Corris Uchaf, Wales
jane
Quilter who loves textiles, colour and design. I also paint a bit and sort of play several musical instruments.
Posts by jane
Cutting Fabric
Aug 14th
As we all know, the design process for a new quilt not only involves the creation of shapes in coloured fabrics with stitching patterns, but also includes the templates for the cut fabric.
This process is perhaps the most enjoyable for me, followed closed by the creation process where you sew the top together and then fill, back and quilt it all together
But, age seems to be catching up with me. The middle process (the actual cutting of the fabrics into shapes and sizes including seam allowance) now leaves me cold and sore.
Not just cold, but weary and with back problems due to leaning over my worktop and slicing or scissoring the bits of fabrics I want from my stash. Is “scissoring a word?.
I need a cutting fairy (rather like a tooth fairy in a way) who will take my sketches and colour charts and will just, as if by magic, cut the fabrics for me so that I can enter the shop one morning having left the designs overnight, and hey-presto everything is ready for sewing. Is this just too much to ask?
End of my back problems – but start of old age illusions I guess … Oh well, back to my roller blade …
The Quilt Index
Aug 13th
Found this when looking for something else, just as you do.
It seems such a good idea as well, catalogue properly all quilts that it can, together with details of the quilter and where it is currently housed.
Not sure I can say much more as a whole waft of the website is about copyright – I’m not even sure if I should be mentioning at all.
Shame as I was really sold on the whole concept.
Corris Show
Aug 9th
It is the Corris Show on Sat 4th September 2010
The usual type of village show including veg, fruit & flowers, and handicrafts.
I’m thinking of putting an entry into the handicrafts section. But, I’m also thinking that I should stay away from all the fabric sections, most especially patchwork and quilting. That just would not be fair.
So, I’m thinking of making a flower in an oasis mounted in a glass eggcup.
Can see it in my mind’s eye and I have all the ingredients (except for the eggcup which I hope to borrow from someone), just need the time and patience!
We’ll see – but anyway, if you are in or around Corris in Sat 4 Sept 2010 and want to pay our local school a visit you will be pleasantly surprised instead to find our local show.
Hope to see you then, just don’t forget to say hello ….
Ollie of Ollie’s Quilt
Aug 8th
Just stumbled upon a picture of the Heroine of our tale as discussed here.
So here she is (with just a hint of her work in progress at the bottom of the picture) although looking very much less animated than usual probably because of the camera!
Ladies and Gentlemen – may I present Ollie of Ollie’s Quilt
OLLIE
Stitched: art quilter documentary
Aug 7th
A film about quilting? Or perhaps more pertinently a film about quilting against time, against tradition and against other adverse circumstances?
We can all identify with at least two of these and maybe the other as well.
Stitched: art quilter documentary.
Should be an eye-opener, I hope to catch the full version when released, but the site has a clip available….
Ollie’s Quilt
Aug 6th
Ollie is a local gentlewoman who sometimes works with me in the shop and who rarely used a needle and thread.
All that was to change, as Ollie came to the conclusion that working in a quilting shop should encourage her to do “something”. Perhaps nothing too adventurous, but something.
She therefore decided to look at how a basic block was built. Start with a log cabin or similar said I.
So, she did. She gathered some fabrics and decided on a suitable colour scheme with complementary fabric patterns. She measured and she cut (even including the seam allowance) and put the fabrics together to give her an end product of roughly a 12″ square.
“But, Can you sew it for me as I can’t sew”. After some cajoling, Ollie herself sewed together her square.
Brilliant – now what? She decided, having got this far, to make a quilt made up of the same square repeated. I’m getting seriously impressed here.
And so she continue, part-time, over several days and weeks to construct the basis of her quilt top. She put all the squares together and found the overall pattern she liked, and between us we joined them up for a finished top.
We tried several border ideas, came up with the best match and again as a team we made the border. Wadding and a simple backing were added and all were joined together and attached as one.
Wow, Ollie had a quilt and as pleased as punch.
Quite right too – first ever effort and a grand result. The actual quilting itself I did with her help, just simple stitching to keep it all in place with nothing elaborate that might detract from her colour scheme, her fabrics, her design and her work:
Ollie's Quilt
The Festival of Quilts @ The NEC
Aug 5th
Running at the NEC, Birmingham from 19 – 22 August 2010 this is an exhibition not to be missed by any lover of textiles, sewing, vibrant colours and textures, and audacious imagination for this must be Europe’s leading quilting event of 2010
Workshops, competitions, amateur and professional works showcased, together with the stalls of scores of suppliers there is something to keep you occupied and entertained all day long.
Unlike 2009 I have no works in the competition, but I intend going as a spectator this year and hopefully I’ll see some of my friends and customers there ….
Bowling
Aug 2nd
Bowling – but not as you thought either the 10pin or Cricket variety.
Bowling – as in making bowls, fabric bowls from old string and waste fabric.
These have proved quite popular at local charity fund raising events and I’m not sure where the idea came from. Basically old fabric is coiled around string and then this combination is shaped into a bowl and machine stitched.
Simple, quick and fun ….
Patchwork Bowls
