Innholdsfortegnelse for 62 i Today's Quilter

What strange times we are living in! As I write this, we are still in the midst of lockdown. Confined to our homes, we are all trying to find the new ‘normal’. Be that working from home while trying to look after kids, being separated from family and friends or working on the frontline making sure everyone is looked after. But this also means we have more time on our hands (when we aren’t doing the daily tasks of life), which quilters around the world are always trying to find. We are hearing a lot of people are diving into their stash of WIPs, finishing off projects that have been lurking in the back of cupboards or at the bottom of craft stashes for months if not years! Jo Avery…

“My favourite thing about sharing my designs is that people will often make better versions than mine. It’s really satisfying to see designs reach a potential that I wouldn’t have dreamed up myself.”- Jodi Godfrey, Tales of Cloth Hand sewing, especially English Paper Piecing, is not a fast way to create. And that is okay. Sometimes, it’s good to sit down, have a breather and take your time creating something precious. Whether you sew alone or with your family infront of the telly, if you like stitching in the garden or on your favourite sofa next to the window with a cuppa at hand, the beauty of this method is that it doesn’t matter. Stitch by stitch, you slowly build up your quilt, adding pieces and growing your design until…

You will need ■ Print fabrics – Twenty (20) Fat Quarters ■ Background fabric (BKG) – 4½yds ■ Backing fabric – 4¾yds ■ Binding fabric – ¾yds ■ Batting – 84in square ■ Templates – Forty (40) HST templates (see Templates section) Fabrics used Kaffe Fassett Collective prints and shot cotton for FreeSpirit Fabrics, see www.freespiritfabrics.com Finished size ■ Approx. 76in square Notes ■ WOF = width of fabric. ■ FQ = Fat Quarter. ■ BKG = background fabric. ■ HST = half-square triangles. ■ Seam allowances are ¼in, unless otherwise noted. ■ Press after each seam. ■ Press seams open, unless otherwise instructed. ■ Press all fabrics well before cutting. Cutting out 1 Cut the print FQs as follows: ■ Forty (40) 6¼in x 9¼in rectangles. ■ Ninety-six (96)…

Linda Clements is a leading technical quilting expert, editor and writer who, for 25 years, has worked on many fabric and craft titles for David & Charles 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.…

You will need ■ Three different beige fabrics with black print for fussy cutting, for the centre of Star 1, Half-star 1 and Quarter-star – 4⅜yd in total ■ Assortment of four (4) Japanese fabrics with large flowers to frame the Star 1s, Half-star 1s, Quarter-stars and the centre of the Star 2s and Half-star 2s – ⅔yd of each ■ Ten (10) semi-solid fabrics (ochre, yellow, green, red, purple, chestnut brown and blue) to frame the Star 2s and Half-star 2s – 4in of each ■ Beige solid fabric for the background – 1¼yd ■ Blue-green fabric for the outer border – 1yd ■ Backing – 53in x 67in ■ Batting – 53in x 67in ■ Templates (see Templates section) Finished size ■ 48¾in x 62¾in Notes ■ The…

In the pages that follow, you’ll find an exclusive extract from Jodi Godfrey’s first book (you may know her as Tales of Cloth). The Seedling Quilts is a beautifully-curated collection of EPP and appliqué designs inspired by medicinal herbs. The quilts range from intricate and completely hand pieced to simple, machine pieced quilts with a little hand stitched flourish. Jodi has a beautiful written style (as you’ll find when you read her introduction). She describes her Seedlings Quilt design – the culmination of the patterns in her book – as a “colourful collection of joy and peace and healing and quilt”. It’s a sampler sewn together Log Cabin-style to the most beautiful finished effect. We hope this teaser will tempt you to carry on and sew all of the blocks…

“The quilts in my book are a representation of the kind of garden I would love to grow. They are named for, and inspired by, flowers and plants that have been enjoyed for centuries for their beauty, symbolism and healing properties. Since ancient times, the herb yarrow, with its mass of tiny white flowers, has long been drunk as a tea to relieve the symptoms of the common cold, cool fever, calm stomach upsets and relieve the pain of toothache.”…

Kerry Green HOT FROM THE OVEN Kerry’s retro oven-mitt and matching pot holder set uses needle-turn appliqué. Perfect for using up scraps in your stash (page 66). Amanda Little HOME SWEET HOME Playing with the traditional Log Cabin layout, Amanda has created a stunning design (page 20) that will brighten up any room it is used in. Willyne Hammerstein MARVELLOUS MILLEFIORI If you’ve always wanted to make a millefiori quilt, now is the time, with Willyne’s gorgeous pattern on page 57.…

“The Log Cabin design dates back to pioneer days and is one of the most popular quilt blocks. It is simple to construct and because it is easily made with either scrappy or controlled fabrics and colours, it appeals to both beginner and advanced quilters alike. By turning the Log Cabin blocks in different directions, many looks can be created – it can be as traditional or as contemporary as you want to make it! I chose to set my blocks together in an offset Barn Raising layout for a more contemporary look. “The Art Gallery Fabrics I used in this quilt were a pleasure to work with, they have a soft, silk-like handle very similar to a Tana Lawn. I was able to incorporate all 16 fabrics from Bonnie…

