Another busy week for the Apatcheez and a couple of catch-up photos for you to enjoy.
Last week Lynette finished this beauty and I omitted to put it in the blog:
Also Cheryl, who is relatively new to Apatchy (welcome again Cheryl) sent me photos of her UFO conquests so far this year (Sharyn are you getting worried?). This lady is a steam engine when it comes to finishing projects – and they’re not small ones:
Now that’s quite a haul isn’t it! I really like Cheryl’s work – it has definite modern influences and her choice of colour is always interesting.
Speaking of colour how’s this for bright? Sharyn didn’t disappoint and arrived with another finished project or two –
Are they vibrant colours? And speaking of colour how is this for a treat? It’s Robyne’s thread box – such delicious colours and such order! Very impressive.
Meanwhile, not to be outdone Margaret has finished this project that has been on the UFO list for a while-
And in a week of finishes Tracey finally finished this bed runner for her daughter. Ooh la la I think she’ll like it-
And Heather has been playing with some yo yo’s, some fibres and some red fabric and she came up with these wonderful creations – right on time for Anzac Day
I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing what my clever ladies have achieved this week. Why don’t you come and join us for classes and you could be crossing your projects off that UFO list!
On that positive note I’ll leave you but just wanted to tell you that Arthur (No. 1 son) is scheduled for brain surgery tomorrow so if you could send positive thoughts our way I would be grateful.
So knowing the Apatcheez want to be at the forefront of fashion and also want to know what’s ‘chic on the streets’, this post is dedicated to what’s trending in the quilting world. As you know I had to attend AQC in Melbourne for two full days to determine what’s hot and what’s not (tough life) as well as do extra research to bring you the most up-to-date ideas on colour and composition. So here’s what I’ve found:
1. Vintage is In Vogue! Still!
You’ve all heard about the rise of vintage style in fashion and homewares and you may be a little bemused at the popularity of some items that you may have thought outdated – especially if you wore them the first time around. But don’t be fooled. Vintage is still big business and naturally the fashion flows through to all aspects of our lives – including our pastimes. So put the Ludo aside while I’m talking to you and concentrate!
Pantone just released their Spring/Summer 2015 Report and lo and behold the colours do seem to be a tad, well ‘granny couture’. A little bit like the shortie pyjamas Nanna used to give you for Christmas perhaps? Lucite green indeed!
Now don’t those colours correspond to the cushions above perfectly? And the cushions were made from vintage sheets! They were on The Crafty Squirrel stand.
We saw lots of quilts that have these cooler softer colours, generally they were teamed with white and they did look fresh and crisp. The look is called “en plein air” and flowers prevailed.
Remember yo-yos? We’ve been playing with their more sophisticated cousin the kanzashi flower for a couple of years but the standard yo yo is back – and it’s vintage now!
2. Whimsy Rules
Designers are keen to show you the sweeter side of life – probably a reaction to the constant onslaught of bad news we seem to be under. We saw this in all manner of projects from large quilts to small items like the mouse above.
I showed you the Kellie Wulfsohn stand yesterday and it underlined this style perfectly. I noted with interest that she has changed some of her standard patterns to more subtle colours. For example, the Alphabet quilt below was originally in primary red blue and yellow. Her designs have been sought after since she started and always have a ‘delicate’ look even when they are in primaries – maybe it’s the raw-edge applique technique she uses. Whatever it is we will continue to stock her patterns because they make us happy.
A very clever stand was this one promoting the Alice in Wonderland fabric:
and another was the Material Obsession girls:
3 Pincushions are Back
Well they never really went away did they? We always need a pincushion and some of us have collections. Making a pincushion is a great way to use up fabric remnants and is a lovely gift for someone when a large quilt is out of the question because the UFO list is already too long.
Helen Stubbings has a lovely wrist pincushion as one of the Hexie Club projects so look out for that – here it is in Helen’s colours:
You can make lots of other projects if you have the energy and you can see that cushions were also big this year.
