To England We Will Go!

As a child, I (Kara) lived in England for three years, and since then, I have always loved everything British. My parents bought a VW camper, and we explored the British Isles with enthusiasm. When my husband mentioned that he had to go to the UK for work, I immediately began to look for things to do in that particular area. Of course, my first search was for quilt shops, and I discovered Bee Crafty; a quilt shop just outside of Huntingdon. I navigated easily through their website and much to my delight, found a paper-piecing workshop held on one of the days I could visit. The class was "1000 Pieces Patchwork With Carol"—an ongoing group, as I discovered—most working on a Millefiori quilt, La Passacaglia, by Willyne Hammerstein.  I called the shop, chatted with Polly, and signed up for the class. 

I have always wanted to make one of these quilts and have been lurking on the Facebook groups devoted to La Passacaglia. I even have all the papers and stencils, but because of lack of time, and a little bit of fear, have never started. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to begin. Many of the finished Millefiori quilts that I have seen have utilized a lot of fussy cutting that creates all sorts of interesting designs. While I like that look, I decided to keep my start simple, with no fussy cutting, especially since I would need to bring all my supplies with me on the plane.

My palette to start.

The cab dropped me off about a half hour before the shop opened, but the shop owner, Maddie, and her manager, Polly, graciously let me in. They were chatting with a fabric rep, and I realized quickly that I could never be a quilt shop owner, as I would want to buy ALL the fabric!!

One of everything, please!

Maddie and Polly were amazing hosts and let me wander around the shop before the class; they even made me a cup of tea! Whether it's quilting, embroidery, or knitting, Bee Crafty has just about everything you might need.

Yarn, paper-piecing, and embroidery supplies

Christmas fabrics and more

The class is one that is ongoing as the project is quite large, so many of the ladies have been working on their quilts for a while. Some of the ladies had already moved on to a different quilt from the book. Carol, the instructor, got me started and suggested that I look for a few more fabrics to brighten up my palette. It was a hardship to go shopping for fabric, but somehow I endured the task. 

The store is well lit and I was able to find a few fabrics to enhance my stash for this quilt.

Carol also brought in a paper-pieced Christmas quilt top that she had done. It was amazing! There was so much detail, with something new to look at each time you looked.  It was all ready to be hand-quilted.

I especially liked the fussy-cut snowmen.

A finished Millefiori top was brought in to share; unfortunately, I can't remember the maker's name, but the quilt was stunning and inspiring. I have looked at quite a few, and this one is one of my favorites.

What a beauty! I hope I can finish mine someday.

Everyone brought a bag lunch (mine was created from the hotel breakfast buffet), and we even had tea served to us by the wonderful Maddie and Polly. After lunch, we kept stitching, chatting, and drinking tea. The workspace at Bee Crafty is spacious and so well lit. What's not to love about a class where you are served tea multiple times throughout the day?

Everyone hard at work,
including Carol, our teacher, on the right. 

A charm quilt in the making.

My accomplishment for the day.

I had a fantastic day visiting this shop, not too far from Cambridge, and can't wait for an opportunity to go back. Everyone I met was so kind and welcoming. One of the ladies I sat near, Gillian, even gave me a ride back to the hotel, so I didn't have to take a cab. Perhaps the most welcoming were Maddie, the owner, and her manager, Polly. They were so much fun and so helpful, even while preparing the shop for an open house the next day.

Maddie and Polly

Some of the other ladies gave me a few ideas of places to go the next day, one of which was the Lucy Boston home (Patchwork of the Crosses). Unfortunately, The Manor—Hemmingford Grey—wasn't open for visitors the next day, but I will try to get there on the next visit.  I did have a chance to visit a few antique shops in Huntingdon, and while I found a few gems, I didn't think they would fit in my suitcase.

Oh the things I could store in this lovely case.

Might not fit in the overhead baggage compartment.

What fun I had on this trip to England! I made some new friends, and I started a project that I had been a bit fearful of—all in one day. All the ladies at Bee Crafty prove my theory that quilters are some of the nicest people in the world.

A Visit with Katja Marek

As I (Kara) mentioned last week in the Windy City Wrap Up, the quilting world is made up of all types of quilters, and each one of us can be inspired by many different things. What inspires one quilter might not appeal to the next, but one type of quilt-making that is inspiring many quilters today is English paper piecing. While not a new method, it is currently experiencing a resurgence in popularity.

