Innholdsfortegnelse for 50 i Today's Quilter

It seems like only yesterday that the first issue of Today’s Quilter hit the shops and found its way into the hearts of the quilting community, and yet here we are putting our 50th issue to press! To celebrate this milestone birthday, we’ve got a really special line up of projects and features for you this month, as well as a bunch of exclusive giveaways to kick-start your summer of quilting. Jo Avery is back with a vivacious cover quilt and a beautiful tile arrangement that will transport you to Mediterranean shores – without having to leave your sewing room. Meanwhile, Anna Marie Galvin is emulating cooler climes with her Serene Mountains project, Jessie Fincham has a pretty Starburst quilt for you to sew, and Victoria Carrington shares the next…

A LISTENING PROJECT Meet our Great British Quilters It’s been a busy year for Sarah Ashford as she launches a new series of podcasts where she meets some of our favourite British quilters. Sarah’s first guest is Jo Avery – teacher and designer, author, owner of My Bearpaw in Edinburgh, and maker of this issue’s cover quilt. Renowned for her bubbly personality, “can do” approach to life and distinctive design style, we can’t wait to hear Sarah and Jo in conversation. Later this month, Sarah’s catching up with Kerry Green of “veryberrykerry” fame and discovering more about her love of sewing and quilting. We can’t think of a better series to tune-into while you catch up with some summer stitching. The Great British Quilter podcast series is sponsored by Aurifil…

Pam and Nicky Lintott own The Quilt Room, which has recently moved to a brand new premises just outside Dorking, Surrey. It houses their two Gammill Statler Stitchers, mail order business, shop and a bright and airy workshop – all under one roof! They’ve written several books on Jelly Roll quilts and other pre-cuts, published by F&W Media. www.quiltroom.co.uk thequiltroom @thequiltroom…

Our very own Deputy Editor, Laura Pritchard, has been sewing since she was a child and quilting for most of her adult life. Her work has been published in several quilting and craft magazines and she loves teaching and inspiring new quilters to sew. Laura regularly posts photos on Instagram of works-in-progress, finished quilts and her life in Bristol with her husband, cats and chickens. @laurapritchardquilts As well as being our fabulous new Production Editor, Jessie Doughty is also an embroidery artist and illustrator. Having always enjoyed crafting, she fell in love with modern embroidery during her time at university and used it as a way to unwind while studying for her degree in English Literature. She shares her work and ideas on Instagram and her blog, www.jessiedoe.com @jessiedoedesigns…

“This cushion is part of a seasonal series featuring in Today’s Quilter throughout the year. The badger in the summer woods surrounded by foxgloves and dog roses follows on from the spring rabbit in issue 47. Each quarterly project features a different woodland creature in a seasonal setting of foliage and flowers. The block can be made into a cushion as I have done, or you can make the whole series and incorporate them into a quilt or wall hanging.”…

“Enter a world of exciting possibilities by learning a new technique - sewing curved seams.”– Lin Clements CURVED SEAMS Curved seams are usually regarded as “tricky” and many of us avoid them, preferring to stick to the straight and narrow. However, there are so many wonderful blocks and patchwork effects that can be created with curves that it’s a shame to shun this creative technique. Sewing curved seams doesn’t have to be hard and, this month, we will look at how to achieve the curves and undulations that give such a different look to a project. Being able to sew curved seams will allow you to add dozens of new blocks to your repertoire and open up the wonderful world of pictorial blocks, which we will look at in a…

You will need ■ Indigo fabrics in five (5) shades, graded from light to dark: Fabric A (lightest) – ½yd Fabric B – ¾yd Fabric C – ¾yd Fabric D – 1yd Fabric E (darkest) – 1¼yd ■ Central motif fabric – one (1) Fat Quarter OR one (1) 12½in square ■ Low volume background fabric – 1¾yds ■ Backing fabric – 4¼yds ■ Batting – 80in square ■ Binding fabric – ½yd Finished size ■ Approx. 70in square Fabrics used ■ Various shades of hand-dyed indigo available to buy from The Cloth House, Soho, www.clothhouse.com ■ Background – “Snow” from the Kona Cotton Solids collection by Robert Kaufman, www.robertkaufman.com ■ Backing – “Widescreen” by Carolyn Friedlander by Robert Kaufman Fabrics, www.robertkaufman.com Notes ■ Fabric requirements are based on a…

