Category: Fat Quarterly Sewing Retreat

Having Fun Retreating

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I admit I was a little worried about this year’s retreat as many of my friends weren’t going. Due to some other commitments I couldn’t participate in all the hype beforehand either although I did enter the sample swap and name tag swap before realising that I would be swamped with other things. I made a name tag for Di of Willowbecks Designs, a lady I absolutely love. She is one of the nicest, most generous and beautiful people I know so I wanted to make something beautiful for her. I think I managed it but as I completely forgot to take a picture of the name tag you’ll just have to trust me on that one. I got the best name tag, which the lovely Trash made for me when my partner opted out a couple of days before the retreat.

My name tag from Trash

Friday’s classes were a fantastic start to the weekend as I was first taught to hand quilt by THE Jen Kingwell. I admire Jen tremendously and learned so much in her class. Hand sewing is my thing anyway and I’ve always loved the look of hand quilting so it was fun to get a chance to get tips from the expert. I got very little done in class but came away with so much knowledge.

Jen Kingwell with her Green Tea and Sweet Beans quilt

Afterwards I went to a class I had hoped to get into last year: TouchDraw with Lynne from Lily’s Quilts. I use TouchDraw all the time to design my English Paper Piecing patterns and thought I knew my way around this app rather well. Boy was I wrong. I learned a ton of things and came back absolutely amazed at how much easier I could make things for myself. I’ve had a little play with TouchDraw since coming home as I wanted to make sure I don’t forget all the tips and tricks but nothing I can show you yet.

In the evening I went for a wonderful meal with 15 lovely and creative women and had an absolute blast. I was a very happy bunny when I went to bed.

Saturday started with another fantastic class: Screen printing with Karen from Blueberry Park. I’ve admired Karen’s work for a long time and have bought a few things. I was incredibly excited to meet her and get to do some printing. Most of my materials had been left at home as I packed my suitcase in a rather haphazardly way, it seems. I had a hoop, a craft knife and some paint and begged, stole and bought everything else and came away with two different designs that I really love. I’m really excited to make something with my two panels and am desperately trying to find the time to do some more printing soon.

SharksFlowers

The afternoon was a return to hand stitching and Jen Kingwell. She gave us her ‘Green Tea and Sweet Beans’ pattern and lots and lots of tips on how to make hand sewing easy and fun. This kind of hand sewing is even faster than EPP and seems more relaxed. Once you’ve cut out all the pieces the sewing is really quick. It’s just as portable as EPP but gives a completely different effect. I didn’t like the background fabric I used for the block I had chosen (I used the background I had brought to print on in the morning) so am going to start again with some different background fabric. I know I shouldn’t event think about starting this project as I really need to finish my Spring Carnival first but as soon as that is done I’m starting on GT & SB and won’t stop until it’s finished and hand quilted!

Jen Kingwell and I

Saturday evening saw the return of quilt market and I did buy some fabric. I couldn’t resist some Oakshotts and some Cotton and Steel. All in all I was very restrained as what I really wanted was a big fat quarter bundle of Oakshott but there was the slight problem of no room in the suitcase…

Pub quiz; you either love it or hate it. I enjoy a good pub quiz although I’m usually the one smiling and nodding while everyone else is giving the answers. This time, however, it was all about fabrics, designers and books and I knew quite a few of the answers. So did the others, though, so I was still sitting there nodding and smiling. And the nodding and smiling paid off as we won. We were allowed to choose a pattern from a selection of patterns and I picked Jen Kingwell’s ‘Steam Punk’. I have no idea when I’m supposed to find the time to make it but, to be honest, I’m just happy to have it in my house.

Sunday morning saw me traipsing back to the Baden Powell House with no materials for my last class. I’d bought the materials before leaving for England but had to leave them behind as there was no space in the suitcase. That’s what I get for sharing a suitcase with a six year old. My last class was with Amy Smart, who I’ve admired for a long time. She’s written a great book ‘Fabulously Fast Quilts’ and we were going to make one of the quilts from it. I walked into the class and told Amy that I was happy to be the pressing girl and thus help out all the other ladies. Luckily for me the wonderful Di from Willowbeck Designs was in the class too and I ended up pressing and sewing for her while chatting non stop. It was a truly great end to a fantastic weekend.

Di, Amy and I

 

 

Categories: Fat Quarterly Sewing Retreat1 Comment

Fat Quarterly Retreat 2013: The Classes

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First of all, the retreat was great. If you have been dithering about going, stop and book a ticket for next year as soon as possible. It is so much fun.

