Blog – Page 2

Margaret Mew’s Medallion Quilts

20/06/2018 by Ariane Johns

Margaret Mew’s Medallion Quilts

By Betsi Beem

I just love the learning curve that I am on as a novice quilter and part of the CQW family. I saw that there is an upcoming ‘Medallion Class’ being taught by Margaret Mew from 3 – 4 July as part of the Winter Escape Series of classes.

So I asked, “What is a Medallion Class?”

The ever-effervescent Annette taught me that it is a quilt that has a focal center that is surrounded by multiple borders.

The center can be anything, patchwork, applique, or even a piece of printed fabric. The borders can be anything from saw tooth, hour glass, applique or peony’s and Ohio Stars. I just love the variety in the Banyan Tree (left image).

Annette suggested that I leaf through Margaret Mew’s recent book, Quilts from the Colonies, published by Quiltmania.

WOW!

What a beautiful collection of quilts. Margaret’s beautifully written book describes her early passion for antiques and foray into sewing and fabrics. Antique quilts from the early American colonies and New Zealand inspired the quilts that she has designed, and her enthusiasm for restoration fabrics echoes throughout the book. What is so much fun about this book is that each quilt is introduced with a bit of history of where the inspiration for the quilt came from, often citing the original quilt and maker (like Abigail May Alcott’s quilt – Louisa May Alcott’s mother!).

The Medallions range from beautiful appliques – my favourite is Miss Hitchens’ Whimsy inspired quilt stitched by her in the first quarter of the 19th Century and held in the Te Aroha museum.

But Providence has certainly caught my eye as well.

Margaret’s expertise in medallion quilts is clear from her beautifully published book and Quilt Station website and her classes are fantastic at CQW.

Have you seen these bags?!?!

19/06/2018 by Ariane Johns

Have you seen these bags!?!?!

By Betsi Beem, guest blogger and huge fan of CQW!

It seems like every time I show up to a sewing class or show, someone is carrying one of these fabulous bags. They are THE accessory for anybody who is anybody! They are designed by the talented Miriam Jones and she offers workshops for making them. In fact, there is one coming up at CQW on Saturday 30 June!

There is so much to love about the design and construction of these bags. The pattern is so amenable to interpretation.

From Sandy’s beautifully Japanese inspired bag with sashiko panels…

… to eye popping panels from Tula Pink’s Tabby Road line.

Miriam has also featured fabrics using Miss Chiff designs from Spoonflower. (There is soooo much to love about Spoonflower, isn’t there!).

Miriam’s bags feature an inside zippered pocket where you can sew in a ‘sweet surprise’ lining to give your bag that extra bit of WOW…and make you smile whenever you zip it open.

Having made heaps of her own bags and taught so many workshops, Miriam really knows what works. She recommends Soft and Stable ByAnnie wadding to give the bags the stability, yet softness that makes them so lovely to use.

Using professional handles gives the bags a lovely finished look… Miriam also notes that if you select clip on handles like these from Studio Mio you get the added bonus of being able to make several tote bag shells and only need one pair of handles to transfer across bags. How clever is that!

I am so looking forward to her workshop at CQW on 30 June so I can make my own tote and be just as stylish as my friends in the sewing sisterhood!

See you there!

Textile Therapy by Betsy Beem

08/06/2018 by Ariane Johns

Textile Therapy

By Betsi Beem, guest blogger and huge fan of CQ!

I love Fridays! Ever since I started coming to “Textile Therapy” on Fridays at Cottage Quiltworks about eight weeks ago, my life just started to get a bit cheerier. I had been coming to CQW over the last few years with little bits and bobs of small projects I’d been working on and I was amazed with the warm and welcoming reception I got AND how enthusiastic Gerri and all the staff at the shop were in suggesting the most fabulous fabrics to match what I was working on, or their generosity in sharing secret tips to make my life as a novice sewist so much easier. Then, I’d pop my head into the classrooms to see groups of sewists working away at the most amazing projects! The colours! The creativity! The community! I was hooked. So…just what is Textile Therapy at CQW? It is a delicious five hours of therapeutic immersion in whatever tantalising textile project you have going with the support of the fabulous Annette and the other members of the sewing community that are there that day. Seriously. Bring any project and you’ll be swimming in an amazingly supportive, knowledgeable, and creative community and your heart will sing.
		Annette is an amazing teacher. She has years of experience teaching textile arts in high schools, preparing students for their HSC projects. You would have seen the divine creations the students complete that are on display at the Sydney Quilt Show each year from across the state. She has been teaching at CQW for the last seven years and her vast expertise is seemingly endless. She can give great advice and teaching on so many facets of textile therapy. She has really helped me find my way in hand stitching applique, is amazing at teaching foundation piecing, and even putting together projects with itty bitty bits like the “Girl Next Door” pattern by Louise Papas.
Today we had such a great smattering of projects and styles– from the soft colours of a hand pieced baby’s quilt to the bold and bright colours of a batik wonky star quilt and including felt applique and dressmaking!
		Megan was working on the loveliest little quilt for her soon-to-come-into-this-world granddaughter. A beautifully hand stitched bow tie quilt for a teeny tiny one to enter the world.
	Cherise brought in her completed top and was ready to prep for quilting. Her bold batiks and wonky stars lit up the room. We all oooohed and aaaahed over her near completed project. We can’t wait to see how her quilting progresses! I just love her wonky stars!
I’m making progress on my Wendy Williams’ Urban Owls quilt and worked out my felt corner colours and moved on to make some Ohio Star blocks! I originally purchased this kit as a Block of the Month SIX years ago, but life intervened and it had remained veritably untouched in the mailing packages from six years ago. It is so therapeutic to dust off the mailers and get to work!
		Karen rounded out the project diversity by laying out and cutting her Eva Dress pattern by Tessuti. The light salmon coloured linen she had was just so divine. By the end of the day she had completed and fitted the bodice! I just can’t wait to see her in the finished product.
It also just so happens that Fridays aren’t the only days this fabulousness occurs! Annette brought pictures from Thursday’s sessions! The projects ranged from foundation piecing, to working on pickets for “The Girl Next Door” quilt, to pattern making, and sewing on a binding. Just how am I going to survive until next Friday??