This magnificent quilt has been made by Narelle Birchall. Narelle is an Australian member of my Yahoo BOM Group and has been posting her progress pics over there for us to all enjoy. I do believe th

En zo, stonden vanmorgen de tafels en vele stoelen uitnodigend klaar, voor alle cursisten, die zo lang hebben moeten wachten, op de speciale tweedaagse workshop die Susan Smith op uitnodiging van Quilt it & Dotty kwam geven. Ons geduld werd danig op de proef gesteld, JA ECHT, want Susan's toernee ging eerst langs heel veel quiltwinkels in Engeland en Nederland. En toen, jawel, EINDELIJK was het zover. Op vrijdagmorgen zat m'n Supergoofhuis in 'n mum van tijd vol met lieve quilters, die allemaal speciaal gekomen waren, voor,... Susan Smith, die op haar geheel eigen wijze zonder allerlei gedoe,... liet zien hoedat zij appliqueert. en ondertussen konden alle quilters, lekker aan de slag met het Stonefieldspatroon dat ook al klaar lag. Als ze vragen hadden werden ze geholpen door Susan, op een hele rustige no-stress wijze. Geweldig. De catering was helemaal in handen van m'n buurvrouw Dorry en haar Mam. En ondertussen hielpen zij ook nog iedereen aan allerlei quilterige zaken. Want wat is het handig, dat je deur uit, deur in, loopt, en dan meteen in een lapjesparadijs terecht komt. Zo fijn als je net dat ene lapje mist. Uhm, catering zei je Goof. Vertel eens,... s'Morgens zaten we aan de koffie, thee met Limburgse vlaaien, en de lunch,... werd s'middags in m'n ouderwetse Goofkeuken uitgestald,... hmmm, lekker,... de heerlijke pompoensoep was er gelukkig ook. Ik noem 'm altijd Sinterklaassoep, omdat hij me door de specerijen, zoals kaneel, zo doet denken aan de Sinterklaastijd. Hmmmmm,... Er was vandaag zelfs 'n strijkijzertje in m'n keuken te vinden. Niet van mij, want ik strijk immers geen quiltlapjes, en dat vermoedde slimme cursisten al. Daarom brachten ze er eentje mee, Handig. Natuurlijk gingen we na de lunch, en ook tijdens,... ;o) verder met quilten. We hadden het keidruk, maar wel gezellig. We werden ook getracteerd op 'n show & tell van Susan,... zo mooi,... echt genieten,... Deze Goof wil dit nu ook allemaal maken, dat snap je wel. ;o) Maar we hadden nog meer mazzel vandaag, want als je quilters bij mekaar zet, dan wordt er van alles tevoorschijn getoverd uit tassen en manden. Wilma showde haar Love Entwined. *zucht* En Ien had haar Love Entwined ook meegebracht. Zo MOOI. *zucht* ;o) En wat dacht je van de hexjes van Mieke,.... Allemaal WIMmetjes (=Wil Ik Maken) voor mij, zo gaat dat met een quiltster die *flieft* wordt. Het was een heerlijke dag, die eerste verwenworkshopdag met Susan, de quilters, en Dorry en haar Mam. En weet je,... ..... .... Iedereen is nu weg,... ik ben helemaal alleen in m'n omgetoverde workshopwoonkamer,... samen met,... de Stonefields van Susan. deze Goof zit er gewoon met haar neus bovenop,... en de quilt is zo MOOI doorgequilt. Het is werkelijk waar een plaatje, met geweldig leuke en mooie details. Supergoof is HOME ALONE met de Stonefields. Ongelooflijk. Wat GAAF. En weet je wat ook gaaf is? Morgenvroeg begint de tweede workshopdag, met Susan, Dorry en haar Mam, Dorien, en dezelfde leuke gezellige cursisten. Gewoon nog een keertje. Dat is ook het fijnste zegt Susan, want als je dan iets niet goed snapt, of het lukt niet zoals jij het wilt, dan kun je het morgen gewoon weer aan Susan vragen. Geen enkel probleem. Fijne avond, voor alle meiden thuis en in de B&B's in Tilburg. En ook aan Susan, die bij Dorry logeert. Slaap lekker, morgen gezond weer op, dan gaan we Stonefieldsen. ;o) O ja, nog 1 dingetje. Hoe klinkt dat als je boven zit, en van beneden heel veel quilters hoort, die het reuze naar hun zin hebben? Volgens mijn man & spierballenzoon, als heel veel vrolijke en gezellig kakelende kippetjes in een Disneyfilm. Tja,... Dat weten we dan ook weer. ;o)

