Innholdsfortegnelse for 72 i Today's Quilter

January has come and gone, and with a new month comes the hope of brighter days ahead, and I am not just talking about the weather. However, this time gives quilters a great opportunity to use up some of the fabrics in their stash, and Victoria Carrington has shown that you can create a gorgeous design “from scraps under your machine”! We love her design, The Walled Garden, featured on the cover, as it has us dreaming of long, sunny days outdoors. But Victoria’s design is not the only one in this issue that is great for using up scraps. New to the TQ design team, Katie Essam has created a charming doorstop and draught excluder set that even the smallest pieces of fabric can be used in. Plus, the…

Community matters This is a quilting community quilt, made by over 40 ladies/girls as we were coming out of the main lockdown. I put all the final blocks together and was amazed how well they all worked together considering we had never met, and still haven’t, and had a vast range of skills and styles! Christine, via email What a beautiful way to commemorate such a troublesome year and encapsulate the quilting community spirit. Well done to you all! A hug from home Here is my quilt that I made during lockdown – I saw Jo Morton’s Hearth and Home book in issue 57 of TQ and so wanted to make one of her vintage quilts. I had bought the fabric at our Spring show here in Harrogate, little knowing…

Victoria Carrington is a pattern designer, teacher and textile artist based in Northamptonshire, 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, and 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 and teaching at local workshops. www.victoriacarrington.co.uk Victoria Carrington Designs @victoriacarringtondesigns…

“It’s such a treat to work with solid fabrics, as I work with a lot of patterned fabrics, and as beautiful as they are, less is more sometimes. So, I just had to choose Robert Kaufman’s lovely Essex Linen collection when planning the construction of this design; the make-up of the fabric is both linen and cotton, so it adds a bit more weight to your piece. “I played around with the Snowball block and partial seam around the block pattern for the centre of this quilt – the partial seam is setting a square in the centre of your strips, so sewing part of the strip to the square and pressing this strip back will give you that long edge you need for the next strip. It’s a really…

Christine has been patchworking, as well as practicing other crafts such as paper cutting, for many years. Through her teaching she encourages others to express their creativity and put a contemporary spin on traditional skills. She says, “My workshops are fun and interactive, and, thanks to the wonderful students, no class is ever the same”. You can see more of Christine’s work and find out about upcoming courses on her website. You can also follow her on social media. www.christinegreencrafts.co.uk @CraftingAtTheCottage @christinegreencrafts› craftingcottage…

“This project is designed to equip you with the skills to use free-hand machine embroidery and appliqué to create beautiful, life-like textile art, which is then made into an awesome functional item. What a great way to have your artwork on display in your home – doing something useful too! This project can even be adapted in a number of ways. It could be a piece of wall art if you’d rather display it in a frame on the wall or could be made into a cushion or bolster cushion if you’d like it on your sofa! “I hope you thoroughly enjoy making this project, that it helps release the budding creativity in you and that you come to love and see the endless possibilities that free-hand machine embroidery, appliqué…

VARIATION BLOCK In Karen’s variation block, the fabric placement has been switched to create a different effect. The centre square now matches the blue colour used in the outer ‘octagon’ rather than the star points. This gives the impression that the Ohio Star is floating on top of the blue shape. Karen has also chosen some paler prints for this block. The cutting out for the background fabric is the same as in the main block. Cut the other prints as follows: 1 From Fabric B (blue), cut two (2) 5in squares, one (1) 5½in square and one (1) 4½in square. Or, for hand piecing, four (4) each of A and B triangles, and one (1) C square. 2 From Fabric C (purple), cut two (2) 5½in squares. Or, for…

