Corris Uchaf, Wales
Quilting at Corris
Patchwork and Quilting work shop at Corris Craft Centre, Mid Wales
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
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
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
Holidays
Jul 18th
Yea — I’m going on my holiday tomorrow with my family for a break in the wilderness of Center Parks and then for a weekend with youngest at his home.
Really looking forward to it – an escape and a complete break.
Anyway, looking forward to the location, relaxing and being with my loved ones …. my assistant will be in the shop all week – so its almost business as usual. Be warned however, he cannot sew for a toffee. Otherwise he’ll try to do you justice, is enthusiastic and helpful …
Needlefelting will also open for you to enjoy your creativity with felt
I’ll still logon and update if I can – let me know of any problems ….
Byeeee — See You all in a week xxxxx
Design and Techniques
May 20th
I am currently running a series of one to one “workshops” (actually more like discussions amid laughter, while pretending to be ever so slightly serious) looking at how we quilters use colour and fabric and our imaginations in our new designs and how we can improve our techniques to further develop these designs.
Although lighthearted and convivial, the sessions explore our approaches to design and how we use our known techniques or learn new ones to implement them into the final quilt or wallhanging or whatever.
If you are interested in joining in – please drop me a line including suggested time / date – generally our shop in Corris is open 11:00 – 16:30 Mon – Sat inclusive.
Price – on application – basically the day is free – just pay for the fabrics used…
Should there be a rainy day in this corner of southern Snowdonia and you need somewhere to park yourself for the day (or part of) or just want that something a bit different whilst on holiday, let us know. You might even get a cup of Tea !! 
Contact us here.
Changed layout
May 12th
We’ve changed the layout – hopefully to make it easier to read … let us know if it works or not ….
Meanwhile, I am creating a 3d fabric wallhanging of a plant with puffed leaves and flowers on a quilted wollen stem with a heavily quilted backdrop.
As it is currently a work in progress visitors to our shop in Corris will be able to see the creation process as it occurs
The 2 recent quilt tops I’ve made are also on display as they hang prior to being quilted onto the wadding and backing – looking quite snazzy too, if I may say so myself 
Busy – quilting
Apr 30th
Silence on the blog – apologies.
Been busy, several new quilts on the go – as you know well choosing colours, fabrics, designing, cutting, stitching all take a lot of time. Or at least they do me …
No excuse not to write anything though, I know, and also no excuse not to put up some yet to be taken photographs and pictures of the quilt tops and the design ideas – some quite good designs and colours as well although I say it myself.
Also, done a couple of ad-hoc needlefelting courses – remember, if you are in the Corris area and fancy a go —> drop in and be creative with felt..
I shall take some pictures and post them here of the new quilts shortly — watch this space as it were
New quilt ideas
Mar 17th
So, have I been doing anything over the past few weeks ???
Well, yes actually. At least I’ve got several projects on the go at the moment.
I’m creating a patchwork of the local rugged scenery as seen from the forests to the south of Corris. This is being foundation pieced, I’ll show the original view, the design and the piecework as it develops …
Also, I getting all the grandchildren and their neices and nephews to help me make a quilt. The idea is that each child makes one 12″ square to learn sewing and quilting techniques, and then how to put a quilt together with all their ideas and creations included. As such it will be a joint effort, done together, learnt together, demonstrating how much fun quilting is as a group (bee).
At the same time, I am developing some new quilts based on the range of fabrics above – easy to get carried away with all the bright vibrant colours …. we’ll see how these progress over the next week or two.
So, quilting continues at Corris – just been a bit quiet on the blog front – must do better !!
