Sew My Stash 2015 Challenge 1 Finished

I have completed the first challenge of Project Leasa's Sew My Stash 2015 and it feels great to have made a mini quilt in a short period of time and to have made something which I otherwise would not have considered.  Until Friday I didn't know I was making something "heart themed" and now here I am, proudly showing off my project and I am just so pleased with how it has turned out.

Now, I know this project is made from small bits of fabric, which means I have made no dent into the stash, but it has given me ideas for some bigger quilts that would mean reducing the stash considerably.  In that sense it's a small step towards something more significant.

I'm very into "rainbows" at the moment and this is going to be on the wall of my craft room shortly.  I've included some of my favourite fabrics in this wall hanging, so it seems apt that it should reside there.

I really enjoyed quilting the squares and triangles in coordinating threads.  I treated myself to four new spools of cotton to do this, which is possibly a little naughty when I am trying to reduce my stash, but I don't count those as stash.  Stash for me is exclusively fabric.  (That's my disclaimer in any case!)  However, I can boast here that all the fabrics (including the backing and binding) were already in my possession.

There a number of other people taking part in this challenge.  I've really enjoyed seeing their progress and ideas on Instagram.  To find other projects use the hashtag sewmystash2015challenge1 and you are sure to find some lovely hearty projects.

A Friday Finish - 2015's first quilt

I love a Friday finish.  I always feel I've met a deadline, even though the deadline is imaginary.  I think I like it because it means the weekend is ahead of me to let my creativity go wild and to devote time to a new project.

Today's Friday finish is my rainbow quilt which I only started last weekend.  It's not been as quick to make as I had hoped.  There was so much quilting of those tramlines, and then I quilted a fold (probably because I had not basted it properly) so I had to undo lots of quilting and re-quilt it.  It was a little frustrating.  I think my sewing machine got frustrated as well - the needle kept falling out and the tension went off.  I was panicking a bit because my warranty ran out last month, and isn't it always the case that electrical things break just after your cover runs out?  Anyway, I did some troubleshooting and I think I have solved the problem.  Here's hoping!

This is a big quilt (81" x 43"), but I wanted to include all the colours in the jelly roll.  I quilted using matching threads.  Some were exact matches, some less exact.  I know I have a lack of orange threads in my collection, so the orange strip was quilted with more of a golden brown colour.  It seemed to work.

I love the backing fabric and binding I chose.  I think a delicate grey works wonderfully against every single colour and is worth remembering for the future with other bright combinations.

This quilt will eventually be in my craft room.  There is a rainbow theme being developed in there.  We still don't have the storage from Ikea (grrr!) but when we do I will take photos of the room and this quilt in situ.

Keeping with the rainbow theme, my next project is going to use these fabrics:

As I mentioned on a previous blog post I am taking part in Project Leesa's Sew My Stash 2015 and there is a Weekend Challenge taking place now.  In summary, you have to make a project by Sunday from at least 75% stash and it has to have a "heart" theme for upcoming Valentine's Day.  I'm going to use all stash (promise!) and make a rainbow heart mini quilt to hang in my craft room.  I'm sure there are people making things for loved ones, but I've just made my fella a quilt so this project is going to be for my lovely craft room and is a homage to my beloved hobby.

I'll be posting updates on Instagram (I'm @stitchandpieces) but pop by on Sunday to see the finished piece.

Enjoy your weekend!