MQI Sewing Day Recap!

This past Saturday we had our meet up day in Limerick.  It had been over 2 years since our sewing day in Galway so it was really lovely to get to spend the day sewing and chatting with Modern Irish Quilters we might only know through Instagram!

Our venue being in Limerick meant that quite a few of us only had to travel over the Shannon to meet up but some came from Wexford, Dublin and the Kingdom of Co. Kerry!  We were hit with tummy flu and last minute family commitments so our number of 15 signed up for the day dwindled to 7 but we made the most of it!

We spent most of the day talking, and eating chocolate goodies and talking some more!  Having a smaller group meant that most of the chat was all of us together which also meant there wasn't a moment when one of the seven of use weren't chatting!  Seven told us all about his recent visit to QuiltCon and we are all thinking about saving to go ourselves in 3 years time.  Paula filled us in on the European quilt shows and shared with us quilt stories from her recent exhibition in Mexico city. 

We had a brilliant show and tell.  Seven showed us a modern quilt with metallic looking silk fabric and his brilliant I'm OK quilt.  Every block has I'm OK in it in some new from, from text to Morse code to Braille - this was really fun to get up close to!

 Aideen shared with us her paper pieced cushion. 

 I really love this and want to make one giant sized as a one block quilt for our sofa!

Paula showed one of her quilts from Mexico from her Momento Mori series and explained to us the old Catholic tradition of carrying a reminder of death with you to make you live each day to the fullest.  Paula's series of skull quilts are made up of her favourite objects and this one is made up of lots and lots of individual lady birds layered on top.

We also got to see the skull Share Jane quilt that Paula co-ordinated a huge collaboration of over 100 people to make blocks for 3 different versions of the traditional Dear Jane quilt.  This was stunning to see in person.

Rita showed us a modern advent wall hanging for Christmas time and had photos of a fantastic modern quilt she made for her sister.  It took her 6 months to make a double sided wedding quilt.  It took me two years to make a one sided Swoon and Paula trumped us all by taking 7 years to make her sisters wedding quilt!

We all oohed and ahhed over this Fleur de Lis pattern which Rita is making by machine and hand piecing fabrics from her life, like table cloths and clothes.  The softness of the palette and vintage feel appealed to us all.

Louise is working in her Rainbow Rose made with a low volume background and is adding borders to make a bigger quilt.  She shared with us also some fabric printing pieces and her progress on a piece for Aurora, the IPS co-exhibition with the Northern Ireland Patchwork Guild in May

I didn't know what to bring for Show and Tell so I settled for my favourite quilt.  I can't tell you why this little Charm Pack Cherry with Noteworthy and neutral fabrics is my favourite, it just makes me happy when I pick it up.  I like it so much our Basset hounds haven't had even a sniff at it (Charly our Jack Russell may have sat on it once!)  and being only 5ft tall it keeps me warm watching telly but is useless to anyone else in the house!

 My second piece was this quilt I'm hoping to have finished for Fun's April 27th submission date!  It's a play on traditional blocks made modern and I had so much fun with colour on this one.  Only 1 block was left traditional (the Ohio star!), everything else has had a modern slant applied to it.  We decided a dark grey binding might be the way to finish it off.

Suzanne shared her progress on a piece of Jupiter and its moons and we talked about facing rather than binding it in black to not lock in that gorgeous red curve.

And on the day, despite all the talking and eating, I don't know how she did it but Suzanne finished a jelly roll quilt top!

Seven kindly held it up for photographing and we decided we liked it better vertical than horizontal.

Thank you to all who helped out to make our sewing day a success.  Suzanne made tote bags for us all in red and green Cath Kidston fabric, Louise and Seven brought scrummy home baked goodies and Paula kept us well topped up with tea & coffee!

Photos shamelessly robbed from Louise and Aideens instagram feeds!

Given our number we all got spot prizes in the raffle to add to our goodie bags! 

Suzanne, Louise, Aideen, Rita, Seven & Ruth with Paula behind the camera!

Thanks to Aideen too who gave me a box of biscuits all the way from Sneem bakery which I have enjoyed immensely writing up this post!  Hope to see you all again soon!

March Bee Block for Erin–Washington Star

Edited 18/03/17: updated to correct numbers of squares to cut!

Greetings Hive mates!

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Erin, and my family and I moved from Washington State 3 years ago to Cork. As we’re moving back to Washington in June, I asked if I could get one of the earlier months for the Bee.

