Quilting involves much more than the creative activity of making a quilt. It is also about women coming together to share their skills and life experiences, often forming real and lasting friendships. I remember leaving a place where I had worked for more than 20 years. Most of my colleagues were women and many of […]
Summer solstice
Today we welcome the summer solstice, that time of year that marks the beginning of summer. Given the amount of rain we’ve had this year, it may have been optimistic of me to expect sunshine. A temperature of 13 degrees and steady showers is what we have instead. Ah, well… Instead, I’ll add brightness with […]
Six years to trip around the world
This month, I sewed the binding to my Trip Around the World quilt. It’s the biggest quilt I’ve ever made, finishing at 231cm x 256cm (91in x 101in). Let me tell you the story of how it came to be. Six years ago, I started cutting squares from fabrics in my stash. I wanted to […]
Seed stitch
I enjoy using seed stitch on my small quilts. It’s often used as a filler stitch in backgrounds and I like the quirkiness of the stitch directions. Don’t know what it is? Check out this page from the Textile Research Centre for an explanation. It’s not a new stitch but looks contemporary. I used this […]
Playing with squares
If you ever need a break from complicated quilt patterns, try laying out different designs with squares. I have piles of 2 1/2 inch squares, cut from leftover pieces of fabric and sorted into colours. These simple shapes are fun to arrange and stitch together easily by machine. I recently made a quilt using squares […]
Binding time
There’s a queen size quilt sitting in my cupboard. I finished piecing it at least five years ago and it was professionally quilted at least three years ago. It still doesn’t have binding. I’m not sure of the stumbling block. Do I imagine it’s already finished? Does the thought of preparing binding strips put me […]
Third time lucky
When I joined a local quilting group, I knew I would need a portable project I could hand-sew at meetings. I decided to make simple six-pointed star blocks, using fabrics from my stash. They were easy to create, using a single template I printed from EQ8, since each piece is the same. Over the past […]
Pickle Dish quilt
I’ve always been attracted to the Pickle Dish block, so I tried it in a small quilt measuring 59cm square. I rarely use red fabric in a design so that was another trial, too. The mustard-coloured print makes the red triangles pop. I hand pieced and quilted this quilt. Making small quilts is a useful […]
Virtual quilt exhibitions
One of the developments among quilters during Covid shutdowns has been an increased use of technology to spread the word. When face-to-face workshops and lectures were not feasible, many quilters improved their technology skills to teach online, with both pre-recorded and live sessions. As a result, quilters who wanted to learn had to upskill as […]
Jetsam
Today I’m sharing details of Jetsam, a quilt I made some years ago. It was an interesting experiment, combining fabric I had hand dyed with knitted pieces and plenty of hand stitching to hold it together. This is the fabric and the selection of threads I used for stitching. I chose green and blue shades […]