Dilys The Quilt

BLOG 87

2012-01-29T04:03:00.000-08:00

Before I forget, I must remind local readers that Quiltfest (http://www.quiltfest.org.uk/)

is going to be held in Llangollen from February 1st – 12th. The guest quilter is
Ferret with her exhibition ‘Here Be Dragons’ staged in the International Pavilion.
In the museum, Magie Relph is showing her exhibition ‘Bucketful of Fabrics’
from 1st – 12th. I will follow Magie in the museum with my
‘Through the Garden Gate’ quilts from 13th February to March 7th.
The popular trading day is 12th February. Be there!

I have been creative this week, working on a river scene. After making the
Bluetit quilt a couple of weeks ago (it has yet to be quilted), I thought I
would like to step outside of the rigid discipline of making 3 ½” background
blocks. I decided instead to build up a picture using horizontal strips, just
to see how it looked. The starting point is the same as I have described
before, with a roughly drawn plan on baking parchment. I then trace the
features, in this case the rocks and foliage, onto a second piece of parchment
and work them independently. The picture shows the rocks in situ and the water
‘painted’.

Riverscape

I audition fabrics as I go along, and take pictures at each stage. This way I get
a good impression of how a fabric will fit in with the surrounding features
before I invest time in using it. Here I am considering whether I want a dark
or light horizon.

Auditioning fabrics

I chose the lighter version
and this is the story so far, with only the foliage to go. The machine quilting
is quietly piling up now so I will need to have a few sessions on that discipline
before too long.

Work in progress

The other project that has
been developed during the January sewing session at the Gresford craft group is
the log cabin bag, last mentioned in Blog 78, before Christmas got in the way.

The quilted sections are
ready to be joined together and the best way to illustrate this is with a
diagram. Lay the sections out and sew the base of the bag as shown below. Stop
sewing ¼” from the outer edge with a back stitch; this allows for the seam to
be manipulated at the corners in order to sew up the sides.

Bag construction

Once the base has been secured,
sew up sides A, B C and D in sequence.

Sewing the Base

The lining is sewn in the
same way, using the template pictured in Blog 73. I will complete this project
next week.

Just a thought: Here I am, feeling like Dilly no-mates! There are 13 regular followers
of my blog and they have been ‘registered’ for some time. Now I know from
meeting other quilters that there are many more of you out there who drop in from
time to time. It has always been very specific to my quilting exploits and I am
happy to answer questions that arise from it. All I am asking is that more of
you register as followers so I feel as though I’m not talking to myself every
week!

BLOG 86

2012-01-22T09:32:00.000-08:00

This week I am going to share close-up images of our prize winning Meer Kats hanging.
It is home at last and this is the first time I have been able to take detailed pictures. I hope you enjoy them. Here are the mini quilts first:

And now for the Meer Kats:

BLOG 85

2012-01-15T11:13:00.001-08:00

This week I have continued to work on the Blue tit wall hanging. I completed the surrounding background first of all, with the aim of getting a smooth and gradual transition from one colour
to another. The colours add depth and interest.

Background

The branch is traced onto baking parchment and worked independently with overlapped horizontal strips. It is then cut to shape.

Branch

I use the second tracing of the bird to build up the plumage. I cut free-form shapes with pinking shears and overlap them slightly on the backing parchment. I iron them gently to stick the pieces together as I go. It is still possible to lift the pieces at this stage if I want to move them to another position.

Plumage

Detail

It is still a very chaotic
process at this stage, with fabric strewn everywhere and tools and
inspirational pictures to hand.

Work in progress

When I am happy with my efforts, I iron the fabric well to fuse all the pieces securely together. Then the bird is peeled off the baking parchment in one piece and it is ready to stick
onto the background when the squares have been fused.

Completed bird

I audition the bird against the background to see how it looks. At this stage I am happy with the results and I now need to prepare the background in order to complete the picture. I draw
a 3” grid of staggered squares onto backing parchment and use this to position
and overlap the squares slightly in straight lines. Then they are fused with an
iron to make the vertical lines. The same grid allows me to fuse the lines together
to construct the background. The bird is dropped on top and any spaces are in-filled
with scraps of colour. The only thing I would like to alter is the tail which I think ought to be darker to stand out
against the foliage.

Positioning

BLOG 84

2012-01-08T09:17:00.000-08:00

After a hectic Christmas and New Year, I have had the luxury
of a quiet week and I have spent a lot of quality time in my workroom. I could
hardly call it a studio, that would sound pretentious and I don’t take myself
that seriously! It is actually a workspace in a converted section of the garage
and therefore separate from the house. As such, it doesn’t have any built-in
heating system and so I have to plan well in advance when I am going to enter
this ice box, so I can heat the space in advance. That said, the weather is
mild at present and, if I enter on the crest of a power surge, it is a pleasure
to be in there!

I have made a concentrated effort on a new project this
week. I have been invited to submit a quilt for a group exhibition on the theme
‘Something borrowed; Something blue’. You can see the obvious reference here,
it being the year of the Diamond Jubilee. Obtusely, my design thoughts have
veered well away from an obvious interpretation and I have decided to do a
picture of a Bluetit; a visual delight borrowed from nature and a bit blue in
colour. (It’ll be different, that’s for sure!)

Last week I demonstrated how I fused a collection of
painterly fabrics in preparation for a project. This week I am going to outline
the first step of my method, where I use the fabrics to paint the surrounding
background first.

Background grid

On baking parchment (or on the paper removed from the back
of the fusible web if it is large enough), I draw a grid of 3” squares. These
squares are staggered on the vertical, so that the join on one line is midway
between the joins on adjacent lines.
I devised this staggered square method to construct the water colour gardens for my series of
wrought iron gate quilts. It makes the joins less obvious and gives a softer
transition from one square to another.

Outline of image

On top of the grid I draw an image or pattern of what I want
to ‘paint’ with fabric, in this case a rather formal Bluetit. During the summer
months, this will eventually replace my puffed up Christmas Robin wall hanging
on the kitchen wall.

Robin

As this is my second wall hanging on the subject of birds, it can loosely be called a series (who
knows if I will make more; I certainly don’t!)! Artists, of whatever
discipline, are generally encouraged to create work in a series so that they
can effortlessly explore and develop a technique, a method or an idea to its
fullest extent, and wrestle with and solve any design problems.

Second tracing

I make a second tracing of the bird so I can ‘paint’ this
independently of the background.

Background squares

Using some of the prepared fused fabrics, I start to
construct the background surrounding the bird. I use 2 or 3 fabrics that blend
and I try to reproduce brush strokes with strips cut using a pinked rotary
cutter blade. In this project, the squares are cut at 3 ¼” and pinned in place
onto the prepared grid.

Squares on the grid

More squares

I will develop this further next time. Have a good week.

BLOG 83

2012-01-03T07:28:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to one and all. I hope it is all that you
would wish for yourself. It took us all day yesterday to take down, label and
pack away all the Christmas paraphernalia and, whilst the house looks very bare
even with my utility quilts draped around, it is good to be the other side of
the occasion. I make no resolutions so I cannot fail. I have no aspirations, so
I can’t be disappointed. All I want is to be healthy and happy and to be
allowed to play!

Talking of playing, I have had a good clean out of my studio.
The design wall is empty creating a blank canvas. The waste bin is also empty,
like an open mouth ready for the many scraps coming its way.

Blank canvas

Empty bin

When tidying, I retrieved fabric from samples and projects
that I didn’t want to finish. All the painterly bits have been overlapped onto
a fusible web and ironed, to transfer the fusible onto the WS of the fabric.

Fused fabric back

It is important to overlap the fabrics around the edges and alongside
one another, so that no fusible gets onto the iron or onto the ironing surface.
Iron from both sides but spend more time working firmly against the paper on
the back, particularly around the edges. This ensures that the fusible is
transferred thoroughly. Allow to cool.

Fused fabric front

Carefully pull the paper from the back so that it can be used
again for designing or construction fused shapes. (My roll of fusible is 36”
wide so it is great for constructing my wall hangings.)

Removing the paper

Pull the the fabrics apart; they will naturally rip along the
joins without harming the fusible. The fabric is now ready for trimming and it
is easy to see where the fusible has been added.

Ready for trimming

I used a rotary cutter with a pinked blade to trim away any unfused
fabric. The fabrics are now ready to
cut and use but as I don’t know yet what I am going to create, I have stored
them in plastic sleeves.

Ready to go

It is so good to
be up and running again!

BLOG 82

2011-12-24T12:29:00.000-08:00

The blocks on the Christmas cracker quilt are background quilted and joined together; the binding is sewn on and in need of hand sewing down onto the back and the crackers need hand
quilting. Guess what I will be doing when the frantic part of Christmas is behind me.

All I wish for you at Christmas time is the warmth of family,
the joy of friends and the message of the Christmas season.

BLOG 81

2011-12-18T12:22:00.000-08:00

This week I have been up to the Southern Lake district again, to Barrow-in-Furness, to take Christmas presents and seasonal cheer to my mother, my sister Gwyneth, my brother Owen and my school friend Janet. I do enjoy returning to where I was born and brought up because of the memories of the happy childhood I had there and because I enjoy the sense of familiarity and belonging. The road to Barrow has been described as a 40-mile cul-de-sac; once you turn off the M6 and reach Barrow there is nowhere else to go! My mother is doing very well now and as my friend said’ ‘You can’t knock her down with a stick!’ I travelled home through blizzards and wintery showers and was glad when I walked back into our patchwork-clad home. Even the cat has a quilt on her rocking chair!

Rocking chair

There are only 6 pockets left to open on my heart advent calendar (24) and 7 more sleeps before it is Christmas day! I get so excited even though we do much the same thing each year. But I do wonder sometimes what all the media fuss is about. A Christmas dinner is really just an elaborate roast dinner and I cook what I have traditionally cooked since having our first home, despite strenuous efforts from the plethora of celebrity chefs. If I omit anything or make things differently, there are usually mutterings! Sprouts are a must, just so our daughter Tessa can have a token one on her plate (it’s written in family folklore!). I don’t like mince pies, Christmas cake or Christmas pudding but we’ve got to have them all the same (t’is writ!). It takes Roger ages to plough his way through them in January.

Advent calendar

Here’s the sideboard with its runner, wreath and decorations. This piece of furniture is an important focus of family life where special photos are displayed so I like to dress it along with the rest of the room.

Sideboard

CHRISTMAS CRACKER QUILT

I have decided to make a small 9-block lap quilt, using a Christmas cracker pattern that I designed years ago when I was teaching. I know that it is the ‘eleventh hour’ but if I can get it constructed and layered up ready for quilting, I will be able to drape it somewhere for visual pleasure and quilt it when I am relaxing. Here’s the block and this is how it is constructed. It finishes as a 12” block, but it is 12 ½” at this stage.

Christmas Cracker

You will need a cracker fabric and a background fabric.

From the back ground cut the following shapes:

2 squares at 6 ½”

4 rectangles at 2” x 3 ½”

2 squares at 2 3/8”

1 square at 3 7/8”

From the cracker fabric cut the following shapes:

2 squares at 3 ½”

4 squares at 2”

2 squares at 2 3/8”

1 square at 3 7/8”

2 squares at 3 3/8”

Method:

1 To construct a square made up of 2 triangles, place a background square on top of a cracker square. Mark across the diagonal and sew an accurate ¼” both sides of the marked diagonal. Cut on the diagonal and press. Do this with both the 2 3/8” squares and the 3 7/8” square.

Triangles

2 Lay the pieces out for half the block as shown below. Join the smaller pieces together to make 3 ½” squares.

3 Join the 3 ½” squares together to make 6 ½” squares.

4 Place the 3 3/8” cracker square on the corner of the 6 ½” background square, RS together. Sew across the diagonal and press the RS over to create a triangle (trimming optional).

5 Place the squares back in sequence and join them together to complete the cracker block.

I’m not sure how I am going to set them at this stage but intend to make 9 blocks. We’ll see what happens!

BLOG 80

2011-12-11T11:39:00.001-08:00

I can hear my husband dragging stuff across the floor of the loft over head and soon I will be summoned to help him get the Christmas boxes down the loft ladder. It’s time to start dressing the house in its seasonal livery and this can take us a while over the next few days, mainly because I don’t like to rush the process and want to savour the experience. Christmas will always be red and green to me so all the quilts and quilted items I have made over the years are always going to be part of our Christmas. Everything was methodically labelled and carefully packed away last January so that we would know where to find everything when the time came … and it’s here.