THE BOOK QUILTS FOR LIFE 2 After the success of her first book, Judy Newman has designed Quilts for Life 2. Featuring 15 elegant, bright and traditional quilts of varying difficulties, there is something for everyone! Her delightful fabric play brings colourful vintage and modern prints together, along with her love of Medallions, stars, hexagons, EPP, fussy cutting and appliqué. The new book is complete with pattern instructions, details about techniques and gorgeous photos. Quilts For Life 2 by Judy Newman ($43), published by Quiltmania. To find out more and buy a copy, visit www.quiltmania.com THE FABRIC SOPHIE The new collection from Brenda Riddle Designs for Moda features a fresh palette of delicate, soft pinks and greens and rosy reds all grounded by an earthy cobblestone grey. Perfect for summer…

Sally Ablett has been happily making quilts for nearly 30 years. During this time, patchwork has developed from a hobby into Sally’s full-time job. She has a great deal of experience teaching courses and day workshops, and she gives regular talks using her own collection of quilts to demonstrate patchwork techniques and to pass on the tips and shortcuts she has learnt throughout her years of quilting. Sally does freelance design work, and she works with Lewis & Irene to design quilts and produce patterns that are used to showcase its new fabric collections.…

You will need ■ Ten (10) assorted cream-on-cream print fabrics – ½yd of each ■ Fifty (50) assorted coordinating print fabrics for elongated hexagons, hexagons and birds – 2½in x WOF of each ■ Thirty-eight (38) assorted coordinating print fabrics for corner squares – 2in x WOF of each ■ Backing fabric – 78in square ■ Binding fabric (blue floral) – ½yd ■ Batting – about 78in square ■ Embroidery floss (charcoal) ■ Templates (see Templates section) – Seven-hundred-and-eighty-four (784) pre-cut paper hexagons with ⅝in sides; seven-hundred-and-eighty-four (784) pre-cut paper elongated hexagons with ⅝in and ⅞in sides ■ Fabric glue pen, and fusible water-soluble appliqué paper (optional) Finished size ■ 70in square approx. Notes ■ WOF = width of fabric. ■ Use ¼in seams unless otherwise stated. Cutting out 1…

Katie Essam is a mixed media textile artist who specialises in free-hand machine embroidery and appliqué. She loves combining them with other mediums to create unique, realistic artwork inspired by the beauty in every day. However, her greatest passion is teaching and equipping others along their own textile creative journey. Katie is the author of Layered and Stitched Pictures, and runs a range of online and ‘in person’ workshops in the South of England. www.katie-essam.co.uk katie_ jeany Katie Essam, Contemporary Applied Art…

Help! What part does value play when you are choosing colours for a quilt and how should I use value? Try this… As noted on page 74, value is the lightness or darkness of a colour and choosing the lightness or darkness of a design is just as important as the colour itself. Many quilters find that a mixture of light, medium and dark colours produces the most visually satisfying result. A quilt that has fabrics all with the same value can look indistinct, lack interest and even be boring. Fig 11A shows a block with five different fabrics, however, the fabrics have a similar value, which makes the details of the block rather indistinct. In Fig 11B, the two fabrics making up the star motif have been changed, to…

HEXI BIRDS PAPER PIECING AND APPLIQUÉ TEMPLATES ACTUAL SIZE PLEASE NOTE: Only the fabric cutting templates include seam allowances. THE WALLED GARDEN FOUNDATION PIECING TEMPLATE ACTUAL SIZE Includes seam allowances. A VISIT TO PINCUSHIONS APPLIQUÉ TEMPLATES ACTUAL SIZE PLEASE NOTE: Appliqué templates do NOT include seam allowances. A VISIT TO PINCUSHIONS APPLIQUÉ TEMPLATES ACTUAL SIZE PLEASE NOTE: Appliqué templates do NOT include seam allowances. A VISIT TO PINCUSHIONS APPLIQUÉ TEMPLATES ACTUAL SIZE 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. 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…