Sorry about the picture quality there but I was dazzled by the colours and that brings me to the next trend –
4. Felt is In
Felting has gained popularity over the past few years and there are some very talented people around who can conjure up chic bohemian garments and even arty farty compositions. Putting felting together with quilting has not been seen too much until now. Well it’s been seen but not with cotton fabrics and not in general quilting world.
This is one of Segolaine Schweitzer’s quilts and she predominantly works with wool felt.
And here’s a basket of felt matched with fabric that is just crying out to be taken home:
I think it was at the Material Obsessions stand. Sue Spargo has been utilising this medium for some time and I think these were for one of her cushions (should’ve taken better notes).
Marg Low, who I mentioned yesterday, had a perfectly delightful stand with all kinds of felt applique from tree skirts
– to Christmas baubles –
to bunny-related designs –
which brings us to the next trend –
5. Embroidery is Hip
Now my Embroidery Guild ladies already knew this but embroidery is certainly making its presence felt in the quilting world. While it was almost unheard of in Europe and America for quite some years it is now quite common to see some embroidery incorporated into a quilt. I also showed you Segolaine Schweitzer’s work yesterday. Here it is again.
And here are some closer details of the embroidery she did on each week’s ‘block’
I think this little guy ticks the whimsy box as well. Isn’t he charming?
And while we’re looking at these blocks we can’t help but notice that they are hexagonal which brings us to:-
6 Hexies are still taking the world by storm
They’re everywhere!
You see them in kitchen shops
and you see them in stationery shops
and you see them in the quilting world too of course. The Apatcheez have been working away at the Hexie Club projects that I mentioned before but you could really decorate the whole house in hexies
Linda White from Gum Valley Patchwork had this beauty on her stand that I think also ticks the vintage box.
Maybe the whole world could be covered in hexies. Think about that until next time happy quilting
Names, names names darling that’s what we have for you today. Over the past few days I have walked the halls of the Exhibition Building with the who’s who of Australian quilting. And I have the stories and the photos for you right here. Call me the patchwork paparazzi if you like. Lesa, my partner in crime and I have rubbed shoulders with everyone who’s anyone in the world of prairie points and here’s what we found:-
Our first piece in the quilt sandwich of AQC was Helen Stubbings from Hugs ‘n Kisses. Helen designs the projects for the hexie and appliqué clubs and she had those any many more on display.
It was useful to see the finished projects and gave us an idea of what to choose for the following months. Helen also had some other interesting projects that the stitchers in the group would love.
Next up we had a laugh with Deb Layt. Deb has just published a book on her original technique she calls ‘Geoweb’. If her quilt ‘Fire and Ice’ is anything to go by this will inspire many people to read how she achieves such wonderful results.
A frequent visitor to Apatchy Quilting, Lisa Walton was on duty at the show and in fact had to step in to cover Lenore Crawford’s classes when the latter was unable to attend due to illness. Quite big shoes to fill but I’m sure Lisa managed. We were discussing another class at Apatchy and she suggested her ‘Fusion’ class. It involves improvisational piecing and proved very popular at AQC with the classes being booked out in two hours. Way to go Lisa.
While we’re on the subject of improvisational piecing, Deborah Louie, on the Bernina stand, was obtaining interesting results from improvisational stitching providing additional texture to quilted fabric.
Marg Low had whimsical stitcheries on her stand, many of which she partners with buttons from Theodora Cleave. She has promised to send me a catalogue so that will be another blow to the budget.
We already stock patterns from ‘Don’t Look Now’ and the designer Kellie Wuhlfson had a delightful stand full of whimsical projects. I particularly liked the woodland creatures in the one shown on the left here-
Another impressive display was from the guest artist Segolaine Schweitzer. She works with wool and although we haven’t seen anything like this at Apatchy, it was very interesting and inspired us to think what we could do with our projects. Particularly interesting was her 52-block piece – that’s one block every week for a year – does that give you any ideas?