Preparation

Rog has passed the hoovering course with an A star and he starts by removing the cobwebs and dust from the rafters and fireplace. The boxes are down from the loft and, although I know what to expect when I open them, there is always an air of excited anticipation; I’m still a kid at heart really!

Storage boxes

We started with the lounge tree and waited for our grand daughter to arrive and help us dress it. She was fascinated with sorting out and handing me the individual decorations for about 20 minutes and then started to toss them rather too energetically at me! We got there in the end and she was asked to perform the official ceremony of switching on the lights, which she did with real panache!

Lounge tree

My fabric fairy, clutching several tiny rolls of fabric, goes at the top of the tree but below is a picture of my wicked fairy, made by a chum. She smiles manically, has a squeaky middle and sports a thong amongst other things! It makes me laugh every Christmas.

Fairy’nuff

A Weaver Fever quilt graces the kitchen table.

Table quilt

A circular cloth adorns the coffee table.

Circular quilt

And Turkey Lurkey oversees the whole of Christmas season from a high window sill!

Turkey Lurkey

BLOG 79

2011-12-04T09:14:00.001-08:00

It’s that time of year again when our thoughts start to focus on Christmas. Family policy is that we don’t/won’t think about it until December 1^st, despite the persistent renderings of ‘It’ll be a blue, blue Christmas without you’ which have been miserably piped in stores since October.

I love Christmas and really enjoy every tinselly-bit of the preparation. Cards and electronic greetings go out during the first week in December and present ideas are requested from family members. 3 years ago, we started to limit our costs to £25:00 each, at our daughters’ suggestion, when they both moved house in the same year and increased their mortgages accordingly. It makes you much more imaginative about what you buy and where you buy it, and it helps to foster the real spirit of a family Christmas, one that’s measured in fun and togetherness rather than financial outlay.

We looked after our granddaughter for the day yesterday whilst her parents started their shopping so it seemed a good idea to get her to start the proceedings by dressing my patchwork tree. We survived!! Christmas will always be red and green to us so the same decorations come out each year.

Patchwork decorations

She enjoyed getting each decoration out of the box, studying it and then placing it on the tree. At 2, she could only reach the lower branches so Grammy ‘was allowed’ to help her reach the higher branches and to place the fairy at the top of the tree. No lights yet, I think it is a bit early for that. All the decorations are steeped in memories for me: teaching samples, techniques demonstrated, gifts from special people (‘I saw this and thought of you’) and reminders of places visited. By dressing the house gradually, I hope to establish our family patchwork traditions happily in Ella’s early memories. I know her Mum is making decorations with her and starting their own special festive traditions as a family, with of course the regular reminders of being good for Father Christmas .. (And I can remember what she was like as a child!!)

I was shown recently how to make a new folded patchwork decoration at the Nercwys Craft Group and this is what I am going to demonstrate this time. I can’t acknowledge the originator as it’s one of these demonstrations that has been passed down the patchwork line. I have made it in paper in advance of doing it with fabric.

Demonstration of a Folded Christmas Decoration

1 Draw a circle with a 4” radius. Use the same compass setting to divide the circle’s edge into 6 equal portions. Draw in the hexagon and the lines across the centre.

2 Fold each straight edge, in turn, to the centre line and crease with your nail (I have marked them with a broken line.

Stage 1 Stage 2

3 Fold in 2 adjacent edges so that they make a point.

4 Press down on the point to flatten it centrally over the 2 adjacent sides. Crease well. Repeat 6 times around the shape.

Stage 3 Stage 4

5 Fold all the sides towards the centre so that they from a 6 pointed star.

6 Fold the over-lapping edge underneath to form each shape into a diamond.

Stage 5 Stage 6

7 And this is what it should look like! If you haven’t lost the will to live, try it in Christmas fabric. I would suggest that you starch your fabric first so that it is easier to fold and crease. Enjoy!

Stage 7

BLOG 78

2011-11-27T12:15:00.001-08:00

It’s that time when I have to come up with something interesting to say again. Many things happen in my life during the course of a week but when I started this blog, I made the decision to mainly talk about my quilting time. So, now that my mother has celebrated her 96^th birthday and has passed the psychological barrier of out-living my father, I can turn down the fret level and concentrate on my own creative needs. She had a good report after her medical check up, so all’s well with my world!

Log cabin bag

The next stage is to quilt the 4 separate sections of the bag. Last week I showed a single strip but actually there are two different, repeated sections, which can be seen below.

Bag sections

The black corners add apparent complexity and detail to the log cabin design. Because

they are loose, they can be manipulated and this can be done before or after quilting.

The diagonal fold of the black fabric is on the bias of the fabric so this can be rolled

back to give the appearance of a curve.

Corners: before and after

Roll the fabric back along the fold to produce a curve andcatch it down with

a small stitch, in matching thread.

Place the sections onto batting (no backing) and pin ready for quilting.

Quilted section

I used walking foot and a stretch stitch (herring bone) to quilt around the squares and along the joining seams. Because the stitch swings from side to side, it is balanced equally over the seam. Quilt all the 4 sections in this way ready for construction next week.

Sometime soon our Meerkat quilt will be returned and then I will be able to write an article about it for a magazine, as well as post some detailed pictures on my blog. We did it for fun and it was such a surprise when it won the group section and Visitors’ Choice. It has been touring and on display at other shows and we look forward to seeing it again! This is the only picture I have of my meerkat as a work in progress.

Meerkat

BLOG 77

2011-11-20T10:41:00.000-08:00

Log Cabin bag

In Blogs 72 and 73, I demonstrated how to make a traditional log cabin block and I have to say that I personally prefer impact of the block with the added corners, known as ‘Geese in the Cabin’. So I have made all ten blocks like this. Press the blocks well and check that each one is the same size before continuing with the method.

Geese in the cabin

And here is the template needed for construction. It consists of 2 complete blocks and one half block. You will need one of these for preparing the batting pieces.

Template

There are 4 individually quilted sections to the bag and this is what the construction will look like eventually, showing the position of the complete blocks and half blocks.

Construction

In preparation for construction, 2 squares need to be divided across the centre like so.

Preparation

I have been trying out different layouts on a design wall, and this is the one I have chosen where the gold side of one square goes against the red side of another. All the geese fly away from the centre.

Layout

Having decided on the layout of the blocks, the next step is to join and quilt each of the 4 single units. And that’s what I will be doing this coming week.

Single unit

My husband, who posts my blog each week, always claims that he reads it with interest. This is to test to see if he does! We have been happily married for nearly 40 years and humour has been such an important part of our marriage. And when you look at this picture, you’ll see what I mean. Aw bless!

The cat and the man witha hat

BLOG 76

2011-11-13T07:20:00.001-08:00

This week I had a sobering experience and I interpret it as a wake-up call. The daughter of a quilting friend who died 3 years ago contacted me. Audrey used to come to my home-based classes in the early days and was with me for many years. She was a great and enthusiastic fan of my work and was a capable and prolific needlewoman. She attempted most of the techniques that I demonstrated and went on to share them with her own quilting groups. She also helped with samples for some of my early books. Now that her husband is in a nursing home, the time has come for the family to clear out the house prior to selling it, and this is why I was contacted. The family have kept what was to be used and treasured and below is the ‘stuff’ that remains, after I have sorted and bagged it! I have agreed to try and sell it at the groups I attend to raise money for the Quilters’ Guild of the BI in Audrey’s memory.

Audrey’s ‘stuff’

Whilst sorting through her ‘stuff’, it quickly became evident that there was so much of myself passing before my eyes. There were folders of my workshop notes, some of my early patterns and trial samples that Audrey had made and all I could think about was that this was what my own daughters would have to face at some (hopefully very, very distant) future date. It has been quite an experience and it has made me determined to organise and catalogue what is important to me as ‘Dilys the quilt’. And I am equally determined to discard and streamline my own quilting paraphernalia. I think it may help to concentrate my mind and energy on what I really want to create.

Liberated Appliqué: I have managed to complete the fused appliqué sample that I demonstrated last week.

Liberated appliqué

I quilted along the cut lines with a herringbone stitch and doodled a flower design overlapping the centre square with free-motion machine stitching.

Quilting design

I don’t really think that it would be a good technique for making quilts that are used and laundered. But for spontaneous and speedy wall quilt construction, it is liberating as the title implies. The only downside is that the wadding can sometimes be seen between the cut edges where the fit isn’t precise enough. In this instance a layer of dark batting or a false layer of fabric could be used to solve that problem.

Floral wall hanging: The floral wall hanging has been developing very slowly indeed but here are the latest pics.

Floral wall hanging 1

Floral wall hanging 2

Floral wall hanging 3

BLOG 75

2011-11-09T09:26:00.000-08:00

Another late blog! In my defence, we have been without telephone connection for several days now, thus affecting the Internet and email connection. Early last week there was an accident on a nearby lane, when a car ran into the telephone pole and brought down all the lines. No one was hurt fortunately but we have been without connection for the last 10 days. They assured us that we would be on again by last WE, but ours certainly wasn’t connected. And those that were, all the wires were crossed so that when you rang one number, you got another!

All in all, this has been quite a thought provoking experience, highlighting just how reliant we are on technology these days. We have been using our mobile phones for necessary contact but, as we don’t get a good signal in our rural environment, those contacts are hit and miss. So, on the whole, it has been quiet and tranquil here and what you don’t know, you don’t worry about!

I’d like to say that I have been sewing furiously but I haven’t. I visited my mother and stayed for a couple of nights to see how she is getting and to keep her company. Although she is frail and her mobility very poor, she fights on!

Liberated Appliqué

Here is an interesting exercise that we tried at the last Chester Ps&Qs meeting. We were asked to bring along a cutter, board and ruler, as well as batting and a backing. We prepared squares of fabric (e.g. 4”) by ironing a fusible web onto the back. I just happened to choose a colourful, stripped Batik fabric.

Fused squares

From each square, we were then instructed to cut out a smaller square to leave a border (e.g. 1”). We repeated this on the smaller square and ended up with 3 (or 4) shapes separate units.

Cut out squares

When we had cut out 16 squares in the same way, we shuffled the shapes about and put them back together again.

Repositioned squares

And that’s all there is to the preparation! The squares were then place side by side onto cotton batting (it must be cotton) and they were ironed to fuse them in place.

Fused squares

Now isn’t that just cool!! Obviously there are raw edges that need securing but a bit of decorating stitching or free motion machining helps to secure them onto the batting. I fuse straight onto the batting with my painterly method so this was an extension on that technique. I loved it.

BLOG 74

2011-10-31T10:18:00.001-07:00

I am slightly later than usual in posting my blog as I have been at the Autumn Quilt Festival in Malvern. I had a lovely time with everything going like clockwork. Unusually, the motorways ran freely and I was able to remember the route to the show ground from last year. I stayed in a clean but functional Travel Lodge in the centre Worcester, shopped for food at Marks and Spencer and spent my evenings reading, drawing and watching tv .. I believe it’s called chilling out.

Here are some of the quilts that formed part of my display.

Landscapes

Wallhangings

Archway quilts

Prancing horse

Still life on the tiles

Cat and Balusters

The quilts were not hung to their advantage because of the hanging systems that are used but I was proud to see them there and delighted with the public response to them. I was berated often for not having written a book about the method yet … perhaps I feel another book coming on!

BLOG 73

2011-10-23T06:57:00.001-07:00

The method of sewing log cabin squares for the bag project has been demonstrated at Gresford craft group this week. I showed the strip piecing method and Jennifer demonstrated the foundation method. (I DIGRESS: When quilters told me that their preferred method of sewing was ‘The Foundation Method’, I always thought that it sounded a bit like a contraceptive. As it is a fail safe method, you can justifiable claim that you practice safe patchwork with it!)

Anyway, after all the preparation, I am happy to say that there is a lot of interest. Having seen the original bag (Blog 73) with the added corners, some wanted to give that a try. It requires a bit of extra preparation but it is a simple procedure.
For each block, cut 6 squares at 2 ½” from the fabric used for the centre. Iron them in half to create a triangle.

Corner squares

Add the first round of logs to the centre square and then pin the corners in place. Use 1/8” seam along the raw edge to baste them in place before adding the second round of logs.

Round 1 + corners

Round 2

Pin and baste the next corners in place.

Round 2 + corners

Add the third round of logs and baste the corners in place to complete the block.

Round 3 + corners

For the bag, you will need 10 identical blocks.

In preparation for constructing the bag, you will need to make a cardboard template like the one below. It is 7 ½” wide (the size of the block) and divided into 2 squares and a triangle. Along the long side, the first square measures 7 ¼” The block less one seam allowance), the second 7” (the block less 2 seam allowances) and the third 7 ½”.

