“Explosion of Colour”

This quilt is a tribute to the artist laurel Burch who died last year (2007). She was the master of colour and her designs will live on for those of us who enjoy an “Explosion of Colour”. This quilt was machine stitched, burned with the soldering iron and hand embellished.

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I made this quilt for Grosvenor’s Spring Quilt Show at Exeter Westpoint 2008

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The quilt is made using the “Revelation Burning” technique. The image is a preprinted panel which is heavily machine stitched and embellished with beads and sequins. The mermaid’s tail is made from shaded sequins stitched by hand with invisible thread.

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I just love the signature Laurel Burch cats and parrots which are so often featured in her work and peer out at you from the most unusual spaces like old friends from the past.

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This close up shows some of the work burned out with the soldering iron to give detailed relief and texture.

“Shades of Serenity Memory Book”

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Using “Heirloom Pickings” or your own collection of heirloom pieces, create this subtle sepia memory book.

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The book features, dyed lace, handmade cord which forms the stitched “Snake spine” and hand made stitched paper inside for the attachment of your treasures.

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This is an original way of displaying selected old black & white photographs. It is a good idea to use copies of your photographs so you can keep the originals safe.

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Kimono Magic is a “Revelation Burning” workshop using a preprinted panel by Kona Bay Textiles and converting it into an individual piece of work. During the workshop we should get one panel completed and then you can go on to finish the others to make the wall hanging as illustrated.

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This is my favourite panel in the series of four, but it would take on a completely different look depending on the organza used or the details you decide to “reveal” Sewing machines and soldering irons at the ready and let’s go!

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Calling all Magpies!  Are you a collector of lace and buttons, if so this is the one for you.

This is a workshop to use up all those beautiful bits that you keep hoarding and adding to! The lace is dyed several shades of purple, stitched to a background and then embellished with treasures. You can bring your own pieces ready dyed or choose from the range of ready dyed packs available. This could be a hand workshop for those who don’t like machine work but it is obviously quicker by machine.

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Close up shows the lace scraps, buttons, bits of chain and fastenings collected over a period of time and now finally given a “home”

Fabric Bundles

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These are the bundles in one of the stages of their process of becoming a “Rich Pickings” bag. Anyone who loves fabric will love these and the picture depicts just how diverse the shades of one colour can be.

Rich Pickings

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“Rich Pickings” bags are available to purchase at workshops and the shows I am attending. For more information on venues, please see the Workshop Diaries in the category listing.

PLEASE NOTE, these bags are not available by mail order.

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New Workshop for the Autumn

Are you a Magpie like I am? Most quilters are and have a collection of Grannie’s precious buttons and lace just waiting to be used. We have some new “Rich Pickings” bags called “The Heirloom Collection” which will supplement the collections you may already have. This is an opportunity to use some of it up in a Heirloom project which will display your treasures to their best advantage.

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Close up of a section of the piece, showing sections of lace collars and silk flowers to make an antique looking picture.

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This quilt was made for The National Quilt Championships at Sandown Park 2007 and entered into the Art Quilt section where it won a first and a judge’s choice. The title of the piece relates to the hundreds of beads and sequins sewn on by hand with invisible thread, and reminded me of the ball gowns worn by the ladies on the television programme “Strictly Come Dancing.”

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The quilt was made using the “Revelation Burning” technique and a batik panel as the starting point. It has a background comprising of thousands of shreds of organza, trapped under a larger piece of rainbow shaded organza which gives it the jewel like shaded look and it is free motion quilted to secure the scraps.

“Strictly Come Dancing Dragon” was made in 2007

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First prize in The Art Quilt section at The National Quilt Championships, Sandown Park 2007

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First in the Art Quilt Section at “The Great Northern Quilt Show” Harrogate 2007.

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Crazy Horses is made from a printed panel designed by Laurel Burch and uses the “Revelation Burning” method to reveal the parts of the panel that I want to feature in my piece of work. The background uses shaded scraps of organza, which are densely machine quilted and heavily embellished with free machine embroidery. The free hanging panel of three dimensional horses down the right hand side is made from the same companion fabric and the embellishments hanging around the horses are very influenced by things I saw in India. The colours are “pure India.”

