I seem to have become a Contemporary Quilter without knowing anything about how to sew pieces of fabric together so they lie flat! Having been a dress maker and embroiderer for longer than I care to remember, I thought it was time to start making quilts! Easy, or so I thought, but I have realised that in doing things the way I have done, I've missed out on learning how to get the basics right! It's not really a question of matching corners and points, although that would be nice, it's getting my seams organised so that there aren't lots of lumps and bumps where there shouldn't be.
So here is my ninepatch block which is lying much flatter and below, the little sample that isn't!
I wouldn't have known how to go about this, had I not met a lovely traditional quilter on Saturday who was so generous as to share her tips and tricks with me. Now of course, I know how much I don't know, I'm thinking I will have to do something about brushing up my basic techniques before I can call myself any kind of quilter! Just when I thought I was about to become a textile artist too!
Our new group of Contemporary Quilters met for the first time over in Cadisham on Saturday. We have decided to call the group Textile without limits because we wanted our name to reflect our diversity of talents and didn't want to be seen as "just another quilting group". It was a lively meeting and not only did we all get on very well, we all seem to have similar objectives. This isn't going to be a group where we turn up, drink tea and chat. We already have a challenge to prepare and are planning on spending time mark making and mono printing at the next meeting! It was a longish day, but very rewarding and I'm so glad I went. Am I really going to spend a lot of time on patchwork for it's own sake? Somehow I doubt it!
Your new group sounds very exciting and the nine patch block looks really good. I thought you'd get sucked in in the end ;-)
ReplyDeleteThank you Penny for leaving me your supportive words on my blog. It helps to know people have been there before me and understand although I grieve for everyone's pain in this situation. Life can be very sad.
I look forward to catching up with you and Sandra before too long. I want to come up to York to the new exhibition. Just holding my breath for a few weeks to see if Mum is going to be ok or whether we are going to have to find her residential care.