Ironically we came to Melbourne and caught up on the Brissie gossip with Kez from CheraBella Buttons. You can always rely on her to know absolutely everything that’s been going on in town and she promised to drop in to Apatchy to do a trunk show very soon so we will lock her into that when we get back! I didn’t get a photo with Kez because I was too busy talking to her!
Just up from Kez’s stand were the Bloc Loc people. I watched a demo on Saturday from Janna Andrews showing the rulers that she and her husband developed. These rulers have been designed to take the stress out of half square triangles and actually just about every other tricky piecing shape including the drunkard’s path block. These rulers ‘lock’ onto the diagonal seam and take your accuracy to a whole new level. I was quite impressed and thought of several girls who could benefit from one of these rulers (me for one). I think they will have to be on next month’s purchases list. Thanks Janna.
Speaking of demos, the amazingly talented Helen Godden was showing everyone how to use the Sweet 16 machine to couch wool. Have you ever heard of a couched wool quilt? Helen said she thinks it is the first one in the world and I wasn’t about to disagree. Here’s the quilt
And here’s Helen effortlessly making it happen.
Looks easy doesn’t it?
The highlight of the show was meeting Molli Sparkles. Molli blogs about his quilting adventures and I have followed his blog for some time. For much of that time he has been the darling of the modern quilt movement. And rightly so. His photographic training ensures that his composition is spot on and an artistic eye ensures his quilts are striking. I did wonder how he would manage the crowd at AQC – more the sensible-shoe brigade than his usual followers and Melbourne such a conservative city. Knock me down with a feather boa though I should not have doubted – His Shineiness was in fine form. Even as his alter-ego Joshua Helms, the ambassador for Juki sewing machines, he was charming and I’m sure they sold more machines because he was there.
Of course many people may not have known Molli Sparkles the blogger (and maybe you don’t. Have a look here then) but there were enough of the glitterati, as he calls his followers, to ensure that he was kept busy. We had a chat about the difficulties of running a successful blog. I would have liked to discuss this in greater detail but his public beckoned. He had a quilted sign on his table saying “Selfie with Sparkle” designed to encourage the fan photo and really how could you refuse?
I’ll have to leave the stories about what’s trending until tomorrow as it’s midnight now and I’m back home and plum tuckered out.
Did you enjoy seeing all the True Blue quilts yesterday? Ready for more brilliant quilts? Ok well here’s a photo bomb session like no other. I tried to get a photo of the quilt as well as a photo of the detail. So here we go:-
‘Summer Rhapsody’, Joanne Johnson
An amazingly tiny hexagon quilt didn’t get the maker’s name sorry
‘Coxcomb and Currants’, Janet Treen
‘Through the Garden Gate’, Rose Lewis
A Michelle Hill extravaganza
‘Enchanting Stars’, Jacqueline de Jonge
Circle of Life, Jacqueline de Jonge
More Michelle Hill
Another one I didn’t get the name for
And another
‘Audrey’, Andi Herman
‘Aunt Millie’s Garden, Wendy Hunt
‘Priscilla’, Bronwyn Hill
M is for Mast and M I’d for Mackenzie, Margaret Sampson
‘Quilt Police’, Liz McAnish, Elizabeth McCallum, Mavis Wright, Marilyn Hall and Barb McIlvain
Quilted Wallpaper, Robyn Ginn
So there you have the B’s for best in Show and Brilliant design. Tomorrow we’ll do C for the Celebrities I met and D for the direction quilting seems to be going in the ‘what trends I noticed over the past two days’.
On a whim I decided to jet down to Melbourne for the AQC (Australian Quilt Convention), the bees knees of quilt shows in Australia. I had previously discounted the idea of going on the usual mundane grounds of cost and time. Then Luvvy said “why aren’t you going”? Why indeed I thought. So a few thousand frequent flyer points later and a quick hotel booking on wotif I found myself at the domestic terminal of Brisbane airport at an extremely uncivilised hour.
