When my friends at Vlieseline (major producer of interfacings etc) asked me try out their new wadding I had a definite project in mind. The Tamarack by Grainline Studio. I have admired the company's minimalist style for some time, and have also been lamenting the lack of time to quilt, so this seemed like the perfect project. The jacket is simple in shape and the sleeves don't need to be set in. However, it is rated as an intermediate level because you do need to quilt all of the pieces, add welt pockets if you want to, and bind the edges. It took me approximately 8 hours to sew up - though I didn't add welts in this case...
As an avid quilter, and an enthusiastic consumer of sewing delights I have no idea why it has taken me so long to make it to the Festival of Quilts. Perhaps it is because Europe's biggest quilt show is always in the middle of August and I am usually on holiday or surviving 6 weeks of no school with my 3 children. However I was very determined to go in 2016 and booked it in the diary back in January. My friend Bradley at Aurifil then asked me to help on their booth so I got 4 days rather than 2, as well as the chance to spend time with Sheena Norquay who was exhibiting her work with them. ...
Hello again, My last post talked about Aurifil products in some detail - in fact my friend Nicky kindly said I sounded like quite a nerd. However, my main reason for visiting Milan was to meet the team and find out more about the company and its history. Here I am going to share some snippets from my day. Aurifil CEO Elena Gregotti grew up surrounded by the sewing industry. In 1957 her father Angelo founded Studio Auriga, and the company started producing punched program. In their neighbouring factory she showed me a vintage multi needle embroidery machine similar to that purchased by her father in post-war Italy. In that period the designs were each individually punched into paper by a manually operated punch, and decorative patterns would...