A very popular English paper piecing pattern is one created by Katja Marek to accompany her book, The New Hexagon. Katja was kind enough to offer this pattern as an online quilt-along for quilters who had bought her book. I had the privilege of meeting Katja at Quilt Festival Chicago while I was marveling at the exhibit featuring her New Hexagon Millefiore quilt pattern. The exhibit was called The Hexagon Revolution and was sponsored by our friends at Paper Pieces.  It was one of the most popular exhibits at the festival!

Menagerie
by Melinda Smith, quilted by Sue Rowles
Glebe, New South Wales, Australia 

Katja graciously agreed to be the subject of a blog post and answered a few questions for us about the surprising popularity of her New Hexagon movement. Interspersed between the questions will be some of the beautiful quilts from the exhibit, made with the New Hexagon Millefiore Quilt-Along pattern or "Millie" as the quilt is affectionately known.

How did you become a quilter and when?

I've been a sewer as long as I remember. My mom was a tailor by trade and in order to stay home with my sister and I, took in sewing and alterations at home. We visited with my mom in the sewing room. I don't remember ever being taught to sew, I simply did. I sewed clothing (including many pieces of my wardrobe) and quilted items over the years, but it was not until I moved to Kamloops in 1988 and joined the quilt guild, that I learned that much of what I had been sewing over the years was called quilting.

My Millie
by Roberta (Robynn) Van Horne
Evansville, Indiana, USA

Carnival Hexagons
by Kim McLean, quilted by Kay Fernihough
Lindfield, New South Wales, Australia

What inspired you to begin the New Hexagon Millefiore quilt project?

As part of my publisher Martingale's direction to their authors, they indicated that they expect their authors to help promote their books. When the publication of my book was approaching. I received part of my Kaffe Fasset Collective shipment for my shop. One of the fabrics was called Millefiore. I fell in love with the fabric when I was shown it by the sales rep, and when I received it, I looked up the word "Millefiore" that I found on the selvedge. I found out that Millefiore was Italian for "thousand flowers" and that it refers to a glass caning technique where canes (thin rods) of glass are fused together in floral-like units, which are then crosscut, fused together into kaleidoscope designs, and embedded in clear glass to make paperweights, vases, etc. I am also a huge fan of any type of colored glass and immediately decided I wanted to replicate this effect in fabric, specifically using the blocks from my book about to be published. I decided that in order to thank quilters who had purchased my book, I would give them something else they could do with the blocks from my book by launching my FREE online quilt-along, The New Hexagon-Millefiore Quilt-Along.

Thoroughly Modern Millie
by Sharon Camping,
Robin Sutherlin, Marilyn Brisendine, Ann Seitz, Trina Camping
quilted by Gina Siembieda
Los Angeles, California, USA

Millie on a Whim
by Amy Varner
Kansas City, Missouri, USA

How has The New Hexagon-Millefiore Quilt-Along exceeded your expectations?

From the moment I announced it's launch, I had daily sign-ups and just after posting my first rosette, I received multiple requests to start a Facebook sharing group. I thought this would be a difficult task, but learned it was easy. I set up a group that night and by the next day had the first 364 members. Members joined daily and now we have over 12,000 members in that first group. I now have a second Facebook group: Katja Marek's Quilt With Me for all things after the Millie, such as my 2nd and 3rd quilt alongs: Blocks on the Go, for Quilts on the Grow and Perpetually Hexie.

The New Hexagon Millefiore
by Sue Hicks and Telene Jeffreys
Barberton, Mpumalanga, South Africa

What advice do you have for quilters just beginning this project?

English paper piecing is pretty straight forward; jumping in is the best way to start. It's a really great technique for traveling or for anyone on the go with kids at sports games or snowbirds. Glue is what made it doable for me, more than the traditional thread basting. I approached each rosette individually, knowing that I wanted a riot of color with each rosette being distinct from the ones next to it, like an English country garden.

Millefiore Quilt Along
by Karen Vosen,
quilted by Shawna Crawford
Havre, Montana, USA

Indian Summer Glow
by Yolande Ankersmit, quilted by Anne Kipping
Deventer, Overijssel, Netherlands

How did the exhibit at the Quilt Festival Chicago happen?

