I went to the AQC last Thursday and had one of the best days I have had in a while. Nope I didn’t buy much but I got to catch up with heaps of friends, some old and new ones, some previously internet-only ones and each of them that I need to find the time to see more of.
The quilts (see dog’s butt in previous post) were varied and I found some that I really loved. I especially loved the 12 x 12 exhibition. I also found a new shop, L’uccello that I really need to go and visit in person.
I have to admit I rarely buy fabric at craft shows. The very nature of the tiny booths means that most retailers bring pre-cut fabric, and as a non-quilter pre-cuts aren’t much use to me. Unfortunately as well, when you spend a lot of time hanging out on the internet, it is not often that you will see something that you haven’t seen before at these kind of shows. (in fabric ranges I mean).
One of my goals for the day was to buy new Haemostats and I got two pairs, they are great quality and bring my total to four .
You know, with four sets (pairs?) of haemostats I am almost a doctor.
Not on the shopping list but always needed – I got some delicious new pins. Yes, I seem to have developed a bit of a pin fetish over the years. These are glass headed pins and the deal-sealer for me was that they included black pins. When I make toys I always use black pins to mark the eyes, so I never have enough of them, and they are hard to come by so this purchase needs no further justification.
This book is actually one of the reasons I went to the show. Once upon a time my friend Linda made an outstandingly amazing quilt. The quilt has a most wonderful to story to go with it – you may know it, the story of Linda’s Dear Prudence quilt ? Now Linda has written a book. The book is more than just the pattern for the amazing quilt, it talks about Linda’s inspiration, the story behind the quilt and the sometimes hard decisions that brought this quilt to life. Personally I think Linda is the best kind of bonkers, I mean her quilt has 17,977 hand stitched hexagons in it people !!!! She is also incredibly generous; after she refused me purchase of her book (gifting it to me) I bought one for you guys anyway.
If you would like to enter to win Linda’s book just tell me what is the biggest project you’ve tackled? What drove you and kept you going? This stuff fascinates me. Which of your crafty endeavours do other people think are bonkers?
(and yes I am slack, but prizes are heading off to the following folk ASAP)
Jess of Apple Spice
I woke up one morning deciding I was going to make a quilt. I went to the store and bought all their quilting magazines hit up a local fabric shop and off home I went. Two and a half years later I got it into my head again. Bought new fabric and completed this quilt. The size you might assume would be maybe a cot sized quilt, right? Wrong. My first ever completed quilt is a king sized quilt to fit my king sized bed!
ReplyDeleteI have since gone back and fixed up that first quilt into a proper project.
My first ever quilt that I made was Queen sized, 3/4 hand sewn and 100% hand quilted.
ReplyDeleteOk, first, to an outsider, what is the AQC?
ReplyDeleteSecondly, to answer your question probably crocheting a king sized granny square blanket for my bed, or repairing an antique crocheted bedspread with tiny stitches (nearly did my eyes in trying to find everywhere that needed repairing). The first was a project that I loved and It was so much fun to play with different colour combinations and to watch it grow. I got quite obsessive about it and even did myself a crocheting injury. I absolutely love it and it sits with pride on my bed. It is so heavy and gorgeous (made with merino and alpaca). The second was a job that I did for someone and I got paid...that was a good motivator, if not for that I don't think I could have been bothered!
My first quilt was Vintage Garden by Cinderberry Stitches. I loved the stitcheries so much I never thought about all the cutting I would have to do accurately to surround 9 stitcheries with 28 2.5 inch squares. It was a learning curve, with some cuts not making the grade & the quick-unpick getting a work out but the end result is still my favourite. Not much compared to Linda's effort but it gave me a love of the craft & now hexies are one of my staples too. Maybe one day in the future....
ReplyDeleteI have just finished Leanne Bealsey's Mystery Quilt from her Vignette Magazine which has a LOT of hand stitching and to top it off I am currently working on "Lancaster" by Sue Daley, only 800 hand pieced clam shells to go!
ReplyDeleteMy first quilt which was ment to be for the birth of our daughter! But with my growing belly and feet, hormones and emotions, it got pushed aside and she ended up getting it for her 1st Birthday instead! I have done so many harder thing since but at the time I thought there would be never anything more harder than that!
ReplyDeleteMy first quilt, second ever adult sewing project, was a queen-sized bed quilt that was done on a machine. Right now I'm hand-piecing a queen-sized pieced hexagon quilt. I've been working on it at least once a week for the last 12 months. I figure I've got another 12 months of piecing and then 12 months of hand quilting to go.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely one of my colourful knitted blankets with hundreds of yarn ends to be darned in at the end of the knitting. I don't think I'd want to count the number of smallish pieces in the quilt I'm currently working on either -- and I'm still a newbie!
