There’s still plenty of time to get your Christmas crafts started and finished in time for the festive period – whenever that starts for you! For us, it’s usually at the beginning of December, to tie in with our wedding anniversary. The venue where we celebrated our wedding was already decorated for Christmas, so it seems like a nice tradition to continue doing the same.
I created this advent calendar a few years ago when my kids were a little bit younger – the idea was to create a calendar where ‘acts of kindness notes’ could be slipped into each little pocket. It worked so well, and my daughters loved reading the little notes and carrying out the acts of kindness. More recently, it hangs as just a festive wall-hanging, but it can also double up as a lap quilt! So many options!
It’s been a few years since I’ve visited a quilt exhibition, so when one of my friends suggested we have a day out in Bath to see Kaffee Fassett’s latest exhibition – and combine some lunch and shopping at the same time – I didn’t need much encouragement!
I’ve been to a number of Kaffe Fassett exhibitions – he’s had a few at the American Museum in Bath, and I’ve also seen him a couple of times at the annual Festival of Quilts in Birmingham. He is known for his use of colour and pattern, and although in my own work I tend to go for more simplistic colour combinations and designs that could be described as easy on the eye, I’m still always in awe of his quilts – there is a wonderful, and paradoxical, mix of riot and order.
I love some of the repetitive nature of his designs – like his Flowery Vases quilt, a quilt that just features vases but all are slightly different, with different fabrics and colours. A simple idea yet complex and so effective.
I always come away from his exhibitions feeling uplifted and inspired – not only because of his designs as mentioned above, but also because of their execution: it’s ok to mix colours that might not match or patterns that clash, it’s ok to have seams that don’t line up, it’s ok to have frayed edges… I love it! It’s so liberating and feels like an encouragement to go forth and quilt!
Standing in front of Sugar Cubes, and full quilt below.
The exhibition space at the Victoria Gallery in Bath was shared with another American artist Candace Bahouth, who like Kaffe, also resides in the UK.
Her designs are wonderfully opulent, and like Fassett, are a riot of colour and shapes; I admire her creativity and her ability to create such amazing ornaments and mirror frames out of broken and discarded pottery, trinkets, shells, toys, etc. Again, I felt so inspired by her creations – I’m guessing it’s a common trait amongst true artists that they push the boundaries of what is considered conventional and forge their own paths.
Candance Bahouth’s creations: candlesticks and a mirror frame
Below are some of the photos I took of the exhibition – what a fantastic day it was; so much fun and so much needed for my own wellbeing, carving out time for me, spending quality time with friends, and being inspired.
Have you been to any quilt exhibitions of late? Did you come away inspired? Let me know by sharing your thoughts with me.
Maybe I’m little bit too sentimental, but I find it hard – or maybe bitter-sweet – when a quilt, or the last of a series of quilts kits, is sold. It’s nice to know that they’re going somewhere where they will be appreciated, and in the case of the quilt kits, that it will provide someone with a project they will hopefully enjoy and one in which they can put their own stamp on, but it does feel a little sad too.
A few months ago, I sold my ‘Hearts with Secret Pocket’ quilt – it went all the way to Thailand! I don’t think I imagined it travelling so far. When I first created this quilt, I had designed it so that it would be a perfect snuggle quilt to share with a loved one, maybe cuddled up on the sofa. It featured twelve hearts, with one concealing a secret pocket so that love notes or little tokens of affection could be placed within to surprise a loved one. It’s a lovely quilt, which can also be used as a wall-hanging. I really hope the new owner will love it just as much as I loved designing and making it.
I also recently sold the last of my quilt kits for my ‘Home for Christmas’ quilt, another design I really enjoyed working on. This quilt features Christmas trees and stars, as well as little houses, in a folksy design, featuring traditional festive fabrics and colours. Of course, July is often thought of as the perfect month to start working on Christmas projects, so it’s quite apt that the last one was sold in July!
Home for Christmas by Melanie Vincent
Although all the kits have now sold, the pattern to make the ‘Home for Christmas’ quilt is also available via my Etsy shop (click here) and I’m currently working on a quilt based on a variation of this design which will also be for sale via my Etsy shop – ‘all’ that’s left for me to do is the quilting (!) and I’m hoping it’ll be ready for sale in time for Christmas!
For more of my kits and patterns, please take a look at my Melony Patch Etsy shop, and for free patterns on my blog, check out the link below.
Wow, has it really been over a year since my last ‘quilt spot’?? In a way this reflects how little time I’ve spent watching telly or movies, but also, that the programmes and movies I have watched haven’t featured any quilts. (Over the last year, I’ve watched the whole series of Vikings and Rings of Power, and then – just had to – re-watched Last Kingdom, Game of Thrones, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy… there’s a theme there, isn’t there?? Swords and battles!)
A few weeks ago, I found myself on a Friday night, at home, on my own – my husband and two kids were out, each doing their own thing; this is VERY rare, and so it was just me!! What a treat! I cooked myself a little curry, and sat down to scroll through Netflix to select a movie of my choosing, without having to compromise.
I’m not sure why I settled on ‘Stand by Me’ – perhaps it’s because it was fresh in my mind from my eldest daughter telling me she had watched it recently, and I was curious to see if it would still have the same impact on me as it had when I first watched it in my youth. The movie is adapted from the short story, ‘The Body’ by Stephen King, which I also read when I was young. I remembered both really fondly – the book was so descriptive and I love the way Stephen King tells a story; most of the movie adaptations of his books fall short, in my opinion, but the best adaptions for me are those that are not ‘horror’, but dramas, like The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption.
In ‘Stand by Me’, which is set in the late 1950s in Oregon, a group of four boys set out to find the body of a missing boy. The trip becomes one of their defining moments of childhood. One of the passages I really like, is when they return back to their home town, and the narrator says how small it seems when at the beginning it had been his whole world. I have to admit, it didn’t have the same impact on me as it did years ago, but I enjoyed watching it again nevertheless.
Most scenes in the movie take place outside, and it’s in one scene, along the pavement in their little town of Castle Rock, that the boys walk past a double-fronted quilt shop, with some lovely quilts hanging on display, spanning the full length of the windows. Some of the quilts have been awarded prizes as there are rosettes of different colours pinned to the quilts. One quilt features small square patches arranged diagonally in different colours, another features a variation of a nine-patch pattern , and another features half-square triangles. And there’s a poster on display saying “Women’s Auxiliary Club – Quilting Bee – Sept 13 1959”.
Quilt spot ‘Stand by Me’
Quite a serendipitous ‘spot’ on what turned out to be quite a serendipitous evening.
Have you spotted any quilts in movies or on the telly? I’d love to know. Drop me a line and share your ‘spots’ with me.
How many of you remember the star block challenge initiated by NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg back in 2013, when she was orbiting the Earth aboard the International Space Station?
News of the challenge was featured widely across the media, especially in patchwork and quilting magazines, and Karen also recorded a video, whilst inside the space station, inviting quilters to take part. The video is still available on YouTube via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgJNcWncs8Y.
Screengrab from Karen’s video on YouTube
In the video she reveals that when not working on the crew’s main mission of carrying out scientific research, she has time to engage in one of her favourite pass-times – patchwork quilting!
She then shows the star-themed block she pieced during her downtime, and explains that she discovered a few challenges along the way, with cutting, piecing, sewing – all whilst working in weightlessness environment. (There are several other really cool videos out there that show how she managed these tricky challenges – simply do a search on Google to find them.)
The block she pieced looks amazing, and what’s so special is that it was pieced in space… how cool is that??
She then invites all quilters to make their own star block so that when she returns to Earth, the blocks can be pieced together with hers to form one large quilt to be exhibited at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas, in 2014.
As soon as I learned about the challenge I knew I had to take part, and set to work straight away. My husband is an amateur astronomer – so the combination of space and quilting is already part of our lives.
I spent some time thinking about my design. I knew I wanted to work with the colours red, white and blue to represent the USA flag as well the UK’s, which is where I live. I also wanted my block to represent NASA. What I came up with was a ‘lone star’ design, with the blue fabric featuring a scattered star print, bordered by a fabric with red and white stripes. I also decided to hand sew the block entirely as a way to honour the way Karen sews in space.
Sewing the block by hand
Detail of my finished block
The final quilt was displayed at the quilt festival as planned, and there are numerous photos out there of the finished quilts. It was fun scrolling through the photos trying to find my block, and it was a great feeling when I finally spotted it!
Finished quilt detail – can you see it??
And why am I writing about this now? Well, this year will be the 10th anniversary of this challenge, and I was recently approached by one of the organisers (www.missouriquiltmuseum.com) who is reaching out to those who took part to share their stories, so it’s given me some time to reflect on this fantastic project which I so enjoyed working on.
I’m looking forward to seeing what the organisers do for the anniversary celebration and look forward to taking part in any future challenges!
For the last few weeks, I’ve been working on two wall hangings for a lady who lives local to me – I don’t usually do ‘commissions’ or requests, but this was different.
A friend of mine had put this lady, Anne, in touch with me in the hope that I could help her create a quilt made up of her embroideries. I wasn’t sure if I’d have the time to work on the project as I was just about to start college whilst also working and running a voluntary group. However, I agreed to meet her, and I’m so pleased that I did.
Anne, who is in her 80s, welcomed me into her little house in town; hanging on the walls were many of her embroideries, of wildlife and landscapes, professionally framed, as well as other artworks by family members.
She also showed me some folders which had even more of her embroideries, each embroidery carefully mounted on card and neatly filed in plastic wallets – she said there too many to frame and she wanted to have them pieced together so that they could be displayed as a quilt or wall hanging rather than tucked away in a folder which no-one would ever see. Anne explained that she wasn’t able to do this herself as she struggles now to hold a needle and sadly can no longer embroider.
One of the folders contained a collection of embroideries of birds and another folder was of the houses she’d lived in throughout her life and to this day. All of her embroideries were beautifully and exquisitely made, and I was in complete awe of her skill.
It was the collection of the houses she’s lived in that really sparked my interest – born in England in 1939 but then moving to Africa in 1948 to live in what was then known as Rhodesia – now Zimbabwe. The collection of embroideries charts her life, through the traumatic struggles in the 1970s, her two marriages and then her return to England in the noughties. Helping her to create the wall hangings was the least I could do, and I resolved to find the time to work on the project.
One of the embroideries by Anne
Since our first meeting, which was a little over a year ago, we’d see each other every few months to discuss what the wall hangings would look like once pieced. There were 12 embroideries in the houses’ collection and 9 in the birds’ collection. We agreed on a 3×4 and a 3×3 layout, respectively, and in terms of how the blocks would be positioned, with the houses it would be in chronological order, and for the birds, in any way that was pleasing to the eye.
Anne wanted the wall hangings to resemble a lead paned window, and I thought it was important that any work wouldn’t detract from the embroideries, so we took our time deciding what fabrics would work best for the sashing, border and backing. Finally, with fabric choices agreed and purchased, and having a small window of no coursework and some time off work, I started working on the project.
The embroideries had been mounted on pieces of card of the same size; the first step was to remove the embroideries from the card, which Anne did before handing them over to me.