Cardboard template

My blog may be late next weekend as I will be at the Malvern Autumn Quilt Festival, where there will be a selection of my painterly quilts. I will be demonstrating my Dual Image method, selling my Christmas patterns and books, and running a daily mini workshop. Come and say hello if you are there.

BLOG 72

2011-10-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

I have managed to frame my four pictures and I am really pleased with the results. They are ready for putting into the exhibition at the end of the month and it will be the first time I have ever exhibited paintings and offered them for sale.

Small paintings

Large paintings

I will not see them hanging, as I will be at the Autumn Quilt Festival at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern. Running from Friday 28^th to Sunday 30^th October, this event promises to be inspirational. There will be many different exhibits within the show and I will be showing, for the first time, a body of work called The Fabric Palette. I will be there to run a mini-workshop daily, to sit behind my stall and demonstrate and to sell my latest book and my collection of Christmas patterns. Come and say hello to me!

Next Tuesday, at the Gresford craft group, a friend and I are starting another project for those in the group who want to join us. This time, our theme is based on the traditional block of log cabin. I am going to start with a simpler version of the bag shown below and I have started to prepare my demonstration if you are interested to have a go.

Log cabin bag

The pattern, for reference, is based on a 7” square and you can draw it easily on a sheet of graph paper as shown below. Mark a 1” square for the centre and 1” logs around the outer edge. Number the sewing sequence and shade the dark side.

Log cabin pattern

The centre is a 1 ½” square and the fabric strips are cut at 1 ½”. Set up your machine with a neutral thread and attach a ¼” foot. This is the basic block. It starts with a centre square (black). Row 1: 2 gold strips and 3 red strips are sewn in sequence (I worked clockwise) round the centre block to complete the square again. Row 2: repeat the sequence. Row 3: repeat. Now what’s complex about that? Accurate cutting and sewing is essential and I recommend the use of an iron throughout the process. More next time.

Log cabin sequence

BLOG 71

2011-10-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

I have had a lovely creative time this week but in a totally different direction. I was asked recently if I wanted to exhibit some work in a local village art exhibition at the end of this month. The message has got around locally that I am a ‘bit artistic’ so would I like to be included? I think when my husband passed on the message, it was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I surprised him by accepting the challenge. So this week, I needed to prove to myself that I could actually come up with the goods.

I have been going to art class for a few years now but we have never done any of what you might call ‘normal painting’. It has largely been experimental but I have learned the principles of drawing, the mechanics of the colour wheel, tonal studies, painting with acrylics, watercolours, pastilles, bleach, chalks, charcoal ….. you name it, and I have probably done it. But can I actually paint a picture?

Yes I can and here’s the evidence!

Pansies

Anemones

Roses

Lilies

They can only be described as mixed media. I started with a rough sketch and then used the same palette of acrylic colours for all four paintings: alizarin crimson, ultramarine and cadmium yellow. I began by mixing the acrylics with a lot of water to do an under wash across the whole canvas, rather like using watercolour. Then I used thicker acrylic paint to build up the colour and add more detail. After that, I thought the paintings appeared a bit flat, so I used inks to intensify the colours and felt tip pens to add intricate detail. I then decided that the completed paintings looked too controlled and structured, so I used pastilles to smudge the colours.

I still don’t know what I’m really doing but I like the results and that to me is the basis of art. These will be framed and entered into the local art show and if they don’t sell, I have 4 Christmas presents in stock!!!!!

I want to continue to play with my embellishing (felting) machine and so decided to reproduce one of my paintings as a textile. I chose the Pansies and, after drawing a rough sketch onto felt, I began adding fibres, ribbons, cord and threads. I’m not sure what I am doing but I am pleased with what has happened so far. I look forward to continuing with this next week.

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

BLOG 70

2011-10-02T11:20:00.000-07:00

I have completed the cot quilt and sent it off to Laurence Stanley Osmotherley (poor little blighter!) with a sigh of relief. So now I am able to concentrate on my still life study, with flower vases. My method of preparing the background and a sample vase has been demonstrated in previous blogs. I have made several more vases of differing shapes and now I need to arrange them on the background, on a design wall. This is when the camera comes into its own. I have placed four possible arrangements of the vases side-by-side so I can easy judge which I prefer.

My musings: I like the position of the vase on the right, as it seems to be basking in the full impact of the light source.

I also like the dark blue vase directly behind it.

In #1 I don’t like the fact that the 3 vases on the left hand side are placed in a line.

I don’t particularly like the position of the tall purple vase on the left hand side in #3 and #4. I prefer it slightly off centre, as in #2

My preference seems to be leaning towards #2 as long as the large vase on the left hand side is moved forward.

Here is the adapted arrangement I have selected.

Selected arrangement

And now for the flowers: I rarely do what is called ‘fussy cutting’ because it is so wasteful on fabric, but I did cut out individual flowers and leaves from this small piece of stamped batik fabric to make an arrangement for one of the vases.

Fussy cutting

I use pinking shears to cut them out and work with an iron on a sheet of baking parchment. I place the intended vase on the parchment and arrange the flowers to see what they looked like. They over-lap slightly, so once I am satisfied, I use the iron to stick them all together. Once they have cooled down, it is easy to peel them off the parchment and pin them back in place on the design wall. Nothing is stuck in place at this stage so there is still flexibility as the picture develops.

Flower arrangement

Placement

There are many ways to make simple flowers; here are a couple more ideas. I make a daisy with a semi-circular centre and curved petals. A primula can be a circle with a small contrasting shape inside. It’s good to play with ideas and I am now in a position to steam ahead with this project over the coming week.

Daisy

Primula

I can make these independently, and then audition them in situ on my design wall.

Progress

BLOG 69

2011-09-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

A new baby arrived in the family in August, another great nephew for us, so my attention has been focused on making a quick play mat as a gift. It took me an evening to put together, with a pre-printed picture in the centre surrounded by 3 ½” squares and strips. Now it needs quilting by machine (it’s not worth doing hand work on an item that you hope will be used well and laundered often) so here’s how I put the layers together in preparation.

I cut the backing fabric 2” larger than the quilt top and lay it, RS down, onto the carpet.

I use safety pins to anchor it to the carpet, to hold it firm without stretching it.

Pinned edge

The batting, and the quilt top marked ready for quilting, is placed on top to make the three layers.

Three layers

I start by safety pinning the 3 layers together around the outside edge, before pinning the centre at 5” intervals.

Quilting lines

The quilting lines are marked through the middle of the squares so that they appear fragmented. The first quilting lines are sewn on either side of the border surrounding the panel to stabilise it. A walking foot (even-feed foot) is essential as it grips and feeds the layers through together. The stretch stitch I have chosen adds a bit of decorative detail.

Lines of straight stitches are then sewn from the edges of the inner border to the outer edges to secure the layers together and then I sewed round the lines parallel to the centre panel, working towards the outer edge. Easy quilting by any standards. Small motifs were added onto the quilt top for interest and the binding added. I didn’t have enough of the pale blue for the binding so chose the WS of a navy floral fabric.

Fused motifs

All I need to do now is quilt the printed panel, which is held stable and flat by the decorative stitches. I need to hand sew the binding and add the baby’s name and date of birth. Seeeemples! It will be posted this week and, I hope, gratefully received.

Binding

BLOG 68

2011-09-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

The good news this week is that my mother is being discharged from hospital. Although totally reliant on oxygen, her mobility has improved slightly after her broken hip and she is being allowed home. I’m sure that mentally this will do her the world of good, but we are naturally apprehensive about the situation. To that end, I am going there on Sunday for a few days to settle her in and to make sure that the systems put in place for her safety and well being, actually run smoothly.

Another pleasure for me this week was spending my Meerkat quilt prize money. I have to admit that I hate shopping but I enjoy spending money, if that makes any sense. The fact that I don’t hit the shops often means that I’m not in a position to spend! Anyway, after much pondering I have purchased an embellishing machine.

Embellishing machine

The germ of an idea was planted when I did a bit of needle felting with Suzette at the embroidery class so I am aware of the effects produced by (wo)manually blending fibres with needles. It was love at first sight and now I have one!

Needles

No thread is used at all. All it really consists of is a cluster of needles that go up and down to blend fabrics and fibres. The more open-weave the fabrics, the better it blends …. and that’s all I knew in advance of getting the machine. After a trip to Hobbycraft for fibres, here is my first attempt onto wadding. I can’t wait to experiment with it.

Fibres and flower

My fourth wall hanging has been quilted and bound. This was the first one I made in the series and it was by far the most spontaneous as you can probably tell from the joyful colours. I think I got a bit more careful and controlled by the time I made the following three. Anyway, all four will be sent off with other ‘Fabric Palette’ quilts to Grosvenor exhibitions this week to feature in their Autumn and Spring quilt shows.

Landscape with setting sun

I am continuing to work on my flower vase wall hanging and I am starting to make flowers

It’s as easy as this:-

1 Cut a slightly larger centre and random sized squares for the petals.

Prepare the squares

2 Hold onto one corner of each petal and round off the remaining 3 with pinking shears.

Round off the corners

3 Working on baking parchment, overlap the petals around the centre, fusing them in place with an iron.

Fuse the petals

4 Complete the flower and press well. What could be easier?!

Finished flowers

BLOG 67

2011-09-11T12:10:00.000-07:00

This week we have been looking after a pair of chocolate Labradors for my daughter and son-in-law whilst they had a holiday in the sun. Our two cats are reluctantly confined up the corridor to live at one end of the cottage and the dogs remain in the kitchen at the other end and never the twain shall meet …. That’s the theory! We have had fun and games, spats and skirmishes, thieving and destruction, but we have survived! They had their chums round for birthday celebrations and everyone knows that the way to a Labrador’s heart is through the stomach. Sit!

A love-in of Labradors

My sewing has progressed and my projects have continued to develop throughout the summer months. Working in a series has been an interesting experience for me. I have a grasshopper type of mentality, where I enjoy creative variety, and so I have found it difficult to apply myself throughout this repetitive process. I have had to be really disciplined and focused to complete all four wall hangings!

The main advantage of this creative repetition is that it made me focus my energy and helped me to improve and develop my ‘painting with fabric’ method. Another plus is that all the raw materials were strewn across my workroom so I didn’t have to tidy up between quilts! Many different threads were used for quilting, so I was able to do a lot of detailed texturing on all four quilts before changing colours on my machine.

I commented last week that I had one or two reservations about my completed wall hangings. After I had written that, not unlike saying the words out loud, I realised that I still had a choice as to whether I was going to put things right or not. If I didn’t do anything about it, every time I looked at that quilt, my eyes would always go to the problem area and I would always be disappointed with it. So the wrought iron archway had to come off! It was sewn onto a vanishing medium and added after it had been completed. It was the wrong colour and much too heavy for the scale of the landscape …. and it took ages to remove! I think this one is better.

Archway

The final landscape has been machine quilted and all that’s left now is the border and binding.

Landscape with setting sun

Detail

Whenever you start and stop machine stitching, there are always tails of thread to cut away. At the end of the series of landscape pictures, this is my bird’s nest of threads! I am quite appalled at the waste and need to find some creative way of using them.

Bird’s nest

The still life is progressing. I have decided to use one fabric for the upper background, as this will ultimately be covered with flowers. I found some more vases left over from past demonstrations and I have started to audition them on the background.

Still life

I have used fabric strips, in many different sizes and colours to prepare the ledge. Although they look a bit haphazard at this stage, I think they add visual interest and depth to the quilt. Once threads are used to add detail and texture, the colours will blend well together.

Still life detail

BLOG 66

2011-09-04T09:49:00.000-07:00

Another week; another blog! I have come to the conclusion that writing a blog actually keeps me moving forwards with my quilting, just like teaching classes used to do. It’s many years since I taught weekly classes in my workroom in Sychdyn. My most annoying habit, according to the ‘good man I’m (allegedly) behind’ is leaving everything to the last minute. I used to teach projects at 3 different levels at each of my 7 classes: beginners, intermediates and advanced, over a 5-week course. The weekend before saw me slumped over books for inspiration, scribbling original work on the back of an envelope and trying to see if I could make it work in fabric or digging deep to find something unfinished that hadn’t seen the light of day for a few years!! The sense of panic never failed to concentrate my creative juices and I relished that seat-of-my-pants approach to my work. I still do, if I have to be honest, and find that working to a deadline focuses my mind beautifully! That’s the advantage of a weekly blog. QED

Attaching the flowers

Now, just what have I been up to? I have worked on the small wall hanging of the cow parsley, attaching the flowers with an undulating stitch round the edges. The background has been textured with free-motion machining and I have added silhouettes of cow parsley also to add interest to the background.

