What I did today: a quilt making class at the Papered Parlour
So a month or so ago I went to see the quilt exhibition at the V&A and came away very much inspired. A night of googling followed, trying to find a quilting class in London. I thought it would be easy. It wasn't particularly. London, it seems, isn't so in to quilts. But then I found the Papered Parlour, a craft venue in London, and read about their Contemporary Quilting class. A half day course in Clapham. I liked the website and I liked the sound of the class, so I signed up and, today, I learnt how to quilt.
First, a little about the Papered Parlour.
I'm not sure what came first, this or the Make Lounge, but if you're familiar with either you will know what to expect from both. Personally I've had some really fun times at the Make Lounge so was interested to try another similar venue. And I have to say I completely loved the Papered Parlour. It's hidden away down a side street off Clapham High Street, behind a heavy dark grey door. Stepping inside is like stepping into an old, vintage shop. Where the Make Lounge is all contemporary furnishings and bright white spaces, the Papered Parlour feels like being in a treasure trove, lovingly put together by whoever owns it.
A dark and cosy tea bar is cluttered with wonderful little finds. I loved the tea cups hung from the ceiling, and the proper vinyl record player that scratched out old vinyls for us as we worked. Brilliant
Best of all, half way through the afternoon they served home made cake. Yes, cake. Blueberry, be be precise. And delicious.
Moving on through the bar, the actual craft space is much brighter, a big open space lit by sky lights.
The room is dominated by a large table that gives everyone plenty of space to work, with little sewing machines tucked into the corners. It was the perfect work space and something about the room helped to create a really fun, relaxed atmosphere. It felt a lot like being in someone's home; someone who really enjoyed sewing and craft. Vintage sewing machines stood ready for use next to tailor's dummies and half finished projects. All very inspiring.
So how did the sewing go?
Well. Within the first five minutes I kind of felt like a failure... Our teacher for the day was Cassandra Ellis, who was wonderful and inspiring and gave us a rousing speech at the start of the class about how special quilts are and how they should really mean something to the quilter and the recipient of the quilt. We'd all been asked to bring a special piece of fabric to work into the piece of patchwork we'd be making today. As we went around the room introducing ourselves, special pieces of material were pulled from bags: sarongs from special holidays, favourite curtains, something special for someone's daughter... I coughed and mumbled that I'd bought my fabric from Liberty the week before. #Fail. But in the end I was rather glad I did. Fabrics were provided for the class and people sewed some lovely things with them, but they weren't really my taste (all a little too pink!) and I was glad to have this selection to fall back on.
Still, I wanted a story behind my first quilt too. When I was at the V&A I picked up the Gentle Art of Quilt Making and loved the ideas in it of finding quilts themes in every day life (tiles on a wall, a Russian scarf, fields of tulips...) Then, with the fabrics scattered on the table in front of me, I saw it. Inspired by the pottery of Holland, I decided to make a Delft quilt. I love the blue and white colours of Dutch pottery, and, since I grew up there, it has the nice sentimental touch I was looking for. So, it took me a while, but I got there in the end, and started cutting.
As well as inspiring us by showing off her fabulous quilts and telling us great quilting stories, Cassandra was also a great practical teacher, showing everyone at their own pace how to cut fabric with a rotary blade, giving us several different quilt patterns to work from and showing us to to sew our squares together. It took me many hours, but eventually my pile of fabric went from this...
to this...
and then, eventually, this...
I know it doesn't look much, but it is square one of 49 that will eventually make up my Delft quilt. Honest. I'm super proud of it, but mostly I'm happy because making it was so much fun. Unlike so many other sewing projects, nothing in quilting seems tedious. The cutting of the fabric is fun because you're laying it all together at the same time. The sewing is fun because it's easy, and done so gradually it's not too stressful. Even the ironing feels alright, in such small doses. And it's nice to see what can be achieved in such a small length of time. One afternoon and I have a whole 30cm quilt! Albeit an unbacked one. But I have it on good authority that's not the hard bit...
So, overall, I'd call quilting a success. It's harder than I thought it would be and I have a whole new respect for my mother and sister in law who sewed the most lovely wedding quilt for us, but I want to keep going. This week I'll be tracking down blades and cutting boards online, and I'm now officially on the hunt for blue and white fabrics that say Delft. It's all rather exciting. Never thought I'd say that about quilts.
Becks x
