Over the last couple of weeks I have been working on a series of patchwork basics videos which I am releasing both on my new IGTV ( Instagram TV), bevmayo_quilts, and YouTube.
I will be covering lots of patchwork blocks and techniques which will go together to make a modern sampler quilt.
Videos already released are
The Pinwheel Block
The Disappearing Pinwheel
And the Four Patch Block
All these blocks are starting from a 5″ square such as a charm pack, and show how versatile one can be with the addition of a plain fabric.
Don’t forget the fabric competition to celebrate the launch of the new channel
Don’t forget to add a comment to the Spirit of Flight blog post before 30th November 2020 to be in with a chance to win the beautiful fabric bundle.
There are still places available on the Cushions for Christmas course on Saturday 14th November. For more details and to book a place go to Cushions for Christmas
Todays blog post is going to be different to the one I had planned. I was preparing projects for the next couple of weeks, one of which is the Christmas dress for Robyn. I unwrapped the fabric which I purchased a couple of months ago ( I had left it in the plastic bag to keep it clean ) to find that the fabric had been ripped along the crossgrain and not cut straight from the fold. This method of “cutting” fabric works on the principal that the crossgrain – the Weft – is at right angles to the selvage and the Warp threads. However quite often in the weaving process the weft moves away from the right angle ( 90°) This can lead to a significant loss of fabric at both ends of the piece.
In this case there is a loss of 2″ at each end of the fabric. This is irritating for me but not too much of an issue as I ordered a couple of metres so I have plenty of fabric. So why write a blog post about it?
Imagine, as a patchworker, you have purchased a long quarter to make a bargello quilt. This is a piece of fabric which has a useable area 42″ ( selvedge to selvedge) by approx 10″ ( 25cms) If the fabric has been torn along the crossgrain and there is a fall away of 1″ at each end you have lost 2″ of useable fabric. It may be actually worse than that.
So how to cut the fabric to make sure this does not happen?
Firstly take the line to be cut from the FOLD of the fabric as the selvedge may be uneven.
line up ruler with the fold
Place a quilters ruler so that one of the inch lines is on the fold ensuring a right angle – 90°- at the fold.
one of the inch lines is on the fold
Walk your hand up the quilters ruler as you cut to prevent it from moving as you cut away from yourself.
this shows how much fabric is lost
Open the piece of fabric out and it should be perfectly straight across the fold.
I once purchased a jelly roll which had been cut at an angle which made it impossible to use for strip sets. Again there was a loss of fabric because of the V shaped fold and it limited how the jelly roll could be used.
ruler lined up to cut a 2½” strip
I hope that you have found this post useful when cutting fabric for patchwork
To celebrate the launch of my IGTV channel, I am giving the chance for one person to win a fabulous fabric bundle from the Spirit of Flight collection by Josephine Wall for 3wishesfabric.com.
The prize consists of this wonderful panel – measuring approx 42″ x 34″ ,and seven fat quarters of complimentary fabric from the same range.
To win this fabulous fabric bundle add a comment to this post with your favourite flying creature from the panel. Favourite flying creature from the panel comments on the Spirit of Flight social media posts will also be entered into the draw. This gives you up to four chances to win this fabric prize. ONE entry per platform.
The competition is being advertised on my social media platforms but is independent of any of the social media platforms mentioned.
The competition will run until 12.00 noon BST on Monday 30th November 2020 and the winner will be announced on all the above platforms, and on this blog, by 12.00 noon BST on Tuesday 1st December 2020.
You can make sure that you don’t miss the announcement of the winner by following me on the website or social media.
No purchase is necessary to enter the competition.
prize value £30.00 – there is no cash alternative.
This competition is not a sponsored event.
Competition is open worldwide but any Import duty is the responsibility of the winner if outside UK
This last week has flown by. I was over at Tudor Rose Patchwork near Bedford for my usual patchwork class on Wednesday. I haven’t seen many of my students since March and it was lovely to be back, seeing everyone and catching up.
It also gave me the opportunity to collect the fabric I ordered for a competition to launch my new IGTV channel. The beginning of the week was spent producing patchwork basics videos for both YouTube and IGTV. More about all of this in a separate post.
Thursday was the patchwork bag online course. It was a very relaxing day of hand stitching -although the technique can be done by machine. The online classes give me the opportunity to meet people from all around the country. It is lovely to hear their stitching stories and learn about the projects they have been doing during this very strange year.
Any spare time I have had was spent finishing my Christmas quilt. This is made from all the sample blocks I have made over the last couple of years, teaching and demonstrating the folded log cabin technique. It is really time for this one to be finished and to come off the design wall. Do you have any projects which need completing?
Looking forward to next week I will be at Tudor Rose Patchwork again on Wednesday ( unless the new lockdown is brought forward). More fabric has arrived and needs to be prepared for the Cushions for Christmas course, and any spare time will be used to edit patchwork basics videos. Luckily the weather is not too good at the moment so I am not too tempted to spend hours on my allotment
Last week I popped into one of my local Patchwork & Quilting shops, Bee Crafty at Ellington. I have not been there since the lockdown in March so it was lovely to catch up with Maddie and Polly. They have moved things around in the shop and made it safe for small workshops and shoppers alike. As usual when I am confronted with an array of beautiful fabrics I cannot stop myself from purchasing a few, even if I don’t have a specific project in mind.
The first is a lovely fabric collection by Annie Brady for Moda called Big Sky. I have added a Bumbleberries fabric by Lewis & Irene in Mustard to this set. This will brighten up the dark winter months.
The second group is “Rainbow Colours” by Stoffabrics.com, in a vibrant purple and pink colour way. Along with a textured pink from their “Brighton” Range it will be fun set to work with.