“This quilt design contains just three main elements – strips of half-square triangle units, large framed triangles and diagonal strips of squares and triangles. All the print fabrics I have used are mixed completely randomly throughout the design to keep it balanced. The half-square triangle units are pieced in groups of twelve, sewn onto paper. No trimming is needed, they are cut to the perfect size. Combining the sixteen blocks into this design gives a strong secondary design to the quilt and creates a Morning Star shape in the centre of the quilt. The design would work well with any fabrics – more modern fabrics for a more contemporary look and more traditional fabrics for a more traditional look”…

“Blanket stitch is an old stitch often worked by hand, but here we discover how to achieve pleasing results by machine.”– Lin Clements WHAT IS BLANKET STITCH? Originally, blanket stitch was worked by hand, mainly, as the name suggests, for forming a firm edge on an unhemmed or rolled-edge blanket. Due to its decorative nature, the stitch also became very popular for crazy quilting in the Victorian era and then for outlining appliqué motifs. It is still used widely today, for clothing, household textiles and in patchwork, appliqué and embroidery. Blanket stitch may also be called by other names. When it is worked with the stitches packed tightly together, it is called buttonhole stitch (although the techniques are slightly different). When worked by machine, it may be called whip stitch.…

Since the publication of her first book, Millefiori Quilts, in 2011, Willyne Hammerstein’s remarkable designs have become an international phenomenon. In fact, such is the success of her patterns that Millefiori Quilts 4 has recently been published and the designer is currently busy creating new projects for a fifth title. “I am often asked how long it takes to make one of my quilts and the answer is, I don’t know,” Willyne says. “But I can say that to design and construct around 18 quilts for each book is a two-to-three-year enterprise, so it will be a little while before ‘book five’ comes out!” A THOUSAND FLOWERS Willyne’s signature style is patchwork that evokes the glorious Venetian glass called millefiori, hence its name. This distinctive type of glass is created…

Willyne loves kaleidoscopic designs and they frequently feature in her quilts. Commonly, this type of pattern can be achieved by using the same fabric motif for each identical template, a method known as ‘fussy cutting’. “Because fabric is so expensive, I want to use it all and not be left with a piece with lots of holes in it. So I place my templates next to each other with no consideration for the outcome. As a consequence, every time the result is a surprise. “I love [using] Japanese kimono fabrics with many bright colours. But it is not very easy to get them. You can, of course, use other multi-colour fabrics, for example flowers.”…

“I can only imagine the reassurance a lighthouse gives to those at sea.” You will need ■ Ships Pearl – ¼yd ■ Starfish Dark Ocean – 14in x 6in ■ Seaweed Ocean – 19½in x 4½in ■ Seabirds Sand – 12in x 4½in ■ Stripe Sand – 10in x 2in ■ Starfish Ocean – 2in x 6in ■ Ships Dark Ocean – 6½in x 4in ■ Stripe Dark Ocean – 3in x 1in ■ Fusible web for appliqué ■ Templates (see Templates section) Finished size ■ 12in square. Notes ■ Fabric requirements are for both the Lighthouse and Young Man's Fancy blocks. ■ Before proceeding with any cutting, please read through all the instructions. ■ Plan carefully and consider the print directionality for all pieces, particularly the appliqué templates and…

After completing a degree in fashion and textiles, Janet worked as a freelance designer for many years. Janet creates lively designs for quilts and stitcheries that combine her unique joint appliqué templates and free-motion drawing technique. As an experienced speaker and teacher, Janet regularly host talks and workshops focusing on the design process and creative techniques. She’s also written five books, including Freya and Fred, Hearty Good Wishes, A Field Guide, Home Quilt Home and The Wordsmith. You can get in touch with Janet by emailing her at: janet@janetclare.co.uk www.janetclare.co.uk Janeteclare…

This is not the column I had intended to write, but as we head into a period of “lockdown”, I’ve found myself looking back through my collection of photographs and diaries from some of my most memorable textile journeys. My trip to Sa Pa in Northern Vietnam is certainly in my top ten... The overnight train from Hanoi travelling north pulled into Lào Cai Railway Station at 6 o’clock in the morning. We decanted into a local bus and began our journey to the weekend Bac Ha market. It’s a crisp, cloudy morning and visibility is poor, but as we weave upwards through the hills, the clouds start to dissipate and every now and again, I catch a glimpse of a figure with an intense flash of crimson or vivid…

The Latin name for yarrow, Achillea millefolium, comes from the Greek Trojan War hero Achilles, who, as a baby, was dunked in a vat of yarrow tea to protect him from harm. His heel was the part held out and therefore missed out on the magic protection! Throughout history, it’s been named Soldiers Herb, Woundwort and Nosebleed for its blood-clotting properties, and used all the way from Ancient Greek conquest to the American Civil War. Yarrow has been used around the world for millennia as an antibacterial agent and a decongestant. Finding balance The Chinese have used yarrow for centuries, and credited the herb with increasing intelligence, offering protection from wild beasts (when planted in your garden) and being the essence of yin and yang. In Chinese philosophy, yin and…

