PATCHWORK AND QUILTING

I started patchwork and quilting in May 2001. I am a member of BQL (British Quilt List) and BAQL (British Applique Quilt List) internet-based groups of quilters and a local quilt group called the Thameside Quilters who are based in Ashford, Middx. I have learnt a lot from books and have attended a few workshops to learn specific techniques.

I'm currently working on:
- a Block of the Month with the Thameside Quilters. It is mostly applique, and the blocks will form an "English" village. Each month we are given a couple of patterns and a few 'items' to include. The first month the patterns were a small cottage and a tree and the items were small pieces of fabric: stone pattern, wood pattern and floral.
- the design for the BAQL challenge - inspired by a piece of poetry!

. . . . so watch this space for updates!

For details of my Crazy Quilting projects, click here.

Here are the projects I've completed so far:

Charity Quilts

These two cot quilts are being donated to the special baby unit of St George's Hospital, Tooting as part of the Thameside Quilter's ongoing support.

The first is 3D bowties - machine pieced and hand quilted. The second is Overall Sam - bonded applique, buttonhole stitched by hand and machine quilted.

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"Jubilee Silhouette"

This was the result of a Jubilee challenge. To make a 20" quilt on the theme of Gold and Silver to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Queen and the 25th Anniversary of the Squire's Garden Centre Rose Show. The quilt had to have a rose on it ... somewhere. The results were very varied and some of the roses less obvious than others!

My quilt is a machine pieced background of various gold and silver fabrics. The rose silhouette and border were hand appliqued on top. I hand quilted the details of the rose and outline quilted around it. The rest of the quilt was tied invisibly. The quilt is my own design.

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"Canadian Geese"

This is my end of an exchange project between Thameside Quilters of Ashford, UK and the Hudson Quilters of Quebec, Canada.

My exchange partner Frances Firn Ceriko, made the beautiful applique centre - wild rose, the provincial state flower of Alberta, Canada. After much head scratching I decided to add a simple flying geese border to compliment the flower block rather than detract from it. I've quilted a maple leaf in each corner to reinforce the Canadian link.

The centre was hand quilted, the rest machine pieced. The quilting was done by hand. The finished wallhanging measure 20 inches square and will live in my bedroom.

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"Cosy Cabins for a Capital Couple"

My finest project to date and it was made to be given away!

This lap quilt measures 54 inches square and was machine pieced and hand quilted. The pattern is traditional log cabin, set in the barn raising style. The back of the quilt has hand appliqued hearts set into the corners and hearts are quilted at the centre of each block.

The quilt was made as a wedding present for my sister-in-law. They were thrilled and appreciate all the work that went into producing it (over 70 hours). Hopefully it will become a family heirloom!

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"Nebula of Scraps"

This is my first major project, started a couple of months after beginning P&Q. It got put on the 'back burner' several times as other projects became more urgent, but now it is finished!

The pattern is from Karen Combs' book "Combing Through Your Scraps". These split 9-patch blocks are so versatile. The quilt is machine pieced and machine quilted. It measures 46 inches square and now lives on the back of my sofa!

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"Itsy Bits for Jungle Ward"

This is the scrap quilt I made with my local group, Thameside Quilters. About 30 of us made these quilts, started at a workshop, and they are being donated to the children in Jungle Ward at St Georges Hospital, Tooting.

It measures 36 x 42 inches and was machine pieced and machine quilted. The pattern, called "Itsy Bits and Wonky Strips", is by Paula Doyle of Green Mountain Quilts. I especially love the backing fabric which I bought some time ago - I knew it would be ideal for a future project!

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"Berry Button Garland"

This wallhanging measures 23.5 inches square and was machine appliqued/pieced and hand quilted. The pattern is by Rosie Francis and I started the project on one of her workshops. This was the first time I had tried machine applique. The buttons really set it off a treat!

This is to be a Xmas present for my mum and dad. They loved it and it now hangs on the wall of my old bedroom!

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"Little Village in the Clouds"

This wallhanging measures 17 x 23.5 inches and was machine foundation pieced and hand quilted.

The pattern is "Little Village" by Paula Doyle of Green Mountain Quilts. I attended her workshop on foundation piecing to learn the technique and this is one of two patterns she gave us to complete.

I chose the border fabric first and the house colours to co-ordinate. I quilted around the house outlines, along inner border and then used a scallop around the outer border. I enjoyed using the FP technique, although I found removing the papers very fiddly!

I am really pleased with the finished quilt, which hangs on my Dining Room wall.

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"Autumn Leaves"

This is my first 'quilt', a small wallhanging, measuring 27 inches square. It is machine pieced and hand quilted.

The tesselated leaf design is from "Quick Quilts" by Kim Ritter. I used a different fabric for each leaf. Most of the fabrics were from my sewing box, although the fabric for the border and 3 of the leaves was bought especially for this project.

I really enjoyed making this quilt and, considering it is my first 'proper' quilt, I am really pleased with the results.

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