Carolyn Forster's Quilting-On-The-Go

There has been lots of stitching going on here.

I am still quilting my 'square waves'.

I am hand piecing.

I am finishing off some book projects.

I am finishing off some book instructions.

My camera has been looking at this:

Most of my photography has been documenting the re landscaping of our garden. It doesn't look much as yet, but this is about week 5 out of a possible ten! The guys are working really hard and it will be great!

What I can show you though that  are finishes, are the tops from some of my beginners class that finished recently:

Karin:

Denise (and she complete her MA! Yeah!!!!):

Sarah:

Sat next to Sarah (email me your name, as I have a complete blank!):

Stephanie:

Suki:

These look so great! Well done Ladies!

New Beginners will be starting again in September.

And from me, here is a rolling star block:

Hope you haven't had too many distractions from your stitching?

I do unashamedly love it when it snows.

Having a dog means that you can't just sit inside and look out at it. So I have been out there twice a day, and it is lovely. 

I don't like all the mud and slush afterwards, but Hay Ho, can't like everything!

Just before the snow came I finished  a little quilt , 'Dogs at a Dog Show'. I have another planned where they are playing and have bones and a ball. But here they are in their best and standing straight.

And this is my dog Bosco having a sleep! You know he is asleep, because if he had been awake he would have been in the middle of the quilt, not the cushion!

Don't worry, He doesn't get this cushion or quilt to play with as they have buttons sewn on, and as we all know, that is a choke hazard.

If you have Dog you would like to sew a quilt for, or even make them a cushion, then pop along to The Patchwork Dog and Basket for date and time, and we can sew one together in their new class room!

Last week I took a trip up to Fabrics Galore in Lavender Hill, London.

I see their stand at the shows, and purchase the great fabrics. Lovely linens for bags and Liberty Tana Lawn at a third off regular price! What's not to like! However I discovered that they were the only shop in the UK to stock ALL of the Liberty Lifestyle Collection. So in the car I hopped.

This was what I walked away with, and the Liberty Lifestyle to follow! Gulp! So worth the visit!

In the meantime 'back at the ranch' my Stash Club from Amitie arrived:

Won't they all work well together!

I quickly stitched the free block pattern that came with the fabrics (I don't want to get behind, as I have the Barbara Brackman Grandmothers Choice to keep on top of – pictures coming soon):

Yes, I know, I don't trim triangle points!

Jen and Lucy are in Houston at Quilt Market, showing the World their brilliant patterns. Check out the blog. And get your order in here!

On the stitching front I have had a surge on my String Snowballs. I started it a few years back with one block to see how it turned out, then thought it was a lot of work and left it alone. But each time I taught my String Quilts class, out came the sample to show, and I would think, that I really would like a whole quilt of that!

So, some of you might have seen the blocks being stitched a few posts back on this blog, but this is now the 'border testing phase':

You will see which I went with when the quilting is done! I stitched the backing together this morning, so no excuses now!

I used my Snowball template for cutting, these are now in stock, at £8 each (inc. p and p).

While I sit and wait for the sleet to stop before I walk Bosco, I thought I would share with you some quilts Jill had on show last year at 'The Patchwork Dog and Basket.

I love this grid quilting over the tiny baskets:

Grid quilting again, all over a quilt from the same era:

Diagonal lines cover this striking quilt:

The boldness of this is great:

Look at the way the fabric for the baskets has perished. I wonder what colour it really was? Something strong to not be lost against those flowers and stems. And interesting quilting with those double lines in the background:

Check out their website for an exciting new range of workshops too. They have a new space, upstairs opposite the shop and full of space and light! It was a great venue for the quilt show they had last year, and will make a lovely studio for classes!

On March 1st I am doing a class there, so if you want to come and have a go and find out how useful Utility Quilting can be for you, give them a ring and get booked on!

If you want to hear me talking about  utility quilting and the book this week, then tune in to Mark Lipinski's Creative Mojo on Wednesday at 3pm (US EST) or over here it will be 8pm UK time.

Teaching for 2012 kicked off with a great start this last weekend with ladies at Three Bridges, Crawley stitching 'Japanese Bag of Squares'. A busy day, with most ladies stitching all four bags – Well done!

This Wednesday 'Start with Stars' begins at The Quilt Room Dorking. And to get you in the mood for that, this is what the ladies from the course at the end of 2011 made:

Well done Ladies!

And on Friday, the Spring Quilt Show is at Ardingly. So come and say 'Hi!'

What a great quilting start to 2012!

Well, the computer situation is getting a bit better. My biggest problem is lack of pictures, and especially the lack of shots from Houston, as I had not backed them up before the computer died!!

