A mostly repurposed vintage star quilt

I’ve made another quilt as part of my quilting ‘stretch’ project this time using the February block from Sherri at A Quilting Life’s mystery block a month. As I said then I don’t know if I’ll manage to make a quilt a month, but I won’t really know unless I try…

I already suspect that the warmer months may be more challenging, what with adding in some time to garden as well as going out and exploring the area around where we live, but that’s the point of a challenge right.

My fourth donation quilt

When I pulled the fabrics from my stash I had no intention of making this vintage star block in blues and greens, but there you go, those are the fabrics that called to me and so that’s what I’ve got. Unlike last month I don’t have a silly name that makes me smile, but I’m pleased to have repurposed quite a few old clothes in this one.

And when I say quite a few I’ve used material from old cropped trousers of mine (from three pairs), an old shirt of MOH’s, a blouse of mine and even some from Hawaiian swimming trunks. In fact the only piece that’s remotely new is the navy and white flowered material, which I bought in Newark whilst I was collecting additional material for the flying geese quilt, before I changed my mind.

But onto the blocks

I found this block centre more challenging, right from the off - but entirely because I misread the instructions. Instead of making HSTs (half square triangles) from the smaller squares I used the larger ones and of course they didn’t come out right. So with more squares cut, and my first learning under my belt I was back on track.

My second learning came on trimming the HSTs - the rotary cutting mat made life a lot easier, as did using the small square template.

But it was still trickier than it looks. My seams were, shall we say variable, and didn’t always meet where they should. And once I’d sorted one seam’s placement another misbehaved, but I did get my four blocks (with variable seams) done, and I’m happy enough with them.

And so with the four centres complete I added the log cabin borders. My original plan had been to add a dark border but not only was I concerned it would be too dark, I also didn’t have enough of the plain blue fabric left, so I needed another plan.

I used the relatively new flowery fabric to add a border to brighten the quilt overall, and realised that there was plenty of the green spotty material (I’m sure this was a 1990s impulse buy from IKEA) to add a final border. This also brought a learning, and tested my patience, with its tendency to slip about with its own free will. But I got there.

For the backing I cut into an old duvet cover, and I think the grey and white zig zags really work - it’s definitely super soft, that’s for sure.

Once again I added my usual scrappy border, using up the majority of strips I’d cut for the quilt top. Looking at those central blocks now, I’m not looking at the wonky seams (well not so much) I’m looking at the quilt as a whole, so I’m glad it all worked out.

As I’m using these quilts to practice and refine my quilting making skills, I was keen to try something a little different with the quilting. It’s still straight(ish) lines, but instead of ‘stitching in the ditch’ I’ve gone bolder and stitched down the middle of the log cabin strip, using a navy thread - a bold move on the pale green fabric, less so on the plain navy strips!

I think it works, and overall I’m happy with how this one turned out. And as it’s been so nice I took my quilt outside for its own photoshoot in the garden! The block for my next quilt is out already, and it’s another cute one - but first I have to make my own block for my mystery block of the month quilt, all being well I’ll share that here later in the week.

You can see my other quilts which I’ve made to donate to Project Linus - a charity whose mission is to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children, who are sick, disabled, disadvantaged or distressed through the donation of new, homemade, washable quilts and blankets, including those that are part of this ‘stretch’ project in earlier posts. I’m aiming to publish an update on my progress in the last week of each month for the remainder of 2025.

Crafting a New Narrative at Belton House

The Belton Estate is one of the nearest National Trust properties to us, and it’s one we’ve visited a few times - even before we moved up here. The orangery is a favourite of mine, and on the times we’ve visited recently it hasn’t been open, but it was open when we visited last week on the Spring Equinox, but you’ll have to wait for an updated post on that as today I’m going to share more about a new exhibition that’s on in the house.

I first went in the house in the summer of 2021 and as with most things the post-Covid reawakening meant that only a limited number of rooms were available to view, something that I’d forgotten [about our visit] until I read it on my own post! This time though there was much more to see, and the post-Covid timing of my previous visit also explains why I didn’t remember any of the upstairs - I hadn’t been there before!

