Never Give Up...

Floral Wreath: 2014

The completed block minus blue lines now part of my Windom Quilt

Finally, my floral wreath sample block started in Elizabeth Kennedy's class in 1989 at the Armidale Symposium has been completed.  Yes, it's only one block but really something to get excited about....it's been a long time in the making!

Part of the reason I disliked this block was that I had left blue fabric marking pen lines covering the design.  And they had heat set - a nightmare....  Nothing seemed to help remove them so I just gave up.  Finally, I decided that the only course of action (after some 16 years!!) was to embroider or applique strategically over the lines and splotches.  Besides, I had purchased a pattern in Mittagong at Timeless Threads - if I recall it was at their closing sale - called the Windom Quilt and I wanted a central medallion.  Why not use this block and get it off the UFO list?

Ah, but those dreaded blue lines!  Then of course I threw it in the washing machine with a good dose of "Vanish" waiting for the worst to happen.  But true to name, those lines just vanished.  Now, finished in 2014, it has a home.

Home# 021: 1989 started

Size: 51 x 51cm (without border)

More Desert Island Reading

Books I can’t be Without continues:

101 Fabulous Rotary-Cut Quilts

Judy Hopkins & Nancy J. Martin, 1998, Martingale & Company, Bothell, Washington

I've just noticed that 101 seems to be my favourite number!  By the time I purchased this book I was well and truly obsessed with patchwork and quilting.  Whilst I still loved hand piecing and quilting, I realised that my machine (dear old Ernie Elna) was my best buddy and, along with the rotary cutter, my only way forward.  Of course, some quilts still demand “slow” making but there were times in my increasingly busy life when I needed a quick fix.  I was occasionally making clothes too, so it seemed only natural to do more than just machine borders and bindings on to my quilts.

Hopkins & Martin had written other books but I couldn’t wait to get my little fingers on this big bruiser.  It has become, and still is, my most favourite reference book of all.  If I want a basic pattern, it’s usually here.  The illustrations are terrific, the measurements always exact and I’ve never yet had a dud – and trust me, I’ve made quite a few from this book!  Yes, the patterns are classic but it only takes a moment to add, subtract and massage and before you know it, another new creation!  Mind you, I know I prefer to make quilts that are basically geometric designs, so that helps.

When I went to live in India in 2004, I took, aside from my machine, 2 suitcases.  One with clothes and one with quilting supplies (not fabric though, just a few UFO’s).  This book was the only one I took.  It was in the spirit of adventure – and proved a very valuable learning environment.

That Perfect Stitch: the Secrets of Fine Hand Quilting

Roxanne McElroy, 1998, The Quilt Digest Press, Chicago, Illinois USA

When it comes to hand quilting books, my choice was difficult but this one by Roxanne McElroy was a standout because it is almost a scientific evaluation of the hand quilting process.  If ever you want to improve your stitching, this is the place to come.  I particularly appreciated advice on batting choices for hand quilting and how better to position your hand to protect against repetitive strain.  I also made the decision not to buy a frame (I’d been wanting one for years) after reading this book, because I didn’t think it suited MY style of quilting.  This book is so worth the read, there is much to learn, and I refer to it time and time again.

I can’t leave the subject of hand quilting without mentioning Liuxin Newman (Perfect Hand Quilting without Pain, Thimblelady, Australia, 2003).  I did a hand quilting workshop with Liuxin a few years ago and it turned my quilting life around. I just love to use her thimbles; they are so perfect for the method she taught us.  Another plus was that I managed to use a hoop -finally! I’d always used one for embroidery but had found I had trouble quilting with one.  Now I wouldn’t quilt without one. 

So I guess the moral of the story is that it’s fine to know, understand & appreciate the theory, however well it’s presented, but it’s understanding your own needs and lots of  practice that makes the difference.     

Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts

Kaffe Fassett, 2010, Abrahams, New York

What can I say!  The title says it all - simple shapes highlighting fantastic fabrics that are all about COLOUR.  Kaffe is definitely the colour master.  I could have chosen any of his books for my “fab” favourites.  His quilts are, each and every one, a lesson in colour play and I sometimes think that in the race to make all those quilts that dance in our heads, we miss taking a slow approach.  Perhaps by making our designs less complex, taking (lots of) time to explore colour options, and considering construction options, we too can get the message. This doesn’t mean that I copy, copy, copy.  But I do see how shapes and colour can be grouped and use this as a springboard to help me find the next rung on my learning ladder.

Well, reviewing has been lots of fun; the thinking hard but at last a vague notion of better understanding - myself and my motivations.  Why?  Well in the words of Melody Crust, “my best quilt is my next one”.