Na heel gezellige kerstdagen heb ik even tijd voor een nieuw berichtje. LE...de laatste vaas is ook af! Herstellend van een vervelende buikgriep heb ik de maandag voor kerst het middendeel van de LE afgemaakt! Ik heb er dit keer ook nog wat bijtjes aan toegevoegd. Het werken met het oplosbarevlies als malletjes aan de achterkant van de stof en dan de naadjes erom heen vastplakken (met oplosbare lijm) bevalt mij heel goed, het appliqueren gaat daarna heel vlot en netjes. Het middendeel heb ik inmiddels gewassen (met de hand) om alle blauwe stift en vooral het oplosbaar vlies en - lijm, er uit te krijgen, dat ging heel vlot. Zie hier het hele middendeel! (de nieuwste vaas zie je rechtsonder) Heerlijk die fleurige kleuren met dat sombere weer buiten.... Daar moet gewoon die eerste border ook al omheen! Op naar de volgende ronde. Ik ben al druk met de nieuwe zigzagjes. Ik heb een handige manier verzonnen en uitgewerkt om de zigzagjes te maken. Ik zal er binnenkort een turtorial van op mijn blog zetten. Zigzag gewoon patchen ipv appliqueren.... Dus houd mijn blog in de gaten als je nieuwsgierig bent. Alvast een heel goede jaarwisseling gewenst! groetjes, Conny

This was an easy section. Four squares. I also added a new fabric which is in the leaves. It combines the turquoise and the green. I keep finding new fabrics to add. The last borders took so long, it was nice to have something quick. And here it is all put together so far.

Last week I spent lots of time prepping blocks for appliqué. But for me that is a daytime job so the evenings were spent stitching and I f...

Mrs Billings is one of my favourite antique quilts of all time. The original is a stunning masterpiece created by a very talented seamstress at the end of the 1700's and early 1800's. The original maker is unknown but her quilt lives on. There have been many variations made from the detailed pattern I have written and here for you to see are a very small sample! These quilts have been created by Mary, Laurie, Sue, Josephine and Joan. They are all amazing! Would you like to create your very own Mrs Billings? I will be teaching a two day workshop this April at AQC (The Australian Quilt Convention) here in Melbourne, Thursday 16th and Friday 17th. Visit here for more information and class vacancies.