Background detail

Completed hanging

I have also finished quilting and binding 3 of the 4 landscapes, with reservations I might add! There are one or two things I would like to alter.

Landscape with arch

Detail

Landscape with pathway

Detail

Landscape with bridge

Detail

PAINTING WITH FABRIC

Here’s how to ‘paint’ a vase using fabric.

1 Draw a simple shape and select a fabric that has light, medium and dark values. Add fusible to the fabric and trace the shape onto baking parchment.

Fabric and pattern

2 Use a pinked rotary cutter to slice the fabric into random width strips (1” and above) and then into squares. You don’t need a ruler for this.

3 On a cutting board, sort out the shapes into light, medium and dark values.

4 Choose a light source and show where the light and dark values are to be placed.

5 Start to over-lap and fuse the fabric pieces randomly (ie not in orderly rows), placing the lights on the right.

6 Work through medium to dark and fill in all the spaces by overlapping and fusing.

7 Trim the vase from the baking parchment side where the pencil line is visible.

What could be easier eh?

BLOG 65

2011-08-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

I am just compelled to create; it’s what I enjoy so much. So, as I have come across these vases left over from one of my workshops, I am going to have to use them in a still life. I will explain my method as I go along over the next few blogs.

Flower vases

The first thing I have to create is the backdrop for the vases. For the ledge I intend to use ready-fused strips left over from other projects. To start, I have drawn an 8” x 30” strip on baking parchment, which is then placed onto an ironing surface. I start to fill it in the space with over-lapping strips, which I stick together with an iron. I want to give the impression of light coming in from the right.

Auditioning fabrics

The next step is to create a strong background and at this stage I need to audition fabrics so I can gauge the over-all look of the wall hanging. Taking a photograph really helps and my impression at this stage is that it is going to look a bit too confused, particularly if I choose the central fabric with the vertical strips. I have done another picture in this style and it is now framed above the fireplace. Comparing the Fabrics, I realise now that I need to use a stronger background.

Flower vases 1

I am working hard on my series of landscape pictures to see whether I can enjoy working this way, like a lot of grown-up artists do! I am slumped over my sewing machine most days, free-motioning anything that lies still long enough!! After doing the general background texturing, I am now adding more detail.

Aside: This reminds me of a chat I had with another quilter at the FOQ. She was saying that, in her opinion, many quilts are spoiled by being ‘machine quilted to death’ and I know exactly what she means. But here are a few words in defence of my method. I try to use strips of fused fabric as painterly brush strokes and this means that there are many edges and loose ends across the surface of the quilt. The purpose of my thread stitching is 3-fold; it secures the strips onto the batting and backing; it helps the colours to blend one into another on the surface and it adds fine detail.

Adding detail

I didn’t really buy much at the Festival of Quilts this year because I chose to spend what time I had there enjoying the quilts. But, the one item I did buy, ‘Hugo’s amazing re-usable glue-less tape’ is wonderful! I strongly recommend it if you, like me, have loads of threads on cones. I went for the wider tape which seemed expensive at about £15:00, but I cut it into narrower strips for economy. If you wind it round your cones of thread, it prevents the annoying unravelling that happens when they are stored on the vertical in boxes. Worth its weight, I say!

Magic Tape

And guess what? ‘Comparethequiltsdotcom’, our Meerkat wall hanging, won Viewers’ Choice as well as the best Group Quilt. We are thrilled and grateful that our fellow quilters took the time and trouble to register their votes for us. We thought we had a good chance because there was always a crowd in front of our quilt and we often over-heard ‘meerkats’ mentioned in random conversations. It was the right quilt at the right time, and having the public vote showed that we were in harmony with our fellow stitchers.

Delighted of Nercwys!

BLOG 64

2011-08-21T05:10:00.000-07:00

The week has flown by again with much activity. I am very aware of the passage of time but I do pack a lot into my days so that I have something to look back on at the end of them. The visual evidence is what I include in my blog but in between there is much socialising, mundane tasking and the like.

I am down to earth now after last weeks win at the FOQ. Unfortunately, all the winning quilts are kept and exhibited at other shows until their return in December so I cannot show any detail of the completed panels. However this is the initial design that I drew. One of our members almost decided to drop out, as she didn’t want to make any furry things so I tempted her back on board with the right hand panel. It shows a disappearing tail and it did the trick!

Design right

Design left

The individual meerkats were traced onto calico. The light parts of the fur were prepared as painted bondaweb and ironed in place. The darker parts were produced using free-motion machining over a coloured base. We sewed with a variegated thread and cotton batting was used as a base for stability.

Free motion stitching

Here some of the prepared meerkats are outlined and trimmed and auditioned onto the prepared background before it was cut into individual strips.

Auditioning the background

After that we took our individual panels home and worked on them, preparing a mini quilt and dressing the meerkats as we liked. We also had to think of something humorous or profound for the speech bubble. Seeeemples! And the rest is history!

We have our idea for next year but as it is top secret, I can’t tell you or I would have to kill you!!

I have completed the fusing of a fourth and final landscape. I have added a plain calico border to all four and they are safety pinned on the batting and the back awaiting the decorative texturing and detail. I have sewn all round the outer edge so that there will be no movement of the fabric layers during quilting.

Country Lane Landscape

I have also pinned the free motion embroidery of the cow parsley flowers (originally sewn on a vanishing medium) onto the background fabric. Batting and a backing have been added using the turn-through method and this too is ready for machine texture. You may have noticed that I have cut the large lump of stitches into smaller clumps to look more like the flower. I think that I will perhaps thread-draw silhouettes of the flower in the distance.

Cow Parsley

So this coming week will see me slumped over my sewing machine in an attempt to texture and quilt all the painterly landscapes. I have never worked in a series like this before, preferring to be more spontaneous with my work but I will let you know my feelings on this way of working next week

BLOG 63

2011-08-14T13:09:00.000-07:00

This is a rapid posting as I have just returned from a few days away but what a week I have had!

The down side first: My mother fell and broke her hip! The duty doctor examined her, said it wasn’t broken and recommended painkillers, but as my mother was in so much discomfort, a second opinion was sought 2 days later. An x-ray was done, just to be on the safe side, and it showed that it was indeed broken. So we have had the build up to the operation, many tests and thankfully a successful outcome. She is not out of the woods yet but at least she is on the right side of the operation.

Next the upside: Regular readers may recall an earlier blog where I mentioned that I was part of a group who got together to make a quilt that was the antidote to the swathes of Jelly Roll quilts we had just seen at the Festival of Quilts 2009. Last year we exhibited this ‘masterpiece’ at the Festival of Quilts and also at the Great British Quilt show in Harrogate where it won a first. It featured Forward roll, Spring roll, Electoral roll, Fig roll, Bog roll, Swiss roll, Sausage roll and Jewellery roll. It was fun to do, we bonded well as a group and we helped each other every step of the way.

Beyond the Jelly Roll

Our next project was discreetly mentioned way back in Blog 48, and a couple of sneak previews were shown. (It could have been rotary cutters at dawn for that indiscretion but, as the designer, they had to let me stay!)

Sneak preview 1

Sneak preview 2

I have just returned from the Festival of Quilts where our finished quilt, ‘Comparethequilt.com’, won the group quilt section with a generous prize of £1000. We are ecstatic! But more of this later when I have caught my breath.

Kat with a pearl earing

BLOG 62

2011-08-07T08:32:00.001-07:00

I have been playing all week and I am pleased with my first landscape picture because it looks spontaneous and painterly. All the fusing is in horizontal strips and it was done within a couple of days, after short periods of intense concentration. I just got on and did it! There is of course much work still to do, to complete it as a gallery hanging but, because I like it, the quilting/texturing is going to be no hardship!

Sunset landscape

As my worktop was littered with ready-fused fabric strips, I decided to continue with the design process and try a country landscape, using more delicate colours. I started with horizontal strips but then decided to try vertical strips for the tree trunk and bridge and softer rounded shapes for the foliage.

Country landscape

Now I think I understand what I am doing technique-wise, I decided to try a more formal garden setting, with lawns, walls, shrubs and hedges. So it has been a busy but productive period and I am more than pleased with what has come out of just playing!

Formal landscape

I also found time to do a bit more on the cow parsley picture. With the layers taut in a hoop, I started by scribbling in the base stitches with white thread, drawing some larger flower heads in the foreground.

Cow parsley Base stitches

Then I changed to cream thread for more texture, before adding a soft pink hue.

Cow parsley: decorative layer

I dissolved the supporting layers and ended up with a dome of flowers that didn’t look right for cow parsley. A bit of shaping solved that problem and here I have taken a pic to auditioned it is situ.

Cow parsley in situ

I have unearthed another work-in-progress this week. It is a large picture I made about 5 years ago, ready quilted and awaiting a garden gate. I have put too much work into it to ignore it. This will make a good lap project for those cold winter months ahead of me. All I need to do now is design a gate to go over the top of it … and that’s probably the reason I came to a stand still 5 years ago!!

The setting sun

BLOG 61

2011-07-31T05:07:00.000-07:00

I have spent much of this week visiting my mother in a convalescent unit where she is making mixed progress. Although emotionally draining, the break away from home has been a welcome change and I am back home with batteries re-charged.

So, picking up where I left off last week, I am working on adding detail to the small wall hanging (11” x 21”). The background is very simple, made using strips of ready-fused fabric pressed onto a cotton batting.

Greenery

As this is a small picture, I have decided I would like to try and ‘thread paint’ cow parsley in the foreground for interest. To start, I have free-cut a shaded green fabric with pinking shears to give an impression of foliage and this has been ironed in place.

Greenery detail

Next, I am going to try to use my ‘young’ (I’m not that experienced!) machine embroidery skills to draw the flower itself because I like to stretch myself with each piece I make to ensure that I continue to grow. To do this I have trapped a piece of white sheer between 2 soluble layers and stretched them in an embroidery frame. There are sparkly details on the sheer to add interest.

Visuals and embroidery hoop

Also helpful are visuals like the plant itself (there are plenty around this time of year) and, on a scrap of paper, I have scribbled to main characteristics of the plant such as flower details, leaf pattern, silhouetted shape etc. Now I am ready to sew. Watch this space!

On 28^th to 30^th of October, I will be attending the autumn quilt festival run by Grosvenor exhibitions at the show ground in Malvern. I will be demonstrating positive/negative appliqué, teaching a mini workshop and selling my book ‘Dual Image Appliqué’. As part of this event, I have been invited to put together an exhibition of my ‘Fabric Palette’ quilts. As I have just entered my Garden Triptych quilt in an American competition, I feel I need to flesh out my display somewhat. So I have decided to do a series of landscapes (I hope!). Here’s how I go about it.

Pattern

I start with a vague idea of what I want to achieve and make a rough pattern; this one has been drawn on the wrapping paper from the meat purchase at a farm food shop. Waste not, want not and all that! The paper has determined the size of the picture.

Each of the simple pattern sections is traced separately onto baking parchment.

I use a varied palette of fabric, prepared with a fusible backing, and cut them into strips with a fluted rotary cutter. I have plenty in stock from previous quilts!

Water and hill

I use the strips to cover the drawn section on the baking parchment and pin it over the pattern to assess progress from a distance.

Foreground

Hills

I have always need lots of colour in my quilts so my landscapes are never going to be traditional. Machine embroidery and texturing will enhance the fabrics and add detail at a later stage. And this is the story so far!

BLOG 60

2011-07-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

Continuing with the floral wall hanging from Jenny Robert’s workshop, the quilted panel is now in place and the flowers are fused ready for machine sewing. Because white fabric can ghost the colours underneath, I decided to fuse 2 layers together before fusing the patterns onto the back to cut it out. Fusing has helped to make the white more solid.

Fused shapes

Note the subtle difference between the sewn flower on the left and the shaded flower on the right. Jenny suggested we did this with watercolour pencils to add depth.

Before shading

After shading

The edges and detail were sewn with a variegated cotton thread and a free-motion technique. Traditionally the feed-dogs are lowered (or covered) for free motion stitching but I prefer to leave them up. Doing it that way provides gentle friction underneath the fabric but it doesn’t affect the direction of the sewing. It helps with control and prevents the fabric from moving too rapidly under the needle.

Before sewing

The fabric needs to be gripped securely and I generally use lightweight gardening gloves covered with plastic dots. They are cheap and serve the purpose well.

Completed block

All I have to do now is to find an imaginative way to complete the project!

