Diary of a Geeky Knitter

Geeky Knitter Diary of a

By now you should know that not much time passes before I simply have to have a go at the next thing which, more often than not, is craft related. Surprise, surprise eh? And so, it was early into the new decade (have I wished you lovely readers a Happy New Year yet?) that I stumbled across the world of quilting. ‘Stumbled across’ isn’t quite the right term actually. After all, in my office at work one of the magazine titles that my team work on is Quilt Now, so I am aware of quilting and how amazingly impressive those crafters are who partake in this exquisite craft. But it was on Instagram, that fount of crafty inspiration, that I came across a quilted Millennium Falcon, and instantly had to find out how I could make one myself! My fellow Star Wars fans out there will know of which legendary science fiction ship I am referring to (Kessel Run - 12 parsecs - iconic). Those of you who aren’t familiar with Star Wars, first I must insist you look up Star Wars: The Force Awakens or we can’t be friends any more, and second, just imagine a character or item from one of your favourite stories of all time, and put that into an impressive, intricate piece of sewing artwork. Amazing! Once I found this was a ‘thing’, I researched all that I needed to know to make my very own quilted Millennium Falcon. Foundation paper piecing was

8 the magical craft I needed to learn. Don’t worry, we won’t get technical now, but the best and fastest way I can think to describe this technique is colour-by-numbers with fabric and a sewing machine, and lots of satisfying paper ripping! Here you can see my finished creation - again, perhaps the non-Jedis reading this will be nonplussed by the grey blob in yellow, but I hope any Han Solo fans will be suitably impressed, as my husband is (a fellow Star Wars fan, of course) and so the Falcon hangs proudly on the wall in our home. Once I learnt one technique, I was eager to learn more and so now I am making a cushion cover out of small hexagons, hand sewn together (English Paper Piecing, if you must know) out of Mickey Mouse fabric. I am nothing if not devoted to my personal Disney-Star Wars-Nerd brand, after all. The fabric happened to be an Aldi purchase by the way! You crafters be sure to keep an eye out on those fabulous special buys. Ok, you’ve twisted my arm - we can all still be friends even if you aren’t a Star Wars fan. Until next time, may the force be with you.