We are delighted to welcome Betty back to QuArtz!
We met at Brigitte's clubhouse again, the weather and various other problems kept our numbers down but as usual it was a creative meeting.
Show and Tell
Betty brought along an apron her grandchildren had painted for her. Sorry but no picture.
Brigitte, Elisabeth and Shirley have made some Dorset buttons.
Brigitte
Elisabeth
Shirley
Quilter's Playtime
For the next three months, the group will be exploring Improv and various techniques out of the Quilter's Playtime book. This month, Sandie presented Hopscotch and Jeanette presented Pin the Tail on the Donkey.
Hopscotch
Hopscotch takes the traditional Courthouse Log Cabin Block and makes it wonky. Hopscotch is a great game to get you started playing with fabric in preparation for improvisational quilt making.
1) Choose your colours:
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| Looked a little drab |
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| A few spots of colour |
2) Cut a piece (almost square) that has gentle angles with no perpendicular or parallel lines. Do not make the angles of the pieces too sharp.
3) Cut a right and left background piece adding some extra fabric for wiggle room. Then sew the pieces together. Iron towards the middle piece. You have created an "unblock unit".
4) Rough cut a piece (log) for the bottom of the 'unblock unit', using a wallpaper cut. Trim up your unblock unit. Match the edges of the log and unblock unit and sew them together. Press the seam allowance towards the log.
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| Trim up before joining |
5) Continue making these log/unblock units and sewing them together until the Hopscotch piece is as big as you want.
You can incorporate this block into your quilt or maybe use it as a border.
Pin the Tail on the Donkey
The object of this game is to create active motion in your quilt with either inserted or freely dangling tails.
-Tails may be created in many shapes.
-The end can slant in either direction or they can be long and pointy.
-Some can be large at the top and small at the bottom. Some can be the other way around.
-You can layer two or three tails on top of each other.
-You can place in the middle of your quilt or have them dangling from the bottom.
-You can embellish them with beads.
-You can make them out of fabric, ribbon, a string of beads or macrame.
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| Slice off a piece |
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| Sliced piece |
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| Finished tail |
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| Finished sample |
Improv sessions for February and March
The group agreed that we would do Christine's "Braided Curves" and Shirley's "Sliced Vases" in Feb.
We are looking for suggestions for the March meeting if anyone has anything that they would like to present. Email your suggestions to Christine, please.
January Button
This month we painted buttons.
Jeanette has buttons for anyone who missed the meeting but here are the instructions in case you would like to make some on your own.
-I bought round wooden discs at the dollar store, Scattered Goods. They are about 2/3 inch across and come in packs of 24.
-Find a 2 holed button about the same size as the disc. If you look at the disc you'll see that one side looks like the top. Hold the button against the top and use a pencil to mark the two holes onto the disc.
-Hold the disc with pliers and drill out the two holes were the marks are. Use a very tiny drill bit.
-Lightly sand the back, front and side.
To paint the buttons:
-It's easier to paint the buttons if you put a pointy thing (like a skewer) through the hole and hold it by the skewer while you are painting the button. Place the skewer into a glass while the paint dries.
-Put at least two base coats over the whole button (front, back and side)
-Decorate the button any way you wish. If you are stumped - think dots!
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| Hard at work |
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| Buttons from group |
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| Buttons sample |
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| Buttons sample |
