising young stitchers all had a great project completed by the end of the day!

The bag was based on a pattern in the book by Lise Bergene called Patchwork with Pizzazz. A really nice book.

On Saturday past I did one of four workshops in day run for the Quilters Guild by my chum Liz who is the area rep. The other workshops included braiding, bead making and using paint sticks. People seemed to have a great time. For my workshop I taught a small 6 inch square version of the bags the girls had made the week before. This makes a neat little gift bag as you can see. Everyone who came managed to make a bag in a hour from a prepared kit. I thought they worked out really well and they make a smart gift as well as being a great way to use up your stash (so you can get more!).
For those who were not there but would like to make it here's how:

Materials and cutting:
Outer (main) fabric 7½ x 14
Lining 6½ x 13
Wadding 8 x 15
Top contrast 4¼ x 12½

Instructions
1. Pin outer fabric to wadding and quilt a pattern of your choice. Straight or wavy lines are easy and quick.
2. Trim to 6½ x 13.
3. Fold quilted piece right sides together. Fold lining right sides together. Place and pin both pieces together and sew the two side seams with a ¼ inch seam.
4. Turn the bag the right way out with the lining to the inside.
5. Cut two pieces of ribbon and pin one piece to each of the two raw top edges. The tail of the ribbon should point down in to the bag.
6. Take the top contrast fabric and fold over (right sides together) to bring the two short ends together. Stitch the two short ends together.
7. Press seam open. Fold with wrong sides together lengthwise and press.
8. With seam to the centre back pin the top contrast in place inside the bag matching the top edges. Ease to fit.
9. Stitch round the top seam with a ¼ inch seam and making sure you stitch through all layers including the ribbon.
10. Turn the top contrast to outside and top stitch just below the top.
11. Turn in the bottom corners to the inside if you wish.

And finally for this blog I am thrilled to have been part of a project between artists in Aberdeen and artists in Regensberg. I was paired up with a textile artist called Jutta Kohlbeck. We had to give each other a word to inspire our work. I had the word 'moments' and I gave Jutta the word 'borders'. We decided to produce 9 small 8 inch pieces. Both Jutta's work and mine were part of an exhibition in Aberdeen earlier in the year and now the pieces are in Regensberg in Germany - Jutta's home town. It was such a pleasure to work with Jutta and we have become good friends even though we have not met yet.
Here is a picture of our work currently on show in Regensberg. Jutta's work is on the left and mine is on the right.

That's all for now let me know if you have any comments. Happy stitching.

back at last

2010-05-12T23:37:00.001+01:00

Thanks to all who have been checking in on my blog despite my prolonged absence. We have had a few ups and downs with health in our family but happily everyone is well again so I can find some time to get back to my blog.

I have been really busy since my last blog but very little time for actual sewing though I have picked up the threads (yes I know!) in the last week or so. I was also fortunate enough to be in Brazil for a few days last week with work and although I could not find a fabric shop in Brasilia city I did visit a beautiful blue church. From the outside it looked like a concrete block so imagine my astonishment when I went inside and it looked like this. The stained glass filled me with ideas for quilting as you can see in the pics.

I have also been working on some small pieces of textile / mixed media work. As part of the twinning programme between Aberdeen and Regensburg I have been paired with a German textile artist called Jutta Kohlberg. The rules of the project are that we must give each other a word and produce work prompted by that word. We have to work to a maximum size of 60 cm square. We have decided to produce 9 small 20 cm square pieces - so a bit like journal quilts. The word for inspiration Jutta has given me is 'moments' so that gives me lots of scope. Interestingly Jutta has worked on a collaborative project with a group that included our own Freida Oxenham! It's a small quilting world.

So, I have completed 4 of my nine pieces so far - here they are.

I have two important quilt events coming up. Firstly I have the Loch Lomond quilt show in just over a week then a week of quilt retreat in Caithness in June which I am really looking forward to so much!

Get out those jelly rolls

2010-03-21T12:21:00.000Z

Well Spring does feel like it has sprung with two lovely days this weekend for getting out and having some fresh air without thinking about how cold it is. The snowdrops are all out and the daffodils are making their way through the ground.

It must be the influence of Spring that has made me throw off the shackles of ' I am definitely finishing everying before I start anything new' because I started a whole heap of new projects over the last two weeks. I did finish two and will bring pics of those next week but one has already been seized by my son - the needle still in the last few inches of the binding, and the other being in Aberdeen whilst I am in the Borders.

As I am off on my travels to Malta (holiday), Brasil (work) and Caithness (quilt retreat holiday) in the next 10 weeks I thought I had better have a hand project so I don't get withdrawal symtoms so spent a bit of this morning cutting out freezer paper and fabric to do a lovely quilt that is in the current edition of McCall's quilting magazine. Not much to see so far - but lots of lovely hand sewing in prospect.

I also found a lovely, simple quilt in a book called Cozy Modern Quilts which I have adapted to use up two jelly rolls and a pack of 36 precut taupe 5inch squares. The design allows you to romp through your jelly roll and precut stash with no wastage and is great fun in working with colour and design which is my favourite aspect of patchwork. All you can see here are the blocks in construction but will bring you progress on this over the next few weeks.

I have also been making a baby quilt for my friend's daughters baby (boy) - here it is. However, although I like the fabric the whole thing just doesn't work so I am changing tack and getting out all that lovely seaside and boats fabric that many of us have in our stash and am starting again. However if anyone has any bright ideas to improve it that doesn't involve unpicking it I would be delighted to have your comments.

So plenty on the go. I really, really, really must not start anything else until................ Well you know the drill!

Happy stitching

Mad March

2010-03-07T21:19:00.000Z

Two weeks of quilting news to catch up with.

Last week I finished the stars quilt (hurray) and made it to the Ingliston quilt show. I thought the show was a bit disappointing overall. There was some lovely work of course and naturally I was able to make a purchase or two from the various shops and stands that were there. I would have likes to see more local quilts at this show - there was lovely work from Freida Oxenham so that was a treat. It is still worth the effort of going and there is the added treat of bumping into quilting chums and it's always great to catch up with the folks from my favourite quilt shops who are there. I always enjoy speaking to the folks from Kaleidoscope and Seattle quilts in particular.

This weekend we had a workshop at Bonnyrigg quilters where I led the workshop on one of two quilts: the star quilt you have seen being created in the last few blogs and a lap size simple 4 patch quilt which can be created from 6 fat quarters plus a border. Great for stash busting. I spent my free time in the workshop unpicking the borders from mine shown here on the right as I didn't think they worked so am now on the lookout for something more French like. I also cut out the pieces for the quilt for a new baby - one of my best chums daughter has had her first baby so we were all excited and a really good excuse for baby quilt fabric.

Here are some 'works in progress' from the workshop - quite a diverse range!

I also managed to squeeze in the quilting of a small quilt which has waiting to be finished for months. I still have to put the binding on so hopefully it will be on this blog next week.

So quite a mad weekend really and lots of quilting done. Well..... a weekend spent quilting is a good weekend!

Thanks for you all you comment - I do appreciate getting them.

Keep stitching

Starring Role for Little Gracie - technical fault halts production

2010-02-21T21:26:00.000Z

I decided to set up the Little Gracie quilting frame which I am lucky enough to co-own with my chum Mary. All the pieces went together well and I built it to the larger size. It's lucky we have a big conservatory as it does take up a bit of space. I got the Starry Night quilt top on the rollers, had found some gold star patterned extra wide backing (ideal!) and got the wadding installed. Just one little technical hitch........ My newest Brother sewing maching which is lovely free motion quilter just wouldn't fit in the frame. Grrr. My Janome fits well and I have used that in the past but it is in Aberdeen some 180 miles away. Still that's me all set up for next weekend.

Undaunted - there is always something to sew- I stitched the block for the block of the month challenge being run by Seattle Quilts in Aberdeen. The blue block is the one provided by Seattle quilts and the red one is a 'sister' version so I will have two quilts by the end of the year. I really like doing challenges where it is spread out over a number of months.

I thought you might also like to see 4 of the Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) I have finished for the most recent swap I am taking part in. The theme is fabric abstract ATCs. If you want to find out more about ATCs and how to swap look at the ATCSfor all website. It is worth a look even if you don't want to take part.

Coming up very soon is the Ingliston Spring Quilt Exhibition. It is on at Ingliston, just outside Edinburgh, and is on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I am going on Saturday so will bring you some news from the show. I am sure that many of the regular readers of this blog will be going too so I hope to see some of you on Saturday.

Soon after that, on 6th March, I am doing a workshop with Bonnyrigg quilters where we will be tackling the Starry Night quilt or the small quilt that was in the last blog below. Full day workshops with Bonnyrigg Quilters are always good fun so a busy two or three weeks coming up on the stitching front.

Happy sewing

Finishing off and planning

2010-02-07T18:53:00.000Z

This weekend saw the finishing off of a small quilt top I had just the borders to do on, the finishing of the pieced top of a beginners project for a workshop in March and the completion of my first block in the Seattle quiltshop star sampler quilt that I have signed up for this year.
Bonnyrigg quilters are running a one day workshop in March where the project will be the star quilt that is on last weeks blog and this little quilt which is ideal for beginner. It is great fun as it is easy sewing but lots of opportunities to play with colour.

I also met up for lunch with my 5 chums with whom I am planning a quilting retreat in Caithness in May. Those of you who followed this blog last May will have read about our intrepid adventures north with sewing machines and enough fabric to cloth an army. We had such a great time we are going again and we are swelling our number by two making us six in all. We had a great stay and we so well treated by Lyn at Patwork Pleasures that we are making the trip north again. There is much discussion about the nature of the 'difficult challenge' we will set ourselves - all of course over cake! I came back from lunch fired up with enthusiasm and finished my star block for this month.

The little quilt that I bought the border fabric for last week (see last weeks post) is now complete to make three new quilt tops to add to the already significant pile of tops waiting to be finished. I have promised myself that I will take Little Gracie out of her box and get on with a marathon top finishing month in March.

Well coming up we have the Ingliston quilt show and the Guild Regional days so plenty to do in central Scotland in the next month.

Now....I really need to find a chum who hates patchwork and loves quilting then I would really be making progress.

Happy stitching

Snow hits North East again - Quilting called for

2010-01-31T18:28:00.000Z

Friday morning saw the start of the snow again in Aberdeen and by early evening it was really deep and pretty difficult driving. This picture was taken first thing in the morning. I decided to spend the weekend in Aberdeen which meant shifting all sorts of arrangements around for next weekend but never mind - it gave me a bit of time for quilting and I will catch up with family and friends next weekend.

I finished the quilt top with stars. Not for beginners really though anyone who can cut accurately and sew a consistent seam would enjoy it. However, though it went together really easily there was a lot of sewing! Don't look too closely at the seam matches..... I am pretty pleased with it overall though and my next task is to get it layered up and quilted.