Hi Everyone, I think you all know by now that my blog is mainly dedicated to my work with Esther Aliu's BOM group plus occassional bits about my life and what is happening around me. I finished the stitching on my Love Entwined borders Tuesday morning and was competely up to date before part 11 was released I am over the moon with how my borders have come together. Esther your measurements have been so exact and my zig zag borders fitted perfectly. My Hiccup with the bottom Pixies is barely noticeaable - at this stage - they are a quarter inch in from where they should be but so far so good. Now for my decisions. I was NEVER going to make the complete Love Entwined Coverlet so didn't worry that I hadn't bought enough background fabric. I did buy all they had and had planned to use excess for other projects as I love its look. Now that I want to complete LE I only have enough left for the last applique border so part 11 and 12 need a variation. I am planning to use my narrow border fabric as my background for these borders but have no idea if it will work or not. Have cut one border from across the fabric width, it has a cross grain line that shows as a faint stripe so with two joined strips I have enough length to mitre the corners same as my narrow border and keep the flow of the fabricm around the border. These are my first audition fabrics for the oval braids. Have already decided my angels will be the light and dark blue of my zig zag borders. I feel the purple is right but the other is too dark so will have a look when I go to buy more fusible this morning. The dark may now become my willow tree in the corners. Am I happy or not. This taffeta fabric is the exact same fabric I used in my compass. It is a gold shot with pink and I didn't think I would find it again. We have a Fabric Barn in Whangarei where I purchase most of my non traditional materials and hidden amongst rolls of taffeta's I stumbled on it. This was a huge WOW for me. Braids and angels fused in place but no stitching. So far I am happy but my Angels are blending into the background, think it is the gold overlayon the fabric, they are not the main feature I so am continuing. This photo shows that faint grain stripe I was talking about, which is why I want to mitre my corners. Stitching started and my ovals are working and being nicely defined. The gold overlay on my Blues is definately making them merge into the background but I do not want to introduce more fabrics. Not pinned against the correct border but if the camera doesn't lie too much, I think it might just work. My fingers are crossed as once this border has all its's applique I will know, but not until then. Would love to hear what you think. Now too link with Esther, But a PS for Glenda, Have had strong winds and heavy rain overnight and through this morning, the tail end of Ita as a tropical low came to visit us and joined up with another low to give us a very wild and windy night. No damage and it has now carried on South

Love Entwined 1790 Marriage Coverlet by Patricia Stephans of QLD, Australia (and her long suffering DH helping hold it in place during the photograph :) ) All hand stitched and quilted. Patricia chose

Love Entwined is already shaping out to be a marvellous adventure; the energy and enthusiasm this quilt has generated prior to launching is breathtaking. I haven't been this excited about a quilt in years. I know a lot of you feel the same. Together, we're going to have a wonderful adventure making this heirloom. Today we've made a start and I'm looking forward to the finish line when we call look back and say, we did it! Does it feel like I've been discussing this quilt for weeks? Well, I must admit I have. So let's get straight down to business and take a good look at the centre square as this is where the quilt really begins and where our BOM starts it's journey. Now, neither of these mock up sketches do the pattern or my colour options any justice, but I think it gives you enough idea of where this pattern is headed. In Part 1 which just launched over in the group, we start with an introduction to the quilt, it's fabric requirements and the centre compass. Don't be fooled, it may not sound like much, but it's plenty to be going on with and next month (July 15th) we really step up a notch in terms of getting the centre square together. Due to my late launch, you have just enough time to think about your colour ways and select your favourite applique method. I have posted the centre square (instead of just the compass this month) for good reason: a lot of beginners have contacted me. You want to make the quilt, you want to join in, but the idea of making the whole quilt is just too daunting. I suggest that you make the centre square only. This centre square (with, say, a 2 inch added border to finish) would be a stunning wall hanging on it's own. It's a real option for those of you who aren't experienced in applique or don't have the time to invest in the entire quilt. You already know what this means, there's something in this quilt for everyone! You'll notice that I am between a rock and a hard place, colour wise. Should I stick with the faded linen or brighten up with the white background? Red and pink vases? Or blue and yellow? I can't decide! I keep going back and forth. I have tried to be Georgian True but there is so much conflicting advice about British Georgian colour schemes, and then; do the cool, sophisticated interiors of subtle tones and striking hues work in quilts? Is the original really created in 'Georgian' colours? I don't know. I've never seen it. After all my intense scrutiny, I don't want to make a call either way. The more I look at the original the more I think that it's actually a scrappy quilt. Will we ever know? oh 'a fine marriage coverlet' where are you? I've had a lot to say about the original 'fine marriage coverlet' in the past weeks. You all know that Love Entwined 1790 Marriage Coverlet is my ode to ‘a fine marriage coverlet’. I have created this quilt pattern as a historic interpretation of this important quilt and it is my hope that the popularity of this BOM will renew interest in the original quilt. Now the focus shifts to the actual making of a new heirloom and I find that I don't have anything more to add about the original because there's no more information to go on. So, lastly, before we move ahead, I want to make one last statement about the coverlet: It is my hope that it will be found and afforded its place in both British and quilting history as a fine example of women's work and as a legacy of workmanship respectively. It’s my opinion that this can only happen if it is found and preserved in a Museum for future generations to come. This quilt is an ode to the legacy of quilting and to women, known and unknown, who have contributed to our rich and combined quilting heritage; for whilst this is a British quilt, quilting belongs to the entire quilting community and does in that respect, inspire and ask us to maintain its preservation, regardless of our geographic location. So, who's ready to start this BOM ? ‘Love Entwined 1790 Marriage Coverlet’ is a Free 18 Month Historic BOM. Each ‘block’ of the month is released monthly, on the 15th of each month. All ‘blocks’ are available for free during the month of their release. Any missed ‘blocks’ may be purchased. All ‘blocks’ are available for download via my Yahoo BOM Group only.

