My Quilting

Africa Quilt 

This is a lap quilt. I was given a piece of fabric with African animals on an old-world map higgledy-piggledy over it. I decided to make a quilt by cutting a block round each animal. A few of the animals were pieced, because half was on one side of the fabric, and half on the other! Like Topsy, it grew, and here it is. I am using it as a reminder to pray for my friend who is a medical missionary in Ethiopia.
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Bags
I have a friend who loves pansies. A mother that does too. So, when my mum sent me some pansy fabric, I decided to make this bag for my friend! I put a pocket inside made from an experiment from scraps from something else.

pansybag2.JPG (26321 bytes)pansybag.JPG (30356 bytes)inside pansy bag.JPG (26681 bytes)

 

Here is another bag I made.0058.JPG (61475 bytes) I belong to an online Quilt group (British Quilt Group on Yahoo Groups), and this was my present for a Secret Santa gift. You make the bag in the shape of a long armed cross. Then you sew up the inside parts of the cross legs. It comes out looking like the pieces twirl round the bag. The top is on the bias.

"The Year That Was" 

 Harrogate, Yorkshire

Our quilt group was challenged to make a Calendar Quilt in 2001. Each day we chose a piece of fabric to represent that day. This was an idea we got from an Australian group.  
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 I decided to do mine as a crazy quilt block a month. I never had done crazy before, but thought it would be fun to learn. (Mind you, that wasn't the easiest way to learn!!) Some ladies chose to do a block a week or whatever. Some of us chose to keep a Journal, as well.

When the year was up, I framed the blocks with other fabrics that had special meaning to me...things I collect, or like to do. Then I used Cow print for the sashing, as I like cows. Each month's block also began with some sort of cow motif. Because the quilt used mostly novelty fabrics, I decided it was to busy to do much embellishing.

My mum (thanks!) had sent me a cloth calendar at the beginning of 2001, so I chopped it up to use in the sashing next to each block. I have now added small charms next to the calendars. I quilted it using the programmed letters on my machine. Vertically it has the abbreviations of the month, and horizontally at the top, it says 2001-The Year That Was-BQL.

Pictures of each block.

january.jpg (68831 bytes)Jan. february.jpg (59040 bytes)Feb. march.jpg (58581 bytes)Mar. april.jpg (60596 bytes)Apr. may.jpg (57345 bytes)May june.jpg (56852 bytes)Jun. july.jpg (73579 bytes)Jul. august.jpg (62978 bytes)Aug. september.jpg (63583 bytes)Sep. october.jpg (65446 bytes)Oct. november.jpg (61746 bytes)Nov. december.jpg (58927 bytes)Dec.

 Harrogate, Yorkshire - 2002

 

"Leather and Grace"

In 2002, we had another challenge. We received fabric from the co-ordinator, which we then had to do something with. Once again, I thought I would use the chance to learn some new things. A lot of it is fabric manipulation. This time, I thought I would do more of a sample block in each technique, and then put them all together. 

You really can't see the texture of the manipulations. So here are photos of the blocks, and a description of what I have done.
NB: NA smocking is my abbreviation for North American Smocking!
pintuck and applique.jpg (59611 bytes) pintuck;

free motion embroidery; freemotion embroidery and NA smocking(lattice variation).jpg (56860 bytes)NA smocking cotton lace insertion and trapunto.jpg (60498 bytes) lace insertion and trapunto
NA smocking(lozenge) and leather(slotseamandstrips).jpg (58257 bytes)NA smocking (lozenge); leather (slot seam + strips) smocking (flowers)+NA smocking(flowers) embellishments ruched fabric and ruched strip.jpg (57641 bytes) embellishments + ruched fabric; ruched strip
leather with bias strips; manipulated tucksleather with bias strips and manipulated tucks.jpg (51738 bytes)
slashing and rolled fabric with blind hemstitch.jpg (57201 bytes)slashing + rolled fabric with blind hemstitch

NA smocking (lattice2); + beads with couched copperwireNA smocking(lattice) and beads with couched copperwire.jpg (59632 bytes)

reverse appliqué and faggotingreverse applique and faggoting.jpg (58295 bytes)

Festival of Quilts, UK 2006

 

Crazy Quilting - Go Here

Alternative Quilting - Go here