Following my previous two posts regarding the amazing quilt we are all very proud of, here are the technical bits that will blow you away.
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| The ArtWork on Martine's gorgeous double bed. The photo doesn't bring it justice. Will publish others soon |
Monica, who doesn't think she's an expert, very kindly put the following down for your entertainment. I prepared the post and added the pictures.
It is absolutely amazing.
What you'll read makes our patchwork invaluable.
So, do contact Clare and Martine, either on Facebook or leave a comment here with your details if you'd like to buy some raffle tickets.
Click here for the Nepal-ease Official Facebook Page. Details to come.
Martine will hold an exhibition at her place sometime in November. If you are from Exeter (close by), do not miss this unique opportunity.
By the way, Monica's made I don't know how many huge gorgeous quilts by herself. So, for me and many others, she's an expert.
It is important to bear in mind that nowadays any sort of craftsmanship, especially if related to textiles which is very much considered a female craft, has been relegated to be viewed either as an elderly person's hobby or something that only very specialised individuals have devoted their lives to. In a society taken over by technology and machine-made products, these types of crafts are becoming rarer and rarer.
- A piece of fabric is cut in a set shape that is 1/4″ larger than the paper shape template.
- The fabric is then being basted to the cardstock shape, and the resulting fabric shapes are sewn together to create a design.
- Once the design is completed, the paper is removed and the fabric retains its shape.
This process is completely done by hand without any type of machinery involved, hence the substantial number of hours involved in completing any sizeable ones.
English paper piecing is a quilting technique that traces its first noted origins to the 1770s and became widely popular in England during the early 1800s. The earliest known hexagon quilt in the States dates back to 1807, though it is possible that the first hexagon quilt was made even earlier (and just not dated).
A large quilt can take up to a million stitches if done by hand (without thimble) and have up to 5000 individual pieces of cut fabric, in the case of our quilt the number of stitches is in the region of a 100.000s and more than 400 cut pieces of fabric joined on 3 layers.
English paper piecing is a quilting technique that traces its first noted origins to the 1770s and became widely popular in England during the early 1800s. The earliest known hexagon quilt in the States dates back to 1807, though it is possible that the first hexagon quilt was made even earlier (and just not dated).
Our quilt is made of 522 pieces counting the backing and there are also over 200.000 stitches.
The pictures below don't give justice to it.
We will remediate very soon and you will want at least 10 raffle tickets. This is a PIECE OF ART.
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This is how it started. Pieces of fabric sewed on paper |
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| Pieces of fabric sewed on paper. Marijke & Monica |
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| If this doesn't look professional to you... |
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| Who said anything about professionalism? |
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| We also needed an iron. Simone, Sylke, Ewa, (is that me pretending to work?) & Monica |
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| This is definitely me. Lost some weight since then... I wish! |
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The one who really lost weight is Martine!!! She's a gazelle now. Still, with big... you know. They are still there. Gorgeous! 
A colossal Thank You to Clare for her dedication and unconditional love towards people she doesn't even know.
A massive Thank You to Martine who didn't stop believing we could make it. If the quilt is done now, it's all because of her, Martine, my friend. May the Universe be always on Your side. |
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