Following a recommendation I checked in to the Windsor Hotel. This hotel is the last of the 19th century hotels and is soon for renovation so there is a strange air of faded glory and lost regret in the building. I’m almost certain I saw Miss Marple sitting on one of the leather lounges in the foyer.
The hotel is a classic beauty with sweeping staircases and stained glass – the bastion of graciousness of a bygone era. Unfortunately it lives in a time which loves only polished concrete and tempered glass and it will soon be “extensively renovated”. Time passes as it must.
But I digress. The business at hand is the quilt convention and so it was that I made my way up the hill to the Exhibition Building (another architectural masterpiece) to see what architextile masterpieces I could find. And I was not disappointed. I took so many photos that I will have to ration you lest you be overcome. I’ll start today with the ‘True Blue’ entrants for the AQC challenge. Unfortunately I neglected to get all the names of the quilters and their entries and I apologise for that and also for the fact that not all the photos are of the best quality (well the light was bad in some areas and I was working under pressure).
We had a lot of fun this week in the classes and managed to share tips from pinning to plumbing – now that’s quite a range of topics. And of course as usual the Apatcheez have been very busy again this week creating beautiful things. Some have been ‘upcycled’ from the leftovers of other projects (I don’t like the term ‘scraps’ as it has connotations of discarded waste and fabric is never that.) One such example are the purses that Sharyn has been making. I showed you a whole bunch of them last week here. And here’s another;
Now we are always impressed with Sharyn’s rate of output. She generally has at least one finished project for ‘show and tell’ and lately there have been several each week. Now we think we know how she’s been able to be so prolific;
Nice one Johnny! And what a great label. Do you label your projects? If not why not? You know you should. Lately I’ve been a fan of the free motion written label where you use free motion quilting to ‘write’ a label in your own handwriting. I find that your hands already know where to go because you are so used to writing whereas patterns are more difficult. Try doing a unique label next time and send it to me so I can share it with everyone.
Unfortunately I don’t have too many photos of this week’s projects because I forgot to take them. I know I’m supposed to be mindful of this weekly post and not be in this position but sometimes I just get carried away with the chat and the sewing and forget to document it – photographically anyway. Let’s just say that there are still many many hexagons being produced as well as some very nice embroidery work and Sashiko, not to mention the appliqué that is transforming Kaffe Fasset cottons into exotic blooms and imaginary animals.
I did manage to photograph the handover of our group quilt ‘Flowers for Trudy’ to Susan Seeney, the lucky winner of last year’s raffle. She is thrilled with her new acquisition and knows the meaning behind this quilt – that it was a memorial for our friend Trudy and that 31 Apatcheez worked on it. Although Susan lives in Sydney she actually met Trudy and knows how special we all thought her so that is especially nice.
It’s been a very red post today hasn’t it? All the photos are predominantly red. Does that inspire you to make something warm?
I feel there’s an excursion coming on so I’ll have to tell you more about that next time.
Ok well it’s actually Friday but let’s not be pedantic. The Apatcheez have been very busy this week – here’s what they’ve been up to:
June made these purses as gifts for her travels when she jets off next week. Hope the recipients appreciate all that work! The purple fabric was the result of a long search and was eventually found in the surprise box when June won the lucky door prize – how’s that for good timing?
This week those who took part in the first round of the Fiesta block of the month received their last block. There was a lot of comparing notes especially between those who used machine sewing and those who worked their blocks by hand. Both methods are producing striking results.
Spring came to Apatchy this week when Margaret showed us these daffodils. We decided a class in the near future would be a good idea.
While we were enjoying the spring bouquet of daffodils Margaret showed us the whole garden! This is just one block in a quilt pattern by McKenna Ryan called “In Full Bloom” and it certainly was!
Sharyn, who always has something for ‘show and tell’ used up some of her scraps wisely and made these great purses. Love her bespoke labelling.
