Innholdsfortegnelse for 93 i Today's Quilter

And just like that our first Christmas issue is here! Although it might seem a tad early for some people, especially when the Autumn festivities have just begun, we like to get started early with all our Christmas makes, especially if you are giving any away as presents to family and friends. Our stunning cover project, which is a traditional medallion quilt, is sure to impress, and will look beautiful displayed in your home not only at Christmas, but throughout the year. If you love using Half-square Triangles, but want to make lots at once, then Lynne Goldsworthy’s green and red stars design is just for you. There is also a gorgeous Liberty design, featuring tree and house blocks. The perfect make to give a little one to snuggle under…

Pieces of Time Even though the weather is changing and the days are getting shorter and colder, let Ellie’s Quilt Places bring a bit of brightness and sunshine into your sewing room. The Pieces of Time collection is a mix of traditionally-inspired prints and vibrant colours. Blend brights and dark rich tones with cream essentials to suit your longed-for colour palette this season. www.eqsuk.com Softpaw Vintage When we look back on the history of quilting, the practice itself conjures up ideas of practicality, sustainability and an element of magic in the making of something beautiful out of something otherwise ordinary – think using scraps of paper for EPP or using fabric leftovers to make a scrappy quilt. One artist who understands this wonderful sentiment inside out is Taylor Nelander, owner…

The Dressmakers Ball 1 October Bringing the sewing community together at any chance they get, Crafty Sew and So are announcing the return of The Dressmakers Ball for 2022! Previously taking place in 2019, the event is now in its third year and has been a wonderful success, bringing dressmakers and sewers from all over the country together. Including dinner, a catwalk to show off glorious gowns and outfits, as well as live music. The Ball provides an opportunity for dressmakers to challenge themselves with a special occasion make, dress to impress and party the night away. Plus, awards given for best outfits! Added extras include goodie bags for guests, charity prize draw and a special cocktail for the evening. Tickets are £75 and can be purchased from the Crafty…

BEHIND THE QUILT LIBERTY CHRISTMAS Create a stunning quilt using the gorgeous Liberty A Woodland Christmas collection. Featuring traditional reds, forest and jade greens as well as blues, this collection’s prints include baubles, twinkling stars, lush berries and foliage plus dancing reindeer. Perfectly complemented with silver and gold from the Wiltshire Shadow collection, your quilt will be an heirloom in the making. You will need ■ Frost Berry A – ⅛yd ■ Enchanted Forest A – ¼yd ■ Enchanted Forest B – ¹/₆yd ■ Wiltshire Shadow Gold B – ¹/₆yd ■ Festive Baubles A – ⅝yd ■ Christmas Charm A – ⅞yd ■ Evergreen Glade A – ⅝yd ■ Winter Pine A – ⅝yd ■ Forest Star A (Border 1 and corner stones)– ½yd ■ Winterberry Holly A – ¾yd…

BEHIND THE PROJECT APPLIQUÉ JOY! “It’s always fun to have smaller projects to make in the run up to Christmas and this is definitely one of those. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to use some precious favourite Christmas scraps you have saved for something special. The collection of shapes in this month’s cover gift offers several possible designs. “We have included some variations here but why not have a go at your own! I love the shape of this arch; it can sit perfectly above a doorway or, if you use my tip in step 22, it will sit on a dresser or side board. Why not make one for a loved one with their family name on it!” – Paula Hope You will need ■ Background fabric – 14in…

INSPIRATION Repeat after me: ‘I love buying quilting tools’. I don’t know why, but we quilters know how to collect gadgets. And our scissors… now they are serious tools. We can never have too many, can we? But it really is quality over quantity – so let me share a few of my favourite scissors. Large blade, open finger shears Ever go to cut batting or trim your quilt sandwich after quilting and struggle to painlessly cut a straight line? Large blade, open handle shears are perfect for this. My go-to are a pair of Fiskars soft grip, ergonomic 10in shears designed to slide across the cutting table and reduce hand fatigue while cutting. They don’t have a thumb hole, instead there is an area where your thumb can move…

Alison Wood OHIO STARS Alison has sewn a real show-stopper (plus it is big in size) that is sure to become a family heirloom. Turn to page 18 to find the instructions and get started! Lynette Warren BLACK HISTORY MONTH Read this fascinating piece on three African American quilters, and how associations between women from different lives and backgrounds have cemented their quilts into posterity (pg 33). Nicola Dodd BOM QUILT REVEALED If you’ve been following along with Nicola every month with her Primrose Hill BOM series, then turn to page 72 to see how the final quilt is put together.…

THE FESTIVAL OF QUILTS SPECIAL l 2022 winners After no show in 2020 and a scaled-back event last year, it was wonderful to attend a near-to-normal Festival this summer. The pandemic continues to make its mark, but not necessarily in negative ways. Everyone seemed to appreciate the more spacious layout again this year, which gave plenty of room to stand back and admire the competition quilts and special galleries, and gave easier access to all the tempting goodies the traders had to offer. There were also plentiful seating and refreshment areas to take a much-needed break. It was lovely, too, that overseas visitors could once again travel to Birmingham – the international aspect is one of the things that makes the show so special and unique. As ever, there was…

TO RECEIVE ISSUE 94 AS YOUR FIRST COPY, SUBSCRIBE BEFORE 12 OCTOBER 2022. SEE PAGE 30 FOR DETAILS! Sew Christmas memories! Make a Scandi Winter Banner for your home with Yasmeen K. Branton’s design! • Andrea Walpole shares tips for turning your crafting into a profitable business…

THE FABRIC A WOODLAND CHRISTMAS Liberty Fabrics transports us to a magical winter wonderland with A Woodland Christmas collection. Charming scenes unfold within an enchanted forest where snowflakes fall around a Christmas cottage, and brightly-coloured baubles hidden among the evergreen firs complement traditional designs of holly and berries. For an extra sprinkling of festive magic, pops of metallic gold and silver twinkle throughout the collection. THE PROJECT QUILTED* FABRIC BALL ORNAMENTS Why not turn your favourite festive fabrics into gorgeous ball ornaments for your tree? Jenni, from SimpleBeans shop on Etsy has created two in-depth digital download tutorials for either Traditional Quilted* Christmas Ornaments or Cathedral Window Ornaments. Both PDFs contain detailed pictures and written instructions to help you create these gorgeous decorations. *Although there is no actual quilting in…

Since arriving in America, Africans have participated in every aspect of life. Quilting is no exception. People of colour have created quilts covering the entire spectrum of the craft. There is no affinity for colour, specific construction or stitching that unequivocally identifies the race of a quilter. To underscore that statement, let’s look at three 19th century contributions from quilters of colour. In reflecting on our collective quilt history, there is no doubt that world culture has played a significant part in overall quilt aesthetic. Though the African influence on quilting is indeed worldwide, this article will focus on three quilters of African descent in America and the part they’ve played in history. Quilts tell stories. Often these stories give voice to the quilter, often these quilts give voice to…

BEHIND THE QUILT CELESTIAL COLOURS In this quilt design I have taken a lot of very traditional piecing to create a multi pointed star using two sizes of half-square triangles (HSTs). Turning the design on point brings an added layer of interest into the quilt design and separating the blocks using sashing and cornerstones gives the blocks room to breathe. Although it looks like there is an enormous amount of work in this quilt, in fact a lot of the HSTs are pieced on paper in sets of twelve, which makes the whole process much quicker. It also avoids the lengthy trimming process associated with making HSTs in the traditional way. As with all quilt designs of this type, the thing you have to concentrate on the hardest is making…