Friday morning I got ready to hop on an earlier train to London as I had been given a last minute ticket to the Liberty talk which had been organised by the Fat Quarterly Team. It was all about how the designers find inspiration for their beautiful fabrics. Sadly my train was really late and I arrived in London when the talk was almost over. Not a great start to the weekend but I wasn’t going to let this upset me and instead took a taxi to my hotel.

Waiting for the train

After dropping Edna and my bags at the Radisson I ambled over to the Baden-Powell House to meet up with lots of crafty and creative ladies and gentlemen. It was so much fun to see some ‘old’ friends and meet lots of new ones. Soon it was time for my first class, EPP curves. I didn’t get much done as I was having too much fun chatting with Di from Quiltova and Helen from runquiltknitwrite. However, I have taken all my bits and bobs out today and am hoping to finish this little block tonight.

EPP Curves

Friday evening was spent on the terrace chatting and looking at fabulous quilts. Delma from Siblings Together came to pick up the quilts that people had made for the charity. Because I’d been ill before the retreat I hadn’t managed to hand sew the binding onto the back of my quilt. So I sat on the terrace stitching like mad to get it finished. The lovely Jane (Teacupfaery on flickr) offered to help and I gratefully accepted. It was very much a last minute finish so I didn’t actually get to take a picture of it. If you’d like to see it finished there is a picture here in the Siblings Together group pool.

Basting

Saturday morning my first class was Improv with Lu Summers. I’ve been admiring her improv minis for ages and was incredibly excited about learning some of her techniques. I had so much fun (I think Lu is one of the funniest people on this planet) as I was sitting with some great people. I shared my sewing machine with Rachel from House of Pinhero who is such a nice, beautiful and generous person. I’ve been following her blog for quite a while as she makes the most wonderful clothes. She gave me lots of tips and I’m now really excited to start making my own well-fitting clothes. It’ll probably have to wait until after our move but that’s alright.

Improv Mini

I was under a bit of pressure to finish my improv mini as my next class was hand quilting with the lovely Mandy. Mandy’s hand pieced and quilted quilts are totally drool worthy. The one below is her version of the Green Tea and Sweet Beans quilt by Jen Kingwell of Amitié Textiles and I would have loved to discreetly stuff it into my bag. I brought some batting and backing for my mini so that I could hand quilt it in Mandy’s class. However, they were both too small as my mini ended up rectangular rather than square. I’ve decided to unpick the quilting again and start again with a bigger piece of batting and backing rather than cutting off some of the quilt. Watch this space.

Mandy's Quilt

My last class on Sunday morning was making a flexi pouch with Tacha Bruecher. I loved making the x and + blocks from tiny little pieces but got a bit stressed out by the fact that Edna doesn’t have a quarter inch foot. In the end I didn’t finish my pouch as the top was falling apart because I hadn’t backstitched properly. I might just take the whole thing apart again and fix it with the help of my Bernina. I still had lots of fun chatting (I think there might be a theme here) with the lovely Claudia, Amy and blogless Helen.

Tiny x and + block

Right, those were my classes and they were all brilliant. I came home totally inspired and am already looking forward to next year. In the next blog post I’ll tell you all about the wonderful gifts I received and goodies I bought. TTFN!

Claudia and Elisabeth

 

Categories: Fat Quarterly Sewing Retreat7 Comments

It’s Almost Time

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Fat Quarterly Retreat 2013 is almost upon us and I’m joining in with the linky party here.

My name is Elisabeth and I live in a small village in lovely Cambridgeshire, England. I won’t be here for much longer though as I’m moving back to Switzerland in August. I usually look like this:Me, myself and I

(although I’m hoping to get a visit to the hairdresser’s in before FQR) and will be wearing this:

Name Tag by Leanne (She Can Quilt)

My fabulous name tag was made by the incredibly talented Leanne from She Can Quilt. She’s one of my quilting heroines so you can imagine how it feels to have a name tag made by her. That foundation paper pieced ‘e’ is 1″ square!

I’ve been sewing since I was a girl but only started quilting a couple of years ago. So far I’ve only made one quilt, although two are now ready to be basted and quilted in the next few days. However, I have made quite a few mini quilts and cushion covers. My favourite is hand sewing and I love drawing and sewing my own English Paper Piecing patterns. There are a couple of free patterns on the tutorials page if you are interested and I’m working on two more which will hopefully be added soon.