BLOOMING FOR SPRING MAGNOLIA Michael Miller has stolen our hearts again with the airy, floral prints of the stunning Magnolia fabric collection. Showcasing muted tones of blue, green, pink and, of course, featuring magnolias, this is the perfect collection to entrust when you have a serene and calming quilt in mind. With its whimsical, misty patterns and complementary companion pieces, the collection is reminiscent of springtime meadows with golden ferns and blossoming bouquets. We can’t wait to get our hands on it! www.eqsuk.com READING NOOK LIBRARY ADDITIONS When we aren’t obsessing over our current WIP or dreaming of exciting new fabric collections, we can often be found curled up in our favourite spot with a warm cup of tea and a good book to draw inspiration from. So, we were…

“This quilt is definitely one of my favourites, particularly as it was made completely from scraps that were under my sewing table! I used different cream and white tone-on-tone fabrics for the background, as it gives a vintage feel and adds interest (particularly as there is a considerable amount of background on this quilt). “The construction looks quite complicated but the actual blocks themselves are quite straightforward. I’d even go as far to say they are quite quick to put together once you’ve made the half-square triangles. You could appliqué a few butterflies or bees to add additional interest or give it lots of texture with some different coloured hand quilting. The cut off corners make the quilt look a bit different so would be great for a throw or…

You will need ■ Fabric 1 (Plum) – One (1) fat quarter ■ Fabric 2 (Orchid) – One (1) fat quarter ■ Fabric 3 (Aqua) – One (1) fat quarter ■ Fabric 4 (Peach) – One (1) fat quarter ■ Fabric 5 (Bloom) – One (1) fat quarter ■ Fabric 6 (Rose) – One (1) fat quarter ■ Fabric 7 (Willow) – One (1) fat quarter ■ Fabric 8 (Leather) – One (1) fat quarter ■ Fabric 9 (Putty) – One (1) fat quarter ■ Fabric 10 (Silver) – One (1) fat quarter ■ Fabric 11 (Sunshine) – One (1) fat quarter ■ Fabric 12 (Steel) – One (1) fat quarter ■ Fabric 13 (Pepper) – One (1) fat quarter ■ Fabric 14 (Sand) – One (1) fat quarter ■…

Recently, with the latest ‘stay at home’ order, many quilters have resolved to see this as an opportunity to put a dent in their (often considerable) stashes. But for textile artist, Christine Green, the ethos of using what’s to hand has underpinned her quilt-making since she began sewing as a young child. Christine explains, “For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved messing around with fabrics and threads. My mother didn’t quilt, but she made clothes and sometimes home furnishings. She taught me to use a sewing machine and I made my first quilt when I was around nine years old. It was a patchwork of squares made for my teddy. Created from mum’s leftovers, I adored how it conjured up fond memories, so I’ve never felt inclined to…

Sweet Pea block You will need ■ Fabric A (background fabric 1) – 5in x 10in ■ Fabric B (blue) – 5½in x 16in ■ Fabric C (purple) – 5½in x 16in ■ Fabric D (pink) – 5½in x 16in Finished size ■ 12in square Notes ■ ‘You will need’ is for one block, make two (2) for the quilt using the main block, variation block, or one of each. The Ohio Star is a traditional block that has appeared in many sampler quilts over the centuries. This month’s Ohio Star variation appears as an eight-pointed star, set within an octagon of colour. We will build on the half-square triangle technique from previous months and will be adding a quarter-square triangle unit to make the star. Cutting out 1 From…

We have many pieces in The Quilters’ Guild Museum Collection that have been made by the mosaic patchwork technique. Some are repeating, tessellating shapes, while others – like this one – are much more complex and individual in style. The central circular medallion is of particular interest as it is thickly padded, with a coarse, open-weave fabric on the reverse holding the wadding in place. It is thought that the maker intended to make a cushion, but then extended it into a larger coverlet. It was made in the 1930s and 40s by Ina MacRae who was born in 1904. Ina was one of three daughters to Scottish travelling draper, John MacRae, and after her father’s death in 1919, she moved with her mother and two sisters from Colchester to…