31st January
From Anne
I hope the daily smile has helped to keep spirits up, January always seems a long month and particularly so this year.
From now on I will post a occasional smile so do keep checking in.
From now on I will post a occasional smile so do keep checking in.
We have recieved an email request for help from an MQ member. Please respond if you think you can help.
Hello Anne and whoever receives this,
Firstly, I’d like to say how much I miss coming to your bi-weekly meetings. I was not able to go each session before, but I sure do miss them now! I have been a member for a few years and really enjoying quilting more and more. Your workshops have been amazing and some of the ladies there are soo talented, something I aspire to...
I am writing to ask if anyone can give me recommendations for a sewing machine which is particularly suited for quilting and patchwork. I have a 23 year old Bernina which I really love but feel I need an upgrade. Can anyone advise me or point me in a direction? I have been sewing lots of baby quilts for my kids friends w babies this last year which I really love doing.
Thank for you time.
I posted about this Block of the Month in November and thought I would remind you now it is about to start.
We know that many of you are excited about the start of the My Hometown Block of the Month. We've had a fantastic response with so many of you signing up for this fun project! The first block will be sent out via email on Monday, February 1st, with the remaining blocks being sent out on the first Monday of the month through August 2021.As a special surprise for you we're releasing the cutting instructions a couple days early so that you can cut your fabrics over the weekend and be ready for Block 1 when it is emailed out on Monday. If you don't get cutting right away, don't worry - you have all month to make this block and that is plenty of time. This project is not a race - I hope you enjoy yourself and maybe learn a few things along the way!
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A Smile a Day
Evelyn suggests that "A Smile a Day is the Way Forward"
I will take up her challenge and try to find one for you all every day until the end of January.
31st January
To make you smile today I though it would be nice to remind us all of how good it was to meet, the selection of photos in this gallery are from our very last Show and Tell at the Reddings in December 2019. What a talented bunch we are!
There is definitely light at the end of the tunnel; what a Show and Tell we will have then!
There is definitely light at the end of the tunnel; what a Show and Tell we will have then!
And here are two related bonus smiles that I have left over...
Thank you to Jane for the one below.
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The sign in this picture can apparently be found outside Cheltenham General.
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30th January
On Twitter the Rev Richard Coles commemorates the feast days of saints. Here is St Magloire of Dol his feast day is 24th October but it would be much more approriate for today 30th January.
A Saint I can identify with!
A Saint I can identify with!
29th January
Pam Ayres! Why didn't I think of her before? We could have had a whole month of smiles from Pam!
27th January
From Lis
Lis has completed her wonderful 'Alice' quilt, the pattern is called Curiouser and Curiouser designed by Helen Godden - no piecing all paint!!
A Smile a Day
26th January
Peter Sellers today, this short video makes me laugh out loud!
I miss the old comedians; they don't make them like that any more!
I miss the old comedians; they don't make them like that any more!
26th January
From Anne
It's Janome's centennial this year, there is plenty of information on their website about their history and, I suspect much more to come over the next months, so bookmark the page and visit regularly.
100th Anniversary Website Launch Announcement Janome Sewing Machine Co., Ltd. will celebrate its 100th anniversary on October 16, 2021.
We are pleased to announce the launch of the English version of our centennial website. A range of information related to our anniversary will be posted on the site, so please take a look. |
This week we received our copy of FivePatch, the Quilters' Guild regional magazine.
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From Shirley
Here are pictures of the quilts l made for the grandchildren. Also I have taken on the project that was posted on newsletter last June and during January I have made my version of dancing ribbons, using some fabric left from the grandchildren's quilts.
Shirley
A Smile a Day
25th January
The snow made me smile yesterday and this morning has brought a clear blue sky with sunshine to put a sparkle on what is left.
Here are some snowy smiles:
Here are some snowy smiles:
We received a very nice email from Vanessa yesterday; in celebration of the snow and to remind us that not long ago we were 'free range' people.
It doesn’t seem possible that this time last year we were in Tokyo for the Quilt festival. I thought maybe everyone would like to see a picture of the sight that greeted us as we entered the Tokyo Dome. Happy memories with absolutely no idea of what was soon to come.
This snowy morning has also reminded us of the trip to the Kimono museum a few days later. The entrance gate was just the start of a magical day with views to Mount Fuji across the lake. Just down the road from there was the Kawaguchi-ko music forest which was also very beautiful in the snow.
Just a small taster of some of the many photos we have.