I was keen to minimise the amount of work needed on the embroideries themselves, so instead of trimming each block to size with a seam allowance, which is what I would normally do on my own quilts, I trimmed away excess fabric, but kept the natural fold in the fabric from when the embroideries had been mounted on card.
Trimming excess fabric from the blocks…
and neatly sewing down the corners
I then pieced the block togethers, butting up the blocks – with their original folds – and sewing them together using a zig-zag stitch.
Pieced blocks using zig zag stitching
Next, was to add the sashing between the blocks. Unlike in my usual quilts, where the sashing is sewn between blocks, in this case, I placed the sashing on top of the blocks following the zig-zag seams.
In order to ensure the sashing strips were of the same width, I cut pieces of card to the desired width, and ironed the strips of fabric around the card strips. These were then placed on top of the zig-zag seam and handstitched in place.
Card strips for sashing
Pressing sashing strips
Next came the border, and then the wadding and backing. There is no quilting as such on these wall hangings, apart from a few strategically placed cross-stitches to hold the three layers together – again I wanted to minimise any work on the embroideries themselves and was keen that any work done would not detract from Anne’s work. The final part was to add the labels.
Embroideries by Anne
Bird embroideries by Anne
Label for the houses wall hanging
I’m really pleased with how they’ve turned out – and so is Anne, which is of course the most important thing. The finished wall hangings are exactly what we had in mind and can now be displayed for Anne and her visitors to enjoy.
For me it was a real labour of love, just like the embroideries have been for Anne.
I’m a big fan of paper piecing. For the last few months, I’ve been working on an alphabet & numbers paper piecing template, and I’m happy to say that this is now available in my shop!
Alphabet upper case template by Melanie Vincent
The templates are ideal for customising and personalising any project, from baby quilts to bunting with a child’s name, or cushions to celebrate a marriage, or for simply adding a message to your creations. The characters have an elegant simplicity to them, which when sewn together to form names, words or dates, look stylish and modern.
The download comes in four separate PDFs and includes the full instructions on how to construct the characters, as well as guidelines as to how to sew them together to form names, words, dates, etc.
The full English alphabet and the ampersand (&) character, come in both upper case and lower case formats, and all templates (alphabet lower, alphabet upper, and numbers) come in two sizes – SMALL, with a character width of approximately 1.5″, and LARGE, with a character width of approximately 3″.
Once your names, words or dates have been pieced together, you can insert them into the project of your choice. I’ve been using the templates in my latest quilt creation ‘Love & Peace’.
And Quilt Spot returns after a non-planned hiatus. The truth is, I haven’t actually watched much telly in the last few months, and the programmes I have been watching didn’t have any quilts in them! (How dare they!)
January saw just one spot in ‘The Hand that Rocks the Cradle’, a movie I hadn’t seen since it came out in the early 1990s. I had forgotten how horrible this movie is. A nanny is set on wrecking the family she goes to work for as a form of revenge for the death of her husband. Rebecca De Mornay plays the nanny, and she is brilliantly creepy and a masterfully manipulating. Scary stuff to let someone like that into your life and home, and be completely oblivious to their intentions, whilst they prey on your insecurities and weaknesses.
The phrase “the hand that rocks the cradle” refers to the power of influence a parent has over their children, and potentially therefore the future and the world.
There are three quilts I spotted in this movie. The first is in the main bedroom. A beautiful soft blue and white quilt, with eight-petalled flower motifs. A close up of the quilts shows that it has been hand quilted.
The blue and white quilt in the main bedroom. The Hand that Rocks the Cradle – Quilt Spot January 2022.
The bed in the nanny’s room has a lovely forest green and white tree of life quilt, and in the little girl’s room, there is a lovely quilt which seems is made of large and smaller square blocks featuring a range of colours including whiteit.
The tree of life quilt in the nanny’s room, and the quit in the little girl’s room. The Hand that Rocks the Cradle – Quilt Spot January 2022.
Have you spotted any quilts in movies or on the telly? I’d love to know. Drop me a line and share your ‘spots’ with me.
As some of you know, I work on the Wellbeing Programme at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust; the programme provides a range of nature-based activities for people who are struggling with their mental health. In 2019 we partnered with another local organisation, IPSUM, who offer art-based activities to help improve people’s mental wellbeing, to provide two events celebrating ‘Art and Nature’. There was a range of nature and art activities on offer, with singing and guitar playing around a campfire.
This is where the work on The Wellbeing Quilt began. I invited participants to create a quilt block to represent where they are on their journey of mental health recovery.
The Wellbeing Quilt prep work
They could do this by painting directly onto the fabric with acrylics and/or sticking bits of fabric onto the panel, and, if they wanted to, writing words/phrases/messages that mean something to them using alphabet stamps or fabric pens.
On a simple form they were invited to write a short note on what the panel means to them, with the idea that I would, at a later stage, print these messages on photo fabric to be incorporated into the quilt once it’s pieced together.
Wellbeing quilt panels drying in the sun – Melanie Vincent WWT
There are some really touching stories behind the individual panels. The overall message that comes through is how people can help each other rebuild their lives, how powerful being with others and in nature can be for recovery, and that there is always hope.
Piecing the blocks
The quilt sat on the back burner for a while as there always seemed to be more pressing matters to get on with. But first lockdown in 2020 gave me the opportunity to start thinking of the layout for the quilt. I also printed some of the participants’ thoughts on photo fabric to incorporate these into the quilt as planned, and also printed some group photos showcasing how participants have bonded together during their time on the programme.
Panels for the Wellbeing Quilt
When it came to quilting, I decided to quilt in the ditch as I did not want any of the stitching to detract from the panels.
Next was the label, which I also printed on photo fabric; the label provides a narrative on the project and also includes photos of some of the participants who took part with their panels. And then finally in 2021, I added the border.
The Wellbeing Quilt label
The finished quilt!
The finished quilt is now in my office, hanging on a wall, on display. It comes out when we hold community events and I think it tells a very important story as well as adding a nice splash of colour to our stands!
The Wellbeing Quilt on display at an event last yearThe Wellbeing Quilt by Melanie Vincent
Have you worked on a community quilt project? Was it for a specific cause or event? I’d love to know if you have.
Well that was another weird one, wasn’t it? With the pandemic still raging on, continuing to affect all aspects of our lives – schools going back, then not going back, homeschooling, holidays planned, holidays cancelled, events going ahead, and then not going ahead… it’s been a bit of a topsy-turvy year and as we enter 2022, I wonder if the end is in sight??
I’ve been quiet on the blog front, and usually when I write my annual review, I have a long list of things I’ve done and written about, but last year, I seem to have only written a handful of blogs and all of those were ‘quilt spots’. I did do more than just spot quilts on the telly – honest!
My intention was to write about a number of my creative activities: for example, I finally finished the ‘Wellbeing Quilt’ which I started in 2019, I designed some quirky fabrics, and I even started a new quilt which I’ve titled ‘Love and Peace’.
Not as creative as other years, I admit. And it’s probably in large part due to being occupied with other matters. Life sometimes just gets in the way of being creative. And sometimes it throws you a curveball and you simply just have to make the best of things.
I always think that there is something positive to gain from any negative situation. Or at least, I try to find a positive way through challenging times. I might not be able to think positively straight away, but I know it’ll come to me once I’ve given myself some time to think things through.
What I thought was a major set back for me in May, has turned out to be a massive step forward. In the last few months of the year, I finally decided to enroll on a Counselling Skills course which will hopefully lead to a counselling qualification – something I’ve wanted to do for ages; I also completed the training week to become a Forest School Leader (and am now working on finalising the coursework), and perhaps more importantly, I set up an allotment group to help a group of people who are struggling with their mental health – you can find out more here: Wild Roots Allotment Group. All of the these things are interlinked and I had wanted to do for ages but had never got round to doing them. Being pushed back, has really pushed me forward and am so happy at what I’ve achieved so far.
As we enter 2022 I have no major plans, except that I want to live life to its fullest. I hope it’s a good one for you and yours, and hope that if life throws you a curveball, you hit it right back, and harder!
Mel x
Projects
The Wellbeing Quilt
The idea behind the Wellbeing Quilt is to celebrate people’s journey of mental health recovery. I finally completed it last year.
Love and Peace
Using the alphabet paper piecing templates I designed, I’m slowly putting together this new quilt. The templates will be available to purchase from my Melony Patch Etsy shop.
Teachers’ Rosettes
‘Thank you’ presents for my youngest daughter’s teachers – we decided to make rosettes like last year as they proved to be so popular! (And like last year, I couldn’t help making myself one… well, I did do some of the schooling after all!)
“Enjoy each moment as it will go by in a flash”, so I was told when I became a mum. And it’s something I’ve really taken to heart. Children do grow up quickly; and once they’re grown, they’re grown!
So the moments I get to spend time with my kids, I treasure. A month or so ago, during the summer half-term, my youngest and I sat down together to watch a movie, as the weather was a bit grim and we didn’t have any plans for the day. We don’t usually do this during daytime as there are always so many other things to do! Anyhow, we decided on ‘Paddington’ – a movie we have both seen a number of times.
It is a completely charming story and you can’t help fall in love with the little bear with a huge heart. His foster family, the Browns, are just as charming too, living in a charming house, in charming part of (an idealised) charming London.
Paddington’s room is in the attic and there on his bed is an equally charming quilt! Of course, a charming room can’t be without a charming quilt! And this one is made of string quilt blocks, featuring fabrics in a range of colours and patterns.
Quilt Spot ‘Paddington’
‘Paddington’ was quickly followed by ‘Paddington 2’, where, interestingly, I spotted a different quilt on his bed – what a lucky bear!! I couldn’t make out what type of quilt it was, but it definitely was different to the first one pictured as you can see by the different pattern of the patches and the colour of the fabrics featured.
Quilt Spot ‘Paddington 2’
A lovely way to spend a lovely afternoon with my youngest.
Have you spotted any quilts in movies or on the telly? I’d love to know. Drop me a line and share your ‘spots’ with me.
I was really not expecting to see a quilt in ‘Psycho’, the classic black and white 1960 psychological horror by Alfred Hitchcock. This is a movie I’ve seen HUNDREDS of times as I’ve always loved Hitchcock. I think telly-wise, my teenage years were defined by watching Hitchcock movies and the TV series with my brother and sister in the 1980s. Happy days.
My husband is also a fan and now that our youngest is 10, we thought it would be time to introduce her to the wonders of Hitchcock, especially as she would like to be a movie director when she’s older. So what better place to start?
‘Psycho’ is one of those movies I never tire of; even knowing what the plot is or what the twist is, it still has me on the edge of the sofa… and I still enjoy trying to ‘find’ Hitchcock’s cameo appearances!
The quilt appears in what would have been Norman Bates’s childhood room. The room has a small bed set against a wall, and a number of toys, but the decor is so grim and sad… even the toy rabbit seems to have a frown. The quilt is crumpled carelessly on the bed and features stars, possibly eight-point stars, though it’s hard to tell. The prints are ditsy and the fabric looks like it could be cotton, as there’s no sheen to it, and it is hand-quilted. (Perhaps it was Mrs Bates who made the quilt for a young Norman…!)
Quilt Spot – Psycho – Norman Bates’s childhood room, complete with quilt and sad bunny.Quilt Spot – Psycho – Why so sad little bunny?
