Monday 28 May 2012

Bargellos in progress

On Saturday, the weather was hot and sunny, but everyone was keen to spend the day inside  sewing!  The hall is cold in the winter, and was lovely and cool, especially when the front and back doors were opened.  (The only snag with having all the doors open was that a bird flew in, and spent a while perching on the bunting!  Luckily Debbie caught it and returned it to the fresh air outside.)
We started with show and tell, and Hazel showed this gorgeous Mount Hood quilt she had finished.  She has reversed alternate rows and this creates a fabulous secondary zigzag pattern.  This and the vibrant reds make a stunning quilt. 

Alison brought her Curves quilt from last time.  The colours are muted and subtle - perfect for this technique.   I love the flashes of orange and yellow which set off the blues and greens perfectly.  She is yet to bind it, but this will be in the same dark grey of the border.  It will be ideal.

 And then to work.  Debbie taxed my brain by wanting to make the design to finish as a backing for a pink cot quilt measuring about 14"x18".  We decided that 5 rows of 2" squares would do the trick.
 Hazel had all her strips organised - all different shades of blue.
 Sian and Aimee got straight to work - no slackers here!
 Alison spent ages cutting, cutting, cutting, so that all her strips were ready and organised.  Wish I could do that, instead of leaping straight in!  Emily had a limited number of fabrics, but she had one gorgeous one with babushkas on it, which she'd brought back from Russia.  That's the mark of a true textile fanatic, bringing fabric back as a holiday souvenir!  Kate has had a rather hectic time recently, so hadn't managed to get suitable fabrics.  This meant she was happy to use Project Linus fabrics, which will eventually be made up into a quilt for a child in need of a hug.  Way to go, Kate!
 The table at the back were very well behaved.  Liz and Betty sewed and sewed, and Rachel and friend decided to sew strips across the width of the fabric, rather than cutting shrter strips.  Luckily Rachel's Maths skills are better than mine and she was able to calculate how to cut these strips to make the same kind of result.  I'm looking forward to seeing the quilt.
 June was cutting some 4" strips down (she'll have plenty of 1.5" strips for another project) and Margaret very sensibly decided that she didn't want to start another quilt (I wish I was as sensible!) and was finishing her scrappy triangles quilt.  Paula and Rosemary were very hard-working, and I think Rosemary won the prize for most strips joined - two sections finished!
 Here is Debbie's little top finished. I was relieved that it came up to the required measurements!
 Here is Liz's completed panel - like a cool waterfall!
 Kate is putting the last row on hers.  Lots of interesting feature fabrics in this quilt.
I think this is paula's strip, but am not 100% sure.  In any event it's lovely and bright and cheerful, and will make a wonderful quilt.  I can't wait to see the finished quilts, and hope to see some in tje next class in July.