Anna Marie Galvin CALMING STITCHES Cool blue hues and pops of print make Anna Marie’s mountain-inspired design a soothing – and satisfying – weekend sew. See page 65. Jessie Fincham SCRAP-FRIENDLY Dig out all of those precious off-cuts you’ve been saving! Jessie’s Half-square triangle quilt on page 78 is designed to let your stash fabrics shine. Laura Pritchard TEA TIME TREAT Turn to page 43 to find out how to use your new appliqué templates set to make a beautiful tea cosy, featuring sweet teapot and teacup motifs.…

QUILTING Kaffe Fassett’s Quilts in America Exhibition Until 3rd November, Bath Kaffe Fassett’s new collection is inspired by the museum’s collection of antique American quilts. See the website for details. 10:00-17:00 Tues-Sun / £14.50 American Museum & Gardens, Claverton Manor, Bath BA2 7BD www.americanmuseum.org London Quilters Exhibition Until 28th June, London Quilts made by London Quilters members, quilt to raffle for charity, plus small items to sell on behalf of local charities. Swiss Cottage Library, 88 Avenue Road, London NW3 3HA www.londonquilters.org.uk River of Dreams Quilt Exhibition 14th–21st June, Limerick An annual exhibition of quilts from all over Ireland. 10:00-17:00 Limerick School of Art and Design, Clare Street, Limerick riverofdreamsquilt@gmail.com Gresford’s 39th Annual Exhibition 18th–21st June, Wrexham Visit the Craft Group in the Parish Church (LL12 8RG) and Wrexham Quilting…

“A couple of years ago I visited Lisbon for the first time and became completely obsessed by all the beautiful, decorative tiles on the fronts of the buildings. It is a city of infinite inspiration for quilters – you could spend hours in its Tile Museum dreaming of all the quilts you could make. Once I returned home, I used this inspiration to design a block that became part of the 2018 Aurifil Designer of the Month sampler quilt. It was a striking block in its own right, but when I ‘tiled’ it to see how it would look as a full quilt, it just got even better. As I played around with colour options, I just knew I had to make a full quilt version one day. For this…

There’s nothing like the fun of preparing for a show – every show is hard work, but rewarding. With this in mind, I have created a series of three quilts and some cushions, all of which are themed around going to a show. I made the first little quilt all about Launceston Agricultural Show. When I belonged to the Young Farmers club I would always be up late finishing off various handcrafts or sewing. Equally, when I competed with my horses there would be much plaiting, washing and polishing late into the evening – all so I could put my best foot forward at the show. I really enjoy the preparation for anything and there’s always such a good community spirit. You also meet friends you haven’t seen for a…

You will need ■ Background fabric – ½yd* ■ Lining fabric – ½yd* ■ Scrap fabrics for appliqué ■ Appliqué templates (included with this issue) ■ Batting – Two (2) 20in square pieces* ■ Fusible web ■ Binding fabric – ½yd ■ Embroidery template (see Templates section) ■ Embroidery floss Finished size ■ Approximately 14in x 11in* Notes * You will make the tea cosy to fit your own teapot dimensions, so fabric quantities may need to be adjusted. Making the template 1 Measure the length and height of your teapot and add 3in to the top and each side, i.e length + 6in. height + 3in. Fold a piece of paper in half and mark with a dot along the fold at the height your cosy needs to be.…

This article has been gestating for a long time. Over the years, I’ve been writing virtual Post-It Notes to myself as little reminders to explore more about the overlap between Emma Bridgewater and the world of quilting. I think it all began when I joined several monthly quilt groups and weekend quilting bees. At some point during a day of stitching with these friends, we would relinquish our work and clear the chaos of cutting mats, bundles of fabric, and all manner of haberdashery from the table and make way for tea and cake. On many occasions, these arrived served on a sea of polka dots, hearts, beautiful zinnias, pansies and wild flowers. It’s no surprise that the quilter’s kitchen stash has a place for Emma Bridgewater pottery, after all,…

