Quilting in German and Doric

Google Translate can be very hit or miss but it allowed me to get the gist of some lovely comments that had been left by quilters on the Bernina Germany Blog. Apparently it is even worse when an English article has been translated into German then back into English -  that is how I became a “long-sleeve” quilter! As a result of the German article, Bernina Netherlands got in touch with me to find out if I might teach patchwork and quilting over there. I think it must be time for me to plan some more classes and kits to add to my repertoire. 

Vivienne has been posting videoclips on Facebook to promote the Ebook. I enlisted the help of Mo to film local River Dee Ghillie, Robbie to endorse the book in Doric, the local accent of North East Scotland. It was very low budget, filmed on my phone in one of the fishing huts but Robbie did a great job. Maybe I should actually teach him to quilt so we can make another “fillum” of him using a sewing machine…

Linzi Upton's Deviant approach to Quilting

My mission in Deviant Modern Machine Quilting is to make you believe that there are no hard and fast rules in quilting.  Any rules you have learnt can be bent or broken! Quilting should give the freedom to express your creativity using whatever ideas or materials take your fancy.

It should be possible to take your inspiration from anywhere, mull over an idea for a while, then adapt or personalise it to suit your capabilities and choice of fabrics.

The Deviant Quilting approach should give you the confidence to be inspired by the colours and texture of your local landscape, for instance, rather than being confined to following a prescriptive pattern. You can make anything as off-the-wall as you please or just make a book cover if that is what you want to do.

I was visited by 3 DIY quilters this week who wanted to get their quilts finished in time for Christmas. I like to load the quilts for them, wind bobbins and be on hand if the thread breaks. They had all done some long-arming before elsewhere so they were fairly proficient but they all said that they enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere, having someone on hand who would give assistance, and the coffee. I did a few little jobs that had been annoying me like re-sorting and folding my fabric drawers. I get really irritated with myself if the contents are all in muddle. My workshop is generally tidy but every now and then I can’t remember what safe place I have used to stash things. Maybe I should keep a list of what I have mislaid and make a note of where it turned up.

I did eventually complete all of the ruler work and freehand spikes on the large customer quilt. It took a really long time to complete but I think it looked modern and fresh when it was finished. I have posted it back to its owner so it will be a few days before I hear whether she is pleased with it. 

The first Purdah quilt was quilted using half-inch straight lines and variegated black and red thread. I had to adjust the lighting of the photo but it still appears much lighter than it is in real life. I told Freya that I was considering adding more black stitching and beads but she has reminded me that this piece is meant to be minimal;) I have been making sketches for the other quilts and gathering images from Indian architecture which may or may not eventually come in handy.  

At the back of my mind is the dreaded winter festival that starts with a “C”. In my opinion, nobody should be allowed to mention it before December 1st, let alone advertise or shop for it! Ideally, I would like to make some small gifts and I have rashly promised the Landy Man an appliquéd horse cushion for his daughter…