I decided to join the block of the month club at Seattle Quilts in Aberdeen which necessitated a walk to the shop on Saturday morning in the snow. Have a look on their website to see their interesting classes and project. It was as a lovely cold morning with lots of snow around and a very warm welcome in the quilt shop. It is a real treat having a quilt shop so near. I also picked up some border fabric for a simple little lap quilt which has been sitting around waiting to be finished for ages so maybe that will be another finished object very soom. It started life as a pack of shot cotton from Rowan fabric. The colours are lovely I think and I am looking forward to finishing it.

That's all from me for this weekend. Let me know if you have any news you want me to pass on.

Happy stitching

Stars in the night sky

2010-01-24T19:10:00.004Z

I have set myself the goal of getting the quilt top for Bonnyrigg quilters finished by next Saturday and am now at the stage of piecing all the strips together. Here is the work in progress. It is a dark blue, mid blue and purple background with stars created from a flying geese construction. Lots of pieces - but a great way to get star points that don't get chopped off. Hopefully the whole top will be done by next weekend. It is based on a quilt in a book called 'Bundles of Fun'. All the quilts in the book are based on 12 fat quarters. You can find out more by clicking on the picture on the bar at the right. Great for fabricaholics who want to justify more collecting by using some up.

The other very quick project I have been doing this week is to make some necklaces from silk cocoons. I bought a bag of lovely silk cocoon scraps at Harrogate before Xmas with no idea what I would do with them. Then a chum gave me a necklace made of silk cocoons and felt 'beads'. That inspired me to dig out my box of larger beads, many of them either from broken necklaces or from my bead collection (yes I know we all collect anything we can get our hands on). Here is the result. The method is so simple and I made several in less than an hour. You will need some biggish beads, some silk cocoons dyed - or undyed and dye them yourself - and some 7mm organza ribbon. You can get the ribbon from your usual haberdashers or try the gift wrap shops. The ribbon will thread through a bodkin or needle for sewing up knitting. The rest is easy, simple thread through the beads and cocoons in a pattern that pleases. I did not bead all the way round. The ribbon then just ties at a length that suits the wearer. I think the colours are lovely. Yocan get a great selection from Stef Frances - where you can also get wonderful embroidery threads - you can find them online at
http://www.stef-francis.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3_4_9

That's all for this week. Let me know about anything happening in the lothians or the north east.

Happy stitching.

New Year Resolution

2010-01-18T00:20:00.000Z

Well the festive season is over and among my many New Year good intentions is to get back to doing regular updates on this blog. Those of you who have been following it last year will know that I did try to do a weekly update but my new job - which I really love - has been all consuming, so lots of other things have had to take a back seat. So if you are still reading the blog after a huge gap thanks for your patience.

I have not been completely bereft of art, craft and stitch activities though - towards the end of last year a very dear chum treated me to a weekend in York and I will try to do a post on that once I have some of the pictures sorted out - the weekend included a visit to the Art Gallery, the Quilt Museum and to Harrogate to the stitch show - among many other things. More on this to come.

The snow of course has made life pretty tricky for lots of us. It was very beautiful in the borders - travelling a bit tricky but a good excuse to sit by the fire with family and friends and catch up.

Last weekend I walked the short distance from where I live in Aberdeen to Seattle Quilts. It's a lovely quilt shop and the ladies who work there are really helpful and very friendly indeed. Before moving here for work I was a sporadic visitor to both Seatle Quilts   http://www.seattlequiltcompany.com/
and Patchwork Creations   http://www.patchwork-creations.com/
the two quilt shops in Aberdeen. We are very lucky here in Aberdeen to be so well served.   Now that I am living in Aberdeen for much of the time I have easy access to both.

Anyway, I was in search of fabric for a quilt I am doing as a workshop for Bonnyrigg quilters in March, A star quilt of gold stars on mid and dark blue background. I will post some pics of my progress with it in next weeks blog. Seattle Quilts were having a marvelous sale on a really wide selection of fabrics. Of course I succumbed a little but was very sensible and only bought what I 'needed'.

I am now trying to carve out a little time each week to get back to stitching, going to shows and art exhibitions and will try to alert readers of the blog to events in the North East of Scotland and the South East / Borders now that I divide my time between the two. Lucky I have two sewing machines and two tables ( and now it seems two stashes!)

Coming up in my diary so far is the Spring Quilt show at Ingliston near Edinburgh 26th to 28th February, a quilt retreat in late May to Caithness again with my great chums who went on the road together last year (see earlier blogs), and I have booked my flight to the Festival of Quilts which I missed in August last year as it was the weekend I moved to Aberdeen.

Check out too the new exhibitions for this year at the Quilt Museum in York - there is a button to link you to the museum on the right of the blog. If you are a readers in either of these areas feel free to let me know about anything you would like me to put in the blog. If you are a visitor to Scotland let me know and I will try to point you in the direction of all things stitch which I know about.

Happy quilting for 2010

Dry at last

2009-11-15T14:58:00.000Z

Today feels like the first dry day in ages. The burn in our village is full and flowing fast and the garden looks bedraggled. However, it was a fine morning and there was even some watery sunshine.

Not much quilting this week but here is a pic of the little wallhanging that those attending Bonnyrigg Quilters Workshop last week could have gone on the complete had they wanted to follow on from the foundation piecing activity. It is a very simple little quilt and the foundation patterns were adapted from Carol Doak's book.

At the workshop last Saturday, Anne, one of the quilters taking part kindly shared a pattern for a small round table mat. She emailed me the instructions and I have made one with another just needing the binding. This is a really easy little hand project - perfect if you are stuffed with the cold and disinclined to do anything bigger or further from the fire.

Having seen close up, a superb large finished quilt of different stars by a friend this weekend I am now raring to get back to one of the bigger quilts I am working on. I might even dig out the Grandmother's Fan Quilt which as been waiting patiently for some time now to be finished.

Next week off to York so will bring you news of the exhibitions there. I notice that the Quilt Museum now lets you shop on line.

Busy day in Bonnyrigg

2009-11-08T14:32:00.002Z

Bonnyrigg quilters hosted a workshop day yesterday to which they invited members of other neighbouring groups. There was a super turnout with 4 workshop stations and an extra workshop so those finished other projects would not be left with idle hands. The variety of workshops seemed to ensure that everyone found some new technques, ideas or inspiration and people left buzzing with possibilities.

The group also had a 'show and tell' at the the end of the day. Now I know many quilters are very modest and shy of showing others their work but we all love to see what folks have been up to.

We had some finished and almost complete work from earlier workshops, some personal projects that were a real feat of talent and even had a very old quilt top which one of our members got from a Canadian Aunt's kist and we all mused over how old the top was and how much older the fabrics must have been. It inspired me to get out some books on the history of quilts and do a bit of reading about quilts from the turn of last century. I've never owned an old quilt but that would be a real treat.

The Quilt Museum in York of course gives us great opportunities to see some well preserved fine antique quilts. I am in the lucky position of going there next week so will report back on all things York in next bur one blog.

I did not get around to doing a blog last weekend so I should mention here that last Saturday I took a drive from Aberdeen to Cullen on the Moray Coast with a chum who was staying. She knew the area very well so we had a wonderful drive (and guided tour) on a most glorious day. We visited a lovely ceramics shop, several fishing harbours and of course the wonderful patchwork shop in Cullen - Puddleduck Patch. The shop has over 600 bolts of quilters cotton and a wide range of other needlecraft supplies. It is also an excellent coffee shop with gifts. The shop does seem to have some great tutors providing classes there. I noticed that Pat Archibald has been doing classes there and that Kaffe Fassett in booked for a workshop there soon. Needless to say I had to buy some fabric, but this time some I really needed for quilt I am preparing a workshop on.

Needless to say I am looking forward to my weekend in York - shopping, sightseeing and a wealth of textile exhibitions. The Quilt Museum have two exhibitions on, one of which about turkey red fabric in quilts sounds really interesting. The other features contemporary quilts, also right up my street.
At the same time, as luck would have it the York Art Gallery and Museum has an exhibition of sashiko quilting. This major exhibition is on tour but York seems to be the nearest it will get to Scotland. If you can't go in person you might want to see the exhibition gallery by clicking on this link.

http://www.sashiko.org.uk/gallery.php

Getting new ideas

2009-10-24T22:15:00.005+01:00

Going to quilt shows and exhibitions certainly give us new ideas and spurs us on to finish projects and start new work. The Milton Quilters exhibtion in Portobello today certainly did that for me. As part of the exhibiton they had a collection of Christmas themed projects. It got me thinking about getting things done for this year's winter festival and you can see here some cards I have come up with. They still need the edges finished but essentially they are postcard sized quilts, three layers and backed with card. The hearts are bondawebbed on to a asymetric central patch then the outer fabrics attached in the style of log cabin. If you are interested in making quilt postcard I think the publication by Katherine Guerrier (which is on a CD) is excellent. It is full of inspirational ideas. The fabrics I have used here are lovely close up and for those who live in central Scotland you can get them at Purely Patchworks in Linlithgow. You can find a link to Katherine Guerrier's lovely ebook on postcard quilts at http://www.rainbowdisks.com/item/36/patchwork-postcards

Here are some other lovely pieces of work that caught my eye at the Milton Quilters exhibition. You will see where the inspiration for the heart cards came from!

Autumn is progressing very fast in the Scottish Borders and most of the leaves are off the trees in our garden now so no surprise my thoughts are turning to mid-winter festivals. Coming up on the 7th of November is a Christmas themed workshop run by Bonnyrigg quilters which should be great fun. Next Saturday I hope to visit both of the quilt shops in Aberdeen so I will bring you news of what's new in the Aberdeen stitching world.

Finally I don't know if I am the last person in the world to know about a Talking Threads, a TV show you can get on Sky or on the internet. I have put a button for it on the right hand bar. Looks really interesting.

Happy stitching.

Back to quilting - well nearly!

2009-10-17T22:38:00.006+01:00

Thanks to all of you who have encouraged me to start up this blog again. I have been really busy over the last few months starting a new job so had not put needle to fabric since July till last week when I finished a small quilt which really got me back into the swing. I will have less time for stitching so I have to make every minute count! I hope to begin to run this blog regularly again with news of quilting events in the South East and now the North East of Scotland.

I met up with my quilting chums for the first time in almost 3 months last week. One chum said it was as if I had fallen off the planet. Moving job and house meant that I had to give up my (booked) trip to Birmingham which I really missed but heard great things about the show. I was able to catch up though with friends at the quilt show run by Fala Quilters. They are a small group in a tiny village south of Edinburgh. The show was really lovely. I was struck by the great use of colour in the quilts. It represented 10 years of work by the group and was well worth the visit. I am afraid I forgot my camera but hope to have some new pics for my next blog.

The plotting began today to plan out our next quilting adventures. Regular readers of this blog will know that a small group of us went to Caithness to Patchwork Pleasures in June. We had such a great time that we are now planning to go again if we can find a slot that is free next year. Now that really will be something to look forward to.

So - what's next on the quilting front for me. Well, Milton Quilters have their exhibition next Saturday in Portobello. It is open 10 - 4 and has trade stands, teas and a raffle. The venue is Portobello Old Church Hall, Bellfield Street, Portobello. Milton quilters do a super show so well worth the visit I think.

Bonnyrigg quilters are running a Xmas workshop day on 7th November with four short workshops which will be informal and great fun. I will bring you some pics and a report on both of these events shortly.

