BOM 19 - Place d'Italie

Collection 19

This is an interesting block with its mixture of small and large pieces. I had planned to have six of the smaller triangles in the inner section but somehow misplaced them and as I didn't have any spare blue fabric with me changed the block so that I could sew that night.

Revising Tutorials

As it has been a while since some of the tutorials were posted I thought this would be a good time to write a quick summary with links for people who have joined recently.

If you are new here, or even if you have been here a while but didn't know, at times people have sent in suggestions to help others. Here is a round up with links to previous posts.

Foundation Piecing -
How to plus a couple of simple beginners level blocks here

English Paper Piecing
I have only ever used EPP with 1/4in hexagons and didn't use it for Raconteur but Carol swears by it. She was the one who asked for the templates and if not for her request then there would have been no EPP templates.
Sue Daley has made a series of youtube videos about EPP. These appear good but I found that one needed more patience than I had to use this because of the size of the pieces. The video demonstrates with large pieces.
I have personally found that if you want to use glue with such small pieces then Roxannes glue is the best because of the fine applicator
This post talks about a site by flossie cakes and the wealth of information there
Post about a new product for EPP. I haven't tried this product yet but Sue Daley is well respected in Australia and is know as the queen of EPP. here

Applique
Applique is a method I have never enjoyed. You will be surprised to find that I have pieced many blocks which others may do using appliqué. This post provides a list of links to various appliqué sites.

Photographing Your Blocks
just a few suggestions on how to take photos of your blocks to make it easier form to photoshop and upload them. Btw if you want a copy of your cropped photo just ask me when you send it in and I will happily send it back to you. here

Carol & Collection 58

Collection 58	Well Carol has definitely been steaming away whilst I have been overseas. Collection 58 .... almost to the end. Then we will have the fun of seeing how she combines them. I joined the blocks so that the colours complemented each other with no preconception beforehand. This is a sampler for her to join as she wishes. Can't wait!	C58 Smiling in Red
Smiling in Red and Celtic Gem I recognise both of those fabrics. Would check to see where they were in Raconteur but it is amazing how hard it can be to track down a particular fabric in that quilt.	C58 Celtic Gem	Stripes would have to be my favourite, every wonky ones
C58 A New Kingdom	Garden Party would you believe me if I told you that there are seven different fabrics in each triangle ... and the triangle is less than 2in high! A New Kingdom was designed in the middle of the night... no wonder it has so many tiny pieces. No one in their right mind would 'plan' on that many pieces!	C58 Garden Party

UK National Quilt Championships

Well I received a fantastic email this morning ...... read below....


 

Hi Cinzia

 I’m not quite sure how to start this! So here goes:

Katy has left a message with your son via the phone number on your Sandown Quilt Entry form for T 02 ‘The Raconteur’s Quilt’.The message is as follows:

Your quilt has won awards in these categories –

Sampler award
Pieced award
Theme category winner
Overall Runner Up

I’m sure she said that you are currently out of the country, but we thought you’d like to know at the earliest possible moment – well done! If you have someone who you would like to nominate to collect your trophies and rosettes at the awards ceremony on Sunday afternoon at 2.30 pm – and they are able to attend, let me know and I’ll make the necessary arrangements.

I know it’s a bit late in the evening, now, but I’ll be in the office from 0730 in the morning.

On behalf of all of us at Grosvenor, can I offer our congratulations on your success. Without quilt entries there wouldn’t be a competition, so thank you for entering your quilt – dare I say ‘your mum would be proud’.

Well done, speak soon

Sue


My son will be surprised when he finds out. I'm not sure when that will be as he only switches his phone when he KNOWS that he will be receiving a call :) Definitely not one of the young who feels he must stay connected.

Getting Closer

Collection 55	Well what do you think of the great range of colours in this collection. Carol is almost at the end and then the fun begins deciding which blocks will go together. She is definitely looking forward to seeing which colours go with which. .. Me too!	C55 Sneezing
C55 Fifty & Loving It	C55 Fields Lay Fallow	C55 Over the Headland

C55 Inspirations

C55 Peacock Pride

C55 Friday Night Flowers

BOM 18 - Evening Star

Collection 18

Evening Star is a simple star that I often use when teaching foundation piecing to students. It has so much forgiveness when it comes to joining sections that the student can hide a cartful of errors. Try it I am sure you will agree.

