We have started the month with a great idea from Karen Veck for using up scraps to make rugs (or indeed tactile cushions) simply by prodding the fabric through hessian; I can remember making rugs this way with my gran and because we used cotton is was safe in front of the fire. Of course using other fabrics such as organza give a more interesting finish for cushions, but the varied colours of cotton still work well in the right setting and are, of course washable too. And thank you to Jean for her helpful tips too.

We continue later in the month on the recycling theme with using up mens old ties (or is it old mens ties?) – doesn’t matter if they are posh silk or regular polyester, everything is useable.

We move into the world of sewing machine computerization with the help of Carolyn Sinclair who is a fascinating textile artist and tutor who loves to use photo manipulation and digitizing images as inspiration for her work; as so often it is the colour that ends up being the key.

If Silk if your fabric of choice then you will enjoy meeting Hilary from The Silk Route; her company
sells all manner of silk and silk products and Sylvia Critcher uses some of these lovely silk fabrics in her Dawn to Dusk strip workshop.

If you are a redwork fan and enjoyed the quilts in the ‘Quilts on the Farm’ exhibition, then you will be pleased to know that Mandy Shaw shares with us her secret for perfect red-work transfers.

A quick reminder of the items that got loaded up in the past couple of weeks; Sudoku quilt with Kim Shaw, Dyeing in a Plastic bag with Helen Deighan, Magma, a strip pieced quilt with Dawn Cameron-Dick and how to create a Piano Keys border with Valerie (and all still on the Home Page www.Justhands-on.tv ).

Our ‘Be a Star and make a Star Block’ competition has inspired some of you already and the blocks are arriving in the post – thank you so much; the blocks should be accompanied by an entry form which can be downloaded from the site. If you feel you need help/inspiration then later in the month Jennie is making up , very quickly, the simple but traditional Amish Friendship Star block, and you also get to learn more about the TXL607 sewing machine that Janome have kindly offered as a prize.

Of course you could be a lucky winner of the Aurifil threads too, or the bundle of patchwork books.
Talking about threads, the winners have been selected (this prize giveaway was only open to subscribed members)and emails sent for the small packs of Aurifil threads, so do check your emails (including the spam box as ‘Congratulations’ seems to send the spam filters into a tizz) or the News Page to see if you name is on the list.

For this month’s Book of the Month we have chosen the latest from Tone Finnanger called Tilda’s Studio;

https://justhands-on.tv/product-category/shop/books/

there are over 50 delightful new sewing designs in the book which include cushions, accessories such as a mobile phone holder, home decor, jewellery and bags; there are cute characters, such as giraffes elephants, and angels are perfect gifts for all ages.Tonne uses Tilda’s favourite shades of pink and red combine with splashes of teal green and purple for a gorgeous fresh feel.
AND our new Block of the Month quilt is finished !

Jennie and I completed the filming of each of the ‘how to’ sections last Tuesday (I think it’s still called ‘in the can’ even though it’s now all digital!); the quilt is made with a beautiful range of fabrics called Rosebud Fayre designed by Gail Kessler for Andover Fabrics which we mixed with Itsy Bitsy fabrics from Makower . If you want to make your quilt just like it, these fabrics should be easily available from your quilt shop as they are distributed by Makower, (but of course you can impose your own colour schemes ). You will be able to watch the introduction video and learn the requirements later this month with the programme starting in October. There is more information on the blog pages and this Block of the Month programme will be FREE to our subscribed members.

Being a subscribed member entitles you to so much each month – there are at least 8 pieces of film to watch (and this month there are 5 weeks so it will be 10 pieces), which includes workshops as well as inspirational films, as well as our prize giveaways and additional patterns. For just £6 we feel this is excellent value; through the site it is on a pay-as-you- basis (but you can send us a cheque too) and with the tasters you can see before you buy.

There is a large quilting event being staged at Hever Castle in Kent on 16/17/18 September; this has been an annual event but this year it promises to be bigger and better than ever; Dave.Matt and I will be there on Friday 16th – so look out for us – we’re the ones with the large cameras!

Must rush now – have to quilt the new quilt!
Happy Sewing
Valerie & Jennie
www.justhands-on.tv