Japanese Circles and Squares at Edinburgh Patchwork

We had an excellent Japanese Circles and Squares workshop at Edinburgh Patchwork yesterday.  This new shop only opened in August, so you may not know about it yet.  Alison has a lovely selection of fabrics and other goodies, and the shop is easy to find if you are driving into Edinburgh - you don't have to go right into the city centre - but is less than a mile from Waverly Station if you are arriving by train. 

Dorothy made this lovely version of the Japanese Circles and Squares, with very subtle repetition of motifs (circles on the darkest print, the mid grey and the green), a wonderful stripe that picks up on all the colours in the patchwork and colourful florals, one with a directional design.  I hope she sends me a photo of her finished patchwork.

The bright and well lit workroom is at the back of the shop, with the benefit of a tall window and good daylight.  There are flannel design walls down each side, so I could display the workshop samples as we worked.

Views of the shop.

We got on a bit of a roll with this and, after the shop closed, Alison pushed on with finishing her blocks for a version of my 'stone' quilt.  The first photo shows the blocks set square....

The second photo shows the blocks moved across by half a block per row, the same as the 'stone' patchwork, but I'm not sure whether with this design it actually works better with the blocks lined up.  Which do you think is better - top or bottom?

I am planning to be back at the shop in the spring with the 'Sakiori' workshop, where we will begin the three blocks used in the quilts below - an easy strip pieced block, a square in a square block and a freezer paper applique circle.  For this workshop, you need to precut 1 1/2in strips for the patchwork and it is suitable for relative beginners as well as more experienced patchworkers.  Alison has the latest Moda range by designer Momo in stock at the moment, so if you want yours to look like the first quilt below, you can get a very similar look - this one was made with Momo's 'Wonderland' range.  The second quilt was made from my scrap bag and it is an ideal scrap project.  Contact Alison if you would like to take part.  We haven't fixed a date yet but the last weekend in March is a possibility for me.