Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue#79 - 2016 i Quilters Companion

Stars have inspired astronomers, poets, artists and travellers for thousands of years. In recent centuries, quiltmakers have joined the throng. How many different patchwork designs are there that feature stars? Just like the stars in the sky — too many to count! We’re paying homage to stars in this issue of Quilters Companion with three projects. Marj Yip’s bold Lone Star is a tour de force — even though it’s not all that hard to piece with rotary-cutting methods. Just handle the strips carefully as you assemble the star points to avoid stretching their bias edges, and take your time as you sew the set-in seams when you add the background around the star. Wendy Whellum’s Ohio Star came about as the result of a block swap with her local…

brother at your side Winner — 25–35 years Colours of the Territory Candice Tesarik Coolalinga, NT Winner — 18–24 years Puffing Billy Trestle Bridge Melissa Kremser Bayswater, Vic Winner — School Years 7–9 Eureka Charli Bakker Hampton, Vic Winner — School Years K–6 My State Isabella Noble Orange, NSW First Runner-Up — 25–35 years My State: Victoria Karen McGregor Brunswick, Vic Runner-Up — 18–24 years Regent Honeyeater Laura Mae Stanton Willow Tree, NSW First Runner-Up — School Years 7–9 Sydney Tyarn Harris Grafton, NSW First Runner-Up — School Years K–6 I Love Sydney Scarlett Lewis Medowie, NSW Second Runner-Up — School Years K–6 Everlastings Zoe Masson Dianella, WA Second Runner- Up — 25–35 Years Queensland Drought Stephanie Allen Mia Mia, Qld Second Runner-Up — School Years 7–9 Barossa Valley Louise…

Finished size: 171cm (67½in) square Materials • 45cm (.yd) red and aqua print fabric #1 (Border 1) • 1.6m (1.yd) red and aqua print fabric #2 (Border 4) • 45cm (.yd) red and white spot print fabric (centre block and Border 4 corners) • Fat sixteenth red and pink spot print fabric (Border 1 corners) • 40cm (.yd) red floral print fabric (Border 2) • 40cm (.yd) black tone-on-tone print fabric #1 (centre block and Flying Geese in setting triangles) • Fat sixteenth black tone-on-tone print fabric #2 (Border 2 corners) • 65cm (.yd) black tone-on-tone print fabric #3 (binding) • 20cm (.yd) black on white print fabric #1 (centre block) • 30cm (⅜yd) black on white print fabric #2 (Flying Geese in setting triangles) • 20cm (.yd) large black…

One of the largest privately held quilt and textile collections in the world, The Poos Collection, was named to honour our grandmother, Martha Poos. She was an avid quiltmaker who taught both of us to quilt, however most of the quilts in the collection were not made or collected by her. The collection was actually created by Kay who, over time, purchased quilts from estate sales, antique shops, dealers and auctions both in the USA and on her worldwide travels. The large collection has a wide variety of quilts and textiles from all over the world, but the antique quilts have a pre-1860 emphasis. As the collection is not housed in a building that is open to the public, it is not available for viewing on a regular basis. Instead,…

Size: 126cm x 102cm (49½in x 40in) How did you come up with the idea for this quilt? Several years ago, while on a family holiday to Tasmania, we visited Seahorse World in northern Tasmania and I fell in love with seahorses and sea dragons. Since then I have been inspired to create art quilts and thread paintings of these amazing creatures. ‘Leafy’ Sea Dragon was the culmination of several years of experimenting with freemachine quilting and hand colouring art quilts on the theme of seahorses and sea dragons. It was certainly my most ambitious hand-coloured art quilt. In creating this quilt I worked intuitively to portray not only this sea dragon’s beauty, but also its vulnerability. The quilt needed to be large to give space and a voice to…

In recent articles, I have shown the wonderful quilting effects you can achieve using a walking foot. Beautiful texture with long stitches and thick heavyweight thread are some of my favourite choices for quilting contemporary quilts. However, if I want to have straight lines running vertically and horizontally in the same pattern, I need to turn the quilt a gazillion times — and no, I’m not going to do that! Far too exhausting and inefficient. Free-motion quilting straight lines is the answer. Lines of all angles can be stitched without ever turning the quilt. Yes, it does take time and practice, but it’s a lot of fun and adds so much interest to your quilts. So this month, I thought I would share a few designs to get you going.…

