Innholdsfortegnelse for 76 i Today's Quilter

Summer is almost here... though, as I am writing this and looking out the window at the grey clouds looming, it seems a long way off! However, rainy days give quilters the perfect excuse to head to their sewing room and work on any of the several projects most have on the go at one time. This issue is filled with inspiration and ideas to keep you busy, from small projects to large quilts. Find curves galore in Jo Avery’s Flowering Snowball quilt, as well as Lynne Goldsworthy’s fresh take on the Dresden Plate. Both projects are great for showing off fabric collections or using up some of your stash. We also love Nicola Dodd’s Summer Baskets design, featured on the cover in all its glory, which has been designed…

Gardenlife by Tilda Open up your sewing studio to the gorgeous colours and patterns of summer with Tilda’s brand-new collection, Gardenlife. Featuring fresh pinks, teals, mustards, mints, lilacs and corals, this beautiful fabric family will have you swooning over its vintage botanicals in modern hues and iconic blooms such as poppies, nasturtiums, peonies and petunias. Perfect for all those quilting projects you’ve been dreaming of for months! For stockist information, email groves@stockistenquiries.co.uk New! Hemline Gold Collection Treat yourself (and your sewing box!) to some new sewing notions… because you can never have too many, right? The luxurious Hemline Gold Collection features premium sewing accessories for you to swoon over! Inspired by the rich history of haberdashery, the collection draws its influence from traditional Victorian aesthetics and craftsmanship, with elegant and…

I hope this issue finds you well. I know that I’ve found such joy and restoration in the warmth of the sun and being outside. I hope you have too! As a family, we are making a concerted effort to explore the beaches that are near to us. My children love the sea, and we all now have wetsuits, so even I might take a little dip... if it’s warm enough! Sometimes, we really do have to embrace what we have right on our doorstep. This issue, I’m excited to explore how quilts connect us to the past. How antique quilts can tell us about daily life in times gone by through the imagery and techniques used, and how, through research, we can uncover all kinds of stories about people…

“A Flowering Snowball quilt has been on my to-do list for many years. I’ve always been fascinated by optical illusion type quilts, especially those with curves, and this design has to be the ultimate kaleidoscopic curved pattern. When I first encountered this quilt, I thought it would have to be hand-pieced, maybe even over papers as it looked so complex, but it’s actually very straightforward and surprisingly speedy to piece on the machine. The cutting out is another matter though, and the curved piecing can’t be rushed too much if you want those important points to match. “I drew up my version of the block with a much larger centre square than the classic pattern. This has helped accentuate the overlapping nature of the circles, and my subtle colour palette…

Help! I have trouble with set-in seams and often end up with uneven areas where the seams meet. How can I fix this? Try this… The main reason that Y seam junctions look bumpy is not starting and stopping exactly on the ¼in marks. The first mark is usually easy to get right, but for the one on the other end of the seam, it’s easy to stitch too far. Check the following things. ■ Make sure that your ¼in dots or marks are easy to see, especially when the work is on the machine. ■ Line up the dots perfectly, placing a pin through them both and then adding more pins to fix the fabric pieces into position. Ease to fit as needed. ■ Check your ¼in seam allowance…

You will need ■ Fabric A (background) – 22in x WOF ■ Assorted complementary scrap fabrics, plus leftovers from months 1-8 – approx. ½yd total ■ EPP Templates (see template section) ■ Paper Finished size ■ Approx. 5½in x 25in Notes ■ The above requirements are for all four borders. ■ WOF = width of fabric. ■ You need two-hundred-and-fifty-two (252) paper hexagon templates for the rosettes. This month, we will be making English paper pieced hexagon rosettes using ½in hexagon papers. Look at your fabrics from the previous blocks and make thirty-six (36) hexagon rosettes. Play with your fabric choices, looking for fussy cutting, stripes and other designs to see what you can make. Cutting out 1 From Fabric A, cut four (4) 5½in x 25in rectangles for the…

Jo Avery BOLD AND BRIGHT Sew a stunning fusion of colour and pattern with Jo’s joyful curved design (page 48) that’s sure to brighten up any room in your home. Debbie von Grabler-Crozier PRETTY & PRACTICAL Find Debbie’s bag project on page 71, featuring a colourful seaside scene, that’s perfect for days out at the beach! Yasmeen K Branton SEASONAL SERIES Yasmeen is back with another appliquéd beauty to hone your skills with. Find the next instalment in her seasonal cushion series on page 64.…

You will need ■ Coloured prints – Twenty-one (21) fat quarters* ■ Brown prints – Two (2) fat quarters* ■ Background – 4¼yds ■ Backing – 4½yds ■ Batting – 80in x 80in ■ Templates – Thirty-six (36) HST templates; one (1) Dresden wedge template; one (1) whole, one (1) half and one (1) quarter Dresden circle template (see templates section) ■ Bondaweb – 1yd Finished size ■ 72in square Fabrics used ■ Fabrics: Prim by Lori Holt for www.rileyblakedesigns.com ■ Batting: 279 Cotton Cutting out 1 From the coloured print FQs, cut the following: ■ Thirty-six (36) 4½in x WOFQ strips. ■ Thirty-six (36) 6¼in x 9¼in rectangles. ■ Fourteen (14) 2½in x WOFQ strips (for the scrappy binding). 2 From the brown print FQs, cut the following: ■…

