A Baby Quilt - a finished project

One of the great things about quilting, or doing any craft for that matter, is that there is always something new to learn.  I'm a teacher by profession and not so long ago there was an expectation we teach "Three Part Lessons" (I won't go into it here) but this quilt reminded me of this because I learned three key things along the way.

Firstly, this finished quilt provided a lesson for me in long-arm quilting, and I am pleased with the overall look and feel.  Today's finished quilt represents such a departure for me because of the swirls and curves because I am usually limited to quilting using straight lines.  To the untrained eye it must seem like any other quilt I have made but I feel proud of this quilt because I learned a new skill and applied it with some success.  Obviously I am no expert yet, but quilting also teaches that practice does make perfect.  Hopefully I will be able to develop my basic skills further and show my progress on this blog at some point.

This quilt was made with scraps from other quilts but I really like how the fabrics interact.  The greens and blues work well side by side and I like the light backgrounds on many of the squares.  The backing fabric is by Red Rooster Fabrics and I think that it's called A is for Animals. I am pleased with how the letters match many of the colours on the front.

The second lesson I learned here is that variegated thread might not be the right choice for long-arm quilting, especially on so much white.  This comes as a shock to me as I cannot resist a variegated thread but the next time I use the long-arm quilter I am going to have a go using a solid thread throughout because I wonder if this thread is too busy when there is so much quilting on the front.  That's just another example of learning throughout this craft.  I need to try it, compare it and decide which I prefer.

I chose a red gingham fabric for the binding on a whim but it has worked brilliantly.  I think the red brings out the red on the front and the back but also gives it a classic feel even though there are contemporary fabrics on the front.  Here was also my third lesson.  The binding is the best I have ever sewn because I looked up a tutorial by Red Pepper Quilts and I was then able to make the binding less bulky and more regular.  I haven't finished it off on the machine, I finished it by hand, but a future lesson will be to finish binding on the machine.  I think there is something extremely motivating about the fact that there is always more to discover, to learn and to perfect.  

Thank you for visiting.

P.S.  As my blog is relatively new and in a bid to increase the number of readers and followers I am linking to Lily's Quilts who has a monthly link to boost small blogs like mine.

Red Riding Hood Quilt - a finished quilt

A fairy tale:  Once upon a time a young quilter saw some beautiful fabric on the magical kingdom of Pinterest and went on a mission to collect as much of it as she could in order to create treasures in her own quilting kingdom.  That's the shortened version of how this project came to be.

The fabric in this quilt is from Tasha Noel's Little Red Riding Hood range and I love everything about it.  Unfortunately my local patchwork shop only stocked two of the fabrics (the red I've used in the strips and the grey floral I've used on the back).  I then spent the next couple of months sourcing as much of it as I could from different online shops.  It did become a bit of a mission for me (and possibly also an obsession) to get hold of as much as I could.

This week's finished project could have been finished ages ago but I have been putting off finishing the binding for ages because I didn't want to stop working with this set of most beautiful of fabrics.  Some of this fabric I've now had stashed away for over a year but this is now my second quilt using these fabrics and I've been dragging out how long I can work with them.

Many of my quilts are different blocks put together in different combinations.  What I liked here was starting with what I call "fox in a box" (I do know it's really, "box in a box") and then putting these in the friendship stars.  I think this gives the quilt a little more interest; images from the Red Riding Hood story are framed nicely this way and the pretty flower and toadstool prints also have a starring role.

I added the red strips and the diagonal strips to make the quilt fit a child's bed and not just a cot.  I especially like how they now look.  This started out as a way of using up scraps, as I didn't want to waste any of my precious fabric, but they have ended up being a great feature and could surely be the inspiration for another quilt in the future.

There are two different threads here for the quilting.  The red strips have been quilted using a perfectly matched red but then I have not been able to resist a variegated thread for the rest.  It's by YLI and is Nana's Rose Garden.  I think the light to dark pink is perfect for making this even more girly.

I'm really pleased with this quilt and have decided to keep it with me.  I love gifting my quilts but sometimes I have to do a little hoarding.  One day I would love to tuck a little girl in to bed and share the story of Red Riding Hood with her.  That way there really would be a happily ever after.

Industrious industrial action

Yesterday I was on strike.  I take the decision to strike seriously so I was up at the crack of dawn to join fellow colleagues on the picket line and then I went on a march in town to meet up with fellow strikers from across the city.  The afternoon I dedicated to sewing and finished my two half square triangle cushions for my sister.  That's always the surprise about a day of striking - I end up at work earlier than usual to make my point and then dedicate dinnertime and early afternoon to the cause as well.  Come the afternoon I have to treat myself to focussed craft time and I must admit that I did enjoy having a little extra time to indulge in my hobby, especially as it was bright and cheerful yesterday.

I had never made patchwork cushions before so I am always glad to try new things and realise I am not limited to quilts.  These were especially satisfying to make because they were so quickly put together and from scraps, at that.  I really love how the white makes these fabrics look greater than they are.  As fat quarters I am not keen on these fabrics; they are not something I would choose but the white somehow makes me love them, which is a revelation.

Many of the projects I pin on pinterest have large amounts of white fabric, which makes me wonder whether I would like some of these projects without this component.  Perhaps some of my dubious fabric purchases would be put to good use next to white.  It's something I will have to try.  I think that using white could be a really good way of stretching out favourite fabrics which I can no longer get hold of.  If I have limited amounts of a beloved fabric using white would enable me to stretch the fabric out to make a quilt.  I quilted the cushions simply with tramlines and used YLI Machine Quilting thread in "sea mist".  The variegated thread works well both against the coloured fabrics and the white.

I definitely want to make more patchwork cushions but I want to learn how to make piping next time to give the cushions more structure and to frame them nicely.  I feel future projects coming on already.

Circus Quilt - A finished quilt

 I know this is not the best quilt I've ever made.  There are a few glitches; some of the points are off, some of my quilting isn't straight and some of the small squares would have been nicer if I'd fussy cut them.  And yet, despite all its shortcomings, I'm pleased with this quilt.

This has been an improvised quilt because I did very little planning and drawing and only bought the solids late on Saturday afternoon.  I'm pleased that in a short period of time I managed to make something that looks like something that was long prepared and mulled over.

The backing I bought only on Tuesday.  I had intended to buy some monkey fabric but the lady at my local patchwork shop picked out the large spots and these were a no-brainer.  The boldness of the dots with a white background works really well against the boldness and deep saturation on the front of the quit.  The backing is Michael Miller # CX-5291 Diddly Dot (what a lovely name!) and I'm going to purchase some more soon because I think it is such a dependable and worthwhile fabric for both the front and back of quilts.  I can envisage using it again shortly.

I love variegated thread for quilting and I also love a coincidence.  This quilt is destined for Australia so the thread by YLI called Great Barrier Reef by Luana Rubin is a perfect match.  Obviously, I doubt the quilt will be used in any scuba diving but the Australia theme was enough for me to put an extra smile on my face during the quilting.

I've learned a two key things along the way here.  Firstly, good solids can make a great contribution when you have only a small number of novelty or picture fabrics.  Secondly, scrappy binding is a fun way to use up fabric which can also make the quilt a touch more interesting.  I will definitely be doing this again in the future.