National Patchwork Championship weekend
Val: Well what a weekend we had; hubby and I were at the show at Sandown Racecourse, Esher in Surrey with our Justhands-on.tv hats on and it was such a pleasure to meet so many of you. I was also helping on the Creative Quilting stand - and boy were we busy there too, and then on Sunday I was there with the boys from Bizview.tv filming for the future - we met the new girls from Coloricious who make DVDs for the mixed media textile side of our business; Claire from Hannah's room did a great workshop for us using paints and shaving foam - you need to see it to believe it, but really great; Jennifer Trollope came up with a very clever colour workshop to use up our scraps into a very appealing kaleidoscope effect and using pritt stick (or similar!) and we had a truely terrific interview with Jacquie Harvey who is a very talented handquilting artist and her christening gown won the overall Championship rosette as well as the Handquilting rosette and the Wearable art rosette.
Endorsement from Karin Hellaby
Val; Karin Hellaby, quilter, author and owner of Quilters Haven said this : I do hope you will take a look at this fast growing site and consider becoming a member. With your help it can only get better and better! Why not email the link to all your quilting friends worldwide to let them know that here is a site that is showing what is going on in the textile world in the UK.
How to Make Tumbling Blocks Patchwork
Val: Tumbling blocks are a traditional favourite and often done over papers; it is based on the light/medium/dark theme to give dimension. In this short video our Jennie shows you how to make this pattern without papers and shows you the technique for insetting the seam, which works for both machine and handwork. One of the quilts on display at the current V&A Exhibition shows a scrap version of this - so now you can make your own!
Prism Textile Exhibition – Evolve, Evoke, Expand
Val: Well what a GREAT day we all had yesterday at this exhibition and I'm rushing to share it with you just in case you can fit in a visit - it ends tomorrow Sat 5th June at 7pm. The Mall galleries are just by Admiralty Arch in central london; the content of the show is breathtaking and very varied. If you can't get there, don't despair as you will be able to see much of it with us and it will be showing in August; so whether you get there or view it with us you are in for a treat; these girls push the textile envelope to new boundaries.
Garage forecourt encounter leads to patchwork furniture.
Val: Interesting who you can meet in a garage forecourt. I was on my way yesterday morning to a sewing day with friends at a location in Wimbledon, SW London and on the way stopped at the garage for an early cappucino. My dark blue Volvo now has the www.Justhands-on.tv written across it and because of this I was approached!!!
Volcanic Ash!
Jennie: Well ... our Valerie has eventually got to France - short vacation there - she was off to Lanzerroti (spelling!!) but planes not flying so had to cancel - this is second time this trip has been cancelled - last was due to snow! Anyway with luck she is languishing in France enjoying the lovely weather- I have been left in charge!
Midsomer quilting
Val; Jennie and I spent a really LOVELY day at this delightful quilt shop in N.Somerset; De and Chris made us all, and that includes the boys from Bizview.tv, most welcome and we had a really FULL day filming lots of stuff to share with you later - including a workshop with Judi Mendlessohn - and an interesting insight into how to layer-up a fullsize quilt and film about their Gammill Long Arm Quilting machine with the Intelliquilter.
More from the Exeter Show by Grosvenor Shows
Val: As well as viewing the amazing quilts on display, we stopped by and spoke to the girls at Step by Step Patchwork, famour for their superb range or Japanese fabrics; Strawberry Fayre were there with Jennie's Beach Hut jelly roll quilt and their amazing range of plain fabrics; and we said hello to Jo from Villavincrafts who not only runs a shop but also has some holiday cottages - so a great place to go for a retreat maybe (midnight shopping maybe!!) - all coming soon.
Spring Quilt Festival in Exeter by Grosvenor Shows
Val: what a great weekend; went down to the quilt show in Exeter run by Grosvenor Shows and got some great films of quilts, traders and the young Joshua Patton (aged 6) who entered his small quilt into the SouthWest Quilters challenge. We stayed in a great B&B at Payhembury - Yellington Farm (www.yellinghamfarm.co.uk) - which is part of the Devon Farms programme; under 30 mins from the show and the breakfast was to die for (the boys from Bizview tv work better on full tummies I've found!).
More from Mandy Shaw and Jennie Rayment
Val: Mandy Shaw shows us how to create festive bunting for your home (or garden or any reason at all) and Jennie Rayment gives us tips on how to make 3D patchwork flying geese units; these only have ONE seam and NO triangles - how great is that.
Workshops from Helen Deighan and Paula Doyle
Val: more weekend patchwork fun with Helen Deighan and her braiding discs - they do look like fun and also Mini Mosaics with Paula Doyle - what a great idea; you will definitely want to go and try this patchwork idea out as soon as possible.
Tucks & Textures with Jennie Rayment
Val: Under the new idea of new films each week, ready for the weekend you can see Jennie Rayment demonstrating how to work tucks and texture; simple, honeycomb, add colour to the edges and much more. Also a great interview with Mandy Shaw - did you know that she and Jennie had history?!?
Films every Friday
From now on you will have new films every week! They will go up onto the site on a Friday, so all ready for you to view over the weekend. Join Karin Hellaby, who we filmed at the Festival of Quilts, showing us how to make a variety of easy attic window blocks from her latest book, Sew Easy Attic Windows;.
The Shipping Forecast
A roundup of weather conditions around the British Isles, 31 pieces of textile art depicted in fabric and stitch by Delia Salter, quilt and textile artist. This short but stunning video is a joy to watch: www.justhands-on.tv/videos/category/6/
Parlez vous Patchwork?
Jennie Rayment, our Queen of Calico, or Muslin Mistress (depending where in the world you live) shares this piece of patchwork nonsense 'Fancy Fandango' with you - a great patchwork workshop for those who like twiddling and fiddling.www.justhands-on.tv/videos/category/4/
Simple Jelly Roll quilt with Sarah Soward
A quick and easy jellyroll project, designed by Sarah Soward, of Pauline's Patchwork and exclusive to Justhands-on.tv; this is perfect if you are snowed in - something to doAND it will keep you warm. This will only run until 23rd January, so check it out now. www.justhands-on.tv/videos/category/4/ If you aren't a subscriber then just follow the instructions that will appear on screen.