It was a surprise ‘find’ in a movie I’ve seen so many times. Thankfully, my family are on board with my ‘quilt spots’ and my cries to ‘pause the movie!’ when one appears on screen. Happy days.
Have you spotted any quilts in movies or on the telly? I’d love to know. Drop me a line and share your ‘spots’ with me.
Following no ‘spots’ in February, two came along in March. The first was ‘Witness’, the 1985 movie, staring Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis, about a young Amish boy who witnesses the murder of an undercover police officer. Given that this movie was made over 30 years ago, I can safely say that I’ve seen it numerous times before, but this was first time since writing my ‘quilt spots’, and I knew, given that it is set in the Amish community, that there would be a few quilts to spot.
And the movie does not disappoint! One scene I particularly like is of a group of women quilting whilst the men build a new barn. The quilt features lovely hearts and flowers, appliqued against a white background.
Quilt Spot: ‘Witness’
I liked seeing this quilt as I always tend to think of Amish quilts as featuring solid darks colours in large geometrical blocks (which I also love!), like the one pictured below, hanging on a washing line in another scene of the movie.
Quit Spot: ‘Witness’
And then there was another quilt I spotted, draped around Harrison Ford. The colours are dark and sombre, and the block pattern seems to be courthouse steps, but the fabric appears to have a slight sheen to it, so I wasn’t sure if this one was quite accurate.
Quit Spot: ‘Witness’ – Harrison Ford wrapped in a quilt… no doubt a treat for some!
I think I have more reading to do on the subject of Amish quilts. After a quick ‘google’ search I came across the following blog post which is quite interesting: The History of Amish Quilt Making | Amish Outlet Store.
I’ve always liked the idea that Amish quilters used to deliberately put in mistakes in their creations to pay homage to God, as ‘only God is perfect’, but this is in fact considered a myth. However, I do like the notion of it – it does resonate with me, and if I end up with a ‘mistake’ in a quilt, I tend to think, “well, I’m not perfect!”
The other spots were in ‘Hillbilly Elegy’, staring Glen Close and Amy Adams, based on the memoir of JD Vance. It’s a difficult movie to watch, flitting between scenes of JD’s chaotic upbringing, and when he’s a young man studying law at Yale.
There were two quilts I spotted. One draped over the sofa in JD’s grandmother’s (Mamaw) house, and the other in a flashback scene when JD’s mother, Bev, was a little girl. Bev and her sister are hiding in a closet as their mum (Mamaw) and dad argue violently… following which Mamaw sets him alight (!) as he lies passed-out drunk on the sofa… When Mamaw leaves the room, Bev rushes out, grabs a quilt that’s on the sofa and puts out the fire with it…
Quilt Spot: ‘Hillbilly Elegy’
It’s hard-hitting stuff… However, what I loved about the movie is how it shows JD’s strength of character. He is proud of where he comes from, especially when others seem to sneer at him for it. One quote will stay with me: “Where we come from is who we are, but we choose every day who we become.” So true.
Have you spotted any quilts in movies or on the telly? I’d love to know! Drop me a line and share your ‘spots’ with me.
The year got off to a great start… at least in terms of ‘quilt spots’! When it comes to the rest, well… we still seem to be in a similar position to last year, with the pandemic still raging and another lockdown in the UK affecting all aspects of life, including work, education and socialising.
Although there WILL be light at the end of the tunnel, the current situation is still a little bleak. Just like the first movie featured in this month’s quilt spot. ‘The Devil All the Time’ is a brilliantly acted movie, but – dear me – is it hard-hitting! Even the main character is hard to like, resorting to physical violence to resolve all problems. With corrupt police officers, an abusive preacher and a serial killer, it’s not an easy-going movie.
There are, however, plenty of quilt spots. There was one I particularly liked, which was draped over the back of a sofa; it was a small lap-sized quilt and was made up of rectangular patches, alternating between single-cloth rectangles in dark blue with a ditsy print, and rectangles made up of what looked like strips from shirt fabric in predominantly lighter tones.
Quilt Spot: The Devil All the Time
Another quilt I spotted was on a bed. Although I couldn’t see it clearly, it looked like a friendship star quilt, with the stars in a dark red fabric set against a cream background. There were other quilts too and altogether they made the movie more enjoyable!
Quilt Spot: The Devil All the Time
Following that was Season 2 of Netflix’s ‘Virgin River’, which I really enjoyed first time round, and which I enjoyed again, mainly for the stunning scenery! How I would like to visit where it’s filmed – Vancouver, Canada (although the series itself is set in California!).
There are plenty of quilts on offer: a lovely crazy quilt on the bed of the main character – also called Mel! – and in the house of the mayor (and local town gossip) Hope. Although I find Hope a bit tiresome (as she’s constantly meddling in other people’s business) her house is a DREAM! And there are quilts EVERYWHERE! In terms of quilts, though, my favourite room, is her bedroom, where she has two quilts on display (YAY!) – a round-the-world quilt over the bed, and then draped across the bottom, a quilt made up of large squares set on the diagonal.
Quilt Spot: Virgin River
And finally, ‘War Horse’, which I’ve seen before but never noticed the quilt which appears towards the beginning of the movie, and is on the bed in the main bedroom in the house of the farm where Joey (the horse) comes to live and work. The quilt is only on screen for a brief second or so, so it’s hard to make out what it is, but it looks like a hexie quilt. This is another great movie, almost a love story between the main character the horse and his owner the young Albert, and shows how even in the darkest moments, people on opposite sides still have things in common and can come together.
Quilt Spot: War Horse
Have you spotted on any quilts in movies or on the telly? I’d love to know! Drop me a line and share your ‘spots’ with me!
During 2020, every month I published details of simple patchwork blocks with guidelines illustrating how to piece it together, as well as ideas on how to create a variety of different layouts for patchwork quilts using the block. I also provided a number of ‘colouring-in’ sheets for the various layouts so that you can try your own colouring-in and try out different colour schemes to suit you.
At the end of 2019 I wrote that I was looking forward to 2020, saying it sounded ‘pretty cool already’!! Dear me, I couldn’t have been more wrong! What a trying and difficult year it has been… However, despite this, there have been a number of positives from 2020.
I loved home-schooling; I loved having the kids with me all the time; I loved spending more time in nature with the family and on my own, enjoying the wonderful weather we had in spring and summer and taking pleasure in taking notice of the wildlife around us – birds, wildflowers, butterflies…; I loved the fact that I could still work and provide a service to those struggling with mental health issues; I loved rediscovering the joys of cycling – so much so that I’m looking to buy a new bike (before buying the new sewing machine I had in mind!). There are things I missed of course, like meeting up face-to-face with my family and friends, and my sewing club, book club and choir sessions, all of which continued over Zoom.
I had thought that I would get more ‘quilting’ done during lockdown and over the months that followed, but in reality I didn’t get much done at all, and have also been relatively quiet on my blog. I’m hoping 2021 will be a more ‘normal’ year, but I fear it won’t be until the vaccination programme is well underway and a large proportion of the country is immunised.
So although 2021 is a BIG year for me as I’m celebrating a BIG birthday, I have decided not to make plans. Years ago I had thought of organising a number of celebrations to mark this year. But I feel everything is still uncertain and it’s hard to make plans. What’s more, if there is one lesson that has been reaffirmed to me, is that we need to be grateful for what we have in the moment and take each day as it comes. So this is how I’m entering 2021. I hope it’s a good one for you and yours.
The only ‘spots’ of the month came on the last day of the year, when we were looking for a movie to watch after our New Year’s Eve meal that would finish just before midnight after which our plan was to nip outside into the garden and greet the New Year by toasting marshmallows on the fire and making wishes for 2021. (I had hoped to watch many ‘Christmas’ movies over the festive period, which I was sure would feature lots of quilts in them. I was told Holidate had a nice quilt, but we never got round to watching it! And we watched ‘The Holiday’ again, but alas… no quilts!)
The movie we watched was the new adaptation of ‘Rebecca’ – the gothic novel by Daphne Du Maurier. I remember seeing the original 1940 movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock when in my teens, and the new version, I feel, is just a good. I described it to my daughters as a psychological ghost story but without a ghost. It makes for uncomfortable viewing at times, as many of the characters are very cruel to the lead character and narrator, the new Mrs De Winter, played by Lily James, who is always living in the shadow of the first Mrs De Winter, Rebecca. As the story progresses, the true nature of the main characters are revealed. It’s a great movie and well worth watching.
I spotted two quilts in the movie – both appeared in ‘servants’ quarters. The first was when the new Mrs de Winter, was working (before her marriage) as a ‘companion’ to a rich American lady; the quilt was on the bed in the little servants room within the large and grandiose hotel suite occupied by her employer. In close up shots you can clearly see the stitching. In one scene it looks like a cream coloured wholecloth quilt, but in another scene in the same room, the quilt appears to be duo tone, pink and grey. The other quilt is in the housekeeper’s room in the De Winter’s house Manderley. Again, this appears to be a wholecloth quilt.
Have you spotted any quilts in movies or on the telly? I’d love to know, drop me a line and share your spots with me!
Quilt spots this year seem to be slow in coming… and it’s not because I’m not watching anything on the telly. This year has been one of ‘binge-watching’, so I’m probably watching plenty, but it seems the series we’ve been choosing to watch have been absent of quilts.
The year started off with the swords-and-fighting series ‘Last Kingdom’ followed by ‘Vikings’ and then ‘Knightfall’, all of which occasionally featured sumptuous bed coverings but no quilted or patchwork covers… Then there was ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ and ‘The Crown’… no quilts there either (does the Queen not own a quilt??!).
The only ‘quilt spot’ joy came in the form of a lovely hexie quilt in the series ‘Traitors’, an espionage drama set following the end of World War II, and first shown on Channel 4 in February 2019. And that’s as riveting as the series got for me…
Quilt Spot ‘Traitors’
I’m hoping I’ll see more spots over Christmas – especially as I consider patchwork quilts OBLIGATORY in ANY festive movie, and I’m planning on watching many of these. I have it on good authority that ‘Holidate’ has a nice quilt in it. Am I ready for Christmas? You bet! Bring it on!
Have you spotted any quilts in movies or in series? I’d love to know. Drop me a line and share your ‘spots’ with me!
The final block, Block L – December 2020, features a central row of three 1″ squares flanked, at the top and bottom, by double strips. As with the other blocks in this series, the feature pieces (ie the squares ad strips) can be cut from the same fabric or you can choose different fabrics and colours for each piece. All background pieces are to be cut from the same fabric, but different to the ones used for the squares and strips and preferably from a fabric that will make the squares and strips stand out.
You can use the colour-in sheets at the end of this blog post to try out different ideas.
All measurements below include a seam allowance of 0.25″.
For the patterned/solid squares (pieces A):
A – 3 x (1.5″ x 1.5″)
For the strips:
D – 4 x (1″ x 5.5″)
For the background (pieces B, C, E, F), ALL cut from the same fabric, ideally from a contrasting fabric to the squares and strips:
B – 2 x (1.5″ x 1.5″) for the squares C – 4 x (1″ x 5.5″) E – 2 x (1″ x 5.5″) F – 2 x (6.5″ x 1″)
The finished block should measure 6.5″ square including seam allowances.
