http://www.eclecticmaker.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=66_102_333
Ohhhhhhhh now hello after a wee while away busy working at ourreal jobs we mananged ot locate some fabuolous fabrics etc. No other and suitable modern retro ... this gorgeous gorgeous modern fabric to make into something screamingly modern yet ultra retro...
Reminds me of grnadmas curtains .
THe Modern quilt guild continues to expand in the UK and USA as well as the rest of the world . Sadly Norfolk appears beset by geography and problems getting our name out in the Quilting society mag!
But we will NOT FAIL !
Have you seen the gorgeoues quilt for the QUILTCON?? made with blocks donated from all around the world sadly none from the UK made it or appear to have arrived .
THe spare blocks have gone to be made into otehr quilts ot go to the childrens hospital . Should be amazing. I can only go ifI win the lottery .
Keep on sewing !
Tuesday 23 October 2012
Thursday 12 July 2012
TIPS and SUGGESTIONS
HELLOOOO!!! to all followers new and not so new ( cos no one is old on here well not in spirit ) . ~Yesterday I completed line 10 and 11 of 12 block sections of the Red and white quilt I am making.
It is HUGE .... well big enough to cover a kingsize bed and it is looking good.
Now today is really about a lesson I learned whilst making this quilt. I will also include reasons because tbh I hate being told to do something and not understand why so I personally choose to tell you what I know and why I choose to do this .You can make up yr own mind .
1. Cut everything on the same day using the same ruler system and the same NEW blade.
Reason Yr cutting errors will be consistent ... if you chose to be slightly more generous it will be consistent generosity .
2. Use a NEW blade .
Reason sharp blades cut better, faster, and more accurately and more neatly and will save you time and moeny in the long run. When I say NEw I mean newly sharpened. Invest in a sharpener and keep yr blades sharp and in a special blade box for use.
Reason Saves money and makes for faster cutting.
3.Read the pattern
Reason... nothing worse than wrecking a fabulous pattern becuase you cut wrong , make sure you have enough fabric and if you are a bit short get some extra sourced very quickly and pray it comes from the same print batch.. not so much a problem for small fabric runs but you never know.
4.. Sewing the magic scant 1/4 inch seam really does help keep it all accurate.
OK it;s not so important for improv work but it does help keep seam bulk down .
Reason scant to me means move the needle over 1 position....... ie it takes 1mm from the 6mm so it would be a 5mm seam or takes 1/16th inch ... depending on yr flavour of measurement.
Please do a check to make sure your consistent ... do NOT do as I did and push the move button TWICE ................................................................hold breath..... count to 10..............9................8..... yup I screwed up big time .
I sewed something like 130 seams with a 1mm error... but NOT just 1mm, it was doubled... as it was 1mm out on both sides of the fabric.... yup I made a 2mm in EVERY one of those seams ... nowyou take 12 batches of 2mm and you have 24mm..........1 inch .!!! HOLY BAT stuff................ I was nearly an inch out by the end of some of the chain seams.
SO PLEASE check and double check .
5. HAIR TRIMMING those damn threads at the back... yup I hate them too and there is no way to deal with them other than sitting with a pair of sharp snips and taking them off every time you finish a strip. I actually take a whole evening to strip out old threads
REASON these threads can become conmpacted and tangle with threaads during quilting . They can wreck your beautiful work all because you couldn't be bothered earlier. They look untidy and if you enter comps can lose you points and points make prizes.
6. Pressing (not ironing, pressing) press with a hot iron to press open seams press to the dark side is the suggested way but some prefer "open" seams .
REASON These reduce bulk in junction seams. ~I hate pressing but I make myself do it. I buy a simple ( cheap) iron and keep it ONLY for my sewing work .
7.ENJOY WHAT YR DOING sometimes we all bite off more than we can chew and I am a grade A individual for not being able to say "No" and designing something tiny and doing a BSJohnson and it ends up the size of a wooley mammoth ( Terry Prachett readers will get the BSJ ref) If you hate it shove it in a bag,drawer ,bin and don;t break yr heart over it . It;s only fabric , you will not go to jail for not completeing it . you will not end up in detention . You WILL end up a lot calmer and happier and tbh ... do you want to be a cranky cow just because of a bit of sewing ?? OK if it is a big piece and yr fed up with it either bag it and take a break or pass it on to someone wh will finish it for you . It;s sewing and nothing more.
Right I am going to cut my pieces for my block for my next Sew Swapit swap.
Kepp on sewing and be happy . Accept what yu have as a real blessing and be happy with what you have. Don;t waste yr life crying about what you envy .
Love Raven xxxxx
It is HUGE .... well big enough to cover a kingsize bed and it is looking good.
Now today is really about a lesson I learned whilst making this quilt. I will also include reasons because tbh I hate being told to do something and not understand why so I personally choose to tell you what I know and why I choose to do this .You can make up yr own mind .
