BLOG 510

 

Blog 510

 

This week has been devoted to the systematic and painstaking construction of the Contemporary Sampler, from beginning to end (the wet weather helped to keep me motivated!) After some experimentation, I decided to use a black machine zigzag stitch for the construction of this quilt, in keeping with the notion of ‘Contemporary’. I used a narrow strip of a multi-coloured shear fabric to over-lay the butted edges for a softer look. I joined the pieces row by row so it was either a square-lattice-square row or lattice-block-lattice row. There were only 6 blocks that were directional, namely the four fan corners, the Maple Leaf and the Clipper Ship.

 

Lattice and corners

 

Lattice and blocks

 

After a false start, when I tried to join blocks that varied by as much as ¼” (I never thought to check them as they had all gone through the same process!!), I trimmed them all fastidiously and the pieces all fitted together like a dream. I decided there and then that I really enjoyed working intricately in smaller sections especially on a firm background (felt in this case) and I will pursue this process in future large quilts.

Completed row

 

 

Detail

 

Joining blocks/lattices

 

 Joining lattices/corners

 

Progress

 

Finished quilt

 

And finally, I was doing my daily walk today and I came across this lovely quote beside a wooden seat over-looking the surrounding Welsh countryside. My mother, who has been dead for several years, would have loved this! She was fiercely proud of her Welsh heritage and, although she lived out of Wales for about 75 years, she still spoke the language and visited as often as she could.

 

Quotation