Piecing:
Sew your cut pieces as indicated below, sewing right sides together and pressing seams to one side as you go.
Quilt layouts
Below are some ideas of quilts you can make using this simple block and also combining it with blocks from previous months. You can play around with your colour/fabric choices to achieve some stunning effects.
The designs featured below are based on 5 x 5 and 6 x 6 grids, which would result in quilts with a finished size (not including binding) of 30″ x 30″ and 36″ x 36″ respectively.
Whatever size you go for, when you come to piecing the quilt, first sew together the blocks in each row. Press seams in each row in alternating directions, and then sew the rows together. Create a quilt sandwich with wadding and backing fabric, then quilt as desired, bind and add a label to complete it.
Colouring-in sheets
Try out different colour schemes with the colouring-in sheets below. To print the sheets, right click on the image and select ‘open image in new tab’. Then you can print the page – make sure your print settings are set to what you want. My preference is to fit the image to the page so I get a full sheet with the picture.
You can also enjoy my other free patterns on my blog:
Block K – November 2020 features a series of seven narrow strips flanked by long strips on either side. As with the other blocks in this series, the feature pieces (ie the strips) can be cut from the same fabric or you can choose different fabrics and colours for each piece. All background pieces are to be cut from the same fabric, but different to the ones used for the strips and preferably from a fabric that will make the strips stand out.
You can use the colour-in sheets at the end of this blog post to try out different ideas.
All measurements below include a seam allowance of 0.25″.
For the series of short strips from patterned/solid fabric (pieces A):
A –7 x (3.5″ x 1″)
For the long strips:
D – 2 x (1″ x 5.5″)
For the background (pieces B, C, D, E), ALL cut from the same fabric, ideally from a contrasting fabric to the squares and strips:
B – 6 x (3.5″ x 0.75″) for the short strips C – 4 x (1″ x 5.5″) E – 2 x (6.5″ x 1″)
The finished block should measure 6.5″ square including seam allowances.
Piecing:
Sew your cut pieces as indicated below, sewing right sides together and pressing seams to one side as you go.
Quilt layouts
Below are some ideas of quilts you can make using this simple block and also combining it with blocks from previous months. You can play around with your colour/fabric choices to achieve some stunning effects.
The designs featured below are based on a 6 x 6 grid, which would result in a quilt with a finished size (not including binding) of 36″ x 36″.
Whatever size you go for, when you come to piecing the quilt, first sew together the blocks in each row. Press seams in each row in alternating directions, and then sew the rows together. Create a quilt sandwich with wadding and backing fabric, then quilt as desired, bind and add a label to complete it.
Colouring-in sheets
Try out different colour schemes with the colouring-in sheets below. To print the sheets, right click on the image and select ‘open image in new tab’. Then you can print the page – make sure your print settings are set to what you want. My preference is to fit the image to the page so I get a full sheet with the picture.
You can also enjoy my other free patterns on my blog:
August was another month of ‘no shows’ for quilt spots, but luckily there was one in September to report on. This was in the Disney movie ‘Togo’ about one of the dogs who took part in the 1925 Serum Run to Nome. The serum run, also known as the Great Race of Mercy, was organised to transport diphtheria medicine by dog sled relay across Alaska; 20 mushers and 150 sled dogs took part, covering 674 miles in five-and-a-half days, delivering life-saving medicines to Nome and the surrounding communities.
The movie is mainly about the serum run, but it also goes back in time to when Togo was a puppy and considered to be the runt of the litter. Initially his owner, drover Leonhard Seppala, thinks him too small and too weak to even be part of his sled team. It’s his wife, Constance, who warms to the puppy, has faith in him and keeps rooting for him. In the end, it is Leonhard’s dog sled team, lead by Togo, who do the longest leg of the relay, covering 260 miles.
‘Togo’
It’s a beautiful and incredible story of human and canine determination. As you can imagine, it being in Alaska in the 1920s, the climate is harsh and life is difficult. Leonhard and Constance live in a modest cabin, and as you would expect, there is a nice heavy-looking quilt on their bed.
A close up shows that it is made of irregular square and rectangular patches, from a range of different fabrics – no doubt off cuts or remnants from cloth used for other household items or clothing – and stitched together by hand. You can see the zig-zag stitches between the patches.
Quilt Spot – ‘Togo’
It’s a fabulous movie and I would definitely recommend it. But remember to have a packet of tissues nearby…
I am so excited to reveal my new Christmas mini-bunting panel. I say ‘new’, but it also happens to be my FIRST!
Peace Love Joy Christmas Bunting by Melanie Vincent
Over the last year or so I’ve been focusing on designing my own fabric and have some of my designs, printed by Spoonflower, already available in my Melony Patch Etsy shop. It’s a real thrill to see my designs come to life and to be able to use my own fabric in my own creations.
Of course, it wasn’t going to be long before I created Christmas fabrics… as I LOVE creating and making homemade items and decorations to celebrate the festive period.
So here is my very own Christmas mini-bunting panel: ‘Peace Love Joy’. The panel features 18 flags, spelling the words Peace, Love, Joy, with some extra flags for each end of the bunting strip/s, or for between words. The finished size of the flags measure 3.5″ x 6″ (9cm x 15cm).
Christmas mini bunting by Melanie Vincent
The flags feature designs from my own Scandi Christmas range of fabrics (also listed in my shop). You can string the words altogether or separately. The bunting can be used to decorate the Christmas tree, mantel piece, or anywhere else in the house.
Scandi Christmas by Melanie Vincent
The bunting flags are easy to sew and full instructions are printed on the panel. This makes it an ideal gift for your crafty friends or relatives.
Readers of my blog post can get 25% off the price of the panel by entering coupon code WP1020 at checkout (excluding postage and packing; I can deliver outside of the UK, contact me for postage pricing).
Note: to create the flags you will need backing fabric for the flags – approx one fat quarter – and bunting ribbon or bias tape to string the flags together.
Block J – October 2020 features nine 1″ squares. As with the other blocks in this series, the squares can be cut from the same fabric or you can choose different fabrics and colours for each piece. All background pieces are to be cut from the same fabric, but different to the ones used for the squares and preferably from a fabric that will make the squares and strips stand out.
You can use the colour-in sheets at the end of this blog post to try out different ideas.
All measurements below include a seam allowance of 0.25″.
For the patterned/solid squares (pieces A):
A – 3 x (1.5″ x 4.5″)
For the background (pieces B, C, D, E), ALL cut from the same fabric, ideally from a contrasting fabric to the squares and strips:
B – 2 x (1.5″ x 4.5″) for the squares C – 2 x (5.5″ x 1.5″) D – 2 x (1″ x 5.5″) E – 2 x (6.5″ x 1″)
The finished block should measure 6.5″ square including seam allowances.
Piecing:
Sew your cut pieces as indicated below, sewing right sides together and pressing seams to one side as you go.
Quilt layouts
Below are some ideas of quilts you can make using this simple block and also combining it with blocks from previous months. You can play around with your colour/fabric choices to achieve some stunning effects.
The designs featured below are based on 5 x 5 and 6 x 6 grids, which would result in quilts with a finished size (not including binding) of 30″ x 30″ and 36″ x 36″ respectively.
Whatever size you go for, when you come to piecing the quilt, first sew together the blocks in each row. Press seams in each row in alternating directions, and then sew the rows together. Create a quilt sandwich with wadding and backing fabric, then quilt as desired, bind and add a label to complete it.
Colouring-in sheets
Try out different colour schemes with the colouring-in sheets below. To print the sheets, right click on the image and select ‘open image in new tab’. Then you can print the page – make sure your print settings are set to what you want. My preference is to fit the image to the page so I get a full sheet with the picture.
You can also enjoy my other free patterns on my blog:
Block I – September 2020 features a central large rectangle flanked by two thin strips. As with the other blocks in this series, the rectangle and thin strips can be cut from the same fabric or you can choose different fabrics and colours for each piece. All background pieces are to be cut from the same fabric, but different to the ones used for the rectangle and strips and preferably from a fabric that will make the squares and strips stand out.
You can use the colour-in sheets at the end of this blog post to try out different ideas.
All measurements below include a seam allowance of 0.25″.
For the patterned/solid central rectangle (pieces A):
A – 5.5″ x 3.5″
For the thin strips from patterned/solid fabric:
C – 2 x (5.5″ x 1″)
For the background (pieces B, D, E), ALL cut from the same fabric, ideally from a contrasting fabric to the squares and strips:
B – 2 x (5.5″ x 1″) D – 2 x (1″ x 5.5″) E – 2 x (6.5″ x 1″)
The finished block should measure 6.5″ square including seam allowances.
Piecing:
Sew your cut pieces as indicated below, sewing right sides together and pressing seams to one side as you go.
Quilt layouts
Below are some ideas of quilts you can make using this simple block and also combining it with blocks from previous months. You can play around with your colour/fabric choices to achieve some stunning effects.
The designs featured below are based on a 6 x 6 grid, which would result in a quilt with a finished size (not including binding) of 36″ x 36″.
Whatever size you go for, when you come to piecing the quilt, first sew together the blocks in each row. Press seams in each row in alternating directions, and then sew the rows together. Create a quilt sandwich with wadding and backing fabric, then quilt as desired, bind and add a label to complete it.
Colouring-in sheets
Try out different colour schemes with the colouring-in sheets below. To print the sheets, right click on the image and select ‘open image in new tab’. Then you can print the page – make sure your print settings are set to what you want. My preference is to fit the image to the page so I get a full sheet with the picture.
You can also enjoy my other free patterns on my blog:
Following no spots in June, there is only one spot to report on for July, and that is ‘Groundhog Day’, which given the situation we’re living in at the moment, seems quite apt, as most days seem the same.
Even my youngest daughter commented this to me, as the summer holidays started and ‘home-schooling‘ came to an end… nothing seems to have changed. Lockdown restrictions are easing but we, as a family, are still being very cautious about what we do.
I’ve watched ‘Groundhog Day’ so many times; it’s a movie I always find amusing. But this time was the first I had watched it since writing my ‘Quilt Spots’. Funny how with most movies, if I spot a quilt, it’s only on screen for a few seconds… but with ‘Groundhog Day’ we get plenty of viewings of the quilt as the main character, self-centred celebrity weatherman Phil Connors, played by Bill Murray, wakes up morning after morning to relive the same day, and on his hotel bed is a lovely scrappy quilt made of of small squares of floral fabrics set against a white/cream background. If you miss it once, don’t worry, you’ll see it again when Phil makes more wrong choices and has to relive the day again.
Quit Spot – Groundhog Day
Of course, comparing the lockdown/pandemic situation to ‘Groundhog Day’ isn’t really accurate. Although there has been some debate about what the movie means, for me it’s a clear message that if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. That, and that what’s important in life is being kind, thoughtful and helpful towards others.
Have you spotted any quilts in movies? I’d love to know! Drop me a line and share your ‘spots’ with me!
Block H – August 2020 features a central row of three 1″ squares, framed by narrow strips of descending width. As with the other blocks, the squares and strips can be cut from the same fabric or you can choose different fabrics and colours for each piece. All background pieces are to be cut from the same fabric, but different to the ones used for the squares and strips and preferably from a fabric that will make the squares and strips stand out.