When I first moved here in April of 2014, it was quite a culture shock. I was quite isolated, as my twin sons were only 16 months old at the time. For the first few months here, I hated it. It wasn’t until I discovered Modern Quilters Ireland and the Irish Patchwork Society that I found my people, began to make friends, and enjoyed living in Ireland. To say these two groups saved my sanity is an understatement. I’ve met some amazing people, and learned new skills in the process.

I’d love it if you could help me commemorate my time here in Ireland by following my instructions to make the Washington Star block:

Yes, I’m asking you to use the colours of the Irish flag! I thought it was a great way to commemorate my time here, by making a barn block I found on the ‘net called the Washington Star. I wasn’t able to find any sort of instructions for it. So, I broke out my quilting design software and came up with this:

You’re going to need three green fabrics, a light, medium and dark, two orange fabrics, a light and a dark, and a white background fabric—I used Kona White. Feel free to use prints, solids or a mix of the two. These instructions will make an 18 inch block.

Cutting Instructions:

White Background Fabric:

Four 5 inch squares

Four 3.75 inch squares

Twelve 2.75 inch squares

Dark Green Fabric:


Two 4.75 inc squares

Five 5 inch squares

Medium Green Fabric:

Eight 2.75 inch squares

Four 3.75 inch squares

Light Green Fabric:

Eight 2.75 inch squares

Two 4.75 inch squares

Dark Orange Fabric:

Four 2.75 inch squares

Orange Fabric:

Four 3.75 inch squares

To Assemble Corner Units:

Begin by taking your four medium green 3.75 inch squares and draw a line from corner to corner. Layer on top of your white 3.75 inch squares and sew a 1/4 inch away from the line on both sides. Cut on line.

Press open and trim to 2.75 inch square.

Using the photo as a guide, take your HST, medium green 2.75 inch squares, dark orange squares and your 5 inch white squares and arrange as shown.

 Sew the units in a row together.

Sew your rows together. Repeat for a total of four corner units. 

To build Diamond in a Square unit:

Take the eight light green 2.75 inch squares and twelve white 2.75 inch squares and draw a line from corner to corner. 

First, you’ll be building one all white and dark green diamond in a square unit. Take one dark green 5 x 5 square and four white 2.75 squares with the diagonal line. Place two squares on opposite corners. Pin and sew directly on the line. 

Next trim excess fabric more than 1/4 inch away and press open. Repeat with remaining corners for a white and dark green diamond in a square unit. 

Next, you’ll be making the same unit, but when you work with opposite corners, you’ll be using one white fabric and one light green fabric. follow the same process as above to make FOUR units total that look like this. 

To make Half Quarter Square Triangles

Take your light green 4.75 inch squares and and draw a line from corner to corner. Layer over the dark green 4.75 inch squares and pin. Sew a 1/4 inch away on both sides of the line. 

Cut on the line and press open. Trim to 3.75 inches.

Next, you’re going to make a half quarter square triangle using these half square triangles. Take your 3.75 inch orange square and draw a line from corner to corner. Layer this square on the half square triangles made previously. ENSURE THAT YOUR DRAWN LINE INTERSECTS THE HALF SQUARE TRIANGLE. Sew 1/4 inch away from both sides of the line. Cut on the line and press open.

To trim this unit, take your ruler and line up the 45 degree line up on the seam line. Your final measurement of this half quarter square triangle will be 2.75 inches, so be sure to line up the light green/dark green seam on the 2.75 inch mark as show in the photo below. Rotate unit to trim to
2.75 inches square.

Once units are trimmed, you’ll be sewing these together in pairs, matching dark green triangles. Make four units total. 

To begin sewing your block together:
First, sew your multicoloured diamond in a square units to the previous unit made. Ensure that your light green triangles of the diamond in a square unit touch the orange triangles of the other unit. 

Next, arrange your units using the photo as a guide. The white/dark green diamond in a square unit goes in the centre. 

Assemble as you would a nine patch by sewing all the units in a row together. 

Press the seams in opposite directions so you can nest them in the next step.

Sew your rows together, and you’re done! Great job!

Modern Irish Bee 2017

Welcome to our 2017 Bee! We have 9 people signed up to make and swap blocks for each other this year and will be sharing our fabric picks and finished blocks in our facebook group MQI Modern Irish Bee. It is a closed group but all Modern Quilters Ireland members are welcome to join! In case you would like to make any of the blocks we are swapping I’ll be posting the instructions at the first of every month between now and October. This year we are making 1 big block maximum size 18” and Annette is our first Queen Bee and starts us off with a great choice!