I also make bags. This one was made especially for the retreat with some Boho for Moda mini charms although I’m now in quandary as it doesn’t go with any of my coats or cardigans. I might just have to make another one…

Boho Bag

My classes are: Improv with Lu Summers, English Paper Piecing curves with Julianna and Joanna, Flexi purses with Tacha Bruecher and Hand Quilting with Mandy. I’ve got all my materials ready (except for quilting needles and embroidery floss) and have put my name on my mat, ruler and rotary cutter. Oh yes, I’m ready.

Categories: Fat Quarterly Sewing Retreat10 Comments

Changes

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My blog has been rather neglected lately as I’ve been trying to find my mojo. Just as I found it again, my life has been turned upside down. Mojo is now sitting in the corner twiddling its thumbs, waiting for me to crawl out of my hole and get back to the sewing machine. I hope it happens soon as I have some great incentives to get me going again:

1. I owe Christine her bee blocks for May. I’ve finished one and have one more to do. The one I did has quite a few dodgy points as Little Miss Bossy-Boots was whining in the background while I was sewing so I’m waiting till she’s in bed to do the second one in the hope that my points will match up a bit better.

Christine's Bee Block

2. I entered the second round of the FLiRTS (Fab Little Random Treasure Swap) on flickr. Shipping dates are fast approaching and I’m only half finished. I really need to get a move on to finish the foundation paper pieced mug rug I’m making. As I don’t know whether my partner drinks tea or coffee I’ve decided to make it reversible with a tea pot on one side and two or four coffee cups on the other. I will tell you a bit more about the patterns I’m using when I show the finished product.

Tea Pot Mug Rug

3. I’ve entered two swaps for the Fat Quarterly Retreat in July, the name tag swap and the sample swap. I love the partner I got in the name tag swap and I already know what I’m going to make for her. However, I won’t be able to show any of it until she gets it as it would be too obvious who it’s for and this is, after all, a secret swap. As for the sample swap I’ve decided to make some amigurumi. I haven’t made any for ages so this is a good opportunity to get back into crochet.

4. I would like to make some clothes now that I have an overlocker. I’ve got a pattern I want to try, Tara by Jolijou, but I first have to find out how the machine actually works. At the moment she’s still sitting in her box and I think that’s where she’s going to stay until school starts again as it’s not only half term but also Little Miss Bossy-Boots’ birthday this week.

 

Categories: Fat Quarterly Sewing Retreat, Musings, Sew Euro-Bee-An2 Comments

New Addition

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There’s a new addition to our family:

Hello Gorgeous!

That’s right, the cutest little sewing machine. A few weeks ago Emily from Strawberry Patch posted a picture on Instagram of her Singer Featherweight 324 which she wanted to sell. I’d been wondering if I should get a small, light sewing machine to take to the Fat Quarterly Sewing Retreat this year. I took my Bernina last year but didn’t fancy taking her again; she’s pure metal and very, very heavy. I love vintage sewing machines so I didn’t think about it long and told Emily that I was interested.

Singer Featherweight 324

To cut a long story short, the machine arrived today in her cute as a button wicker basket.   The machine wasn’t the only thing that arrived though. When I opened the basket I found a beautiful hexagon pincushion and the cutest bracelet as well! I always say that quilters are the most generous people around and I think I’ve been proven right again.

Gifts

Green is my favourite colour and those green hexagons sing to me.

Gifts

If I feel chatty I can always use the other side with a lovely text print and pink centre. The card is going to be hung above my sewing machine and the bracelet will, I’m sure, be shared with Little Miss Bossy-Boots (although on the inside I’m going to go “My preciousss!).

By the way, if you haven’t discovered Emily’s blog, Strawberry Patch, yet, go and have a little peek. Emily has such fabulous taste in fabrics and her Marcelle Medallion quilt is stunningly beautiful. You won’t regret it.

Now, I thought I might turn this post into a little impromptu giveaway. I would like to give this cute machine a name, but can’t think of anything suitable. If you would like to win a little something made by me especially for you, please leave a comment on this post with a suggestion for a name. I will pick a winner on Wednesday, 24th April 2013 at 8pm my time. This giveaway is open internationally.

 

Categories: Fat Quarterly Sewing Retreat, Giveaway, Sewing implements8 Comments

All I want for my birthday…

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…is a ticket. A ticket that will give me access to three days of bliss, three days of chatting, sewing and meeting new people and ‘old’ friends. A ticket that will take me to London for three whole days. A ticket that is for sale today at noon.