Het middendeel van LE 1790 coverlet top is klaar. Ik heb gekozen om hem in dit formaat te laten en hem als tafelkleedje te gbruiken. ( foto is buiten op het balkon genomen) The centre of the LE 1790 coverlet top is finished. I chose to make it as a table coverlet. (I took the picture on my balcony, outside) Van dichtbij: De vaas linksonder. Close-up: The flower vase on the bottom left. De vaas rechts onder. The one on the bottom right De vaas rechts boven. The vase on the top right. En de vierde vaas links boven. And the last vase on the top left. Nadat ik foto's had gemaakt ging ze in bad om de resten van het 'floriani fusible' wat ik in sommige applicaties gebruikt had en de tijdelijke lijmstift om sommige stukjes vast te houden, weg te wassen. Gelukkig ging alles goed. .After taking photo's she took a bath to remove the floriani fusible I had used in some of the applique's and wash away the temporarily glue to hold the pieces in place. It all went well. Na het drogen ging deze achterkant eraan, gekocht bij de Sampler in Haarlem, zoals de meeste stoffen voor dit project. Ik heb het geheel dichtgenaaid op de naaimachine alsof het een kussensloop werd en met de hand het laatste stukje dichtgenaaid. After the top was dry I sewed this floral fabric, which I bought at Sampler, quiltshop in Haarlem, like most of the fabrics for this project, to the back with the machine like you make a cushion cover. The last bit I sewed by hand. De hoeken heb ik met de hand genaaid, dan heb ik er iets meer controle over. The corners are sewed by hand. This way I have better controle over the sewing. Dit is het resultaat!!!! Ik ben heel blij dat ze klaar is. Ik moet eerlijk zeggen dat ik niet had gedacht dat ik dit af zou krijgen. Ik vond het best lastig met al die kleine details in de applicaties. Ik kon meer dan ik dacht en heb weer veel geleerd. And this is the result!!!! I'm happy she is finished. I learned that I can make more than I thought I could. Honest to say I wasn't sure I could do this, because of all the little details in the applique. I learned a lot. En op verzoek nog een paar detail foto's van de kleine hexagons. De zijkanten van de hexagons zijn 0.5 cm lang. Ik vond het erg leuk om te borduren hierop en hoop dat zeker nog eens te doen. Here are you can see the little hexagons up close The length of the sides of the hexagons are 0.5 cm ( so less than 1/4 inch). I really liked doing the embroidery and hope to do that again some time. En de laatste foto...(binnen genomen met flitslicht) De maten zijn: 87cm bij 87 cm groot. Hierbij wil ik Esther Aliu bedanken voor het gratis beschikbaar stellen van haar patroon. Als je meer wilt weten kijk dan hier. And the lastpicture. (Taken inside with flashlight) The size is: 87 cm by 87 cm ( 43,5 inch by 34,5 inch) I want to say a big thank you to Esther Aliu for giving so many people the opportunity to use her patterns for free. If you want to learn more look here. Have a nice day, Gezellige dag nog verder, Groetjes Annemieke