Hello fellow Bee Members

I'm Annette from Galway and I am delighted and excited to be in a bee for the first time. I searched for days to find a block that I liked and finally came up with this one. I hope you enjoy making it for me. Ruth very kindly up sized the block to 18 inches thanks Ruth.

Enjoy Annette.

Fabric Requirements:

Where it is white any low volume fabric, and the rest any bold vibrant colours.

(You will need Background fabric in low volume, colour 1 and vibrant colours 2, 3 & 4.)

You can find the full instructions here to view or download as a PDF:

http:www.mccallsquilting.com/patterns/details.html?idx=8056

The pattern is written with 4 colours and 3 different sized pieces. Replace the pieces on the pattern as below to make your block come out as 18.5” unfinished, 18” when finished in the quilt.

1A: (colour 1, piece size A) 3.5 x 6.5 X4

1B: (colour 1, piece size B) 3.5 x 3.5 X12

2B: (colour 2, piece size B) same as above but in a different colour 3.5 x 3.5 X4

3A: (colour 3 piece size A) 3.5 x 6.5 X4

4C: (colour 4, piece size C) 3 1/2" x 9.5 X4

Follow the instructions, using the strip and flip method to add squares 1B to the corners of 3A and 4C to make the long pointed sections and assemble the block as follows:

You will have 4 corners each measuring 9 1/2”x 9 1/2”.

Arrange as per the instructions and sew together to create an 18 1/2” x 18 1/2” block.

5 sleeps until Christmas!

This year our top picks for Christmas is brought to you by Louise @mullanelou.  Thanks Louise for sharing your Christmas list with us !
 
Here are the top five sewing related items on my Christmas list….
5. Accuquilt Go fabric cutter
Available in the full version, baby and electronic would you believe from Amazon or directly from Accuquilt.com

4. Funky sewing themed 2Gb USB keys
They come in a range of colours on Amazon.com

3. Specialised Rulers
I know you can get by perfectly well without them but if it can speed up the cutting process a little bit I think they might be worth a try. One such ruler is the half square triangle bloc-loc ruler

2. The Quilters Planner 2017 – Calendar and Diary
This looks like a great way to plan and track your quilty exploits for the coming year. It’s filled with Project planners, WIP lists, design tools, quilters references, free motion tips, Cloud 9 fabrics colour card, quilt inspiration and patterns from some great bloggers

Sample of Project planning by diaryofaquilter.com

1. 360 Crafters bag and Crafters Tote
This looks like an nice alternative if that “Sew together bag” is still on your to do list! Both can be found on Amazon.com

-Louise

Happy Monday Modern Irish Quilters!  Sign ups are now open for Modern Irish Bee 2017.

If you haven't taken part in a Bee before here's some info on what it's all about!

How our Bee works
Online Quilting Bees are usually made up of 12 members, 1 member for each month of the year.  Each member takes their turn at being Queen Bee. The Queen Bee chooses a block she would like the hive mates to make for her.  It can be an existing block or a design of your own.  The Queen Bee writes instructions on how she/he wants the block to look, fabric choices, colours etc.  This typically involves testing the block, noting areas where any changes are to be made or difficulties encountered, to help the Hive have an easier time making the blocks. 

Instructions are given to the Hive on the 1st of the month and the hive mates make the block from fabrics in their stashes and post the blocks to the Queen by the end of the month.  Specific colours or fabrics are not allowed unless the Queen wants to post them to the hive members in advance.  The idea is if the Queen wants a blue and white block then the hive mates pick appropriate blues and whites from their on hand fabrics.

Hive mates post images to the Facebook group, or on our Flickr group and Instagram to share progress. 

Choosing a Block
The Queen may design her own block as long as it is tested and instructions are provided to make it.  The Queen may choose a block from a free online tutorial and reference the original tutorial in the instructions and note any changes to be made.  Blocks from published books or paid patterns should not be used, as every hive mate would need to buy a copy to make the block.  Photocopying or emailing a paid pattern is not permitted and infringes on the rights of the author/publisher.  Special tools or fabric required to make the block may not be requested unless the Queen provides them to the hive mates in advance of her turn as Queen Bee.  It is expected that hive mates have access to basic quilting supplies, sewing machine, rotary cutter etc. and are comfortable piecing a 1/4" seam.

Bee Rules
We are making 1 block per month this time around and the maximum block size is 18".  A 12" block can be requested or can be resized up to 15", 16" or 18" as you wish!

