Sunflower Doodles

Another new month, more Doodles over on our EQ Doodles page. We chose a traditional block Sunflower (sometimes known as Triple Sunflower) and remembered that Barbara owns a vintage quilt that features a very close variation of the same block.

The colouring was originally red, green and natural but over the years the green has faded away to a soft beige. Barbara made one block for a teaching sample several years ago –

There’s a colouring sheet to download over on the Doodles page, and a full pattern for the vintage Sunflowers quilt can be found at

https://payhip.com/b/eArR

Tile Tuesday

Tile inspiration from Cairo!

Missing student!

We’re busy putting the finishing touches to our PopUp Zoom class Virtually Versatile on Saturday 22nd May and now that bookings have closed we find that we have mislaid a student! We have not received a form with contact information for P Hancock. If you can shed any light on this mystery please leave a comment below.

Tile Tuesday

From garden tiles (somehow posted twice!) back to Mr Minton’s wonderful tiles – Chris was inspired to draft this bold strippy-style quilt from a local domestic floor.

The strong russet colour of the original tiles is not always easy to match exactly in fabric but there are plenty of “near-enough” options out there – this is what EQ came up with asked to turn the colours into fabrics

But you don’t have to stick with the original tile colours – go pastel or go bold . . . and while you’re at it you could change the design around a little!

You can find the pattern to buy in our Payhip shop.

The original floor photo also inspired the Lichfield quilt which can you read about on our Meadowside blog.

PopUp online class!

We are delighted to announce that our late Spring PopUp class is scheduled for Saturday 22nd May 10am – 4pm via Zoom from our studios to your home. The title is “Virtually Versatile” and we will be focussing on piecing techniques and block design possibilities. No fancy pictures to show because we will be looking at process rather than a finite, specific project. And no long requirements list/quantities of fabric either – your home sewing set up and a few fat quarters of fabric is all you’ll need. If you’d be interested in joining us please leave a comment below and we will send you full details, the cost, and a booking form to return.

As it’s the beginning of the merry month of May we have updated our EQ Doodles page – this month we are featuring the traditional block “Grandmothers Puzzle”. You’ll find variations and suggestions for this block and a colouring sheet link waiting for you.

Tile Tuesday

In the good old days when we did outrageous things like walking dogs, stopping for coffee, visiting garden centres etc we sometimes saw outdoor tile arrangements that offered some inspiration. Even this incomplete (and very large) arrangement –

And here’s Barbara’s interpretation of the complete circle but as a more manageable 12inch block –

This is currently on the “awaiting more quilting” pile at the Rural Office before being finished into yet another cushion.

Doodling in April

Spring has sprung – and our Doodles for April are over on their own page as usual. This month we’ve chosen Fools Square. Intentions were really good to have maybe even made the block in actual fabric, but intentions are not always reliable! So, no fabric block to show you here but, instead, some virtual colour and fabric variations from EQ8.

And in the hope that the inner workings of WordPress are indeed working, you can download a colouring sheet for a Fools Square quilt here.

And if you fancy making your own 10 inch block, or even the quilt you have just designed from the colouring sheet then you can find links to rotary cutting charts, templates (if you prefer) and general piecing guidelines on our sister site Meadowside Designs.

EQ Doodles – March

Click over to our Doodles page for some ideas using the seasonally appropriate Tulip from North Carolina block – we’re trying hard to showcase more applique this year and this block is a real winner. Barbara included the block in a Hand Stitched Sampler taught at The Corner Patch a couple of years ago – here it is before and after quilting.

Patchwork & Quilting magazine

Lovely surprise this week – we have an article in the March issue of Patchwork & Quilting magazine!

So, we’ve given all staff at C&B Towers the rest of the day off and we’re going to sit quietly with coffee and cake and enjoy reading.

Pick of 2020

Our long-running Scrappy series of posts has reached the finish line so for this final Sunday of 2020 we’re showcasing our pick of this year’s Electric Quilt Doodles.  Fresh Doodles will be arriving each month in 2021 – stay tuned!