Take care
And now for a video that Jane sent me a link to last week, today is the perfect day for it to make us smile...
If you have time to waste on the internet search Pinterest for 'Snowman Quilt'- guaranteed to make you smile!
24th January
Today a smile from Julia
The Charles Schulz Philosophy
The following is the philosophy
of Charles Schulz,
The creator of the 'Peanuts'
comic strip.
You don't have to actually
answer the questions.
Just ponder on them.
Just read the e-mail straight
through, and you'll get the point.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.
of Charles Schulz,
The creator of the 'Peanuts'
comic strip.
You don't have to actually
answer the questions.
Just ponder on them.
Just read the e-mail straight
through, and you'll get the point.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.
How did you do?
The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.
These are no second-rate achievers.
They are the best in their fields.
But the applause dies.
Awards tarnish ...
Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.
These are no second-rate achievers.
They are the best in their fields.
But the applause dies.
Awards tarnish ...
Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
Here's another quiz. See how you do
on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
Easier?
The lesson:
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money ... or the most awards. They simply are the ones who care the most.
The lesson:
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money ... or the most awards. They simply are the ones who care the most.
Pass this on to those people whom you keep close in your heart.
"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in
Australia!"
"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in
Australia!"
"Be Yourself."
23rd January
Two smiles today the first from Janet who found this amusing poem in the Telegraph:
And the second from Elaine - A selection of Tim Vine one liners:
"I was watching the Bermuda Philharmonic Orchestra recently and, half way through the chap on the triangle disappeared."
"A friend of mine has just managed to get a part time acting job as the cuckoo in a cuckoo clock, the pay's not great, but at least it gets him out of the house."
I saw an advert in a window that read: ‘Television for sale, £1.00, volume stuck on full’. I thought, ‘I can’t turn that down’."
"A friend of mine has just managed to get a part time acting job as the cuckoo in a cuckoo clock, the pay's not great, but at least it gets him out of the house."
I saw an advert in a window that read: ‘Television for sale, £1.00, volume stuck on full’. I thought, ‘I can’t turn that down’."
23rd January
From Elaine
An interesting sewing-related post from The Knitting & Stitching Show; plus something led me to look at the John James Facebook site. You don't have to be on Facebook to look, & it is an entertaining browse.
Knitting & Stitching Show Self-Portrait competition
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John James Needles - Facebook
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From June
I found this article this morning and thought the quilters might be interested -Dr. Jill Biden's Inauguration Evening Dress with embroidered flowers for each of the American states. |
From Anne
Here is another Bernina webinar from Silvain Bergeron, this time about the Dual Feed and the Walking Foot. Although it is particular to Bernina machines the principles are the same for any machine. It's a bit long at 50+ minutes, you can skip bits you're not interested in. Here is the link for the handouts:
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Aurifil's blog 'Auribuzz' features Sheena Norquay this week, A great read for all the hand stitchers/embroiderers.
Sue and I attended one of Sheena's lectures at The Festival of Quilts in 2019, her work is amazing, she works absolute magic with thread. Do take a look...
Sue and I attended one of Sheena's lectures at The Festival of Quilts in 2019, her work is amazing, she works absolute magic with thread. Do take a look...
The US National Quilt Museum At Paducah
On Twitter they are celebrating their 30th anniversary year by sharing a quilt from the museum collection every day, all year long!
You don't need to sign up for Twitter to look.On t On the right is the quilt for 22nd Jnauary. Click on image |
On Facebook the museum has a great BOM for those who like Modern quilts
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This week I have made progress on both the Windy Hill Fram Quilt and on Clementine Cat. Here are the photos.....
A Smile a Day
20th January
Zero Risk
I had my jab the other day
The one that's really cold
The nurse explained I'm getting it
Because I'm really old
I sat as still as still could be
While trying not to cough
Concerned that were my arm to freeze
If knocked it might fall off.
The one that's really cold
The nurse explained I'm getting it
Because I'm really old
I sat as still as still could be
While trying not to cough
Concerned that were my arm to freeze
If knocked it might fall off.
Mark Graham
19th January
From Vanessa
In 1970 I had just finished my O levels and in those days we didn’t get to have more time off tacked on to the summer holidays. We had to undertake 3 different projects over the remaining six weeks of term. One for the school, one for the local community and one for our own personal development. So in between digging pensioners gardens and visiting the local hospital I painted a mural on the wall outside the school library. At the time I was going out with Mike and thought he would make a good subject for the painting. It is about 7’ x 5’ and it involved me standing on a chair on top of a table at the top of two flights of stairs. I don’t think health and safety had been invented then. Being June and July it was also very hot up there so most of the time my school shirt was, shall we say, worn loose.
