UK Quilters Fabric Swap

I am currently organising some fabric swaps on Ravelry. There is a scraps swap, a 2.5" squares swap and a 5" squares swap - all fabric must be 100% cotton and suitable for patchwork (i.e. quilting weight).

You can join in here Fabric Swap you will have to be a Ravelry member (its free) and join the UK Quilter's group. Leave a message on the board and join in. Deadline for signups is 5th December 2014 and I need to have your fabric here by 12th December so that I can swap it around and send it back out.

 

So, I Started Another Project...

...before finishing anything else. I know. I'm a rebel. Actually, I started TWO other projects, but I only have pictures of one of them, so far.

I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I bought a QST (quarter square triangle) die for my sizzix because I planned to make an Ohio Star quilt. Well, I couldn't resist the temptation. I made these scrappy 12" blocks;



 

I used the Jo Morton scraps that I bought on ebay, part of one for the FQs from my Vin Du Jour pack and other prints and batiks from my stash. I cut all the pieces on my Sizzix. I am not entirely sure about the pink batik star because it is a bit lighter than the others but maybe a lighter star will add some sparkle to the quilt.

 

I made 9 blocks and plan to set them 3 x 3 with scrappy flying geese sashing. That will make the quilt 52" and then I can decide if I want a border or just binding. I am making it all up as I go along.

 

 

In other news, I finally managed to get some Mary Ellen's Best Press at a price that I loved. I got a big 32oz bottle, all the way from America for £8.57, including postage! There must have been a pricing mistake because now it'll cost £19.28 for the same bottle from the same seller. Its a starch alternative and is widely used and recommended by quilters in America. I have been itching to get my hands on some after trying various spray starches from local supermarkets but if you cannot get it then, in my opinion Easy Iron by Dylon is the best of an imperfect bunch (but I haven't tried them all).

 

I am not affiliated with MEBP in any way and I don't sell it (wish I did) but I have to say that it is a fantastic product. It doesn't make your fabrics as stiff as a board like starch can and it doesn't flake or gum up your iron - at all! It doesn't make the laminate flooring beneath your ironing board as slippery as an ice skating rink, either, which is a bonus.

 

What it does do is make ironing and pressing a LOT easier, it makes fabrics more manageable and I found that they frayed less when I cut into them. Also, you know those folds in the centre of your fabric that are almost impossible to get out? Just spray this on the fold (or any tough crease) and wait for 30 seconds or so and creases start to disappear before you even start to iron it! I bought the cherry blossom variety and it smells really nice, even when re-pressing later. There are other varieties, including scent free. I used it on my fabric before cutting and on cut pieces and on sewn units. I also used it on my Ohio Star blocks to help me press them to the right size, it really did the trick. This isn't an advert, just a review so that you can decide if it might be useful to you, too.

 

I am currently organizing a fabric swap over on the UK Quilter's board on Ravelry. I will put a link on my next post. Happy quilting, Abi.

Unexpected Gift

I love craft magazines, especially patchwork and quilting ones. I have shelves full of back issues of British Patchwork & Quilting, Popular Patchwork, McCall's Quilting, Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting, The Quilter, Fabrications, Magic Patch - name a quilting magazine and I will have a few issues on my bookshelf. I have quilt mags from France, Australia, America and Britain and they are all good reads. The British ones, though, can be a little bit old fashioned and some of the articles are a bit boring and the issues get a bit repetitive. So, I decided to stop buying magazines for a while.

Then, last month I bought the October editions of Quilt Now and Love Patchwork and Quilting magazine. I hadn't seen either of these before, due to my magazine starvation diet. Both magazines are quite new, there have only been a handful of issues of Quilt Now.

I read both of these magazines from cover to cover and what a breath of fresh air they turned out to be. I wouldn't call myself an ultra modern quilter, I am somewhere between a modern and a traditional quilter. I don't really like "Art Quilts" or anything too abstracts & wacky, but I love lots of white or grey, teamed with simple lines and shapes and some of the modern prints.

Both of these magazines had very generous subscription offers but I could only afford to subscribe to one. I re-read both magazines and chose a favourite, the one with the projects I wanted to make and the articles I found the most interesting was Love Patchwork and Quilting magazine. I also preferred it because it was a little less "fluffy", it felt a bit more advanced, which I love.

Issue 13 of Love Patchwork & Quilting - with a most beautiful cover quilt by Lynne Goldsworthy

Before I subscribed I decided to have a go at making the Union Jack foundation pieced block at the back of the magazine to brush up on my foundation paper piecing. While making the block I discovered a very slight error in the pattern. The block is made in 4 quarter sections, 2 x A + 2 x B. However, when you put them together to make the block the white lines of the Union Jack do not go where they should. I think it was the only error in an otherwise excellent magazine, so I contacted them to tell them about it. They checked the block and told me that I was right. They were very apologetic and asked for my address so that they could send me something as a thank you.

Look at what they sent me!

12 Fat Quarters of "Sew Yummy" 100% organic cotton from Cloud Nine. How lucky am I?

Beautiful fabrics with sewing designs on them; zips, pin cushions, spools, seam rippers and scissors.

They also sent me a new copy of the Union Jack pattern.



I am really impressed with their generosity and the magazine itself. The November issue was just as great so I am glad I chose to subscribe to this magazine, I think its right up my street.

Issue 14 - Look at that beautiful star!

 

 You can get your subscription with a hefty discount (currently 40%) here:

Fabric Stash Management

I promised in my last post that I would tell you a little more about how I manage my stash and in particular my scraps. I keep most of my fabric in drawers, which keeps them clean and out of sunlight but also means that I don't always know what I have. So, I will often cut pieces from my yardage and fat quarters so that I can move them around with other fabrics and make combining fabrics and planning quilts easier. I also cut up all of my scraps and small pieces into more usable shapes and store them until needed.

This is my scrap corner, it needs tidying and there is a quilt in progress adding to the clutter but you can see the 4 spotty boxes and the blue lever arch file on top. This is my scrap organisation centre.

The dotty boxes are from Asda and are collapsible, which can be awkward if they collapse as you lift them. But they are pretty and the hold quite a lot.

The blue box holds my strips, usually cut to 2.5".
























Then, I have a spotty box for each of the shapes I cut with my Sizzix Big Shot, which is the same model as this one;

I got mine from QVC about 2 years ago, it was an anniversary present from my mum and it came with 5 quilting dies;

• 2.5" Square (2" finished size)
• 2.5" Half Square Triangle (2" finished size)
• 4.5" Square (4" finished size)
• 4.5" Half Square Triangle (4" finished size)
• 2.5" x 4.5" rectangle (2" x 4" finished size)

HSTs:

 

 

Squares - 4.5" die cut on the right, Moda 5" charm packs on the left:

 





2.5" squares and the rectangles:

Last month I added to my die collection, I bought a 4.5" quarter square triangle die, specifically because I love the Ohio Star block and want to make some for a quilt. I haven't chosen the fabrics for that yet so I haven't used the die yet.

 

You can also buy applique dies for the Sizzix Big Shot and other patchwork dies. I would love the double wedding ring die but that is for the larger model of machine so I can't use it with mine.

 

The dies I have all work together perfectly and the blocks I can make from them are endless. I plan to use them for Ohio Star, Bear Paw, Flying Geese, Churn Dash, Carpenter's Star, Crown of Thorns, Pinwheels and  a whole lot more. So far I have made 4 quilts with my Sizzix cut pieces, including the scrap quilt I am quilting at the moment...

 

 

 

 

...yeah, the one that isn't quilting too well.