Today's Quilter 86

With the world looking at how to be more environmentally conscious, be it recycling, using alternate fuel sources or cutting down on meat consumption, I feel the quilting community has always embraced the motto “make do and mend”. I mean, who doesn’t love a good scrap quilt? Not only does it allow you to use up fabrics in your stash, but these quilts always look so charming with their mixture of colours and patterns. That’s why I am delighted that Carole Lyles Shaw agreed to write her piece on sustainable stashing for this issue. Carole is not only a quilter but a designer, teacher and writer as well, so her top tips will really help anyone looking to be more sustainable in their sewing. Our cover project, by the lovely…

Deirdre Bond-Abel AMAZING APPLIQUÉ Turn to page 22 to find out how Deirdre made this gorgeous design using a combination of appliqué and machine piecing. Carole Lyles Shaw SUSTAINABLE STASHING Find Carole’s three key action steps to take in your quilting life (page 35) that will set you up to become more sustainable. Andrea Walpole SPRING BADGER In our new seasonal series, Andrea brings spring to life with her sweet badger and blue tit cushion on page 51.…

THE FABRIC STITCHED Fig Tree & Co. designer, Joanna says, “For this collection, I was not only inspired by a few of my all time favourite vintage prints from my collection, but also thoughts and images of my sewing studio. My head swirled with pinked edges, tiny traditional stars and stich lines. And so, ‘Stitched’ was born.” With its “fresh vintage” colour palette of warm reds, aquas, golden yellows and soft greens and taupes, this collection will be a joy to sew with.…

Tell us about your background/how you got into craft and quilting specifically? I’ve always been obsessed with crafts! As a young child, I used to spend hours and hours making scrapbooks, cards, decorations and gifts – and I’ve never grown out of it! I still have that childlike love of making things (although hopefully my skills have improved a little…). I got my very first sewing machine when I was about 17, and it quite literally changed my life. I felt like I had a superpower, it was amazing! It opened up a whole new world of crafting to me, and inspired me to seek out even more ways to build my craft skills. You have a blog, The Crafty Gentleman, how did this begin? I unknowingly started my craft…

A new season is upon us, quilters! So, while you’re doing your spring cleaning and organising, here are some of our latest hand-picked treasures to give your sewing space a refresh too! Lille Designed by Australian quilter, designer and author, Michelle Yeo, for Henry Glass Fabrics, Lille is a collection that encompasses the style of historical French design and Broderie Perse. Inspired by Michelle’s love of antique quilts and the fabrics within them, particularly French fabrics, prints include stunning birds, beautiful flowers, curling vines and elegant foliage. The collection earned its name from the beautiful, historic town in the northern region of France, not far from the Belgian border, where Michelle spent time enjoying France’s delicacies and hanging out with a fellow quilt-loving friend. www.eqsuk.com Light it up! There’s nothing…

The only thing better than putting the finishing touches to your latest quilt is showing it off! So let’s see what you’ve been up to this month… Boro, batik, brilliance! I was delighted to read Sarah Ashford’s column in issue 78 on Japanese Boro stitching as I love doing Sashiko! Here is a picture of a wall-hanging I completed this past year. I did not like the flowers on the original pattern so did my own interpretation from Kumiko Sudo’s book, Fabled Flowers, using Batik fabric. Anne, Norfolk What a stylish quilt, we could spend hours taking in all the stunning detail you’ve stitched! HOPE AND REMEMBERANCE I am a volunteer at my local vaccination centre and made this quilt to remember all the people who helped with the program.…