From the C&G

'Star Dust'

My City & Guilds tutor, Linda Kemshall, and her colleagues will be closing the online 'schoolhouse' on Friday for the Christmas and New Year holiday.  I decided I'd best finish Activity 4 of Module 5, so I could make a fresh start on the next activity in the New Year.

Two methods of tied quilting were required for the assignment.  Because I had only one sample, I decided to combine them in the one piece.  Can you pick out the two different approaches?  Here's a detail shot to give you a better idea:

The other thing I've done with this sample is finish the edge on one side, just to see if it would work well.  I trimmed the batting right back from the edge, and the backing to 1/4" (or so -- I did it free-hand).  Then I folded and finger-pressed that bit of seam allowance and whip-stitched it to the already-folded edges of the outer hexagons, using the same fine silk thread I used to attach the hexies to each other.  I rather like the results, and when I have a few moments here and there, I'll go around the other 3 sides with this technique.  With the zig-zag edging, I'm thinking it might be interesting to mount the finished piece on stretched canvas -- or on a solid-coloured quilted background (a quilt on a quilt).  What do you think?

In the C&G...

Puddles of colour await assembly into my next wee sample.

Module 5 - Activity 3

C&G etc.

The weather here the past couple of days has been distinctly November-ish: cold, damp, a skiff of snow and when there's been a breeze, it's been bone-chilling.  Though I've managed my daily jog (a.m.) and walks (p.m.),  I am quite happy to sit indoors and stitch, listening to music or watching The Quilt Show as I do. [Last night I even caught up on a couple of early episodes from the webcast archives of Oprah's Life Class -- which echoed clearly what Joyce Meyer's been teaching me all year...funny how God manages that, eh? ;-) ]

I've finished Activity 1 in Module 5 of my C&G, and am preparing for Activities 2 and 3, which are linked.

And herein begin the coincidences...

Somewhere in someone's show notes (I can't find it right now -- darn!) I stumbled across this link to a lecture given by Bridget Long in June of this year, entitled Elegant Geometry: American and British Mosaic Patchwork.  Ms. Long is a quilt historian whose studied English Paper Piecing extensively; in the video she talks of its history and how it came over to North America (with particular reference to the US) and evolved over here.

I ate this video up, and then read Activities 2 and 3: Using the colour palette from Activity 1, I am required to design a piece on paper and then create it in fabric --using "mosaic piecing"!  I'm delighted with this, as it's the only form of PP at which I've been even remotely successful.    :-)

Then I spent most of Wednesday working on the hanten for my son.  I gave you a glimpse of the front the other day;  now here's the back.   Yesterday afternoon I began to create the kamon or crest that I'm going to apply to the centre back. As it will be a motif appliqued in the centre of a ring, I thought I'd use freezer paper, but in the end, I realized that Jenni Dobson knew best, and I followed her method.

Now for the central motif-- for which I'll be using (you've guessed it)...mosaic patchwork.  Stay tuned!