The Bee is open to quilters of all sewing levels.  Beginners have to learn new techniques to complete the blocks throughout the year.  It is a great opportunity to try new things and blocks you might not normally think of.  The sign up is form here, and we have asked for sewing skill level in the event we can put more than 1 Bee group together.  We will try and match skill levels where possible. 

Background fabrics may be low volume or any colour family you wish.  A specific fabric or colour from a specific manufacturer should not be specified unless the fabric is being provided.  Please give the hive mates guidance on how to choose the colour for the block for example bright white like Kona white or off white like Kona Snow.  All fabric used in the blocks should be quilt shop quality 100% cotton.

A photograph or fabric pull can be very helpful for hive mates in choosing appropriate fabrics from their stash.  Please take a photo to guide us in the right direction!

If you are unsure of a fabric please post a picture to our Facebook group or Instagram (#modernirishbee) and the Queen Bee can tell you if it will work or not.  It's better to ask than disappoint the Queen who may have to relegate your block to the back of the quilt as it will not work with the other blocks!

Please post your blocks on time before the end of each month and if for any reason there is a delay please let the Queen Bee know when they can be expected.  It's not fair to expect people to make blocks for you when you haven't made for them. 

Please do your very best workmanship and only send out what you in turn would be happy to receive. When sending your blocks in the post please put them in a ziploc or water resistant bag to prevent them from getting damaged in the post.

Join in!
To take part in Modern Irish Bee 2016, you need to be a member of Modern Quilters Ireland (its free - join here!) 

Please sign up  to take part in the Bee using this form and if we do not have enough people for more than 1 Bee the first 12 sign ups will be accepted.  Places fill up fast so don't wait if you want to participate. 

For those not able to make the commitment to a full Bee please make the blocks along with us and share to the Facebook, Instagram or Flickr groups.  All members are welcome to join in the fun!

-Ruth

Sign ups are now open for our annual Christmas swap!

It's that time of year again!  Welcome to sign ups for our annual Christmas swap.

We're keeping it small again this year to avoid any extra stress at this busy time of the year.  We've chosen to swap a covered notebook! 

Cindy has kindly allowed us to use her tutorial  and you can find it here on our tutorials page or directly on Cindy's blog @ Fluffy Sheep Quilting here!

It could be a blank sketchbook for your swap partner to save all those quilt ideas, a lined notebook to list all the lovley projects we want to make or a 2017 diary to plan and keep track of big events!  Whatever size notebook you have, Cindy's tutorial is flexible and adaptable. 

To sign up please fill in this form!  I love the Christmas swap and we always make such lovely things.  The postal date is 19th December so it will have time to arrive for those in between days, after Christmas and before New years.

This swap is limited to MQI members resident in Ireland so as to avoid any issues with post at this busy postal time of year.  Sign up close Friday 11th and partners will be assigned over the weekend.  I hope you will join us for our 4th Christmas swap!
-Ruth

Giveaway - pack of 100 EPP paper templates family pack by Tales of Cloth

Hand sewing is back in a big way. You may have noticed the popularity of EPP (English Paper Piecing) patterns over the past few years.  Willyne Hammerstein's Book Millefiori Quilts sold out everywhere due to the popularity of the La Passacaglia Quilt on the cover.    A quick look on Pinterest will show you just how good this quilt can look in modern styled fabrics .

Paper pieces has a starter and a full set if you don't feel like making your own templates and they also have kits to go along with Katja Mareks New Hexagon.  The paper templates for the New Hexagon are much bigger than the tiny La Passacaglia templates and make it easier to sew with a running stitch rather than the EPP method of folding fabric over a paper template.  The gripping movement required to hold the pieces and whip stitch sew them together can be tough on the hands!  Tracing around the template and sewing with a running stitch is apparently what Willyne uses to make her tiny pieces!

 

On Katya's blog there were quilt a longs in 2015and 2016 using blocks from her book and she is doing another using her perpetual calendar of 365 Hexagon blocks.  I think this would make a brilliant 365 project and could be fun to attempt to make one a day!



Jodi at Tales of Cloth has also created a set of shapes that all work together and hosted a challenge on instagram #shapefamilychallenge and it is really cool to see what people have come up with.

And we have 1 packet of family shapes to giveaway here on the blog!
 

To win this pack of 100 shapes just leave us a comment telling us if you have ever tried EPP before and what would you make with this set?

Entries close at 5pm next Thursday, 13th October, when Random number generator will pick the winner !