You can use the colour-in sheets at the end of this blog post to try out different ideas.
All measurements below include a seam allowance of 0.25″.
For the patterned/solid squares (pieces A):
A – 3 x (1.5″ x 1.5″)
For the strips from patterned/solid fabric:
D – 2 x (5.5″ x 1″) F – 2.5″ x 2″
For the background (pieces B, C, E, G, H), ALL cut from the same fabric, ideally from a contrasting fabric to the squares and strips:
B – 2 x (1.5 x 1.5″) for the squares C – 4 x (5.5″ x 1″) E – 2 x (2″ x 2″) G – 2 x (5.5″ x 1″) H – 2 x (6.5″ x 1″)
The finished block should measure 6.5″ square including seam allowances.
Piecing:
Sew your cut pieces as indicated below, sewing right sides together and pressing seams to one side as you go.
Quilt layouts
Below are some ideas of quilts you can make using this simple block and also combining it with blocks from previous months. You can play around with your colour/fabric choices to achieve some stunning effects.
The designs featured below are based on a 6 x 6 grid, which would result in a quilt with a finished size (not including binding) of 36″ x 36″.
Whatever size you go for, when you come to piecing the quilt, first sew together the blocks in each row. Press seams in each row in alternating directions, and then sew the rows together. Create a quilt sandwich with wadding and backing fabric, then quilt as desired, bind and add a label to complete it.
Colouring-in sheets
Try out different colour schemes with the colouring-in sheets below. To print the sheets, right click on the image and select ‘open image in new tab’. Then you can print the page – make sure your print settings are set to what you want. My preference is to fit the image to the page so I get a full sheet with the picture.
You can also enjoy my other free patterns on my blog:
The end of this school year has been unlike any other… as has most of the year so far. Usually towards the end of term there are lots of celebrations and get-togethers, but this year, there has been none of that.
Last year’s end-of-school year celebrations seem a long time ago…
My eldest hasn’t been in school since March, and my youngest popped into her school one day last week to say goodbye to her teacher and to spend some time with the ones she’ll have in September. The school had a number of safety procedures in place – my daughter had her temperature taken as she arrived at school, and all the children were sat outside on chairs that were spaced two metres apart. It’s all so strange.
As it was the last time my youngest was to see her current teachers, I had, of course to make some gifts for them. I love making little thank you gifts for the teachers, and always make a few extra as I like to keep some for myself and for family. Of course, this year, is a little different, and I had more reason than most years to keep one for myself, as I have been doing all of the home schooling since lockdown begun!!
This year, my youngest and I decided to make rosette ribbons, using some of the supplies I already had in my sewing room, with personalised drawings by daughter scanned onto photo-fabric and sewn to the centre of each. Mine says ‘You’re the best mum and teacher’! Love it!
The result looks fantastic and I proudly wore mine during my daughter’s last day of term. Now it’s in my sewing room, pinned to one of my quilts!
Proudly wearing my rosette
At some point I’ll type up the instructions to make these. They are fun, easy and can be easily personalised for anyone or any occasion.
Block G – July 2020 features two rows of three 1″ squares with a central rectangular piece framed by narrow strips. As with the other blocks, the squares and strips can be cut from the same fabric or you can choose different fabrics and colours for each piece. All background pieces are to be cut from the same fabric, but different to the ones used for the squares and strips and preferably from a fabric that will make the squares and strips stand out.
You can use the colour-in sheets at the end of this blog post to try out different ideas.
All measurements below include a seam allowance of 0.25″.
For the patterned/solid squares (pieces A):
A – 3 x (1.5″ x 3″)
For the central rectangle from patterned/solid fabric:
C – 5.5″ x 1.5″
For the narrow strips from patterned/solid fabric:
D – 2 x (5.5″ x 0.75″)
For the background (pieces B, E, F, G), ALL cut from the same fabric, ideally from a contrasting fabric to the squares and strips:
B – 2 x (1.5 x 3″) for the squares E – 2 x (5.5″ x 1.25″) F – 2 x (1″ x 5.5″) G – 2 x (6.5″ x 1″)
The finished block should measure 6.5″ square including seam allowances.
Piecing:
Sew your cut pieces as indicated below, sewing right sides together and pressing seams to one side as you go.
Quilt layouts
Below are some ideas of quilts you can make using this simple block and also combining it with blocks from previous months. You can play around with your colour/fabric choices to achieve some stunning effects.
The designs featured below are based on either a 6 x 6 or 7 x 7 grid, which would result in quilts with a finished size (not including binding) of 36″ x 36″, 42″ x 42″ respectively.
Whatever size you go for, when you come to piecing the quilt, first sew together the blocks in each row. Press seams in each row in alternating directions, and then sew the rows together. Create a quilt sandwich with wadding and backing fabric, then quilt as desired, bind and add a label to complete it.
Colouring-in sheets
Try out different colour schemes with the colouring-in sheets below. To print the sheets, right click on the image and select ‘open image in new tab’. Then you can print the page – make sure your print settings are set to what you want. My preference is to fit the image to the page so I get a full sheet with the picture.
You can also enjoy my other free patterns on my blog:
Yikes! We’re coming to the end of June and I’m only just sitting down now to write my Quilt Spot post for May!! I’ve been a little busy lately, hence it’s all gone a bit quiet on the Melony Patch front.
The month of May saw a number of quilt spots. First up, was a new teen movie ‘The Half of It’ (2020), about a young smart girl who helps a jock write ‘love letters’ to his crush. When I first saw the trailer, I thought it was going to be a modern day version of the 1990 movie ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’, which I enjoyed when in my late teens, but the only similarity really is in one person enlisting the help of another to write down how they feel to their loved one. There’s a nice twist to the story, and some lovely quilts too – in the female lead’s room and in the male lead’s room, and both feature half square triangles.
Quilt Spot – The Half of It
Another movie where a quilt was spotted was ‘Housesitter’ (1992), which I’ve seen a number of times. The quilt was part of a yard sale to raise money for the PTA. Very simple looking, based on little square patches in solid colours, and if you blinked you might have missed it!
I quite like ‘Housesitter’, even though it’s all about lying and making up stories to hide the truth! It’s entertaining and quite endearing and the feeling I come away with is that anything can happen if you believe in it strongly enough.
Then there was ‘Mercury Rising’ (1998), a thriller about a young boy who is on the autism spectrum who cracks a top secret code that has been published in a puzzle book to ‘test’ how ‘uncrackable’ it is! It’s a fast-paced action thriller with Bruce Willis – not really my sort of thing – but enjoyable and the little boy is very endearing. What struck me most was the language people used to describe the little boy’s condition… I think today we would use more sensitive terms. The quilt was on the little boy’s bed. Hard to see as, of course, it wasn’t the focus of the scene (!), but the pattern looked like large Dresden plates, in soft florals.
Quilt Spot – Mercury Rising (left) and Housesitter (right)
And lastly, Dolly Parton’s series ‘Heartstrings’ on Netflix, which my youngest really enjoyed. All episodes are titled after Dolly Parton songs, and are loosely based on the subject of each. The stories are simple, and the focus is always on love, family, friendship, and pulling through difficult times. There were a number of quilts spotted throughout, as I think you would expect from a country-themed series!
Quilt Spot – Heartstrings
Have you spotted any quilts in movies, series or on the telly? Let me know! Share your spots with me.
Block F – June 2020 features three 1″ squares framed by a series of narrow strips pieced together. As with the other blocks, the squares and strips can be cut from the same fabric or you can choose different fabrics and colours for each piece. All background pieces are to be cut from the same fabric, but different to the ones used for the squares and strips and preferably from a fabric that will make the squares and strips stand out.
You can use the colour-in sheets at the end of this blog post to try out different ideas.
All measurements below include a seam allowance of 0.25″.
For the patterned/solid strips (pieces A):
A – 7 x (1″ x 4″)
For the squares (pieces D) from patterned/solid fabric:
C – 3 x (1.5″ x 1.5″)
For the background (pieces B, D, E, F), ALL cut from the same fabric, ideally from a contrasting fabric to the squares and strips:
B – 6 x (0.75″ x 4″) for the strips D – 2 x (1.5″ x 1.5″) for the squares E – 4 x (5.5″ x 1″) F – 2 x (1″ x 6.5″)
The finished block should measure 6.5″ square including seam allowances.
Piecing:
Sew your cut pieces as indicated below, sewing right sides together and pressing seams to one side as you go.
Quilt layouts
Below are some ideas of quilts you can make using this simple block and also combining it with blocks from previous months. You can play around with your colour/fabric choices to achieve some stunning effects.
The designs featured below are based on either a 6 x 6 or 7 x 7 grid, which would result in quilts with a finished size (not including binding) of 36″ x 36″, 42″ x 42″ respectively.
Whatever size you go for, when you come to piecing the quilt, first sew together the blocks in each row. Press seams in each row in alternating directions, and then sew the rows together. Create a quilt sandwich with wadding and backing fabric, then quilt as desired, bind and add a label to complete it.
Colouring-in sheets
Try out different colour schemes with the colouring-in sheets below. To print the sheets, right click on the image and select ‘open image in new tab’. Then you can print the page – make sure your print settings are set to what you want. My preference is to fit the image to the page so I get a full sheet with the picture.
You can also enjoy my other free patterns on my blog:
Like all quilters, I have a stash… a very LARGE stash. And I love it. For me, it’s my ‘palette’. Painters have paint, quilters have fabric. It means that when I want to make something at the drop of a hat, I can, like the scrub bags I’ve been making recently.
Laundry bags for nurses
And today, my large stash was again a blessing. As many houses in the village started putting up bunting to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe, I realised I didn’t have any bunting in patriotic colours! So this morning, I woke up a little earlier than usual to go through my stash and pick out bright red and deep navy blue fabrics. Of course, I had quite a selection to choose from!
I love making bunting – it’s so easy to do and brightens up any room or area where it’s displayed. I made two strings – one for the front of the house and the other for the garden. Because of lockdown, people were advised not to gather to celebrate this anniversary and instead have their own separate garden parties. So that’s what we did. After the bunting, it was a quick dash to the kitchen to make scones, and by 3pm we were sitting in the garden, having our very own cream tea. And the weather was glorious. This will definitely be one of the highlights of ‘lockdown’.
Celebrating VE Day
How did you celebrate VE day? Did you make any bunting to for the occasion? I’d love to know!
First full month of lockdown complete! And still no more time for watching telly! As I mentioned in my previous month’s quilt spot, lockdown simply does not equate to having more time, at least not in my house! How are you finding it?
This month, there was just one spot, but similarly to last month’s, it was a great spot, and by that I mean a great movie: ‘Harriet’, based on the life of Harriet Tubman (c.1820-1913), a woman who escaped slavery and became an Underground Railway conductor, rescuing 300 slaves and leading them to freedom.