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This close up of one of the panels shows the free motion stitching. Each horse and figure are individually stitched in the correct colour to give texture, relief, and form. This quilt won me a second judge’s choice at Sandown Park 2007, and a third at The Great Northern Quilt show, Harrogate 2007.

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Having a bad hair day!

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This photograph shows a couple of the padded horses with their clothes peg manes. There are 6 horses running down the free standing panel and each one is different but just as “wacky!”

“Crazy Horses” was made in 2007.

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This quilt was entered into The Great Northern Quilt Show,Harrogate 2006 in the theme category of “African Dreams”My dream for Africa would be the gift of constant running water,which could be irrigated in channels throughout the land and would solve a number of problems instantly.I have used as the base, a collection of Manchester Wax Prints which have been printed for export to the African market for over a hundred years. I was born in Bolton which is quite close to Manchester and have always had an affiliation with textiles and in particular cotton which was a prominent industry in Lancashire while I was growing up.

The colours of the Wax Prints create a distinctive African feel and signify the land in my quilt, while the blue areas which wind their way through the quilt are indicative of the water channels in my dream…..if only dreams could come true.

Inspiration came from work by the American quilter Michael James.

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We all have projects which when finished fall short of our expectations and this is one of mine.The backing fabric I chose was too thick and the sheer density of the free motion stitching and machine embroidery caused the quilt to warp and not hang as flat as I would have liked.This has to be accepted as a learning curve and believe me there were a few challenging curves in the piece!

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This quilt was entered into Quilts UK Malvern 2006, in the miniature category. It measures 20″ by 23″ and won me a judge’s merit.It was made using some new fabric to co-ordinate with a bag of Liberty scraps,sold as 1930’s and bought for £2 at an antique textile fair.I used traditional paper piecing for the Dresden Plate, hand stitching,machine applique and free motion machine quilting. The pattern originally came from Val Thomas.

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A close up shot showing free motion quilting on a small scale,hand applique and a little Broderie Perse thrown in for good measure!

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These two very old blue trees at the bottom of our garden,were the inspiration for making Pen Elm Pines.

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Pen Elm Pines - This quilt is made using a design from an American Quilting Magazine for the pine cone stitching. It is free motion quilted and machine pieced and is an unusually large quilt for me as I normally only go to lap-quilt size because I have so many projects running through my head I am always waiting to get onto the next one!The photograph below shows the pine cone stitching which runs the length of the quilt.My apologies for slight distortion on this quilt but the wind would not oblige and kept the quilt on the move.

“Pen Elm Pines” was made in 2005.

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This quilt was made for my elder son who took a gap year after university and visited as many places as possible during that time.While he was away I “nagged”him to send me back fabrics from the places he was visiting and when he came back I made the quilt with the various pieces.The quilt features;cotton and braid from India,silks from Thailand,Aborigine cave painting prints from Australia,cotton fabric from America and beads from Nepal, and although it is not a true reflection of all the places he visited it was certainly enough to form a quilt.

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The tassels are made from Mexican Worry Dolls.

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The back of the quilt is covered in fabric, tea-dyed labels showing the different countries he had visited,which made it a permanent memento of his travels. The fabrics sent home also form the flying geese pattern around the outside edge.

“Robert’s Gap Year” was made in 2003.

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This quilt is a classic and very simple Roman Stripe pattern and was made with my sister in mind because she lives in Sicily and has done for 29 years. Lots of sunshine colours in this one.

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The backing fabric dictated the quilt which is unusual because when we make a quilt the backing is often an after thought. My sister Judith and her husband Salvatore,have a house out in the country where Salvatore grows everything including lots of lemons which you just pick off the tree when you need them.

“The Sicilian Connection” was made in 2005

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This quilt started out as a panel for a bag at a workshop with Jean Stetson. Once I had made one girl I wanted to make another and so the bag became a quilt, and the quilt grew in size!

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It was my son who said he didn’t like the figures with blank faces as they looked dead, so each one was brought to life! This quilt combines machine and hand quilting.