Jodi is the designer behind the business and blog: Tales of Cloth. Together with her husband Tim she produces laser-cut English Paper Piecing templates from their studio in an old hospital in Castlemaine, Victoria, about an hour and a half north of Melbourne. She started Tales of Cloth as a way of exploring story-telling through the creative art of quilt making. talesofcloth www.talesofcloth.com…

THE PROJECT AMELIA MINI QUILT Designer Rose Johnston runs her Etsy shop, Threadbare Creations, which features a mixture of mini quilts and larger designs using a combination of traditional and paper piecing, with some FPP thrown in too. We love the summery colours in this design, which is also a great scrap buster for your stash. The downloadable PDF pattern includes full sized FPP templates, full assembly instructions and diagrams for ease of construction. THE BOOK TREASURE HUNT In this book, you get to follow a team of antique-quilt mavens as they share how their search for quilts from the past turned into present-day quilt patterns. With decades of knowledge about vintage textiles between them, authors Linda Collins and Leah Zieber share 13 quilts inspired by antique finds from their…

This wasn’t the subject I’d planned to write about this month, but with all our lives changed irrevocably at present, it’s hard to address anything else. As I write, we are at the end of our first week in “lockdown” here in the UK, and life still seems strange and unreal. By the time this issue is published, it’s very likely we will still be in this situation and so my thoughts as a quilter in isolation will still be relevant. I’m sure I’m not the only one who began by secretly relishing this opportunity to stay at home and enjoy more time alone to sew, but the current situation feels a little like ‘be careful what you wish for’. I’ve even found myself wondering whether I have unknown magical…

To create an even distribution of prints across the quilt, sort patches into four (4) equal piles before starting to sew. Use one (1) pile per quarter of the quilt. 45-degree triangles have one diagonal side on the bias, which means it has more stretch. Take care when handling shapes with bias edges as these can distort easily. A one-block quilt like this can easily be adjusted in size by making more or fewer blocks. Just four (4) blocks plus the 2½in wide border would be an ideal size for a baby quilt.…

Help! My sewing machine does complicated steps for blanket stitch, which I find hard to remember. Are there any tips to help with this? Try this… Being aware of when the machine changes direction allows you to predict the stages of stitch formation. This helps avoid ending up at the top end of a vertical stitch when you really want the needle to finish on the baseline. Lots of practise helps. Remember too, that there’s no shame in having to fix glitches later with hand stitching. The following tips will help: ■ Reduce your machine’s top speed, to avoid inadvertently sewing too fast. Modern machines have a sliding bar that can be moved left or right (see Fig 10 if needed). ■ Stitch more slowly as you approach a decision…

■ If you want to make a Millefiori quilt, don’t be afraid – just start! ■ Don’t try to find the same fabrics that I’ve used as they are unlikely to still be available. Make your own choices – first select your main, larger-scale, print and then pick other fabrics that will combine well with it. ■ If you are put off by tiny templates, enlarge them to a size you feel comfortable with. ■ Store the fabric pieces, and rows or units, so you can easily keep track of them. ■ When joining the pieces, make sure you follow the diagrams in the books carefully. ■ Few people can piece or quilt perfectly. Try your best, but be satisfied with your handiwork and don’t worry if there are imperfections.…

After initially lecturing civil law at Radboud University in Nijmegen (the Netherlands), in 2010 Willyne Hammerstein ending a 42-year judicial career. But retirement didn’t bring a slower pace of life, as by January 2011, Willyne had completed 18 quilts for her first book to be published by Quiltmania. Since then this traditional hand-quilter has written three more books on Millefiori, and gives workshops and has exhibitions all over the world.…

1 Lay a piece of fusible web (paper side up) over the templates (which have been reversed) and trace each piece separately. Roughly cut the pieces out with paper scissors, leaving a small allowance all round. 2 Place the pieces paper side up on the reverse of your chosen fabrics and iron to fix in place. Now cut them out as carefully as you can on your traced pencil lines. 3 Peel off the backing paper. If this is tricky, scratch the middle with a pin and peel it away from there.…

SHOPPING ACCESSORIES Crafter’s Companion Tools  www.crafterscompanion.co.uk FABRIC COLLECTIONS Sarah Campbell Fabric Bundles  www.sarahcampbelldesigns.com Hampton Garden, Radiance, Flower Show Summer, Wiltshire Shadow  www.eqsuk.com Kaffe Fassett Collective  www.freespiritfabrics.com The Open Road  www.artgalleryfabrics.com Sorbet  www.oakshottfabrics.com Hantex  www.hantexonline.co.uk BOOKS The New Hexagon 2, Perfectly Pretty Patchwork, Fresh Fat-Quarter Quilts  www.roundhousegroup.co.uk…

Sew Amanda Little’s variation of the French braid pattern using pretty Liberty fabrics • Anne Williams chats to textile artist Angela Daymond • Lin Clements explores how to use printed panels in your work Your gift! Flying Geese templates Issue 63 on sale 11th June 2020 NEXT ISSUE On Sale 11th June *Gift and contents may be subject to change…