So I turned up for my class which started at 10am. I was one of 2 people in the class and for our fee we got to choose any 4 fat quarters from the shop that is Emporia Fabric and Crafts. My sister asked me to make her some new covers for cushions she use to have on her bed. Her room is purple and raspberry colours and so I wanted to choose fabrics in those colours.
This was my initial fabric choice. As you can see there were purple tones, raspberry tones and cranberry tones, with an added shade of teal.. As part of the course Mandy explained how to choose fabrics, how to put the colours together and then we moved onto cutting out squares for the morning session. This focused on making a 9 patch square. I chose to use the top two pieces for this. We learnt to cut 3.5 inch squares using a rotary cutter and large ruler. We learnt to use a quarter inch foot on the sewing machine to make sure we have quarter inch seams. This is really important to ensure all squares match perfectly. We learnt how to sew together and how to but the seams together to make sure it was a perfect match.
I learnt that my natural wonk caused by my astigmatism effects my ability to sew a consistent quarter inch seam, even with a foot with a guide on it. But my squares worked very well together. If like me you have a natural wonk that causes unevenness (you can see this on my cards that I make) I encourage you to persevere, but I did and by the end of the day I was sewing more consistent seams.
By lunch time I had stitch together to 9 squares and felt very proud of myself. Below is a picture that shows the results of my morning and afternoon sewing. You can see the 2 9 square patches I made plus the friend star patch I made in the afternoon.
we had a 30 minute break for lunch. I went to the newly refurbished Muffin Break in County Square in Ashford. I had a cheese and ham pannini, banana cake and a pot of tea. It was lovely. This was my lunch, Muffin Break is fast becoming one of my favourite places to eat lunch in town.
The afternoon was learning how to make half square triangles. For this we had to cut squares 3 7/8 of an inch. which make two half square triangle square which become 3 and a half inch squares. I changed my cranberry coloured fabric and changed it for a teal floral fabric. My friendly star design was made from raspberry fabric and the changed fabric. After lots of careful cutting and pinning I sewed the design together with good matching seams. Only to find I had stitched one of the triangle squares the wrong way round. I then had to unpick and restitch but the final result looked really good. All together I completed 4 square patches which I can use for either a quilt or cushion cover, I haven't decided.
I had a really good day and met some lovely people and learnt some new skills. I would recommed these classes for anyone to tray. You can find out more about Emporia Fabric and Crafts by clicking here. To find out more about Mandy Munroe who taught the class then click here. There is another patchwork class coming up on Monday 24th November and you will complete a quilt top in day. I would recommend this for anyone to have a go at, it was a great way of meeting new people and learning new skills.
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