Workshop: Paper Pieced Vessels

Last week I spent Guy Fawkes Night in Peebles, giving a talk to Tweedale Quilters.  Peebles is obviously very well behaved as I only heard a couple of fireworks.  The following day, 10 of the ladies from Tweedale Quilters joined me for my paper-pieced vessels workshop. 

 

I love paper piecing, even if often brings back horrific memories to women of a certain age of their first efforts of patchwork in the 1970s using hexagons and Laura Ashley fabrics.  It was one of the first patchwork techniques I was introduced to and I love sharing my enthusiasm for using it in unusual ways in creating 3-D vessels.  It was a lovely calm day – no sewing machines, all by hand and I hope the ladies enjoyed it as much as I did.

It was also quite useful as paper piecing was one of the topics we covered at the weekend at the C&G class, so I had my samples all ready for the students to look at.  Ironically, Marjory, who was teaching with me, brought along her traditional paper piecing to show – Laura Ashley hexagons which had been in an attic for years, waiting to be finished!

I also did a class thing at the weekend.  I had taken the demonstration sample in progress for Somerset folded patchwork to the hospital on Thursday, when I took my son back to have his broken arm examined.  I quickly grabbed it out of my handbag on Saturday morning, open it out to discover I had brought along his temporary calico sling instead!  Not very useful for teaching, but I did end up using the fabric as the basis of the new sample as I demonstrated the technique from scratch!  I’ll show you the finished Somerset piece when I have edged it.