“Myomi And Her Sisters” was made in 2003.

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The fabric for this quilt was dyed at a workshop with Nicky Perrington, using a brights palette and lots of plastic bags!It was my first attempt at dying fabric and I was really pleased with the result. I think the design looks like a church window and the colours are really jewel-like. The tassels on the corners are made from hand spun variegated yarn.

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This close up of one of the tassels, shows the hand stitched head with the coloured slubs in the thread pulled out for effect.

“Colours to Dye For” was made in 2002

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This is a double sided quilt using a combination of hand block-printed fabrics which I bought in India, and some commercially printed fabrics which I hope complement the beautiful hand printed fabrics.The original inspiration for the design is from a window in the council chamber at Meherangarh Fort Palace at Jodhpur.The above picture shows the side of the quilt inspired by the windows.The quilt is sited in the exit doorway of the council chamber and features strong use of blue because the view from the top of Meherangarh Palace overlooks the area of blue painted houses of the top priestly caste of the Brahmins, which also gives Jodhpur its name of The Blue City.

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This side of the quilt uses predominantly Indian block printed fabric which we were lucky enough to see in production.Some of the hand held, carved wooden blocks are about a hundred years old and the patterns look as fresh today as they ever did.

“Block Prints From Jaipur” was made in 2006.

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This quilt is in true quilter’s style in that I am using up the bits left over from the making of a previous quilt.The design is taken from a back issue article in Fabrications magazine August 2003″Flying Geese Wallhanging” by Julie Hodges.The fabric was dyed at a day workshop with Nicky Perrington.

“Geese to Dye For” was made in 2003.

In 2006 I visited India, which was probably the most life-changing experience for me since learning to sew on an electric sewing machine! My focus on colour and pattern became the most important feature of future projects. The quilt Rajastan was an immediate response to my visit and this quilt was featured in “Fabrications Magazine” issue 44 2006. It features shisha mirrors made from compact discs and trapunto style relief stars, surrounded by dense machine embroidery.

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This photograph shows a closer view of one of the padded central stars and the dense free motion quilting and machine embroidery.

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The label incorporates a photograph taken in Rajasthan of two ladies using a hand sewing machine on the floor!

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This photograph shows the quilt as it appeared in “Fabrications Magazine”.

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I made a cushion with the left over scraps and as you can see both quilt and cushion are put to good use in our garden.

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This wall hanging was made using the “Revelation Burning” technique and uses a batik panel from Hannah’s Room quilt shop, as the starting point. It is layered with acrylic felt, several shades of organza, and burned back with a soldering iron. It is heavily free motion quilted and embellished with beads. The driftwood is from a Cornish beach, but Polly now resides in warmer climes overseas.

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A close up view of Polly, showing the embellishment of silver thread and silver beads and the background quilting.

Polly was made in 2007.

THIS PIECE HAS BEEN SOLD TO A PRIVATE COLLECTOR

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I bought the main fabric with the chickens on from a French stall at Quilt Expo Barcelona and kept it in my collection as one of those fabrics you just do not want to slice up.I went to a workshop with the late Iris Eyles who taught me the basics of Broderie Perse,and inspired me to want to make several pieces using the technique.”Fowl Play” hangs in my kitchen and the technique proved to be the perfect medium for using up that bit of fabric that I couldn’t bear to chop up.

The background fabric is a printed chicken wire pattern which I quilted to give the backdrop texture.The main chicken in this photograph has a tail made from two layers of the same image which enabled me to leave parts of the top layer exposing the bottom layer which I frayed to create the appearance of feathers.The chickens are densely free motion embroidered using lots of different colours and weights of thread.

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The wall hanging features quite a lot of handwork which is unusual for me because if I cannot stitch it by machine then I usually avoid the project.If you have some lovely fabric that you cannot bear to cut then this may be the solution for you too.

“Fowl Play” was made in 2004

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We passed many wedding processions during our trip and the colour and excitement prompted this piece. It is made from eight different layers of synthetic fabrics and each layer is burned back with a soldering iron to different depths.The piece is mounted on red sari fabric. Red is the significant colour for the bride’s outfit.