Valerie Harmer saw Love Entwined on my blog and decided that she needed a challenge. Well, I think she succeeded! But let me tell you how - this stunning quilt you are looking at is hand sewn (applique), hand embroidered and hand quilted. What a feat! And it just won: Mixed Techniques: 1st Prize at the Queensland Quilter's Quilt and Craft Show This incredible heirloom will be going to a grandchild. She's made all her children quilts upon their marriages and is continuing the tradition for her grandchildren in turn (she has 10!). I'm in awe of her workmanship and just so in love with this beauty. Thank you Valerie for sharing your images with all of us. We all love seeing the work, time and passion that goes into making Love Entwined and I'm grateful to you for being generous to share it with us all to swoon over. This quilt will be added to the Love Entwined Gallery so it can be enjoyed alongside other LE's as and when they're made. If you've made LE, please consider sharing it with us all via the gallery. Details on how to do this are listed on my website, click here for the link. Personally, I'm surprised that so many LE's are starting to appear all over the world - you all work so fast! I must have the most talented quilt readers on the internet. The joy of sharing beautiful quilts thank you for sharing your quilt Valerie :)

This is a multiple block, make 3. Each Love Entwined block will be rotated around the center. If you have directional background fabric, be sure to take this into account.

WOW = WIPs On WednesdaysI'm still all in a swoon about Narelle's Love Entwined looking so magnificent at the Sydney Quilt Show this year. I love all my quilts but it's a extra special feeling when the

Na heel gezellige kerstdagen heb ik even tijd voor een nieuw berichtje. LE...de laatste vaas is ook af! Herstellend van een vervelende buikgriep heb ik de maandag voor kerst het middendeel van de LE afgemaakt! Ik heb er dit keer ook nog wat bijtjes aan toegevoegd. Het werken met het oplosbarevlies als malletjes aan de achterkant van de stof en dan de naadjes erom heen vastplakken (met oplosbare lijm) bevalt mij heel goed, het appliqueren gaat daarna heel vlot en netjes. Het middendeel heb ik inmiddels gewassen (met de hand) om alle blauwe stift en vooral het oplosbaar vlies en - lijm, er uit te krijgen, dat ging heel vlot. Zie hier het hele middendeel! (de nieuwste vaas zie je rechtsonder) Heerlijk die fleurige kleuren met dat sombere weer buiten.... Daar moet gewoon die eerste border ook al omheen! Op naar de volgende ronde. Ik ben al druk met de nieuwe zigzagjes. Ik heb een handige manier verzonnen en uitgewerkt om de zigzagjes te maken. Ik zal er binnenkort een turtorial van op mijn blog zetten. Zigzag gewoon patchen ipv appliqueren.... Dus houd mijn blog in de gaten als je nieuwsgierig bent. Alvast een heel goede jaarwisseling gewenst! groetjes, Conny

