Welcome to month nine of London Town, the London Eye.
We've reached the last stop on our sight-seeing tour of London: we're heading over Westminster bridge to the London Eye for a spectacular, bird's eye view of London Town.
Technically speaking we shouldn't be here, because the London Eye was built to celebrate the millennium and was only meant to run for five years. But, just like Paris' Eiffel Tower, the city took this temporary structure to its heart and it's now a permanent feature on the London skyline.
But it isn't London's first giant ferris wheel: The Great Wheel opened in July 1895 and over the next decade whirled 2½ million visitors over the Earl's Court exhibition ground. The London Eye attracts 3½ million visitors every, single year, carrying them 155 metres into the air, so on a clear day they can see all the way to Windsor Castle. Each revolution takes a stately half an hour, in one of 32 capsules which are constantly revolving. But curiously they are numbered from 1 - 33, because there is no thirteenth capsule.
Our London Eye is made from a giant Dresden plate block - with a simple tweak to the tips to create the capsules - and once that occurred to me, it was actually the first block I designed for this quilt and probably inspired the whole thing. I've shared a few photos of it's construction in the techniques Box. We'll be using the same technique to make our last block, the Brolly. You really shouldn't visit London without one!
And we have one last treat for you in this month's parcel: a postcard-style quilt label for you to add to the back of your completed quilt.
Which brings me to finishing your quilt. We have already played with partial seams in the Cutty Sark block and we'll be using the same technique to join our blocks. Click here to see my step-by-step photos.
Before I collect your used tickets and wave you a cheery goodbye, I want to thank you for your company on our tour of London. Thank you for sharing your blocks - and your tips - with one another in the Facebook Group. Thank you for for the lovely emails and photographs you've shared with Andrea and I. And, lastly, thank you for choosing to quilt with us, we never fail to be moved by your trust, your enthusiasm, your talent and your commitment to our block of the month programmes.
Nicola & Andrea xx
This month's technique...
I made the two halves of my Dresden plate at the same time, allowing me to keep the seam direction consistent. And the bonus is a neat whirl of seams, keeping my block nice and flat.
