Reverse Applique finished, Lone Star progress, City and Guilds?

The reverse applique project from Jenny Lester's workshop for Gwent Quilters turned out to be a terrific match for my Dad's dining room so he now has a unique mat for the dining suite that he loves

and it matches his chairs a treat!

The lone star has been fun to do and rewarding so far. Choosing the colours was a challenge and I'm really pleased how they'e come together. I did the first Y seam perfectly - in the wrong place. This shows where I went wrong and is an impression of is how it will look eventually.

Next are decisions re the border, probably multi coloured strips. Inevitably there's not a lot of one colour, the green, left....Originally I did want to do flying geese as seen on an exhibit at Malvern, but don't want to detract from the impact of the stunning centre.

I was so inspired by the exhibiton of City and Guilds Patchwork students at Brynglas House in Newport, that I'm considering doing the course for the next 3/4 years, Fiona has been encouraging and reassuring me. Does anyone have any advice on this?

An 'Owling Success

Faced with the challenge of producing quick, easy, inexpensive items to be sold for next to nothing at the Jubilee fete, I used the Malvern Show workshop by Sadie Yeomans as inspiration to make soft owls.As well as being high on the aaah factor, being stuffed with sheepskin off-cuts they could do pincushion duty.

Friends all liked them, the punters did too and they all sold.
So camera shy Rose and I made 2 more today, having had our nails done a suitably toning shade!  Thank you very much Sadie

I really must try and hold onto one for me!

Jenny Lester's Reverse Applique Worshop

This lovely workshop at Gwent Quilters was just right, it taught me a great new technique and wasn't too tricky or time consuming to finish.

Two layers bonded and cut with a turquoise under layer, partly folded back

The full pattern folded in position before stitching down the layers

Stitched and pinned into approximate shape - it will be round

The colours are perfect in my Dad's dining room so it will end up as a round mat in the centre of his dining table. The stitching isn't perfect so don't enlarge it too far. After all the first time is only a practice!

Thanks Jenny