Inspiration at the Tweed Gallery

Visited theTweed Gallery which houses much of  Margaret Olley's home, exactly as it was when she passed her mortal coil. An exercise in creative thinking and developing a response to that environment followed, with 5 hours or so of observation and  discussion. Lots of refreshments at the Gallery Cafe too. I was fascinated by the curtain fabric, the patterns on rugs, cushions and chairs.  At some point the experience became sensory overload - thankfully images provide the opportunity to revisit the space. A wonderful day with my tribe.

Block head

Found myself drawn to The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt series as part of discussions with Rebecca Staunton Coffey about our hand dyed and printed fabrics. Each year I commit to one traditional, pieced quilt. This year, TFWQS 1920 and 1930 versions offered 210 blocks between them. I wanted to use our fabric range in a new way.  I've chosen the first few blocks based on either 4-patch or 9-patch appeal and until I'm warmed up, blocks that can be cut using a rotary cutter and easily pieced on the machine.  Drawing up the template is easy and the endless possibilities for dark /light combinations and pattern orientation are worthy of consideration prior to cutting.

Drafting on paper helps record the various shapes and sizes and work out the best method for construction.  It is also worth considering the fabric design as it presents itself on individual squares and triangles. The small square below needed to be cut into a half square triangle. Before cutting, I looked at  how I could make the most of the existing pattern / marks on the two resultant pieces. Sometimes it makes a difference and others not. In this case, using the opposite diagonals would have resulted in a lot of pattern on one half triangle, with almost nothing to show on the other. Really enjoying this year's challenge.