So Many Points

Collection 54	Well this must have been one of the pointiest collections. Love Bygone Days and Blood from the Dust. They looked so different in fabric from the original sketches.	C54 Stars Upon the Snow
C54 Blood from the Dust	C54 Beside the Fountain	C54 Bygone Days
C54 Fred & Ginger	So which block is missing?	C54 Jellyfish Swirl

Norwegian Folk Museum

Well I am improving on writing posts for this blog on my iPad, although the formatting is still a struggle. Often I use a table format so that photos and writing will line up. However I haven't been able to make the tables work on the iPad and will probably have to fix these up when I return home.

Formatting and layout aside I thought people might like to see some of the embroidery work that was on display at the folk museum.

This piece was only about 25cm wide. If you are able to enlarge it you will see magnificent stitching.

Nursery Rhymes & Collection 6

Collection 6	Just a few more blocks from the Nursery Rhyme quilt. These blocks were taken from collection 6. Funny how we take a liking to a design and use it time and again.  Crystal Dreams has featured in three quilts so far.
Firstly in the original Raconteur quilt, where the colour choice was so terrible that you couldn't see it unless looking for it. Next I used it in Snippets, which is a collection of seven blocks that I taught at various retreats where people wished to start on their own Raconteur. Finally it is here in Nursery Rhymes. I know I will use it again as I have seen it made using a variety of colours in the one block and it looked good enough to try ..yet again :)	C6 Crystal Dreams
C6 Disappearing Hope	Disappearing Hope what a strange name and no idea where it came from but I do like the effect here with the blue outer border making your eyes lose the white design and focus on the blue.

Future Plans

Aren't these great? On Norway Day some men also wore the national dress and although not as elaborate as those worn by the women you have to admit the socks are to die for. I doubt I will ever try the two colour versions but I am definitely planning on tackling the cabled ones...once I manage to make some without the holes that for some reason develop when I'm making the heel. Perhaps I should just go for lace patterns, as holes are desirable there :)

Norway Day

Must say it is easier to write posts on my computer than it is on the iPad. Will fix things when I return home but for now just look at the embroidery in these outfits.

Paul and I are visiting our son Richard and his partner Hilde, in Norway and this week there are many celebrations to commemorate 200 years of democracy.

	Yesterday there was a concert highlighting the arts and in particular national costumes, called bunad.  There are many areas in Norway and each has its own traditional costume and what amazing works of art these are.
Even toddlers dress up for the day. Gorgeous isn't she? The children usually have a simplified version of their parent's outfit as the real thing is very expensive. It is such an occasion that many men also wear their national costume.		When I return home I'm going to upload a really great phot here of five girls from the same family. Their mother made their outfits and they are beautiful. The photo is somewhere on this iPad but be blowed if I can find it when I want it...don't you just love technology?
row 4, cell 1	block 5	row 4, cell 3
block 6	row 5, cell 2	block 7

The concert was free and held in the park which is overlooked by the Parliament House. 

Cheating to Succeed

Collection 52	Carol said that Erica's Bouquet was the hardest as there weren't many flowers around that size. I cheated in that I didn't stay with the design on the fabric. I had been told that the viewer doesn't know what the original flower looked like so if needed just appliqué it where needed!	C52 Erica's Bouquet
C52 Lifesaver	C52 Flight of the Fireflies

C52 Steeples Abound

C52 Michelin Babies

C52 Semaphore Flags

Fantastic Mittens

Well what do you think of these mittens? Fantastic aren't they? They were made by my son's girlfriend's mother, Ellinor, and they are even more beautiful in real life than they are in the picture. Ellinor's knitting is fantastic, stitches are all even and no holes. Unlike the socks I have been trying to knit for the past few weeks :)

As Gerringong is nowhere near as cold as Norway I am looking forward to a cold snap when I will be able to wear them. 

Weather is an amazing thing. We arrive in Norway, with suitcase full of clothes for the expected cold weather and have basically spent much of our time in the clothes we wore when leaving home plus the extra we took for our two day Bangkok stopover. I suppose I will never get the clothes side of travelling right!

Blog moved

I have moved my blog to here. Two blogs were too hard to maintain.
Come and check it out.

Purple & Green Should Never be Seen

Purple and green should never be seen...without a colour in between.  Have you ever heard that? I don't remember where I learned that fact but it is just so wrong. Even though Carol does have a colour between her purples and greens these days I figure any colour can go with any other .. as long as the setting is appropriate.  What do you think of these blocks aren't they great?

C44 The Emperor's Hat	C48 Antipodean	C47 Buttercups
C48 Change	C48 Lily Pond	C48  Incredible Lives