Happy Christmas!

Everyone at P&Q would like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas!

However you choose to spend you day, have a good and maybe a pieceful one?
And remember inspiration is everywhere!

Bunting.......how much can you make?

Our colleagues at the British Quilt & Stitch Village show need bunting! And LOTS of it! They want to decorate all the buildings and entrance at Uttoxeter racecourse with bunting to create that village show feel.

 

If you would like to take part, simply make a minimum of 2m (or 6ft) of bunting, any colour, as simple or complicated as you like and send it to Patchwork & Quilting Magazine, Traplet House, Pendragon Close, Malvern, Worcestershire, WR14 1GA to arrive by 1 April 2013. A team at Traplet Publications will choose their favourite length of bunting and the maker will receive a pair of tickets to the show and a surprise package of goodies!

Come to the show and spot your bunting!

 

There are plenty of tutorials on the web showing you how to make bunting, but here's how I have made mine. 

 

 

Note: As I am left handed some images may look the wrong way round to most of you!



 

You will need:

A4 piece of paper

25cm assorted fabrics

1/2" wide double fold bias binding or 2" strips of calico

 

Make a template

1. Take A4 paper and fold in half lengthwise.

2. Cut diagonal line from open corners to fold at bottom.

 

 

 

3. Open out triangle and trim so that it is approx. 8" high.

 

 

 

Make your flags

1. Trim fabric strips so that they are approx. 8" wide. Keep them folded.

2. Place template on one fabric strip and either using a rotary cutter and ruler or pair of scissors, cut around template.

 

 

3. Turn template around and cut a second triangle.

 

 

(thank you blogger for rotating the image)

 

4. Continue cutting triangles from your strip. You should be able to cut six pairs from a regular width fabric.

5. You now have a choice of how to make your flags:

a. Put triangles right sides together and stitch a 1/4" seam on both long sides, turn flag right side out and press flat to make a flag like this:

(trim the ears at the top before inserting in the tape)

 

b. Keep triangles wrong sides together and stitch 1/4" seam on both long sides to make a flag like this:

 

(thank you again blogger)

 

6. Continue making flags with all your triangles.

 

Make the 'string'

Skip this step if you have ready made bias binding

 

1. Cut several 2" x WOF strips from calico.

2. Join strips together end to end.

3. Fold and press calico strip in half along its length.

4. Open strip out and press and fold each raw edge towards centre fold.

 

 

5. Fold strip in half again and press.

 

 

 

Make your bunting

1. Start stitching about 1/8" inch in from open folded edges at end of your folded strip.

2. Make sure you leave a tail of at least 12" before inserting your first flag within the folds of your strip.

3. Insert flag and pin.

 

 

4. Continue stitching along folded strip, ensuring all of flag top is within the strip.

5. Add second flag. I left a gap of about 4" between the tops of the flags.

 

 



 6. Stitch along top of flag as before.

7. Continue adding flags leaving a similar gap between each one, remembering to leave a tail of at least 12" again as you near the end of your folded strip.

8. Add a second line of stitching for additional strength.

 

 

9. I made a length of approx. 150" of bunting with 15 flags from 3 long quarters of prints and 4 strips of calico.

 

And there you have a string of bunting.

 

Have fun!

 

 

Joanna



 

 











December is so last year!

It may still be the week before Christmas, but we poor editors are surrounded by hearts and words of love at the moment (would be nice to be surrounded by chocolate too) as we put the February issue together before the end of the year!

 

The January issue is out now with some great projects to tempt you if you find some sewing time over the Christmas period.

 

 

The main front cover quilt is a quick pieced project, with a hint of applique, that is a great way of using those large scale Oriental prints that we all have in our stash but can't bear to cut up.

 

Another project that several members of staff have been drooling over is Mulled Wine, a cosy tweed quilt. Even it's name suggests snuggling up in front of a warm fire!

Most of all we are really excited to start a new block of the month programme, Hand Quilting for All. This is a sampler type quilt designed especially for P&Q by award winning quilter, Jacquie Harvey. It will teach you all the various techniques Jacquie uses in her quilts and runs over 9 months.

Judi and I are looking forward to taking a couple of days off (hopefully) over the holiday season as it has been a very busy six months adjusting to Di not working full time on the magazine. We all met up for an editors' Christmas lunch this week and it was great to see Di looking so well. She asked us to pass on her thanks for all the good wishes she has received from everyone.

Until next time.....

Happy Quilting!

Joanna

Gradually creaking back into life........

Judi and I have decided it's time we got the P&Q blog up and running again so we have been doing a bit of tweaking to the layout, with a bit more tweaking still to be done......
We have been busy finishing off the January 2013 issue this last week; it may only be the 1st December but for us Christmas has been and gone already!

Judi managed to fit in a trip to the new quilt show in Shepton Mallett this week. Did anyone else go? What did you think?

Talking of quilt shows, the plans for the new Uttoxeter show are coming along nicely. Now renamed the British Quilt & Stitch Village you can check out the website here
Entries forms for quilts and embroideries are available on the website. The closing date for submitting entries is 31 January 2013 but you have until April to finish your quilt or embroidery...........so plenty of time yet!
There's a rather nice quilt being used in the publicity for the show now (blush)

Joanna x

A Gift of Quilts

Join in the excitement in the run up to the Olympics in 2012 by taking part in two fantastic quilting projects running under the banner of "Quilting in the Olympic Spirit":

A Gift of Quilts

‘A Gift of Quilts’ is the project being organised by Jenny Rundle and Sharon Garrick plus a team to encourage stitchers all over the UK to make and donate up to 500 patchwork quilts.  The object is to give a quilt to each country participating in the London Olympics and Paralympics in 2012 (The Games) as a unique sign of friendship and peace.  Registrations are now closed, but you
can see the A Gift of Quilts team next at FESTIVAL OF QUILTS at the NEC Birmingham 11-14 August 2011 on stand number F5.
Agreement has been reached with Creative Exhibitions Ltd (Twisted Threads) to give A Gift of Quilts showcase space at the Stitch & Craft Show at Olympia ll, London, in March 2012.  As many of the quilts as possible will be on display.  It will be a wonderful opportunity to see all the quilts in one location and the draw for which country and Games your quilt will be allocated to will be undertaken at the show.
For more details, log on to www.agiftofquilts.co.uk


Quilts 4 London

Quilts 4 London is a non-profit organisation that has set itself the goal of making a pennant for each of the athlete's taking part in the Olympics and Paralympic Games. It is hoping to collect 14,000 pennants from craft groups, schools and youth groups, of all ages, styles and abilities,  in this fantastic community-based textile project. The pennants need to be 42 x 30cm (the size of an A3 piece of paper) and can be whatever shape the maker wants. For more details, log on to the Quilts 4 London website at www.quilts4london.org.uk.


Although you don't need to be registered to make a pennant, registering will help you to keep up to date on the latest news of the project.


The closing date for pennants is December 2011.

Latest DVDs...

We are just putting the finishing touches to our latest DVDs, Quilts Uncovered 1 and 2, presented by Jennifer Barlow. They will be available as single discs or a box set, and will come with a free bonus pattern disc. The DVDs show how to use simple techniques, with not much more than some paper, a few coins and a ruler to draw some of the classic quilting design elements such as the feather, rose and cable.

Check out the online shop in the next few days where they will be available to buy!
www.trapletshop.com/craft

Quilts Uncovered 1 - Designing & Stitching Quilting Patterns