UGH. I feel like Ugh. Does that happen to you? I had this great idea about how I was going to start working on multiple quilts simultaneously, switching back and forth between projects according to my mood, whether I felt like doing hand applique, paper piecing, traditional piecing or whatever, and this was going to be a great thing for productivity and for creativity, blah blah blah. And so, for the first time ever for me, I set aside a quilt that I had not finished and started working on another one... and another one... and another one. Guess what? It's not working out for me! I feel lost when I walk into the sewing room, and each time I switch projects I lose my groove and have to relearn whichever technique I haven't done in awhile.  There was the Jingle BOM, with blocks designed by Erin Russek of One Piece at a Time:  Completed Center Medallion for my Jingle BOM UFO I set that aside when I realized that I wanted to set my center medallion straight rather than on-point as per Erin's original design, and I was unsure how to calculate the additional pieced borders I envisioned going between the center medallion and the on-point border blocks. I can't believe I haven't touched this since APRIL! :-(  My Jingle Border Blocks, Languishing Untouched Then I decided that I should learn needleturn applique, since I had so much fun with starch and press prepared applique for my Jingle blocks, so and I started working on a Frankensteined Whig Rose applique block consisting of several magazine patterns that I cobbled together. That one stalled out when I realized that I do not yet know a good method for appliqueing the tiny circles that I imagined going around the center of my flower:  Whig Rose Thingy, Stumped by Rosebuds in Center Here's the issue with that one: I liked the idea of appliqueing the fussy-cut rosebuds from my Vervain drapery fabric around the center of my flower, but the rosebuds are an odd shape, not really round. So I can't use the Perfect Circles templates to make these. I don't think I can needle turn them and get the edges of these tiny shapes perfectly smooth -- and what's more, I'm concerned about making sure that no ivory background shows at the edges of the rosebuds against the brown background. I got this block to this point by mid May or early June, and then set it aside so I could mull over the rosebud dilemma for awhile: Stalled Franken-Whig Rose Applique Block "Let's do something EASY next, to rebuild that confidence," thought Moi. So I made 9 Bear Paw blocks at the end of May and then decided they needed little 4" sawtooth star blocks as sashing posts.   My Bear Paws First, I paper pieced a 3" star that was a pain in the tushy and too small anyway. Then I tried to make some 4" sawtooth stars at the beach and realized I can't sew anything at the beach because I can't SEE at the beach. Then I sewed two lovely red sawtooth stars once I got back home... only to have the red hand marbled fabric bleed all over the white background fabric when I tried to steam and press the finished block. Bummer! Bloody Sawtooth Star One would THINK I might have learned my lesson when one of my red batik fabrics bled in my Jingle blocks. One would THINK I would have tested this fabric for colorfastness before sewing it to white fabric. Whatever. The photo above shows what the block looks like now, after I soaked it in warm water with a couple drops of Dawn dishwashing liquid. I was able to get a lot of the excess dye out, but dye is still bleeding from the seam allowances where the fabric is stacked up and I am not sure how to get all of that out without fraying or distorting the edges of my blocks. I made two little star blocks out of this fabric and I used up all of the fabric, otherwise I would make new blocks after rinsing all the loose dye out of the uncut yardage. And of course I chose to make stars out of this fabric first because it was my favorite...  Meanwhile, in another fit of inspiration, I started making paper pieced pineapple blocks for a King sized quilt. Two of those are finished. I will need to make 34 more of these blocks to get the California King size I want for my bedroom:  EQ7 Mock Up of Pineapple Quilt from Scanned Finished Block So I've been working on all these quilts for months now, and I have nothing finished to show for myself except for the school fundraiser quilt and the kids' projects. And yet I find myself longing to start on two more quilts, both of them totally unrealistic choices for me given my current skill set, my family responsibilities, and the amount of time I actually am able to spend sewing. I have officially lost my mind and have set my heart on making not one but TWO unbelievably challenging historical reproduction quilts:  "Love Entwined," updated color palette, by Esther Aliu The first one is called Love Entwined, and it's Esther Aliu's free BOM based on a 1790 British quilt. Esther fell in love with this quilt after seeing a black and white photo of it in an old book called Patchwork. The current owners of the quilt refuse to allow anyone to see it or photograph it, so Esther has devised her patterns from enlargements of the black and white photo in her book. We don't know for sure what colors were used in the original, but Esther's mockup of bright fabrics against a dark background is captivating and reminds me of Scandinavian rosemaling. Look at this gorgeous Love Entwined quilt currently in progress, made by a Dutch quilter: Dutch Quilter's "Love Entwined" in progress, from Juud's blog Isn't that insane? I have been downloading and printing off the patterns as each month's installment is released, and they are all neatly stored in a binder. Me attempting this quilt today would be like a failing Algebra I student deciding to take Advanced Honors Trigonometry. However, it gives me something to work towards, and although the project is overwhelming when you look at the whole thing, how bad can it be if you just take it one piece at a time? The other historical reproduction quilt that I am recently obsessed with is the Civil War era quilt with 4 1/2" miniature blocks and a striking, unusual pieced triangle border made by Vermont quilter Jane A. Stickle in 1863. This is the "Dear Jane" quilt: Original Sampler Quilt by Jane A. Stickle, 1863, Photo by Ken Burris This quilt was popularized and made accessible by Brenda Manges Papadakis' 1993 Dear Jane book, including all 256 block patterns that she painstakingly redrafted. In the years since Papadakis' book came out, thousands of quilters have created faithful reproductions or modern reinterpretations of this quilt, and EQ sells a standalone Dear Jane software program that allows you to print out the block patterns in any size for rotary cutting, hand piecing, foundation piecing, or applique. I really love the border on this quilt, and how fresh and modern it looks when it's made up in bright contemporary fabrics:  "Dear Jane Revisited" made by Gwen, Quilted by Judi Madsen of Green Fairy Quilting I think Gwen used all Kaffe Fassett prints for her version of Dear Jane. She did a phenomenal job, and of course Judi Madsen's long arm quilting is magnificent as usual: Detail of Madsen's Quilting on Gwen's "Jane Revisited" Madsen's Quilting Completed, Ready for Gwen to Finish and Bind Madsen spent 70 hours quilting this masterpiece. Doesn't this just take your breath away? Please check out Judi's Green Fairy blog here to read more about this beautiful quilt. Ah, but what business do I have contemplating Love Entwined and Dear Jane when I have so many more attainable projects underway, and can't seem to make progress on any of them?! And so, UGH! :-) Have a great weekend, everyone!

