What to do when the Rugby is on
I converted these simple 9 patches in a couple of hours into this sweet quilt for my favourite Charity 'Momentum' Want to see the workshop? click here:
Does the size of the stitch matter for hand quilting?
No it's the even-ness that is important and makes it look nice; want to know more then you should give a few minutes to watching the workshop given by Paula Doyle for heirloom quilting: click here: For larger stitches, and utility quilting then Carolyn Forster has given us a couple of workshops: Amish Waves and Big Stitch UtilityQuilting.
Update 21st February 2014
Out & About We enjoyed meeting Karen Nicol at the [...]
Is a pieced back to my quilt a good idea?
So now thinking of doing a pieced back. Is that a good idea? I have 15 10" squares left. I was going to cut more out of the border and binding fabric I have left.
Problem 1: How do I cut a 10" square with my ruler?!
Problem 2: If I do 5 squares by 8 squares is this big enough for the back...or should I do 6 x 9?
Problem 3: How on earth do I position the back under the front so it lines up?
Or should I scrap this idea!
How to cut a 10″ square
How do I cut a 10" square with my ruler?! Answer: To cut a 10" square with your ruler (and I assume your board) try:
either 2 rulers to make up the 10" and cut a strip: OR use your square ruler: OR cut a 10" strip using the board to count and then cut across in the opposite direction (as you would smaller squares) but again using the board to count - NB: ALWAYS put your fabric to zero on the board and not to 1" !!
Winter Olympics, Quilts and Knitting
Who would have thought those three words would appear together in the same sentance?! I first noticed the influence of quilts when Putin was giving a press conference to the BBC and a few others - the design was behind him on the wall and here is part of the explanation: Sochi games’ press release: ”The Olympic patchwork quilt, developed by Bosco’s creative department and given to the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee, will be the official Look of Russia’s first Winter Games.
7th February 2014
Here we are in February (after a 5 week January [...]
Printing images onto fabric
I wish to make a cot quilt for my expected grandchild and would like to make some of the squares personalised by printing images from my computer onto the fabric. I see there are several methods of achieving this and wonder if in your experience you could recommend a tried and tested way. As this is for a baby, it will obviously be subjected to washing so the method needs to produce waterproof squares Answer: As far as I am aware the fabrics that have been designed to go through your printer for use with your computer work well - and I am not aware that the brand makes any difference. These should be readily available from your quilt shop (or www.creativequilting.co.uk).
You could also use a method which uses fixing ink - but that is a little messier - but used by the textile girls a lot and I think produced by a company called Electric Quilt (who design computere software) and I know is stocked by The Cotton Patch and possibly Art Van Go as well as they are great suppliers of all things required by textile artists.
Does the Microtak gun make holes in the quilt?
Well its a yes and a no; the original gun did have HUGE tags that made really nasty holes and I refused to use or stock them (I owned a quilt shop at the time); however the current generation has a much smaller needle and tiny tags which hold the layers better since we have moved to flatter wadding and don't make holes in the fabric. I use them all the time and despite having several 000 in each box seem to be constantly running out!!!!
TIP: do invest in a tack remover as well as this will keep your quilt safe from little snips from your scissors and also stop you being tempted to use your best scissors to remove them (and spoil your scissors) NB: all these products are in the shop
Another great filming day with Jennie Rayment
From bunting to pincushions; waistcoats to neck bands; Serging to Pineapples - we had a great day and Jennie as always was on good form; lots of great content for the site - you will just have to keep watching!
Mini Mosaics – can you buy the grid separately?
I just thought I would let you know that Paula now has this in packets to sell at £5 plus p&p and is on our site in the shop now: Mini Mosaics Grid Pack
the grid is for 1" giving ½” finished and 1 ½” giving 1" finished If you are interested in seeing the video on Mini Mosaics with Paula Doyle click here
Marking designs onto a dark fabric.
Do you have a favoured method of transferring quilting patterns? I have a dark sashing and I am finding it difficult to transfer on to it. Answer: Yes dark colours are always a challenge; I do mention some options in the video Quilting Your Quilt
https://www.justhands-on.tv/videos/workshops/article-1086/quilting-your-sampler-quilt-with-valerie-nesbitt
and it depends a little on how complex the pattern is; if its a real stencil pattern then I would use Quilt-and-Tear but if its a simple pattern try the Hera marker (or scoring with the back of your scissors)
Artist Creates Beautiful Portraits Using Tulle Fabrics
There are some talented people around - just take a look at what he creates with fabric and an iron: https://www.123inspiration.com/artist-creates-beautiful-portraits-using-tulle-fabrics/
Fusible Wadding
I have purchased fusible wadding for a wall hanging made yesterday, but it came off a roll and there were no instructions. Do I just layer up with my project back and front and iron on? Answer: I seem to recall that a good press will adhere the wadding BUT a gentle iron will add to the fusion; so see what works!