Many years later, at a school reunion I was surprised to see that the mural was still there. I would have thought that they would have redecorated and painted over it by then, but was pleased to find it still there.
In 2014 Mike arranged with the school historian for us to visit so that he could see the mural for himself. He had only seen photos up until then. It was still intact although some lockers had been placed in front of it.
In 2018 Montpellier Quilters issued a Summer Challenge with the theme ‘Hexagons’. I had always thought that the mural would translate readily into a quilt and I had kept all the original drawings and sketches. It took some time to copy and enlarge the sketches and then superimpose hexagons onto the drawing. The original hexagons were very random and irregular so I needed to make them more regular for it to work in fabric. Over 100 hexagons then had to be hand stitched individually, many of them with more than 10 tiny pieces. All this done in secret while Mike was out of the house, and often thrown in a cupboard quickly when he came home early. This has been going on for 2 ½ years and certainly was nowhere near finished in time for the challenge deadline. Originally I had intended this one to be a prototype and I would make a bigger one later. That daft idea has been abandoned!!!
It was finally finished just before Christmas as I really wanted to get it completed in 2020 – a 50 year anniversary of the start of this long story. Although we had agreed that in this difficult year we would not buy each other Christmas presents, Mike was surprised to find a wrapped gift for him on Christmas morning. I didn’t break the rules by buying anything but it was certainly a surprise. Hopefully worth waiting for.
A much quicker project has been the Red Hatters Tea Party. My sister is the Queen Bee of her local chapter (I know, it sounds like the Hells Angels and maybe there is a reason for that!) so I made this for her birthday. It has been difficult to get hold of the marabou trimming in lockdown but Dunelm came to the rescue. Not quite in time but she should still get her birthday present in the right month. It seems appropriate that the ladies have wine glasses for their tea party as whenever this group goes out for coffee they magically end up drinking gin. |
18th January
From June
Hi All, |
I have also found an article which might interest you all - https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/craft-arts-in-fashion-diy-knitting-crochet-patchwork-trend |
This week we would have met up for a meeting so, I am planning to spend Thursday evening working on my mini quilt design for January and trying to finish a UFO.
Hope some more of you out there are feeling creative and I look forward to seeing what else you are making,
June
17th January
Jane F reminds me that a new series of The Great Pottery Throwdown began last week. The second episode is tonight (Sunday 17th) at 7.45pm on Channel 4. There was a very positive review of the show in the Guardian this week.
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A Smile a Day
14th January
We have received our January newsletter from the Quilters' Guild.
Click on button...
Click on button...
A Smile a Day
13th January
I was sent smiles from both Jane and Evelyn yesterday and can't choose between them so today you get two...
The first from Jane certainly made me smile
The first from Jane certainly made me smile
And here's the second one from Evelyn...
Murphy's Law of Quilting
- On any given day the number of employees in a quilt shop is inversely proportional to the number of customers needing quick attention.
- Every quilt will take twice as long as you expect and be ½ as beautiful (we are never satisfied).
- There are only 2 kinds of masking tape: that which won’t stay on and that which won’t come off.
- In cutting an intricate multi-piece block, your ruler will slip on the last side of the last patch.
- When there is no time to do something right, there will always be time to do it over.
- The value of any piece of fabric is directly proportional to the speed and ease with which you will ruin it.
- In any mail-order shipment the item you need the most will be back-ordered.
- The pattern in a special fabric will never repeat when or where you want it to.
- Accidental destruction of a fabric will only occur to an expensive imported cotton, never to muslin bought at 50% off.
- Fabric dyes will never run until the quilt has been completed.
- A block with flawlessly straight sides, precision corners and perfect color placement will always be the wrong size.
- A quilt that has to be completed for a birthday in two months will take two years to finish. And its corollary: A quilt that has no due date will take only two months to complete..
- When you finally have your sewing space in the empty bedroom exactly the way you want it your son will move back home.
- You will find the perfect fabric for your quilt only after it has been discontinued by the manufacturer.
- A quilt judge will give you a bad critique only when the area is full of other people..
- That same quilt judge will give praise only when no one else is around.
- The busier you are on any given day the greater the number of quilting inspirations you will want to try.
- Your quilting thread will break at the needle only when the last stitch has been taken in the line .