I also couldn’t resist a charm pack ” Confetti” by Me & My Sister Designs for Moda.
It is certainly a bright mixture of colours and patterns, and it has started the creative juices flowing this weekend. How many blocks can I make from one charm pack plus a plain white fabric? I have been busy playing around with the 5″ squares and will post the results of my experimentations next week.
Hope you are having a creative weekend – Happy Quilting – Bev
It is not long until Christmas and gifts will have to be posted by the end of November to make sure they arrive in time. Cushion covers make a unique and personal gift and are always welcome. In keeping with the time of year, I have added another workshop to the Christmas programme – Cushions for Christmas on Saturday 14th November.
Following on from the very enjoyable folded log cabin workshop I have extended the technique to make these wonderful textured cushions, Christmas fabrics add a touch of luxury to any chair or sofa.
If you would like to join me in the online class you can book a place at Craft Courses
This weekend I am preparing fabric for the folded patchwork bag zoom class. I have chosen to use the beautiful butterfly printed ‘Spirit of Flight’ I love the autumnal colours of the leaves print and the beautiful ombre butterflies. It is wonderful to work with such lovely fabrics.
The fabric has been cut folded and some of the squares prepared.
after quilting
The quilting was done with King Tut quilting thread and the bag handle will be a gold cord. I think it is going to be very luxurious when it is completed.
The bag workshop is on Thursday 29th October by zoom and you can book place at Craft Courses
All the block swap block are finished and I am still clearing out the studio. Things always seem to get more messy before they get better but now it is time to turn my attention to this years Christmas Gifts. Each year I give hand made gifts to my family. Table runners, sculptures, jams and chutney, raspberry gin and hand knitted socks are just some of the things made over the years.
This year I decided to learn how to crochet, so initially I thought that the gifts would show my progress. I started by making some little toys for Robyn and then tried to make a dress for her, but she grew too quickly for my efforts. Luckily, I thought, the Christmas gifts are not size dependent. Unfortunately my idea is something with a bit of weight and this year has not gone to plan to say the least. It looks as if all the gifts will have to be posted and so weight becomes a big factor.
So back to the drawing board. I looked through my stash of Christmas fabrics and have found that I have enough fabric left over from all the table runners I made ( using the Greta Table Runner pattern ) to make placemats. Using quilt as you go and stitch and flip methods these are quick and easy to make.
I also had a vey enjoyable zoom session with a friend this week, teaching her how to make a table mat using these methods. Although we can’t be together at the moment we can quilt together. She has sent me this photo of the lovely placemat she made with me. Many thanks to Sue for allowing me to share it with everyone.
This year has been strange to say the least. Not being able to teach in person for most of the year has been difficult. A workshop or class is much more than just learning a new technique. There is the chance to meet others with a shared interest and form new friendships and to catch up with old friends. It was wonderful to get back into the classroom at Tudor Rose Patchwork. They have worked very hard on making their shop and classrooms CV19 safe and making everyone welcome. It was the first time I had been back into a fabric shop all summer and I couldn’t resist buying some new fabrics.
Spirit of flight by Josephine Wall for 3wishesfabic.com
Spirit of flight by Josephine Wall for 3wishesfabic.com
Enchanted Garden – Scatter by Nutex.co.nz
As well as being back to teaching in the classroom, this week I held an online in person workshop for the Folded Log Cabin patchwork technique. Even though we were separated geographically, the online class brought together some old friends and we made new ones. For me as a tutor it felt very similar to the in person classroom setting. I spent time talking, demonstrating and making sure everyone was ok, and then all my students went quiet as they busily tackled the patchwork blocks.
It was a very productive day for everyone and here are some of the beautiful blocks produced.
Row 1 – Sally, Row 2 – Sara, Row 3 – Liz
For me, as a tutor, embracing new technology to help pass knowledge and skills on, is going to be more and more important. I like the interaction of the classroom and teaching small groups online keeps this interaction going. It was a pleasure to teach this class and even more rewarding when I was sent pictures of the blocks produced. I want to thank Sally, Sara and Liz for allowing me to share their blocks here.
The next online class is the patchwork bag on Thursday 29th October. You can book a place here
It’s now time to get back into the studio to set up for this afternoons Modern and Art Quilt Group online meeting.
The autumn clean is coming on with books and fabrics identified for sale. They have been put in the corner and are waiting for photographing and listing. This will have to wait now until next week as I have a busy few days, teaching. I have prepared the studio for the Folded Log Cabin patchwork lesson on Thursday. This is an online class and the tech has been tested and everything performed beautifully. My sister has actually ordered a log cabin, which she is going to use as a craft room for our mum and herself. I am looking forward to being able to have online crafting sessions with both of them soon. I hope that I haven’t jinxed it now, and that our Wi-Fi doesn’t glitch.
All the fabric has been prepared and sorted for the blocks. I am using layer cakes from Moda. The collection is called Winterlude by Three Sisters. I bought them a few years ago and have been adding blocks to the quilt each time I do a workshop. I think though that this will be the last workshop for this collection. I will have to look out for another collection for next years classes.
I have also been exploring different shapes and the Folded Log Cabin technique and made a fun sampler cushion. This was with William Morris inspired fabrics.
Tomorrow I am back to teaching in person at Tudor Rose Patchwork near Bedford. I have to admit to slight trepidation but I am looking forward to catching up with my students. It will be good to see everyone again. I think a mix of online classes and in person lessons are going to be here for the foreseeable future.
The main thing is to keep on enjoying our patchwork & quilting and any other crafts we do.
Bev Mayo 