A fantastic resource for makers, collectors and historians, this new edition of Barbara’s seminal publication contains over 4,000 pieced blocks from the 1830s to the 1970s. The new edition features colour illustrations alongside the line drawings. The book can also be combined with BlockBase+ software (sold separately), so readers can design their own quilts using blocks from in the book, and print out rotary cutting charts, templates and foundation paper-piecing patterns. Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns, third edition $59.95 The book and software are published by Electric Quilt Company and distributed in the UK by Search Press www.searchpress.com…

When cutting shapes A and B, position the straight edges of the templates on the straight grain of the fabric as much as possible. This will avoid having stretchy bias edges around the outside of the block, which can lead to distortion. Use a pin through the seams at the intersections to help you get matched-up points. If you are still struggling with them, try starting to stitch the seam just before the first point at the intersection of the centre square. Finish the seam in that direction before flipping over and returning to the starting point and finishing the rest of the seam.…

You will need ■ Denim fabric – ½yd ■ Blue background fabric – ½yd ■ Assorted solid fabric scraps ■ Lining fabric – ¾yd ■ Style-Vil foam interfacing – 1¼yds ■ 80/20 cotton mix wadding – ½yd ■ S320 fusible interfacing – One (1) fat eighth ■ Navy webbing (handles) – 2¼yds x 1½in ■ Cotton cord (handles) – 2yds x ¼in ■ One (1) ½in silver anorak snap ■ Four (4) silver rivets ■ Snap and rivet tools ■ Clear drying fabric glue Finished size ■ Approx. 16in x 20in Notes ■ Please read all instructions carefully before you begin. ■ Trim the selvedges away from all of the fabrics. ■ Use a ¼in seam allowance throughout. ■ Press every seam as it is sewn. ■ WOF = width…

Traditional method 1 Cut out your fabrics by tracing around your ½in hexagon template on the back of your chosen fabric, then adding a seam allowance of ¼in all around. 2 If you are fussy cutting, you will need to cut one shape out at a time on the same pattern repeat of the fabric for as many shapes as you need. Place the template on the right side of your fabric for this step. 3 Lay your fabric shape wrong side up and place the paper template on top, being careful to centre it. Fold over the first side and secure it with a paper clip. Fold over the next side and secure it with another paper clip or hold in place with your thumb. 4 With a needle…

This neat hexagons mosaic patchwork coverlet features a wonderful array of everyday printed cotton dress fabrics, randomly arranged in-between a very striking and unusual red and white hexagons design of four red six-pointed stars and a six-lined star (alternating white rosettes and red rosettes) in the centre. The Coverlet is also two sided, featuring a strippy design on the reverse. This has been done in an unusual way, as the strips have not been seamed together, but sewn in a ‘stitch and flip’ method to the hexagon patchwork front by sewing machine, so that lines of machine sewing can be seen on the front. It was made by Rose Rhodes (née Kaye), most probably in her 20s or early 30s, before her marriage to Ellis Rhodes in 1904. Rose was…

THE BOOK STITCHES OF TIME Flora and fauna abound in Deborah Dorward’s new book, as shown in this stunning Pomegranates and Peacocks design, one of the 14 projects featured in her book, using both appliqué and Broderie Perse. Compositions are designed around favourite classics like Medallions and Dresden Plates, and a technical chapter is included to help you with her go-to techniques – foundation and curved piecing, needle-turn and reverse appliqué, hand piecing and more! Stitches of Time by Deborah Dorward (32,00€) is available from Quiltmania www.quiltmania.com THE QUILT CHOCOLATE MINT SUNDAE With a delicious name like this, what’s not to love? Australian designer Irene Blanck’s gorgeous four block medallion quilt features reverse appliqué as well as two-toned leaves. One border is machine pieced whilst the rest of the quilt…

“It’s always fun to create a new quilt design using popular quilting motifs. The Dresden Plates block always looks good and is a great way to pull together lots of scrappy fabrics! I have combined whole, half and quarter Dresden blocks with joining strips of HSTs in chevron sections to add an extra element to the quilt design. Turning a design on-point then creates new interest to the whole quilt top, so you end up falling in love all over again! “I used Prim by Lori Holt, which comes in a lovely rainbow of feed-sack style, small-scale prints that are perfect for this sort of scrappy design. This quilt could just as well be made from all your scraps.”…

“There are so many wonderful things about summer; not least because the days are longer and the weather is warmer (some of the time)! For this cushion pattern, I wanted the design to represent some lovely things that I personally enjoy during this season. Clear blue skies, leisurely afternoon teas, bright flowers in the garden... and, of course, it wouldn’t be summer without scrummy seasonal strawberries! By choosing brightly coloured fabrics, it’s easy to bring a sense of happiness and seasonal delight into your own version!”…

“I am a bag designer and I love playing with ideas to put together the perfect tote or the quintessential backpack. A patched and quilted bag is a bit different to my usual style, but I loved the fact that this particular pattern was fabulous for using up smaller bits and pieces of fabric, so it is a great stash buster. I grew up in Australia, and although there are some good beaches, we don’t really do beach huts and I love them. To me, they somehow add something important to the landscape of a beach and that meant that they belonged on my beach bag!”…