CQ14 at the Harrogate Show

Undoubtedly CQ14 star of the show was Heather Pratt, seen here with her award, well-deserved, for Best Machine Quilting, for her quilt Mingulay - a Hundred Years On, which also came third in the Large Wallhanging category:

Heather has also sold her first quilt - parting with it must have been difficult but it has gone to a good home.  Her other quilt came second in the Theme category - again well deserved - pipped to the post only by Hilary Beattie's quilt which was runner-up to Best in Show.  Congratulations Heather - good to have such a talented quilter in our midst!

Other successes - Janet Bottomley came third in the Cot Quilt section with this lovely quilt using the crumbs technique (improvised piecing using leftover scraps).

Congratulations Janet, both on this and on the Judge's Merit for the group quilt made using leftover blocks from your group's International Quilting Day event earlier this year.

And to my delight and amazement I got a Judge's Choice for my Green Fuse hanging:

I also entered Sea Edges (having actually managed to finish it in the end!)  Kate Smith was kind enough to say she liked it best of my quilts (it's my favourite too, I must admit, but it tends to hide in the background in quilt shows).

 ...and a miniature quilt, Just for Fun, which to my amazement got third in the Miniature group

... which left me feeling rather embarrassed as I really felt Davina's mittens should have won the Miniature prize (it is much, much better than mine)

 Davina also got my vote for the piece with the most entertainment value - her theme entry contains numerous items beginning with 's' - how many can you see?

I think we've done pretty well especially for a new group.  But we do need more people to enter next year...

Hi Everyone.
Sorry I missed the last meeting, but am feeling much better now.
Good to see lots of you at Festival of Quilts.  I had a couple of days working on the Guild stand and a day round on the Saturday.  Here are a couple of items I made (well started) at Festival.  I went to a quick and easy workshop with Karin Hellaby where I started the 'hexapillow' with woolies fabric and felt applique.  The seahorse postcard was made at the Region 14 breakfast which was really excellent.  Congratulations to the organising team.  Hazel Williams was leading the postcard workshop done with the wax crayon method, hand embroidery and beading. Both items just a bit of fun and relaxation after the hard work setting up and manning the Guild stand.  See you all soon.

July meeting

Another really good meeting at Clifford, beginning with a talk from Davina, who is also a member of the Miniature Group (one of the other QG specialist groups).  She brought along a huge range of beautiful pieces, some of them very tiny indeed:

A number of the pieces above are inspired by the work of Janet Bolton.  They are amazingly tiny

A range of tiny miniatures, some made as presents - birthday, housewarming and so on.

One of my favourites - love the colours!

And this one won an art competition: a picture of the windmills near Denholme, Bradford, set onto the Ordnance Survey map.

And this is Davina herself, with her quilt (in the shape of a teacup) based on Clarice Cliffe.

She also brought along two quilts, including a theme quilt for Harrogate and a beautiful piece also destined for the Miniature section in Harrogate.  Not shown here - you'll have to wait for the show!

A great deal of the remainder of the day was taken up with discussion of the numerous items people had brought along for the Show and tell:

Margaret M and Carol had been to Kate Smith's Disappearing Nine-Patch workshop

and are continuing to explore the many and varied ways in which this technique can be used to produce designs...

and being the prolific people they are had also produced quilts/tops from a workshop on Japanese design given by Gene Bowen:

 

and Leah also attended this workshop and produced two pieces:

And Val Barnard, Andrea and Kath Morrison brought quilts they had made for other people:

Jackie brought a selection of fabrics she had made:  unfortunately one of the most intriguing, made of crumpled brown paper painted red - intended originally for a "red rooster" journal quilt, did not photograph well, but here are the others.  The first has fibres layered with organza (?)

and three pieces of discharged fabrics using different types of twists/folds:

I really should have taken notes then I could have provided more exact details.

Heather showed two beautiful quilts - not shown here because they are bound for Festival of Quilts and the Harrogate Show where they should do very well.  Heather has also offered to bring her work to present to the group at a future meeting.

I brought a couple of unfinished pieces as well, but again these are going to Festival of Quilts so I would prefer not to show them here.  But here's a teaser (this quilt eventually had hop leaves and tendrils added to the vines) complete with quality tester (note the matching eyes!)

