Carolyn Forster's Quilting-On-The-Go

Had busy few days at the Ardingly Quilt show! So many people to see and chat with whilst I sat in my little booth. Thanks for coming by everyone.

And thanks for all of the wonderful comments about the new book. It will be available from The Quilt Room, Dorking and Kaleidoscope, Glasgow. Both do a brilliant mail order service, so it is easy to get your own copy of Utility Quilting!

I also met some lovely ladies who I had bumped into in Houston last autumn. This time they (Jane, Linda and Emma), were running their lovely fabric stall at the show, and I was thrilled to see they had fabrics by Mary Fisher and Marcia Derse.

I love those two designers, but no one that I knew of (until now) had the fabrics for sale in the UK. So if you want to splash out on this great fabric (like I did!!), pop over to www.finstallfabrics.com.

I choose these Mary Fisher Fabrics:

And these Marcia Derse:

And from an old favourite, Fabrics Galore, I had these:

So probably I should get down to some sewing now don't you think!

Have a productive sewing week!

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!

I am loving all the quilts I see over the internet that are quilted and finished with ties and Big stitches!

I used linen thread with  'wine glass' (actually a saucepan lid in this case!) and stitch in the ditch quilt designs for this Australian bush quilt:

Have a look here at some other great quilts:

Posie Gets Cosy

Molly Flanders

Anna Maria Horner

Blue Elephant stitches, and 

Sew Create it.

These methods of finishing quilts have always worked for me. One of my first quilts was Big stitch and Tied with stranded embroidery floss through 4oz polyester wadding, and it's still looking good!

This old quilt I find inspiring:

This is what I did on my stretched Hexagons:

Have a look here for some more ideas!

Get those quilts quilted!!!

I have been looking at so many posts about what everyone has made over the last year, that I feel slightly inadequate!

Although I start lots of things, not all of them get finished in the same year. This quilt, which I finished over the New Year, was started in 2010!

On the floor in my room:

The pattern for the applique is a Ruby McKim. The blocks are about 18in.

Out in the garden:

I quilted it with Elbow Quilting:

Flapped in the wind, there actually a nice Denyse Schmidt print in the centre of the back that is hidden here!

Have you seen who will be at the quilt show in Nantes this April……Kathy from Material Obsession!

I am planning on going to the show this year, so this is an added treat!

I must start saving my pennies now!

Well day two of 2012 has given us some lovely sunshine, so despite the mud under foot (due to day one of 2012 being grey and wet), I ventured out to get some shots of things I have been stitching.

Today it is the turn of the Squares and Diamonds quilt that I have made from the new line from Moda, 'A Stitch in Color' by Malka Dubrawsky.

Enjoy!

It spent a long time in this state on the floor of my sewing room:

But happily now looks like this:

As is my way with these sorts of designs, I am keeping the wavy edge. It will be a pain to bind, but worth it!

The black fabric is 'Heath' from Alexander Henry and of the Moda fabric I used a bundle of fat eighths:

So at the moment this is a flimsy, waiting to be quilted. I wonder if that will take me until next year!?

Good wishes for your stitching for 2012!