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.

Back-Basted Basket Weaving

In November, I (Teri) taught a workshop for the Baltimore Appliqué Society on this lovely flower basket block, made by Mildred Tahara. I wrote about this stunning quilt in the post, In Praise of Jane Austen: An Album Quilt, including close-up shots of the blocks Mildred made that will be BAS workshops. Elly Sienkiewicz designed the patterns Mildred used.

As I began stitching my model, I pondered the basket. My favorite appliqué method is back-basting, so I knew that would be how I'd construct my basket. I studied the baskets on both Elly's and Mildred's models. (Elly was kind enough to loan me her block.) When Elly first made the block, she used a solid piece of fabric and used reverse appliqué.

Basket, reverse appliquéd by Elly Sienkiewicz
What a perfect fabric for the basket!

Mildred also reverse appliquéd the basket with a single piece of fabric, but then she appliquéd the rectangles of white on top of it to give the basket an open look.

Basket appliquéd by Mildred Tahara

Since I was using Mildred's quilt as my teaching model, I wanted the basket to have the same look; however, I don't think I have the patience that Mildred must have, because I couldn't imagine me trying to appliqué all those skinny rectangles. So I decided to "weave" my basket, using the back-basting method. Here's what I did.

First, I marked every other spoke on the back, and basted them, using one piece of fabric. I then trimmed and appliquéd each of the spokes.

Next, I basted the cross-bar on top of those spokes, trimmed, and appliquéd it.

Here is the back of the piece, where the basket is marked. Note the light marked lines in the stitched spokes, which helped me place the first alternating spokes. Here, I am basting the remaining alternating spokes

The basting lines are marked on the outside of the spokes, so that when they are trimmed and the basting stitches are removed one at a time, the marked lines are my turning lines. 

As I stitched these spokes on top of the previous spokes and cross-bar, I got the illusion of having woven the basket fabric. But all I had to do was stitch straight lines...easy peasy!!

After the inside of the basket was finished, I basted one large piece of fabric over the entire basket design—the inside and the outside edges. I marked the basting lines with my white pencil.

First I trimmed—very carefully—along the inside edges and reverse appliquéd the inside of the basket.

After the inside was reverse appliquéd, I appliquéd around the outside edge of the basket, removing just a few basting stitches at a time, not more than an inch or so ahead of my appliqué stitches. 

You can see the woven look that is achieved.

And here is my finished basket!

I am nearly finished with the block. I just have a few flowers remaining to create and stitch. I will be teaching the second part of the this block in January, at which point I will share my version with you. It has been great fun to stitch this Flower Basket, inspired by both Elly and Mildred. 

There are many ways to stitch a basket. How might you go about weaving an appliquéd basket?

Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

Lo, how a Rose e'er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse's lineage coming, as men of old have sung.
It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.

Isaiah 'twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind;
Mary we behold it, the Virgin Mother kind.
To show God's love aright, she bore to us a Savior,
When half spent was the night.

The shepherds heard the story proclaimed by angels bright,
How Christ, the Lord of glory was born on earth this night.
To Bethlehem they sped and in the manger they found Him,
As angel heralds said.

 

This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere;
True man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us,
And lightens every load.

~Traditional German Carol

We wish you a Merry Christmas 

and the happiest of holidays!!

May all your stitches be bright!

I'm Dreaming of a White Solstice...

In the spirit of the holidays—and the first day of winter—we thought we would re-share the free snowflake pattern that we created last year. While it is a balmy 50-something degrees here in Maryland, there is snow in Germany. So yes, I (Teri) am a bit jealous of Kara's snowfall, but who am I to complain? At least I can create snow of the stitched kind! Take a peek at the snowflakes we made from the pattern.

Framed snowflake, appliquéd on linen

detail

Framed snowflake, appliquéd onto wool

detail

Wool snowflake, made as an ornament

detail

To read more about how we made our snowflakes and to get the free pattern, click on the links below:

Snowflakes for Free!

Let It Snow...(One Flake More)!

Of course, if you live south of the equator, you are just beginning summer, and this gift might seem laughable. But even when it's hot, a flake of snow can always spread some cheer, right?

Kara and I both wish you the happiest of holiday seasons, and new year filled with blessings!