The Quilt Room

The Jelly Roll Dream Challenge Winners!!

We are delighted to announce the 12 winning quilts which will be featured in the Jelly Roll Dream book due to be published May 2012. Hand on heart we had absolutely no idea of names or nationalities when we judged and as you can see there were two lucky winners who had two of their quilts chosen. Six of the quilts came from the USA, two from the UK, two from Germany and one from Australia. The top three prize winners will be announced at Quilt Market, Houston in October.
Congratulations to all who entered, the standard was amazingly high and it was definitely a challenge to judge. Well done!

Mary Claire Allen: Sense of Direction  

Laura Coons: Garden Walk  

Laura Coons: Pinwheel Paradise   

Jennifer Goldstein: Emma’s Quilt  

Tina Kirschling: Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend

Claire Nailor: Lovin’ that Muffin 

Jill Randel: Stacks of Colour  

Jill Randel: Framed by Diamonds

Brenda Sanders: Black Hole 

Angelika Sins: Pacman-ia  

Penny Vanderwal: The Penny Quilt 

Joanna Wilczynska: Dripping Diamonds

A Trip Down Memory Lane!

 

Who remembers this quilt?

Back in 1993 Pam went on Woman's Hour with Jenni Murray and invited listeners to make a block commemorating 75 years of votes for women. There was such a mixture of  blocks which Pam, Sharon and Pam Anstey from The Quilt Room put together with sashing and borders in the suffragettes' colours of purple and green. 

The quilt was hung in the House of Commons as the main attraction in the Women in Politics Exhibition organised by Teresa Gorman. Although Teresa Gorman had wanted it on permanent display in the House of Commons it went to the Victoria & Albert Museum where it still remains today.

 

 

And how about this photo taken back in 1985. Pam is on the right with Rosemary who was a partner at The Quilt Room for nearly 15 years.

This photo was featured in Pins & Needles magazine - a copy of which was very kindly sent to me by a customer - and also was used in this article here published in the Dorking Advertiser.

Can it really be 26 years ago?????

It makes me want to dig out more photos from the early days.

Enough it makes me feel quite tearful -  no more nostalgia for the moment.

  

Make the most of the summer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the hectic past weeks of judging and then sewing the variations of the gorgeous winning quilts for the Dream Challenge I'm taking some time out to enjoy the weather and the garden. The weather in Cornwall has been fantastic and the veggie patch is looking pretty good - that is more than can be said for me in my stylish garden shoes!

 

I've never grown carrots before and I can't imagine why. We have had a bumper crop of them and of course courgettes always do well. Any recipes for courgettes gratefully received - I always run out of ideas on what to do with them.

... and notice those lovely blueberries.

 

 

 

 

 

And now to impress all you golfers out there.  Playing with my friend Lesley at St. Mellion this week I  drove to about six feet of the flag on a par 3 and then not to be outdone she drove and landed right beside me. However not so impressive is the fact that we both missed our birdie puts!

It's lovely not being attached to the sewing machine or the computer for a while although there is still so much to be done both with the Challenge book and also the Antique to Heirloom book which we are working on as well. However, you've just got to make the most of the sun while it's shining. Hope you are all enjoying it as well.

New Book - More Jelly Roll Layer Cake & Charm Quilts

 

 

 

Do we ever sleep you ask?

We hadn't expected this title to be available until October but our speedy publishers have managed to make it available for the Festival of Quilts at the NEC in August. It hasn't arrived yet but fingers crossed we will have it at the NEC.

So if you want a copy which is really hot off the press then head to our stand which is in the same place as usual - in the centre at G25.

We are so excited about this book - we think we have some really lovely patterns in it and we hope you are going to like it. The quilt on the front cover is made from just one layer cake and is very quick to make - such a fun quilt.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes this looks like a party and these two ladies are Kath Bock and Vivian de Lang who have been such a great help to us in making quilts for our books.

The party is at our publishers David & Charles who have opened a new shop in their premises at Newton Abbot, Devon. Kath and Viv joined us at the party to celebrate the opening.

...... now what were we doing BEFORE the party?

Yes we were.... we were actually delivering our variations of the twelve winning quilts. How about that - very very exciting! I was still binding quilts at 10pm the night before but we did get them all done.

So all you have to do now is wait for news from David & Charles. They will be contacting the winners within the next week or so to ask that the quilts are sent in to us for quilting. In fact they will be contacting everyone who entered as you all have to be thanked so much even if your quilt didn't make it into the book. Keep a look out for that postman!

Dream Challenge Update!

I'm finding it quite difficult to find images to put on the blog at present as I am spending all my time working on the Dream Challenge quilts and of course I can't show anyone what I am working on. I don't want to give anything away.

I have just come back from a very very busy time in Dorking. I drove up late Wednesday night and then worked a 14 hour day on Thursday and a 12 hour day on Friday.... and then decided I wanted to be back home in Cornwall so drove 4 hours home. I think I drove everyone mad in the shop as I was a bit manic but we got so much done.  Is it worth living in Cornwall with the shop in Dorking? Absolutely....... I just love Cornwall and I love where I live.

This is my supper tonight. Sea trout which Nick caught from our little piece of river while I was up in Dorking, courgettes picked today from my vegetable garden and gooseberry and rhubarb pie also picked today - yes I know a pretty wierd combination but it was good. We also had carrots and potatoes from the veggie patch.

 

Now back to the Dream Challenge which is what you all want to know about...... Nicky and I have a meeting with the publishers next week and fingers crossed and with no last minute changing our minds we hope to present them with the twelve winners then. Once David & Charles have our decision they will then put the wheels in motion to let everyone know.  You will definitely be advised by the end of the month - so not long now. We have read and re-read the patterns over and over again making sure we have not missed anything and we have tested nearly twenty of the designs. Can we really be getting near that final decision - WOW!!!