1. Cut everything on the same day using the same ruler system and the same NEW blade.
Reason Yr cutting errors will be consistent ... if you chose to be slightly more generous it will be consistent generosity .
2. Use a NEW blade .
Reason sharp blades cut better, faster, and more accurately and more neatly and will save you time and moeny in the long run. When I say NEw I mean newly sharpened. Invest in a sharpener and keep yr blades sharp and in a special blade box for use.
Reason Saves money and makes for faster cutting.
3.Read the pattern
Reason... nothing worse than wrecking a fabulous pattern becuase you cut wrong , make sure you have enough fabric and if you are a bit short get some extra sourced very quickly and pray it comes from the same print batch.. not so much a problem for small fabric runs but you never know.
4.. Sewing the magic scant 1/4 inch seam really does help keep it all accurate.
OK it;s not so important for improv work but it does help keep seam bulk down .
Reason scant to me means move the needle over 1 position....... ie it takes 1mm from the 6mm so it would be a 5mm seam or takes 1/16th inch ... depending on yr flavour of measurement.
Please do a check to make sure your consistent ... do NOT do as I did and push the move button TWICE ................................................................hold breath..... count to 10..............9................8..... yup I screwed up big time .
I sewed something like 130 seams with a 1mm error... but NOT just 1mm, it was doubled... as it was 1mm out on both sides of the fabric.... yup I made a 2mm in EVERY one of those seams ... nowyou take 12 batches of 2mm and you have 24mm..........1 inch .!!! HOLY BAT stuff................ I was nearly an inch out by the end of some of the chain seams.
SO PLEASE check and double check .
5. HAIR TRIMMING those damn threads at the back... yup I hate them too and there is no way to deal with them other than sitting with a pair of sharp snips and taking them off every time you finish a strip. I actually take a whole evening to strip out old threads
REASON these threads can become conmpacted and tangle with threaads during quilting . They can wreck your beautiful work all because you couldn't be bothered earlier. They look untidy and if you enter comps can lose you points and points make prizes.
6. Pressing (not ironing, pressing) press with a hot iron to press open seams press to the dark side is the suggested way but some prefer "open" seams .
REASON These reduce bulk in junction seams. ~I hate pressing but I make myself do it. I buy a simple ( cheap) iron and keep it ONLY for my sewing work .
7.ENJOY WHAT YR DOING sometimes we all bite off more than we can chew and I am a grade A individual for not being able to say "No" and designing something tiny and doing a BSJohnson and it ends up the size of a wooley mammoth ( Terry Prachett readers will get the BSJ ref) If you hate it shove it in a bag,drawer ,bin and don;t break yr heart over it . It;s only fabric , you will not go to jail for not completeing it . you will not end up in detention . You WILL end up a lot calmer and happier and tbh ... do you want to be a cranky cow just because of a bit of sewing ?? OK if it is a big piece and yr fed up with it either bag it and take a break or pass it on to someone wh will finish it for you . It;s sewing and nothing more.
Right I am going to cut my pieces for my block for my next Sew Swapit swap.
Kepp on sewing and be happy . Accept what yu have as a real blessing and be happy with what you have. Don;t waste yr life crying about what you envy .
Love Raven xxxxx
Tuesday 15 May 2012
I've been out and about pressing the flesh and our cards onto quiilters in hte area in an attempt to get us sewing.
so following some ideas from other MQGuilds in the world we are going to have a LOG CABIN CHALLENGE.
Now you may know Log cabin to be the basis of many designs and quilts you;ve seen . It;s an easy block to do and givesl ots of opportunity to show yr fabric and skill of colour choice .
So by the 14th June I'd love to see you 10 inch log cabin block .
here aresome examples for inspiration . http://www.flickr.com/groups/modernlogcabinquilting/
Good luck and happy sewing.
so following some ideas from other MQGuilds in the world we are going to have a LOG CABIN CHALLENGE.
Now you may know Log cabin to be the basis of many designs and quilts you;ve seen . It;s an easy block to do and givesl ots of opportunity to show yr fabric and skill of colour choice .
So by the 14th June I'd love to see you 10 inch log cabin block .
here aresome examples for inspiration . http://www.flickr.com/groups/modernlogcabinquilting/
Good luck and happy sewing.
Tuesday 24 April 2012
May challenge
You may ( ah may MAy hahah !) be aware that QUILT.con is in Feb 2013 and in Texas .. it;s unlikely that many from the UK will be packing their machines and tootling off for 3 days of fun .
You may be aware through the MQG website they are holding a block competition that uses certain colours to make a block that could win a place in a quilt tobe given as the grand prize at the final day of Quilt con.
We have at Norwich MQG a pack of 1/2 yard cuts of the solids ( read plain) fabrics which are the colours requested by the MQG committee.
You are welcome to have either samples or purchase a selection of the colours max of 1/8 cut .Sadly I have to charge as I have personally purchased and paid for shiping from the USA .
