Quilters Companion Issue #107 2021

As you read this, the crazy Christmas period will be done and dusted and a new year begun. Lives and routines across the globe have been affected by the pandemic, and it is imperative that communities such as ours stay connected and supportive. Many are looking forward to visiting family and friends abroad, as well as visiting quilt shows and events. I know many people who have already booked their accommodation at some of the largest quilt shows for 2021. Let’s hope the events are able to go ahead. For now though, innovative events such as virtual quilt shows are helping us stay connected as we learn the new normal. In fact, one of our two quilt galleries featured in this issue was an online event. The annual Festival of Quilts held…

Hexi Purse Here is a sweet little project — practical too — to use up some of those smaller scraps in your stash. You can find the tutorial and pattern to make this patchwork coin purse by Handmadiya.com at http://www.handmadiya.com/2019/09/patchwork-coin-purse-bag-tutorial-and.html?m=1 Quilt Builder Card Deck Mix and match blocks to create your own masterpiece with the Quilt Builder Card Deck. Including 50 cards, each featuring a different block, there are so many possibilities. Available from C&T Publishing. Where in the World Will Your Quilting Take You? Australian Quilts in Public Places (AQIPP) is an initiative of the Australian Quilters’ Association (AQA) to promote quilting as an art form. AQIPP Exhibitions invite quilters from all around the country to display original works interpreting a given theme. The 10th AQIPP exhibition will be held in November and December…

The Virtual Competition of 2020 was a new initiative launched by the organisers of The Festival of Quilts. Given that the normal quilt competition couldn’t go ahead due to the pandemic, it ‘simply’ moved online and continued to offer the standard competition. Due to social distancing measures, judging took place remotely from photographs of the quilts, all of which are featured on the Festival website. The Festival of Quilts has hosted Europe’s largest quilt competition for 17 years, with hundreds of entries annually, and it was exciting that eager quilters could be involved virtually. We are delighted to be able to bring you some of the winners on these pages. If you would like to see all the winning quilts from each category, visit www.thefestivalofquilts.co.uk Best in Competition For Such a Time…

Finished quilt size: 92.5cm x 87.5cm (36½in x 34½in) wattlebirdvero veronique@wattlebird.com.au Materials • 90cm (1yd) green print fabric (background and Border 2)• Fat quarter green fabric (stems)• Large scraps or fat eighths of print fabrics in a variety of green, pink, orange, blue and red print fabrics (applique)• 30cm (⅜ yd) green tone-on-tone print fabric (Borders 1, 3 and 4)• 30cm (⅜ yd) light orange tone-ontone print fabric (Borders 3 and 4)• 30cm (⅜ yd) green spot print fabric (Borders 3 and 4)• 30cm (?yd) orange print fabric (binding)• 1.1m (1 ¼ yd) backing fabric• Batting at least 107cm x 103cm (43in x 41in)• DMC stranded embroidery cotton in Black (310) and Golden Olive (832)• DMC Perle 8 thread in Very Dark Coffee Brown (898)• 6mm bias-tape maker• Template plastic and permanentmarking pen• Firm…

Finished quilt size: 147cm x 119cm (58in x 47in) Finished block size: 8in keryn@kerynemmerson.com quiltingtwin.blogspot.com Materials • Assorted black floral print fabrics to total about 1m (1 ⅛ yd) (star points and cornerstones)• 20 squares, 4 ½ in of assorted largescale floral print fabrics (star centres)• Assorted light-value small-scale print fabrics to total about 1m (1 ⅛ yd) (star backgrounds)• Assorted light-value yellow and pink floral print fabrics to total about 1.25m (1 ½ yd) (sashing)• 45cm (½ yd) blue floral print fabric (binding)• 2.75m (3 ⅛ yd) backing fabric• Batting at least 160cm x 135cm (64in x 53in)• White gel pen or chalk pencil• Rotary cutter, quilter’s ruler and mat• Sewing machine with ¼ in foot• General sewing supplies Cutting • From the assorted black floral print fabrics, cut:• 30 squares, 3 ½ in (cornerstones)•…

More than 20 years ago, Lyn was encouraged by a friend to enrol in a beginner patchwork class at the local high school. Over the term of the course, the ladies each made 12 hand-pieced traditional blocks using English paper piecing to complete a sampler quilt. “We were only allowed three fabrics — a light, a medium and a dark,” Lyn recalls. “I can still remember drafting each of the patterns by hand on thin cardboard.” Lyn dabbled in various small projects over the following years, however with small children and working full time as a primary school teacher, it was a hobby that was only indulged in occasionally. It wasn’t until years later, in 2002, that sewing became an important part of Lyn’s life when her family relocated to Switzerland…