■ Always use small, very sharp (preferably micro serrated) scissors to cut out the fabric shapes to give the best finish. ■ For a little more control, try quilting gloves. An extension table can also help to keep your work flat and a Teflon sheet will give a smoother glide. ■ When sat at your sewing machine, your arms should be at right angles when stitching. ■ Before starting to sew, use Bondaweb to attach a scrap of fabric onto background fabric with interfacing or batting underneath (whichever your project specifies). Practise stitching to get into the flow, to ensure that your machine is threaded properly and your stitch tension is correct. Use the same thread in the top and bottom of your machine for smoother stitches. ■ When stitching…

I’ve tried curved seams before but ended up with little pleats. Why did this happen? Try this… There are various reasons why pleats formed in your work, so I’ll go through these and suggest solutions for each one. 1 Sewing curved seams for small units is more difficult than sewing large units so, when learning the technique, I suggest using the larger templates I’ve supplied for practise. The larger ones will be less fiddly than Template 4. 2 Check the printed templates are the correct sizes and that the seam allowances are ¼in. 3 Once the fabric pieces are cut, place the templates back on top to check the shapes are accurate, checking especially along the curve. You might need to nibble away a bit more of the fabric. 4…

“For this pattern I was inspired by both antique American Delectable Mountain quilts and the wonderful Japanese Indigo quilts of Shizuko Kuroha. I combined these two inspirations to create a quilt celebrating the traditions of two very different cultures. There are many ways to sew the Delectable Mountain block, but as this medallion quilt requires the block to be square when finished, I decided to develop a new method using half-rectangle triangles, which is much faster than the traditional strip piecing technique.”…

Baltimore Album Quilts from the International Quilt Study Center & Museum, The Festival of Quilts, 1-4 August, NEC, Birmingham, an exhibition of original and reproduction Baltimores. Ticket offer! Using the code TODQUIL19, Today’s Quilter readers will receive £2 off an adult ticket (£1 off concessions). www.thefestivalof quilts.co.uk The American Museum & Gardens in Bath has a collection of more than 250 American quilts, including the Baltimore Bride Quilt on page 75, with at least 50 on show on a rotating basis. www.american museum.org Shirley Bloomfield’s book Beyond the Appliqué Garden, plus patterns, can be purchased from her website. www.country pleasures.co.uk There are many books on Baltimores. Some, including titles by Elly Sienkiewicz, are out of print, but used copies are sometimes available.…

“Half-square triangles are the familiar building blocks to so many of our favourite quilt blocks and patterns – always the faithful and versatile tool in our quilting arsenal. The unique setting of the Starburst quilt, radiating from the centre, is what really packs a punch here! A total reproduction of a beautiful antique quilt I spied online after a quilting deep-dive (you know the ones…) dating back to the 1950s. It was so good that I had to recreate it for the readers of Today’s Quilter in a mix of Liberty Tana lawns and pretty cotton florals for a classic country vibe. Be sure to use a good range of light and dark toned fabrics to highlight the secondary pattern. Chain piecing can be your best friend here, just stay…

You will need ■ Background fabric – 9in x 22in ■ Scrap fabrics – Sixteen (16) 3in squares ■ Centre fabric – One (1) 4in square ■ Templates (see Templates section) Block size ■ 12in finished (16in with frames) Notes ■ Fabric quantities are based on the antique block on page 85. For fabric for the frames, see issue 42 or www.todaysquilter.com ■ This block of the month is hand-pieced. For detailed instructions of this technique, see issue 42 or the tutorial on www.todaysquilter.com Cutting out 1 From the background fabric cut four (4) pieces using Template A and four (4) using Template C. 2 From scrap fabrics cut sixteen (16) pieces using Template B. 3 From centre fabric, cut one (1) piece using either Template D or Template D2.…

LISBON TILES FPP TEMPLATE ACTUAL SIZE Includes seam allowances FROLIC IN THE FOXGLOVES APPLIQUÉ PATTERN & TEMPLATES ENLARGE 200% PLEASE NOTE: Appliqué templates do NOT include seam allowances BLOCK OF THE MONTH HAND-PIECING TEMPLATES ACTUAL SIZE PLEASE NOTE: Hand-piecing templates do NOT include seam allowances ESSENTIAL GUIDE CURVED PIECING TEMPLATES ENLARGE 200% Includes seam allowances TIME FOR TEA EMBROIDERY TEMPLATE ACTUAL SIZE Thank you for making this project from Today’s Quilter. The copyright for these templates belongs to the designer of the project. They work hard to create projects for you to enjoy, so please don’t re-sell or distribute without permission. Please do not make any part of the templates or instructions available to others through your website or a third party website, or copy it multiple times without permission.…