The first time I heard about the Underground Railway – the network of secret routes and safe houses that had been established to help African-American slaves escape to freedom – was when I read Tracy Chevalier’s ‘The Last Runaway’. Of course, I had always known that slaves had tried to escape, but I hadn’t realised there was a network in place to help them, and hadn’t realised this network had a name. I was fascinated by this part of history and after finishing Chevalier’s novel, I wanted to read more on the subject and came across the book ‘Hidden in Plain View’ by Jacqueline Tobin and Raymond Dobard, which tells the story of how quilts were used along the Underground Railway to convey messages or warnings, or used as signals or markers to help slaves navigate their way safely through the network. Both books are well worth a read.
But back to the movie… I spotted a couple of quilts – neither were used as ‘secret signs’. Harriet had her own way of conveying secret messages using spirituals – she would sing certain songs in a certain as a way to communicate to slaves. (Whilst writing this, I felt the urge to listen to the hymn ‘Go Down Moses’ which features in the movie – Harriet was nicknamed Moses as she led her people to the promised land of freedom.)
The quilts I spotted were in one of the slave owner’s houses. One quilt was used to swaddle a baby – it had a nice well-used look to it, with soft or washed-out pastel colours, featuring what looks like a variant of a square-in-a-square block made of narrow strips. The other quilt was laid on a four-poster bed in one of the main bedrooms, and featured a traditional log cabin pattern, with the strips in half of each log cabin block in dark colours and the strips in the other half in lighter colours.
Quilt Spot – Harriet
Just like last month’s quilt spot movie, this is another film which is well worth seeing at some point.
Have you spotted any quilts in movies, series or on the telly? Let me know! Share your spots with me.
Block E – May 2020 features three 1″ squares framed by two narrow strips. As with the other blocks, the squares and strips can be cut from the same fabric or you can choose different fabrics and colours for each piece. All background pieces are to be cut from the same fabric, but different to the ones used for the squares and strips and preferably from a fabric that will make the squares and strips stand out.
You can use the colour-in sheets at the end of this blog post to try out different ideas.
All measurements below include a seam allowance of 0.25″.
For the squares (pieces A) from patterned/solid fabric:
A – 3 x (1.5″ x 1.5″)
For the strips (pieces D) from patterned/solid fabric:
D – 2 x (5.5″ x 1″)
For the background (pieces B, C, E, F), ALL cut from the same fabric, ideally from a contrasting fabric to the squares and strips:
B – 2 x (1.5″ x 1.5″) C – 2 x (5.5″ x 2″) E – 2 x (1″ x 5.5″) F – 2 x (6.5″ x 1″)
The finished block should measure 6.5″ square including seam allowances.
Piecing:
Sew your cut pieces as indicated below, sewing right sides together and pressing seams to one side as you go.
Quilt layouts
Below are some ideas of quilts you can make using this simple block and also combining it with blocks from previous months. You can play around with your colour/fabric choices to achieve some stunning effects.
The designs featured below are based on either a 5 x 5, 6 x 6 or 7 x 7 grid, which would result in quilts with a finished size (not including binding) of 30″ x 30″, 36″ x 36″, 42″ x 42″ respectively.
Whatever size you go for, when you come to piecing the quilt, first sew together the blocks in each row. Press seams in each row in alternating directions, and then sew the rows together. Create a quilt sandwich with wadding and backing fabric, then quilt as desired, bind and add a label to complete it.
Colouring-in sheets
Try out different colour schemes with the colouring-in sheets below. To print the sheets, right click on the image and select ‘open image in new tab’. Then you can print the page – make sure your print settings are set to what you want. My preference is to fit the image to the page so I get a full sheet with the picture.
You can also enjoy my other free patterns on my blog:
What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon during lockdown, than making laundry bags for nursing staff? Crafters and sewers all over the country are coming together (metaphorically speaking, of course) to make these much-needed items for NHS staff.
I love making drawstring bags, so when I read on Facebook that one of our local hospitals was after laundry bags for nurses uniforms, I felt compelled to help. (Scrubs are also in demand, but I fear my talents don’t stretch that far…)
Drawstring bags are very easy to make and there are a number of free tutorials available on YouTube; you can even use old pillowcases – all you need to do is sew a channel for the ribbon or cord so you can open and close the bag. Again there are a number of free tutorials on YouTube or elsewhere on the web.
Being a typical quilter, I have LOTS of fabric that I don’t really need. So it was easy to find sufficient fabric to make up a small batch of bags. I’ve been told the ones I’ve made will go to the local mental health unit, and given that my work involves helping people who are struggling with mental health issues, I find this quite touching.
Laundry bags for nursing staff
I’ve also made some small stuffed fabric hearts for an intensive care unit (ICU) in another of our local hospitals. The idea was started by a nurse who works in the ICU; she asked if crafters could make pairs of small hearts so that one of the hearts would stay with the patient, and the other would go to the patient’s family. It’s a lovely idea, and the hospital has been inundated with hearts that have been knitted, crocheted or made out of fabric.
Mini stuffed hearts for ICU patients and their families
I plan to keep making more laundry bags, and might give masks a go too! All I need to do is buy some more cord and ribbon for the bags, as I’m currently out! Of course, I’m still ok for fabric…
Let me know if you’ve also been making some of these much needed items.
I had a feeling that being in lockdown, and spending more time at home, would somehow mean more time for watching telly (and hence more quilt spots) or for learning a new craft or skill, more time for baking, cleaning, and/or gardening. But I was wrong. I don’t have more time; if anything, I have less, as I’m working from home and homeschooling. So I’m not learning a new skill, or baking dozens of cakes, or spending ages in the garden… or watching telly for that matter. So my quilt spots this month are comparable in number to previous months. And this month, it’s just the one. But what a one.
The movie was the gritty drama ‘Mudbound’, based on the novel by Hilary Jordan, set in rural Mississippi from 1939 to the years following World War II. The movie mainly focuses on the lives of two young veterans, one white, one black, Jamie and Ronsel, and the issues they face on their return home, including post traumatic stress and racism. It’s a very powerful and moving story, and also very bleak at times, with some harrowing scenes depicting racial violence.
The other main characters are Jamie’s brother Henry and his young wife Laura, played by Carey Mulligan, who move from the suburbs to the Mississipi Delta to live and work on their new farm.
Laura may have had romantic notions of what life in the country would be like, but these ideas are quickly quashed when she gets there, as the following passage from the book describes:
“… I often felt overwhelmed: by the work and the heat, the mosquitoes and the mud, and most of all, the brutality of rural life. Like most city people, I’d had a ridiculous, goldenlit idea of the country. I’d pictured rain falling softly upon verdant fields, barefoot boys fishing with thistles dangling from their mouths, women quilting in cozy little log cabins while their men smoked corncob pipes on the porch. You have to get closer to the picture to see the wretched shacks scattered throughout those fields, where families clad in ragged flour-sack clothes sleep ten to a room on dirt floors; the hookworm rashes on the boy’s feet and the hideous red pellagra scales on their hands and arms; the bruises on the faces of the women, and the rage and hopelessness in the eyes of the men.” (‘Mudbound’, Hillary Jordan)
I spotted a quilt on the bed in Ronsel’s family’s shack. His dad lies on the bed, incapacitated after a nasty fall, but keeps himself busy making a basket. The quilt on the bed features course dark fabrics, probably scraps from some sort of utility cloth, in reds, blues and cream, with decorative hand stitches sewing the various patches together forming what looks like large radial sunburst patterns.
Block D – April 2020 features 7 narrow strips and a larger rectangle set against a background of contrasting fabric. The strips and rectangle can be cut from the same fabric or you can choose different fabrics and colours for each piece, the choice is yours.
You can use the colour-in sheets at the end of this blog post to try out different ideas. You will need a different fabric background, and preferably one that will make the strips stand out.
All measurements below include a seam allowance of 0.25″.
For the strips (pieces A) from patterned/solid fabric:
A – 7 x (3.5″ x 1″)
For the rectangle (piece D) from patterned/solid fabric:
D – 2″ x 5.5″
For the background (pieces B, C, E), ALL cut from the same fabric, ideally from a contrasting fabric to the strips and rectangle:
B – 6 x (3.5″ x 0.75″) C – 3 x (1″ x 5.5″) E – 2 x (6.5″ x 1″)
The finished block should measure 6.5″ square including seam allowances.
Piecing:
Sew your cut pieces as indicated below, sewing right sides together and pressing seams to one side as you go.
Quilt layouts
Below are some ideas of quilts you can make using this simple block and also combining it with blocks from previous months (January 2020, February 2020 and March 2020). You can play around with your colour/fabric choices to achieve some stunning effects.
The designs featured below are based on either a 5 x 5 or a 6 x 6 grid, which would result in quilts with a finished size (not including binding) of 30″ x 30″ or 36″ x 36″, respectively.
Whatever size you go for, when you come to piecing the quilt, first sew together the blocks in each row. Press seams in each row in alternating directions, and then sew the rows together. Create a quilt sandwich with wadding and backing fabric, then quilt as desired, bind and add a label to complete it.
Colouring-in sheets
Try out different colour schemes with the colouring-in sheets below. To print the sheets, right click on the image and select ‘open image in new tab’. Then you can print the page – make sure your print settings are set to what you want. My preference is to fit the image to the page so I get a full sheet with the picture.
You can also enjoy my other free patterns on my blog:
Well that’s the first week done! It hasn’t been easy. Combining working from home and home schooling is proving to be extremely challenging! And I’m also missing my friends, and all the groups I usually attend. But I’ve managed and we’ve managed. And it’s fine. And every other family is in the same boat!
Usually I equate staying at home with having more time on my hands. But I’m finding that that isn’t necessarily the case. Despite this, I am determined to save some time for myself, to work on my sewing projects. With this in mind, I have started a new quilt.
I’ve already named it ‘Blossom’ as I’m using my own fabrics from my ‘Blossom‘ range and the blocks featured are ones I’m publishing as ‘Block of the Month‘ this year.
Today I managed to squeeze in some time for myself and I’ve completed the first block. Because it’s not a block I’ve already published, I’m only providing a sneak peak photo!
My new ‘Bloom’ quilt – first block complete!
Whilst you’re in lockdown, you may be looking for a new project to get your hands on. Remember that there are some free quilt and craft projects on my blog, as well as the before mentioned ‘Block of the Month‘ to keep you busy.
Across the globe people are having to make adjustments to their daily lives to combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus. This week has seen a dramatic change for me and my family. For me, at work we’ve had to suspend all of our wellbeing activities because of the need to avoid all unnecessary social contact, and we are all now mostly working from home.
With regard to schools, my eldest’s secondary school closed from Wednesday as a number of staff were unable to go into work, all for Covid-19 related reasons, and since then, we decided to also keep our youngest away from her primary school. So both girls have been home schooled since then. And then there was the flood of cancellations of clubs, socials, events, etc. All of a sudden our lives seem very different.
In an attempt to keep positive, and organised, I had in mind a very clear vision of what our new ‘life’ – or routine – would look like. But it’s proving harder than I thought to stick to the plan!
It’s fair to say that I’m going to find it hard combining working from home with home schooling, finding family time – and having ‘my own time’ too (!), making time for exercise, etc, etc. I’m sure it’ll get easier, though the situation itself may get harder. No-one knows or can predict how this pandemic is going to evolve.
As always I’d like to finish on a positive note. Working from home has given me the opportunity to focus on projects that have been on the back burner for a while, simply because there are always other matters more pressing to get on with.
