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Our Denise is a clever clogs, look at this superb sewing machine cover decorated with pockets and raw edged applique. If you would like to make one please feel free to add your name to the list either by messaging me on here or ringing the shop on 01729 824708

If you don’t need a cover for your machine there are plenty of other things you could cover, I think Judy is making a cover for her Kenwood!

Then as if the sewing machine cover wasn’t enough Denise has also made this small reversible quilt using the Quilt as you go method. If you would like to learn how to do this great technique, which will mean you never have to struggle to get a big quilt under your machine in one go, let us know and you would be very welcome to join the class. We set dates last Thursday for both these projects and the classes were full by Friday so we have had to set extra dates!

Presenting Janine

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A few months ago one of our customers asked if she could book onto a beginners course, we said yes, sent her home to get her kit, within the hour she was enrolled on and attending  Denise’s class! We can’t always claim to be so prompt but we aim to please. Anyhow Janine has absolutely blossomed in a really short time. Today she brought all her bits and bobs to class, many of which she has made herself on classes with us and I just wanted to share her work with you all as it is lovely. No prizes for spotting that her quiltofax uses the same kitty fabric as our cushion posted earlier.

Quilts UK, Malvern

 

 

 

 

 

Just a quick line to let you know that I will be at the Three Counties Showground this week Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. My pitch, Quilting Antics,  is right by the front door and ALL my quality craft cottons are priced at £6 per metre; no cheap cotton poplins on our stand!

If you’re visiting stop by to say hi, its great to meet old friends and make new ones.

What do you think?

So, guys and gals, what do you think?

We have some really cool cat fabric in store which has been sat on the shelf for a while, so we decided to do something with it and have now created this cushion kit.

I asked ole’ Ginger Tom, a while back, if I could pimp one of her patterns and this is the result. Diz has been busy knocking up this beauty and as you can see she’s done a really good job. Well done Diz I owe you a cream tea…shall I keep it on the slate until we’ve done the weight watcher thing for a few weeks? (We rejoined weight watchers this week…again! We are both brilliant at loosing the weight but absolutely rubbish at keeping it off.)

So back to the project. We have 20 fabric packs priced at £20 each, if you fancy having one either drop me a line here on the blog, ring the shop on 01729 824708 or we will see you next weekend at Malvern show. We will be there again this spring, our pitch is the one right by the front door so you can’t fail to see us. Gillian has been very busy folding fat quarters in preparation for the show and we have heaps of them priced at just £1.50 each. All our fabric is £6 a metre for best quality craft cotton, none of that cotton poplin rubbish which wears and goes threadbare too easily on the seams; so ideal if you need backings. I have topped up my stock and have loads of civil war type prints as well as lovely fresh and bright prints superb for summer. If you are going to the show please stop by to say hello.

Tack and chat

Well the world was well and truly put to rights this morning at our tack and chat session. Everything from racism, stockings and suspenders to air ambulance fund raising. I love tack and chat. As Eileen says, there’s not much that can’t be sorted out round our table! Land round for a brew, if your at a loose end on a Wednesday morning…Kettle’s always on!

Classes

It’s been a long time coming but I have finally gotten round to updating the class list. If you would like to book onto any of our classes you can do so by either messaging me on here or by ringing the shop on 01729 824708

Classes cost £20 which does not include materials but you will get 10% off anything you buy on a class day (except sewing machines where class discount is 5%)

There are a few pics which I don’t have available yet. A full list of classes is available by clicking on the workshops and classes tab at the top of this page. I hope you like what we have on offer and don’t forget if you fancy learning a technique you don’t see here let us know and we’ll arrange something. Alternatively you can book exclusive classes if you are coming with a group of friends (minimum numbers apply.)

Wednesday 14th May. Box making with Denise.

Sunday 25th May. Sock monkey with Eileen.

Sunday 22nd June. Thread catcher with Denise. Nifty bit of kit to keep your sewing area free from stray threads.

The Holly and the Ivy Wreath

Saturday 12th July. Free machined cushion with Denise. Never been brave enough to drop those feed dogs and go for it before? Come and get some Dutch courage with us

Friday 18th July. Appliqued wall hanging with Denise.

Saturday 2nd August. Beginners taster day with Michaela. Ever fancied having a go? Come and see if this is the hobby for you by having a bash at our taster day

Saturday the 8th of November for this Birdie bag

Rachel’s girls are coming on in leaps and bounds

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Rachel started our newest sampler quilt course in January, it has definitely been bonkers! But the 11 ladies are well on their way to completing their first sampler quilts. We have had 6 sessions so far, it is a great group and we have loads of fun. Today everyone has been very challenged with Foundation piecing. Have a look at the slideshow and look at the results. Then what a treat, Sharron has already made her first 10 blocks into a quilt! I was flabbergasted when she brought it in to show us. Well done Sharron you should be very pleased with yourself.

If you are interested in joining our next beginners course or even one of our improver’s courses you can put your name down either by leaving me a message on here or by phoning the shop on 01729 824708. Our next courses start in September and run once a month, we will run both weekday and weekend courses.

Good Night Betty Beesley

Quilting Antics is far more than just a shop, we are a community, a place where people can come and ‘be.’ We share a common interest in crafting, we pride ourselves on the community that we have built, as good ole’ Diz says, “there’s not much that can’t be sorted out round our table” and she is absolutely spot on.

