I’m off to ‘quilting’

Do you just refer to your local quilt group as Quilting… I just yell to DH from the door “Ok I’m off to quilting…see you” even though I don’t actually quilt there.   I belong to quite a few different quilt related organisations and always refer to them by proper names, it’s only my fortnightly Wednesday group (The Goldfields Quilters) that has lost its moniker.   Do you do the same?

Anyway tonight is quilting, the first one after the Christmas break, and even though the rain is pouring down (and thunder has just started) and the roads will be yuk I will be steadfastly going because I can and many of my quilting comrades in Qld and NSW can’t go anywhere due to devastating flooding, so I’m going for you guys and will encourage everyone to go through their stashes to help you replenish yours.

After my last post a couple of you asked about the Maltaville Album Quilt being a kind of quilt-along or pattern.

Well, Jennifer (my technical support and  5foot1quilts ) had suggested just that very thing last week so your queries were very timely, thank you.

After talking with Jenn about it again and working out how best to do it, I can say that yes I will be doing a pattern which people can join in and download the patterns each month.

I do just want to get another block or two ahead before I start though and I’ll have to spend a little time learning how to do downloadable patterns etc, and there’ll probably be a blog to go with it that participants can post their blocks on too.  Stay tuned and I hope to get it happening in the next few weeks.

In the meantime… I have spent the morning preparing some hand stitching ready to take to ‘quilting’ tonight and my next Maltaville block is one I’ll be taking.

Malatville Album Saturn

Maltaville Album Quilt ~ Saturn Block

This is now all tacked and glued down but I though I’d show you some of the process.   What I needed was something 5 1/4″ round to trace around…you know how hard it is to draw a circle.  My Perfect Circles templates don’t go that big so I started hunting around the studio then the kitchen where I spotted these…

Copper Pots

Gotta be something close in that lot

Circle

Perfect...it is 5 1/4" exactly.

Fabric Choices

Choosing the fabrics

At the last minute I decided to make the little moons out of three different Smithsonian fabrics for a bit of tonal variety so the bottom fabric has been joined by two more.   I’m really happy with how it’s looking and this one won’t take long to stitch (I hope).

However as this is going to now be a Quilt-along it may have been smarter for me to start with the centre block (doh).  At present I’m just doing them in any order that appeals but I should probably start thinking about a more orderly approach.

Connecticut Quilt

Connecticut Quilt

I spent a blissful Monday and Tuesday further planning and sewing on the Connecticut Quilt.  I have added the small Ohio Stars to ‘square up’ the quilt in readiness for the next border (red and cream squares).

I stared gung ho by making a little block and then rejected it

Reject

I really like this striped fabric and it certainly ‘went’ with everything else around it but when I put up on the wall with the quilt centre it lacked definition…

Ohio Star

That’s better against the baskets.

These blocks are tiny…3 1/8″ finished, so it was easier to make the units oversized and trim them down.Tiny units

And the light fabric is very fine so starching it helped to stabilise it for such small pieces.

Starch

I prefer the Best Press on the left (no residue) but had to resort to Crisp when I ran out

And just because there’s no time like the present to start playing around with something new (I am still en vacance after all) here’s another little bit of hand stitching I prepared this morning.

French Quilt

French Quilt

French Quilt

French Quilt

18 months ago I bought some very gorgeous fabrics when I was holidaying in the south of France (from Les Olivades in St Etienne du Gres near St Remy de Provence) and have been pondering possible quilts to use them in.   Last week I found a pattern for a variation on the Double Wedding Ring, the pattern was by Deb McArdle who is a designer and tutor from Ballarat (Deb was one of the quilters  whose work I noticed and enjoyed early in my quiltmaking days and in November I had the pleasure of being a judges’ assistant to Deb when she was one of two judges at the One Step Further Exhibition in Melbourne)

Deb has come up with this really interesting way of creating a Double Wedding Ring using a square and bias strips.

Bias strip

Making Bias Strip using fusible paper

Super quick and easy.

Now I’ve just got time to tidy up the mess I’ve made in the studio after all this morning’s activity before organising dinner for the family and heading out the door to Quilting.

Comments

  1. Everything you do is so fascinating Margaret! I can’t think of anything I haven’t loved. So glad to hear about the Maltaville!! You know we have the same taste in fabrics, but you have me stumped with the background for the Conneticut Quilt. What is it??

  2. Hi Lisa, cor that was quick and you must be up late :-)
    You know we really do have the same taste, when I saw your little cat pincushion on your blog the other day I nearly fell off my chair…I have the sheep one!!
    The background is a Windham fabric Plantation (the first range) # 18024. It is one of my all time favourites, I’d love to get some more, if you find any on your local quilt shop sites let me know.
    Thanks for the continued encouragement…
    Cheers Margaret

  3. Mmmm….. so that’s where you go for “quilting”! Spent a super day with you and Jennifer mixing and matching fabric – 3 heads certainly being better than one!! I do love to hear the way you (and Jennifer) talk about your repros with such reverence – as you should!

  4. I love the white floral you are using in the CT quilt. I am looking forward to the down loadable blocks.

  5. Love your Conn. quilt….just beautiful and that background fabric love it.
    GREAT choice. I love seeing your projects and always thrilled to see close up of your blocks.
    you have an amazing ability to chose fabrics for blocks/quilts.
    I am excited about your quilt along, you can count me in!
    Kathie

  6. I’ve never done a block by block pattern as the Maltaville Album Quilt looks like being… .so it might be a fun thing to do. I look forward to seeing the blocks as they appear, as already I like the Saturn block – something different!

  7. Yep, I say just the same, whether I’m off to shop to feed the habit or to teach! Looking forward to the Maltaville quilt being available; downloadable stuff is my next thing to work on and work out so I can put quilting patterns etc up on my website. And this whole post just makes my fingers twitch – just want to do it all!

  8. Pat Nordahl says:

    Love all the work you are doing. Can you tell me the manufacturer of the bias maker you are useing for the double wedding ring. Thanks so much.

  9. Hi Pat, thanks for dropping in.
    The Bias Maker is by a company called Clover (a Japanese company) and I use many of their sewing products. They are readily available in quilt shops here in Australia but it looks like you’re in the States so I’m not sure if you have them. www. clover.co.jp
    The one you see there is the 12mm (takes a 10mm fusible strip -also by clover) but I also have the 6mm one for stems.
    Good luck, I’d like to know how you get on.
    If no luck in the States, Corliss at Threadbear (see my side bar) sells them and mail orders to the U.S.
    Cheers Margaret

  10. I love my Clover bias maker which can also be used without fusible paper. It just makes stem making so much faster. I threw out all my bias bars when I bought the bias maker!

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