Welcome to Saturday Quilting Bring & Share. Bring along your projects (and a large mug/glass of your favourite beverage) and be inspired by the generous sharing of ideas, tips and designs going on in our Worldwide Quilting Community. 

Wahoo! I have finished another UFO 🎉This is my version of Suzy Quilts ‘Modern Fans’ pattern.

The partially quilted project became an untidy fixture on the wall in front of my sewing machine rather than being stuffed in the UFO Cupboard of Shame.

Oh! Dear! This photo was taken in August 2022 – I’m blushing!

I hoped by keeping it in view I might actually come up with some ideas for quilting the open areas of white background. Unfortunately it’s presence just fed my indecisiveness and fear of fmq 🙄

Thankfully a desire to shift some lurking UFOs finally got me over my fears. A few practices with washable pens on the whiteboard and I settled on a quilting design based on the traditional feather with a central spine but with trailing tendrils rather than puffy plumes. This seemed more modern and therefore more in-keeping with the modern patchwork design.

Modern Fans quilt back.

Detail on the back of the quilt – some of the fmq doesn’t show on the patterned fabrics on the front.

This coming week I’ll be basting and quilting my bright version of the Beginners quilt before converting my sewing room into our guest room ready for the arrival of DD & DSIL who are returning to the UK for 9 months after more than 18 months living overseas. So exciting!

In the meantime there are lots of tips and projects to catch up on from fellow patchwork quilters around the world:

Were you fortunate enough to receive a new sewing machine for Christmas? Amy Smart has produced a great blog post ‘First Steps With a New Sewing Machine‘. There are some helpful tips which even experienced sew-ers could find useful. The first tip is ‘to read the manual’! Oh! Boy! Chatting with other workshop tutors we all agree this is a key part of participants getting the most from their sewing machine and getting the most from a workshop!

I think the ‘Kid Row’ quilt design is ideal to make as a charity gift. This one at ‘Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting‘ has been made using blue scraps as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2023.

Thanks to Kirsty of Bonjour Quilts for pointing to Cassandra’s post all about selecting colour palettes using the colours of 2023 – Crush (Kona) and Viva Magenta (Pantone). There are a whole host of ideas using warm and cool colours.

Michelle has started the year by reminding us how to patchwork-quilt with an eye on our budget. There are some helpful follow-up suggestions by contributors in the comments section too.

Through 2021 & 2022 Kathy used her little fabric scraps to make 6″ Bear Paw blocks. When she sorted through all the blocks she’d made there were enough to put together four kids quilts. They are all now quilted and ready to gift.

I find challenges leave me cold (you know the sort where phrases like ‘leap in the dark’ are supposed to inspire a quilt design?) but I know for others challenges are a spark to creativity. Hence I am in awe of Cindy who produced a handy, attractive rotary cutter cover from the words ‘First One’!

Christmas is over but here in the Northern Hemisphere Winter is in full swing. So it’s definitely not too late to be making a snowman wall hanging. Melisa shares how she made her button-eyed, carrot-nosed friends using charm squares.

Gretchen has been working away on a Wintry project too. She has completed the flimsy of the ‘Peppermint Pines’ pattern by Erica of Confessions of a Homeschooler. The pattern has lots of open space and has a wonderful peaceful look to it –  I’m put in mind of that blanket silence a fall of snow can produce 🙂

Carole has got her annual Safelight Project underway. She creates bags of gifts for the women (and the few men) seeking refuge from domestic violence in a local shelter. It’s a remarkably organised, generous feat that brings quilters and crafters together to provide for people in crisis. Carole’s post is well worth a read if you are considering ways to support a similar charity in your local area.

Each month this year Amy Ball will be sharing a mug rug sized patchwork project on the Polka Dot Studios blog site. Amy will introduce a different technique with every project. This month she’s exploring the world of decorative fabric selvages.

Happy Stitching!

Allison