BLOG 272

BLOG 272

HAPPY NOVEMBER! I have had a busy week this week with granddaughters and sleep-overs (a misnomer if ever I heard one!) and overnight visitors from Scotland. Just add to that a Hallowe’en party and a developing head cold and you can imagine how I feel this end of the week! That said, on one side I love the energy of children and always enjoy rising to the challenge; and on the other side it is great to catch up with old friends over leisurely meals. There’s a sense of balance there.

Recently, I was reminded too of the balance in my sewing activities. I meet up regularly with a local chum from my teaching days; she was actually my right hand woman when I used to sell fabrics and supplies. When I first met her and asked her name she said ‘Kath, Kath-with-a-K’ and that is who she has always been. Anyway, on our last occasion together, Kath, Kath-with-a-K told me about a scrap quilt top that she had made years ago with a group of ladies from her church. The group had long ceased to exist but the quilt was part hand quilted and she couldn’t face doing any more. I have taken it on with the intention of completing it, selling it and giving the proceeds to charity. So, as autumn gets underway, I find myself warmed by this Friendship Star quilt most evenings as I hand-quilt it. I love the relaxing pace and rhythm of hand work as a change from the ‘slam it under the machine’ work that I mainly do these days. It’s very therapeutic and reminds me that there ought to be contrasts and balance in one’s life.

        Friendship Star

              Detail

 PICKET FENCE QUILT: I have made more squares as building blocks for the Picket Fence quilt. As this will be a small decorative quilt for draping over a chair, I think that 3 blocks across by 4 blocks down will be sufficient. I have set up a conveyor belt system of sewing with a finished block, a repeated square for reference and a pile of 2-colour strips.

         Conveyor belt

My intention at first is to join 3 lines together to make the squares, making sure there are no repeated fabrics.

        Squares

 The squares are pressed on the back to establish the directions of the seams and then on the front to make sure there are no tucks in the seams. This helps the stars to form accurately when the squares are sewn together.

          Pressing

I place the squares together to make a potential block but as you can see from this sample, there are repeated fabrics side by side. This is what I am trying to avoid.

         Blocks

As I press each square, I place 4 squares together to make the blocks. There is still the opportunity at this stage to swop things around but I need to make enough for all 12 blocks before I start to construct in earnest. This will be my quest over the next few days.

          Layouts