The Jewel-Bright Sampler Quilt

For this Sampler quilt, the theme was predominantly reds and greens in jewel-bright colours. There are fifteen blocks set on point and joined with sashings and posts. The triangle in-fills round the edge are a Turkey red print, a repro fabric I bought for another project which I never got round to.

The quilt was put together and quilted by my friend, Debbie, who is a whizz at machine-quilting large quilts. Using nothing more technically sophisticated than her domestic sewing machine, she quilts each individual block to suit the pattern. I Like this way of machine quilting much better than the 'all-over' patterns you get when you send the quilt for long-arm quilting, which to my eye results in a rather deadening effect on the surface and detracts from the individuality of the quilt.

Jeanne's Patchwork Quilt Completed

Jeanne's amazing Rainbow Tumbling Blocks quilt has been completed and put on her bed. It would really need a full-frontal shot to do it justice as it's difficult to see from this angle how subtley the the colours in the four sections have been blended. Jeanne had started on this major project, all stitched by hand, before she joined Brown House Quilters but was able to get some help and advice in quilting it and finishing it to superb effect.

Quilts from the Alhambra - Star Octagon

Star Octagon is another recurring pattern in Moorish decoration, used in tiling, screens and many other contexts. It adapts easily to patchwork piecing, only two templates being needed to form the pattern which is built up in squares.

In this version I've used a border fabric to add complexity to the design, as you can see in the detail shown below.

Festival of Quilts 2007 - Bob Adams

Apart from the pleasure of catching up with old friends, and of seeing new work by people whose progress I've been following for years, every FOQ holds exciting possibilities for encountering artists who may be well-established but who are new to me. This year it was the artist Bob Adams whose quilted textiles proved to be a revelation.

Do you know the story The Twelve Dancing Princesses, by the Brothers Grimm?
Blue Trunks, shown here with Bob's permission, immediately transported me into the magical landscape through which the princesses passed on their way to illicit rendevous with their dancing partners. It has a slightly eerie, unreal atmosphere; it is a landscape which we can recognise but yet makes us feel a little uneasy.

All Bob's quilted textiles are suffused with atmospheric light - the quilts in the series based on observations of the phases of the moon in particular reveal a truthful observation of celestial phenomena which is transcended and transfomed by the subtle play of light and colour.

As so often the case with textile art, illustrations cannot do justice to the work. The texturised surfaces add depth and complexity to the graphic images: seen 'for real', these pieces express the sheer pleasure and satisfaction which the artist finds in using fabric and stitch. In her book, The Work of Craft, Carla Needleman says this: 'The beauty of the object derives from the quality of the work that went into it. ' Bob Adam's textiles are beautiful, and beautifully crafted. Find out more about him on:http://www.bobadamsart.com/index.htmldamsart.com/index.html

Heritage Quilters visit The Brown House

Heritage Quilters of Carlisle visited The Brown House on 31st July. Here we are, inspecting some quilts in my attic work-room. This one is a Trailing Stars scrap quilt. Luckily, the appalling weather we'd had the previous day relented and the party were able to look at the garden as well. Somehow, interest in gardens and quilts seems to go together so most people who come to visit the one, also want to see the other!

Brown House Quilters - work in progress

It all begins round the kitchen table at The Brown House. Then they take their work home and come back with it all magically finished!
Sometimes they take it really seriously and work hard. But not always!
Notice that the work is fuelled by copious amounts of tea and biscuits.

Brown House Quilters - Sampler quilts

After many months of enthusiastic work, members of the group have got to the stage when all the blocks have to be arranged, ready for assembling the quilt tops. This isn't as easy as you might think, as anyone who has tried it will tell you. Every time you think you've got it just right, you think that a small adjustment will make it look more pleasing. When you've done that, something else comes to the eye - two dark blocks placed adjacent to each other don't look good, or some of the patterns would look better seperated, or....And so it goes on.


Chris laid all her blocks out on the floor while the rest of us stood round and offered comments - in fact, we agreed that she'd got it about right almost first time. The blocks will be set together with sashings and posts in light and dark blue.

Jennifer's blocks are on a pink and lilac theme, and she's so pleased with them that she says that she'll re-decorate the room for which the quilt is intended, to make it match the quilt!

As well as the traditional American block patterns used, we covered other useful techniques, such as appliqué, bias appliqué and English piecing over papers. Please note that most of these blocks have been sewn by hand using the American patchwork method. That's because most of the members of the group prefer not to use a sewing machine, enjoying the ability to relax in the comfort of an arm-chair while peacefully sewing!