Monday 24 March 2014

A New Challenge


On Saturday we had another enjoyable Sit and Sew Day with many people making Sewing Caddy bags, an inspirational Show and Tell and we set our first challenge! I'll start with the challenge then share photos of the bags and quilts.

Wheels Challenge

As I'm sure you know, the Tour de France will be starting in Yorkshire this year! To celebrate 'Le Grand Depart' a friend of mine is organising a quilt show in Harrogate and is on the lookout for quilts to display. I thought it would be great to promote Modern Quilts by encouraging you to provide some for the show and also to enter for the Great Northern Quilt Show in Harrogate at the end of August. There are four rules for our challenge:

1. The theme is 'Wheels' - this can be interpreted in any way you choose and can be made using any technique.
2. The colour scheme is bright colours with a white or other light neutral background.
3. The item should be of a size to be eligible for one of the  categories for the Great Northern Quilt Show and have a hanging sleeve, if appropriate.
4. The deadline is  June 21st which is the date of our June meeting.

That's it! You don't have to make a large item as anything from a cushion size upwards is eligible and it doesn't have to be your own design provided you acknowledge any pattern you use. Follow this link for the entry form for the Great Northern Quilt Show to read the rules for the show which we will encourage you to submit your quilt for. 

Coincidently on  Saturday Helen had a quilt for show and tell which was perfect for the challenge!


Helen used a pattern from Cluck Cluck Sew called Spin Cycle. She was worried that the free motion quilting wouldn't be good enough for the shows but your entries do not have to be perfect. In fact we want to encourage visitors to have a go at quilting and not make them think it is too hard. We will allow the quilt police to deter our enthusiasm!   This quilt also proves you don't have to sew curved seams to interpret our theme. The bag front design at the top of our post would also make a lovely Wheels entry. For more inspiration visit our 'Wheels' collection of photos on Pinterest

We plan to collect the quilts from you at the June meeting for display at the Tour de Yorkshire exhibition and then take them to the Harrogate Quilt Show if you are willing to enter them for that too. Of course your quilts will be returned to you. If you have any questions or suggestions about the challenge please leave a comment below.

Now on to the bags and quilts from Saturday. We were using a free pattern for the sewing caddy from Gina Bean Quilts. Linda and Sandra have been making these for a while and provided invaluable help and advice to everyone working on these - thank you both for that. Here are a few photos of the caddies, some finished, some work in progress!





Aren't they lovely? Well done to everyone who had a go at this project!

Now on to show and tell. Again we had a huge variety of quilts, some in a modern style, some not so much but we love seeing everything our members make!

Alison's Bargello Quilt

Andrea's Zebra Bag - other side below
 

Anne's Lattice Quilt front and back
 

Davina's Zig Zag Quilt front and back


Jane's 'Stupendous Stitching' panels above and runner below.
 

Janette's Crosses Quilt made for a friend in South Africa

June's Table Runner above and Art Bag below
 

Sheila's Squares Quilt

Sue's Hand Pieced Stars Quilt


Sue A's new quilt design

Thank you to all our members for sharing. If you have a photo to share with us please use Instagram with #yorkshiremodernquilters or if you have a blog share it by leaving a comment below.

There is no Sit and Sew in April so our next meeting will be on May 17 and I'll post details on here nearer the time. Happy Stitching!

Hazel

Sunday 16 March 2014

Sit and Sew 22 March


This coming Saturday is our next Sit and Sew Day and it's time to book your place! You must email me if you want to join us as we have been getting very busy lately and places are limited. Please don't just turn up on the day as you may be disappointed. Here are the important details:

Date: Saturday 22 March
Time: 10am to 4 pm (arrive from 9.40 onwards)
Place: Deepdale Community Centre, Boston Spa, LS23 6EH
Cost: Around £3 depending on number of people attending
Tea and coffee provided


This time our project is a lovely Sewing Caddy (as in the photo) which Sandra and Linda introduced to us a couple of months ago. Click on this link for the free pattern by Gina Bean Quilts. You will need to click on the link in the post to open the instructions and then click on 'File' then 'Print PDF' or 'Download' to save it to your computer first before printing it. You must print your own copy to bring to the SASD as it is lots of pages so we will not be printing these for you! You may want to cut out the pieces before the day so you can get on quickly with the sewing.

 I'll bring some fabulous stiffening 'Decovil Light' (£8 per m) and thin Fusible Fleece (£6 per m) in case you want to use them to make your bag nice and firm, plus the usual fabrics, threads and notions for those who want to browse the portable shop with absolutely no pressure to buy.

Of course you don't have to make the caddy, you could work on any project of your choice. Don't forget to bring your lunch and something for show and tell as well as all your sewing stuff!

To get you in the mood here are some photos from last month's Show-n-Tell: