The Circle Game - Gary's Journey - Part 3

This month we have only one block to do but there were some tricky parts to it with ensuring templates are in the right place. So, in this month’s ramblings I’m going to cover echoes, success in making mistakes, serendipity and then some of the tools I’ve discovered that have helped me in hand piecing.

One of the benefits for this template plan is we have lots of pictures of the circle game on the web and Instagram as well, when I started the ‘Delilah’ TOM there were very few pictures out there of the completed quilt so it was a challenge to think how everything might look once all the blocks were completed. 

In choosing fabrics from Jen’s wovens and a few splashes of shot cottons I was wanting to tie some elements of the quilt together. When you look at the pattern there are blocks that are possible companions. The block for this month has similarities to the nine-patch from last month and so I was wanting to echo the colours / fabrics from that block into this one.

The Circle Game - Gary's Journey - Part 2

Month two and we have two blocks. One with curves (well this is the circle game!) and the other with Y-seams. Bring it on!

Staying with the new woven’s from Jen I played with the fabrics for these blocks on my design wall. The difference in playing on a white design board or the intended background really impacted the contrast and saturation.

Try it and see. 

I have some of Kaffe Fassett’s grey design board flannel fabric but I tend to take that to workshops. Maybe it's time to get it on the wall too.

I don’t know about you but I wonder if I overthink this stage but the old adage ‘measure twice, cut once’ is in my head, may be the quilting equivalent is ‘audition twice, cut once’ (feel free to substitute twice for any number), here is the final choice for this month’s blocks: 

The woven’s are a great mix of self-patterns, check, stripes, ‘hounds tooth’ and plains that have a different warp and weft to give depth, there are some with the same pattern in different neutrals.

For the 8-Pointed Star I chose two with the same stripe, and set a challenge of matching the stripes and for the second block this month I went with a ‘square’ theme.

The Circle Game - Gary's Journey - Part 1

Happy New Year, everybody!

The first post for 2018 and I have to admit, I am really pleased to be sharing this one with you!

I mentioned in a previous post that we aim to utilise this blog more often to share news about Amitie, but also about our community (the broader craft community and also our local community in Torquay). I also made note that we would be including content from guest contributors... and here we are!

I'll admit - a male quilter is rare in our patchwork but that isn't why Gary stood out to us. It was his work and passion for quilting that really caught our eye.

Hi Gary!

He participated in the Delilah (Template Only) program and by the powers of Instagram, Jen and I followed his process and often found ourselves discussing his work with Fussy Cutting.

Let's just say... his fussy cutting is UNREAL!

I mean, just look at it!

When Gary contacted me about doing The Pretty Circle Game (Our latest Template of the Month Program) it was clear he might not want the soft and pretty fabrics we were shipping every month. As beautiful as those fabrics are, they aren't his normal colour palette!

That's when the idea struck to have Gary as a guest contributor to this blog!

I was thrilled when he said yes and I am so thankful to Gary for being open to this as I know his aesthetic will be greatly appreciated by you, our loyal customers!

So, without further ado... here is Part 1 of Gary's Circle Game Journey!

Happy Reading!

How did you get interested in quilting?

I started quilting about 5 years ago, before that I had always knitted and sewn. I mainly knitted jumpers, beanies scarves and waistcoats. In the UK we lived in Sheffield, where a good jumper and beanies were essential. I had always knitted with lots of colours and as well as designing some of my own patterns. I knitted lots of Kaffe patterns, amazed as always at the use of colour.