Well, having said all that today has been a sad day as we have said good bye to one of our own. Betty Beesley embodied everything that we stand for; a wonderful larger than life character, whose pride and joy was her family, her friends and her crafting. Betty used to call in for a cuppa and a natter and we absolutely loved her.

Betty you will be very much missed, good night and God bless. x

6th May 1938 to 23rd April 2014

Paula Doyle’s wonderful retreat for Quilting Antics

Last weekend we had a quilt retreat with Paula Doyle, it was brilliant! So I would like to share with you the work that we did during the retreat. First of all on Friday, we met at the shop and spent a day making four mini mosaic blocks which were then going to become a cushion. The slideshow lets you see how it went.

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I was so impressed by how the blocks came together, Paula’s Mini Mosaic technique is so simple you wonder why you hadn’t worked it out before.

After a day of getting to know each other in the shop we all set off up the hill to High Trenhouse. I love it when everyone arrives there and I see how amazed people are by the location, it is a superb venue but also splendid in it’s isolation from the real world. We began on Friday evening with a really interesting talk from Paula. Paula told us about the charity projects that her and her quilt group have done. I think my favourite, even if it is just for the name, was itsy bits and wonky strips, don’t you just love it?

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So after all the anticipation we finally got down to the main part of the retreat. Paula continued with the Mini Mosaics theme and showed us how to make six of her sampler blocks. The plan was to make a wall hanging with an option to turn the blocks into Paula’s Tulip bag. We had such a laugh making the blocksn . On Friday morning we began as a group of strangers and by Sunday evening we left as a group of friends. Thank you girls I had a wonderful weekend with you all. Best of all I think Paula is going to come back and teach another retreat for us, YAY!

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Memories of the Great War in Stitch

Imagine my surprise when my aunt pulled this cushion cover out of her bag. At first I thought what a beautiful cushion but what a shame about the orange stains. Once I began looking closely as you will see this is an extremely poignant story of the first world war. If you click on the image you will see these images in greater detail.

The Belfry

I showed these pictures to a friend and she suggested that this cushion could be the handywork of a man because the buildings are too correctly drawn from an architectural point of view for them to be done by a woman. I would love to hear your thoughts on this idea.

Can you see the watermark around the little painted picture? This I presume is where the silk has been wet so that the picture can be applied. Each of the four pictures has this watermark around it.

The centre flowered section is beautiful and elegant again at odds with the subject matter.

I am making the presumption that this lace is hand made, on its own this lace would be beautiful but in the context of this cushion cover it adds to the juxtaposition of the beauty of the piece with the subject matter behind it.

Look at the bow tied in the corner, I think it is the same silk ribbon which has been coloured probably using water colour to form the flowers

The top card reads; This place was within machine gun range of the Germans before the push. Don’t you think it is surprising to see it still standing. The card below reads; This is a small part of a town which has suffered from the Germans

My Great Grandad lied about his age so that he could fight in the Great War, he is in the middle front with his arms around the young girl and in the bottom picture he is on the left sat on the chair.

Both cards merely read with love from Harry. This is my Grandad whose full name was Harrison Raw. What a lovely way to share your family snaps…life before Facebook

I ‘googled’ Le Beffroi Arras 1914 and the following once I used Google Translate is copied and pasted below.
After the defeat of Charleroi, the French troops must withdraw. Arras is then declared an open city . The Germans occupy a few days, from 6 to 8 September 1914. The French offensive against German forces troops to leave the city but these remain firmly entrenched and during a month of heavy fighting will take place around Arras.

On the morning of October 6, 1914 , the German heavy artillery opened fire on the town. This are just the beginnings of future bombings. On 7 October 1914 , incendiary shells fell on the town. The Town Hall is in flames. October 21, 1914, from 10:30 to 11:20 , the Belfry is targeted. In just 50 minutes , it is in ruins . From 5 to 7 July 1915 , the palace and the cathedral Saint -Vaast already affected during bombardment of October 6 , in turn, are systematically targeted . In two days, the shells because of these monuments, rebuilt in the eighteenth century by Cardinal de Rohan.

Other important buildings were partially or totally destroyed as a result of the bombing :

The churches of Saint John the Baptist, Saint Nicolas and Saint Gery
Chapels of Our Lady of Ardent , the Poor Clares , of Chariottes , of Providence, Augustinian …
The seminary buildings including the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
The Palace of Justice (former hotel States Artois ) , the Theatre, the former Jesuit Novitiate , the Prefecture ( former Episcopal Palace).
Normal School , the Municipal College , College girls , the Institution Saint Joseph Boarding Jeanne d’ Arc, the Institution of deaf and blind children …
A steel deluge hit the city of Arras. The number of shells fired during a single day, June 26, 1915 is estimated at 15,000. At Arras, the dividing line between the two armies was close to the city, only at a distance of 800 to 1200 meters.
The record of destruction is dramatic. In addition to the civil and religious monuments , it’s the planning that is disrupted . Great and Little squares and the streets of Taillerie linking them, are destroyed. This urban fifteenth and sixteenth century included 150 Spanish- style buildings Flemish : 45 buildings were completely destroyed and other damage.