Guess where I will be at noon today?! Oh yes, in front of my computer with my credit card and a cup of tea (I would love to say a stiff drink but alas, it would be a lie). So if anybody needs me they will have to wait until I get my ticket.

I think he might have to walk himself today.

 

Edited to add: Hurrah, I got my ticket. Happy birthday to me!

 

Categories: Fat Quarterly Sewing Retreat5 Comments

London Star

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I’m really chuffed today.

One of the classes I took at the Fat Quarterly Retreat was the Designer Challenge where Katy and John got us to think about shapes and design quilt blocks. Most of my drawings were just blah but when we had to think about stars I designed a block that I quite liked. When John said he hadn’t seen anything like that before I took a quick  picture before handing over my drawings.

Back home I couldn’t get my star out of my head and decided to try and sew it up. I sat down, did the math and got it all wrong. When I sewed up the parts that make up the block they ended up way too big. Back to the drawing board….

I decided to actually cut out the components and go from there. I had to adjust my measurements quite a bit but plodded on too stubborn to give up (one of my most prominent traits according to Master). I’m so grateful I did as this is what I ended up with:

Do you like it? I love it. It’s not quite like my drawing but I think I actually prefer it like this. There are so many tiny pieces it takes forever to cut them all out but I think that time is worth it. Now, my math still didn’t quite work the way it was supposed to and the block ended being 11″ rather than 12,5″. Mmmh, not sure if I should just leave it at that or try again. This block will be turned into a cushion for a special person. One day I may even go back to it and make a quilt. Would be fun, wouldn’t it?

Categories: Fat Quarterly Sewing Retreat, Quilts5 Comments

Fat quarterly Retreat 2012 – Part 3

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Welcome to the third and last part of my Fat Quarterly Sewing Retreat recap. Can I just mention (again) how much I enjoyed it?

Sunday morning I took my time to get to the Baden-Powell House simply because I hadn’t slept well the night before. I got there long before my first class, though, which was the Designer Challenge. Katy and John sat us down and made us draw various blocks using shapes like squares and triangles before asking us to draw a star block. My star looked a bit like one of these starfish with the long arms and less like a star. As John and Katy kept our drawings I took a quick picture of it so that I could try and actually sew the block. I’ve done the maths and have the fabric ready but need to wait until half-term is over and I have some time to sit at my sewing machine. It was great to just sit down and think about shapes and what you can do with them. At first I felt a bit overwhelmed but after a while I felt very inspired and this process is still going on.

After the Designer Challenge I grabbed my trusty Wernina again to learn how to make portholes in Lucie Summers’ class. Lucie’s Portholes Quilt is breathtaking and I’m sorry to say that I didn’t manage to take a nice picture of it.

The picture of her lovely star quilt which uses the same technique isn’t much better either.

The class was great fun and I loved working both on the circles and the heart.

I felt very sad at the end of my last class as it meant that it was soon time to go home. First, however, it was time for the Ironman show and tell. Our quilt didn’t win but I was very happy that we actually finished it. Ours is the yellow and orange one on the right:

I seem to have missed taking a picture of the winning quilt which absolutely deserved to win. It was lovely with granny squares and a cute border. If you’re interested in seeing more and better pictures of the whole weekend pop over to the FlickR group and then make sure you come to the next retreat. You’re worth it!

A big thank you goes out to the fabulous Fat Quarterly team and all the teachers. You made this weekend truly wonderful! The other big thank you goes to all the lovely people who made their way to London and made me feel part of the community. I loved meeting all you peeps and I love that my reader is now so full of new and creative blogs. See you next year!

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Fat Quarterly Retreat 2012 – Part 2

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Hello again! I meant to write this post earlier but Little Miss Bossy-Boots was very unwell an didn’t want to leave me for even one second. Poor Little Miss has tonsillitis. She’s getting better but refuses to take the antibiotics the doctor prescribed.

Anyway, back to the fantastic adventure the Fat Quarterly Retreat was. Saturday morning I got up and had a lovely breakfast with Amy who I met perchance in the breakfast room. Getting back to my room I was so excited that I went through all my stuff again just to make sure I had everything I needed before making my way to the Baden-Powell House. The Fat Quarterly team were sitting there, greeting us and giving us goodie bags.

Now, I don’t know if you have noticed that I made a name tag for Annabella for the name tag swap but never showed you the one I received? That’s because I didn’t get mine till Saturday morning and my swap partner was  the uber-talented Tacha! Can you imagine how excited I was? Luckily for everyone at the Baden-Powell House I had lost my voice that morning so nobody heard the deafening squeal that was (not) coming out of my mouth.