Look out for the names Davina Adams, Heather Pratt and Sandra Wyman at the shows this summer!  Django the cat will not be going...

We had intended to discuss ways of approaching designing your own quilts, and there was to be a session on using weird and wonderful fabrics, but the first had to be deferred  because of lack of time, and the second seemed redundant (after seeing the amazing fabrics people had used in their quilts.

And Jacke reckoned it was worth coming from Staithes for: you can't say better than that!

A fond farewell

Just to let you know that sadly I will be unable to come to the next meeting on the 7th because I will be in Cornwall. We were unable to find a house to buy so we're renting for six months or so.

I am thinking about my "Treasures" piece and I hope to be able to come to the meeting on the 8th December to show it off.

As if I haven't got enough to do, I'm doing another online course at Craftsy which is taking me back to some more traditional patchwork making things from Jelly Rolls. It's good practice for me because I missed out on the basics and went into "ART" before I really knew anything. So I'm taking time to learn  a  few basic techniques in between packing boxes!

These pieces are the first things I've made

Next up is the quilting, but that will have to wait until we've moved in to our new home.

It has been a real pleasure getting to know you all and I will miss you. Sandra has my new address which she will let you have if you'd like it, but we don't yet have a phone number. My email address will stay the same.  Please keep in touch and if you happen to be visiting Falmouth or nearby, please call in. I will be at Festival of Quilts until the Saturday and am staying at the Holiday Inn Express so I might run into some of you then.

Bye for now!

Penny xxx

Stencilling on Fabric

I missed the session when CG14 members did stencilling on fabric with markel paintsticks - so I had a go this week.  I did the first layer on Wednesday morning and was late leaving for work.  I drove about two miles down the road and realised I'd forgotten my lunch - so I was even later!!  Quilting rules! 

This is the first layer of stencilling ~ I did it on hand dyed cotton fabric.

After a second application the colour is a little stronger - it is now layered up and ready for quilting!

Postcards

Here are a few postcards developed from the printing/drawing fun session we had a while ago.  Just some simple hand stitching, machining and beading.  Good fun.

 

 

 

Pulling ideas together

I was really inspired by Janet Bottomley's Liberated Quilting workshop and driven to see how the techniques would develop on a larger scale. I made the Diamond Jubilee in asterisk squares and even got the T-Shirt. I went on to make the pointed stars in some very challenging colours which I am calling Commonwealth. I mused over Sandra's workshop products that we created using wax crayons, acrylic paints and then embellished with fabric pens. I could not find a way to pull them all together so I dyed them with reactive dyes and created my Raspberry Delight. It was all great fun and I learnt so much pulling the Liberated Quilts together whilst incorporating the other techniques that we have explored so far. Can't wait for the next meeting.

Treasure

Treasure is the theme of the challenge for the group decided on at last week's meeting.  It came from someone saying they would love to work on something related to the Staffordshire Hoard (the picture shows a piece from the hoard, a fitting for the hilt of a sword, made from gold and set with garnets).  Fairly speedily we swooped on the theme of treasure (having decided that a broad theme that could be interpreted in various ways would be the most likely to inspire us).  So: challenge details as follows:

• interpret the them in any way you choose
• any size from postcard upwards
• as many or as few pieces as you like
• flat or 3D
• any techniques
• deadline is the last meeting of the year, which is on the 8th December

All these things have been kept deliberately as open as possible to enable people to join in in any way they like.

Also at the meeting we decided that sharing and learning were our priorities, though which of these came first varied from one person to another: some wanted to get on with making whilst others wanted time to explore new techniques.  The upshot of the discussion was that meetings would be more flexible: with time for people to come and sew and share ideas but with the opportunity, as an optional activity, for people to have the chance to learn new techniques/try out new approaches and materials.  Hopefully this will cater both for people who are suffering from technique overload as a result of doing City and Guilds recently as well as those who are relative newcomers to contemporary quilting.

One are that came to the fore was the need to have a new approach to the "Show and Tell" sections of meetings, including not just finished items but also works in progress,  either as a means of sharing with people the ways in which things happen for each of us, or asking for advice when we get stuck: again what we share is also optional - if anyone feels the need to eep their work under wraps until it's finished that's OK too.