We’ve had bling lanyards for sale for a while now. Suzanne conjured hers into this decorative hanger that sparkles in the sunshine.
Thinking outside the square again she also came up with this creation during a week when the quilting muses weren’t calling.
Maureen spent a lot of time smocking this dress for her doll that was repaired at the doll hospital. She has had this doll since she was 12 and it now has a new lease of life.
And if you’re wondering why this is late – last night, when I should have been writing this, I was with Mum and Dad and the teenager-in-residence at QPAC watching Nana Mouskouri in concert. The tickets were bought as a gift for Dad who has always loved Nana. As children we did not really care for her music and used to complain about having to watch her show every week.
Now she’s 80 and on a world tour to celebrate her musical life. And while I was never really a fan I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was she good – she was magnificent! Absolutely professional, still a wonderful voice and looking at least 20 years younger than her years. And 2nd row seats made it very special.
Another great performer – today Mum has been working away on a little project for us using the petite Paris range but I’ll tell you more about that next time.
The Hexie club is well underway and you saw the first two projects last week. This week we were able to see the first project from the sister program – the Appliqué Club – thanks to Sharyn’s efficiency.
Sharyn also had time to make another little project with the leftovers and we were all impressed by her interesting label
While we’re on the Sharyn Show let me tell you that she won the clever award of the week by taking a slap ruler from Smiggle and turning it into a bespoke wrist pincushion with a couple of strategically placed loops.
Speaking of new fabric (well you were thinking about what fabric to make your pincushion weren’t you?) we have just received the very beautiful Glitz range from Michael Miller Fabrics. Here’s what you can do with it:
Also had delivered a batch of nursery quilt and bunting kits at a very special price – here are just two of the four designs –
You’ll have to call if you want one of these because they’re not on the website. In fact the website is almost finished – there is a new one just waiting for the green light (and a couple of things for me to do – like add all the fabric – manually!)
While we’re on the subject of nurseries – we had a very special visitor on Wednesday night when Sarah brought her lovely baby Sophie in to meet us all. Ever tried to make a 3-month old baby smile for the camera when all she really wants to do is anything else???
Eventually you give up and just accept it.
Another visitor to the workroom was ‘the beast’ – Lesa’s current work in progress. This talented lady has already won several awards for her work and we all think this one will continue the run.
Isn’t it wonderful? It’s a clever use of Kaffe Fassett fabrics and also savvy fussy cutting. Those beautiful hexagon flowers didn’t make themselves – they evolved from imaginative and astute scissor work.
There are some more projects in the gallery from last week (mainly Sharyn’s because she clearly doesn’t sleep) and I finished a project myself – but it’s a gift for someone so you’ll have to wait until next time for the big reveal.
I also heard from Cathy – who used to be a Tuesday girl and sometimes a Wednesday girl – but who has now run off with her husband to the wilds of Tasmania. You can catch up with her at her blog here. Suffice to say that she is doing it tough – here’s what she has to cope with:
Isn’t it dreadful – your heart goes out to her doesn’t it!
The humble hexagon has evolved – you know I have gradually been seduced by this shape and so, it seems have the Apatcheez. Most of the work being done in class involves hexagons.
We have our own Hexie Club up and running. These projects have been designed by the very clever Helen Stubbings from Hugs n Kisses. Helen lives in Tasmania so she has lots of stitching time in the cool weather unlike us Brissie girls.
The first project was this pretty pouch – made from fabric pieces left from our Fiesta block of the month.
The second project is the pencil case – although we all think it is more aptly described as a universal tote – exactly the right size for your sewing supplies. This project shows how utilising different fabrics creates a totally different look.
Here’s the front:
and here’s the back:
Jan , who made this, did tweak the pattern slightly but didn’t change things too much. It’s a really versatile little bag.
Here are some more of the ladies working on hexagons:
See I told you they’re all at it!