Panels for the Wellbeing Quilt
One of these projects is the Wellbeing Quilt which I started last year. This week I’ve had the chance to really start making progress on this quilt and am really pleased with what I’ve done so far. I won’t say much, or show many photos of work in progress, as I’d like to reveal the final quilt when it’s finished. But it’s been a good day today for me, combining work with my hobby. The temptation is to carry on working (as it’s a quilt!) but I must remember to put it aside now so I can enjoy the weekend with my family.
Whenever I finish working on a quilt, I like to wash it before I actually use it. This is for two reasons. Whilst working on a quilt – ie doing the sewing and quilting – the quilt is either in my sewing room or in the living room, and probably gathers a lot dirt from all the handling and lying around. So it probably needs a good wash before use! And secondly, I love the ‘puffy’ feel you get from a freshly washed quilt.
Lovely ‘puffy’ look and feel of my freshly washed Happiness quilt.
Although I actually finished my ‘Happiness’ quilt a little while ago, I did not completely finish until a few weeks ago… as it still needed a label!
For my quilt labels, I like to add a little phrase that gives a little insight into what the quilt means to me or how I was feeling when I made it.
I found it harder than usual to come up with a phrase I was happy with for this quilt. I had designed it years ago, but the years that followed, which were when I started piecing the quilt, were marked by some difficult events. Initially I felt like I had to make reference to that in the label, as working on the quilt was a little escape for me. However, I didn’t want a ‘sad’ message on a ‘happy’ quilt.
Given that I think, that on the whole, I am quite a positive person – I try to find the good in everyone and everything – in the end I decided to make reference to that positivity; I felt this would honour the meaning behind my quilt, whilst also acknowledging that experiences we may face on a day-to-day basis, or over a period of time, are not always easy.
The phrase I settled on was: “Look for the good in every day… and happiness is sure to come your way.”
A positive message on my Happiness quilt label.
Do you write messages on your labels? I’d love to know, share your thoughts by leaving a comment.
Till next time (I’m off to snuggle under my quilt!)
Block C – March 2020 features 7 strips of increasing widths, arranged in pyramidal form. As with previous Blocks A (January 2020) and B (February 2020) the strips are of a patterned or solid colour fabric set against a background of contrasting fabric.
The strips can be cut from the same fabric or you can choose different fabrics and colours for each strip, the choice is yours. You can use the colour-in sheets at the end of this blog post to try out different ideas. You will need a different fabric to the one/s used for the strips, for the background, and preferably one that will make the strips stand out.
For the strips (pieces A1-A7) from patterned/solid fabric:
A1 – 1″ x 1″ A2 – 1.5″ x 1″ A3 – 2″ x 1″ A4 – 2.5″ x 1″ A5 – 3.5″ x 1″ A6 – 4.5″ x 1″ A7 – 5.5″ x 1″
For the background (pieces B1-B7, C, D), ALL cut from the same fabric, ideally from a contrasting fabric to the strips:
B1 – 2 x (3.25″ x 1″) B2 – 2 x (3″ x 1″ B3 – 2 x (2.75″ x 1″) B4 – 2 x (2.5″ x 1″) B5 – 2 x (2″ x 1″) B6 – 2 x (1.5″ x 1″) B7 – 2 x (1″ x 1″)
C – 6 x (6.5″ x 0.75″) D – 2 x (6.5″ x 1″)
The finished block should measure 6.5″ square including seam allowances.
Piecing:
Sew your cut pieces as indicated below, sewing right sides together and pressing seams to one side as you go.
Make sure the centres of the A shapes in each strip are lined up neatly to get the pyramidal effect of the block.
Quilt layouts
Below are some ideas of quilts you can make using this simple block, and one includes blocks from previous months. You can play around with your colour/fabric choices to achieve some stunning effects.
The designs featured below range from 6 x 6, 8 x 8 and 10 x 10 grids, which would result in quilts with a finished size (not including binding) of 36″ x 36″, 48″ x 48″ and 60″ x 60″ respectively.
Whatever size you go for, when you come to piecing the quilt, first sew together the blocks in each row. Press seams in each row in alternating directions, and then sew the rows together. Create a quilt sandwich with wadding and backing fabric, then quilt as desired, bind and add a label to complete it.
Colouring-in sheets
Try out different colour schemes with the colouring-in sheets below. To print the sheets, right click on the image and select ‘open image in new tab’. Then you can print the page – make sure your print settings are set to what you want. My preference is to fit the image to the page so I get a full sheet with the picture.
You can also enjoy my other free patterns on my blog:
First up a movie I’ve seen before a number of times, ‘The Parent Trap’ – the 1998 version. My kids love this film; it is a feel good movie, though the premise is a little strange. Identical twins, Annie and Hallie, are separated at birth and each is raised by one of their biological parents, the mum lives in England and the dad in the US. The twins ‘discover’ each other at a summer camp and plot together to reunite their parents. Although it’s charming and funny, it’s also a bit odd and I wonder if in real life the characters would be so balanced and happy-happy given the situation they are in?!
Quilt Spot February 2020 – The Parent Trap
I spotted a lovely patchwork quilt on one of the girl’s bed (Annie’s? Or Hallie’s? Not sure) – the quilt is very feminine, featuring soft pink and blue florals teamed with white fabric, in square and quarter-square triangle patches.
Next was ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, PS I Still Love You’ – sequel to ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’, a teen romance drama. (These are not my movie choices I hasten to add..!) Again, my kids love these movies and have watched them a number of times. I watched the sequel before watching the original, but guess what? It’s not hard to follow… In the first movie, the main character Lara writes letters to her crushes but decides not to send them. Her sister discovers the letters and decides to send them for her without her sister knowing… causing all sorts of trials and tribulations. It all ends well in the end, but in the sequel Lara receives a response to one of the letters that got sent in the first movie, leading to more trials and tribulations. It’s entertaining and there are some good lessons in there about being honest and true to yourself.
Lara has two lovely quilts in her room – both seem to be whole-cloth quilts and appear to be closely machine quilted, giving them a nice puffy look.
Quilt Spot February 2020 – To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, PS I Still Love You
And lastly I finished watching the ‘Virgin River’ series I started watching in January. As expected there were plenty of lovely quilt spots, including one of a group of ladies piecing together patches of fabric to make a baby quilt. I love the variety of quilts that are displayed in this series, from simple ’round the world’ patterns to hexagons and crazy patchwork. The series ends on a cliff hanger and we’re promised that season two will be coming. It’s all very slow paced and quite sad sometimes as the main characters are dealing with loss, grief, betrayal – essentially all the usual ingredients of a soap/drama series. But it’s very enjoyable and I’m looking forward to seeing the new series when it’s out, even if it’s only for the quilts!
Quilt Spot February 2020 – Virgin River
Have you spotted any quilts in movies, series or on the telly? Let me know! Share your spots with me.
It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time… design my own range of fabrics, probably since I started designing my own patchwork quilts. Now I have my first full range of fabrics and can’t wait to get started on the new quilt project I have in mind using these fabrics.
I have named my first range of fabrics Blossom – they are bright with flowery details and are perfect for any spring or summer project.
The fabrics can be purchased from my Melony Patch Etsy shop. Prices are £24 (plus p&p) for a four fat quarter bundle on selected fabrics, as pictured above, or £12 (plus p&p) for half a metre.
To celebrate the arrival of my new fabrics, I’m running a Facebook competition to win a four fat-eighth bundle. All you need to do is ‘Like’ my Melony Patch Facebook page, comment on the competition post and share it! A winner will be selected at random on Saturday 21st March.
Block B – February 2020 features 7 strips of increasing widths. As with Block A (January 2020), the strips are of a patterned or solid colour fabric set against a background of contrasting fabric. The strips can be cut from the same fabric or you can choose different fabrics and colours for each strip, the choice is yours. You can use the colour-in sheets at the end of this blog post to try out different ideas. You will need a different fabric to the one/s used for the strips, for the background, and preferably one that will make the strips stand out.
For the strips (pieces A1-A7) from patterned/solid fabric:
A1 – 1.5″ x 1″ A2 – 2″ x 1″ A3 – 2.5″ x 1″ A4 – 4″ x 1″ A5 – 4.5″ x 1″ A6 – 5″ x 1″ A7 – 5.5″ x 1″
For the background (pieces B, C1-C7, D, E), ALL cut from the same fabric, ideally from a contrasting fabric to the strips:
B – 14 x (1″ x 1″)
C1 – 5″ x 1″ C2 – 4.5″ x 1″ C3 – 4″ x 1″ C4 – 2.5″ x 1″ C5 – 2″ x 1″ C6 – 1.5″ x 1″ C7 – 1″ x 1″
D – 6 x (6.5″ x 0.75″) E – 2 x (6.5″ x 1″)
The finished block should measure 6.5″ square including seam allowances.
Piecing:
Sew your cut pieces as indicated below, sewing right sides together and pressing seams to one side as you go.
And if you were doing it in the mirror image:
Quilt layouts
Below are some ideas of quilts you can make using this simple block, using both the original and mirror image versions. For the four designs below I have used white as the background fabric and for the strips I have used either just one or two colours/tones.
You will need to decide how big you want your quilt. The designs below are based on either a 6 x 6 or an 8 x 8 grid, which would result in a 36″ x 36″ or 48″ x 48″ (plus binding) quilt, respectively, suitable for a wall-hanging or a lap quilt.
Whatever size you go for, when you come to piecing the quilt, first sew together the blocks in each row. Press seams in each row in alternating directions, and then sew the rows together. Create a quilt sandwich with wadding and backing fabric, then quilt as desired, bind and add a label to complete it.
Or you can go bolder and choose more striking colour combinations:
Colouring-in sheets
Try out different colour schemes with the colouring-in sheets below. To print the sheets, right click on the image and select ‘open image in new tab’. Then you can print the page – make sure your print settings are set to what you want. My preference is to fit the image to the page so I get a full sheet with the picture.
You can also enjoy my other free patterns on my blog:
Following on from my comment in my December 2019’s quilt spot, that Christmas isn’t really Christmas without a viewing of one of the many adaptations of Charles Dicken’s ‘A Christmas Carol’, I would like to add that no ‘festive period’ – and by this I include New Year and the days leading up to the 12th day of Christmas, i.e. January 6th – is complete without a viewing of ‘Oliver!’ – another adaptation of a Charles Dicken’s classic.
And so it was that on New Year’s Day I saw the 1968 musical version for the umpteenth time. Do I ever tire of it?
Never! (“I never tire of it, leading a merry dance…” as the song “It’s a fine life” goes in ‘Oliver!’) This time, I even found myself on my own watching it (!), everyone else in the family busying themselves elsewhere. But that didn’t bother me.
Of course, I’m mentioning it here, in my ‘Quilt Spot’ blog post, because I spotted a patchwork bedspread on Nancy and Bill’s bed… It probably doesn’t really qualify as a quilt, as it looks like it’s only one sheet made up of irregular patches of fabric probably from whatever type of fabric that was rescued from worn out clothes or bed sheets. It’s torn and tattered, just like the rest of the surroundings in their ramshackle flat, and just like the characters themselves really.
But there it was and it caught my eye – a really good prop that helps to show what a sad and desperate life the characters lead.
