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 […]
Here’s how to read my newsletters
“This weekly newsletter is written by me, Erica Spinks, so I can share stories about books, gardens, quilts and other interests with you.“ These are words from the footer of my weekly newsletters and, hopefully, gives you an idea of what to expect. I write a newsletter each Sunday and, if you subscribe, it will […]
Autumn mist and fog
It takes a long time to get used to local weather patterns. I’ve lived most of my life in Sydney and know how the weather works there; what to expect from a southerly buster, when the humidity is worst, and the direction of storm paths. The key to learning different weather patterns is observation and […]
Leaves and more leaves
It’s autumn here and there are fallen leaves throughout my garden. When I rediscovered this small quilt in my quilt cupboard today, it reminded me of the season. I fused hand-dyed leaf shapes to the purple background and machine quilted curved lines to indicate breeze. It’s a simple quilt yet it really captures the autumn […]
Black, white and blue
I really need to spend some time finishing the quilts I have piled on my shelves. Today I found some of the blocks I made for my version of Lucy Boston’s Patchwork of the Crosses quilt. My blocks are large – 12 inches across the diagonal – so that means the individual pieces are large. […]