Welcome to Saturday Quilting Bring & Share 🙂 Bring along your project(s) and share in some of the best conversations and inspiration doing the rounds of our Worldwide Quilting Community. Use the links below to join in and don’t be too shy to leave an encouraging message in the comments box of any page you visit.

Whew! I’ve been busy away from the sewing room all through October: working more than double my usual part time hours at Purple Stitches and teaching the Beginners Course every other Saturday morning. Being paid to work in a shop with shelves stuffed full of bolts of beautiful fabrics and sharing patchwork skills with enthusiastic newbies are pretty good substitutes for time in my sewing room 😉

Just this morning the Beginners Course drew to a close. We got to the stage of making and attaching binding but didn’t quite finish stitching down the reverse side of the binding. We were all enjoying chatting about patchwork, quilting and the merits of various sewing machines to spend every moment stitching! And one student kindly brought in an heirloom Double Wedding Ring quilt. Made by an Aunt who emigrated to Canada just after WW2. It was a real privilege to get up close to the fabrics (cut from old shirts and blouses) and see the carefully executed hand quilting – sorry I didn’t think to take a photo 🙄

I did manage to snap photos of the class quilts before they were packed away at the end of the morning. Here are the amazing first quilts made by Jenny and Jane 😀

Before the weekend is over I plan to finish my version of the Beginners Quilt ready to be used as the new shop sample. Last week I shared a Nativity panel I’ve been steadily machine quilting. I did achieve my aim of hand stitching the binding in place but haven’t managed to find a moment to take photos and properly celebrate a (rare) finish. Hopefully over the next few days I’ll be able to find the time when daylight is at its best to get the photos snapped.

Here is a bumper pack of links to get you inspired as you meet some familiar and maybe a few new-to-you creators from our Worldwide Quilting Community:

Stuck in a colour rut? Joni at For the Love of Thread suggests four ways we can shift out of using our tried and tested colour combos.

Sonia’s Flexi Tote Pattern has a whole host of variations. From the basic lined tote she includes instructions for adding pockets or compartments as well as how to make zip closures, how to create a quilted version or an insulated lunch bag. All from one pattern!

Amy Smart gives a thumbs up to Melissa Corry’s new book, ‘Fast & Fun Lap Quilts’. Each of the nine patterns in the book requires a pack of 10″ squares and background yardage. I particularly like the Diamond Dash quilt… Another project to add to the list in my head!

Cait Lisle is a British patchwork quilt designer who teaches patchwork skills and also works as a technical editor for other designers. Find her range of printed and pdf download patterns here as well as news of up-coming workshops and retreats.

Have you been tempted to purchase the 2023 Patchwork Calendar? The monthly photos are beautiful. The bonus is that the quilt designers have made the patterns available to download. But hurry! You need to order the calendar by 6th Nov and once you’ve received your calendar remember to download any of the patterns that take your fancy before the end of November!

A bit of spontaneous creativity in the sewing room has to be a good thing, right? Katy’s ‘Hello Fall’ wall hanging is a wonderful example of how the left-overs of one project can become a new creation in double quick time 🙂

Staying warm this Winter is a – ahem! – hot topic. Suzy gives the low-down on wool batting, noting warmth and sustainability among it’s attributes.

There are lots of beautiful Autumn themed patterns being promoted at the moment. I’m particularly taken with the simplicity of ‘Hazel‘ by British designer Nicola Dodd of CakeStand QUILTS.

Well! Here’s a change up to what I’ve always thought of as a Disappearing Nine Patch! Rachel has been cutting her floral Nine Patch blocks on the diagonal rather than cutting through the centre on the horizontal and vertical. They look great!

If, like me, you are a patchwork-quilter who likes to dabble in bag making then you’ll enjoy following Rachel’s progress as she makes a crossbody bag for her daughter. Rachel’s stepping out of her comfort zone, inserting zips and using unfamiliar fabrics, but finding the pattern designer, Svetlana Sotak, writes in a way that sits comfortably with makers coming from a patchwork background.

Melony has been working for months to help an elderly neighbour get her beautiful embroideries out of files and on display. I am so impressed with the thought and care Melony gave to this delicate project, using her patchwork quilting skills but thinking out of the box in order to minimise changes to the stitched pieces. Read all about it here.

Happy Stitching!

Allison