There is one more small hanging that I would like to complete next. I know what I want to do with it and I will explain about it next time.

Small wall hanging

Yesterday I was delighted to be able to wear my engagement ring again after having it enlarged. I haven’t worn it for years and, if I was really honest, I hadn’t a clue where it was hidden until it came to light last week. But finding it reminded me of the time we bought it in Bangkok.

Engagement ring

Many years ago Roger and I both worked on the tiny island of Tarawa, in the middle of the S Pacific. We decided to marry there and, as there was nowhere to buy such a thing as an engagement ring, I was promised one on our journey home. So there we were in a reputable jewellers in Bangkok, newly arrived and excited. I was shown trays and trays of rings and I eventually selected 12 that I really liked, in order to make the final decision. I loved the one I eventually chose, totally impractical but the colour of the large amethyst and the decorative setting just delighted me. We were unaware of the exchange rates as we paid many hundreds of bahts for the ring and we left the shop impoverished but happy. Imagine Roger’s delight and eventual embarrassment when, on converting the price to sterling, he discovered it only cost £7:00! I didn’t care at all; I just loved it!

BLOG 59

2011-07-17T02:12:00.001-07:00

I have had a pleasing and productive time in the garden this week, taking advantage of the lovely weather naturally but mainly escaping from the mess made by the plumber, tiler and electrician as they installed a shower in the family bathroom. ‘Music while you work’ was another reason to be outdoors; it was constant, it was loud and it turned a normally calm and peaceful home into a head banging experience.

I have continued to work on unfinished projects like the one shown below from a workshop by local quilter, Jenny Roberts. Her array of samples, shown at her lecture, was inspirational and I particularly liked the way she set her hanging inside a wooden frame. I have to say that it is often difficult for me as a well-known teacher to attend quilting workshops because of the assumption that there is nothing left for me to learn. WRONG! I had a great day and this is what we achieved in the workshop. I have decided to make it wider by adding a central panel.

Floral panels

To make the centre panel I needed to construct a similar background from the 2 chosen fabrics. This starts as 2 strips of fabric, of the same size, placed one on top of the other. They are sliced randomly into 4 wedges and then swapped over to alternate fabrics.

Fabric wedges

The wedges are joined together and, with the use of batting and a backing fabric, made into a turned-through strip with the side seams on the inside and the batting in the middle. I just wanted to use one panel, which was then quilted with a background texture. The top and the bottom edges remain open.

Sewn panel, textured panel

3 panels

Extra daisies are needed now, prepared with white fabric and a fusible, and that’s my next task on this project.

Another project that came to light when tidying up my storage space is an appliqué cushion. The shapes are cut from dyed fabric and fused. They have been laboriously appliquéd by hand with a buttonhole stitch and the decorative stitching and texture have been added by machine.

Chrysanthemum cushion

Chrysanthemum cushion detail

I made several more soft boxes and here they are en masse. Some were made with an extra calico layer marked with the grid, to give a lose lining. Job done!!

The detailed method for this project can be found in Blog 57.

Soft boxes

BLOG 58

2011-07-10T03:02:00.000-07:00

This week my mother has started complaining about the lady in the bed next to her, a sure sign that she is improving! In an oblique way, it’s good that she can be bothered to take notice of what is going on around her, even though it is less than complementary. She has started to do some simple exercises in physiotherapy and they are weaning her off her reliance on the oxygen. She is getting lots of visitors and this suits her fine!

I am still concentrating on clearing my backlog of unfinished projects, just those I want to finish, mind you. Some projects just needed a bit of sewing and others demanded more attention. I have reclaimed the fabric from projects I placed in the ‘sod it’ pile and I have had a good sort out and chuck out. It is very cathartic!

Things to do!

Pos/neg wall hangings

I sewed hanging sleeves on the back of these positive/negative wall strips. They are covered with voile, which means that you don’t have to do any zigzagging around the cut edges of the shapes. This is a quicker way to complete a pos/neg designs.

Jacobean cushions

These Jacobean cushions have now been re-backed and re-bound. They are hand appliquéd and hand quilted and represent my early work! They were used as class samples and they are now as fresh as the day I made them.

Log cabin bag

Detail

I have made new handles and sewn them onto a much loved log cabin bag. I love the shape of this extremely useful workbag. It is a variation on log cabin, where a square of black fabric, folded on the diagonal, is positioned on the corner of each completed sequence of ‘logs’. The diagonal of the folded square is on the bias and so it can be rolled back and caught down to produce an arc. Clever stuff!

My sister has recently completed a couple of tapestry cushions, started by our mother many years ago. She asked me to make them into cushions as a surprise gift to cheer her up while she is poorly. Cushions made; job done!

Mam’s round cushion

Mam’s square cushion

And finally, I have added a lining and made a piece of hand-embroidered felt into a case for my glasses. I bought the hand dyed felt squares at a show and have learned recently how to do more than just a stem stitch! This is a compact (and often slow) project that I can carry around in my handbag, for those occasions when I need a hand project or have to wait around for appointments. One is my present project in progress and the other is lined and completed, ready for use.

Glasses case

I hope you are impressed with my progress this week. I certainly am!

BLOG 57

2011-07-03T06:59:00.000-07:00

My mother continues to be a cause for concern, having made little medical progress during the past week. However, instead of lying in bed all day, they are at least getting her dressed and into a chair. Being on a similar eye level with the hospital staff and visitors has given her a much healthier perspective on life and there’s still hope in her with talk of ‘…. when I get home….’

This week I have concentrated on my Christmas Flowers arrangement and it has been turned through, pressed and a sleeve attached. However, in a change from my usual procedure, this picture was machine textured before it was bagged and turned through. This has left the backing fabric free from the rest of the quilt and I need to add more texturing. Note to self: Bag and turn through before texturing for a flatter finish!

Christmas flower arrangement

At the Festival of Quilts next month at the NEC, our Quilters’ Guild has a stall to raise funds. There is a theme each year and, understandably, the members are encouraged to make as many sale items as possible. This year the theme is ‘Put ‘em ins’! So we are talking receptacles here and they can be of any shape or form or technique.

I have decided to make some soft boxes, which I recall demonstrating many years ago as a Christmas project. You can imagine them made in Xmas fabric to enhance your place settings, can’t you? Anyway, the one shown below is made in silk by my chum Jennifer and when I said I was going to do them, she kindly sent instructions that she had downloaded from the internet. I found these instructions complex so the method I am about to describe is simple and quick and it could be suitable for young sewers who are able to use a sewing machine. (A project that might interest Veronica!)

EASY SOFT BOX

Jennifer’s soft box

Requirements

9 ½” square of outer fabric

9 ½” square of lining fabric

9 ½” square of cotton batting

Preparation

On the RS of the lining fabric mark a 1” grid. (I used a water-erasable marker)

Method

1 Place the fabrics RS together and pin onto the batting, matching the edges.

Layering

2 Pin a 3” gap along one edge for turning and sew a ¼” seam around the edge.

TIP: Sew a couple of diagonal stitches across each corner to soften them.

Turning through

3 Trim the excess fabric on the corners and turn RS out with the marked grid on the top, batting in the middle and outer fabric on the bottom. Use a blunt tool to ease out the corners and turn and pin the seams at the gap.

TIP: You can hand sew the gap if you prefer or machine sew it with a decorative stitch after the grid had been sewn.

Sewing the grid

4 Quilt along the lines by hand or machine. Start and finish with tiny stitches on the edges. Dab with a damp cloth to remove the water-erasable lines.

TIP: Try decorative stitches for a different effect.

Decorative edging

5 Sew a line of straight or decorative stitches around the outer edge.

Pinning the corners

6 Fold the square in half with the lining on the inside and pin the 3” sewing lines together. Do this on all the corners.

Sewing the lines

7 Sew along the lines to shape the box.

Finishing

8 Flatten and pin the corners so that the point is central with the seams. Hold them in place with a stitch in a matching thread to finish. (This is a job for in front of the TV!)

NOTE: You may have noticed that Jennifer has not sewn through her lining. This is because she used a layer of calico to mark the grid and sewed this first before adding the lining and turning through. It produces a softer finish.

Ah well, from my studio, I can hear the blackbirds ‘pink pinking’, the nuthatch ‘chwiting’ and the skylark ascending in song so it’s time I was in my garden. I hope have a try at the project and enjoy it!

BLOG 56

2011-06-26T04:06:00.000-07:00

I have had a sad and unsettling week. My 95-year-old mother fell and ended up in hospital with a broken nose and dislocated shoulder. Though reluctant to leave the confines of her cosy home, she was eventually persuaded to go into hospital for a couple of days monitoring. That was 12 days ago. I was on stand-by to go and settle her back into her home when the need arose but unfortunately had to travel to visit her in hospital as she struggles to cope with pneumonia and associated complications.

Perversely, the process of worrying about the oldest member of the family helped to concentrate my mind on the quilt for the newest member of the family, Ben Luke Osmotherley. It has worked out well and will be gratefully received. Another family baby is due to arrive in August so another baby quilt will be underway soon.

Ben Luke’s quilt

Named

I used variegated thread and free-motion machining to add detail around the edge. As this is intended as a floor quilt, one assumes that it will be in and out of the washing machine so machine quilting is best in the circumstances.

Signed

Periodically I go into cleansing mode in my studio, usually when I have finished a time of concentrated sewing (as in the case of the Gresford ‘Festival of Crafts’) or when I can’t see the floor any more!! But on this occasion I was asked for a picture of me in my studio by an American magazine so I had to tidy it up first!! And here’s the proof.

Me in my playroom

In sorting through the many and varied part-finished projects this time round, I have made the decision to finish the ones that I am enjoying and which challenge me creatively. Conversely I have given myself permission to discard or reclaim fabrics from projects that I am not enjoying. Where such choices can be made, I can’t see the point in continuing with projects that are not enjoyable. Being aware of them on my design wall only reinforces a feeling of failure in not completing them, so once they are gone, so is the pressure to get them finished! The design wall is clear, the canvass is blank and the creative mind is de-cluttered and able to accommodate something new. I am happy again!

The ‘Christmas Flowers’ hanging is a project worth finishing and won’t take too long.

I am machine sewing it through the batting only and from the back the stitching detail is more evident. The main function of the stitches in these painterly projects is to prevent the fused shapes from lifting. That said, thread and stitch decorative details bring the flower, leaf and ribbon shapes to life and define line and movement.

Back detail

Front detail 1

Front detail 2

Once the texturing is done, a backing fabric with an escape hatch will be used to complete the wall hanging (see Hollyhocks in Blog 53).

Out of interest, nearly £5,500 was raised at the Festival of Crafts in Gresford. This was rounded off to £6,000 from club subscriptions and this princely sum will be divided amongst the church and local charities. A fine result and worth all the effort!

BLOG 55

2011-06-19T08:56:00.000-07:00

It has been such a busy week with my involvement in the Festival of Crafts in All Saint’s Church in Gresford.

Putting up on Monday took most of the day, from the practiced procedures of receiving and labelling of the exhibits, to the displaying of them to their best advantage. Each member of the team has her own allocated job and it may come as no surprise to learn that I do the quilts! The group owns 8 large quilt frames so we can hang 16 quilts back-to-back, to be displayed on the vertical. These are such an important part of the exhibition (and that’s not because I am biased!) because they draw the eyes from pew level towards the ceiling and fill the aisles with colour. They give immediate and expansive impact to the whole show. …And yes I managed to get all my exhibits ready; I actually finished about 7:30 on Sunday night.

Kansas Troubles

My Kansas Troubles quilt had the privilege of resting on a sculpture of a 14^th Century Judge, just one of the many artefacts housed in this ancient and fascinating church. The windows in the Lady Chapel are over 500 years old and the christening font is said to date from the 15^th century. In St Catherine’s Chapel, there are interesting images in the ancient glass. One shows the figure of St Appollonia holding a pair of pincers with a large tooth. She had her teeth extracted during her martyrdom and is now the patron saint of dentists and toothache sufferers … not a lot of people know that! Another interesting snippet is that St Catherine was martyred on a wheel, giving rise to the expression "Catherine’s Wheel".

Two-fabric sampler

My two-fabric sampler was draped over the choir stall fronted by a decorative tiled floor and backed by dark heavily carved choir stalls. Underneath the individual seats of these stalls are ornately carved misericords, depicting some quite irreligious images!

My quilts

My quilts for twin beds, which have been quilted by chequebook, (i.e. I paid someone else to do it on a long arm machine!) were finished and exhibited together mid way down the church.