Artists trading cards

2009-07-25T20:43:00.006+01:00

Well after coming back from holiday and straight into a workshop this weekend seems a little more laid back. I have been busy creating samples for the Young Quilter workshop on the 5th of August and getting back into the swing of things at work.

I have also been getting into making artist trading cards (ATCs). Regular followers of my blog will know that I did a class with Frieda Oxenham (see link on right) and I am really hooked now. I have been busy signing up for ATCs swaps at http://www.atcsforall.com/

It great fun and I have already taken part in two swaps and received some great work in return. I though I would put a few of my own ATCs up to let you see what I have been up to.

Great fun between larger quilting projects. Do let me know of anything coming up in your area. It's great to get your feedback.

John O' Groats to Land's End

2009-07-20T05:53:00.013+01:00

What have I been up to?

Well it's been a busy old month with holidays, finding somewhere to live in Aberdeen and running a workshop for the South East group of the quilters guild. Followers of this blog will know that last month I had a brilliant quilt retreat with some chums to Caithness where we were only a couple of miles from John O Groats. Well only one month later I was off to Land's End with my other half and my dad. So in the space of a month I have literally being stitching from John o Groat's to Land's End! I thought Cornwall was lovely and we enjoyed pretty good weather.

I really loved the Eden Project and the Lost Garden at Heligan

- both stunning and very different gardens. I really liked the fishing towns of Mevagissy and St Ives. Lots of colour and inspiration for stitching.

This weekend we had a journal quilt making day in Lasswade. The idea was that guild members and friends could come along and do two journal quilt workshops and, if they were moved to do so, donate one or both to the Little Gems Tombola at the Festival of Quilts which is being run to raise fund for the Guild.

Everyone seemed to have a great time and the pace was very brisk indeed. One workshop (with Doreen) was on landscapes and the other was based on botanicals. I was amazed at the variety of ideas that people came up with for both. Looking at the finished quilts (well, em, nearly finished) you would never have thought that everyone started from the same point.

Judging by the laughter by the end of they day folks had enjoyed themselves and I am hoping for a good show of little gems from our area for the Tombola. I have 6 in hand to send this week and I am sure that others from this area have already contributed. If you have not had a chance to check out the website for the Little Gems project click here. You still have time to get one in though you will need to be quick as the organisers would like to have them in by end July. This is just a small selection - we had 25 people there all told so we had almost 50 little gems by the end of the day.

The next event by the Guild is August 5th when we are having a young quilters workshop. Each young quilter can bring along an adult buddy who can help or who can do the workshop themselves. We will be making very small quilts (9 inches) which will be turned into working clocks so that should be great fun. If you have not signed up a young person related to you and you would like to come you would need to contact me very quickly as I am ordering the clock workings this week. Usual email address if you want to get me (annettebruton@btinternet.com).

Other things coming up
Pauline Burbidge has open days at her studio coming up from 31st July to 3rd August. I am sure all of you will know Pauline's work and if you can get down to the Borders to see this I am sure you will enjoy it. Pauline Burbidge & Charles Poulsen will be showing their work throughout the Steading alongside guest artist Paul Kenny(Photographer). Click here to find out more http://www.paulineburbidge-quilts.com/events.html There is a short video on Pauline's web page at this address which I am sure you will find interesting. You can find details of the address on the website but to give you a general idea it is at Allanton near Duns in the Borders. If you fancy planning a day out you could check out the Duns website for walks and local interest. http://www.duns.bordernet.co.uk/

The regional day in Livingston in September is beginning to get closer and there is still time to order you tickets for what I hope will be a really interesting day. Those of you who are guild members have details and application form about it in the last Newspatch magazine. It is now open to non-members. If you would like to hear talks by Annette Morgan and Gloria Loughman (both internationally well known quilters), do some quilt shopping and / or attend a workshop with Annette please let me know and I will send you the details. We have Kaleidoscope, Purely Patchworks, Match a Patch, Patchwork Cottage and Kids Kottons attending with the great variety of retail therapy they provide.

Meantime I hope you have all had or are about to have a great summer break.

2009-07-02T07:11:00.015+01:00

Hello all - thanks for checking in with my blog - I am sure you must have given up on me over the last few weeks. It's been very hectic and not much time for quilting. I have been successful in securing a new job in Aberdeen (where there are very good quilting opportunities and shops I am pleased to note). Anyway I have been busy figuring out how to organise my family and working life so apologies for the gap in blogs.
I have a few things to tell you about in this post. Firstly some information about local retail opportunities, then what's coming up locally and finally a report on a day out with Bonnyrigg quilters to Jedburgh.

Well I hear there is a sale on at Mandor fabrics in Edinburgh I am not sure if the Glasgow store has a sale but worth checking if you are through in the West. Here is a link to their webpages. http://www.mandors.co.uk/contact-mandors-fabric-store.php

Purely Patchworks in Linlithgow have just sent out their new Autumn/ Winter class programme. I always enjoy classes there so if you don't get the programme give them a ring on 01506 846200. I see there are a few places left for some events in July so if you are visiting south east Scotland or having you holiday at home then there might be something for you.

LimeTarts quilting group are having their exhibition and sale this weekend at Bridge of Earn in Perth. Whether you can go or not it is worth checking out their website to see some of their innovative and really interesting work. A trip to Perthshire this Saturday or Sunday would make a lovely outing. Parking and entry is free. Find out more at http://www.limetarts.co.uk/
Let me know if you know of anything else on in July in our area annettebruton@btinternet.com

I recently had a great day out with Bonnyrigg quilters where I am a member. Our committe organised a retail therapy bus trip day out for us to Borderland Fabrics in Jedburgh (one of my favourite haunts) and then to Harestanes which is a country park for crafters and artists. If you have not visited either of these I can recommend it as a great day out.

We arrived at Borderland fabrics to be met by Annette who owns the shop and Cathy who works there and runs a lot of the classes. As ever it was the warm Borders welcome they are now well know for. We sat down to tea and coffee and handbaked shortbread (baked by Annette's daughter) and after some great craic we set about exploring what the shop had to offer. We fell roughly into three retail/ emotional groups. Those with lists and definite ideas of what they 'needed', those who had resolved that they would have a lovely look but did not need anything, and those who did not plan but knew they would be sure to 'need' something. Interestingly, the second group (to which I belonged) seemed to morph into the third group within minutes of arriving so perhaps it was just self-delusion.

I have posted items before about the shop in Jedburgh but for those who missed them, it's a modern building in a retail park area from the outside and a charming quilt shop with huge workshop inside. I really like the fabric they stock - it really fits with my taste so I always have a terrible time deciding what to leave behind. They have a great stock of notions and an interesting book stand.

We had a great time browsing, chatting and ordering till lunchtime when the Borderland team ushered us through to the cafe for soup and sandwiches - a very generous sized lunch at that with choices of home made soup. The cafe is lovely and a great hangout for people who accompany you to quilt shops but are apt to tap their feet after only an hour or so! You can leave them in the cafe with a newspaper so everyone is happy.

After lunch we did a bit more shopping then Cathy kindly did an unscheduled 'teach in' where she showed us some hints and tips and block they had recently being making in a class. It was a great visit.

We went on next to Harestanes. Not many pictures from there as it pelted down with rain but if you like country walks and want to see (or buy) the work of local art and craft people this is a great place to visit. Small shops and workshops for jewellers, leather worker, potters and other crafts are open to the public. A good visitor centre is also the home of the countryside rangers for the area so you can get information on walking and outdoor pursuits and there is a gallery, shop and coffee shop. Find out more here http://www.scotborders.gov.uk/harestanes/

Well I am off to Cornwall on Saturday - I have not been there since I was a little girl and am really looking forward to it. Top of my list for visits is the Eden Project and the Lost Garden at Heligan. If you know of any quilt related places in Cornwall do let me know. Meantime happy stitching.

Driving Miss Gracie

2009-06-07T20:24:00.010+01:00

This week four chums (Mary, Mary, Margaret and Me) and our friend Gracie clambered into a red camper van and headed for the very tip of Scotland for our quilting retreat. Gracie had been taken to pieces and piled into boxes for the journey! Whilst she is a quilter like the rest of us Gracie is in fact a machine quilting frame.... so along with 4 sewing machines and 4 enormous bags of unfinished projects we set of for our week with Patchwork Pleasures. On our journey up to Caithness we made a tiny 20 minute detour so we could visit Pat-Chis Corner - a lovely quilt shop just outside Inverness. We were made very welcome and even provided with a pot of tea! Of course we all found things that we had to have! Then onwards to the North across the lovely Black Isle.

The quilt retreats are the brainchild of Lyn Ball: a prolific quilter and teacher with a passion for applique. Lyn had arranged our lovely house which was to be our home of the week and provided equipment, wonderful food and a great space for quilting in the community hall.

We had a wonderful time. We are most fortunate that as a group of friends we got on well - what enhanced the week was a shared sense of humour and we had frequent bouts of hysterical laughter - a great tonic for us all.

The holiday house was super. A kitchen table which would sit 10 comfortably served for breakfast and for evening quilting. The house was decorated with Lyn's own quilts which made the house both welcoming and very cosy. Only a few miles from John O' Groats the scenery is wonderful.
We took a trip up to Duncansby Head Lighthouse and walked across the cliff to see the sea stacks. We really enjoyed the scenery, the beach walk, the wonderful sunshine and the remote beauty of Caithness.

The hall is a former school which was gifted to the community. It is beautifully decorated and an excellent place to quilt. This is the view from the front door - quite breathtaking. Lyn provided us with home baking and lunch everyday and we were never more than 90 minutes away from something scrumy to eat.

And of course the patchwork and quilting. We all made good progress with existing projects sewing morning, noon and night. Those of us who had not had a go at free machine quilting learned to do that and everyone had a try of the Little Gracie quilting frame. One of the two Mary's managed to get two quilts completed on the frame along with several other projects. Margaret got going on her grandson's long awaited seaside quilt and Mary M put the borders on a grandmothers garden quilt that contains fabric which was her Mum's, her sisters and her two daughters as well as her own. A real family heirloom. I started attaching some of the 360 small buttons that are to hold one my quilts together - the buttons were donated by other quilting chums when they heard about the project. I also made very good progress with a sort of double wedding ring quilt which you can see the start of here.

I would recommend Patchwork Pleasures for anyone who loves quilting, Scottish scenery and good company. You can contact Lyn at lyn.skirz@btopenworld.com . We four are already planning our next quilting adventure!

