Open Drawer Camberwell for June

Hi all, you will find me and some of my goodies at Open Drawer in Camberwell over this June. Wednesday, Thursday and maybe Friday depending on clients in my graphic design side of things - I think I need to clone myself some days!

I will also be holding some mini work shops on Scrap Quilting old school style.
So all you need to do is bring a needle and thread, some scissors and a bag of your scraps. You know, all those bits you can't part with but don't know what to do with....yes, we all have loads of them - well I do.
The workshop will take you through string style piecing using what you have at hand and some colour theory so you can push your scraps about a bit.

Come on down!

Open Drawer is at 1158 Toorak Road in Camberwell (Hartwell Village)
You can get the 75 tram to the front door or the Alamein Train to Burwood Station.

1940s string pieced diamond block. www.thequilter.com

Up Close - 1940s Grand Mothers Flower Garden Variation

A lot of you have been quite interested in this quilt. So here it is up close so you can all get a better look at it.

The top was made some time in the 1940s. I picked it up on a trip to the USA a few years back and it sat in my stash for quite a while.
I decided that it was time for it to find another home, so it was purchased by one of my clients. Off it went to India where it was hand quilted in the traditional Fans pattern. It was then hand bound by me. Now its off to the other side of the county. So before it goes, here are some notes.

This quilt top was hand sewn. 1 inch hexys. What is so striking about this quilt is the use of black and the variation in the layout.

Notes on what you need....this is a big project! Brace yourself this is going to be a big one....finished is queen size. 225x210 cm.

Cut your template for fabric with an edge length of 1.5 inches. For a finished hexy of 1 inch. Cut your paper templates as 1 inch sides. I'd use template plastic or cut several from a cereal box to make sure you are not grinding the edges out too much. Or print off a pile on thin copy paper and snip out.

Black - 755 for centres and 'stars'.
White - 1062
Plains - this quilt has a mix of solids. Min 6 of each colour x 59. Or 354 in total - 59 colours x 6 hexys.
Prints - 708 - a mix of prints of min 12 of each - 59 prints x 12 hexys.

.75 yard/mt of additional white for inset edges.
.75 yard/mt black for binding.
Backing of your choice.

Vintage Grandmas Flower Garden - Cutting Plan

Start paper piecing and i'll see you in a few years....

Notes on this quilt... None of the prints or solids double up, some are really close but not the same. So start raiding that stash or ask friends if you can raid theirs for prints and plains to get this mix. You are aiming for 59 different plains and 59 different prints. Yay! We all love a challenge....