I hope you get a general impression of the variety of the displays and the wonderful surroundings of the fabric and structure of the church. It really is a privilege to display one’s work amongst the crafts and skills of ancient carvers, stonemasons and stained glass artists.

You can just see my Hollyhocks wall hanging at the back of the church along side a friend’s wrought iron gate.

Outside, in the churchyard, there are many ancient yew trees, carved gargoyles and funny faces. It’s a fascinating place!

Yew tree

Gargoyle

Funny face

PS This picturesque village, with its ancient church and duck pond was catapulted dramatically onto the national stage on September 22^nd 1934. On that fateful date, 266 miners were killed in a huge explosion that ripped through one section of a local mine. Such was the force of the explosion and the ferocity of the resulting fire that the decision was made to seal off the pit and entomb the miners where they lay. It was reported that 160 widows and over 200 children lost husbands and fathers.

BLOG 54

2011-06-12T03:41:00.000-07:00

On June 4^th, I spent the day as one of the demonstrators at Gresford for Annual Quilting Day. I chose to devote the day to making Olympic Pennants. The organisers of the Cultural Olympiad are trying to amass 14,000 pennants so that they can give one to each athlete participating in the London Olympic and Para Olympic games. I designed a simple motif with large shapes and managed to make 6 using the 2-4-1 method from my latest book ‘Dual Image Appliqué’.

2-4-1 Pennants

More pennants

Even more pennants

Rather than prepare a normal binding, I used a quick fused method to complete them. Ready-fused fabric was cut into 1”strips, straight on one edge and fluted on the other. These were ironed around the edges to give an attractive no-sew finish, only suitable for wall hangings where no laundering is anticipated.

Quick fused binding

My on-going project this week has been layering the baby quilt ready for machine quilting. After pressing the backing fabric, I place it RS down onto a carpet. I pin the edges firmly into the carpet to keep the fabric taut, without stretching it.

Backing fabric

The cotton wadding (batting) goes onto the backing, with the pressed quilt top on top to complete the quilt sandwich. I use safety pins all around the edge first to hold the layers taut and then I pin at 6” intervals. For machine quilting, basting the layers would not be advisable as the stitches can catch on the machine foot and be difficult to remove if sewn over.

Pinning the layers

For speed, I have decided to work in rows across and down the quilt with a multicoloured thread. I am sewing straight stitches on the striped fabric to divide it into 9 squares and decorative stitches on the 9-patch to add interest. I need to complete this quilt soon and send it off!

Quilting detail

I started this blog with a mention of Gresford and I am going to finish it in the same place. Tomorrow I will be involved with a team of dedicated workers putting up our annual display of work in All Saints church at Gresford. Called the ‘Festival of Crafts’ this exhibition can be viewed daily from June 14^th – 17^th; Tues to Thurs 10:30 to 8:00 and Fri 10:30 to 6:00. Admission is £2:50 and as well as crafts from our group, there will be exhibits from the Wrexham quilting circle, Yale College diploma students, Gresford art group and the British Woodcarvers Association. The church, fascinating in its own right, will be full of craft and colour, with lots of quilts. If you are in the region, take the time to come and see for yourself! You will not be disappointed.

BLOG 53

2011-06-05T06:14:00.000-07:00

This week I have had to make significant progress with my Hollyhocks wall hanging. I have submitted it as one of the exhibits for the Gresford Festival of Crafts on June 14^th – 17^th! The tools are pinked and fluted rotary cutters and the building block are squares made from ready fused strips of ‘painterly’ fabric.

Tools and block

Little progress had been made at the start of the week and it has hung on my wall like this for ages. The squares are staggered in their placement and I like to use diagonal strips to give movement to the background. The flowers are free cut independently.

Background and flowers

Progress was concentrated and rapid this week and the wall hanging quickly took shape. I have always found that I work better towards a dead line; perhaps it is the fear of failure that concentrates my mind and motivates my actions!

Hollyhocks

Hollyhocks detail 1

Hollyhocks detail 2

Rather than bind the edges I prefer to use a turn-through finish, a method I picked up from US teacher Melody Johnson. I use cotton batting because I need to iron the fused picture onto it and ‘Warm and Natural batting’ is my preferred choice. The batting and backing fabric are trimmed at the same time as I straighten the edges of picture so I know that all three layers are exactly the same size; this is important! The picture is ironed onto the batting to stick it in place and then I prepare the backing fabric with an escape hatch. A 1 ½” strip of fusible web is ironed onto the WS of the backing fabric, about 2” from the top edge, and I cut through the middle of this with a rotary cutter to leave 1” at either end. The backing is then placed RS down onto the picture and batting layer, and pinned thoroughly so that there is no movement during sewing. If the trimming was accurate the edges should meet perfectly. I then sew all around the edges with a ¼” seam allowance, with 2 diagonal stitches across each corner.

Escape hatch

Once the corners have been trimmed, the picture is turned RS out through the escape hatch. The corners are gently eased out with a blunt tool to make them rounded and the edges are pressed to make sure that the backing is not visible on the front.

Turning through

It has not been quilted yet but the three layers are together and the picture lies flat and straight. This week will be spent adding texture and detail by machine to bring it all to life and to secure the fused pieces of fabric.

BLOG 52

2011-05-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

I have made good progress with the baby quilt this week, finishing the centre and adding the borders. Here is the top from the right side and the wrong side. On the WS the seam allowances have been pressed consistently in the same direction; this will be helpful when I get to the quilting stage.

Right side

Wrong side

The borders are added to extend the size and to frame the centre. I have used the remaining rainbow fabric to cut 1” strips and added 2” strips of the cream. After an accurate ¼” seam allowance is sewn, the raw edges should meet on the WS.

Border strips, WS and RS

I decided to mitre the corners so I needed to make sure that all 4 borders strips extended about 5” beyond the corners. When sewing the border strips, I started ¼” in from one corner and finished ¼” from the other corner.

(NB This exact ¼” gap at the beginning and the end allows the strips to overlap each other at the corners and leaves just room to manoeuvre them to create the mitre.)

Overlapped corners

Prepared mitre

The top strip is turned under until the raw edges of the top strip lie parallel with those of the bottom strip. Once pressed, the mitre is established. There are 2 ways to sew a mitre. You can use a ruler and water-erasable marker to define the creased line on the WS and sew it by machine. The excess fabric is trimmed away to leave a ¼” seam allowance.

Marking the seam

Sewing the seam

Or, and this is my preferred method, you can sew it by hand using a matching thread and concealed stitch from the RS. Trim away the excess fabric and iron the seam open. The completed top is ready for quilting now.

Appliquéing the mitre

On Monday I went to Castle Court Quilters to attend the monthly machine embroidery class with Suzette. This was the second part of a box-making workshop so, as I had missed the first part, I did my own thing, just happy to have made the space for a day’s sewing. I chose Hydrangeas as a theme and used various fabrics and threads to make a sewing case. These make lovely gifts and it is something I have done before. The colours of Primulas inspired a previous sample.

Embroidery Detail

Primula sewing case

BLOG 51

2011-05-22T04:21:00.000-07:00

It has rained for a week following our arrival back in the UK. Frustrating from the gardening point of view but good for the quilting!

A new great nephew, Ben Luke Osmotherley has arrived whilst I have been away and it is my custom to make a quilt/play mat for any new baby in the family. So this was my need-to-sew starting point this week. I have a basket of pre-cut rainbow squares and child-like prints so the fabrics were at hand. The method now needs to be quick!

Method for a simple 9-patch quilt

All the squares aree cut at 2” and placed by my machine ready to sew with a neutral thread and an accurate ¼” seam. Accuracy in cutting and sewing are vital!

Rainbow squares

The squares are string-pieced through my machine.

String piecing

Thread saver

I sew onto a scrap of fabric, folded to the length of my machine foot, at the end of a line. This allows me to cut away the sewn squares and saves on thread. It also prevents the thread-tangling that sometimes happens when you start to sew.

I decided that there would be a red square in the centre of all the blocks.

Seam allowances

I press my seam allowances from light to dark so that when I join the lines together, the seams butt up to one another. All the 9-patch squares will be pressed in the same way.

9-patch blocks

I intend to join the patchwork squares together with a square of rainbow fabric so a quick design on a scrap of paper was sufficient for me to work out quantities. I only have ½ yard of the rainbow fabric so I need to make it fit the project!

Design

9-patch and infill square

The lines are joined together and the seams pressed towards the rainbow fabric. This will be consistent throughout the quilt top with the result that the seams will butt together when joining line to line. Consistency in pressing and sewing is preferred because it establishes seam directions and makes quilting straightforward.

Joining lines

Another project receiving attention now is a want-to-sew (as opposed to a need-to-sew) piece in my painterly style. ‘Hollyhocks’ has been put to one side whilst I concentrated on my teaching preparation for America. It’s time has come and there will be more of this next week.

Hollyhocks

BLOG 50

2011-05-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

I am back again from flying with the Eagles in Paducah and more or less settled back at home again, scratching with the hens!

Paducah, or Quilt City as it has been labelled, stands on the banks of the Ohio. It was badly affected by torrential rain and thunderstorms so that all the flood barriers were raised to protect the town from the rapidly rising river.

Flood gates, Paducah

The Ohio in flood

By the end of the week the water had reached the floodgates, evidenced by seepage at the base of the gates. This caused great upheaval for the organisers because the convention centre that usually houses the quilt show was built between the river and the levees. At the eleventh hour, it was decided to move the venue to a huge Baptist church that was almost the size of a university campus building. Vendors were re-sited in empty shops and quilts were hung in alternative galleries. How the organisers coped I know not, but everyone was anxious that it was going to work and it did! This year will be the one that everyone remembers and says ‘I was there!’

My week in Paducah was exciting and exhausting. Being the only international teacher and a new author for AQS, I was happily worked to the bone. I taught 4 workshops, gave a lecture, did both All-star reviews, took part in an author’s roundtable and did a video promotion for my book. This left me no time to visit the vendors or see downtown Paducah and allowed me only to walk past, rather than study, the exhibited quilts. I really enjoyed the experience and made many new quilting friends.

And then it was holiday time as I met my husband and we flew to Miami and motored down the Florida Keys to Key West.

Relaxing! South Beach, Miami

We saw pampered pooches, pelicans and huge fish.

Pampered pooches

Pelican

Fish

We saw Ernest Hemmingway’s pure line of 6-toed cats and the sponge man.

6-toed cat

Spongeman

A colourful beacon marks the most Southerly point of the USA and a busker’s dog is trained to take your money!

Beacon

Money collector

We actually found the No Name Pub where the walls are plastered with defaced dollar bills and we added our own.

No Name pub

Roger piloted a Waco bi-plane and I swam with Tina the dolphin

WACO and pilot Tina

We took an airboat ride and saw loads of gators, on land and in the water.

And we sipped sunset cocktails on Sunset Pier and, guess what, saw the sunset!!

I started my blog purely as a place to talk and share quilting matters so forgive me for showing my holiday pics. You are actually forbidden to show quilts from Paducah without the express permission of the makers, so I can’t share those with you. Rest assured that next week I will be back to as normal as I get!

BLOG 49

2011-04-25T04:33:00.000-07:00

This Sunday I fly to America, from Manchester to Chicago. I over-night there and then carry on to Paducah the next day. Both the cases are packed, a huge one full of teaching samples and larger quilts, a small one with clothes and the like. The size of one compared to the other illustrates exactly what I deem to be important for this trip! QUILTS! Although I will be ‘poshed’ up more than usual, I have chosen everything to mix and match and interchange. I know it will be fairly hot and humid there so I look forward to air conditioning and a gentle breeze from the Ohio River.

Little and Large

Last Sunday I had a birthday and spent a lovely day with family and friends, dining and chatting and laughing; what more could you want? My best chum has her birthday on the same day so we are usually try to be together to celebrate it. Mid-week, I held an impromptu picnic in the garden for with another couple of quilting friends, one of who was celebrating her birthday. We took advantage of the lovely spring weather and warm sunshine. Our mutual friend made each of us a lovely cushion using a vintage design. They are both charming, with appliqué and decorative stitching on tasteful linen. Mine is pink, the other was blue. We both loved them and say she ought to go into business!

Birthday cushion

This is the classy label that accompanied it.

Cushion label

As you can imagine, there has been much on my mind this week with all the preparations going on. So I have been calmly sewing a UFO design in order to think about this trip and jot down what I must not forget to remember not to forget to remember … you know what I mean!
The project is a teaching sample that I designed and taught a couple of years ago. It is fairly mundane sewing but, as it needed finishing, I used the exercise for relaxation and a chance to think. It worked! The stitching is complete and the cases are packed, with nothing is forgotten……one hopes!