“Rajasthan Wedding” was made in 2006

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The following photograph shows another project inspired by India and my head contains more ideas for projects “still to do,” than I will ever have the time to actually make.

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This small wall hanging derives its name from the fact that animals are still used a great deal to transport goods in India. This hanging features:
* A camel - The image for this is taken from a print block that I bought in India.
* A horse - The image for this is from a picture in one of the forts where we stayed.
* An Elephant - This image is taken from ‘Traditional Indian Designs’ by Polly Pinder - Search Press.

“Lead Free” was made in 2006.

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This is a photograph of our stand at Westpoint, Exeter this year 2008. Look out for me at other Quilt Shows organised by Grosvenor/Fabrications Magazine this year and in 2009. See my Workshop Diary for further details. Looking forward to seeing you!

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This wall hanging uses the Revelation Burning technique and is enhanced by beaded embellishment

* THIS PIECE HAS NOW BEEN SOLD TO A PRIVATE COLLECTOR *

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This is another in the series of tropical images and focuses on two parrots in a tropical environment. This piece also uses the Revelation Burning technique and some beaded embellishment but the main focus is the colour and the stitching.

* THIS PIECE HAS BEEN SOLD TO A PRIVATE COLLECTOR *

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This piece is made using my “Revelation Burning” technique and features a tropical paradise of foliage, birds and animals. The edges are “eroded” to indicate just how we are destroying this tropical paradise inch by inch.

* THIS PIECE HAS BEEN SOLD TO A PRIVATE COLLECTOR *

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This wall-hanging was made for www.thequiltingweb.com and was featured on that site in October 2007.

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This small wall hanging uses a batik printed panel as the base and the images are burned out with a soldering iron.

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The piece is heavily free machine stitched, and embellished with beads, gold studs and “Glitter Magic” to give the shimmer of heat. For glitter suitable for use on fabric see Sharon Dobinson at sharonATglittermagic.co.uk (Please replace the AT with @)

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They say the art of letter writing is dead? In my opinion there is nothing nicer than receiving a letter or a card which someone has taken the time and trouble to think about and write. This “Blank Card Holder” would make a lovely present for anyone and can be further personalised with some hand made cards (not shown). The cards in this photograph are from Fabrications Magazine and feature various quilting images.

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The “Blank Card Holders” are made using a similar technique to the one used to make the “Celebration Photograph Albums” This is a “quick make “workshop using lots of lovely scraps of fabric which were just too good to throw away!

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Feature the fabric, stitch into it, embellish it and let your imagination take flight.

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One of a pair of pictures made using the “Rich Pickings” textile bags and printed cotton fish images. This workshop uses lots of free motion embroidery and beaded embellishment. For those who are daunted by free motion stitching it is possible to achieve a similar effect using either hand stitching or the pre-programmed stitches on your machine.

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The second in the pair of aquarium pictures.

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These two cushions are new for this year and are made using “The Revelation Burning” method. They are made from silk and the starting point is to use a base fabric pre-printed in a Baltimore design.

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Last year the workshop was based on pre-printed panels with an Indian feel and I still have a few of those left so the workshop could be either the Indian flowers or the Baltimore Beauty

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Like everything in quilting and textile art, the result changes according to the colour way chosen.

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If you would like to try “Burning a Baltimore Beauty” or the “Indian Flowers”cushion then please contact me for further information by using the contact facility.

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Moving on from the very popular Celebration Photograph albums of last year these books are all about layers of rich fabrics and in particular the use of lace as the basis of the design.

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This project is still on the same theme of Revelation Burning but this technique uses a pre-printed image as the inspiration for the design.In this instance it was a picture cover of a photograph album which became dimentional by the use of the technique.

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This is a new design drafted from an image which was multiplied by 4 to produce the design in its present format. It is backed in silk to throw the image forward and in this instance became the front cover of a sketch book for a friend.