April is just around the corner now. I'm hand sewing my LE2 coverlet. This is the coverlet I'm teaching in a special workshop at AQC this year. Hand sewing gets me in a contemplative mood and has me asking all those mysterious questions all over again. Such as; knowing that the British were sticklers for records, surely there is an account of wealthy people throughout the country where the coverlet was first found? And, having recognized and recorded the coverlet as such a fine example of work, why didn't Averil Colby say more about the quilt? Did she know more? Did she try to uncover more? I just can't help feeling that the woman behind this quilt was remarkable - almost certainly in wealth, but also in textiles. And this narrows down the field even more. Was she a married to a mill owner? how did she have access to or afford so much chintz? If she was 'merely' wealthy and purchased so much of it because she could, this doesn't explain how she obtained or created the coverlet pattern. And having created or obtained the pattern for the coverlet, wouldn't she have shown it off in her society circles? This pattern is really extraordinary and unique for its era. What does that mean? Did she make it personally? Or did she copy designs which she had seen outside of the UK? Was she a foreigner? So many questions, Love Entwined, so few answers. I really hope I live to see this textile marvel and mystery solved in my lifetime. It really is a significant piece of work in the era and I'm sorry that it is languishing without it's maker's name. I wish there were more historical and archival textile hunters out there! The original is truly a national treasure. I hope it becomes recognized as such. And soon. As for me, I have done what I could and now I'm focusing on sharing my love of Love Entwined in a larger centre based quilt exclusively for AQC this year. I'm really looking forward to the workshop. It feels doubly special to be presenting it in person too, especially as LE2 is such an emotive quilt. I can't wait to meet my LE2 students in just a few weeks time. Are you coming? Have you prepared your background fabric? Are you ready for the workshop? In these weeks running up until AQC I'm making student contact my first priority, so please, if you have any questions - ask me! My goodness, time is flying!