2009-05-29T06:01:00.004+01:00

Some information about York

I received this information from the Quilters Guild about exhibitions in the Quilt Museum in York for the rest of this year. It also give other interesting information about events and general tourist information of interest to quilters for York. I am planning to go to York in July and then again in November so I thought it was really useful. You kind find out more by clicking on this link http://www.quiltmuseum.org.uk/

York offers great choice in its collection of museums, shops, restaurants and tearooms not to mention our own Quilt Museum and Gallery. We want members of your Region to know that if they choose to make the trip, either with a friend or a group, that there is plenty to capture their interest.
The current exhibitions at the Quilt Museum –‘ Pearls, Pearls, Pearls’ and ‘The Wholecloth Tradition’ continue until 29 August. The new exhibitions, ‘Seeing Red: The Influence of Turkey Red Dye on Quiltmaking’ and ‘On the Edge in York’, contemporary work by Edge – Textile Artists Scotland, run from 5 September to 23 December,

There are also two other exhibitions in the city, one about Japanese Sashiko, that we feel you will find of interest:

York Art Gallery, Exhibition Square:
Until 27 September, ‘Art of St Ives’. A select exhibition from the Arts Council Collection. Includes the work of Dame Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Alfred Wallis.
10 October to 3 January 2010. ‘Japanese Sashiko Textiles’ selected by quiltmaker and textile artist Michelle Walker.

If you are coming to York for a day, or overnight, then here is some additional information:

TRAVEL
The Quilt Museum and Gallery is a 15-minute walk from York Railway Station. If you would prefer a bus, pick one up just outside of the Station – Numbers 12 and13 will take you directly to the Museum. Pass through the Tourist Information Centre on your way out of the station to pick up a current York Mini Guide with city map.
There are Park and Ride facilities from Monks Cross and Grimston Bar and those buses also stop outside the Museum.

ACCOMMODATION;
The Quilt Museum and Gallery is a member of VisitYork and also takes part in the York Pass, a special offer which allows multiple visits to different attractions at a reduced rate. VisitYork also helps with providing accommodation. Either visit their website: www.visityork.com or phone their reservations office on 01904 55 00 99. For group bookings phone 01904 55 00 80.

RESTAURANTS AND TEAROOMS:
While this is very much a matter of individual preference, here are some general observations.:
Guild members can of course have a cup of coffee in the Museum’s Members’ Room during a visit. After that, the nearest facility is Le Langhe’. the Italian restaurant and deli that is part of the Quilt Museum complex. It has outdoor seating in full view of the newly landscaped garden. The historic Black Swan across the street from the Museum is another possibility – you can get sandwiches or a full meal. If you want to stop enroute to the Museum to buy your own sandwiches, then make certain you pass M & S on the corner of Parliament Street and Coppergate.
York has two ‘Bettys’ – a tearoom in St Helen’s Square and ‘Little Bettys Cafe’ in Stonegate. Other tearooms include Bullivant of York Tea Rooms in Blake Street, off St Helen’s Square and the National Trust Cafe in Goodramgate behind York Minster. Many of the tearooms, serve quite substantial meals during the day, but close at 5 pm. On the upside you will find that some of York’s restaurants offer a discount if you have your evening meal before 7pm. Keep your eyes peeled and see what is on offer.

SHOPPING
We know that quilters are always on the lookout for shopping opportunities and in York there are plenty. You might like to try Newgate Market off Parliament Street which is open Monday through Saturday. York also has plenty of specialist shops in the centre:

Duttons for Buttons, 32 Coppergate
The Viking Loom 22 High Petergate (embroidery and quilting supplies)
Craft Basics, 9 Gillygate
Gillies Fabrics, 2 Peter Lane
Lace Magic, 48 Low Petergate
Christmas Angels, 47 Low Petergate
Shortle Mary, 5 Bootham (dolls)
Miniature Scene – York, 42 Fossgate
The Japanese Shop, Coppergate Shopping Centre
The Art Shop, 27 Shambles
The Bead Hive, 11 College Street

All of the information contained above is for your general interest and is not intended as a recommendation. We do hope you will visit York in the coming months. You might even find time to take a boat trip on the Ouse or ride The Yorkshire Wheel at the National Railway Museum! We expect your first port of call to be St Anthony’s Hall but, as you can see, there are many other attractions to fill your day.

Information collected by the Museum Division, Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles (27 May 2009).

Loch Lomond Quilt show

2009-05-24T19:31:00.013+01:00

Yesterday was my chance to visit this year's Loch Lomond Quilt show. Twenty five of us from East Lothian, Midlothian the Borders and Edinburgh were picked up at the crack of dawn so we could be in Dunbarton for the show opening. We were there a little early in fact so we had plenty of time at the first three venues.

I managed to restrict myself to a very modest amount of purchasing but I did also by the Homecoming Quilt book about the show, the Quilters who run it and about being inspired by Scotland. Se the link to the book on the right hand side of this blog. I had put a very modest quilt into the Tartan Suitcase collection and was delighted to see that the tartan suitcase quilts were all in the book. For those of you not in the Guild in Scotland you might like to know that groups often create a suitcase, usually with A3 sized quilts which go on tour. The suitcase gets hired out for shows or groups for very low cost. The carriage is the main cost. On that note, I am pleased to say that we have a Contemporary Quilts suitcase coming to our area day in November. This will be one of it's last outings.

Anyway, back to the Loch Lomond show. There were several highlights for me. Our group (thanks to our excellent bus driver) got to all the venues so we saw everything in one day. I particularly liked the French quilts and could have stayed there much longer. Here are just a couple of pictures to give you a flavour of the variety. Quilts ranged from tiny, immaculately pieced quilts to very innovative art work with much in between. I hope to get hold of the catalogue which was on display but not available for sale. I particularly loved the work of Catherine Bihl and you can see a bit more of her work at http://www.catherine-bihl.com/pages%20suivantes/artextures07.htm

My other favourite part of the show was the 'Thin Blue Line' exhibition by the Contemporary Quilt Group ( a group within the British Isles Guild). The work was varied but the low lighting in the church made it difficult to photograph. These pictures though will give you an idea of the work. It was an excellent group of quilts and if you missed it you have another chance to see them at the Minerva Arts Centre in Mid Wales July. I am heading down to Corwall at that time and hope to get to the Arts Centre on the way down. To see what else is on there click here to see their interesting web pages http://www.quilt.org.uk/summer2009.html

This year Edinburgh quilters provided the quilts for 30 of the best and that too was a very good exhibition with some lovely work.

It's hard to do justice to so many quilts in such a short blog but it was wonderful to see so many Scottish quilts in one place and so much talent from around the UK and internationally here in Scotland.

It was a full day but I was inspired enough to get back to my ATCs this morning. I have signed up for an ATC swap based on the 'Summer Solstice'. I am using the standing stones at Callanais for my inspiration. I like to visit the site of the standing stones whenever I am in the Western Isles. I have finished some but will defer putting up pictures till they have been received by the swap group.

This week I will be busy getting ready for my Quilt retreat in Caithness which starts a week tomorrow. I will however find time for another post next Sunday as I am attending a workshop with Dawn Cameron Dick next Saturday on invisible machine applique.

Meanwhile happy stitching.

Artists' Trading Cards in May

2009-05-12T07:23:00.013+01:00

This is the time of year for me when the garden and my quilting really get into a fight. There is so little free time that these competing interests both seem to demand more time than is available. Both are really interesting in terms of colour and creativity - you just end up with dirtier hand and knees with one them. This however, I have promised myself, is the year of the garden so I will need to sew very quickly. Then there's the hill walking which also needs to be done. The gorse is in full bloom and this was taken on the ancient Roman road (Dere Street) near us.

Those who read last week's blog will know that I had a great workshop with Frieda on Artist's Trading Card coming up. The workshop was on Saturday. It was really interesting and I think I have a new (yet another!) obsession. Frieda started the day with a fascinating and enthusiastic talk on the origins of ATCs and brought with her a collection of her own ATCs and some she has received through her swap groups. She also brought a great collection of books on the subject so we were not short of ideas by the time we were ready to start.

For those of you who are not familiar with the term or the concept here is some summary info. ATC are small collectible and swappable pieces of art. They are made by paint artists, graphic artists, textile artists and crafts people. The idea was based on sports-themed trading cards. There are not many rules but one is that the dimensions of the ATC must be 2.5"x3.5

Other conditions are that an ATC mustn't be sold, only exchanged, as the whole idea of these tiny works of art is about artists exchanging their works, thus meeting many artists (usually on line) and getting exposed to lots of different styles. On the back of each ATC the maker writes part or all of the following information: name, contact information, title of the ATC and number (1/8, 2/8...) if it's part of an edition. Of course it needs to be backed by paper or light card to keep it rigid and to allow it to be posted. There's lots of information out there on the web on ATCs and whilst much of it in media other than textiles but you can get great ideas and adapt them to fabric and your own style.

I managed to get only 2 done in the day (having spent ages making enough background to cover the showground at the Highland show! Having done that though, and being really fired up, I went home and finished another 10 over the weekend and then, as though I had nothing better to do I started on some different ones.

You can see from my pics that I used some fabric with Japanese ladies on it and became really interested in how I could use similar images and make different cards. I also used Frieda's idea of adding text which I think makes it really intriguing. I used text from several sources and eventually a bit of a story emerged around the theme of Wives and Courtesans. As a challenge to myself I then set about trying to do something very different and started in on a box of vintage ribbons, buttons and lace a friend had collected for me for my birthday (this is an excellent birthday present by the way. The result was a little collection of cheery botanic cards of which you can see two here.

And finally.... a last reminder about signing up for the Little Gems day on the 18th of July. We have only a few places left. This is an opportunity for guild members and others to get together for the day to make two little gems (A4) quilts. We hope you will donate one to the Guild Tombola of little gems at Birmingham this year. The website set up to tell you more and to inspire you with those already made can be found at
http://littlegemquilts.wordpress.com/

May is a busy time for quilters

2009-05-03T10:07:00.006+01:00

Well May is now with us and many of us are very busy trying to hold on to time for quilting whilst trying to beat back the weeds in the garden and manage our busy everyday lives. May also now seems to be a very busy time for quilting events and that is my somewhat lame excuse for not having kept this blog updated in the last couple of weeks (glosses over the fact that in fact that was April.....)

So what is coming up for Quilters in Scotland and in particular in South East Scotland. Well firstly we have a workshop on Artist's Trading Cards with Frieda Oxenham next Saturday in Bonnyrigg. I am really excited about that - Frieda is a great teacher and I am sure we will learn lots of techniques, especially in embellishment and Frieda's excellent flow of innovative ideas will be great. if you would like to see some of Frieda's work you can view her blog (see link on the right hand scroll bar). I have a few places left so if you are in this area and would like to come let me know my email at annettebruton@btinternet.com

Coming up on the 23rd May we have a bus going to the Loch Lomond quilt show leaving from Haddington, Dalkeith and the Gyle in Edinburgh. This will give us a relaxing way to get to Loch Lomond venues and will provide transport between the venues too. For those who have never been to the Loch Lomond quilt show you can find out more at http://www.lochlomondquiltshow.com/content/quiltshow09.html
We have a few seats left on the bus so again if you are interested just email me at my email address above.

Bonnyrigg quilters had a really useful finishing of day yesterday. I hope to have some pictures to post for you soon but I forgot my own camera and a fellow quilter kindly took some to send on. We had had a workshop making quilts with jelly rolls back in the spring and we decided to have a 'recall' day so we could concentrate on getting them finished. As one of the tutors this certainly spurred me on to get mine done. I had the top finished for the original workshop but still needed to quilt it so the deadline was great for me getting it done. Here it is. I look forward to posting up pictures of others from the workshop soon.

