A special workshop for Owls

Last week I was invited to run a workshop for a group of learning disabled young people in Sawston, outside Cambridge.  With some preparation done in advance we all made a selection of  Christmas decorations which they hope to sell to raise funds in early December.  It was a great honour to work with these lovely boys and girls who come together once a week as the ‘Owl’ group, part of the Papworth Trust  charity. Well done Charlie, Stacey, Victor and the rest of the class who all worked very hard using needle and thread to manipulate this fabric into a new shape. A big thank you to all for making me feel so welcome and looking forward to making something else in a few weeks. 

Rescue of a family heirloom

Many thanks to Naomi Davies (fellow Cambridge Open Studios Member) of @naomidaviesart  who asked me to rescue a much treasured family heirloom. All in secret mind you as she didn't want her daughter to know about it until her  daughter’s 18th birthday. 

The quilt is very vintage and rather falling apart from use. The top was added to during the 1940s with large pieces of dress and shirt fabric hand stitched on. My first task was to carefully unpick the wartime make-do and mend work. Some fabrics were disintegrating and many had lost their original colour.  I did save some of the better pieces especially those with numbers marked on them.  

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Eventually, I found the underneath quilt.......

Found a hole in the middle right through to the back.......

 Curious blocks..... 

More secret layers....

 My challenge was to retain the base vintage patchwork quilt yet add another top layer using family fabrics. So I used dad's old shirts, a favourite summer tablecloth and the recipients's childhood sundress. Lots of well washed fabrics incorporated into a new quilt top.  Naomi wanted a 100% cotton wadding to keep it eco friendly.  

I was then faced with the dilemma of how to bring it all together. I considered stitching in the ditch or an all over design  but in the end I thought it best to use an old technique of simply 'tying' the layers together with a thick cotton thread. In future, if it needs rescuing again, another person will be able to lift off the layer I made to do it all over again. 

So here is the completed quilt which ought to keep a certain young lady quite warm and cosy at university next October. A great reminder of family, home and history. 

To end, Naomi did post on Twitter and Face Book which elicited many, many  lovely comments. 

As usual...I will be opening my studio to the public for three weekends in July as part of the Cambridge Open Studios 2019 event. I'm studio 60 in the guide, 107 Perne Road, Cambridge, CB1 3SB  13-14 July, 20-21 July, 27-28 July. All welcome. 

A special commission

I always enjoy the challenge of designing and making something special for a friend or client. My friend had become a grandmother for the second time around so could I make something special for this one? Of course I could, but not another baby quilt.....a named cushion/pillow was required. I soon realised that such a long name would take ages using the turned-under appliqué method. After a bit of a trial and error, decided on the raw edge fused method.  All the letters cut out in reverse using bond-a-web The background fabric was a great find at the October 18 Knitting & Stitching Show. A textured fabric in grey with a sliver sparkle running through it. Simple quilting and binding and the job was done. 

The reverse of the pillow showing the loops and toggle buttons. Another satisfied customer. 

Minecraft and a birthday boy

Travelling to Bath to be at my grandson’s 7th birthday party. Some while ago he decided that this year’s theme would be ‘Minecraft’, his favourite computer game. So just had to order some novelty fabric and make a shirt and a set of bunting.

I love making bags...

Somehow the last two years since my last blog post have just vanished. It is certainly true that when you retire from your job you wonder where you found time to do it.  I haven't been idle and I plan to revert to my original promise to myself to do a post every week.  Here goes.....

My friend Paula asked me to make her another bag..the old one was just wearing out after a few years hard wear.  The same shape was required but Paula had some useful suggestions on how the top flap should have a longer patch of velcro so that she could pull the strap over tightly or not depending on the contents at the time.  We found a lovely printed fabric at Hobby Craft and here is the result.....