I’m delighted to showcase this Stunning Liberty Quilt as part of my summer of sewing inspiration. This beautiful quilt has been made by Veronica Greenslade from ‘The Lewes Sewing Bees’.
Veronica talks a little about herself, her love of sewing and the love of ‘The Bees’ (The Sewing Bees that is).
“I have been sewing since I was a little girl and was encouraged by my mum and grandma. My mum loved dress making and I was the proud owner of many a homemade dress. I first made some patchwork blocks some twenty-five years ago, which I still have in a bag in a cupboard, but only really caught the bug seriously about five years ago when I went on a course to make a full size quilt. I wanted a challenge as I was celebrating a milestone birthday and felt making a quilt would be a lovely achievement. Since then I haven’t stopped. I attended a few more courses and now enjoy making up my own quilt designs along with reading and learning as much as I can about everything in the patchwork and quilting world.
The Lewes Sewing Bees met over a period of a couple of years. This was whilst attending patchwork courses at The Patchwork Dog and Basket in Lewes. When the shop closed, there were six of us who had become good friends and decided to carry on stitching together. We meet each Friday in each others houses. We mostly enjoy patchwork and quilting, with a little dress making and knitting discussed and played with. We all have our own styles and it is refreshing sharing new ideas and opinions. We value each other’s views on quilt designs, along with choosing fabrics, colours and threads. We always love seeing when a new project is being started…. and pat each other on the back when something is finished!”
Veronica also talks about her love of Liberty fabric and the making of this Stunning Liberty Quilt. “This latest Alice Caroline Exclusive range was a joy to work with. I am completely smitten with all Liberty fabrics. I love the fine tana lawns and they always sew up so beautifully. The colours and tones that were developed for this range of fabrics are so pretty and dreamy with each one complimenting and lifting the one used next to it. It is always lovely to see classic designs such as Wiltshire, Mitsi and Strawberry Thief lifted by new colourways and what better way to show them off than with simple squares. I also wanted the theme of the quilt to be as pretty as the fabrics and this was achieved by using the floral garland in the centre and the scattered flowers on the border. I used a thicker wool thread to lift the appliquéd flowers from the pretty floral background. I enjoyed designing this lap quilt and wanted to keep it simple so as to showcase the fabrics as much as possible. The double binding using the plain pink as on the back, along with the darker Strawberry Thief, finishes the quilt off with a smart little frame. I had never used the plain Liberty tana lawns before but I certainly will be now. They have a softness and sheen that remind me of the old eiderdowns on my grandparents beds. Used on the back of this quilt it looked delightful, and with the quilting, gives an old fashioned, charming look.”
Thank you Veronica for designing and making such a Stunning Liberty Quilt. It shows the new Alice Caroline Exclusive fabrics so well. I love the double binding and the strength of the Strawberry Thief frames the quilt beautifully. The floral garland central appliquéd square and scattered flowers are gorgeous and are appliquéd with great care and accuracy. I hope you love Veronica’s quilt as much as I do.
Happy summer sewing!
Alice x
