Sewing Evening : July 2016
Sue Aron
I plucked up courage and went to my first LQ sewing evening.
As a relatively new member of London Quilters and a novice quilter to boot, the prospect of a sewing evening was certainly a daunting one. What sewing would I bring along? Would I know anyone? Where would I sit?
I took pot luck and chose a table with 3 people already sewing intently and sat down and got out my quilt - my first quilt! and started threading my needle. I was soon being lent a needle-threader and was handing over pins to my neighbour who was making wonderful peony-like flowers to decorate a dress she had made. Lively conversation ensued with the person opposite who was stitching undulating lines onto her pictorial quilt depicting a favourite Irish landscape. She gave me a handy tip to help keep my quilting lines straight - using the back of a blunt knife to mark my lines - and I was away. I felt a lot less like a newbie when I was able to help a more recent member get on the list for an upcoming workshop and check that her name was on the group mailing list for LQ updates. The chat around our table was convivial and easy and the variety of different work fascinating. Elsewhere beautifully stitched furniture for a dolls house was taking shape while across the room someone else was knitting. Another table was busy using left over blocks from the group quilt to make a cot quilt for next year’s Swiss Cottage Library Exhibition. The hall was buzzing with activity.
On adjacent tables were demonstrations themed around appliqué techniques lead by Maggie Paykel, Lyn Fry and Janice Gunner as well as the usual welcoming tea/coffee/cake and extensive lending library of books and DVDs at the back of the hall. This month’s raffle included two complimentary tickets for the Festival Of Quilts and the usual free ticket for wearing a stitched, knitted or quilted name badge.
For me the highlight of my first sewing evening was when another member came over to look at my work, saw how much I had to do and asked if she might come and sew a line or two on my quilt as she didn’t have any work of her own. Never one to refuse help, I happily agreed - we sat at opposite ends of my quilt and chatted away.
I am happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my first sewing evening. It’s a great way to meet other LQ members especially other new members who might not have quite found their place in the large group which comprises London Quilters.
So for any new members who haven’t yet been to a sewing evening, do come along and enjoy the company of fellow quilters in a relaxed, informal atmosphere which offers support and friendship as well as handy tips from a raft of experienced quilters. Sewing evenings are also a chance to catch up on other textile related events around London as well as LQ talks, workshops and events.
I plucked up courage and went to my first LQ sewing evening.
As a relatively new member of London Quilters and a novice quilter to boot, the prospect of a sewing evening was certainly a daunting one. What sewing would I bring along? Would I know anyone? Where would I sit?
I took pot luck and chose a table with 3 people already sewing intently and sat down and got out my quilt - my first quilt! and started threading my needle. I was soon being lent a needle-threader and was handing over pins to my neighbour who was making wonderful peony-like flowers to decorate a dress she had made. Lively conversation ensued with the person opposite who was stitching undulating lines onto her pictorial quilt depicting a favourite Irish landscape. She gave me a handy tip to help keep my quilting lines straight - using the back of a blunt knife to mark my lines - and I was away. I felt a lot less like a newbie when I was able to help a more recent member get on the list for an upcoming workshop and check that her name was on the group mailing list for LQ updates. The chat around our table was convivial and easy and the variety of different work fascinating. Elsewhere beautifully stitched furniture for a dolls house was taking shape while across the room someone else was knitting. Another table was busy using left over blocks from the group quilt to make a cot quilt for next year’s Swiss Cottage Library Exhibition. The hall was buzzing with activity.
On adjacent tables were demonstrations themed around appliqué techniques lead by Maggie Paykel, Lyn Fry and Janice Gunner as well as the usual welcoming tea/coffee/cake and extensive lending library of books and DVDs at the back of the hall. This month’s raffle included two complimentary tickets for the Festival Of Quilts and the usual free ticket for wearing a stitched, knitted or quilted name badge.
For me the highlight of my first sewing evening was when another member came over to look at my work, saw how much I had to do and asked if she might come and sew a line or two on my quilt as she didn’t have any work of her own. Never one to refuse help, I happily agreed - we sat at opposite ends of my quilt and chatted away.
I am happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my first sewing evening. It’s a great way to meet other LQ members especially other new members who might not have quite found their place in the large group which comprises London Quilters.
