I was talking to another quilter yesterday (who just happens to be a coworker of mine AND a talented beader) and one of my favorite topics came up: quilting fabric. We got to talking stash and how we didn't NEED more of it (but does that stop us from wanting it???) and just how much we have of it. My friend mentioned that she has an entire shelf of just polka-dotted fabric. That brought up my collection of food prints.

My significant other is a talented chef and he is, of course, passionate about food. We have been together for quite awhile, and over the years, if I've seen a food-printed quilt fabric, I've bought it, all so I can make him a food quilt in that magical land of make-believe called "one day." You know, that day when everything will get done :-) When I'm shopping for fabric, sighting a new food print always gives me a little thrill. It's like a cottony scavenger hunt!

This has led to a great accumulation of prints filled with veggies, desserts, coffee and even meat! There are so many great food prints out there! Here are just a few of my favorites:

 

ALEXANDER HENRY FABRICS JUICY 1950'S PEARS

TIMELESS TREASURES FARMSTAND GARDEN PLOT MULTI

ROBERT KAUFMAN NOVELTY COFFEE BARISTA

Now, as much as I love all of these individually, I'm sure that it will be... interesting, shall we say? to put them all together in one quilt in an attractive way. But I'll worry about that "one day."

Do you have a special collection in your stash? What are you always on the look out for? Do you feel the thrill of victory when you find it, or is it just me?

Last Friday I travelled to the Bath Literature Festival with an old friend from my university days. She works for the Arts Council and was therefore there in an official capacity, and I was going to support one of our authors and to discuss a future book with her. It has been ages since I last visited the heart of Jane Austen country, and I had forgotten how lovely it is. Here’s Bath Abbey for example.


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Humbling to consider the extraordinary craftsmanship that produced the gothic stonework. I wonder if anyone has been inspired to recreate the shapes of the window tracery in other crafts? Perhaps someone from Bath knows of a local designer or group that has done this? I’d love to know.

I had been really looking forward to visiting the American Museum, which (as many of you will know) has a textile exhibition featuring an incredible collection of historical American quilts. But horror! I found out that the museum is closed for winter until March 15th. Curses! Those of you Americans who have been skittering to work on a sheet of ice or digging your car out of a snow drift for the past three weeks, will be puzzled by such a lengthy winter closure in balmy Bath (where the daffodils were blooming and the sun actually came out for a bit). Must be renovation, quilt dusting, and curator hibernation, I suppose.

It turned out that Kate (from the Arts Council) was hosting a gathering of crafty friends that evening. So when we got back I just had to join them and Pickles the Wonder Dog to see what they were up to. Kate is stitching a Mother’s Day card, Anna is knitting the cutest baby hat in the world ever (it’s official), and Susie is making an appliqué advent calendar that is definitely for this Christmas and not an unfinished project from last year (honestly).

Here they are, crafting like crazy. Kate would probably like me to point out that the slightly chaotic backdrop is the result of her fireplace being demolished. Calm and order will be restored as soon as the plasterer shows up to finish the job. Should be about the same time that the American Museum in Bath reopens then…


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I love local quilting events! The national shows are very exciting, of course, but so far apart, both in terms of time and locale. Local events help make the wait for the "next big show" much easier to handle. This weekend is the Lebanon Quilt & Fabric Arts Show & Sale, and I am very excited to attend. If you are anywhere near southwest Ohio on February 29, or March 1-2, be sure to stop by and check it out. And keep an eye out for me--I will be the woman buying all the fabric (that's probably not enough to identify me at a quilt show, is it?).

Do you have a favorite local quilt show? Be sure to let everyone know about it by posting it in our "Events" forum.

Well, I'm back at my desk having spent a day last week stalking the aisles at one of Britain's biggest craft shows, Craft Hobby and Stitch International. It's a trade show so there's nothing to buy (probably just as well), but it does offer the opportunity to see the latest products and designs that manufacturers are launching this Spring.

It's a mixed craft show, with lots of papercraft and beading, but there were some fabric houses there as well as EQS and Gutermann, Janome and other sewing machine companies. I'm still kicking myself that I didn't overcome my natural reserve and ask if I could have a go on a long arm machine. However, I might have been there for hours, and have had to be dragged away finally by security. Those things look fun.

I had a nice chat with the guys from Moda about jelly rolls and layer cake. Does fabric make you hungry? Look out for Pam and Nicky Lintott's fabulous new Jelly Roll Quilt book is due out in May this year (www.quiltroom.co.uk). It's brimming over with patterns for turning jelly rolls into lovely quilts. Perfect if like me you get one home and just want to stare at it.


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By far and away the most alluring stand (US: booth) was Rowan's. They had Kaffe Fassett, Amy Butler and Martha Negley fabric, some of it made up into quilts. Stunning.

I noticed that there were some lovely soft corals, browns and sage greens in the ranges on display. I'd be interested to know if you see these colours coming through in your local quilt shop.

My real treat of the show was to talk to Laura Kemshall, who makes breathtaking art quilts. She was working on a piece at the show inspired by the nineteenth-century obsession with tulips, known as Tulipmania. I don't have a photo of that but you can see samples of the pieces that she and her mother Linda create at their website (www.lindakemshall.com), or in their book, The Painted Quilt. Prepare to be filled with joy or envy, depending on which side of the bed you got out of this morning. I'm going with joy.

Hello. My name is Jane and I’m delighted to introduce myself as one of your quilting group moderators. I’m based in the UK, in the county of Devon, home of David & Charles Publishers, where I’m lucky enough to work on our quilting books. This means meeting and working with some of the very best quilters in the country, visiting the big quilt shows and generally wallowing in all thing quilt-related. Life is hard.

I’ve only been making quilts for 18 months or so myself, but I’m filled with beginner’s enthusiasm. I have already managed to begin seven projects, and I’ve only finished three of them! My friends and family keep having babies and I feel duty bound to make a cot quilt each time this happens.
Then there’s Great Aunt Hilda’s 90th birthday quilt, which must be finished by May. I’ll have to keep you posted about how I get on with that one.

I'm looking forward to admiring all your beautiful work and, for my part, I hope to bring you the best in new ideas from the UK, inspiration and know-how from the professionals, and somewhere to share a laugh as I blog about my experiences. All I ask is that you never look too closely at the accuracy of my piecing...