I also have a workshop at the end of May at Purely Patchworks in Linlithgow with Dawn Cameron Dick. This was postponed earlier in the year due to the very heavy snow we had across the UK so I am looking forward to this. Purely Patchworks have an extensive list of classes so if you don't get their newsletter do contact them. In fact most of the dedicated quilting shops in our area have classes running - you can find a list of the shops and how to contact them on the right hand scroll bar of the blog. If you know of any other shops not listed please do let me know.

Then almost immediately following the workshop in Linlithgow I am off to the very far north with 3 chums for a quilting retreat. We have booked with Patchwork Pleasures in Caithness for a 4 night stay. We are planning a mixture of finishing off and starting a new project. I will bring you tales from the charabanc (subject of course to editing by my chums). I plan a trip to John O'Groats which is very nearby as I will be off to Land's End in July! So I am intending to literally be stitching the length and breadth of the country.

Happy stitching

Busy Easter events

2009-04-19T09:32:00.009+01:00

Sorry to have had a long gap since the last post but it's been a very busy time. Despite being on holiday this week I seem to have been busier than ever. The main events I have to report on are - a workshop with Evelyn Ramsay, the exhibition I held with my other half which you have seen earlier posts about (or may even have been to ) and what is coming up.

I will start with what's coming up. For quilters in South East Scotland there are a few events coming up. Most immediately there is a workshop with Frieda Oxenham where Frieda will be taking us through the process of making Artist's Trading Cards - we will learn a whole range of techniques that could be applied more widely to other larger quilts and pieces. You can see Frieda's work on her blog (click the link over to the right hand bar on this page). We still have few places left so let me know if you would like a place by email at annettebruton@btinternet.com. The cost is £18 and includes tea, coffee and soup. The workshop will be held in Bonnyrigg - only a few miles from the Edinburgh city bypass.

I had the great good fortune to be signed up for a workshop with Evelyn Ramsay which was run as part of the regional day programme for the Quilters Guild in Scotland. Held in Dunblane, Evelyn managed to get us through a workshop that usually takes two days. I for one could easily have spent two days on it and still learned more. Evelyn was taking us through her techniques for making her well known poppy quilts. A close up of one of her quilts in the picture to the left.

Evelyn was generous with both her time and what she provided us with in the way of paints, fabric and other materials for the workshop include some quilted ' fantasy fabric' she had created herself. We had a wonderful day on transfer dyes, building up colour and texture and developing our skills in composition. You can see from these pictures how well the group were doing at building their pieces (and making a lovely mess around our desks). The atmosphere and the company was great - a very successful workshop.

Finally, for this post, I wanted to say thank you to all those who turned up in West Linton over the Easter weekend to support the 'Quilted Stories' exhibition. We had a very steady stream of visitors and raised a very good donation for the Vine Trust Charity. The weather was fine so I hope those who came also enjoyed an amble round the village to see the places that the quilts and the writing were based on. I am pleased to say that more than half of the journal quilts have gone off to new homes (all the village which is smashing).

In my next post I will have news on the workshops coming up in the quilting shops in this area and I thought I would run a feature for the next few weeks featuring our local quilt shops and what else there is to do in each area to help you plan your summer excursions.

Now time to get my wellies on and get out into the garden - happy stitching.

Quilted storied exhibition Easter weekend

2009-04-06T07:47:00.001+01:00

Annette and Douglas Bruton have been working together for the last year on a joint textiles and writing project. A small exhibition of their work will be on show this coming weekend in West Linton Village Centre in Raemartin Square on the 10th, 11th and 12th of April. The exhibition is open 9.30 am to 5pm.

Annette is a quilter and has set herself the challenge of producing a small A4 sized quilt on a different theme each month for the past year. Each theme is within an overall project based on the village of West Linton. Each piece was used to try out a new technique or idea.
Douglas is a writer and has taken the same themes and produced a short piece of highly evocative writing each month. Again, all the writing has a link with the village of West Linton – past and present.

The exhibition is free. There will be the opportunity, if you wish, to make a small donation to the Vine Trust Charity which helps abandoned children make better lives for themselves in Peru – a charity Douglas has done some field work with.

For further information please email us at

douglasrdbruton@hotmail.com

annettebruton@btinternet.com

Bits and pieces

2009-03-29T08:37:00.007+01:00

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while will know that I promised myself (and my long suffering family) that this would be the year of finishing off. Once all projects are done and given away (or added to the heap in the cupboard) order will be restored and peace, harmony and one-project-at-a-time will reign supreme. Aye right!

However, I have finished more projects this year so far than I have started so that has to be a good thing. I finished off two in the last fortnight which were started as workshops. One from a recent workshop in Jedburgh with Jennie Rayment which you may have read about earlier was a folded, twisted fabric daisy. Here is it now complete. It's only about 26 inches square but I have done a lot of beading on the centre, maybe tricky to see in the pic (one not very straight edge but let's gloss over that) and it's complete.

Finishing things started in workshops is actually the bulk of my problem.

When I leave the workshop I am filled with good intention - sometimes even going straight home and doing more that evening but at some stage I will have a tidy up and it disappears into a box. I suppose I should really just abandon things that I have learned from but don't seem to want to get finished. However, just can't be done. I have a problem with leaving loose ends even if the the finished project is not the masterpiece in reality that it was in my head. I did persevere over the last few months with a project I started at Birmingham last year - a curved pieced landscape. It was reasonably simple piecing but I wanted to do a lot of hand stitching to give texture. It made several reappearances and is at last finished. What will I do with it - well add it to the heap in the cupboard I imagine.

So now on to finishing all those Linus quilts........

Now some bits and pieces of news for quilters in South East Scotland.

I have sent out information about a forthcoming workshop on ATC with Frieda Oxenham on the 9th of May. It will be held in Bonnyrigg. It is initially open to quilters from East, Midlothian and the Borders but will be open soon to quilters guild members from other areas. If you are interested then drop me an email (annettebruton@btinternet.com). If you are a guild member in this area and have not received the information could you let me know?

I am hoping to run a bus through to the Loch Lomond quilt show on Saturday the 23rd May. It will be between £12 and £15 depending on numbers. I am hoping to pick up people in Haddington, Bonnyrigg and the Gyle in Edinburgh. Let me know by email if you would like to book a place. If you would like to find out more about the Loch Lomond Quilt Show you can click on this link http://www.lochlomondquiltshow.com/

I am really happy to put information on this blog about events and news from local quilts groups so please do let me know if you have anything you would like me to post up. Some of you will have seen the information from Kay Lucas about the trip to Dumfries coming up. If not scroll down the blog and you will find the details.

Happy stitching

Quilters Guild Regional Day Perth

2009-03-21T13:59:00.014Z

Last weekend we had the regional day of the Quilters Guild in Scotland. We were at Perth Racecourse and had a really big turn out from across the country. This was our first meeting at Perth Racecourse and although we think we could improve the visibility of presentations and streamline lunch arrangements it was an ideal travelling location from across all of Scotland. It had good parking and good space for traders and displays.

We had presentations from Evelyn Ramsay and Delia Salter, both of whom had interesting things to say and really lovely work to show. I loved the work Evelyn showed us of her poppies quilts and her journey through her project on the inner body was fascinating.

Delia was an excellent speaker and despite the technical difficulties she was faced with, she gave a very interesting talk on her quilting journey. She gave us a lot to think about including an intriguing reference to a very beautiful poem by W.B. Yeats which I had not read for a very long time - here it is:

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;

I have spread my dreams under your feet;

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

We were also able to get a first look at the Region 16 banner which has been commissioned for the entrance hall to the quilt museum in York. Here are some pictures of it for those who were not there. It was very well executed and really captured the essence of Scotland.

I had the great good fortune to attend the all day workshop with Delia the next day - held in the Victoria Hall in Dunblane. It was a great workshop. The theme of the workshop was capturing the mood of the sea. It was very well taught and facilitated and I was amazed at the great range of work produced by everyone in the class. I ended up slicing my piece in two so I had two thin pieces as you can see here

I thought it worked out really well and I used techniques I had not used before. I believe you can count yourself lucky when you come out of a workshop having been well taught, inspired by other class members work and with something finished you quite like.

I have too many photos to share here but here is a selection of the work of other group members.

I also posted two other reports today so if you have not seen the information about the Edinburgh Quilters trip coming up to Dumfries make sure you scroll down.
Happy stitching.

SECC creative crafts show

2009-03-21T13:43:00.008Z

It's two weeks ago now but I did want to put up a quick post about the show at the SECC. I was there to take my turn on the Guild stand on the Sunday and whilst the show is aimed at a range of needle and creative crafts rather than patchwork and quilting it was a worthwhile trip to represent the Guild and have a look around. I think you can pick up some creative ideas from other crafts and arts.

What really caught my eye was the exhibition of recycled art and craft pieces. I was struck by some small models of 1950's style dresses made from recycled plastic, beautifully lit. There were these wonderful shoes too and the fantastic dress and papier mache spoons made from children's books with wonderful illustrations.

We had a steady stream of people who stopped by to ask about the Guild and where to find classes and groups so I hope all those we spoke to managed to make contact with local quilters in their area.

Edinburgh Quilters trip to Dumfries

2009-03-21T08:28:00.003Z

I know it's been ages since I last put up a post but I have been very busy attending quilting events. Later today I will put up a post about the QG regional day and the workshop with Delia Salter.

However, for those who look in earlier than that below is some information I have received from Kay Lucas at Edinburgh quilters. I hope some of you will be able to go - please contact Kay directly

Edinburgh quilters outing to Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries and Shambellie House Museum of Costume

Saturday 16 May 2009

Edinburgh quilters are running [subject to sufficient support ] a coach to the exhibition of spinners, weavers, dyers, embroiderers’ guild and Solway quilters in Gracefield arts centre, Dumfries on Saturday 16 may, the last day of the exhibition. Entrance to the exhibition is free. Café available or bring a picnic.

In the afternoon we go on to Shambellie house museum of costume. [ national museums of Scotland --bring your friends of the museums membership card- entrance fee otherwise, though access to the garden and the tea room are free!] The temporary exhibition is to be Jean Muir fashions - apparently not exactly as in Edinburgh - but if you missed it here there’s a chance to catch it there!
Please note – our coach is too large to get right up to the house and - as last time - we will have to walk up from the car park– it’s not far but it is slightly uphill.

We leave Edinburgh at 8am approx – pick-up points probably the Gyle, Fairmile Inn and Cameron toll.
Back in Edinburgh 6pm-ish. [ details to be confirmed.]

Cost per person £11 approx – depends on numbers.

We extend a warm invitation to members of other quilting/embroiderers’ groups in the Edinburgh area to join us. Friends also very welcome.

To reserve a seat please – by 10 April - send a note with your name and contact tel number, together with a cheque for £11.oo, made out to ‘Edinburgh Quilters’, to EQ secretary

Kay Lucas
24 Morningside Park
Edinburgh EH10 5HB [ tel. 0131 447 9622 ]

Quilted Stories Exhibition Easter Weekend

2009-03-10T12:48:00.006Z

Quilted Stories

Annette and Douglas Bruton have been working together for the last year on a joint textiles and writing project. A small exhibition of their work will be on show this coming weekend in West Linton Village Centre in Raemartin Square on the 10th, 11th and 12th of April. The exhibition is open 9.30 am to 5pm.