SHOPPING ACCESSORIES Aurifil Vintage Collection Box Two www.sewingquarter.com 0800 112 4433 Emma Bridgewater Homeware www.emmabridgewater.co.uk 01782 210 565 Gemini Die-cutting Machine and Patchwork Dies www.crafterscompanion.co.uk 01388 663 251 FABRIC COLLECTIONS Bloomsbury Collection www.freespiritfabrics.com Liberty Tana Lawn www.alicecaroline.com 01386 725 000 Pre-cut fabrics and Jelly Rolls www.quiltroom.co.uk 01306 877307 BOOKS Organic Appliqué Step-By-Step Texture Quilting www.searchpress.com 01892 510 850 Forty: The Evolution of a Collection www.quiltersguildshop.org.uk 01904 613 242 Fabric of Scotland www.johnstonsofelgin.com 03442 252 252 The Big Book of Lap Quilts www.roundhousegroup.co.uk/shop 01273 603 717…

1 PURPLE-PIXIE Who loves a “Weekend Getaway”? We do and we love this Michael Miller collection of stylish Summer fabrics. A city break, beautiful flowers and a stylish hat - don’t forget your camera! purple-pixie.co.uk 2 RETICULE FABRICS Kendal, Gateway to the Lake District, is home to Reticule Fabrics. Among the hundreds of bolts on the shelves and online are these gorgeous Sweet Bee Designs celebrating this summer season. reticulefabrics.co.uk 3 THE FABRIC CASTLE A beautiful selection of fabrics and kits for the sunshine season. From vibrant solids to tranquil tropical patterns you can bring a piece of summer happiness to your projects. Visit our online store. thefabriccastle.co.uk 4 L & C FABRICS Fabric suppliers for quilting, dress making, crafting, curtains & alterations. Quilting retreat Oct…

Quilts across the pond I made this Union Jack quilt for my son who lives in San Francisco. It is 92”in square and made from blue, red, and white striped shirt fabrics. Some of the shirts were his, and others purchased from charity shops. The quilt includes a few plackets with the buttons, and even a few shirt labels too. It’s a little reminder of his British home! Nancy Barker, via email We love that you’ve incorporated your son’s shirts into this quilt, Nancy – it’s such a thoughtful and thrifty idea! This will certainly remind him of home whenever he sees it. Rooted in spring This is my version of Lynne Edwards’ Tree of Life design from the issue 6 supplement. I’ve been wanting to make this for quite…

Jo Avery has been quilting for the last 30 years and writing her craft blog for seven years. She runs her own fabric and craft supplies shop, myBearpaw, in Edinburgh and online, as well as teaching there and around the UK and Europe. She also organises the Stitch Gathering, an annual Modern Quilt Retreat, and is part of The Thread House, offering quilting retreats and selling patterns, www.thethreadhouse.co.uk. www.mybearpaw.com @mybearpaw on Instagram See this project demonstrated live on air on 16th June 2019. ■ Live on Freeview 73, Sky channel 687 ■ Online at www.sewingquarter.com ■ Missed the demonstration? Catch up on www.youtube.com/sewingquarter…

You will need ■ Cushion front and back – 18in x WOF* ■ Scraps of fabric – to include dark and mid greys, black, off white, greens, pinks, purples ■ Batting – 20in square ■ Binding – 7½in x WOF ■ Bondaweb – 20in square (or scraps equivalent) ■ Scrap of interfacing – 2in square ■ Cushion pad – 18in square ■ Templates (see Templates section) Notes *Based on a minimum width of 42in excluding selvedge ■ Read pattern in full before starting. ■ Press all fabric well before starting. ■ All templates are drawn in reverse. ■ WOF – width of fabric. ■ RS – right side. ■ WS – wrong side. ■ RST – right sides together. ■ WST – wrong sides together. Cutting out 1 From cushion…