You could choose to make a wonky log cabin or something completely off the wal land you can post yr pics either here or on .....
http://themodernquiltguild.com/2012/04/23/quiltcon-block-challenge-flickr-group/
Good luck and happy sewing.
You may ( ah may MAy hahah !) be aware that QUILT.con is in Feb 2013 and in Texas .. it;s unlikely that many from the UK will be packing their machines and tootling off for 3 days of fun .
You may be aware through the MQG website they are holding a block competition that uses certain colours to make a block that could win a place in a quilt tobe given as the grand prize at the final day of Quilt con.
We have at Norwich MQG a pack of 1/2 yard cuts of the solids ( read plain) fabrics which are the colours requested by the MQG committee.
You are welcome to have either samples or purchase a selection of the colours max of 1/8 cut .Sadly I have to charge as I have personally purchased and paid for shiping from the USA .
You could choose to make a wonky log cabin or something completely off the wal land you can post yr pics either here or on .....
http://themodernquiltguild.com/2012/04/23/quiltcon-block-challenge-flickr-group/
Good luck and happy sewing.
Monday 19 March 2012
Well Hello... Welcome to the new pages for Norwich Modern Quilt Guild .
Due to technical problems with our previous pages it was decided ot move to a more interactive bloggerstlye page and hope you enjoy reading and joining in.
Norwich Modern Quilt Guild aim to support both new and experienced quilters expand their repertoire of skills and personal styles that reflect both the ethos of Modern QUilting as well as embracing Traditional patchwork and quilting and Art quilts.
Many people ask what is "modern Quilting" and it;s a question that rattles around a lot ... a definition by the MQG is given on http://themodernquiltguild.com/ it might be sometimes easier to think of Modern quilting as functional art ! Many of the people engaging in MQ have their own design skills , an alternative vision of what quilts should look like .
If we look at work by people like Elizabeth Hartman http://www.ohfransson.com/ there are many traditional skills but some really fresh ideas on design.
http://www.handmadebyalissa.com/ offers lots of new ideas from a relatively new quilter and also founder of MQG.
Red Pepper Quilts is slightly more traditional in design but uses bright colours http://www.redpepperquilts.com/
http://www.thequiltengineer.com/ Latifah offers design and engineering insights into quilt making to please herself.
All of these people are really different in their design and strategy for making quilts ... some use trad piecing but completely break the rules on colour or pattern ... lots of neutral space with plain solids lets some of the faulous new fabrics we see work rather than become lost in a mish mash of colour and pattern.
MQ needs to run along side traditional quilting much like romance novels sit along side murder mysteries in the library ... they may have different covers, have different agendas, appeal to different people but underneath they are words... quilts are quilts blankets for keeping us warm , wrapped in hugs and love, and quilts should not be a means to argue, fall out or take moral high ground !
Modern quilters appear to be happy to learn, listen, engage, enthuse, chat, network and not least sew and quilt. We support, console, encourage and sew ( cake eating and coffee /tea drinking included ) .
Norwich MQG principally meets online due to geographical constraints so sign up and get yr emails with meet ups and challenges.
Due to technical problems with our previous pages it was decided ot move to a more interactive bloggerstlye page and hope you enjoy reading and joining in.
Norwich Modern Quilt Guild aim to support both new and experienced quilters expand their repertoire of skills and personal styles that reflect both the ethos of Modern QUilting as well as embracing Traditional patchwork and quilting and Art quilts.
Many people ask what is "modern Quilting" and it;s a question that rattles around a lot ... a definition by the MQG is given on http://themodernquiltguild.com/ it might be sometimes easier to think of Modern quilting as functional art ! Many of the people engaging in MQ have their own design skills , an alternative vision of what quilts should look like .
If we look at work by people like Elizabeth Hartman http://www.ohfransson.com/ there are many traditional skills but some really fresh ideas on design.
http://www.handmadebyalissa.com/ offers lots of new ideas from a relatively new quilter and also founder of MQG.
Red Pepper Quilts is slightly more traditional in design but uses bright colours http://www.redpepperquilts.com/
http://www.thequiltengineer.com/ Latifah offers design and engineering insights into quilt making to please herself.
All of these people are really different in their design and strategy for making quilts ... some use trad piecing but completely break the rules on colour or pattern ... lots of neutral space with plain solids lets some of the faulous new fabrics we see work rather than become lost in a mish mash of colour and pattern.
MQ needs to run along side traditional quilting much like romance novels sit along side murder mysteries in the library ... they may have different covers, have different agendas, appeal to different people but underneath they are words... quilts are quilts blankets for keeping us warm , wrapped in hugs and love, and quilts should not be a means to argue, fall out or take moral high ground !
Modern quilters appear to be happy to learn, listen, engage, enthuse, chat, network and not least sew and quilt. We support, console, encourage and sew ( cake eating and coffee /tea drinking included ) .
Norwich MQG principally meets online due to geographical constraints so sign up and get yr emails with meet ups and challenges.
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