Annette is a quilter and has set herself the challenge of producing a small A4 sized quilt on a different theme each month for the past year. Each theme is within an overall project based on the village of West Linton. Each piece was used to try out a new technique or idea.

Douglas is a writer and has taken the same themes and produced a short piece of highly evocative writing each month. Again, all the writing has a link with the village of West Linton – past and present.

The exhibition is free. There will be the opportunity, if you wish, to make a small donation to the Vine Trust Charity which helps abandoned children make better lives for themselves in Peru – a charity Douglas has done some field work with.

For further information please email us at douglasrdbruton@hotmail.com
or annettebruton@btinternet.com or tel 01968 660568

Bonnyrigg Quilters Workshop

2009-03-07T21:06:00.011Z

A group of 18 of us from Bonnyrigg Quilters got together for a whole day workshop today to make quilts from jelly rolls. Whilst the quilts were not designed to be finished in the time allowed for the workshop everyone made very good progress. There was an excellent atmosphere and everyone seemed to have a really enjoyable day.

We had two designs to choose from - with two of us (of which I was one) leading the workshop. I am always delighted to see the different choices people make with their fabrics and the way they put them together. The pics in this post are of the sample quilts and some work in progress and I hope to bring you a slide show of the finished quilts in the not too distant future.

Of course no quilting day in Bonnyrigg would be complete without a constant supply of buns and tea and we were well looked after by Elaine and Aileen who gave up the chance to stitch to keep our sugar and caffein levels at fever pitch.

One of the quilt designs was based on a pattern by Eleanor Burns, not designed for jelly rolls but since Eleanor's quilts are often based on two and half inch strip they are ideal for using up those jelly roll or similar bundles that we can't resist. The other was a pattern from the Jelly Roll Quilt book from the Quilt Room. You can find links to both the Quilt Room and Eleanor Burns websites on the right hand side of the blog.

This weekend is also the weekend for the craft and stitch show in Glasgow at the SECC where I will be on the Quilters Guild stand talking to visitors about the work of the Guild. I wonder if I will see any regular readers there. I will bring you news tomorrow night of things that catch my eye that might interest you.

And finally a reminder that next weekend is the Regional Day (Scotland) for the Quilters Guild. I have the great pleasure of picking up Delia Salter on Friday evening, attending the Regional day on Saturday and attending the workshop with Delia on Sunday. So another busy and exciting quilting weekend ahead. I will bring you all the news from that but hope to see many of you there.

Happy Stiching

Spring coming at last

2009-03-05T21:07:00.009Z

Despite the snow yesterday and today I do think spring is here. I was at the Dawyk botanic garden a couple of weeks ago and their snowdrops were wonderful - great banks of them. The days are a little longer and the sun, when it gets through is a treat.

Trip to London

Well it's been a busy two weeks and I have been away from home a fair bit but I have still been able to get some textile related adventures in. Two weekends ago I had to travel to London for a conference on the Monday and arrived just in time to fit in a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum on a lovely Sunday afternoon. The V&A is my favourite museum. There were two things I wanted to see: The Magnificence of the Tsars and Masterpieces of Ukiyo-e.

Ukiyo-e means 'Pictures of the Floating World'. Images of everyday Japan, mass-produced for popular consumption in the Edo period (1615-1868), they represent one of the high points of Japanese cultural achievement. Many of the prints were produced for fans. I love Japanese design both traditional and modern. So much of Japanese design has influenced textile design in the West.

The Tsars exhibition was a look at the sumptuous textiles and embroidered

court clothes of the Tsars. It was really interesting. What really struck me

was the predominance of very modern looking pink silks often combined green - in both men and women's clothing. Even if you can't get down to London you can find out a bit more at the V&A website at http://www.vam.ac.uk/index.html In particular you might want to click on this page http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/textiles/index.html- it takes you to lots of information about textiles with interviews with embroiderers, video clips, little programmes where you can design and play around with textile patterns...... hours of fun !

I am sure you will all be interested to know that the V&A is to stage a major exhibition from 20 March to 4 July of next year. This exhibition will showcase the V&A's collection of patchwork and quilted covers to bring together over 300 years of British quilting history, from the spectacular bed hangings and silk coverlets of the 18th century, to the creative reinvention of the quilt by contemporary artists. I am already thinking of planning a trip to see the exhibition - and there is loads more to do in London.

Trip to York

Last Friday I took a day's leave from work and set off for York with my apex train ticket and sandwiches to see the two new exhibitions that are on at the Quilt Museum. I really liked both. The exhibition in the main hall was Warp, Weft and the Printer's Block which explores the manufacture of cotton, silk, linen and wool in the 18th and 19th centuries and its use in quilt making. The quilts were from the Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles historic textile collection. It was a great chance to see some the quilts in the Guilds care. It was really interesting to see the story of how different textiles came into prominence and how modern many of the fabrics looked. I loved the fine wool quilts. Photographs are not allowed so you will need to check out the guild museums website for some images.

The second and smaller exhibition was excellent too. 'Migration' by Cefyn Burgess, included weaving, embroidery and quilting it was refreshing and inspiring. Again you can see more on the website if you can't get to York.

The museum shop was much better stocked than my first visit and the garden, as you can see if really coming along very nicely. Because I am a Guild member I was able to have my lunch in the Museums members room and read the good supply of magazines for members.
York also has a good quilting and embroidery shop, a good knitting shop and an excellent art gallery where I was lucky enough to catch an important exhibition of the work of the artist Sir Stanley Spencer on tour from the Tate. So a really good day out. I love the train too, I was able to stitch on the way there and back.

Little gems: journal quilts

2009-02-17T07:10:00.005Z

Contemporary Quilt, a specialist group of the Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles, will be running a tombola at the 2009 Festival of Quilts, 20th – 23rd August, of ‘Little Gems’ - A4 sized quilts made and donated to raise funds for the new Guild Museum and Gallery in York.

The Little Gems idea is based on the journal quilts done in 2007 by the Contemporary Group of the Quilters Guild of the British Isles – which in turn was based on the Journal Quilt project shown at the Houston show for several years, starting in 2003.
Participants in the journal quilt projects made one small quilt a month, for a year. Some people found working small was a challenge - some found it was a delight!

These little quilts are so quick to finish, and are a great way to try out new techniques or ideas, or to try new blocks or applique patterns, or even to perfect your machine or hand quilting. If you get hooked you’ll soon find you have a growing stack of them.

Please make one (or lots) of A4-sized quilts! The Little Gems tombola at the 2009 Festival of Quilts would love to have your contributions.

Your Little Gem needs to be A4 size when finished, three layers held together by stitch, with edges finished “appropriately” — and it can use any technique.

The pictures on this post are of a couple of my journal quilts from this year but to see some really wonderful work you should take a look at the little gems website. You can get further information and see some incredibly inspiring work at http://littlegemquilts.wordpress.com/

If anyone would like to take part in a local challenge (in South East Scotland)where we get together for the day to make a little journal quilt (or two) let me know by email at annettebruton@btinternet.com I would run it in June or July. That way you could register to say you will do a quilt for the tombola in August and know that you will complete it. If I get 10 or more people interested I will run a workshop day. I am also happy to collect quilts to go to Birmingham for the tombola.

Tweaking and Twiddling in Jedburgh

2009-02-16T06:51:00.015Z

I had the great good fortune to be signed up for the class with Jennie Rayment at Borderland Fabrics in Jedburgh on Saturday. For those who have not yet made it to Borderland fabrics it is well worth a visit. Easy to find, lots of parking and spacious shop and workshop. That's before you even get to the tea, home baking and home made soup for lunch. Here are a few pictures of the shop for those who have not been.

Jennie Rayment, famous for her fabric folding and manipulation, is an excellent teacher. Very lively, down to earth, hugely knowledgeable and very hard working. She teaches to everyones strength, seems to be able to fix any problem and makes sure that everyone can work at their own pace so that each student can do quality work. Here are some of the pieces that Jennie brought with her to demonstrate.

Having said that Jennie makes sure her students work hard too. I really felt I got loads of learning out of the day.

Jennie also generously taught some of us a second project in the afternoon once she was sure we knew how to finish the first. As a result mine did not get finished but here is where it got to by the end of the day. I did a bit more on Saturday night when I got home

and I will put up a picture of it when it is done. It was great fun. Ideal for me too as I have to do fabric tucking, folding and manipulation for my City and Guilds so I felt like I got some of my work done for that too. Jennie has workshop list where you can catch her classes but also teaches to guilds and groups so contact her if you are interested. Her website is http://www.jennierayment.com/

The website is good, clear and has a gallery of her work and that of students.

Borderlands fabric owner Annette and her colleague (who also teaches in the shop) Cathy, were on hand all day to make sure we were well supported, to provide help with those fabric and gadget purchases that we all needed to have. The lunch there is good and is part of the cost of the workshop. The delightful cafe is great so a trip for the day to peruse, purchase and partake of the home baking is worth it. Bonnyrigg Quilter, where I am a member are having a day out in June to do just that. There is a link to Borderland Fabrics on the right hand side bar.

In coming up this week we have the Ingliston Spring quilt show this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Link to the website for more details is: http://www.grosvenorexhibitions.co.uk/Quilt/Quilts-Spring/Quilts-Spring.html#Edinburgh

so hope to see lots of you there.

Snow interupts quilting!!

2009-02-12T19:42:00.009Z

The winter weather continues here in Scotland and although we should not be surprised, after all it is winter and that's when it snows, it nevertheless takes us by surprise when we can't simply hop in the car or on the plane to get to our destination. The quilt workshop I was planning to attend with Dawn Cameron Dick at Purely Patchworks in Linthgow had to be cancelled because Dawn was snowed in down south. Of course it has been rearranged and I am still looking forward to it and every cloud has a silver lining. The workshop I am running for Bonnyrigg quilters using Jelly Rolls looms ever nearer so I was able to use my time to get on with my sample quilt for that workshop. I have been collecting Jelly Rolls and think they are so pretty that I find it difficult to use them. Defeats the purpose really so made a really good start to using up at least one of them. The ones in the pic are those as yet untouched.

I had some great emails this week from fellow quilters letting me know they are reading the blog and some new readers who had seen the wee article about the blog that appeared in Newspatch - the regional newsletter for Scottish Quilters Guild members. Among those who wrote to me was Linda Gillard - a novelist and quilter. Linda's first novel EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY has had some very good reviews. The heroine is a 47-year old textile artist. Art quilts and patchwork feature in the story. Linda lives in Glasgow and says her quilting has had to take a back seat for the last couple of years as her writing career has taken off. She now has three published novels. Linda's website tell you all about her books, contains extracts and features photos of some of her lovely quilts. See http://www.lindagillard.co.uk/ She has kindly given me a review copy of Emotional Geology so I will do a review soon and put it on the blog.

