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Planned Improv

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:

Variegated-Threads_montage

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).

 

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January not-so-blues

LakesFacebookHeaderThe Lakes collection is a wonderful evocation of crisp, clear winter sunshine on bright, frosty days, and the Sew Mama Sew Lakes Table Linen Challenge produced some lovely designs to bring that vibrancy into your house.

We’ve put the six designs into a free booklet for you to download, either click here, go to the Instant Colour page and browse the whole booklet collection, or go to the Oakshott Fabrics shop website and check out the fabrics (all these designs can be made with a Lakes Fat 8ths pack of 16 colours).

LakesChallengeBooklet-front-cover

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Sew Many Lakes

Sew Mama Sew’s Oakshott Lakes Table Linens Challenge is completed and published and an Oakshott giveaway offered. It’s great to see these designers loving the richness of the fabric as much as we do, and using its shot effect so creatively – and just from one Fat 8ths Pack.

2014-10SewMamaLakes

Visit their sites for full details on how they approached the challenge, tutorials and the latest from these talented, enthusiastic designer/bloggers:

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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.

2014-10JessicatablerunnerIf 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. 🙂

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New Colourshott Fat Eighths Picks: Derwent

Nicky from Mrs Sew and Sow said:

“Oakshott really are among my favourite fabrics!  I love the colours, the sheen they have, the feel of them and also how they quilt but this pattern makes use of the ability to use both sides of the woven fabric to make mirror blocks.”

She chose the Derwent fat eighths pack COTXF8P02_Colourshott_Derwent_FatEighthsPackand designed a fantastic runner, using the dark blue fabric to create a lattice ‘sashing’, which gave her the name for her design, Trellis:

2014-08Trellis on tableFor full details of the pattern click on this link: http://mrsssewandsow.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/oakshott-colourshott-bloghop.html

 

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Pallet Inspired Runner

Having given us a sneak preview in July Heather Hasthorpe of Without Pins revealed all at the Festival of Quilts in August.

Of course, at Oakshott we love what she says about the materials she used for her Pallets runner

“I’ve also been playing around with some new cloth samples where there is a different colour on each side so that 6 pieces give you 12 colourways! How about that?”

Heather has now uploaded the pattern for the runner onto her website, which uses four Fat Eighths. Download the PDF pattern and then choose your own colour way:pallets-small

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Sneak preview

 

 

All we know now is it is:

 

a table runner using 4 eighths … very closely quilted -matchstick quilting – a la modern style. It’s designed to use almost all the fabric, cutting two blocks from each piece, and shuffling the colours.

pallets-smallMore will be revealed at the 2014 Festival of Quilts [7–10 August] by Heather Hasthorpe of Without Pins.

 

 

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Blog Alert 4

2014-05AmyPaper PiecedThank you for allowing me to sew with your fabric again. I just love it so much. It shimmers! I am making this runner. It’s paper pieced but made to look improvisational. It measures 18 by 54 inches. Amy of  www.duringquiettime.com