My Great Quilting Expedition

I have made a good start on the Flowering Urn Medallion Quilt but it will now need to sit on the back burner, as I need to be making teddies for the Hugglets Teddies Festival in Kensington Town Hall,  London on the 14th September.  I have had a six month break from teddy making, due to severe headaches after a head injury in January.  The headaches have reduced in frequency and I now feel up to going back into my workroom.  I need to feel well and focused when making my one of a kind bears. A teaser photo of my latest bear: The flowering urn quilt will be worked on during my patchwork group meetings for a while. I will need my needleturn 'fix'!

Part 3 is more or less finished.  I really enjoyed needle turning the broderie perse and I love working with hexagons.  It will probably be about a month to six weeks before I get the fabric pack for part 4, so in the meantime, I've started another project, the Flowering Urn Medallion Quilt by Rosemary Makhan. A photo from the pattern book:  I think it is lovely as is but I intend to change the colours to the fabrics I have in my stash. If I run out of steam, the pattern book has another pattern for a wallhanging (with the same centre)...so I have a back up plan if I baulk at piecing all those stars!   ...although, that dogtooth border looks difficult! I've marked up the central medallion and about a quarter of the stems are done. I'm off to the National Quilt Championships Show at Sandown on Friday with the lovely ladies from Hawkinge Patchwork Group.  I can't wait to see all the beautiful quilts on show...and I'm hoping to buy a few su...

I have now finished the top and bottom borders of the quilt.  I decided to hand piece them to the quilt after I happened across a video of Jinny Beyer hand piecing.  I'm really pleased I had a go.  It was very easy to do and I didn't catch the points on the previous border in the seam allowance. I've made a decent start on the side borders.  I managed to get three hexie flowers completed and attached to the border at my patchwork group meeting this morning.  Happy days!

I am now splitting my time between bearmaking and quilting, so progress will be even slower.  The fabric pack for Part 3 of the Quiltmania Di Ford mystery quilt last weekend. This border is a combination of EPP, needleturn and broderie perse.  I am very new to these techniques, but am doing my best to learn and trying a variety of methods. Eighty-four half inch hexagons are required for this border.  I sewed the first four leaves using traditional needleturn.  I wasn't overly happy with the result.  They were not as perfect as I would like.  I will leave them in the quilt, as I like the idea of the quilt showing my 'progress'.  For the rest of the leaves, I used a wash away stabiliser, and glue stick method.   This method has given a more consistent result. One side of the border complete and three more to go.  I am loving every minute of making this quilt.