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These Celebration cushions are made from a white bag of “Rich Pickings” using bridal fabrics. The embroidered one at the rear is slightly more modern, using twisted coloured wire to hold the wedding rings in place. The cushions could be adapted for a Christening , or new baby gift.

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Using a small photo album of 16 pages, we can make a special record of a very special occasion.

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Photo album for a Ruby Wedding celebration.

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Photo album for a Golden Wedding Celebration.

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The starting point is a cushion panel which, attracted by the colours I originally bought to chop up and use in another project. The rich spice tones and gold reminded me of the sumptuous clothes worn at the court of the Emperor Akbar in 16th-century India.

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The intention, is to change the look of the panel completely, both in shape and texture and this piece is densely stitched and beaded. There has been a lot of conversation in our household as to whether the finished piece looks better upright or long-ways and ultimately it is down to personal choice.

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The starting point using a preprinted cushion panel.

The panel is treated to the Revelation Burning method and afterwards looks like a completely different piece of fabric.

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Dig deep into the bottom of your stash and you may well find a cushion panel that you bought ages ago with the intention of making a quick present for someone but then never really got around to it. This is an old design and is possibly not still available but there are plenty of panels out there, including some very bright and innovative new designs.

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This workshop is all about changing the look of the panel completely, changing how you use it, (it could still be a cushion panel if you wish but it would certainly be different) and creating your very own masterpiece!

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The photo above illustrates a workshop that I held at Anne Baxter’s in early 2008.

These are fun workshops using a soldering iron and cotton printed fabric as the inspiration. As quilters we all have plenty of cotton fabric!

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The above samples are (starting on the left), a pocket for a rotary cutter, a large Treasure Scissor Pocket, and a spectacle case. Theses are all embellished with beads etc and all can be made in a day workshop.

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Treasure Scissor Pockets can be made in a day workshop and then further embellished in your own time. The above photograph shows two small and one large pocket. Kits are available to buy containing everything that is required for the workshop, and a full requirements list is provided for those who want to bring their own fabrics.

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This is an illustration of how dramatically the fabric changes when the Revelation Burning technique is used.

Spring and Ring Binder Folders

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This workshop uses the Revelation Burning technique and makes a really useful and beautiful cover for a binder to keep all your workshop notes and previous projects in. Always useful as a reference book for when you get around to finishing those UFOs!

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A day workshop with kits provided, and full list of requirements for those who wish to bring their own fabrics. Recycle spring binders are available on request. (To buy new from the stationers, spring binders are approximately £20 where as our re-cycled ones were stamp albums in a previous life and cost £5.)

Revelation Burning a Cushion Panel

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A day workshop using a cotton panel, soldering iron and a few scraps of assorted cotton fabric, which as quilters we may have a few of those in bags somewhere! Kits are available on the day and a full requirements list for those who wish to bring their own fabrics.

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The colourway of the cushion is dictated by the organza that is used in the project so 6 people using the same panel could end up with 6 different coloured cushions.

Tiffany Style Gift Box

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This box is a particularly useful gift in it’s own right even without contents. We have made lots of variations on this and this particular one is only called “Tiffany” because it reminded me so much of the leaded glass works of the artist of the same name. This is a day workshop with further embellishment finished at home. I do not have a kit as such for this workshop but do have for sale on the day, Vylene, fabric, organza and felt plus a full requirements list. This workshop uses the Revelation Burning method.

I kept a diary during my visit to Rajasthan in 2006, and the 4 friends who spent time with me during the trip were constantly asking after our return if I had finished the diary. The result was that I made 5 copies of the diary, one for each of us!

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The image used on this book is drafted from a close up photograph of the bronze door at the Taj Mahal. It is not intended that this is an exact replica of the picture but an artist’s impression.

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Once the image is burned away, the design is placed on purple silk in order to “throw” the image forward. The book is a recycled spring binder with a tailor made cover incorporating the prepared design.

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The finished diary which has now gone back to India to our tour guide.

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The cover for my diary was inspired by a silver pendant of “Ganesh” the Elephant God which was bought from a wonderful silver jewellery shop whilst travelling to Udaipur, Rajasthan.

The pendant was photographed, enlarged and the image traced to make a working pattern for the project.