The continuing cold weather prompted me to turn my mind to summer quilt prospects and I thought I would tell you a bit about Lyn Ball's quilting retreats in Caithness. Lyn runs Patchwork Pleasures which provides accomodation and quilting space either with tuition or to do your own work. I am lucky enough to be going in the first week of June with 4 quilting chums - we have our own project planned and we are hoping that the inspiration of the beautiful land and seascapes at Skirza near John 'O Groats will help our quilting fly. It's a bit of a drive but beautiful one and we will take in most of Scotland and a few quilt shops on the way. If you want more information you can contact Lyn on lyn.skirza@btopenworld.com she will be delighted to hear from you and can give you further information.

My City and Guild work this week has been fun - it was about experimenting with colour stitching on different materials including shears. These are samples of works in progress. I am lucky enough to be doing my City and Guilds with DesignMatters.

They launched their brand new updated website this week and it is well worth a look. Loads of inspiration. The link is in the right hand column of blog.

So finally whether it's snowing, foggy or raining - and it seems to be possible to get all three in one day here - I hope you are making the most of it by staying indoors and stitching.

February begins with snow

2009-02-02T20:00:00.013Z

Well, compared with south of Hadrian's Wall we have had but a mere flurry of the white stuff but it was picturesque non the less. These photos show the views out the front and back doors of my house this morning when it was light. I understand our English cousins are exporting their weather to us overnight so we will see what tomorrow brings

I had a day out with my chum Mary P on Saturday and I made a return visit to the Turning Point exhibition in Stirling which I mentioned in my last post. I really enjoyed it again. I also went to ' Match a Patch' the new quilt shop in Stirling. I needed to buy some cream fabric for a jelly roll quilt I am working but have a lovely time looking at all the other fabrics that I really NEED and must return for. Match a Patch have a really interesting list of workshops so if you live in that area or visiting you may wish to give them a ring and find out more. I don't have room here to list them all but examples include a somerset patchwork class on this coming Saturday, a spinning stars workshop with Mick Stead on the 21st February and a bag making class with Bonnie McKerracher on the 14th of March. You can contact the shop for a full list.

We went on from Stirling to Calendar to have look round Gallery Lutti in Callender. It's a lovely gallery with contemporary Scottish art at reasonable prices and some very nice ceramic and jewellery. We then did a shop hop along the charity shops and I managed to find some an old embroidered tray cloth and an embroidered pillow cases that needed rescued and recycled. I have added them to my - any day now crazy patchwork quilt - that is rising up my to do list.

I have just completed these two little denim bags (make up bag and small toilet bag) made from discarded teenage boys' jeans and scrap fabric. They are from the book by Lise Bergen. I am demonstrating these as the new project in a little quilt group which meets on Monday after work in our office.

I also finished my January journal quilt which is based around a very old statue and clock in our village. Just two more to go and then I have been round a whole year. It's a quick way to make time fly by - as is it doesn't do that by itself.

I was reading a really interesting article in Quilters Newletter this week. The article was about quilting podcasts and it highlighted the podcast of Annie Smith who has been publishing podcasts since 2005. For those of you not already familiar with podcasts they are essentially like a radio broadcast you can download and listen to on your computer or you ipod. The one from yesterday which I downloaded lasts over an hour so took about 14 minutes to download. Clearly you can delete it when you have listened otherwise it would quickly fill up your computer space. Worth a listen I think. You can download Annie's podcasts and see her travels as a quilt teacher on her website at http://simplearts.com/blogs/quilts/schedule.html

Happy stitching.

2009-01-24T20:59:00.016Z

GUILD NEWS

It was the committee meeting of Region 16 (Scotland) of the quilters guild today. it was a beautiful winter day with wonderful views over Stirling. I was able to hand to Lesley Hurrell the tartan suitcase quilts that had been passed to me by quilters in Mid and East Lothian. I am really looking forward to seeing the whole collection which will first be displayed at the Loch Lomond Quilt show in May.

EXHIBITIONS

Because the meeting was in Stirling I was also able to go the Turning Point Exhibition at the Smith Gallery. It was excellent. I had seen many of the quilts before at Loch Lomond and at Birmingham but they looked most impressive hung together in what was the perfect sized gallery at the Smith. The very helpful folders which could be borrowed gave very readable informative summaries about each piece.I was particularly impressed by the work of the group based around the Cowane Chest which is a 17th Century Oak chest which is heavily carved. The chest itself formed part of the exhibition. It is well worth seeing and I have put a link to Turning Point's website on the right - just click on the image and it will take you to the website and their gallery.

CURRENT WORK IN PROGRESS

I have been busy getting on with my own City Guilds work and have been having fun with fabric printing and applique as you can see.

JOURNAL QUILT PROJECT

I am working on a journal quilt project with my husband, Douglas.

For 10 months we have been working on themes to do with our village.

I do a journal quilt each month and he does a piece of writing: both of the same theme but not seeing each others work till we are done. You can see some of Douglas' work on his blog http://douglasrdb.blogspot.com/

Here area couple of my journal quilts to date. They are roughly A4 size with a bit of artistic licence. We have decided to hold a small exhibition of our work with quilts and writing on show in April in West Linton where we live. The dates are 10th, 11th and 12th of April. West Linton is a charming conservation village with a small gift shop, bookshop and cafe as well a pub that does pub lunch so if you are in the area you might want to drop in.

The exhibition will be held in the Village Centre which is in the

square in the middle of the village. Only one street really so you can't miss it. If you would like more information or directions let me know at annettebruton@btinternet.com

QUILTERS GUILD AREA DAY MARCH

I hope everyone has managed to book their places for the Regional day at Perth on the 14th of March. We will be running a small bus from Bonnyrigg, calling at the Gyle in Edinburgh. Let me know if you would like a seat. I think it will fill up quickly. The two speakers at the Regional day are Delia Salter and Evelyn Ramsay who are highly acclaimed quilters. Evelyn is a member of Turning Point and is a member of Lime TArts (see links on right bar).

AND FINALLY.......

I realise that since quite a few people now read this blog (thanks for that!) I should be clear about when there will be a new post. I will try to update this on Sunday night each week. Or, you can sign up (see panel on right) and you will get an email to say when there is a new blog.

Happy stitching.

January news

2009-01-11T09:28:00.014Z

In my last post I confessed to having many unfinished projects (well works in progress) so below I am giving an update on further progress. Firstly though here are some bits of news and information that quilters in south east Scotland might be interested in.

Lesley Hurrell our guild rep for Scotland had an email from Sarah Jane Rice about a project she is working on. Sarah wrote the following: 'I am a new member to the quilters guild, and am very keen to get the message out about a quilting project I am working on at the moment. Can you please help me? In 2009, we will be celebrating the centennary of a march held in Edinburgh to demand women's suffrage. This event was a milestone in the fight for women's vote in the UK, and involved groups and individuals from all over Scotland and the UK. As a quilter, I would like to mark this centennary by creating quilt(s) made up of squares from quilters everywhere! In keeping with the suffragette theme, we are asking for the colour scheme to be green, women, and violet. Squares should be 9 and 1/2 inches. Sarah has a flyer specifically about the 'quilting challenge', as well as some information about the 'gude cause' centennary for your information. ' If you would like a copy you can email me at annettebruton@btinternet.com and I will pass it on.
Region 15E have sent us information of a competion being run by Pins and Needles. Entries need to be in by 27th March. There are 4 categories: traditional; miniature; quilt creations and; young quilter. Again if you are interested in finding out more let me know by email and I will send you the flyer.
Turning Point are having a number of events in the Smith Gallery and Stirling over the next few weeks. Again I have a proforma I can send you if you are interested . This includes the following - Saturday 17th January Quilt Sale 2pm till 4pm
Turning Point would like to offer you the chance to buy some pieces made by members of the group. This will be held in the lecture theatre.

Guided tours with Turning Point 12.30pm till 2pm
Wednesday to Saturday
Friday 23rd January 11am till 4pm Workshop £25
DESIGNS FROM NATURE Evelyn Ramsay
Inspiration for this class can be found from many sources; photographs, newspaper cuttings, landscapes, gardens, shadows, seascapes etc.. I collect flowers, leaves, grasses even weeds to press and use as masks in this workshop.
We will work with disperse dyes on A4 paper and experiment with different ways of marking and printing synthetic fabric to make a wall hanging or a picture. No artistic experience is necessary as the ideas will flow with the dyes and I will be on hand to help.

Friday 6th February 11am till 4pm Workshop £25 Pat Archibald
Travellers' Tales Told in Little Landscapes/Banks and Braes Conjure up the atmosphere and capture memories of special places by creating strata of fabric layers. With the strata in place, superimpose a tiny, pictorial glimpse or detail of the scene. Hand embellish with embroidery and beads. These pieces are A4 sized, achievable and manageable. Kits can be supplied for this workshop containing everything you require Friday 6th February Around the World in Eighty Quilts Pat Archibald
Travels can be strong influences in your quiltmaking. Come on a creative journey and learn how I make my colour selections and design decisions to reflect the quality of the places I visit. This is a PowerPoint presentation
The Quilters Guild have provided the following information about new exhibitions and events at St Antony's in York.
‘Warp, Weft and the Printer’s Block’
and ‘Migration’ by Cefyn Burgess
20 January to 18 April 2009

The Quilt Museum and Gallery in York will begin its 2009 exhibition programme celebrating the use of cloth and the work of contemporary textile artist Cefyn Burgess.

‘Warp, Weft and the Printer’s Block’ will explore the manufacture of cotton, silk, linen and wool in the 18th and 19th centuries and its use in quiltmaking. Items from the Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles historic textile collection will be used to demonstrate the utilitarian, inventive, and often artistic output of the period’s needlewomen.

The exhibition will include a spectacular example of broderie perse, ‘The Tree of Life’.
Dating from the late 18th or early 19th century, the coverlet is made of block printed cottons that have been cut out and applied to a linen ground. Two other examples will show how fabric manufactured for clothing also found its way into quilts – a simply-executed quilt made of squares of mid 18th-century printed dress wools and a more complex patchwork strippy with wool and cotton squares on point slashed with black and purple.

‘Migration’ is the story of a personal journey made by Cefyn Burgess as he set about opening up new areas of work. Burgess, originally a weaver, was awarded a grant from the Arts Council of Wales in 2006 to explore themes connected with the migration of Welsh people to America. His intention was to focus on two key elements of Welsh society, textiles and chapels, and to examine what each revealed about the lives of migrants as they adapted to their new homeland. The results of his research include one particular migrant home in Pennsylvania, where the interior was an eclectic mix of traditional and modern. This interior became pivotal to his study and stimulated an interest in the ‘art of the home’. This in turn led to creating a series of artworks based on quilts and woven blankets as well as experiments with stitch and embellishment.

For more information about the Quilt Museum and Gallery and a list of forthcoming activities please visit www.quiltmuseum.org.uk or email info@quiltmuseum.org.uk

As you know from my last post I had managed to finish a couple of things from my list of 17. Well I sewed like a banshee for the rest of my holidays and finished a few more things along with a chunk of my city and guilds work. My tutor at Design Matters is Marie Roper who is very encouraging and helpful. If you don't already know Marie's work you might like to look at her website (I have put a link on the right hand side panel of this blog). Right now the course is focusing on shape and printing in various materials and media. It's really very interesting.