I always wish Nancy’s life would have a different outcome. She stands at the foot of the bed and says to Bill, “You do love me, don’t you?” and he just growls back at her, “I LIVE with you, don’t I??” And although he hasn’t really answered her question, she seems happy enough with his answer, bouncing off with a smile on her face.
I want to scream at the telly and tell her to leave him, that he’s no good for her, as those who have seen the movie will know… But with the songs she sings “It’s a fine life” and “As long as he loves me” you can see that she is happy with her lot in life and accepts what she has. Her life is doomed from the start…
Quilt Spot – ‘Oliver!’
There were plenty more spots in January. Most came from the new Netflix series Virgin River, which is based on the novels by Robyn Carr. Set in northern California, in a little mountain town by a river, it’s mainly about a young nurse who moves to the town from Los Angeles to help the ageing local doctor with his work, and about the local people she meets. It’s a nice feel-good series, and makes a change from the crime dramas, or dramas in general, which seem to dominate the screens at the moment.
The scenery is stunning as you would expect. And befitting the location, all the houses seem to have plenty of quilts!! What a joy!
Quilt Spot – quilts galore (!!) in ‘Virgin River’
I finish with a different type of ‘spot’. My family are well aware of my penchant for spotting quilts in movies, and readily shout ‘Quilt! Quilt!’ whenever they spot one! I have my own rules for my ‘quilt spots’ though, and one is that I need to watch the movie or episode in its entirety. But I’m making an exception here as the spot, or spots, came from my youngest, who paused what she was watching to show me the quilts she had spotted. So because of her, I’m including the series ‘Anne with an E’, which is based on the book ‘Anne of Green Gables’ by Lucy Maud Montgomery.
Quilt Spot – ‘Anne with an E’
Have you spotted an quilts in movies or on the telly? I’d love to know. Drop me a line and share your ‘spots’ with me!
Welcome to my new Block of the Month for 2020! Every month this year I will feature a new block with guidelines illustrating how to piece it together, as well as ideas on how to create a variety of different layouts for patchwork quilts using the block. I will also provide ‘colour in’ sheets for the various layouts so that you can do your own colouring-in and try out different colour schemes at home.
I think we all know that stunning quilts can be made from very simple blocks (‘Around the World’ springs to mind, which is essentially based on a square patch), and that’s one of things I love about patchwork quilting. By carefully selecting the colours and fabrics you use, and by playing around with the layout and/or orientation of the blocks, you can take what might be quite a simple block and turn it into something that looks far more complex.
My plan this year is to focus on relatively simple blocks, based on squares and rectangles, suitable for beginners. As the year progresses, the ideas for the quilt layouts I will provide will incorporate blocks from previous months with the idea that patterns will become a little more varied, complex and interesting.
All the blocks will be 6″ square finished size (so 6.5″ square including seams).
I hope you enjoy the blocks! And if you make any, please feel free to show me a piccie or two!
Mel x
January 2020 – Block A
Block A features 7 strips of a patterned or solid colour fabric set against a background of contrasting fabric. The strips can be cut from the same fabric or you can choose different fabrics and colours for each strip, the choice is yours. You can use the colour-in sheets at the end of this blog post to try out different ideas. You will need a different fabric to the one/s used for the strips, for the background, and preferably one that will make the strips stand out.
January 2020 – Block A
Materials:
All measurements below include a seam allowance of 0.25″.
For the strips (pieces A) from patterned/solid fabric:
A – 7 x (5.5″ x 1″)
For the background (pieces B, C, D), ALL cut from the same fabric, ideally from a contrasting fabric to the strips:
B – 14 x (1″ x 1″) C – 6 x (6.5″ x 0.75″) D – 2 x (6.5″ x 1″)
The finished block should measure 6.5″ square.
Piecing:
Sew your cut pieces as indicated below, sewing right sides together and pressing seams to one side as you go.
Quilt layouts
Below are some ideas of quilts you can make using this simple block. For the images below, I used the same colour throughout, in different tones to create an ombré effect (very popular at the moment). Of course you can use a variety of colours/patterns to create a completely different effect.
You will need to decide how big you want your quilt. The designs below are based on a 5 x 5 grid, which would result in a 30″ x 30″ (plus binding) quilt – suitable for a wall-hanging or a lap quilt.
Whatever size you go for, when you come to piecing the quilt, first sew together the blocks in each row. Press seams in each row in alternating directions, and then sew the rows together. Create a quilt sandwich with wadding and backing fabric, then quilt as desired, bind and add a label to complete it.
Colouring-in sheets
Try out different colour schemes with the colouring-in sheets below. To print the sheets, right click on the image and select ‘open image in new tab’. Then you can print the page – make sure your print settings are set to what you want. My preference is to fit the image to the page so I get a full sheet with the picture.
You can also enjoy my other free patterns on my blog:
***Scroll down for list***Updated 8th March 2023***
As you probably know, I enjoy spotting quilts in movies and in TV series, and I write a monthly blog post about my ‘quilt spots’. I’ve been doing this for a couple of years now, and because I’ve compiled quite a list, I thought I would keep the list here, on this page, and add to it month by month with all my new spots.
As I’ve mentioned before, I only write about spots in movies or in TV series that I’ve actually watched in any given month, and not simply a list of movies or programmes where I know there will be quilts. In each quilt spot I write a little about the movie itself or the circumstances leading up to the viewing, and sometimes I add my own thoughts on the movie or programme. And is possible, I take a sneaky picture or screen grab so I can show you the quilts!
I know there are plenty of lists out there with names of movies where quilts appear, and this list can be used alongside those ones.
If you would like to read the narrative or background to why I watched these films or programmes, what was spotted, and some form of critique, then please click on the monthly links to read more.
I hope you enjoy reading my ‘quilt spots’ and if you spot any quilts in movies or in TV series, please let me know!
Christmas isn’t really Christmas without a viewing of one of the many adaptations of Charles Dicken’s ‘A Christmas Carol’. Agreed? Well, at least that’s the case for me! For years my favourite and my family’s favourite version was, of course, ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’. Who doesn’t love that movie?!
But now there is a more ‘grown up’ version on offer which was shown this Christmas. This adaptation has been written for the screen by Steven Knight who wrote ‘Taboo’ and ‘Peaky Blinders’, and similar to those series, this version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ proved to be just as dark and gritty, and not for young children.
However, my youngest loves the story, and after seeing the trailers, she was desperate to watch it… so we let her. The bad language is what really makes it not suitable for younger viewers, and some might also find it a bit scary. To make up for the bad language, we agreed that every time there was a swear word, we would sing ‘Marley and Marley, woo, woo’ to the tune of the Marley song in ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’… as you can probably imagine, this proved to be quite amusing!
Despite the swearing, I enjoyed the new take on this old ghost story, especially when it delved into Ebenezer’s past which sheds a little light on why he is the way he is, and I also enjoyed the greater role Cratchit’s wife plays throughout.
Of course, despite what he’s been through, Ebenezer is a hard person to like. Though there is one thing he says that rings true: why is it that people seem to be nice to each other only on Christmas day? I found myself agreeing with him on this one. Surely we should strive to be nice to people throughout the year.
The other thing that struck me, and in fact I get the same feeling when watching any of the other adaptations, is that when Ebenezer is taken by the three spirits to visit his past, present and future, he seems to realise straight away what he has done wrong, almost as if he needed to be a third person looking in to realise what he’s done and what impact his actions and behaviour have had on others.
If only people could really change, or make amends, that quickly. There’s no need for spiritual visitations of course – in the real world a little self-reflection – perhaps at the end of the day – would probably do the job.
Of course, there was a quilt spot in this three-part mini-series, otherwise I wouldn’t be writing about it! The quilt was in Cratchit’s house, draped over the top of the double bed, making a sort of headboard. The patchwork quilt was, like the rest of the house, tired and worn out, and in close-ups you could even see that some of the patches were torn and frayed. Over the bed was another quilt, but this appeared to be a whole cloth and closely quilted.
Worn out patchwork quilt over headboard, and quilted cover on the bed
Did you watch this adaptation of ‘A Christmas Carol’? What are your thoughts? And did you spot any quilts in movies or on the telly over the festive period? I’d love to know – share your ‘spots’ with me and leave a comment below!
Here’s looking forward to plenty more spots in 2020.
2019 has been a good year for me, but I won’t be sad to say goodbye to it… I love the sound of 2020, it sounds pretty cool already and I’m looking forward to a number of things I have in the pipeline…
Although I have not completed as many quilting projects as other years, it’s been a busy, creative year, with finishing off some projects I started last year, and also, more recently, tinkering with fabric design and getting some of my own designs printed!! Receiving the parcel with my fabrics HAS TO BE one of the main highlights of the year for me!
As I’ve done previously, I’ve summarised the blogs I’ve published this year according to quilt or activity.
I hope you’ve enjoyed following my blogs this year and hope you continue to do so into 2020!
Machine quilting ‘Happiness Quilt’ (top left) and ‘Happiness Quilt’ displayed on daybed in newly redecorated sewing room (top right). Summer fun leaves little time for sewing! (bottom left and right).
As you probably know by now, I’ve always enjoyed spotting quilts in movies and on TV, so it was only natural that once I started my blog, I would write about my ‘quilt spots’ on the big and little screen.
There are plenty of lists out there with names of movies where quilts are seen or featured. My quilt spot is not like that. It’s a review of movies or TV series I’ve watched, either by myself or with my family, where a quilt has appeared.
I don’t go out of my way to watch movies where I know a quilt will be featured… I know, for example, that ‘Stepmom’ has some wonderful quilts in it as does ‘How to Make an American Quilt’. Of course, if I do end up watching these movies again, I will mention them in my blog.
As this post is a summary of all the movies and TV series I have watched in the year, where I’ve spotted a quilt or two, it has ended up as a bit of a list – but if you would like some narrative or background to why we watched these films or programmes, what was spotted, and some form of critique, then please click on the links to read more.
I hope you’ve enjoyed following my ‘spots’ this year and invite you to join me in spotting more in 2020. Remember to share these with me by leaving a comment on my blog.
Here’s hoping 2020 will be full of quilt spots!!
Mel x
Quilt Spots in 2019
January The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society A Wrinkle in Time
This is the pattern to make my ‘Happiness Quilt’, which was my ‘quilt along’ for 2019. Here you can easily find all the instalments to make this quilt.
As I’ve mentioned before, I designed this quilt with the specific intention of using up some of my all-time favourite fabrics. Some of the fabrics I’d used before in other quilts and only had the smallest of pieces left (which I had carefully squirrelled away in my scrap box!). Others I had purchased a while ago but had never used, waiting for the ‘perfect project’.
The fabrics are bright and cheery, and whenever I look at the quilt, it makes my happy. It reminds me of hope, dreams and possitivity, hence the name!
I would suggest reading through all the instructions first to familiarise yourself with the layout and fabric requirements, especially if you would like to adapt the pattern to better suit your fabrics and colour choices. The finished quilt should measure approximately 56” x 76” and is perfect for use on a single bed quilt or as a topper for a small double.
Happiness Quilt – quilt layout
If you decide to make this quilt, please feel free to let me know and show me photos of your progress and of the final result!
Melony Patch 