Buttonhole appliqué

Stitch detail

When travelling, I love it when you get to the stage where nothing more can be done. This starts when you close the front door and watch the house disappearing in the rear-view mirror and it complete by the time you are airside of the terminal and liberated from your luggage.
I will probably miss a couple of weeks but do look in again to check how Paducah went and what I got up to!

BLOG 48

2011-04-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

The days are just flying by as I ricochet from one thing to another. There is just a week to go now before I set off for Paducah in Kentucky. Next Sunday I travel from Manchester to Chicago; I overnight there to catch my breath and start to re-adjust before going onto Paducah the following day. Looking forward to it all now that most of the preparation has been done.

I sent my teaching stuff in advance with UPS, at great expense I might add, but it is less for me to carry and worry about in the long run. I recall with dread a teaching trip to the US many years ago. I stood forlornly by the carousel at a transit airport watching a case, identical to the one that had all my teaching stuff in, going round and round on its own! On inquiry, I discovered that the destination of this abandoned case just happened to be the same as mine so I was advised to get to the carousel first on arrival and make sure that I picked up my own case before anyone else did. I can only add that there were scorch marks on the floor of the arrivals hall as I sped to the carousel and stood right by the hole where the cases appeared!!!

I am happy to say that I have finished the Falling Leaves quilt that I was invited to make as a project for QUILT magazine in the US. This project, with those delicious Hoffman painterly fabrics, was featured as a work in progress in BLOG 45. Here is a picture of the completed quilt.

01 Falling Leaves

I emphasised the diagonal lines of the design by placing similar bright fabrics together in several places. To me this gives the feeling of shafts of light shining through the trees. Quilting lines in red help to unify the zigzag appliqué stitches with the inner border and binding.

02 Falling leaves detail

03 Falling Leaves

I am pleased at what I have achieved in the brief time scale. It will accompany me and be shown in Paducah and then be posted on to the magazine to be photographed for the Oct/Nov issue.

I have also had an article printed in the latest issue of Fabrications magazine here in the UK. Our group quilt, ‘Beyond the Jelly Roll’ was mentioned in BLOG 40 and my article charts the journey of 8 quilting chums from a room in the Hilton hotel during the Festival of quilts to a first at The Great Northern Quilt Show. This is how it starts.

I enjoyed writing it and if you can get the magazine, it’s a good illustrated read.

Now you wouldn’t normally associate the word ‘conceiving’ with women of certain maturity- the ones with the combined age of our national debt and enough power surge energy to light up a small town!! Ok, I admit to slight exaggeration but conceive we did, in a room at the Hilton Hotel, during the Festival of Quilts. Eight of us conceiving whilst drinking sounds totally inappropriate but fear not, what we effortlessly conceived was one great idea!

Another good idea has surfaced for a quilt. We have had one sewing session here and we are due another tomorrow to make the necessary progress for this year’s shows. Here’s a sneak preview of my panel-in-progress:

04 My panel

I shall of course miss the royal wedding and will actually be working on that day, doing a demo in the morning, a lecture over lunchtime and a 3-hour evening workshop. It’s a good job my personal invitation to the wedding was lost in the post! It will however be fascinating to witness the event from the American perspective.

BLOG 47

2011-04-10T08:23:00.000-07:00

As promised last week, here is a glimpse at some of the student work-in-progress from the Shoreline Quilters’ retreat at Alston Hall. I love being there with them and it always amazes me that they deliver such exciting work. The swallows’ pattern is very complex and these pictures show just the cutting and fusing stages. You get instant visual results from the method but there is a lot of sewing ahead and it is fair to say that much of the completion goes on at home … sometimes!

1 Swallows (reverse appliqué)

2 Swallows (positive appliqué)

3 Swallows (reverse appliqué)

4 Swallows (positive appliqué)

5 Flower Wheel (reverse appliqué)

6 Flower Wheel (positive appliqué)

This week I went to Castle Court Quilters in Shropshire for the monthly machine embroidery day, where I become a student again and learn techniques that challenge me and make me step outside my comfort zone. I expect I could learn at home from books but where is the fun in doing that? And would I really allow myself to sit all day at my machine and sew? I think not. There are always quilting projects that require progress, household chores that never seem to end, telephone calls that disturb concentration, and there is an obsessive need in me to solve the difficult level of spider solitaire on the computer! So by paying to attend a class, I give myself permission to have a day away and I absorb as much from the class as I can.

This week Suzette taught us how to do faux chenille, a technique that has been around for many years in the quilt world. I have always loved the soft textured effects and now wonder why I have never had a go at it before! I am so proud of my first effort! And now my mind is working overtime wondering how I can apply it to my own work in the future. Just keep an eye on this space!

7 Faux chenille

8 Faux chenille (detail)

9 Order of fabrics

10 Faux chenille patchwork

BLOG 46

2011-04-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

I have been teaching a course at Alston Hall, near Longridge, this weekend, at the invitation of the Shoreline quilters. Alston Hall is a lovely old house, well situated in its own peaceful and extensive grounds (sounds like estate agent jargon!!), and it is owned and run by Lancashire County Council. Ours was a full residential course, attended by my lovely quilting chums, and some have been with me for the 15 years I have been going there to teach. Obviously I am not flogging them hard enough to put them off!!

They certainly work hard (and dare I say eat hard?) whilst they are there, sewing above and beyond the timed sessions scheduled by the college. Although a theme is chosen for the workshop and the requirements list circulated, the sessions are flexible and people can bring their own work if they wish. Accommodation is good, the food is excellent, and the teaching environment is spacious and well equipped. I just love going there!

These are the variety of subjects I have taught over the past 15 years:

1997 Aspects of appliqué

1998 Easy Curved seams

1999 Through the Garden Gate

2000 Rose Windows

2001 Machine Trapunto

2002 The Lucky Dip Quilt

2003 Hearts and Gizzards Quilt*

2004 Snowball quilt

2005 Reversible Log Cabin

2006 Positive and Negative Appliqué

2007 Poppy landscape

2008 Painting with fabric

2009 Mosaic Flowers

2010 Log Cabin sampler and Still life

2011 Dual Image Appliqué samples shown below

Flower wheel cushion: frame

Flower wheel cushion: fillers

Swirling Swallows: Frame

Swirling Swallows: Fillers

The Flower Wheel cushions were fairly simple with large shapes and gentle curves, suitable for the less experienced. But the Swirling Swallows panels were much more complex and not for the faint hearted. I’m proud to say that over half the class had a go at these and, when I see some of the results, I will include them in a later blog.

I am already looking forward to next year when we will be doing Memorabilia boxes and fabric landscapes. Here is an example of such a box, one that I made for my friend Kate’s 60^th birthday. Fancy me having friends over 60!! I realise that I too am over 60 but, as they are all so much more sensible than I am, they always appear to be older than me. I shall hold onto that thought!!!

Kate’s box

Kate's Box - Detail

*Apologies for banner abberation - I can't seem to change it!

BLOG 45

2011-03-27T07:56:00.000-07:00

Don’t you just love this time of year? The intense bright green of new shoots in the hedgerows heralds the arrival of warmer weather and lighter nights; it gladdens the heart and quickens the pulse. I am an optimist by nature, just a simple soul and I am rarely anything but happy and content. Spring is my season!

I continue to prepare for Paducah next month. But occasionally I look over my shoulder, with regret it has to be said, at the work that I have had to put to one side for the time being. Its day will come!

Work in progress

I have been invited, by QUILT magazine in the US, to reproduce the quilt from the front cover of my book ‘Dual Image Appliqué’. This is to appear in the fall issue so the leaf pattern will be topical. The fabrics, chosen from the Hoffman watercolour range, can only be described as delicious! Just look at those colours and textures.

Fabrics

When they arrived I couldn’t help but get started on the lap quilt and this has taken over my sewing time for most of this week.

Constructed squares

Positive and negative leaves

The procedure outlined in Blog 44 is followed. The difference here is that two fabrics, joined on the diagonal, make up the starting square. Three constructed squares make two blocks: 1 square with the fused pattern produces the frame and the fillers, the other 2 squares are foundations. One foundation goes behind the filler to give a positive appliqué and the other goes behind the frame to give a negative appliqué. The positioning of the frame and filler along to diagonal of the foundations is critical. Once ironed in place, the edge of the shape must be sewn to prevent fraying.

Satin stitch

I habitually place cotton batting behind where I am sewing to give the fabrics some body and to help prevent any tunnelling of the stitch and distortion of the fabric. I have chosen a cherry red thread and a small satin stitch for strong definition.

Satin stitch and batting

I am still working in the attic until the weather really warms up. I look forward to returning to my purpose-made workshop in the garage when I can comfortably sew there of an evening.

Sewing station in the attic

BLOG 44

2011-03-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

There are two time-related focuses for my week at the moment. One is Sunday morning when I need to sit down and start my blog for the week, just assuming that there are people out there interested in what I have to say. The other is the Friday night gin! When my husband was at work, we always used to have a gin and tonic on a Friday night to celebrate the end of the working week and the start of the weekend; very civilised, eagerly anticipated and greatly enjoyed!! In retirement, this quaint habit has become a necessity as one day just trickles into the next. We usually know what month it is but the only way to distinguish the weeks from the weekends is to continue our gin habit. We switch off from retiring on Fridays and resume on a Monday mornings when my husband digs me in the ribs to get up because there is some hard retiring to do!! Isn’t life great?

This week I have continued to prepare for my classes at the AQS quilt show in Paducah next month. Time marches on and the preparation is on schedule. This week I have been concentrating on Dual Image Appliqué, my one-day workshop and the subject of my latest book.

The method is outlined as follows:

Mark the centres on the WS of the foreground fabric.

Foreground

Transfer the pattern clearly onto the paper side of the fusible web.

Pattern and fusible

Remove the excess fusible and iron the pattern centrally onto the WS of the foreground fabric.

Fusible on WS

Use a rotary cutter to cut right on the line of each shape. Cut out all the shapes or fillers from the intact frame.

Frame and fillers

Use the frame to audition potential fabrics. The one seen here has been constructed from 2” squares.

Audition fabrics

From the selected fabric, cut a large square to use with the fillers and a smaller square to go behind the frame.

Foundations

Use the frame, with its backing paper still on, to position the fillers with their paper off, onto the large foundation. Press to stick securely.

Remove the backing paper from the frame and press to stick it onto the small foundation securely.

Add batting and backing and then zigzag round the cut edged to appliqué and quilt at the same time.

Sewn samples

Quilt the surround to your satisfaction and use in to make cushions, bags, hangings etc. On the navy foreground I have sewn a wandering vine quilting stitch using a free motion method. On the coloured background, I have sewn a decorative stitch along regular marked lines with a walking foot.

Details of quilting

Use your samples to make cushions, wall hangings, bags etc. Here is a bag project from my book ‘Dual Image Appliqué’ published by AQS.

Bag project

BLOG 43

2011-03-13T12:50:00.000-07:00

On previous blogs, I have mentioned that I attend a machine embroidery class at Castle Court Quilters in Shropshire, taught by Suzette Smart. She arrives each month with exciting and inspiring ideas and we pretty much have a free choice over what we choose to sew during the day. This is my humble effort in progress, a sorry attempt at Suzette’s unique style of working! In a nutshell, the method is a bit like drawing shapes in a dark thread and then colouring them in, much more complex than it sounds! I have used the same pale thread on the bobbin so that flecks of it appear on the surface and give an over-all uniformity across all the colours. There is much more to do.

Stitching in progress

My preparations continue for Paducah, and this week I have been refreshing my samples for an exercise in comparing Positive and Negative Appliqué. This workshops is sewn by hand and the samples are sewn side-by-side so that the comparisons are reinforced at each of the 4 steps.

Method 1: NEGATIVE APPLIQUE

Foreground refers to the fabric onto which the pattern is transferred and from which the pattern shapes are cut.

Background refers to the fabric(s) placed underneath to become visible through the cut shapes in the foreground fabric.

PREPARATION

NB The pattern must look like a stencil for this comparison to work.

Transfer the pattern onto the RS of the foreground fabric. Trace onto a light fabric or use transfer paper on a dark fabric.

Pattern

Transfer pattern

Step one PLACE: Place the WS of the marked foreground fabric onto the RS of the background fabric. Pin to secure the layers.

TIP: Pin from behind so that the thread doesn’t get caught around them during basting.

Step one: Place

Step two BASTE: On the RS, baste with small stitches, right on the line. Sew all round the shapes with a contrasting thread to secure the foreground fabric to the background.