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The image is then stitched through the paper pattern to transfer it to the fabric.

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The finished image backed with blue silk and set into a diary cover made of sari fabric

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The finished 5 diaries, from back left and clockwise; design taken from a marble inlay panel at the Taj Mahal, my diary featuring Ganesh, elephants from a wall drawing at the Fatehpur Sikri Palace, carved marble panel from the Taj Mahal and lastly the bronze door at the Taj Mahal.

These are all examples of the type of images that can be re-produced, and then the finished piece can be set into a book, cushion, frame or whatever you personally would like to use it for.

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These are all images that I felt were personal to the recipient. This pattern is drafted from a pierced metal lid depicting humming birds.

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This image is taken from a quilting pattern.

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This image is drafted from a photograph of a coloured glass window, and the individual colours were inserted after the design had been burned out.

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This design may be recognisable to some and is a hand quilting pattern of “The Weardale Wheel” kindly given to me by the well known hand quilter Lilian Hedley.

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Another quilting design.

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A different interpretation and colour way of the” Weardale Wheel.”

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A collection of books to perhaps inspire a workshop. These were all made up into photograph albums and were Christmas gifts for special friends and relatives.

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A full requirements list is available, as are the photograph albums, materials and tools on the day. Soldering irons are available to borrow or buy at all the above workshops.

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This cushion was made for “Fabrications Magazine” and is featured in issue 47. It is made using the Revelation Burning technique.

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Batik Cat Panel - This cushion was made for a friend who has three cats and it uses a batik central panel. It is a heavily machine quilted and has a pieced border which is machine embroidered.

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Easter Cushion - This was made as a gift for my mother and features photo transfer printing and free machine embroidery set on white bridal satin. The text is “The West Wittering Hymn” which was kindly passed on to me by Anne Baxter.

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Batik Mirrors - These lovely earthy batik fabrics form strip pieced squares which are highlighted on each corner with contrasting hand dyed fabric and with shisha mirrors.

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Jewels - This silk cushion is made from nine foundation pieced squares separated by olive green silk grids intersected by co-ordinating corner stones.Both this and the above cushion were made at workshops taught by Anne Baxter.

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Volcano - The cushion pad was made first in the shape of a volcano. The cover is made of felted jumpers which are cut as pattern shapes drafted from the source picture after it had been enlarged.

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Seminole Velvet a large single cushion made of velvet with an inset panel of silk seminole patchwork. The decoration on the corners represent arrow heads and are made from space dyed silk and are heavily beaded.

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Indian Summer a pair of silk cushions using square in a square patchwork and heavily machine stitched and embellished. One cushion is in a gold colourway and the other cerise but they share similar embellishments..

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The challenge theme for 2006 and giving me the third successive win at Westpoint was “Art Deco Revisited” and the ensuing quilt “Erte in the sky with diamonds” gave me the hat-trick.The starting point for this quilt was a diamond Art Deco necklace made by the American jeweller Charlton and Co, which displays a donut-shape crystal as the central feature. This gave the perfect frame for one of the most famous Art Deco images by Erte called Woman in Black. The impression of diamonds was the most difficult item to replicate and was made by trapping hundreds of scraps of fabric under bridal tulle and then machine embroidering into the pieces.

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The starting point was to get a working size image of the piece of jewellery. This was done in sections and then pieced and stuck together to make full size templates.

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The crystal donut-shape ring was the first section to translate into fabric and this sizing gave the frame for the Erte drawing.

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The diamonds forming the piece were made in sections. Each piece was prepared and stitched separately and then assembled when everything was completed.

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This photograph shows the bottom section of the necklace completed and the top section under construction. The diamond sections were made from hundreds of tiny shards of fabric ranging from white and silver through the spectrum to try and replicate the colours that bounce off a faceted diamond.

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The central ring is filled with sky shaded fabric and free motion quilted before the black fabric images of the woman and her dog are appliqued.

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The background fabric is free motion quilted and then the finished necklace and central image are hand stitched in place.

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Here I am with the winning quilt at Westpoint, Exeter!