May 7–22 Wandin Patchwork Quilt Exhibition; Warratina Lavender Farm, 105 Quayle Rd, Wandin Vic. 10am–4pm. More information: Ph (03) 5964 4650. May 14–15 Peachester Mountain Quilters’ Club Quilt Show ‘On Fire’; Peachester Community Hall, Peachester Rd, Peachester Qld. Sat 9am–4pm, Sun 9am–3pm. Entry $5. More information: Ph Anne Dunne on (07) 3203 5297 or 0408 721 118. May 21 Belmont Geelong Patchwork & Quilters’ Guild ‘Quilt In’; Barwon South Civic Centre, 7 Reynolds Rd, Belmont Vic. 9.30am–4pm. Entry $10. More information: Ph Ene Reade on 0402 291 515, email info@geelongpatch.org.au or visit www.geelongpatch.org.au. May 21–22 Young Lions Club of Young Quilt Show; Young Town Hall, Boorowa Street, Young NSW. Sat 10am–4.30pm, Sun 10am–4pm. Entry $5, children under 16 free. More information: Ph Jenny Tate on 0423 452 595 or email…

Hi Clare, I have attached a photo of our group’s effort to make The Desert, after watching Carolyn Sharkey’s DVD, which came with QC’s Great Australian Quilts No 6. Actually, there were another two of us, but only four of us were available for this photo. We are a small group of six ladies who meet weekly to pursue our love of textiles. We live in a small town 500km north of Perth. Supplies and tutors are not readily available so we really appreciate Quilters Companion and the DVDs. Thanks for the interest. Dianne Ceray Hi Clare, I wanted to share this photo of my Message in a Bottle quilt (pattern by Irene Blanck) with you. While the pattern was not in QC, the advertisement that led me to make…

Megan has converted what was once an upstairs open verandah at the front of her 100-yearold home into a dedicated creative space. As she views the room’s original features, including the old fuse box and rough-cast walls, she visualises how it may have originally been used. “I like to imagine that the original owner of the house, a widowed woman in her 60s, might have sewn or embroidered on this verandah while watching the activity on the street.” No such leisurely activity takes place there now, as Megan uses the room as both a study and sewing area and regularly rearranges the furniture to suit her current projects. “I have rejigged the space a number of times and have added furniture as the opportunity has arisen, using either second-hand or…

Antique, vintage and very traditional quilts are what inspire Wendy Whellum. “I have a great collection of books about antique quilts, which I flip through from time to time. “Suddenly, I will see something that I really love the look of and I find myself saying, ‘I want that quilt!’. Most of my books are galleries – that is, there are photos of quilts but no patterns, so I have to work out how to make it on my own. That’s where my designing process starts. “I begin by sketching with pen and paper to get the dimensions right. After that, I might turn to EQ7 software and put it all together on the computer. I like the fact that this software package enables me to use representations of real…

Finished size: 188cm (74in) square Materials • 2.1m (2⅜yd) solid blue fabric • 4.7m (5⅛yd) solid white fabric • 4.1m (4.yd) backing fabric • Batting at least 205cm (80in) square • Long steel ruler or similar • Rotary cutter, ruler and mat • Sewing machine with .in foot • General sewing supplies www.quilterscompanion.wordpress.com Cut the fabric From the solid blue fabric, cut: • 18 strips, 3in x width of fabric • nine strips, 2½in x width of fabric (binding) From the solid white fabric, cut: • 18 strips, 3in x width of fabric • four strips, 22in x width of fabric. From each strip, cross cut one square, 22in (corners) • one square, 31¾in. Cut this square twice across the diagonals to yield four quarter-square triangles. You will find it…

