Innehållsförteckning för Issue 107 från Today's Quilter

We are so excited to introduce our new Block of the Month project: the Creative Curves quilt. Not only is it designed by TQ favourite Lynne Edwards MBE... but, if you can believe it, it’s the first block of the month series she has ever created!? Each block will be a masterclass from the brilliant teacher, culminating in a sampler quilt at the end. So join us on this journey over the next few months. Plus, our Christmas issue is of course filled with a number of festive designs. When we unpacked Lynne Goldsworthy’s Holly Jolly quilt, the team were all wowed – so this quilt is sure to impress. And as the weather starts getting colder, Nicola Dodd’s jumper-inspired row-by-row design is perfect for this time of year. It’s…

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Creating brings out a kindness in people, and a maker will always want to make – crafting gifts that share the magic and beauty of handmade. For the receiver of an exquisitely wrapped hand-crafted gift, it feels extra special. That time, effort and skill, the love and dedication channelled from heart, to hand, to gift. Christmas might feel like peak time for presents and production, a time of giving, but remember to keep everything in perspective. This is an exciting season, but overwhelm can come from many sources: desire for perfection, ambition to push yourself and perhaps your business, that omnipotent ticking clock and the hope to bring cheer to others. But you must look after yourself – this is paramount. Think about the methods you can…

APPLIQUÉ PROJECT A SENSE OF NOSTALGIA “Traditional Christmas carols feature in many of my childhood memories. Even just a few notes can stir my emotions and leave me with a sense of longing and a feeling of home that few melodies can invoke. Included in these treasured memories is a German Christmas song that has always left me pondering the meaning of its unfamiliar phrase. Even as a young girl, I always wondered about the meaning of ‘O, Tannenbaum… how lovely are your branches’. “Fast forward many years after making the big leap from America to my home now in Germany, there are more additions to my list of songs sung during the Christmas season. In the beginning, some of these songs were just new songs sung in a strange…

INSPIRATION Last month, I discussed the importance of blocking and squaring. Possibly the two most important steps when creating a wall hanging, but people ask me: “Are they important if I am making a bed quilt?” YES! I say that they are just as important. Ever fold up a quilt and the squares don’t meet? Or one edge is longer than another? Or the quilt will not lie flat on a bed? Well, no one squared up that quilt. Let’s make sure that someone isn’t you. There are many different ways to square up a quilt. I will share my method here, but my ultimate goal is to get everyone to understand the importance of squaring up their quilts. Lie it flat! Just like with blocking, the floor used to…

THE PATTERN SOMERSET GARDEN Designed by Suzanne Campion for Liberty, this classic Grandmother’s Flower Garden EPP quilt pattern showcases a series of hexagon gardens. Each contains fussy-cut flowers, while the central focus of this beautifully detailed quilt is a star of diamond blocks, leading to larger hexagon blocks. Suzanne still uses a needle case made by her own Grandma in the Grandmother’s Flower Garden pattern. She says: “I have designed this pattern so you can create your own sampler heirloom based on a traditional pattern but full of your own unique character”. THE BOOK MILLEFIORI QUILTS 5 Willyne Hammerstein brings you the fifth entry in the Millefiori series, and it’s the perfect way to mark her 80th birthday! If you’re new to this style, the name comes from the quilt’s…

Now it’s our readers’ time to shine! Take a look at their recent makes and get some inspiration for your next quilting project! WRITE TO US Today’s Quilter, Our Media, Eagle House, Bristol, BS1 4ST EMAIL: todaysquilter@immediate.co.uk Christmas surprise I just wanted to share with you these four “book cushions” that I have made for my grandchildren. I used the pattern from issue 94 by Raggedy Ruff Designs. This pattern was originally for a tree skirt – I couldn’t give each grandchild a tree skirt, but a cushion is ideal. A huge thank you for such an inspiring magazine and to Cowslip Workshops for stocking an inspiring range of batik fabrics. Barbara Balloch, via email What beautiful work, Barbara, thank you so much for sending us the photos! These cushions…

Introductions This curvy block is the first for you to try! Many of the collection have smooth curves created by layering folded squares of fabric on one another and then transforming those diagonal folded edges by rolling them back into gentle curves and stitching them in place. My lifelong love of Cathedral Window has led me to collect, invent and document different ways of creating curves from folded bias edges – no precision piecing here, just rather lovely effects made by manipulating the fabric and easing it into organic, curving lines. So, let’s plunge right in! Choosing the fabrics The Janet Clare “Collage” collection is what I am using for this Block of the Month quilt. The collection offers a group of designs in a dark colour-base, all under the…

Pilgrim Quilters 25th Charity Exhibition 27-28 October The Pilgrim Quilters invite quilt enthusiasts to visit their 25th charity exhibition in support of Sight For Surrey, who strive to empower people with a range of sensory conditions. Enjoy a sales table, raffle and refreshments. Admission: £3 (children free) 10.00-16.30 St. Ann’s Catholic Church Hall, 4 Brighton Rd, Banstead, Surrey SM7 1BS www.pilgrimquilters.co.uk Crafty Old Birds Quilt Show 29 October This exhibition of quilts will include a raffle, tombola, refreshments, cake stall and several craft stalls. 10.00-15.00 St. Luke’s Church, 109 Old Road, Overton, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF4 4RB ‘REFLECTION’ 31 October-5 November An exhibition of contemporary textiles. Nottingham Society of Artists Gallery, Friar Lane, Nottingham. NG1 6DH Newent Quilters Exhibition 4 November 2023 This exhibition of members quilts and…

The origin of the traditional British strip quilt, or strippy, is uncertain, but they were produced most prolifically from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. A pieced variation of a wholecloth, they were made mostly in the same areas as their single-fabric cousins, that is, predominantly in the North Country and Wales. In the North Country, along with its acclaimed wholecloths, strippies are widely regarded as one of the most quintessential regional styles. Indeed, it has been recorded that strippy-type quilts were made more than any other style of North Country quilt, despite the survival of more wholecloths that are often found in exceptional condition. This apparent anomaly is explained by the fact that wholecloths were made for best, so were only lightly, and in some cases never,…

Find the fabrics, books, accessories and more that you want from this month’s issue. SHOPPING FABRIC COLLECTIONS Christmas 2023 Scandi www.makoweruk.com Mercantile www.rileyblakedesigns.com BOOKS 60 Fabulous Paper-Pieced Stars, 2nd Edition www.searchpress.com Fun With Squares www.searchpress.com Millefiori Quilts 5 www.quiltmania.com ACCESSORIES The Ultimate Sashiko Card Deck www.searchpress.com The Periodic Table of Quilt Blocks Poster www.searchpress.com PATTERNS Somerset Garden www.libertyfabric.com/somerset-garden-quilt WIN Don’t forget to head to Gathered.how to enter our giveaway to win the fabrics & thread pack on page 14* *T&Cs apply…