Rosie’s quilt #3

This is coming on slowly as I’m only getting time for it on some of my days off. I have managed to piece together the blocks though and now have a quilt top ready for making into a sandwich.

I struggled for ages with how to arrange the blocks. I wanted random, but I’m not very good at random. I like logic and order so kept finding myself making sure there weren’t any blocks with the same colours touching.

Eventually I just put the blocks into a pile and laid them out in rows as I picked them up and made myself leave it at that, although I did make sure to turn them so that as few seams lined up as possible. Less chance of them not matching that way 😉

I think it came out quite nicely.

It’s sitting on the batting in the photo and is now all rolled up on top of some cupboards where the cats can’t reach it. Hopefully I’ll find time to sort out some backing for it soon and get it basted.

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Rosie’s quilt #2

Progress! It isn’t finished yet, but it’s coming on.

I got the original four blocks made up but it definitely wasn’t going to be large enough for what I wanted. Rosie loves sleeping on the chair next to the bed and was very impressed when I borrowed one of the other small quilts to put on it. I’m thinking that a larger quilt plus a cushion would be perfect for her.

These are the four blocks that I did to start with.

I just needed to find more fabric for eight more blocks. I had more than enough of the patterned squares from the charm packs so that wasn’t a problem. I had a bit more of the blue fabric and enough of a matching brown fabric, but that left me needing something for the centres. I didn’t have any more of the silver fabric so I took four pink/lilac squares from the grunge charm packs and sent for a pale golden-brown for the other four squares.

Yesterday I found the time to sew up the eight blocks and now have this lovely pile.

Next step is to cut them into four and then play around with them to see how I want to arrange them. I’ve got some long shifts coming up this week so it may be a while before I can get back to this but I’m happy with how much I got done this weekend, considering that most of today has been spent in front of the TV with three Wimbledon matches and the British Grand Prix.

 

 

Rosie’s quilt

I’ve made small quilts for both Sammie and Frodo so I want to make one for Rosie too. The plan was to have it ready for when we brought her home, but as I was having problems cutting the fabric, due to the dodgy shoulder, I waited until I’d bought the new ruler thingy from the craft show.

I’ve given the ruler a try and it is definitely easier to cut. Less pressure required and it doesn’t move at all. So, now that cutting is going to be easier, and more accurate, I shall crack on and get little Rosie’s quilt made before she outgrows it.

I looked at lots of different blocks and rummaged though my fabrics, but I’ve decided to do yet another Disappearing nine patch, using some pretty squares from a couple of small charm packs that I got at a show a couple of years ago. I added two fat quarters of a plainer fabric in a nice blue.

I’ve already cut the squares needed from the fat quarters and have made a good start on sewing the blocks. I feel that it isn’t going to be large enough though as I’d like it to drape over the chair that she prefers to sleep on upstairs. I don’t have any more of the silver squares that I’ve used for the centres so I think I’ll use some of the squares from the new Moda grunge charm packs with some brown FQs that match the blue ones. I need one more colour for the centres so I’ve sent for a couple of fat quarters plus some rather pretty fabric for the backing.

Hopefully I’ll have some more progress to report on this one soon as Rosie needs something nice to snuggle onto.

 

Frodo’s Quilt – blocks

I’ve managed to get a bit done to Frodo’s quilt, but I haven’t got very far as I’ve been so busy in the garden.

First I made six nine-patch blocks

I tried to place the squares randomly but I just couldn’t do it. I did manage to stop myself from putting them all the same way up, so there is some randomness there. Also one block has two of the squares in the wrong place, but I don’t think it’ll show once it’s finished.

Once I’d finished the blocks, I then cut them all apart again. (as you do) When I did a disappearing nine patch before, I cut the block into quarters and rotated them. I’ve done this one differently. I found a few examples of this online and thought it looked good.

You cut two blocks and swap their centres. It’s going to look very busy and colourful as I’m not using any solids but I think Frodo will like it.

I’ve got the blocks sewn back together now, and I just need to sew them together and finish it off.

I’m hoping to get a cushion made for the cat carrier before we go to collect Frodo so I’m going to try to do that next and finish the quilt later. Not too much later though. I’d like Frodo to have his quilt while he’s still a kitten 😉

Pretty fabric

I’m going to make another small quilt, this time for Frodo. I think he deserves his own quilt for when he arrives. I’m going to use one of the fat quarter bundles that I got from Hobbycraft when they were on offer.

It’s very pretty and I’m sure Frodo won’t mind a bit of pink in his quilt. These are the six fabrics in the bundle.

I’m cutting it into 5″ squares and I think I’ll probably do a nine-patch or a variation of that. Hopefully I can get it done in time as we should be bringing Frodo home in a couple of weeks.

Snowball quilt – Ta da!

I’ve finally got around to finishing this. The delay was partly the craft room clean-up and partly not having any suitable fabric for the backing. I kept looking online but couldn’t find anything that I liked enough. I found a nice spotty fabric when I was in Hobbycraft last week, and although it was more than I really wanted to pay, I did like it so I splurged.

