8th International Prague Patchwork Meeting

I've just come back from Prague!! A wonderful exhibition in a lovely city. Lots of international exhibitors from Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark and UK. Our own UK Quilters Guild was there with some beautiful wallhangings from  the Contemporary, Miniature and Region 7 groups. Very well displayed and hung, with great traders with fabric at £3-£5 per metre. Unbelievable. Here are some you might enjoy. The first is done with really small pieces of fabric machined over to keep them in place. I have done a similar style to this some time ago - it's a nice way to demonstrate landscapes, flowers etc.

Here's the art nouveau quilt

Nearly there. I have just a few of the sashing pieces to quilt. I have started to sell some raffle tickets, but there's loads of time and the MNDA people say they will put a newsletter article up with a picture so I hope to sell some there. Meanwhile here it is to view. Hope you like it!

More on the Art Nouveau Quilt

I am having problems with landlines and email at the moment - really annoying. BT does everything very slowly and via an ethereal voice down the line on my mobile! I hope to be properly connected by Wednesday. We shall see. Meanwhile I am madly quilting the Art Nouveau quilt. I know I have until December to raffle it, but I am going to enter it into the Sandown Exhibition as a group quilt and I need to get a move on. Now just onto the borders so not too far to go now. I shall post a picture up here soon. Tickets are £1 each if anyone out there is interested. Just contact me here.

Exhibition done and dusted

Well the weekend was a great success and we have a good profit, despite the hall costing around £650 to hire. I had a good Saturday - won a judge's choice rosette for my Bento Beauty quilt , sold a bed runner, and met an Australian who had seen my article in an Australian patchwork magazine and visited us while she was on holiday!

Our War journal quilts were also well received - especially by the men who came to visit. We had 13 and the winner was a beautifully made piece by Stephanie Pettengell of various styles of helmets worn in WWI. I shall put some photos up soon. But here is my sold bed runner and Bento Box which is winging its way to Cyprus!

Ever seen a poem quilt?

I am going to run another poem quilt class in the not too distant future. The fun is researching a poem that you like, or a couplet or even a saying. I have made 3 so far - one on tulips, one for the vicar (We plough the fields and scatter), and a garden through the seasons (You're nearer God's heart in a garden...). I plan to do my fourth on a John Masefield poem (Cargoes) as this has a lot of imagery in it suitable for making quilt blocks out of. I have taught the method over a year to quite a few students. Here is one of theirs, all to do with holidays taken over the years (We have no time to stand and stare...). If you want a class on this, contact me in the usual way.

wholecloth quilt

Here are some photos of the wholecloth quilt - finished save 2 sides of binding. The owner and myself are going to enter it into the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham in August.

Wholecloth Quilt finished

Last year a lady asked our Quilters Guild Traditional Group if there was anyone who could finish her mum's quilts - she had died a couple of years before and had a stash of unfinished quilts. I did one last year for her - an Irish Chain  and half of the money she paid me I gave to our local hospice- but she asked me to do another and this time it is a wholecloth quilt (but with a grey star and one of the borders also in pale grey). I am really pleased with it - I had to do four big borders but am so glad she had marked it all up. Lots and lots of curly whirlies and feathers. I hope to put it in to the Festival of Quilts at Birmingham this year. Photo will be uploaded soon!