Friday, June 25, 2010

Sarah's Poppies


Today, I am working on Sarah's Poppies, which is a smaller version of the one I did for Alyssa, plus I am attempting to add a word-- Grow-- is not on permanently yet and no binding or quilting. I am liking this fusible applique method better, it really is fun to do and maybe we should try something next fall. I am also going to try to do my two Lutheran World Relief quilts for June-- "June #1 and June #2", this week while Tom is gone. So pinning one top today and maybe laying out the other. Will bring up a card table to start tying it tonight while I watch something on TV. I will post more about LWR quilts later.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

V&A Museum London Quilt Exhib. 1710-2010

I spent yesterday in London at the V&A (what a magnificent building that it - inside and out - awesome!). The exhibition was brilliant. It is wonderful to see those old quilts - thousands of pieces sewn with such care and enjoyment. I loved the whole cloth quilts too - stitched by hand in all sorts of intricate patterns. There used to be guys who went from village to village marking huge pieces of fabric ready for the women to sandwich and stitch. Imagine anyone having that job today! At the exhibition we saw the Changhi quilt which was stitched by a group of girl guides (Girl Scouts in America I believe) from England who were imprisoned there in the second world war, from bits of fabric that had been begged, stolen or borrowed! Some of the girls had embroidered their names on the centre hexagon - very poignant. There was also a quilt made by the guys in Wandsworth Prison, London in 2009/10. That was an interesting piece too. Each guy had sewn a square and had stitched pictures and words on it. There was also a huge quilt top from Australia which had been stitched by women on the HMS Rajah as they were banished to Botany Bay for some crime (usually very small) or other. A charity formed by Elizabeth Fry in the UK had given them thousands of pieces of cloth, needles, thread etc for the journey and what they came up with was amazing. There were many other quilts, all very well displayed. One of the things that struck me was that they were all QUILTED quite densely - no huge sqaures of non quilted fabric which you see in so many quilts in shows here. It was such an enjoyable day and I wish you could all have seen it.
Dorothy

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Mary's Comment

Hi, see Mary's comment after "Blog Timing" Mary-as a contributor you can post a POST not just a comment on a post. Have you tried? And yes it would be fun to take the Barn Quilt tour, maybe we could plan an overnight road trip in the fall when you get back from Lake Tomahawk.
To post a blog, contributors can go to http://www.blogger.com and just sign in with your google acct.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Quilt Show(s)

Hi

I had a great day yesterday at one of our regional quilt shows here in the south of England. I went on a coach with about 35 others and we "shopped 'til we dropped" as there are so many trade stands at these shows. Some of the quilts were really good and some just ordinary but all worth seeing. Our biggest show in the UK is in Birmingham at the end of August and I am going to that with a couple of friends of mine. It's a little way from here so we stay a couple of nights in an hotel. Makes for a nice girly break.

By the way I have enrolled for an on line course for portrait "quilting". It was recommended to me by a quilt teacher here who has made the most amazing pictures. The course starts on 25 June. It's a brilliant site just to see all the courses available at the Quilt University!!!! Here's the link if you are interested http://quiltuniversity.com/classlist2.htm#Pictorial.

On Wednesday I am going to London to the V&A (Victoria and Albert) museum to see the 1700 -2010 Quilt Exhibition there, Never a dull moment here!!!!!http://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/future_exhibs/Quilts/index.html Here's the link to that.

Talk to you all again after I have been there.
Dorothy

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Dorothy's Spy Quilt for Zak


Oops! here's the picture - I HOPE. I forgot to mention that it is just a quilt top!! I have entered it into our Quilter's Guild exhibition in September so I had better get quilting.

D

Friday, June 11, 2010

Great to read all your comments. My day yesterday, initiating two potential quilters, went well and they left with all guns firing. It may take them a time to get really hooked!!!! Hook line and sinker that's me. I still haven't taken any photos of my latest "tops" and today it is raining and very dull so I need to wait for a fine day - that's my excuse anyway. We have friends for lunch today and a dinner party tomorrow so there will be no sewing for me this weekend.
Happy sewing to you all though.
Dorothy

Thursday, June 10, 2010

My red quilt


I am just playing with this to see if I can add a picture as well as publishing a post. Miracle!!

Dorothy
Hi, got started on the blocks for the Spider Webs and found an error or two in the pattern. UGH. I can't even talk about it, it is so upsetting. I shouldn't really be surprised after all the problems I've found in patterns over the years. A less experienced quilter would probably QUIT!! I may quit on this quilt.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Spider Web


I started on the Stars, Strips and Spider Web quilt yesterday. Good thing my new English friend, Dorothy, had filled me in on the calico=muslin and wadding=batting as the pattern in the Quilt Makers book is from the UK. You would think we spoke the same language, but sometimes that is not the case.!! We had such a good time with you, Dorothy, thanks for looking us up. The book says it is like taking Workshops from the best quiltmakers, but it is really not the same when you cannot ask questions as you go, as usual, I am plugging on, in my own way, a little hit or miss. After the first block which is sewn in 4 triangles, on a triangle muslin foundation, I decided to spray starch the foundation triangles first for more stability. Today is starching and marking the first sewing lines and then maybe adding the green strips which will be consistent throughout the quilt. It is fun, but this isn't the fun part. Looks like it will be a rainy day so maybe I will get this part out of the way. I am deep into the English countryside, as last night I started the book Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and he is a great character who lives at "Rose Cottage, Blackberry Lane, Edgecombe St. Mary". Makes for very thematic quilting with the "calico and wadding".

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Hi all, Mary, seen here with her Paper Piecing Sampler has successfully commented on one of my posts.Click on her picture to see it bigger. To find Mary's comment, you will have to go back to the first post of the blog by clicking on "older posts" again and again until you get to the end of the posts, then click on "comments" and you will be able to read Mary's news etc. She is also a contributor so she should be able to write a post like this!! Next lesson-TO BECOME A CONTRIBUTOR-- but not until we are all able to comment!!
Notice the revised Blog title. Graceful Quilters, not just one Graceful quilter.


Hi, now that we have successfully started to make comments (Dorothy, Marjie, Christina, Alyssa and Sheryl-thank you very much) I will probably sleep well tonight and can now work on my "String, Stars and Spiders' Webs Quilt"!! This picture is of the Market Bag (Birdie Sling/Amy Butler) that I made for Sarah for her BD. Surprise!!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Civil War Sampler


Hi This is a picture of a quilt we made together and sent to Laura Bush. We used our left over fabrics from our Americana Samplers and each of us did one or two of the blocks in this Civil War Sampler. I am looking for comments from all of the Graceful Quilters. BLOG ASSIGNMENT #1

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Americana Sampler Pic in Fons and Porter

Margie must have sent this picture to my mom but she couldn't upload it .I know there's some interesting stories that surround this quilt and picture but I would botch them terribly so we'll just have to wait until Mom can comment and regale us with your story...XOXO

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

I Spy

I have finished my I spy quilt top (only the top) and have added my grand son's name, Zak, to the top. Thank you all for sharing your squares with me. As soon as I have taken a photo I will send it to you. I have decided to finish a UFO before I start on Cracked Pots!!
D

Graceful Quilters



Hi all, hope you all have found the blog and now know that if you are an active member of the Graceful Quilters you can now add posts about your quilting etc and add pictures of your quilts. This will be your assignment for the summer, not only to QUILT, QUILT, QUILT, but attempt to post on the blog. Let us know what you are working on, planning etc.