I also got a sticker with my name on and a Bingo card with six names of attendees which I had to find and get to sign my card. Great little ice-breaker. I have to admit that I haven’t looked at that many female chests ever before. I found my six girls in the end but chatted with at least another 5o in the process and got to meet some really lovely people.

After a nice cup of tea and some biscuits I went to my first class which was frame purses with Katy. The sewing bit went really quickly, Katy explained everything beautifully, and I was very pleased with the look. However we didn’t have time to finish off our frame purses as it was time for lunch. Katy told us to grab her after our next class and she would show us how to glue the frame onto the purse. We did and it was really quick and easy although I managed to get mine a bit wonky. No reflection on Katy’s teaching skills but rather on my non-existent multitasking skills as I was trying to glue my frame and sew for the ironman challenge at the same time.

After lunch, where I got a platter of food especially prepared for me as I’m garlic and olive oil intolerant (I know, I know. Very sad), I headed upstairs  for the sample swap. I had seen so many gorgeous things on Flickr and was a bit nervous that my pouches wouldn’t be good enough. I think they were well received by my swap partners Teresa, Nicky, Emily and Di.

I absolutely adore the gifts I received. When I was taking the pictures Charlie insisted on being in it as well. I’m a softie so I let him sit on my sewing table and stay in the picture..

After the swap I grabbed my sewing machine to take Lynne’s class on paper-pieced pillows. I’m a complete beginner and in my ignorance chose the double circle of flying geese which is not a beginner’s piece. With Lynne’s encouragement I went ahead anyway and managed to almost finish one quarter of it. Sorry about the wrinkles; I took the pictures while unpacking.

Paper-piecing seems to be like marmite, you either hate it or love it. I loved it although the concentration I had to put in meant I stopped breathing for the entire class.

Afterwards I met up with the others from my Ironman group, Amy, Lucy, Muriel, Ruth and Tammy (have I forgotten someone? If I have please forgive me). We got some Savannah Bop by Thomas Knauer to play with. As a novice in quilting I didn’t really say much during the design stage but once the sewing started I did my bit. We didn’t manage to finish that night so when I came back Sunday morning I continued sewing on the sashing. I’ll show you the finished quilt top in the next post.

Although there was more fun to be had with a pub quiz I had to give up and go to bed.

Categories: Fat Quarterly Sewing Retreat6 Comments

Fat Quarterly Retreat 2012 – Part 1

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What a fantastic weekend! I really and truly had the time of my life, made some friends and found lots of inspiration.

The Fat Quarterly team and teachers did a fabulous job, everything was well organised and so much fun. They made sure that no one sat in the corner by themselves but joined in and had a blast. The classes I took were great and very inspirational. In fact, it’s a shame this week is half term as I’m dying to get behind the sewing machine to finish off my paper pieced cushion cover and make some more portholes. More about those in my next post, though.

Now, before I continue I have to admit that I am a bad blogger as I hardly took any pictures at all. I was simply overwhelmed by all the friendliness and was chatting too much (is that possible at a retreat?) and in the process forgot to take the camera out.

Friday I hopped on the train to London with my sewing machine on my shopping trolley and three bags. I had already decided to take a cab as I could not imagine dragging my machine up and down stairs to get on the tube. The cab driver almost collapsed when he lifted my Bernina into the cab. She’s a very heavy girl, my dear Wernina (my uncle Werner bought her for my aunt Tania who then gave her to me, hence the name). I think I might have to save up for a lighter machine for the next retreat. Anyway, I got to the hotel where I met the first two participants, Leanne (She Can Quilt) and Susan (Canadian Abroad). My room was very bijou but equipped with an ironing board, iron and hairdryer. I have no idea where I could have put the ironing board had I wanted to use it but it was a nice thought….

At 5.30pm I made my way to the lobby where a bunch of us was meeting up to go to Tikki Patchwork together. I bought some fabric, of course.

I don’t know who the above fabrics are by but I also bought some Bug Jars from the Backyard Baby Collection by Patty Sloniger for Michael Miller Fabrics.

Natalie Lymer’s Woodland also came home with me. I want to make some Christmas cushions that aren’t too christmassy and I think those little toadstool houses are perfect for this project.

After our little shopping trip we all went for a lovely meal before going back to our hotels and rooms to get a good night’s sleep before the start of the retreat.

I’ll tell you all about Saturday in my next post. See you then!

Categories: Fat Quarterly Sewing Retreat8 Comments