Victoria Carrington is a pattern designer, teacher and textile artist based in Shropshire, UK. She is relatively new to sewing having only taken it up after the birth of her first daughter. Going from a busy job as an Events Manager to being at home all day was a bit of a shock to the system so she stumbled upon sewing as a bit of therapy! Since then, Victoria has progressed from making other people’s designs to creating her own, pattern and instruction writing, teaching at local workshops and appearing as a guest designer on Sewing Quarter. www.victoriacarrington.co.uk Victoria Carrington Designs @victoriacarringtondesigns…

Linda Clements is a leading technical quilting expert, editor and writer who, for 25 years, has worked on many fabric and craft titles for F&W Media and other leading craft publishers. Among the many quilters who have trusted Linda to ensure their books are both accurate and reader friendly are Lynne Edwards MBE, Susan Briscoe, Pam & Nicky Lintott, Pauline Ineson, Mandy Shaw and Lynette Anderson. Linda’s own book, The Quilter’s Bible, is the must-have guide to patchwork, quilting and appliqué, and includes everything she has learnt working with the industry’s best designers. For Today’s Quilter, Linda is working with the team to select practical and creative techniques. She will then go in depth, exploring the methods, taking them from the basic premise to their full technical and creative potential.…

Anna was inspired to begin sewing in 2010 after visiting the V&A exhibition, Quilts 1700-2010. She became fascinated by the multi-faceted nature of quilts: as reflections of an individual’s personality, as practical homewares and as objects of familial meaning and memory. Anna is strongly influenced by historical quilts and finds the process of quilting a calming antidote to her otherwise hectic life. When she’s not chasing after two (very active) young boys, you can find her sewing on Instagram. annamariegalvin…

1 Baltimore Album quilt-makers created striking effects with the limited materials available to them, but we are fortunate to have a wealth of fabrics at our fingertips. Shirley uses 100% cottons for her appliqué motifs and backgrounds – batiks are her favourite. 2 By fussy cutting (ie, selecting a specific area to cut out), Shirley can take advantage of the batik prints to achieve wonderfully realistic shading on leaves and petals. To do this, first cut out your templates from freezer paper, leaving a viewing ‘window’. With the fabric right side up, use the window to choose where to position your template; eg, for a leaf, try to find an area that will give the effect of a central vein (Fig 1). Once you are happy, with the shiny side…

Quilter and sewing pattern designer, Jessie Fincham, has long been on the quilting-scene since her blogging days as ‘MessyJesse’. She is the founder and operator of Sew & Quilt, the popular online quilt shop she runs with her husband, Robin. Inspiring and delighting customers the world over, Sew & Quilt is best known for its gorgeous, indefinitely Instagram-able Block of the Month kits which are made from its Cornwall-based workshop. Keep up with Jessie’s charming work at @messyjesse1 and get an exciting behind the scenes look at what is going on at the shop via @sewandquilt. www.sewandquilt.co.uk messyjesse1 @sewandquilt…

“This block is a great example of everyday life being immortalized in a patchwork block. This electric fan design was first seen in the depression era, around 1938, in a Kansas City Star newspaper quilt column by Ruby McKim. Sometimes known as Letha’s Electric Fan, or just the Electric Fan, there is no denying that the offset Dresden Plate style blocks resemble the whirring of a fan. By replacing the circle with a square, you get a quirkier looking block, but a fan nonetheless. I’ve made the vintage style version completely scrappy, but in the others, the use of the scraps is a little more controlled. The turquoise version has the same four fabrics in each fan, graded from light through to dark – it’s nice to have a bit…

American quilt artist and academic, Michael James, will be enriching the visitor experience at The Festival of Quilts this year with his gallery of art quilts and his Quilt Academy lecture, Making Sense of a Studio Life: 45 Years and Counting. Michael will also be sharing his expertise with his keynote speech at The Quilters’ Guild 40th anniversary dinner, focusing on the layers of meaning attached to quilts. It’s a wonderful opportunity to hear from one of the leaders of the art quilt movement and to see his new body of work, inspired by his travels in India. While his early days as a student in fine arts were focused on painting and printmaking, his now preferred medium is digital textile printing – embracing technology and celebrating its limitless possibilities.…