Gartmore at Home the Final

The last demonstration of the day was Helen showing us how to make Japanese folded bags. I don't know if you remember me posting some photo's of bags that Helen made a few weeks back. They are a fantastic way of making little bags to use for presents. That's if you can give them away.

I apologise that the photo's aren't too clear. Helen brought in some pre-cut triangles of fabric. You need two pieces and they must be equilateral triangles. You stitch the pieces together and then stitch down each of the corners. You then sew up the sides, add some ribbon and you have a little bag. It really is very effective and Helen was fantastic at showing us all how to do it.

You can see here that a few of the group had a turn. The sewing of the sides had to be done at home as we ran out of time but by then it was all pinned up and easy to finish.

These are bags that myself and Margaret made after Saturdays class. I think we will be seeing more of these over the next few weeks.

I think Saturday was a big hit and we are already planning on another for October. This time with a Christmas theme.

I just want to say a HUGE thank you to Carol, Isobel and Helen who all gave up their time to give these demonstrations. The amount of prep they put into it before hand alone would have been time consuming. We all appreciated it.

Also a thank you to the Glasgow Fort management who let us use the room on a Saturday.

Gartmore at Home Part 3

Isobel was the one who suggested the idea of Gartmore at Home in the first place because there were so many of us interested in her sewing when we went to Gartmore. She kindly offered to teach us how to sew draw string bags and these lessons went on all day

Isobel had brought along fabric that was already cut and the edging stitched. All ready to be stitched into the bags. It was a big hit and I think just about everyone made one.

These bags come in handy for shoes when going on holiday. I know a few people were horrified at the suggestion. Far too pretty for shoes!

Gartmore at Home Part 2

One of the demonstrations we had on Saturday was on Japanese Folded quilting. Carol is an expert on quilting in general and has taught classes and been interviewed in magazines. We all appreciated her giving us this demonstration and it was fantastic. First of all she showed us an example of one little square.

The squares are made using a circle folded round the square. Carol had a board with her to show us the different ways the square could be made up. This gives more opportunities for different patterns.

We then got to see some samples that Carol has put together in the past. It shows that there are lots of ways that these squares can be put together.

Even the backs come together to form a pattern which makes the quilt or hanging reversible.

Carol has used them to make bags too. Ideal for carrying your knitting around in. She did say that if you do make a bag make sure it's not for anything heavy.

The good thing about this form of quilting is that it's easier to carry. You are working on one small piece at a time. The only down side is that it uses a lot of fabric so Carol recommends you think about how you cut out you shapes using templates so as to get the most out of your fabric. She also said to hold onto your scraps as they may come in handy.

As I said it was very interesting and I think there are a number of us who are going to try this in the future. It seems more manageable and the end result is very effective.

Gartmore at Home Part1

Saturday we had our Gartmore at home day and I think it's safe to say that it was a success. Much like Gartmore I am going to have to do this in parts. There was so much going on and I have over 30 photo's it would be a shame to bunch it all together. So I thought I would start with some finishes that people brought along.

Valerie came along for the day. It was lovely to see her as she has been recovering from a knee op. As always it hasn't stopped her from working away and she brought along this amazing wall hanging. She has stitched into the main panel which is a beautiful Japanese design. What stand out for me I think is that she has cut into the fabric used at the top and bottom. So effective.

Carol was also back and it was just as lovely to see her too. Especially lovely as she did one of our demos. The item photographed above belongs to Val but Carol stitched it. It's a Victorian thimble holder. Made with fabric, felt and card. We were all impressed.

Alison also had a finish. She knitted this lovely scarf. The yarn looks like a mini version of the pom pom yarn that was so popular last year. It's so soft. Plus Alison wanted to prove that she does knit.

Isobel was also teaching and she kindly made everyone taking part these lovely little pin cushions. They were a big hit. Each one even had some pins and safety pins which were needed for the class.

There is another reason why I wanted to post this in parts. I forgot to mention in the last one that we had another new member on Tuesday. Her name is Anthea and she is originally from South Africa. She is a scrapbooker and even teaches it but on Tuesday she was making little crochet hexagons for a blanket for her daughter. You can find her blog here.

Congratulations Sheena

I know it was a couple of weeks ago but our Sheena got married. Her sister Aileen sent me some photo's so I though I would post a couple of them. She looks lovely (as does Aileen).

Roberta was busy the last few weeks. She's been doing a lot of crochet. She made both blankets which are lovely. I especially like the lemon and white. She also made the scarf using a pattern from Isobel. This is going to the shoe box charity.

Although Dawn wasn't there she did make this card a few weeks ago. The one week I forget my camera too. This is for Julia who used to come along to our knitting group.

Rhona has also been busy. She knitted these lovely shrugs. All done in cotton.

Last but not least Elaine also had a finish. She finished her first pair of socks. I have been teaching her on and off since Gartmore. To be fair she did most of it herself thanks to an earlier lesson from Ginnie. I was really just there to help out when she needed it. The heel and the toes she did all on her own.

Today we had a Gartmore at home day for everyone. It was to allow those who couldn't make it along to Gartmore to have a bit of fun. I will post more on it during the week but we have basically spend the day having lessons and chatting thanks to the lovely people at the Glasgow Fort who gave us use of the room.