The exhibition - Artistic Journeys: Crafting a New Narrative - includes previously unseen items from the collection. which will be on display until at least until the house is redressed for Christmas, with exhibits changing regularly. The four artists are:

• Elizabeth Cust (1776 - 1858) a skill oil painter inspired by ‘Old Masters’ to create her own.

• Sophia Cust (1811 - 1882) who documented interior and exterior views of Belton using her favourite medium of watercolours.

• Marian Alford (1817 - 1888) a skilled textile designer and artist who co-founded the Royal School of Needlework.

• Nina Cust (1867 - 1955) a sculptor and poet, whose sculptures were displayed at the Royal Academy and who has published many works of poetry and fiction.

I’m not much of an oil painting fan I’m afraid, and have realised as I’ve been going through my photos, that I have none to share of Elizabeth’s work, and my photos of Nina’s work aren’t good enough to include either - so if you’re here for those, sorry - this isn’t the post for you.

Let’s start with Marian

Marian Alford’s connection to Belton was through her marriage to Viscount Alford, the eldest son of the first Earl Brownlow, and it was in 1984 that Lord Brownlow gave the house to the National Trust.

But Marian’s story took place many years before that. She was instrumental in bringing recognition to embroidery as an art form, and brought recognition to needlework as a respected form of employment for women in all social classes, raising the status of both at at time when seamstresses still worked in apalling conditions.

In 1872 she was one of the three founders of the School of Art Needlework and helped establish the school as a place for formal art education and training, which I think is all the more remarkable as she herself never received an art education, but who developed into a skilled artist and designer.

The embroidery below, along with the sketched pattern. was behind glass (hence the glare) as you entered the upstairs library. The detail of the stitches was amazing, and my favourite part was the thistle on the right hand end.

Downstairs in the Tapestry room there were more examples of her designs this time crafted by Belton volunteers, though as some patterns were incomplete these are creative interpretations of the designs, and no less stunning for that. The original hand-drawn and painted designs are now very fragile having been stored in folios for many years, and sadly can no longer be unfolded without causing damage.

Behind the embroidery hoops draped over a sofa was the most amazing throw - I wish I had more info on this, but I don’t and if it was there I missed it. But look at the detail - this one was carefully behind the ropes, but it’d be great to see this one slightly closer up. And I’d also like a pattern of the designs in the hoops above please!

Sophia’s watercolours

Sophia left Belton when she married, but often returned to her family home and during these visits she created a large collection of watercolours showing the house and gardens, many of which survive today. I particularly liked the three posters on display in the Breakfast room, which had previously been used as an ante-library (when the library was also downstairs) and then when the library moved upstairs a small dining room.

Her watercolours show how Belton looked in the mid 1800s, and is now a valuable resource for the conservation work in the property; they also show how the interior evolved over time with the placement of furniture, textiles and other objects in the rooms. So very much the photos of the day.

Another of her watercolours gave details of Belton’s boathouse which otherwise might have remained a mystery, and her detailed depiction made it possible to reinstate the boathouse, which was originally built in the 1830s. Amazing.

I was also quite taken with the breakfast crockery in the display case, which if you look closely enough at my reflection, you’ll see that I also managed unwittingly to match with my white and lime green striped top!

Two final pieces

Just before we left the house there were two final pieces that caught my eye. The first is this coloured enamel painting on copper, with an iron and silver Art Nouveau frame by the renowned Arts and Crafts enamellist Alexander Fisher of Nina Cust. It dates from 1898 and shows Nina wearing a gold and pink robe holding a cape, and it’s thought that this piece further acknowledged her status as an artist.

Isn’t it exquisite?

The second was this scrapbook - and quite honestly a scrapbook like I’ve not seen before. This was presented to Marian in 1886 as a Christmas gift from the School of Art Needlework. It’s covered in green velvet and embroidered with a gold, metal thread.

Both the house and the exhibition are worth seeing, so do go along if you’re close by or if you’re passing. As I said earlier it will be on for a while yet, and though the exhibits may change the ethos will remain. I’m looking forward to popping back and seeing how it changes, and seeing more detail on the things I’m sure I missed.

