Pour l’Amour du Fil

Another opportunity to see wonderful quilts and textiles at a big show in France is starting in. Few hours. You can follow along on both Facebook and Instagram.

 https://pourlamourdufil.com/en/

Royal School of Needlework

 The Royal School of Needlework (located at Hampton Court Palace) has launched the RSN Stitchbank to mark its 150th Anniversary.

The RSN Stitch Bank aims to digitally conserve and showcase the wide variety of the world’s embroidery stitches and the ways in which they have been used in different cultures and times.

Launching with an initial 150 stitches, the RSN Stitch Bank is an ongoing project. More stitches will be added regularly and the RSN will be working with partners around the world to include stitches from different traditions.

https://rsnstitchbank.org/

Screenshot from the RNS Stitchbank homepage, 

launched this week.

Daphne’s blocks

Daphne rarely works on one thing at a time. During this long lockdown she     is working on a number of projects, most of them using her favourite technique of foundation paper piecing - we’re looking forward to seeing the quilts they will become.

 

Crossroads European Patchwork Meeting 2021

Carrefour Europeen du Patchwork 2021 (Crossroads European Patchwork Meeting) is currently running, 16 -19 September, in Sainte Marie Aux Mines, France. The exhibition program includes 36 shows.

https://www.patchwork-europe.eu/expositions-2021.php

Follow links to exhibitions and individual artists to open a rich vein of European quilting

Note the site is available in French, German and English from the tab at the upper right.

You will find a selection of exhibitions online, via the Carrefour Europeen du Patchwork 2021 Facebook page.

Lockdown quilting

Some of us have managed to finish quilts, while others are accumulating tops, finishing off long unfinished projects, enjoying other crafts, some are doing all of that.

There’s cute, and then there’s very cute … Janice knows cute!

Her caption: ‘Miniature quilt made with 1/4 inch fussy cut 

hexagonsin Liberty Emilia’s Bloom made for these cute little 

Maileg mice #libertycraftclub 

Bed and mice from @littleoneminiatures 

  🐭🐭💕

The quilt is about 7” square!

These are the second and third in a series of quilts Janet is 

making featuring tiny house blocks, 4” square.

Ginnie has been quilting for many years, but this is her
first scrappy improv quilt. It is for one of her grandchildren.

 

Lockdown bag making

We are still in lockdown, and holding Zoom meetings each week to keep in touch. Thanks to all who have shared photos of their current work and finishes, we all love seeing them.

Dawn has made many of these bags over the years,
and she is putting her expertise to work during lockdown to
make 27 of them - one for each woman in her large extended
family for Christmas. She has made 10 so far, and is well
on the way with the remaining 17.

Daphne was enjoyed making these clever little origami
purses or pouches, using Rosie’s Art Studio online
tutorial: https://youtu.be/HDdQtcbM8JY

Daphne is always willing to try a new technique or process,
 and she is pleased with  these small zippered pouches (that
could be scaled to any size). The sides have a pleated gusset
to accommodate a wide range of contents. 
#sotakhandmade tutorial is here: 
https://youtu.be/70C3f4OivsI

Sue found just the right periodic table print to make a
gift bag for her 7 year old scientist neighbour’s birthday
gift. He recognised the print immediately, and loves it.

A little lockdown reading

 Visit A Quilt Studio Like No Other: Maria Shell’s Alaska Off-the-Grid Hideaway

Peeking into an artist’s workplace can open a window into their creative process. When you consider how much time and effort it takes to create a body of work like Maria Shell’s – full of intricate improvisational piecing, exuberant color, and innovative techniques – and the prolific nature of her quilt making, you just know that the spaces in which she creates must be exceptional … Vivika DeNegre, Quilting Arts, 20 August 2021

Missouri Inmates Sew Custom Quilts for Foster Children

Every so often, Jim Williams wakes up in the middle of the night and lies awake inside his prison cell, thinking about quilt designs.

As his fellow inmates at South Central Correctional Center snore and shift in their sleep, Williams mulls over the layout of cloth shapes, rearranging them in his mind. “I’m kind of a perfectionist,” he said. “I’ll wake up at 2:30 in the morning and think, ‘That color really isn’t going to work.’”  Associated Press, 12 July 2021

True Confessions: First Quilt

… (Dr Carolyn Mazloomi) went home determined to make a quilt of her own. She knew that she wanted her quilt to have a cotton batt, but all the batts she found were polyester. She decided to make her own batt using the only source of flat cotton she was aware of: wound dressing…. Suzanne Labry, International Quilt Festival, 9 August 2021

 

Top 10 Children’s Books about Quilts

With so many children's books available these days, it can be hard to know the perfect book to get for your favorite quilting family. Sharing our love of quilts with younger generations is so important. And before you can sit a child in front of a sewing machine and teach them to quilt, you can read them books about quilts. That's why we're excited to share our top 10 children's books about quilts!   Laura Hopper, Suzy Quilt, 28 May 2021