This quilt is for Sammie and will go on one of the sofas for her to lie on. She loves her other quilt, which is folded up on one of my craft room chairs for her. I may need to make her a few more as they’re a nice size to practise with and she doesn’t mind if the blocks aren’t lined up very well 😉

She claimed it before it was even finished. Have you ever tried to sew binding on when there’s a cat lying on the part that isn’t in the machine? She also ran off with the binding while I was still making it.

She even helped me to photograph it. I made the mistake of lying it on the bed and she must have thought I was making a nice cosy play area for her.

I think she likes that some of the blocks match one of her favourite mice.

I did try to get a photo of the back but she was in playful mode so this is as good as I could get.

I was pleased with how the binding went on compared to the other quilt that I made. Having a decent machine helped massively as the new one just sailed over all the seams. The quilting is just straight lines. I was going to have a go at free motion quilting on this but changed my mind. (lost my nerve)

I may have a go on a piece of fabric, with batting and backing, rather than risk spoiling a quilt that I’ve spent a while making.

The quilt is nowhere near perfect but it’s better than the last one and I’ve learnt quite a lot while making it. I might make a wee one for Frodo next, to welcome him to his new home in a couple of months.

Snowball quilt

I’ve finished piecing the top. Hooray!

It’s not the most accurate bit of sewing as the snowballs do not all match up. I think I’m getting better though so that’s good.

It’s going into the drawer for now though as I need to get some fabric for the backing. I’ve got enough white but I’d rather use something more colourful. I’m hoping to get something at the Cotton Patch next time I pop to the library.

I’ve got plenty of other projects to keep me busy in the mean time 😉

Disappearing nine patch

Before I try to finish my Star quilt with my new sewing machine, I thought I’d make a small lap quilt to practise on. I had a selection of brown fabrics and thought they might look quite nice as a disappearing nine patch. I rather like the design, having seen it on several blogs and on Pinterest.

It was easy to do, and didn’t take long. My new machine is a joy to use and I’m getting quite confident with it now. I’ve tried using it with and without the foot pedal and both ways are great. There is so much control with the foot pedal. I love it.

This is the quilt top. I’ve yet to quilt it as I need to get some more batting. It’s laid out in a regular pattern but I was trying for random as far as the colours go. I’m quite pleased with it.

I think I’ll quilt it with straight lines, just to get some practise in with the walking foot.

I managed to photograph this one without any help as it’s small enough to hang on my airer. I did get a bit distracted while I was outside though. This chap landed on my coriander plants, right next to me, and as the camera was in my hand…

 

Isn’t he lovely? He’s been flitting around the garden for a few days now. I love butterflies.

Star Quilt

I’ve made my first quilt top! I’m very excited about it and can’t wait to get it finished. It’s a design out of the magazine Love Patchwork and Quilting. It’s very simple, with just sixteen huge blocks, and because of that I thought it’d be a good one to start with. I was going to wait until finishing the quilt before taking a photo but I’m so chuffed with it that I couldn’t resist showing it off straight away. I was trying to think of the best way to take a photo of it, but then my husband offered his assistance. It’s pegged to a bit of wooden beading, and you can just see his hand holding it up. I’m thinking that I could have picked a better backdrop, but then the garden doesn’t really have any pretty bits at the moment.

The fabric is STOF Japanese Lifestyle and is lovely. It has a gold sheen running through it. I got it at the NEC show earlier this year in a pack of 10 fat quarters for £20. The background fabric is a bit of a cheat. I read about it on a few different blogs so thought I’d try it to save some money. It’s a flat double cotton sheet. It’s quite a fine one so seems to work ok with the patterned cotton. I cut it carefully so I’d have a piece left over that’s big enough to do the backing too. I think there’ll be enough left from the patterned cotton to make the binding.

I’m currently planning the next one. It’s a bit addictive once you start, isn’t it 🙂

Sampler quilt – block #01

I have a plan. The husband has expressed a desire for a quilt for the bed but I don’t want to commit myself to a full-scale project just yet. I’m having fun trying out new techniques and designs and want to play at doing lots of different things. Also I’m still working on sewing in a straight line. I think there’s some improvement but still room for a lot more.

So, as one of the things that I want to do is try the Blocks of the month in the quilting magazine that I’ve subbed to, as well as any others that take my fancy, I thought I’d do them all in matching colours and make a quilt out of them once I have enough. It’ll be a sort of sampler quilt with lots of different blocks in it.

The freebie that came with one of the issues of Love Patchwork and Quilting was a booklet with 20 different blocks in it so I’ve started by making one from there that I loved as soon as I saw it. It’s an Ohio Star and was fun to make.

Ok, so it’s a bit wonky. I really need to work on that. I hadn’t made any QSTs before, or HSTs come to that so that was something new to learn. One pair of the QSTs came out rather nicely lined up, the other pair, not so much. I thought I’d got my seams lined up so I think it may have slipped before I sewed.

How the rest of it went wonky, I have no idea. I was getting quite enthusiastic once I’d got the squares all ready and may  not have checked what I was doing as much as I should have. Still, it’s a block and it looks quite star-like. I’m happy with it for a first go.

I’m no nearer getting a refund on my cutting board and ruler that I ordered from Ebay. The seller, who is aware that the parcel is lost, has told Ebay that it was delivered and has won the case. I’m getting a bit frustrated with it all now. I’m not giving up yet though.