Another hexagon-related project is based on the book ‘The New Hexagon’ by Katja Marek.
On her website she has runs ‘The New Hexagon Millefiore Quiltalong’ The idea is to make rosettes using patterns from Katja’s book (copies of which arrived at Apatchy last week) and you end up with a 78″square quilt. I have seen some of the rosettes on the Facebook group and they are spectacular.
Source: Elizabeth Eastmond
Source: Suzanne Golden
See what I mean? Do I feel a new project coming on?
Hope you had a good week too. Have a look at the gallery – there’s more inspiration there.
Before I divulge the secret of the best gadget in your quilting toolbox have a look at this:
The prolific Jan has already finished one of the Hexie Club projects (that she only started last week). Oh the joys of having unlimited sewing time. Jan tweaked the pattern slightly and added a fancy zipper pull. So it’s really a one-off.
There are more Hexie Club projects out there and we’ll bring you photos as soon as they’re finished. I’ll also talk to you more about hexagons and how they’re taking over the Apatcheez but now I have to tell you about the super-tool:
So this week we had some people working on their first sampler quilt. I mentioned it in the last post that some reverse sewing was required when Emma and Sharon’s blocks just wouldn’t come together as they should.
Third time lucky Emma!
We always tell learners that they don’t have to worry about making a mistake, that we all did (and do) and that “it’s only fabric and what’s the worst thing that can happen?” The lovely thing about quilting is that you can always go back and fix a mistake or else make a new block if the one you’re working on is beyond repair.
Of course there is frustration in failing to sew the perfect 1/4″ seam, or from sewing two pieces together the wrong way round and sometimes you feel like Sisyphus – endlessly trying to create the perfect piece. (Note – at this point I asked the teenager-in-residence to name an amazingly creative person and he came up with Eddie Van Halen so the following example is his fault). But did Eddie Van Halen enjoy practising his chords until he got it right? Probably not. Sometimes things don’t go well and you want to give up – but wait – here is an wonderful tool to help – the seam ripper!
When seams do have to be unpicked the best quilting tool you’ll own comes into its own – the seam ripper. Sure you could use scissors or a needle or a stanley knife or some other sharp weapon but you’ll end up with a mess. Either you’ll pull the fabric out of shape or fray it to such an extent that it is unusable.
Don’t think that the humble seam ripper can be used willy-nilly – oh no – in untrained hands it will cause more damage than it fixes. If you actually try to position the seam ripper between the seams and rip it along you’ll find you may have unravelled more than you bargained for – and that block you just spent all morning sewing is now – well – ripped!
My first suggestion would be that you buy yourself an ultra sharp good quality seam ripper. I would recommend Clover brand. They have two types – the brown handle and white handle models – and both are excellent. Cheap rippers will only end in tears – just saying…
So it just happens that I had cause to do some reverse sewing myself this weekend when I inadvertently sewed two triangles to the bottom left and top right of a piece rather than top left and bottom right. As the piece forms part of a flower bud leaving it was not an option (although I did consider it for a day or so).
So it had to go. Actually several had to go because I had continued on before I realised the extent of the mistake. Here’s the way to do it:
Slip the sharp end of the seam ripper through a stitch and press forward to break the stitch. I only needed to undo that part of the seam from the point of the seam ripper to the far right (not the whole seam) which is why the seam ripper is in the middle of the fabric.
Now keep going along the seam and break around every 4th stitch (in the example above I’ve actually ripped every 7th or 8th stitch but this is a case of do what I say not what I do!)
Now turn the piece over and pull the thread – you should be able to lift it clear with very little force. If it won’t come easily you probably ripped every 8th stitch like me instead of every 4th one like I told you!
Now turn the piece back over and just brush away the small pieces of thread you have left. Excellent now you can start to sew the seam again – and try to do it right this time!
Oh and one last thing – the teenager-in-residence thinks you should have a link to Eddie in action so here it is:
Smoke Signals from a Log Cabin 