This has been a long post - sorry - I'll conclude with the dates of future meetings: all Saturdays, all at Clifford Village Hall:  July 7th (sorry about the distance between meetings here, but the hall is undergoing renovation work on the date we'd originally booked); August 4th; October 20th; December 12th.  Hope to see you there!

Hello from Sandra

Hi there - thought I'd better introduce myself.  I'm Sandra and I am the convenor of this group (for those who don't know me!).  I did my first patchwork (a maxi-skirt in large hexagons, pieced over paper) in 1971, continued with it intermittently until the mid 1980s when I learnt how to do it properly.  When I had to retire prematurely from teaching through ill health (ME/CFS) in 1993, it was a lifesaver: even when I couldn't do much else (at the time I couldn't even knit because my hand-muscles gave out) I could always do a bit of hand-stitching and it really helped to be able to play with colour and design.  A few years later I was once again able to sit at the sewing-machine again and I was off, eventually taking City and Guilds with Christine Shaw at Askham Bryan College and some time later starting a business dyeing fabrics for dyers and quilters, which lasted for about three years before I had to give it up (good at dyeing, hopeless at running a business especially the finances!)

Nowadays I'm properly retired and spend a lot of time sewing and the remainder of it procrastinating. I joined Contemporary Quilt in 2008 and really enjoy it especially the companionship of like-minded people.  I'm based in Leeds and am also a member of Alwoodley Quilters, as well as occasionally attending CQ groups in Manchester and Cheshire.

As well as quilting I read a lot and do the occasional bit of drawing and painting (not very good but I learn a lot from doing it!)

HELLO

Hi val trying out my first ever blog, before I start on my C&G folder I am a little behind and folders go to tutor next month so it's all go. Will be able to attend CQ14 when this is over at the end of 2012

Mug Rugs

Here's a photo of some mug rugs I made after the workshop with Janet Bottomley a couple of sessions ago.  They have been passed on to Region 13 for the 'Stitch a Gift' tombola at FoQ.

HELLO

Hi Everyone.  Carol here.  This is my first time posting anything on a blog, so hope it goes ok.  Just joined CQ and received invitation to CQ Yahoo Group today, so hope to learn a lot.  Been out taking photos of bluebells in a friend's wood today with my  husband, so maybe a small piece of work will develop from these.  I will post a photo when I get them off my camera!

Have a good weekend everyone, off to collect my soon to be 21 year old daughter from a train shortly.

Introductions

Hello all
My name is Chris Beavers and I dabble in quilting and would do more if I could organise my time better!

Thank you to Sandra for sending me this link as I have been unable to attend any of our CQ Fourteen meetings because of other commitments but am hoping to in the future.

There is mention of a challenge - will details be posted here as and when you get time?

Just a short post today as it is Embroiderers' Guild day and I still have paperwork to do for the upcoming exhibition which must be ready by 10.00 a.m.
Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Hello

Just testing the link and it works! Well done Sandra. Now we can all share our ideas, views and work whenever the mood takes us!

I'm not going to be doing much for the challenge at the moment as my current challenge is to find somewhere to live! Spent yesterday afternoon in the attic with my dear daughter and apart from the dust, we got rid of loads of stuff that I know I'm not going to use. There is the fabric mountain of course, but I'm afraid at the moment that has to stay!

Perhaps I'll get to meet up with some people at FOQ, but if not I hope to see everyone at the December meeting.

Penny

WELCOME

OK so having gone on a huge learning curve (gradually I am learning to be more technologically competent) we finally have a CQ Fourteen blog.  Any members of the Quilters Guild Region 14 who are also members of Contemporary Quilt are entitled to be members, as are those who have expressed an interest in coming to the meetings (even if you have not made it yet!):  just contact me and I will send you an invitation.

The intention of the blog is to provide a virtual meeting place for members outside of the meetings, so that people can share what they are doing and keep in touch (especially important for those who can't get to all the meetings).  Anyone who's a group member can post.

The picture shows what my working conditions are like: Django the cat likes to be in on the action! (The quilt is my February journal quilt made from liberated blocks as in Janet's February workshop.