Dear Jane Quilt - West Country Quilt and Textile Show 2019, UK - Best Piecing

'Dear Jane' quilt made by Frances Meredith

My Dear Jane quilt has been out and about again, this time to the West Country Quilt and Textile Show 2019.  I am pleased to say that it won a rosette for 'Best Piecing'.  It was lovely to chat to those of you who are in the middle of your Dear Jane journey - keep going, it will be worth it!

'Dear Jane' quilt made by Frances Meredith

Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilt Easy Street Part 1 - Finished

Easy Street Mystery Quilt - Part 1

With the additional fabric purchased yesterday at the West Country Quilt Show, I have finished the first task of Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street Mystery Quilt, the 192 4-patch units.  Once I got started it was relatively easy, but already I have learnt several things.

1. Nesting - Bonnie's tip about feeding the pairs through in the same direction, meant that each pair nested together comfortably.  There were a few which I pressed in the opposite direction, and I soon noticed that the pairs did not nest.  I knew that rather than forcing them through, I had to be disciplined and press them in the opposite direction to save heartache later.
2. Spinning Seams - This technique was completely new to me, but I completly see the value of doing this - well I will down the line!

Along with the Easy Street Mystery Quilt, I have been reading 'Quilter's Academy - Vol 1 - Freshman Year' by Harriet Hargrave and Carrie Hargrave.  Applying the knowledge in the book on this project is a real lesson in experiential learning.

West Country Quilt Show

Today I visited the first ever West Country Quilt Show.  It was at the Bath and West Showground, near Shepton Mallet, Somerset. 
The traders had some lovely fabric, which I found hard to resist, especially with Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilt, Easy Street, currently at the forefront of my mind.   The Laughing Hedgehog , normally based in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, stocked the Kansas Troubles fabric from Moda, which I am using for my 'background', so I was able to stock up on that, as I had realised that with the scraps I am using, I will not have enough for the whole quilt.  I also managed to get some of the 'Seasonal Little Gatherings' by Primitive Gatherings for Moda, from Sew Enchanting, based in Ashburton, Devon.  The Cross-Patch had a lovely display of the Lynette Anderson Designs, with a good selection of the fabrics, buttons and threads. There were so many other lovely stalls there, I had to pull myself away.


Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt - Boutique by Chez Moi

I only heard about it a few weeks ago, and saw that the deadine had not closed for entering quilts.  With nothing to display myself, I encouraged my sister to enter her Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt, which she made using a range called Boutique by Chez Moi for Moda Jelly Roll.  It was Hand stitched using the English Paper Piecing method, and hand quilted.  I was her first quilt.  She got the pattern from a Mystery Block of Month published on the blog of The Quilt Room, Dorking, which started in March 2010.  The pattern is now published in their book 'Jelly Roll Sampler Quilts' (Pam and Nicky Lintott).