Kijk maar.... Is het niet mooi geworden? Ben er heel erg blij mee! Wel heel anders dan de prachtige versies met Broderie Perse..... Dat was wel een lastige beslissing. Maar omdat ik het patroon van Esther Aliu (klik) zo mooi vond, gaf dat toch de doorslag. En het gebruik van de Apliquick-staafjes heeft me zeker geholpen. Ze heten niet voor niets "quick"..... :) Zijn er dus eventueel nog geinteresseerden in een Apliquick-workshop... even klikken voor het vorige bericht... (klik) Look.... Didn't it turn out great? Just different than the beautiful versions with the Broderie Perse.... That was a tough decision... But because I love the pattern made by Esther Aliu (click), that gave the decisive. Using the Apliquick-tools has really helped me! Even aan de waslijn... voor het grote geheel ... ;) Ik moet wel zeggen dat ik meer en meer verliefd wordt op deze prachtige quilt! Hanging on the washing line.... for the bigger picture.... ;) I have to admit that I fall more and more in love with this beautiful quilt! Nu kan ik even verder met de klosjes doorpitten; ook een leuk werkje. Er moeten er nog een stuk of tien en dan nog drie randen... We blijven altijd bezig....... HEERLIJK! :) Now I can continue working on the klosjes: also something I enjoy. I have to quilt a dozen or something and then three borders to go... Keeping busy.... and I LOVE it! ;) Geniet van je steekjes! Enjoy your stitching! Love, Ria. p.s. pootje van Amar! p.s. paw from Amar!

Last week I blogged about Narelle Birchall and her LE - she is an extraordinarily talented quilter and the first person, as far as any of us know, to have finished Love Entwined. Am I serious?! Yes I am! Just thinking about it leaves me a little breathless. But Narelle isn't just talented, she's also generous and giving too. Last week we met up at Quilts in the Barn over in Wonga Park and I was able to see her work firsthand. This has been the first moment I've had to blog about the whole experience. Oh my. (L-R) Narelle, Brenda Papadakis and yes, that's me grinning in admiration and awe. It was cramped in there for a quilt as big as LE, but we were keen to unfold it and have a look at its beauty and it wasn't long before everyone present was desperate for a better look... So it was taken outside and pegged to the tennis court fence. It was an incredibly bright day and the glare was overwhelming for me, all my photos turned out blank or washed out and I got one of those instant sun headaches, so I was very grateful to Linda who knew my camera better that I do and put it on the right setting so that I could capture a photo with Narelle in front of her majestic quilt. We are both somewhat stunned by the light in this image, but I think you can see how spectacular Narelle's Love Entwined is. Narelle, you are talented beyond words. I can tell you that it truly is spectacular and that Narelle has accomplished years worth of work at a rapid pace. And yet, it's incredible in every way. Her fabrics, her workmanship, everything just left me speechless. I'm already at that stage with Love Entwined, where I just don't know what to say about it anymore. It has been an epic and heartfelt journey for me and I feel in many ways that I have done what I felt I needed to when I started this project. With the last installment released this month, I feel somewhat 'finished' emotionally with the drive that was needed to release it. From this point onward, it belongs to whoever makes it and takes on its own character at each hand. Seeing Narelle's quilt made me fully 'realise' that this quilt is out there in the world now and this leaves me deeply contented. Did I mention Narelle's excellent workmanship? She really is talented. This is perhaps the most difficult block in the entire quilt and she has made it look effortless and simple. It's very difficult to photograph a quilt like LE because there is so much detail and these details are not distinguished in overall quilt front pics. So here is a close up shot. I can tell you first hand that every inch has been made extraordinarily well, this quilt is a masterpiece. My deep thanks and gratitude to Linda who allowed us to unfold LE and then peg it on the tennis courts, and for taking the images I am in when I couldn't manage my own camera (honestly, I'm hopeless with those things), and to Brenda Manges Papadakis (that's a whole other post!) and of course to Narelle Birchall - its incredibly generous to take the time to show your quilt and to have allowed me to see it in real life. Thank you so much for thinking of me. Yes, Love Entwined is officially out there. What do you think?

Last week I spent lots of time prepping blocks for appliqué. But for me that is a daytime job so the evenings were spent stitching and I f...

Another vase finished and I think I am staring to fell the love again for this quilt. Thanks for all the encouraging comments on this one,...