REMEMBER TO BACK STUFF UP!!!!

So today I thought I would show you some pictures of quilts by students from some of the classes I teach, or have taught. Often in classes you see the start of the quilt, but never find out the end results.

Sometimes though I get an email from a past student and it is like Christmas, as they show me what the finished quilt looks like! This igreat, and is often accompanied by where the quilt is now, who it was sewn for etc… I really do appreciate these emails! So exciting!

Sheila Linnel stitched this from a project I did for Sew Hip Magazine, and the one below from a class,'the quilt that quilts itself'!

This is from Ria Grand who stitched stitched this Kaleidoscope hexagon in record time!

This is a quilt from   Vivien Hopkins who stitched it from the new Stripy sampler pattern.

And this is by Kate Evans who stitched the quilt based on a class I did at Thread Bear, south Croydon:

Well done Everyone!

This is an exciting time of year with classes starting up, and so many quilts at the start of their lives!

I had to start up a new quilt this weekend when I realised that I had no sampler quilt to stitich for the Big Stitch classes coming up this week! Yeek!

So this quickly sewn top came into being with very little effort! I will be quilting it in my Big Stitch classes throughout the year unless I get over keen and decide to finish it, and then I am back to square one, with no quilt to demo on.

I must keep myself under control!

And a quilt that required a whole lot more effort was shown to me this week when Jilly from my 'Adavnced' class brought her complete top in to show.

Great job Jilly!!

And with all this creativity around I sat back in a moment of weakness and brought myself a pin cushion by Victoria of Silly boodilly fame.

Other people are just so talented!

My Take and Teach at Quilt Market in Houston this year is based on my new Kaliedoscope Hexagon pattern. But don't worry we are not sewing the whole quilt, just having a taster with a pincushion!

So if you are over there register and come along! It is on Monday 1st November, class 501.

And for those of you, closer to home I am starting a regular class ain Bells Yew Green, Tunbridge Wells in January 2011.

Email me for details! It's a Monday morning, 9-15am to 12-15pm

I am often asked about the number of quilts that I sew, and the answer is really that I love the process.

Yes I love the finished quilts, but really I like the whole planning, fabric selection and the stitching part of the quilt! And the other day I came across a button over here. Which is for people like me to proudly admit that we like the process!

And although I am busy stitching here I don't seem to have been very handy with the camera!

So here are some very good shots (not taken by me, but by Colin!) of my Kaliedoscope Hexagon quilt that will be my new pattern in the Autumn.

Enjoy! Whether it's the stitching or the looking!

Sometimes I really wonder who benefits from my classes the most, me or the students!

Many a time I will leave the class at the end of the day with my mind buzzing with ideas inspired by the work that the students have created! A point in case was last Saturday when I taught Kaliedoscope Hexagons at 'Just Between Friends' . And I saw this lovely post by Angeliki, one of the students. She was inspired too!

My beginners class had their last lesson this week and it was great to some of the quilts that they had sewn inspired by the ones I made. They are always all so different.

This was Nics:

And this was Catherines:

And if you would like to see lots of quilts this weekend , go along to the show  at Sandown Park Race course in Esher, Surrey.   You will also see the quilt from the front of the current Fabrications magazine, which I made, inspired by the quilts from the Perkiomen Valley area PA, USA.

It doesn't really matter if you are inspired by the quilts of the past , or those of the present, just so long as you sew quilts!     

And if you are able to spare some minutes to help in the feild of discovering why we quilt and what is inspiring us, read on, and click to fill in the survey.

Dear colleague,
As a quilting and/or patchwork enthusiast, you are an integral part of the textile community. As the national body representing quilting and patchwork in The British Isles, it is important that The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles understands your expectations and needs to ensure we are providing the best possible service to that community. To help develop this understanding we would appreciate it if you could take a few moments to complete a short online survey.The answers you provide will be totally anonymous. Should you choose to disclose your identity this will not be associated with any of your responses. The answers provided will only be used for the purposes of this research and will not be divulged to any other bodies. You will not be under any obligation to join the Quilters’ Guild of The British Isles, however if you would like to find out more please visit the website: www.quiltersguild.org.uk
The responses from this survey will inform a body of research which will be used by The Quilters' Guild of The British Isles in their future work. Jacqui Corcoran, a postgraduate student at Sheffield Hallam University, will undertake the research, which will form the basis for the dissertation element of her MA Cultural Policy and Management

The survey will be available until Wednesday 30 June 2010 and can be completed here: http://www.kwiksurveys.com?s=KNHDHO_c46e71e6

Thank you for your time

Kind regards

Jacqui Corcoran