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago I finished Santa sacks for my 3 children. I pieced their names in 1/2 inch squares across the bottom. To be honest it took me a couple of years but every time I paused I would think of the memories I was making and how long they would be precious for...
ReplyDeleteThe biggest project that i tackled had to be the School Play a couple of years ago, It started with "Can you make a treasure chest?" followed closely by A field of corn" and snowballed from there, One thing it taught me was I do like to make things by the bucket load!
ReplyDeleteI have been working on a "Dear Jane" quilt for going on 6 years now...I have invested so much time in it at this point that I can't stop now!
ReplyDeleteYou always crack me up Jodie! I managed to snaffle some haemostats from the nurses while I was in ICU, and then I promptly lost them so I thought I just dreamed it while I was high on drugs. Lo and behold I found them again last week - I have no idea why I wanted six pairs!
ReplyDeletehahahha I hope they were not busily looking for them inside a patient. The drugs made you do it Cam - perfect defense line.
DeleteQuilt shows are great places to meet "bloggers"..........still remember with great affection our day in Melbourne.........I think it is the reason I went on to meet more because we had such fun........
ReplyDeleteI have never attempted a quilt this fiddly....OMG that is a lot of pieces........I would love a copy of Linda's book but the lack of rain here is affecting the budget so it won't be happening any time soon........My gardener's journal and SKofW quilts have been my slowest quilts I think........but nothing to compare to Dear Prudence......one day I hope to get to Linda's shop......
Agreed, if you had been a raging axe-murderer I would never have met any other bloggers (cause I'd be dead) and vice versa. Our forst meeting is the meeting by which all others are judged.
DeleteBiggest project to date was the one I finished while watching my baby boy in the isolate after he arrived 6 weeks early. It is "Matilda's Station" by Kookaburra Cottage. I love it and the memories that go with it. It is now our camping blanket and goes on the camper bed just perfectly.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you are looking for a good set of haemostats, try your local medical supplies store, something like mcneills. If you are looking for a specific size you should be able to get them through there.
Gorgeous pins!! And, assuming I don't win the book could you tell me where to get it. Thanks
That should say isolette!!! Auto correct is a pain
DeleteI'm currently working on Bonnie Hunters Lazy Sunday Mystery in Quiltmaker magazine. I'm working on part two but so far have never cut and sewn sew many HST and four patches for any project.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest project which makes others think me a little nuts would have to be my "Dolls Make A Difference" Project - Dolls hand made for orphans and the disadvantaged children of the world. We started on the October long weekend making 45 dolls to send to an orphanage in the Philippines. Next I made 30 to go to South Africa. Last week I finished 35 more to go to Thailand. I am now working on the next group to go to Fiji in 2 weeks. While ever I have fabric and wadding or the money or donations to get more I will keep sewing them - I won't live long enough to ensure every child who needs one has one but I can make a difference to a great number if I am diligent and focus my gift and passion. I have a bit of a personal love for hexi quilts - my mother and late grandmother started 2 for my sister and I when we were but little babies. It is still a UFO and my sister and I are now grown and learning to sew hexi's so we can help our mother to finish our quilts to hand down to our daughters. I can barely imagine 17,000+ Hexi's in a quilt but I would love to read about them - and share this book with my mother and sister.
ReplyDeleteBesides buying a house that needed a bit more TLC than I realized (note to self: if you ever buy another house, get a better home inspector!), the biggest project I've ever tackled is a crocheted blanket made with Granny's Daughters (the first round of a granny square). I have over 900 little squares (I've made more than half, the rest came from swaps), and each one has 2 tails that need weaving in (probably 1/4 are already woven in). Then, because I'm a bit of a masochist, it seems, I'm using the flat braid join to join each square, which means an additional 2 tails per square. Right now, I'm still working on weaving in the tails of the squares. Then, I'll need to plan the layout, and then the joining can begin! I started collecting squares in 2008 and, I may need more if the blanket is too small with what I have!
ReplyDeleteMy craziest project was a quilt I made with my local school where every child made a square with me (all 114 of them!!) - and then I assembled and quilted it!! I must have been mad!
ReplyDeleteThose kind of projects are always so exciting in the planning phase.
DeleteSounds trivial compared to Linda's, but I have an 'Insanity' quilt on the go which will include 1333 handstitched hexagons when it's done... been working on it for five years...
ReplyDeleteWhat on earth do you use the haemostats for? I made a huge quilt out of old denim jeans. It would be finished but the ladies at my craft group have convinced me there isn't enough quilting to stop the wadding from sliding around in such a heavy quilt, so I've got more hand quilting to do but it's already bound and spent last winter on the bed. Hopefully I'll get it done this winter so I can finally wash it in the summer. It's going to need a good hot day to dry!