So for any new members who haven’t yet been to a sewing evening, do come along and enjoy the company of fellow quilters in a relaxed, informal atmosphere which offers support and friendship as well as handy tips from a raft of experienced quilters. Sewing evenings are also a chance to catch up on other textile related events around London as well as LQ talks, workshops and events.
Maggie Paykel - Fused Applique
At our sewing evening in July on appliqué I demonstrated how easy it was to use Bondaweb to create simple designs for cushions and small quilts by applying fused squares, rectangles or circles to slightly off-centre of cut out squares. These squares are then cut - either diagonally into triangles or into equal sized squares. The smaller cut shapes were arranged in a pleasing design and joined with machine stitching, again into squares. These shapes can then be joined into a regular nine patch, which is ideal for cushions; with added sashing they can be made into a quilt. I tend to put the squares together by machine and then hand stitch using threads from the Hand Weavers Studio, mainly a kantha style stitch or seed stitching. Sometimes I machine the applied shapes especially if the finished squares are going to be made into a quilt that is going to be washed, otherwise not. The ones I have made with Bondaweb as cushions and used at home are still fused down.
I developed this method of working when I ran a workshop for the Eastern Region of the Embroiderers Guild on how to use up leftover fabrics in a P & Q way. This evolved into the technique which I am still using from over 15 years ago, well maybe even 20 years!
I also showed how I worked in a more contemporary way. I used natural scoured cotton (from Whaleys) that was either painted or hand printed using acrylic paints. Fine lines were made by using white artists corrugated paper (from Paperchase in Tottenham Court Road).
I had been struggling with designing these four pieces for an exhibition. I could not find the black white striped fabric that I wanted so went back to printing again. It helps to be obsessional and to keep pushing at design ideas. The two pieces of work derived from a simple nine patch evolved over the very short time I had to work them. I relied on instinct as to how they were going to work out in the end. I really enjoyed stitching them. In my sketchbook I had a very small sample of an idea for what I thought would be the border but it eventually turned out to be designs for the other two pieces I made - very orange and very black. Again everything was cut and applied with bondaweb. I did everything by eye although I did have some idea of how I wanted them to work.
I hope to have finished or almost finished the pink piece that I was using to demonstrate the first technique ready for the September meeting. I can also answer any questions that you might have before the meeting starts.
At our sewing evening in July on appliqué I demonstrated how easy it was to use Bondaweb to create simple designs for cushions and small quilts by applying fused squares, rectangles or circles to slightly off-centre of cut out squares. These squares are then cut - either diagonally into triangles or into equal sized squares. The smaller cut shapes were arranged in a pleasing design and joined with machine stitching, again into squares. These shapes can then be joined into a regular nine patch, which is ideal for cushions; with added sashing they can be made into a quilt. I tend to put the squares together by machine and then hand stitch using threads from the Hand Weavers Studio, mainly a kantha style stitch or seed stitching. Sometimes I machine the applied shapes especially if the finished squares are going to be made into a quilt that is going to be washed, otherwise not. The ones I have made with Bondaweb as cushions and used at home are still fused down.
I developed this method of working when I ran a workshop for the Eastern Region of the Embroiderers Guild on how to use up leftover fabrics in a P & Q way. This evolved into the technique which I am still using from over 15 years ago, well maybe even 20 years!
I also showed how I worked in a more contemporary way. I used natural scoured cotton (from Whaleys) that was either painted or hand printed using acrylic paints. Fine lines were made by using white artists corrugated paper (from Paperchase in Tottenham Court Road).
I had been struggling with designing these four pieces for an exhibition. I could not find the black white striped fabric that I wanted so went back to printing again. It helps to be obsessional and to keep pushing at design ideas. The two pieces of work derived from a simple nine patch evolved over the very short time I had to work them. I relied on instinct as to how they were going to work out in the end. I really enjoyed stitching them. In my sketchbook I had a very small sample of an idea for what I thought would be the border but it eventually turned out to be designs for the other two pieces I made - very orange and very black. Again everything was cut and applied with bondaweb. I did everything by eye although I did have some idea of how I wanted them to work.
I hope to have finished or almost finished the pink piece that I was using to demonstrate the first technique ready for the September meeting. I can also answer any questions that you might have before the meeting starts.
