Wednesday 10 August 2016

WIPW - Do You Know Which Laura Ashley?

Work In Progress Wednesday for this week:

Trinity Green
The rotary cutter and the sewing machine have been busy with triangles. There are 318 new additions, so the total now stands at 3510 triangles.
 My box is getting tightly packed with paper strips.

Fabric in Focus

The Japanese are very fond of well-known brands, one of them is Laura Ashley. There are several shops where you can buy LA's clothes, bags, soft furnishings and interior decorations. At one time, in the 1980's they sold small patchwork packs of cut up fabric. The first quilt I made after my arrival here in Japan was with such packs.
Every stitch is sewn by hand and I treasure this quilt for all the memories it holds. It also inspired me to buy more Laura Ashley fabric, I had this print in several colourways:

 A long time ago I made two cushion covers, one is for a huge 'sack armchair' and the other a neck cushion, which is really good for reading in bed.

I had a fair bit of light green left, cut it up and have been adding a sprinkling of Laura Ashley magic to my paper strips.
Now the question is, what is this pattern called? I have searched online but found no answer. Can you help?


HC quilt
I worked mainly on the branches of the cherry tree.

15 comments:

Cynthia@wabi-sabi-quilts said...

Laura Ashley was all the rage in the 80's in the U.S. too. What a lovely classic quilt - and showing that "hexies" are in fact nothing new;). Wish I could help with the name of the pattern!

Queeniepatch said...

I think that pink Laura Ashley quilt was my second play with hexies. I had no sewing machine at the time and it was a great pattern for stitching by hand.

chitra said...

It is great looking at the handmade quilts. They are lovely. You did a wonderful job of stitching by hand. good progress this week.
The cherry trees are beautiful.
Chitra

Pamela said...

There is a Laura Ashely store near a cafe where I taught English in Sapporo. It had such a wonderful smell. I love your hexagon quilt!

crazyQstitcher said...

The hexagon quilt is beautiful and a labour of love by you. LA fabric was very popular in Australia also.
The cherry trees are great and your tightly packed paper strips look like a work of art.

Queeniepatch said...

I LIKE stitching by hand, but it does take time and when it comes to the tiny triangles they need the accuracy you get with paper foundation .
Hexagons are also diffiuclt to sew by machine and are perfect for a 'take-along' hand stitching project.

Queeniepatch said...

Entering a LA shop in Japan is like stepping into another world, crisp, prestine, the clothes beautifully hung on hangers and the china and towels nicely displayed, and as you say, the fragrance of potpurri. How different from the shops I have seen in the UK, which are often untidy..

Queeniepatch said...

Laura Ashley is still very popular in Japan. Unfortunately, all the clothes they sell are 'petite' and will not fit a Westerner's taller and broader frame.
Ha, ha, the packed paper strips, a work of art!!!

Janie said...

Thanks, Queenie, for sharing your beautiful projects, I'm oooing and ahhhhing over them. I like Laura Ashley too.

Queeniepatch said...

You are always so kind, Janie.

carorose said...

When I was younger I loved Laura Ashley ,everything. Now I have widened my tastes. love all your stitching.

Queeniepatch said...

It was a stylish twist on 'flower power' in the 70's. Now it is just classic, and there are still many followers in Japan.

Julie Fukuda said...

I wonder if I have any of those fabrics in a box or two... I know I never had money to buy any and it was probably a scrap when I got it. Nice to see those green triangles getting a bit of class.

Queeniepatch said...

You said it: Expensive, that is what Laura Ashley fabric is. Having said that, it IS high quality and the pink hexagon quilt has been used for well over 30 years and been through the wash numerous times and yet there is no damage to talk about, although I must admit it has faded slightly.
More classy fabric coming up!

Anonymous said...

I like all the delicate pretty colours that you get with Laura Ashley prints. The quilt that you made is gorgeous and you are right to treasure it. I like the Japanese quilt design, it reminds me of a pencil and watercolour painting