Thread – Oakshot Blog

November 3, 2016

Poppyprint at large

Krista Hennebury of Poppyprint has been enjoying some island time, Vancouver way, spreading the word of her improv technique and:

I also finished up this special table runner for days that my stitch group, the Gathered Threads, come over! I used the same pattern as my Variegated Threads quilt (available in my Craftsy shop here) except that I sewed 7 spools side by side. I love it on my rustic pine dining table; the Oakshott fabrics are so vibrant. I’ll be teaching this as a workshop this coming weekend for the Blue Mountain Quilter’s Guild and I can’t wait to see how the students like working with their custom Oakshott kits!

July 7, 2016

If you subscribe to Simply Moderne and read magazine issue 5 you might have spotted the scrumptious new design by Krista Hennebury (she of Chess on the Steps and Improv Under the Influence fame) using ALL the Oakshott Colourshott range.

We are lucky enough to be selling the kit for this beauty, called Variegated Threads:

and if you need any more inspiration then have a read of Krista’s blog on the development of this piece – and how flexible it is (make a runner, make it bigger and smaller, have fun with the background). Most of all, it is a great introduction to improv techniques.

If you go to the Festival of Quilts on 11-14 August at the NEC, you’ll be able to actually see it up close on stand G21 (with Pinwheels).

March 1, 2016

2016 MAQF Best Use of Color

Congratulations to Mary Menzer who won ‘Best Use of Color’ for ‘Quilt it Wright’ in the Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival, February 2016.

“This is my all Oakshott quilt inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. I love my Oakshotts! Thanks for making a great product.”

… and thanks Mary for making such great use of them.

Read all about Mary’s making journey and get some fantastic tips from her great five part description at FairlyMerry blog where she describes her whole improv process, piecing, threads, basting, quilting, re-jigging, binding, and so on.

October 15, 2015

Quilt It Wright

“This quilt was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs (if you are not familiar with him, he was a famous American architect that designed modern buildings in the early 20th century). The title of the quilt is ‘Quilt it Wright'”

Mary Menzer of FairlyMerry sent us these photos of her great design using Oakshott Lakes. Do have a look at more info on her Facebook page and her Instagram feed to learn about threads she uses and her design, matchstick, quilting and improv techniques.

September 22, 2015

Grand smocking

Thanks to Jenny Putney for letting us have these charming photos of her granddaughters in the beautiful dresses she made and smocked for them using Oakshott fabric (plain and checked purple) purchased several years ago:

“The fabrics were a joy to work with by hand and machine. I used my smocking pleater to gather the fabric and matched the colours in the check weave to do the smocking which was my own overall design using ideas from a number of smocking books. The scariest part was cutting the rectangle of smocking to the shape of the pattern and making sure that it was symmetrical … Thank you for selling such a range of high quality fabrics to delight us all.”

February 18, 2015

Moroccan Market Spicy Quilt

A rummage on Pinterest led Collette of Poppy and Poochie to thoughts of technicolor piles of spices.

The Oakshott fabrics are so shimmery and colourful so I wanted to show them off! The fabrics are a dream to work with and very stable and just beautiful to look at.

and this is the technicolor result using Oakshott Colourshott Charcoal (COTX29) as a background to the the New Colourshott 10″ Square Pack of 27 colours

“A gramme of saffron please!”

Do visit her site for a fulsome tutorial on using 60 degree triangles, with a template supplied.

November 6, 2014

Off Course

Modern Quilt Guild member Judy Murphy upgraded her Janome 7700 to an 8900, invested in a whole roll of wool batting so she would always have some to hand, and sent us photos of her seriously lovely quilt, Off Course. Read all about the process (and gain some handy hints, particularly on binding and on the design process) on her blog, www.quiltparadigm.blogspot.co.uk

The New Colourshott fabrics Judy used are, for the background, Vintage Silver (COTX28), Charcoal (COTX29), Black (COTX30) and Amalfi (COTX32); the blues are Banda (COTX16), Timor (COTX17) and Celebes (COTX18); and the pinks/purples are Lilac (COTX19), Sweet Pea (COTX20) and Dusk (COTX21).

“The combo of the sheen on the Isocord and the colors of the Oakshotts is nothing short of amazing! Oh, and the weight of these cottons? They are as heavy as any of the other quality quilting cotton I use. It is not thin and it is not ‘see through.’ I cannot wait to make another quilt with Colourshotts”

October 15, 2014

Lakes on a table

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.

October 14, 2014

Lakes challenge

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. 🙂

October 8, 2014

Steps to Chess on the Steps

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). I just followed seams in the piecing and went for it. There are 7 coordinating colours of Aurifil 30 wt thread on the quilt. 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!”