This weekend Roger Cooling and his team from Grosvenor exhibitions are hosting Quilts UK at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern; many of my friends are there both as traders and visitors; we were there last year with the cameras and for the next couple of weeks if you are a subscribed member you will be able to wander round with us, see the Shows section of the Video clips.

Uploaded today you have more of Jennie & I; both of us have interviews up on the site, in the Video Clips under About Us, which gives perhaps a little insight into who we are and the inspiration and aspirations of Justhands-on.tv. Jennie is currently teaching at a quilt retreat – what a great idea that is; we need more of them so we can all go!

We are also sharing the video for making bags; Jennie has her scrip bag, of Pilgrim fame, and from her books Tucks & Textures Two, which also seems to doubleup as a rainhat, and I’m sharing the Japanese inspired bag called Kasuri Musubi designed by Susan Briscoe for Oakshott fabrics, using their cleverly puttogether colour bundles. If you would like to know more about the making of their fabrics (and it is fascinating) our visit to their showroom is in the General Interest section of the Video Clips.

Coming up next week we have the faded flag workshop with Anne Baxter which she taught recently at a venue near me, and we plan to have some pictures of student’s work from that class on the Show & Tell page which will hopefully give you more colour inspiration; kits will also be available.

On the Show & Tell page we will also have pictures of some recycling ideas and some Make & Mend; so if you have a bright idea to share please send your picture to us at justhandson@googlemail.com and we’ll add it to the page.

Looking ahead a little we have the monoprinting workshop with Lesley Brankin and a very inspirational interview with a lady called Dorothy Ritchie, who is struggling against a debilitating illness, but refuses to give up her quilting and shopping at Midsomer Quilting.

Talking about Midsomer, I have an apology to make to Gerald; I addressed part of my last letter to ‘ladies’ and inadvertently left him out. Gerald is a relative newcomer to the quilting world, but definitely addicted and here he is with one of his first pieces of work which was made with the encouragement (again) of Midsomer Quilting – well done all of you.

 

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Next month we will also be showing some of the film taken at the Exeter Show run by Roger Cooling and the Grosvenor Shows team and along with that we will be revisiting the Jellyroll workshop with Sarah Soward, for which you will be able to download a pattern. Sarah is one of the winners of the Moda Jellyroll competition and has a quilt featured in the David & Charles publication called Jelly Roll Inspirations and signed copies from Sarah will be available.

There is a song buzzing round my head today ‘reasons to be cheerful’; well today the sun is shining and I have a new blade in my rotary cutter. I also have a list ‘reasons to buy fabric’ and here is one from that list:

It is useful for covering all empty surfaces where dust may otherwise settle.

perhaps it’s also particularly apt!!

Happy sewing.
Valerie & Jennie