Finished size: 198cm x 137cm (78in x 54in) Materials • 55cm (⅝yd) light tan tone-on-tone print fabric (applique background and Border 3) • 30cm (⅜yd) dark teal stripe print fabric (Borders 1 and 4) • Assorted light cream print fabrics to total about 40cm (.yd) • Assorted dark cream print fabrics to total about 40cm (.yd) • Assorted gold print fabrics to total about 30cm (⅜yd) • Assorted navy blue print fabrics to total about 30cm (⅜yd) • Assorted red print fabrics to total about 30cm (⅜yd) • 30cm (⅜yd) cream print fabric (binding) • Assortment of large scraps of print fabrics (applique); refer to the photo of the quilt as a guide for colours • 90cm (1yd) backing fabric • Batting at least 108cm x 78cm (42in x 34in)…

Barn raising Julie Sefton has always loved barns, especially the slightly derelict ones that lean and sag and proudly show their age and character. “I love the stories and imaginings of events and situations those barns have witnessed (and survived),” she told QC. So, over a period of 18 months, Julie made herself a quilt featuring 12 freepieced, unique barns using a variety of sky and ground fabrics to represent the changing seasons where she lives, near Memphis, Tennessee. Julie was so delighted with her finished quilt that she entered it in a number of shows. The editors at the American Quilters’ Society (AQS) liked it so much that they commissioned her to document her process in a book. As a way of testing the clarity with which she described…

The Mariner’s Compass design is a very elegant, traditional block, with an extensive range of variations. It has long been a favourite of mine. I have previously constructed the block using freezer-paper templates, acrylic templates and foundation papers. As I wandered around the stalls at Houston Quilt Festival 2015, Robin Ruth Designs was demonstrating an ingenious strip-pieced method for making Mariner’s Compass. This was only possible because the owner of the business, Robin Long, had designed a fantastic ruler for strip piecing a Mariner’s Compass in 16 different sizes: 6in–36in! The basic Mariner’s Compass is a multiple-pointed star inside a circle. Robin has designed two rulers for making this design: the Fat Robin is a 60° compass ruler with shorter, wider or fatter points; and the Skinny compass ruler, which…

Tools Of The Trade Sewing Machine – Any machine can be used for quiltmaking. It is helpful to have a darning foot as an attachment for the machine for free machine quilting. Iron and ironing board – Make these readily available near your sewing machine so that all seams can be pressed to assist in accurate piecing. Needles – Most quilters favour a ‘between’ needle, size 8-12 for both hand-sewing and hand-quilting. Size 12, the smallest size, is usually used by very experienced quilters. Sewing Thread – Use any cotton or cotton-covered polyester thread. For machine quilting, use cotton, cottoncovered polyester, monofilament or decorative threads. Scissors – Have one pair with sharp points for cutting fabric and a second pair for paper. Marking Tools – Quilters use marking tools for…

QC#80 Our next issue focuses on quilts made using traditional patchwork blocks. We continue our series of Dresden Plate quilts with a beauty by Rebecca Stewart-Bartell that features rich floral and paisley fabrics, a border of appliquéd daisies and embroidered bees and simply sensational machine quilting. We have two wonderful scrappy quilts — one made with pine tree blocks and another with a classic basket block (shown right). Wendy Sheppard provides instructions for a very pretty baby quilt made from one super-sized star block. And Janelle Noack has created a large medallion quilt that includes English paper piecing, appliqué, Flying Geese, Sawtooth Stars, Pinwheels and more. We hope you’ll join us for this and more quilty goodness in QC#80.…

Finished size: 161cm (63½in) square Finished block size: 12in square Materials • 2.5m (2⅞yd) solid white fabric • 1.2m (1.yd) each of solid grey, lavender and light blue fabrics • 50cm (⅝yd) each of solid yellow and mint green fabrics • 1.5m (1.yd) solid light turquoise fabric • 3.6m (4yd) backing fabric • Batting at least 180cm (70in) square. Deborah recommends Matilda’s Own Oh So Soft 100% polyester or 60/40 wool/polyester with scrim • 5m (5.yd) heavyweight tear-away stabiliser • Fusible web • White 50-weight cotton thread (piecing) • White polyester bobbin thread such as Bobbinfil • 12-weight cotton thread in colours to match the applique fabrics (applique). Deborah recommends Gutermann Sulky thread • 40-weight polyester thread in colours to match the applique fabric (quilting). Deborah recommends Mettler Polysheen •…