Step two: Baste

Step three TURN: On the RS, cut on the inside of the marked line on the foreground fabric only, to leave a scant 3/16" seam. Clip into corners and into the concave curves only (see marked clips above). Remove the basting stitches and needle-turn the seam with small, concealed stitches and a thread to match the foreground fabric.

Step three: Turn

Step four TRIM: On the WS, trim away the excess background fabric to leave a scant 1/4" seam outside the line of stitches. Note the tiny stitches defining the shape on the back.

Step four: Trim

The completed sample:

BLOG 42

2011-03-06T12:02:00.000-08:00

Now that we have somehow arrived in the month of March (where have the 2 months gone since Christmas?), most of my energies will be concentrated on my preparations for the quilting show in Paducah, Kentucky. I am part of the teaching faculty this year and will be kept very busy with workshops, a lecture and the all-star reviews. I am excited about being there again as I used to go regularly with friends many years ago. Paducah becomes ‘Quilt City’ when the American Quilters Society holds its annual show, this year during 27^th -30^thApril.

This week I am preparing samples for template-free hand appliqué, a technique I have been teaching for years. Once the pattern is transferred onto the fabric, it can be translated as a 4-step method. Here is the method in a nutshell.

(Featured in ‘At Play with Appliqué’ published in the USA by C&T)

Template-free Hand Appliqué

NB: Background refers to the fabric onto which all the shapes are appliquéd.

Foreground refers to the shapes that are appliquéd onto the background fabric.

Preparation Transfer the pattern onto the WS of the background fabric. Trace onto a light fabric or use transfer paper on a dark fabric.

Place on the RS

Place from the WS

Step one PLACE: Place the WS of the foreground fabric onto the RS of the background fabric. Pin to secure the layers.

Step two BASTE: On the WS, baste with small stitches, right on the line. Sew all round the shapes to secure the fabric. Work in sequence if appropriate.

Step three TRIM: On the RS, trim away the excess fabrics on the outside of the stitches to leave a 3/16” seam. Mark the edges to be turned (optional).

Step four TURN: On the RS, remove the basting stitches, one by one, and needle-turn the seam with small, concealed stitches and a matching thread.

The method is a accurate as the drawn line and it eliminates the need for templates.

Jacobean silhouette

The work has slowed down on the Jacobean panels but I have managed to mark a background grid on the positive panels. This grid goes over the black too but misses all the flowers/leaves etc so I can add decorative free-motion detail.. eventually!!

BLOG 41

2011-02-27T02:21:00.000-08:00

I never really know what I am going to write about until I actually sit at the computer and start to look at the keyboard. Today is no exception so let’s see what bubbles up to the surface!

I have given myself until the end of February to complete the appliqué on the Jacobean panels and I am on course to do just that. I had intended to enter it into Quilts UK in May, the first of our annual UK competitions. As there is still so much decorative stitching, quilting and finishing to do, I have decided to bide my time and enjoy the sewing journey. What’s the point of rushing and putting myself under a lot of pressure? I have spent a quilting career of manically sewing and writing to deadlines, and now the time has arrived to chill. I can’t believe how good that makes me feel!

Much of my quilting time this week has been devoted to making a project for a magazine article. My new book, Dual Image Appliqué, needs to be promoted. A good way to do this is to send a copy to each of the magazines for review. I usually go one extra step and design an exclusive pattern for a project to accompany the review. This project draws attention to the book and introduces the basic method therein and those interested in developing the method just may purchase the book (fingers crossed!)

Here is the pair of cushions soon to be featured in Patchwork and Quilting magazine.

Patchwork and Quilting project

The technique is simple and the step-by-step method is logical. For these cushions I have used plain squares for the fusing, cutting and sewing and the results are sharp and dramatic. This pattern is a variation of a similar block used in my book and you only have to see what exciting results can be produced with the same method when the starting square is made up of 4 triangles.

Quilt blocks using a constructed square

I loved it so much that I went onto make a full sized quilt. Willow did the snuggle test and approved! I have to say that the palette used for this quilt is one of my favourites. I have always loved strong colour and have learned over the years as a homeowner, that if your walls are soft and neutral, you can use vivid quilts to create interest.

Snuggle test by Willow

BLOG 40

2011-02-20T11:45:00.000-08:00

We have just had one of our Sunday family meals and it is so lovely getting everyone together round the kitchen table. However immediate texting and emailing is, there is no substitute for cosy face-to-face chats over food. I am happy to spend all morning preparing a special meal for us all so that we can catch up with workdays and holidays, local news and views, weekly happenings and shared reminiscences. Family is so important.

I mentioned Quiltfest at Llangollen in my last Blog. This is relatively local to me and I usually help with the stewarding. Occasionally though I am invited to display my work, or fill in a gap in one of the displays. This year I exhibited with a group called the ‘Roll-ons’. This group was inadvertently formed at the Festival of Quilts, 2010, where there were many jellyroll quilts. So many, in fact, that we started to get weary of them. Eight of us pledged to make an alternative quilt ‘Beyond the Jellyroll’ and here it is.

From left to right, we have Forward Roll, Spring Roll, Electoral Roll, Fig Roll, Bog Roll, Swiss Roll, Sausage Roll and Jewellery Roll.

Beyond the Jellyroll

I am hand quilting the Kansas Troubles throw and enjoying the hands-on process. It is a while since I have quilted by hand and I had forgotten how relaxing and satisfying it can be. The block is very angular so I decided to ignore that and quilt concentric circles in each block. This has the effect of unifying the complete quilt without losing the precision and drama of the sharp points. I work in a 14” hoop and use a thimble and a rocking motion.

Kansas Troubles: quilting

Whilst trying to hand quilt, there is usually too much interest from our rescue cat, Pussy Willow (or Wussy Pillow as we like to call her!). I have a theory that wadding (batting) is magnetic to cats! Whether it is in a bag, on the floor, in a cupboard or sandwiched between the fabrics of a quilt, the cat always seem to find it. This is her special chair in the kitchen, with wadding on the seat and a quilt as a backdrop.

Willow’s chair

Willow was removed by the RSPCA from a cat breeder in the Lake District, along with several others. Totally neglected, she was in an awful state when we first brought her home. But with time, care and attention she has become one of the loveliest cats we have had.

The tedious and repetitive sewing on the Jacobean panels continues. The edges of each black shape have to be sewn with a zigzag stitch to prevent them from fraying. It’s hard sometimes to keep the impetus and enthusiasm going!

Jacobean panel

Jacobean panel: detail

BLOG 39

2011-02-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

Today Roger and I have been for a walk in the grounds of Chirk Castle, a property owned by the National Trust. It was the weekend of the annual snowdrop walk, and after the high winds and lashing gales at the beginning of the week, it was just lovely to be outside in the gentle sunshine and calming countryside today.

Roger Mortimer, Justice of North Wales for Edward 1 built the castle over 700 years ago, as a fortress. The castle is impressive, and the grounds extensive, accessed by topiary lined pathways. Snowdrops, commonly regarded as the harbingers of spring, are everywhere and here, a carpet of them surrounds me.

Snowdrops at Chirk castle

Chirk Castle has some magnificent wrought iron gates which are dated 1719 and bear the coat-of-arms of the Myddelton family. They were made by the Davies Brothers, Robert and John of Croesfoel Forge, near Bersham, Wrexham and were erected between 1719 and 1721.

The coat-of-arms of the Myddelton family is the crowning point of the overthrow of the gates. This incorporates the red “bloody” hand of the Myddelton family, a feature that has been the source of many myths and legends. One story tells of a dispute over inheritance of the castle many years ago between two youths of the family. To settle the dispute, the two youths agreed to run a race, the winner being the first to touch the Castle gates. Legend has it that the first youth to reach out to the gate at the finishing line was deprived of victory by a supporter of his adversary. The supporter drew his sword and cut off the youth’s outstretched hand: thus the “bloody” hand.
A further legend tells of a battle led by one of the early Myddeltons, dressed in a white tunic, during which he was badly injured. He placed his blood-covered hand on his tunic and left the imprint of the bloody hand, which then became his heraldic symbol.

Chirk Castle Gates

Chirk Castle Gates detail

I have been stewarding at Quiltfest in Llangollen this week. The featured quilter this year is Deanne Hartwell-Jones who does all her sewing by hand. Amazingly, she doesn’t own a sewing machine and everything, from patchwork to appliqué to quilting to binding, is done by hand. She constructs all her patchwork with minute precision, using the English paper piecing method. I think I would lose the will to live, working over papers but it suits Deanne and here are some of her quilts.

Quilt to commemorate the Queens Golden Jubilee

Quilt made from fabrics used in the Welsh National costume

Quilt influenced by Snowdonia

BLOG 38

2011-02-06T12:16:00.000-08:00

The weather has been really awful this week, with lashing rain and howling gales. But do I care? Not one bit because it gives me the excuse to stay indoors to sew!! I have concentrated my time and efforts this week on the construction and sewing of the quilt that I wanted to make as a throw for the settee (see selection of fabrics in Blog 37). I love the colour palette I have chosen and I just knew that once I had selected my fabrics, I wouldn’t be able to resist making a start. I have chosen a traditional patchwork block called ‘Kansas troubles’.

Kansas Troubles block

It is not too complex but does demand careful preparation, accurate cutting and precise sewing. The finished block size is 8” and I want to do 5 rows of 5, with added borders. Where possible, I opt for quick construction methods and here’s an example.

How to produce 8 half square triangles (2 ½”) from 2 large squares:

Cut out two 6 ½” squares from a light and a dark fabric.

On the light fabric, draw the vertical and horizontal centre lines to define 4 squares.

Divide each square across the middle with a diagonal line as shown.

Place the fabrics RS together, with the marked side uppermost.

Sew an accurate ¼” seam on both sides of each diagonal line and press.

Half square triangle preparation

On a cutting board, use a rotary cutter and ruler to cut on all the marked lines to divide the square into 8 pieces. Each piece is made up of a light and dark triangle, joined by a seam.

Cutting

On the ironing board, pile the triangles with the dark fabric on top.

Lift the point of the dark fabric to reveal the light triangle and press into a square. (Doing it this way irons both the seams in the same direction, from light to dark.)

On the cutting board, trim the squares to an accurate 2 ½”.

Pressing

The large squares are cut at 8 7/8” and the small squares at 4 7/8”. They are then cut on the diagonal to give 2 large and 2 small triangles.

Large and small triangles

Some smaller dark triangles are needed to complete the block. Cut some 2 7/8” squares and divide on the diagonal. The 2 ½” corner squares are cut from the light fabric.

Corner blocks

Here’s my completed quilt top, safety-pinned onto the batting and backing layers ready for quilting. Love it!

Kansas Trouble quilt 50” x 50”

This coming week I am stewarding in Llangollen at Quiltfest, an annual event organised by Val Shields, who also heads our Gresford sewing group. All the members are expected to give time for stewarding so I am in Plas Newydd on Monday all day and the museum on Wednesday. This is going to give me time to hand quilt my work; I can’t wait to start!

BLOG 37

2011-01-30T11:15:00.000-08:00

Another week has gone by since I last updated my blog. Life just goes on apace and, like everyone else, I wonder where the time has gone. If I have been sewing, then I have tangible evidence of time not wasted so here are my efforts this week.

Decorative stitches

The shapes of the flowers are drawn onto the right side of the fabric with a water erasable marker. I then play about with the stitches on my machine and fill in the marked shapes and beyond. The ‘beyond’ part is important as heavy stitching causes the fabric to shrink and distort.

I check whether they still fit into the shape of the flower before carefully removing the backing paper, from the fusible, behind the flower only. I position and stick the flowers in place and trim from the back.

Stitched flower

This part of the progress is fiddly and I am sure there must be an easier way. But once I have positioned one flower, I am encouraged to continue! Eventually the whole panel will go onto another rectangle of the coloured background fabric, and onto cotton batting so I can zigzag around the cut edges to prevent fraying. I find that the batting gives extra body to the work during the zigzagging, thus preventing distortion.

Building up the panel

Detail

Another project I have in mind is to make a patchwork throw for the small settee in our lounge, the only room that doesn’t have a quilt on display! As a member of a couple of sewing groups where I really need hand work to do, I could quilt the throw by hand, a technique I need to practice more. The curtains and carpet in the lounge were here when we arrived 4 years ago and, although they were not my own choice, I really like them. So they are the starting point for the fabric palette.

Settee

And here is the palette of fabrics I have chosen to make a patchwork throw.

Palette of fabrics

All I need to do now is find a pattern that is speedy to construct but interesting enough to challenge me and look effective. Watch this space!