This week we welcome special guest Colette Moscrop to the Shropshire Quilter's blog. Colette is a textile designer and screen printer. She loves to play with fabrics and improv is her preferred style of quilting. She lives in London with her husband and their two daughters and is inspired by nature, urban living and vintage styles.
How long have you been quilting and do you still have your first quilt?
In January 2012 I attended my first quilt meeting at the London Modern Quilt Guild having never made a quilt. I was quickly inspired by the other members’ amazing quilts and finished my first quilt in the same year. It was a mix of improv, squares and whole cloth sections, it was quite experimental for a novice. I used hand and machine quilting to add texture and loved every minute of the process. It was a bit of a gamble, but I still love it and it’s used daily to snuggle under on the sofa.
Colette's first quilt...
...embellished with hand stitching
Do you have a favourite fabric style or colour?
As a textile designer I tend to design simplistic geometric patterns with a softness to them. When I’m quilting I like to pair rich, solid colours with my designs to make the colours pop and to let the pattern breathe.
Two pieces which combine Colette's hand-printed textiles with improv techniques
And your favourite snack (or tipple)?
A cup of tea and minstrels for a non-sticky chocolate treat, ideal when you’re hand quilting!
Do you listen to anything while you quilt?
I usually have BBC Radio London on in the background.
Can you share a top tip?
Press, press and press again. I may be obsessed with my iron when quilting, but I think it makes such a difference to the overall finish.
A kit to make this beautiful cushion is available in Colette's online shop
Can you recommend a book?
I don’t have a favourite book, but I love to look through books for inspiration and to read the stories behind the quilts. If I’m looking for tips on a particular technique, blogs and You Tube are my friend.
Have you had any quilting disasters?
A red and white unfinished quilt got wet in a flood and the reds ran into the white (despite me pre-washing them) so I had to finish quilting and bind the quilt before I could wash it to see if it could be saved. Several colour catchers and a few washes later and it was good as new.
Colette's quilt just before that fateful flood
Do you have a favourite quilt block?
I prefer Improv quilting as I like to just start playing with the fabrics and see where it takes me. If I had to choose a block it would be a drunkards path, it has so many possibilities and I hope one day I’ll actually make a whole quilt with them!
Where can we find you online?
Website: Colette Moscrop
Instagram: @colettemoscrop
Facebook: Colette Moscrop
Thank you Colette, its been lovely to get to know you!
And we'd really LOVE to get to know our talented membership too: if you'd like to share your quilting story please send an email to info@shropshirequilters.org for the Q&A sheet.
Visit again next Friday to meet another quilter...
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