Desert Island Reading

Books I can’t be Without:

Before I finish with 1999, I want to list my five favourite reference books.  Over the years, I’ve amassed a few but only a handful stand out above the rest.  So here you have my choice if I was to pack up and move to a desert island (or in reality, live for half a year on a sailboat!):

In the 80’s patchworking had taken off but we, in Australia (certainly country Victoria) didn’t have a lot of choice, particularly in books.  Generally they were imported, nearly always American, and somehow we became programmed to think in their systems, eg measurement, style, judging, choice of colours, etc.  I think we still do to some extent but that’s another discussion point for another day.

So here's the first two:

Patchwork Possibilities

Marjorie Puckett, 1981, Orange Patchwork Publishers, California

Anyway, I began my patchwork life in 1985 (after my Malaysian fumbling) more successfully by learning how to hand piece – the traditional way.  This book was recommended to me and I would certainly endorse it as a fantastic resource for beginners. 

Marjorie has provided very clear diagrams and instructions that are easy to read helping to understand exactly what the process is.  She provides tips that beginners need to know explaining clearly how NOT to go wrong at any step.  This is the book I would recommend to any beginner who wants to successfully hand piece as the diagrams and instructions are kept simple and a cinch to follow. 

101 Patchwork Patterns

Ruby McKim, 1962, Dover Publications, New York

 

After a while, beginner’s samplers began to pale, so Ruby McKim’s book provided me with a source of patterns for whole quilts.  What was so enchanting about this resource was not only its great selection of patterns for hand piecing (most fairly easy) but the snippets of interesting history about the craft.  You begin to get a sense of how life must have been for early Americans and begin to see where the names of many of the blocks originated.  (It wasn’t until many years later - 2009-2010 - as we toured some of Virginia’s historic battlefield sites and visited the Virginia Quilt Museum that even more bells began to ring in my brain!).  I really loved the vintage "cred" of this book. 

All of Ruby McKim’s patterns are beautifully drawn out (for hand piecing), so who could stop at one?  And the templates are always spot on measurement-wise. I particularly liked her suggestions for colours, especially those that had been traditionally used. This makes you reconsider your colour choices and to see different options.  A bit of a visual shake-up if you like of your “reference framework”!  I began to see how you could add a bit more zing to a quilt by marrying pattern to fabric to tell a story.

Fragrant Bouquet

Fragrant Bouquet: 2014  (Started: 1988)

FINISHED (2014) yay! & photographed at last!!

This was a rather nice set of applique blocks that I made up in classes at the QNH. This pink & blue set, I think, I began the year following Sue Longmore’s beginner applique class in 1987.  I loved the colours (and they are still popular today) but it took me some years before I could decide on a setting because I didn’t want to replicate the sampler quilts I had made before. 

In 1998, I had decided on having a medallion centre and used one of the blocks from a series of applique lessons for the Randwick girls run by Roslyn Taylor in 1997 (based on Mimi Dietrich designs I think?).  I then came up with the idea for a star and took some pains to make up my own setting, design suitable patterns and machine piece it all together, thankfully having leftover fabrics from all those years ago to select from. 

By 2001, I had chosen a rather thick cotton wadding and found myself stumped again when it came time to quilt – the nature of the quilt seemed to suggest hand quilting but the wadding was very difficult to needle.  So, back on the UFO shelf...

In 2013, the blue star points & the border were
machine quilted; and the rest was, ummmm, happening!
A UFO underway but at a snail's pace...

It took some time before I became confident enough to select machine quilting patterns for applique blocks.  Eventually, after gaining a little confidence, I started stippling the star points.  Too many questions and not enough satisfactory answers, so research continues.  And everything is being done back-to-front. This quilt will be finished....it is so close to it.  Well, eventually!

A detail shot showing both hand & machine quilting mix

Just for the Record:
Quilt Finished Size: 171.5 x 171.5cm
Block Size: 12” Hand in 1988
Cut & Pieced in: 1998
Basted: Dec 2001
Quilted: Hand & Machine 2006;2013-14
Quilt Type: Applique Sampler
Quilt Finished: by 13 Apr 2014
Exhibited:  No
Collection: Gifted 3 Oct 2023
Pattern Name: Various
Pattern Source: QNH Applique Workshops
Fabrics Purchased: 1988
Fabric Design: Plains & prints
Fabric Style: Cotton
Materials Type: Cotton
Wadding Type: Cotton Batt
Backing: Cotton

Lessons Learned:
Come back to UFO’s and keep persevering.  Sometimes the only setbacks are failing to look at alternate solutions to problems.  Keep learning – new skills may provide the answers you are looking for.