And I’ve still more to share, later this week look out for another visit to the Orangery, which now appears to be referred to at the Conservatory - and I think there’ll be another post to come on the ‘bedrooms at Belton’ and there’s some stunners there too!

Make a Metre Matter with Gardeners' World

* I was invited to the Garden Press Event, a one day show which connects garden product suppliers with garden media, I’ve also worked with the team at Gardeners’ World Live so I’m marking my blog posts from the event as 'Ad’ though as usual my views and opinions are very much my own.

Gardeners’ World is a bit of a national treasure isn’t it, or I think so at least. You’ll know that I love my visits to the the Live show at the NEC and I also love to catch up with Monty and the team when they’re back on our TV screens too. This year they have a campaign to Make a Metre Matter encouraging everyone to transform a metre of outdoor space for the good of the planet.

Whether you have an urban courtyard, small balcony, country plot or a community space, each of us making the most of one dedicated metre will have a real impact, and when you think about it a metre isn’t very much, but it can make an awful lot of difference.

As you’d expect every part of the Gardeners’ World brand will focus on their annual campaign - the magazine, the TV show, the digital platforms and live events, with Nick Bailey creating this year’s headline Show Garden at Gardeners’ World Live - but more on that later.

How you can Make a Metre Matter

There are loads of ways you can make a meaningful difference, whether that’s growing plants for caterpillars and pollinators, growing salad or vegetables to cut down a little on food miles and get a tastier crop at the same time, or creating a compost heap to boost your soil and help biodiversity.

The team at Gardeners’ World have plenty of ideas to inspire us which you’ll see more of in the coming months including how to:

• grow yourself a pollinator patch to support bees, butterflies, caterpillars and more,

• grow and harvest a summer of tasty veg using your square metre of space,

• boost biodiversity and welcome wildlife by making a small pond to make a big difference,

• save money on salad growing your own from seed,

• create an insect haven with log piles, habitat stacks and more,

• to get composting and boost your soil’s health with homemade compost.

Which all sounds quite tiring, but you don’t need to do it all! But there is a chance to win prizes when you register (before 30 September 2025) your participation at https://www.gardenersworld.com/win/make-a-metre-matter/

I’ve been considering what I could do in my garden, and while I do need a compost bin, that’s not what I’m going for as until I know more about what we’re doing with our garden I’m not sure where to put it. I do want to up my game on salad this year as we eat so much of it, and I’m always buying it. I like to have a variety of leaves and can quite often get bored with a single variety of lettuce, but then when I buy more than one it seems a rush to eat it - I can’t win! But if I were to grow more of my own then I could quite literally have my pick whenever I wanted, so I think that’s the right thing for me - though as before where to do this is an issue, so I think my metre will be across a number of pots, which may not be in keeping with the ethos of the campaign, but it’s what I can do and it’s way better than nothing.

Nick Bailey’s Gardeners’s World Live headline show garden, The Plant Based Garden

I mentioned earlier in this post that Nick Bailey is creating this year’s headline show garden and it’s going to be packed with ideas for transforming a metre of space, with ways to support wildlife, recycle and inspiration for choosing materials carefully as well as growing planet friendly plants.

Nick’s been involved with the campaign from the off and his garden with bring the Make a Metre Matter campaign to life. He’ll be including lots of interesting elements to the garden and wants to prove it possible to create a whole garden with only renewable resources. After the show in Birmingham the garden will move about 30 miles up the road to two different charities which are both focused on horticultural education. They are the University of Leicester Botanic Garden which is currently undergoing renovation so the show garden will add to their planting and resources, and the YMCA Leicestershire who have a big project engaging young people in horticultural careers.

And of course there’ll be lots of one square metre inspiration within the show garden, Nick said that the garden looks like a big Tetris game, but of course that it also has a cohesive design - and personally I can’t wait to see it first hand.

But until then I’ve my salad seeds to sort through and get planting - all the time remembering not to plant too many at once!