- If a novice quilter decides to watch you use your rotary cutter, you will always ruin the fabric and cut yourself.
- Your bobbin thread will only run out in the middle of a long line of stitching.
- That perfect striped fabric you want to use in your sashing has been printed off-grain.
- The top must be completed and basted to the backing before you notice the one block that has a mistake in it.
- The quilt-marking pencil that you tested on every fabric before you marked your quilt top won’t disappear after you have completed the quilt.
- You finally get a great idea for your Guild’s challenge one week before the quilts are due.
- No matter how much fabric you have bought, you are not going to have enough for the quilt you want to make.
12th January
From Elaine
Confession time : I have been embroidering again. Since discovering the French site "Un Chat Dans l'aiguille" I filled my pre-christmas with finishing my star(pictured). Now I'm completing a stitches sampler book 'Un Chat'. This week I am going to start a SAL(Stitchalong) with a lady based in Gloucester. |
Feeling guilty about not quilting, I have gone back to my EPP table runner(pictured), and bought a Christmas stocking panel to make up for my little granddaughter for next year. |
From Anne
I have started a new quilt this week. When I picture myself making a quilt I see myself sitting at the sewing machine, but instead I have spent two days at the ironing board! Not nearly such fun.
The quilt I am making is for a new baby in the family, the pattern is from Happy Quilts, It's a lovely book with 10 great kid's quilt patterns each one has a toy to make which coordinates with the quilt. The one I have chosen is called 'Windy Hill Farm' which will suit either a boy or girl; there's nothing to show yet but I'll keep you posted on progress. I'm happy to loan out the book if anyone is interested. |
I'm also making Clementine Cat - a friend of Luna Lapin!
I was given the book Luna Lapin's Friends for Christmas and Zoe, (age 4 , lives next door) has put in her order! I thnk it was the dress that particularly sold the cat to her! The 'friends' are very nice felt toys to make, just the right level of difficulty and a good mix of hand and machine sewing. So far, nothing to stuff yet but when there is I'll post some photos. |
Recommended Viewing
BBC Four's series Winter Walks was shown each weekday last week. Using modern filming tecniques in timelsess landscapes. I could smell the good northern air!
I'm not sure who was my favourite walker in the series but I always enjoy the company of the Rev Richard Coles. Click on the Rev at Rivaulx Abbey for link |
Sky Arts (Channel 11 on Freeview) starts it's new series of Landscape Artist of the Year on Wednesday 13th January at 8pm. I am hoping it will be as good as the Portrait series which ended last month.
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Recommended Listening
BBC Radio 4
In the spirit of the daily smile sent in by June on the 10th January, this week's episode of Something Understood is good to listen to. Available on BBC Sounds. Click on the image to take you there
In the spirit of the daily smile sent in by June on the 10th January, this week's episode of Something Understood is good to listen to. Available on BBC Sounds. Click on the image to take you there
Made by Hand |
With apologies to Evelyn who sent in this recommendation last week and which I forgot all about.........
It seems that the less I have to remember the more likely I am to forget!
Will I still be able to hold more than one thought when they let me out again?!
Will I still be able to hold more than one thought when they let me out again?!
A Smile a Day
Evelyn suggests that "A Smile a Day is the Way Forward"
I will take up her challenge and try to find one for you all every day until the end of January.
6th January
From Carolyn
Lisa Walton
There are some great new videos in my QUILT STORY series which I know you will find inspiring and interesting |
Learning with Lisa |
Quilts & ExhibitionsI am so thrilled my quilt ‘If Only’ has been accepted into |
4th January
From Jane F
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A Hug for Trixie
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From Anne
I made another doll for my granddaughter, this time a Tipsy Turvey doll. She didn't really like it in the book because she couldn't understand why it had no legs.... so I had to make it, knowing that when the penny dropped she would love it. I was right, it's her new favourite, which just proves that when you are four sophisticated toys are not needed.
The doll has a dolly, and the dolly has a dolly too!
The doll has a dolly, and the dolly has a dolly too!
January 2nd
From June
Happy New Year to All Montpellier Quilters and their families. |
Also began on my project for this year - do you remember what it is? - see pic. I am making cardboard templates for each of the designs as I go - as I may use them in another project in the future. First block machine sewn, but I notice hand stitching may be easier on the more intricate squares (as they are only 6'' square) |
A Smile a Day
29th December
Following on from yesterday's smile.....
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Thank you to Jane for this one.