A Frugal Quilter

Liz Burnes is an amazingly frugal quilter! She and her friends in the Rags to Stitches group salvage 100% cotton shirts and denim jeans from charity shops and car boot sales. This reclaimed fabric is first washed and pressed. Then it all goes to the blade. With the shirts, the first part to go is the back. The back of a large mans shirt yields at least 9 six-inch squares. You can probably guess that big is beautiful, and that the gals are looking for the larger sizes.

These pre-cut squares are sold to quilters looking to achieve the shabby chic of instant vintage. This fabric is so soft and comfortable as only fabric mellowed by many washings over time can be. The sales from the back squares more than cover the cost of the shirts. That means that Liz and her friends are quilting for free as they salvage all they can from the rest of the shirts.

Liz uses the yoke, sleeves and the fronts of the shirts to make squares and strips which she in turn uses to create her own quilts and bags. All the buttons are saved too. My favourite part that Liz salvages from the shirts is the french seam that runs from the cuff to under the arm and then down the sides of the shirts. Liz slices these off, and uses them like pieces of string to tie a bag shut, wrap presents or to tie a bunch of flowers from the garden. In fact the only part of the shirts that Liz hasn't found a use for is the collar. Perhaps that's just as well as with my husband's shirts it's always the collar that wears out first.

Liz has gone back to the Isle of Wight now. But she's left me a great present. I just love the way these 'shirt strings' look hanging from a hook on the beam in my kitchen. They look so pretty that I don't really want to use them. Then again, I suppose I could just make more of my own.

Workshop Feedback

Liz Burns came up from the Isle of Wight for a machine quilting workshop last week. It was a pleasure to get to know Liz. I'll be blogging more about Liz and her Rags to Stitches Charity project on future posts.

Machine Quiltling Workshops

There are lots of reasons to go on a machine quilting workshop. Sometimes it's all about learning styles. Some people can learn everything they need to know from books or blogs. But others will benefit from a more personal hands on approach.

A new gadget can be daunting. You see it at the show. It looks so easy. So in the heat of the moment you buy the thing. But when you get it home there can be a certain 'quilters block' when it comes to getting it out of the box and starting to quilt with it. A workshop can be just the thing to get over the hump, bridging the gap between watching someone else and confidently doing it yourself.

Sometimes it's just about focus. Our lives are so busy, filled with endless demands on our time and energies. Setting aside time for a workshop, creates a context to focus on just one thing. And focus is powerful. A couple of days away from the daily grind can be refreshing and restorative. And the opportunity to focus on developing a new skill away from the daily distractions can usher us into new levels of proficiency.

I offer personal workshops for one or perhaps two people keen to develop free-motion machine quilting skills using a table top frame. Although I'm using a JUKI TL 98P on the New English Quilter, the lessons can be applied to any sewing machine on any frame. All the materials are provided in a relaxed setting and the workshop is built around you, where you are and what you hope to accomplish.

For people traveling any distance, there is an award winning B&B just across the street. Margaret and David at Chaplin House will make your stay something special. so much so that many people who came to Chaplin House for an initial workshop keep on coming back again and again to just to enjoy the hospitality. http://www.chaplin-house.co.uk/

To arrange a workshop give me a ring or email.

tel:01526 378057 marthamilne@tiscali.co.uk

New Adventures

This past Sunday, I took Kate, our oldest daughter off to start her first term reading English at Warrick University. It was a perfect Autumn day with blue skies and lovely light falling on ploughed fields and changing leaves. Waving her off at the window, I thought back on all those first days, from playschool to Primary school, High School and Sixth Form. All the good-byes leading to ever widening circles. Children are amazing creatures - always changing and ever the same! I'm glad I got to see her new flat. Now I can respond to this like every other life changing event and make a quilt.

Copy Cat

Imitation is the highest form of flattery! My Amy Butler, Kaffe, and Heather Bailey fabric came by post last week and I can't wait to make my copy of Trudy's quilt. It's the only way I'm going to be able to bring myself to return it!

Right now I'm still at the stroke the fabric stage. But it's calling me to get started! Ever noticed that cats just love to be where you don't want them to be. Now for this post I wanted Jasper on the fabric but would he stay for the shot? No!

Charity Shop Swap

Here's a fast fun idea for making cushion covers. The best part is the back. I used a second hand denim skirt with buttons down the front. I cut it to the necessary size, sewed in some piping and wha la! I had a great little cushion cover without bothering with sewing in zips or making my own button holes. My son thought it was just great, five years later he still likes it, high praise indeed!

Coming to Grips

We introduced Nifty Grips to the quilting public for the first time at the Festival of Quilts a few weeks ago. They were a big hit. Many people who already had other handles appreciated the ergonomic design. Everyone found them easy and natural to use. My daughter Emily and I spent four non-stop days using the Nifty Grips with a JUKI on the New English Quilting frame. At 7 1/2 hours a day we had a good opportunity to really try them out. What I liked best about the grips was how easy they were to forget. This may sound strange but think about it. A good shoe is a shoe you don't notice. The Grips were so responsive that I didn't need to waste energy or attention trying to work them. Once I got going, I barely noticed the grips, because they were so easy to use I could concentrate on my stitching. That's what I call a great gadget!

Nifty Grips put speed control at your finger tips. They are custom made to replace any foot pedal and can be used with any machine quilting frame. Nifty Grips are currently available for JUKI and Janome sewing machines. But we can custom make the grips to go with any sewing machine. If you've been frustrated kicking the foot pedal across the floor or squeezing the foot pedal by hand, Nifty Grips may be just what you're looking for. The photo below shows a set of Nifty Grips made to go with a Bernina Activa, a machine, by the way with the reputation of being one of the most sought after second hand models ever!