Oakshot Blog
Mary Claire of Remember Wren was inspired by a rolled hem! Who would believe such a mundane sounding object could open up such a rainbow of creativity, as will be revealed if you visit her blog to brush up on your skills. Thanks Mary Claire for taking part in the Sew Mama Sew challenge (and being so enthused by the Oakshott Lakes fabric, of course) that table linen is almost making us think of Christmas.
Thanks Jessica of Quilty Habit for your poetic words about Lakes, “shimmery wonderfulness” for a start!
Also thanks for posting such great instructions for a gorgeous table runner she designed as part of Sew Mama Sew‘s Oakshott Challenge (highlights being released 22-25 October).
Shot cottons change colors in the light – you have to see it to really believe it. I love these Oakshott fabrics because they are a bit thicker and easier to work with than quilting cotton (in my opinion). Plus, they have more dimensionality than regular solid quilting cotton. So, so pretty. Plus, these colors were my favorites – purples to pinks to a wide range of blues. Mmm.
If you want to see more pictures, learn about traditional blocks, half-square/half-rectangle triangles (HST/HRT), marking radiating stars, improvisational curves, threads, double-siding … then do go to the tutorial on her blog.
You can see (pics on blog) how the Oakshott colors change depending on the light and where you stand in the room. Seriously amazing! Oh, and I love how the quilting from the front made hexagons on the back. 🙂
Krista of Poppyprint in Canada has designed a fabulous modern quilt (featuring as pattern of the month in MQG‘s September newsletter). Her fascinating journey to the design, Chess on the Steps, is on her blog.
“This quilt was made entirely of the new Colourshott shot cottons …”
“… The quilting was all done with free-form (unmarked) lines with my Pfaff IDT (built in walking foot). Â I just followed seams in the piecing and went for it. Â There are 7 coordinating colours of Aurifil 30 wt thread on the quilt. Â Sewing with these shot cottons is so enjoyable as the colours are beautifully saturated – at times I feel like I’m working with sari silk!”
Just in case you’re tempted here are the swatches for the colours used
Jacqui  popped in to see us with her variation of the Oakshott City Lights quilt, so we took a quick photo. The kit is normally sold with Lipari/Colourshott fabrics. Jacqui has used the Ruby Reds.
Jackie of L’AiguillĂ©e Boutique has sent in a picture of an exclusive patchwork design by Martine Apaolaza made with Oakshott earth colours. Just love the quirky little button – a boutique trademark:
 She is selling the kit for 25 euros containing fabric and instructions.
Thanks to Juliet of The Tartanwiki for running her Butterfly Challenge
Have a look at the winners on Flickr and their blogs:
On a Gossamer Wing by Lisa in the USA as the winner of the Oakshott Cotton Fat Eighth Lipari bundle.
Mara of Secretly Stitching in Greece won the the Oakshott Cotton Fat Eighths Lakes bundle.
Jamie k.b. won the tartankiwi patterns and a little something from Juliet.
If you are a member of the Quilter’s Guild you’ll be aware of the Mystery Row quilt they’ve been gradually revealing over 2014 in their magazine The Quilter (last row is being revealed in the winter issue). Although it is a member’s ‘thing’ here’s a slideshow preview of  some rows so far.  Have you had a peek? Now that is what we call creativity – what a glorious kaleidoscope!
Great excitement at Oakshott when our fabrics were chosen by the Quilt Museum in York for the kit to go with their 1718 Silk Patchwork Coverlet exhibition (5 September–13 December 2014).
The 1718 Coverlet’s 60 exquisitely sewn blocks use a mosaic patchwork technique and illustrate the maker’s surroundings. This is just one small section from the coverlet:
This is a rare chance to see a textile treasure which is normally kept in storage to prevent its deterioration. But if you can’t get to York by 13 December then you can still see the coverlet in detail in Susan Briscoe’s fascinating book The 1718 Coverlet. This book contains a fascinating history of the original and the story of how The Quilter’s Guild made a replica (also on show). If you want to make your own coverlet then the book also contains both original and modern instructions (and Susan is  running a workshop on 11 October 2014).
The Quilters’ Guild  selected 16 colourways from Oakshott’s New Colourshott collection.  Describing their choice, Susan says:
“Oakshott cottons are perfect for a project like this because their quality and colour intensity produce a wonderful iridescence: they look like silk, yet they’re actually 100% mercerised shot cotton.”
The fabric selection is available from the Quilt Museum’s online shop www.quiltmuseumshop.org.uk as pre-cut Fat Eighths or Fat Quarters.
Jo of MyBearPaw described the Orchid bundle as
“heavenly”
and was immediately inspired to develop her take on a (Japanese) folded patchwork technique. Follow her thought processes on her tutorial and you too could be cuddling one of these:
We got a sneak preview of SusanClaire’s design for the New Forest bundle before the FoQ
While she provides a full tutorial on her Gourmet Quilter blog there is plenty of scope for your own creativity in the layout:
Do send us photos of your finished Lock Gate, we’d love to admire and compare.