The Chicago exhibit, The Hexagon Revolution, was proposed by someone who was a fan of my work. It had already been submitted and accepted by the time I found out about it. Paper Pieces, who are producers of all my English paper piecing papers, signed on as sponsors. I immediately decided I needed to go to the show. This was the first show based on my designs and I decided I wasn't going to miss being there. It was so much fun to lead the tours at the show and to interact with everyone attending the show and the feedback was fabulous!

Katja leading a tour

Katja Marek (middle) and two exhibitors who became friends through the quilt-along

I have had Katja's book for some time now and am a member of the Facebook group, but given all the moving craziness, I haven't had a chance to try any of the 52 blocks in her book. With all the inspiration from the show, I thought I would at least make a start.

Block 9, Doris, is the center block in the first Millie rosette

I need to work a bit on my fussy cutting skill, but at least I have it started. As my father-in-law would say, "inch by inch, it's a cinch"—and that is appropriate advice for this project! The instructions were so easy to follow and I look forward to making progress on my "Millie".

My first block!

Unfortunately, my pictures did not do this exhibit justice, however, I hope you have gotten a small glimpse of the glorious colors and shapes these quilts have. As you can see from the captions, the quilt makers in this exhibit come from all around the world. Each quilt is different and offers a reflection of its maker(s). A big thanks to Katja for sharing her story with us and for sharing this amazing quilt! You can visit her website and see all the wonderful things she has to offer by clicking here. Have you caught the English paper piecing bug? We would love to hear how you got hooked and learn what inspired you.

International Quilt Festival, Houston—Part One

It would be impossible to describe the International Quilt Festival in Houston to one who has never attended. There were roughly 55,000 attendees from over 35 countries, with more that 1,100 vendors' booths and over 45 special exhibits of quilts and related needle art. It can be overwhelming, but oh, the inspiration that abounds! All quilters should put this experience on their bucket list.

We took a plethora of pictures, which we will spread out over several posts, so as not to overwhelm you (though that would give you a more accurate feel of  Festival.) We will share a couple of the quilt exhibits in their entirety in their own posts. For today, we'll show you a few highlights. Above are views of the exhibitors booths from the second floor.

We were not alone in loving the Dutch Heritage reproduction fabric in this booth with Petra Prins.
She sold out of all of her stock before the Festival was over! The samples below show why. Stunning!!  

                 

One of the exhibits that we found intriguing was The Millefiori Quilts, sponsored by Quiltmania Editions. The attention to detail in composing these intricate quilts is almost beyond imagination.

Polychromatic Medley, by Christine Belding; hand-pieced using English paper piecing,
from the book Millefiori Quilts, by Willyne Hammerstein.

Detail: Polychromatic Medley

Detail: Polychromatic Medley

Hexagons were everywhere! Here are the girls in the Moda booth demonstrating English paper piecing with hexies, using mini charm packs (Moda candy) of Grunge fabric. They even handed out a sample of the Moda candy so we could all try it. Start small, and you, too, could end up stitching a Millefiori quilt, totally by hand! Why not?

And we just have to say that the David Bowie quilt hanging in the Moda booth was incredible!!

For your viewing pleasure, here are a few more quilts in exhibit that we enjoyed. Stop back soon and see some more of our favorites!

Winter Memories, Chieko Shiraishi; Japan
Hand appliqué, hand embellishing, hand quilting, hand embroidery

Detail, Winter Memories

Whooper Reflection, Judith Roderick; New Mexico, USA
Hand-drawn with soy wax and gutta-dyed, machine quilted; hand-painted silk

The Peaceable Kingdom, Margery Hedges; Texas, USA
Machine appliqué and quilting; hand appliqué, painting

Second Chances, Rhonda Dort; Texas, USA
Hand piecing, appliqué, quilting and embroidery; machine embellishment and embroidery
Made with vintage linens, doilies, trims, ribbons, laces

My Favorite Paisley, Yoko Izumi; Japan
Hand piecing, hand embellishment, hand quilting

No Bake Appliqué, Wendy Reed; Maine, USA
Hand-appliquéd and quilted, potholder method 

Wendy asked for a photo of us with her quilt; here you go, Wendy!
And congratulations on your ribbon!

That concludes this taste of the Houston Quilt Festival. There is so much more to see. Stay tuned!