ReplyDeleteHi Maggie, Haemostats are the PERFECT tool for stuffing. They allow you to get into all the little nooks and crannies. They are also fantatsic for turning because they are blunt, they don't damage the fabric but you can 'lock' them and turn almost anything.
DeleteYes, when I first saw Linda's quilt online, I thought she was bonkers! My largest projects have been queen sized double wedding ring quilts for my nieces and nephew. Deadlines keep me going, but only those imposed by others. (My own dates are allowed to slip.) I make tiny paper foundation pieced lapel pins from 1.25" blocks that other people think is bonkers.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest project I have made was my first quilt. It was an overnight mystery quilt and turned out to be a queen size. I didn't know about sending quilts off to be quilted so I hand quilted it!
ReplyDeleteL'uccello have a blog and I would love to visit their store as well! I have made a crazy quilt from old woollen skirts and hand embroidered each block. It took a few years to complete and was a great take away project. People would ask me what I was doing then look at me quizically with eyebrows raised.
ReplyDeleteOh my, I just went and read your friend Linda's post about her quilt. I need a cup of tea and a lie down just thinking about it and any project I've done that I thought was big is just so ludicrously tiny in comparison that I'm not even going to write one down. Phew!
ReplyDeleteSally, I think a lot of us have the whole non-day-job bonkers life, that making obsession. I sometimes wonder what non-making folk do with all the time?
ReplyDeleteYou did much better than me, I walked away empty handed! I did enjoy seeing some of your new things and the quilts up close and personal.
ReplyDeleteApparently the creator of the dog butt quilt sells his creations for lots of $$.
The thing that has people thinking I've completely lost it, is my current sock knitting obsession.
Wishing you a wonderful week.
One of my many moments of madness was starting a Pies and Tarts, English paper pieced quilt. I truly thought it would take me years to complete all those little pie pieces, I called it my Madness Quilt. Well, the top was done within the year, it is pinned and awaiting hand quilting, a project for this winter. Now my Queen size Double Wedding Ring is a totally different story...
ReplyDeleteMy biggest project is 3!! Insanity quilts, each with 10,339 half inch hexagons
ReplyDeleteyep 'insanity quilt' sounds like a good name.
DeleteThat book looks amazing. I seem to do a lot of insane quilting projects according to my friends. One is that I decided to learn how to hand applique by making a Baltimore Album quilt - that was a challenge at the beginning, but totally worth it!
ReplyDeleteHahaha -- I love that you're almost a Dr. We have hemostats in the house too -- they're awesome for everything. A few weeks ago some coins fell down into the console between the two front seats in the car, which prevented a door from closing. Sensing that the hubby would kill me, I ran for my long skinny hemostats -- problem solved! That Dear Prudence quilt is fabulous. My biggest project was probably the yoyo quilt which pales by comparison! Just think ... if I win that book you can hand it to me personally. Just sayin' LOL!
ReplyDeleteThat just made me realise I have no idea what you look like ? WOOHOO a transatlantic blind date !
DeleteI have never heard of hemostats but reading all of the above am thinking that they are worth the investment - my biggest project to date - sorry not quilting but teaching my kids Mr 14, Master 10 and She who must be obeyed 7 how to knit squares for a blanket to give away for winter - SERIOUSLY what was I thinking but it is so much fun watching them and then at night going and picking up all the dropped stitches. Would love to have been to AQC but all luxuries have gone on hold for a bit have been to Linda's website so many times and put the book into the shopping cart only to close it and say not this week.....THANKS for an opportunity to win
ReplyDeleteIm doing a dear jane.... pretty insane.... still going with it. have some haemostats (aquired them at work lol). never thought to use them in the car.. have some stuff down the sides of my seats....
ReplyDeleteDeadlines! That's what keeps me going. I love a challenge! Some of the big quilts I've done are Dear Jane. It's taken 5 years so far and its still not quilted. Why....because there is no deadline!,
ReplyDeleteA huge Baltimore for my sisters 40th a few years ago and The Unknown Quilt, both quilted, bound and labelled in good time even though they had lots of pieces and were completely different. But they had deadlines to be finished by. A little each day.....that's the key.....
I love Dear Prudence, thanks for the giveaway opportunity.
L'uccello is lovely. You will enjoy the visit. Expect to be distracted by vintage clothing and buttons on the way up and down the stairs.
ReplyDeleteSigns of bonkers: first knit was a complicated Aran-style jumber (aged 15). First quilt, started about the same time, was EPP hexagons. I believe in biting off more than you can chew and then chewing like crazy.
Now, I am working on a Dear Jane.