Innehållsförteckning för Issue 123 från Today's Quilter

Welcome to 2025! A new year, a tonne of new (or maybe some unfinished) projects to sew. The wonderful thing about the world of quilting is you can work on projects for years, finish some off in weeks or dabble in several different ones at once, and they are done when they are done (unless it is a present, then it’s heads down and foot to the sewing machine pedal!) We have an interesting article on quilting retreats in this issue and, hopefully, it inspires you to book a break for yourself. They are great places to meet like-minded people, and often strong friendships are forged. And what do you need when you do go on a retreat? Something to carry all your quilting bits and bobs. So, it is…

To celebrate the launch of the new Kaffe x Morris & Co. fabric collection, FreeSpirit Fabrics is giving away a fabric pack, which includes Fat Quarter bundles in Blush, Bold and Blue colourways, worth over £100 to one lucky reader! Head to www.gathered.how/competitions to enter. All FreeSpirit Fabrics are available to buy from your local quilt shop. We have one FQ pack (consisting of 2 x 10-piece FQ bundles & 1 x 7-piece FQ bundle) up for grabs, worth over £100. Promoter: Our Media Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 05715415). Residents of the UK mainland only, aged 18+ can enter. Closing date for entries is 23:59 on 19th February 2025. For full T&Cs, see www.gathered.how/competitions…

BEHIND THE QUILT BUILDING BLOCKS “A mix of community life here: four houses, with one large classic version plus three smaller versions placed centrally, or to the left or the right of each block. Add a few trees to the mix and we have a diverse group that becomes a settlement. Scraps of different fabrics are used throughout for the houses and the trees, with a collection of fabrics for the background areas, although one fabric could be used as the background throughout if preferred.” – Lynne Edwards MBE You will need ■ Assorted fabrics for the houses – Forty-three (43) 6in squares or 1⅛yds in total■ Background fabric (BKG)* – 1⅔yds in total■ House doors – Forty-three (43) 3in x 2in pieces■ Trees – One (1) 15in square■ Tree…

KEEP YOUR QUILTING TOOLS SAFE! “If you’re like me, you enjoy a visit to a quilt show. You plan the travel ahead, possibly the accommodation if you are there for a few days, and in the run-up to the event you make a shopping list. “Inevitably, a few things off the shopping list are purchased, but many more things are impulse purchases. Those books you can’t stop yourself from picking up – then you get them home and realise the projects you desperately want to start are all in cm! Well, to try and help you out, this month’s cover gift is a 6in square ruler that doubles up as a 15cm square ruler – so it’s a ruler with both imperial and metric measurements! “So that you don’t lose…

LITTLE HOUSES TEMPLATES ACTUAL SIZE PLEASE NOTE: Templates DO NOT include seam allowances. SCAN ME! Scan the QR code here, to go directly to the templates page on Gathered.how and download all templates for the projects at full size! GREAT MINDS TEMPLATES ACTUAL SIZE PLEASE NOTE: Templates include seam allowances. DOWNLOAD THESE TEMPLATES FULL SIZE Visit our blog: www.gathered.how/todaysquilter today! VINTAGE MEDALLION TEMPLATES AND LAYOUT ACTUAL SIZE PLEASE NOTE: EPP templates A, E and G DO NOT include seam allowances. Templates B, C, D, F, H, I and J do include seam allowances. BOM FOUR CALLING BIRDS BLOCK LAYOUT AND TEMPLATES ENLARGE 200% PLEASE NOTE: Templates DO NOT include seam allowances. DOWNLOAD THESE TEMPLATES FULL SIZE Visit our blog: www.gathered.how/todaysquilter today!…

BEHIND THE QUILT RESCUE MISSION “For as long as I can remember, scrappy quilts have been a part of my life. I grew up surrounded by my grandma’s “blankies” pieced from the smallest bits of saved scraps, and quilts filled with tiny snippets of favourite prints still speak to me today. I encourage you to comb through your scraps, rescue the smallest pieces of cloth, and transform them into this twinkling mini.” – Kim Diehl You will need ■ Dark print fabric (for patchwork and binding) – One (1) fat quarter■ Selection of prints – Twenty-seven (27) bitty bricks: 4½in x 10½in■ Selection of cream prints – Four (4) fat eighths■ Backing fabric – ⅔yd■ Batting – 24in x 24in Finished size ■ 16½in x 16½in Notes ■ Cut all…

It’s very helpful to be able to divide a large quilting project into smaller units and tackle these individually before the final task of assembling the sections together. SOMETHING TO TRY Way back around 1992 I started to teach my first Sampler Quilt Course. My plan was to devise a year-long course to teach quilt making techniques one by one in a structured way to give the students the tools and skills of the craft. At the time there was nothing around that did this, and I was probably attempting the impossible….but what did I know? One thing I did know was that if everyone toiled through twenty techniques, both hand and machine, and made a block using each one, the assembling, quilting and finishing to make this pile of…

Introduction “Block 4 has four calling birds. My continued research has unearthed yet more English folklore! In the 1790s original published version, the carol has “four colly birds” not “fout calling birds.” In England at the time, “colly birds” was a name given to blackbirds. Furthermore, in the 18th century, in our then almost exclusively Christian society, the four calling birds were deemed to represent the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John which begin the New Testament of the Bible. “I chose to make the bird on my block stand proudly over the number 4 and to be singing to its hearts content. One of my great pleasures in spring is to rise and get out early to walk my dogs and listen to the dawn chorus.…

ISSUE 124 ON SALE 12th of February 2025 TO RECEIVE ISSUE 124 AS YOUR FIRST COPY, SUBSCRIBE BEFORE 15 JANUARY 2025. SEE PAGE 16 FOR DETAILS! • Shine bright with Paula Steel’s medallion star quilt and Lynne Goldsworthy’s FQ-friendly design made using Tilda prints. Plus, find 4 gorgeous designs all by the talented Lynne Edwards MBE in your cover gift supplement with issue 124! *Please note, gift and contents may be subject to change…

Unravelling History: Unpicking the Collections and Reworking Textile Traditions 31 January-11 May 2025 • Featuring the work of distinguished artists, Laura Kemshall, Linda Kemshall, Daniel Lismore, Jennie Moncur, Annabel Rainbow and Stephanie Redfern, Unravelling History offers a diverse range of textiles and ceramics, plus an insight into the evolution of textile art and its continued inspiration. Visit on 1 February to meet the artists or listen to a talk on samplers on 4 April from 13.00-13.30. 10.00-16.00 Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum, Royal Pump Rooms Parade, Parade, Leamington Spa, CV32 4AA Contact: annabelrainbow@gmail.com or Curator (Human History) abigael.flack@warwickdc.gov.uk The Creative Craft Show and The Scottish Quilting Show 6-8 March 2025 • Celebrating its 10th anniversary, The Scottish Quilting Show is a world-class event providing opportunity for artists across the…