I managed to complete a small project I had started with Alicia Merrett at the Birmingham show last year and though its a bit rough at the edges I thought it was an interesting technique and was pleased I had finished it.

I also finished a traditional Ohio star quilt I have been working on for ages. I bought the fabric in New York and whilst I have enjoyed making it it kept getting overtaken with other projects. I had a miserable experience though as I cut the last of the plastic tags (only time I ever used a basting gun on a large quilt hmmm) I cut through the quilt top. After several boxes of tissues I decided to strategically place some buttons also bought in New York across the quilt. It will drive me mad though and I think I will have to repair the quilt properly but not sure if I have any of the clipped fabric left. hey ho!

I was pleased to complete a blue quilt made from fabrics from Rowan, and based on a workshop I had taken with Kaffe Fassett. It is the second quilt made based on this workshop. I loved working with the riot of colour and this is the first time I used free motion quilting across a whole quilt. Oh for a long arm quilter.. .........

Inspired by the work of Frieda Oxenham I have been making some Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) based around Christmas. Yes, I know it's over but given how pathetic my attempt was to finish things for this year I am starting early. I will post up some examples soon. Can I remind Guild members though that Freida is teaching a workshop on ATCs in May for us. I will sending out the booking form soon.

Please feel free to leave a comment on this blog if there is anything you would like to see or see changed or even if you find it interesting or helpful.

Finishing off and diaries out!

2008-12-29T12:06:00.013Z

I hope everyone reading this has had a very happy Christmas and that none of you had any problems with your cooker. My oven packed in on Christmas eve! However, the kindness of friends and neighbours meant my ham got cooked in one house and my turkey in another so Christmas dinner was great success. My very good chum Marion lives ham carrying distance away and kindly cooked and minded my 10lb ham on Christmas eve. I am also blessed with a kind neighbour whose husband does not like turkey so they had a free oven on Christmas morning.

Every year around this time I take stock of what needs completed and what is coming up in the new year. I am sure I am not alone in having a few (actually 17) unfinished projects. I have made great progress this Christmas holiday. I have sorted out all my unfinished projects, put them neatly in bags, labelled and ready for action. Job done! Well .......apart from the actual finishing that is. However, it did make me feel less overwhelmed and I have finished the quilt I was making for my mum-in-laws Christmas. She had to have a promissory note for Christmas. She is moving house in January so it will now reach her in time for that. As you can see it's a simple nine patch but all based around roses (her name).

I also managed to complete my A3 sized contribution for the tartan
holdall collection that Lesley Hurrell is putting together for region 16 of the guild. If you have not done yours yet and you are a Scottish Guild member how about squeezing in some time this week to have a go. Lesley asked for the quilts by the end of December - but I am handing mine in, along with 3 more I have been given, on 24th January so there is still time.

The other thing I do at this time of the year is to transfer all the scribbled notes from this year's calendar to next. So this is good opportunity to let you know about what's coming up in 2009. I was lucky enough to be given a quilt workshop at Purely Patchworks in Linlithgow as a gift for my Christmas. I am going to the workshop on the 7th February with Dawn Cameron Dick on machine applique double wedding ring. If you don't already get the newsletter from Purely Patchworks give them a ring - they have a great range of classes and workshops. I am also pleased to be doing a class with Jenny Raiment in February and one with Pat Archibald in April - both at Borderland Fabrics in Jedburgh. If you want to find out more about classes at these two shops you can get the phone number for Purely Patchworks and the web address for Borderland Fabrics at the side of this blog. You might also want to look at Pat Archbald's newly updated website which you can also find a link to on the right to see new classes by Pat.
In June I am heading of t0 Caithness for a quilting retreat with some chums which I think will be a highlight of my quilting year.

Other things that I have in my calendar include:

the quilt show at Ingliston near Edinburgh on the weekend of the 20 - 22nd February

the Knit and Stitch show at the SECC in Glasgow on the 7 and 8 March

the Quilters Guild regional day at Perth on 14th March
East, Mid Lothian and Borders area day with Frieda Oxenham on the 9th May - venue to be confirmed

Loch Lomond quilt show 20 - 23rd May

Quilters Guild residential weekend at Stirling 27 and 28 June
Pauline Burbidge's open studio event in the Scottish Borders 31st July to 3rd August (see links on the right)

Festival of Quilts in Birmingham 20th to 23rd August

Quilters Guild Regional day - also in Perth, 12th September

I am sure there are more group shows being planned so if you contact me I can let everyone know about your upcoming shows and events. Happy finishing!

Winter in Selkirk

2008-12-06T16:36:00.025Z

I finished my small quilt from the workshop I attended last week run by Liz Duke. It's a great technique and it allowed me to experiment with colour and tone as well as practice my free motion quilting skills. It would lend itself to all sorts of landscapes. You could get inspiration from paintings or postcards or use your own drawings or photographs. I found myself during the snow earlier in the week thinking about whether I had enough shades of white and cream to use this technique for my journal quilt for this month.

Last week I put the forthcoming Souter quilters show in my post.

I was lucky enough to go the show today and to experience Selkirk High Street on Scott's weekend.
There were more than a few people who seemed to have been timewarped from the 19th century. It was wonderful. There was even a handsome pair of modest ladies (aka Annette and Cathie) on the Borderland Fabrics stand at the quilt show.

I had been asked by Souter quilters to judge their challenge competition. This is no mean feat. I was very impressed by the work and thought that had gone into designing and making the quilts for the challenge. I really enjoyed doing the judging though making the decision on who should get placed 1st to 3rd was very difficult. I felt everyone was a winner because everyone who entered had lovely wallhanging at the end of the process.

The rest of the show in the Victoria Hall demonstrated that Souter Quilters are a group that work across a wide range of techniques and styles. The exhibition had a great mix of traditional quilts and contemporary work. there were large quilts and small pieces as well as cushions and other three dimensional work. There was some lovely work on the sales table and I am sure that quilters and non-quilters alike will have found something that inspired them. I have selected only a small number of my photos for this post to give you a flavour of the show.

Congratulations to all at Souter quilters.

Coming up in Selkirk

2008-12-01T20:53:00.010Z

This weekend (6th and 7th December) is the exhibition of the Souter Quilters. The exhibition runs as part of the Scott's Selkirk weekend. I am looking forward to attending the exhibition on Saturday and I am delighted to have been asked to judge the competition. You can check out some super quilts from an earlier exhibition on Souter Quilters website at http://www.onlineborders.org.uk/site/microsites/sq/home/page/index_html

The Souter Quilters Exhibition is upstairs at the Victoria Hall in Selkirk. The easiest way to get there is to follow the A7 up into the town. Go through the pedestrian traffic lights in the town centre and then instead of following the A7 around to the right leading towards Selkirk, you go straight on (shops both sides). Just as you leave the shops you will see Victoria Hall on your left. It is a big building - looks like a town hall - which is set in its own grounds. Hope to see you there.

Selkirk is a lovely borders town and this is a great opportunity to combine seeing quilts, supporting Souter quilters and doing some Christmas shopping in the one day. You can find out more about the events on as part of Scott's Selkirk at http://www.scottsselkirk.co.uk/

2008-11-30T18:26:00.017Z

It was freezing cold today and a stunningly beautiful St Andrew's day. I spent a great day at Thorntonloch House near Dunbar with my friends Mary and Dorothy. Liz Duke was running a workshop there on contemporary landscape quilting.

The venue was the lovely bed and breakfast owned by Sheila Grice who is also a quilter (link on the right of this post).
Liz had run a one hour workshop on the recent Quilter's Guild Area Day. This workshop followed on from that or could be started from scratch.

We had all admired the original piece (above) that Liz had produced and while some of the participants were well outside their comfort zones in this technique we were all excited about the possibilities. I was starting from scratch and had a great morning playing around with colour and building up my picture. Of course I played too long and was at the cows tail by the end of the day. Liz kept telling us though that it was not a race and that it was about doing your own thing.

I will need to post my finished piece when it finally gets done! Most people got pretty close to a finished piece as you can see from the photo.

Liz ran a great workshop, giving us loads of ideas, supplying materials and equipment and sharing her experience and skills. We had plenty of room to work and a large light room to work in.

Sheila is planning to run quilting retreats at Thorntonloch House.
The house is large, wonderfully comfortable and the views are
stunning - looking out over the coast. Sheila' hospitality was superb with fresh coffee and tea all day and home made soup at lunchtime.

The house is only 45 minutes from Edinburgh but felt like a world away. I think it would be a wonderful retreat. Contact Sheila if you want to find out more.

City and Guilds November 08

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Because I work full time I wanted to find a way to do my city and guilds in a flexible way. I was lucky enough to get a place with Design Matters. It's an online course so you can use online resources and work at your own pace. You can check out the website here. http://www.lindakemshall.com/index.html It's an inspiration!

The course is wonderful and really makes me try out new techniques and approaches. I also love making more tradional style utility quilts but this course has helped me develop my design skills and to work more with mixed materials and in different media. I am now building up a great collection of samples and trial pieces which are interesting in their own right and which are practice pieces for other work.

Right now I'm working on monoprints, free motion quilting and curved piecing.

I work full time so I tend to work in fits and starts on my City and Guild - doing loads when I am on holiday. I find that having a camera and sketch book with me whenever I am out and about is a great basis for ideas for when I can get some time to work on my patchwork and quilting. The design and creative elements of the course are great for pushing you to innovate and try new things. Of course I also need to find time for other quilting projects, my own and with a quilt group I belong to.

I studied art at school and then as part of my course at college and it's wonderful some 30 years later to come back to painting and drawing to support my patchwork and quilting interests. The teaching materials for the course

don't require you to be a great artist, there are loads of ideas and techniques for learning about colour, form and shape and for translating that into fabric, thread, stitch and texture.

My biggest problem is too many ideas and possiblities and not enough hours in the day. I bet that's a familiar story!

2008-11-21T22:21:00.003Z

This is my first blog on a site I am setting up to help network quilters in South East Scotland and to share information from the quilters guild.

I have been quilting 'properly' for just over 4 year. My story is a very familiar one however. I taught myself to sew on an old singer treadle machine when I was in my early teens, was an embroiderer from the age of about 10 and by the time I was at university I was making all my own clothes. I hear similar stories from other quilters, I just seemed to have a bit of time lag between all that early stuff and coming to quilting. I did make a quilt for my brother when he got married but two decades later when I stumbled on a quilt shop in Bath when I was on holiday the whole world of quilting had changed.
Now 4 years and some 40 odd quilts later I would now say that it's not a hobby - it's a way of life. I visited the quilt festival in Birmingham the first year I was quilting and the rest, as they say, is history.

Among other patchwork and quilting related activities I am the area representative for the Quilters Guild for East and Midlothian and for the Scottish Borders. I hope this blog will be a way of keeping guild members and other quilting friends up to date with activities that are going on that might interest you. If anyone has information they want me to pass on please get in touch through this blogsite. I will gradually fill up the site with links to shops and events in the area so that visitors as well as local quilters can keep in touch.