6ichthusfish

Patchwork and Quilting...

For Christmas I made my two nieces a special lap quilt each.  This quilt was made from a 'layer cake' (explained below) of Basic Grey fabric called  'Fruitcake'.  It's made by Moda and the pattern 'Scrappy Mountain Majesties' is free from the Quiltville website, which I love.... 

The other quilt (below) is from a free pattern by Daniela Stout of Cozy Quilt Designs and is called 'Breaking Waves' but I assembled the squares into bigger, concentric squares, not waves.  I posted in detail here on the blog 'It's a Creative World' all about how it was made with step-by-step photos and useful links. 

 

To explain, a 'Jelly roll' is a roll of  2.5" strips (depending on manufacturer the amount differs -mine was 40) and a 'Layer Cake' is a pile of 10" squares (mine had 40).  Both are co-ordinated fabrics...

 

If anyone wants to know where I got the fabric it was here.

With the leftovers I've been making our family a lap quilt.  It'll be for next year now.  The centre panel of patchwork is from a pattern called 'Streak of Sunshine' and is free here on Quiltville.

 

You can see the quilt more clearly as Smurf was helping me baste the quilt...

 
The centre panel is made from 10 jelly roll strips I had left over. All the random little squares that frame the centre panel were cobbled together from off-cuts from my nieces 2 quilts and a few left over 10" squares from the layer cake I bought.  There was a certain amount of satisfaction in that!   I had to buy some more wadding and a piece of backing fabric too.  Shame I didn't manage to finish it for Christmas 2010 but we'll pop it in the attic and get it down when we put the tree up this year.  I'd recommend the 'streak of sunshine' pattern for anyone starting out as it's easy and fun.

I've got a new project bubbling away at the moment and will share more once it's got going.

 

 

A Little Doll's Quilt ...

I made a doll's quilt for my friend's daughter as a present for her birthday.  She'd had a new doll's pram and was very cute how she cared for her doll and pushed the pram around. 

I quilted the 'pebbles' with free-motion quilting...

This is a very quick and easy project because the center panel is one piece.
 
 

Frogs & Bugs Quilt...finished at last...

This post has been linked to Mother Hen's Homemade Thursday on her blog Ship Full O'Pirates .

The new quilt has been a big hit with the chidlers.  It seems really huge for a lap-quilt (compared to the cupcake quilt).  It comfortably snuggles two people and totally envelopes one.  [NOTE: the chidlers DO NOT sit like this...it's purely posed ...under sufferance too!]

 

I'm pleased how the pattern turned out.  Not too sure about the edging though.. plain fabric may have framed the quilt better but hey.. it's finished now.

 

Smurf is a big fan...although he wasn't that keen when I quilted flowers on the lime green/purple panels (see below).  I needed a break from the bubbles/pebbles and as I pointed out to him... "Where do bugs like to live?  Flowers of course!"  Insert sceptical face from cool 11 year old dude.  But the un-cool for boys flowers are not that noticable in the scheme of things.  Seriously.

 

In the end I sat up late a coupla times handstitching the back of the edging...

 

Scary, late-at-night face & hair (!).   The back piece of fabric was a re-purposed duvet cover from a charity shop and is so colourful. 

 

I'm going to take a break from quilting and persue some crochet patterns I bought.  So grateful to my Gran (who's in her 80's) for teaching me to crochet squares when I was little. She always has knitting or crochet in hand... as you can see below... photo taken last year when we all got together to celebrate some milestone birthdays.

 

 

   

Love my Gran  :)

Free motion quilting...

This post has been linked to Mother Hen's Homemade Thursday  at the blog Ship full O' Pirates. 

 

There was a bit of a delay on the quilting front due to my new machine not being very keen on free-motion quilting (not keen at all).  I had never broken a needle on a sewing machine until last week.  I am not proud to say that I did reach a fairly high frustration level & had to set the quilting aside for a few days... but having an unfinished quilt slouching over the back of a chair was not helpful.  So... Husb kindly dropped the chidlers off at swimming yesterday tea-time (so that I could get on uninterrupted) & I got serious with the settings on my machine & did get on with a bit more success.  This morning I've done some more and it's going much better. 

I really enjoyed free-motion quilting the 'pebbles' or 'bubbles' on my first quilt but I used my friend Jane's old JONES machine that I'd borrowed.  Husb bought me a new machine last Autumn and the patchwork side of it went well (smooth stitching all the way) however, the darning foot that I have doesn't fit this new machine so I've had to make-do with the walking foot and a darning plate over the feed dogs. 

 

I've used invisible thread again and am nearly ready to do the border.  Yay.  Who ever thought that quilting could be so character-building ?!

Stitch in the ditch...

This post has been linked to Homemade Thursday at the blog Ship Full O'Pirates.

 

Feels good to be back at the quilting again.  The 'Frogs & Bugs Quilt' has thankfully come together far better than the 'Cupcake Quilt' did.   I learned from the mistakes I made first time 'round (it was painful in places).  That first quilt was a character builder I can tell you! 

Anyway, I basted the quilt a day or two ago... basically that's when you make up the 'quilt sandwich' from the three layers...

1) Quilt top,

2) Batting (padding stuff)

3) Backing fabric. 

I got the backing fabric from a charity shop (it's a hardly used colourful duvet cover).  The tag tool I use to baste the quilt saves a lot of time.

 

The tag tool is very popular & there are always other 'helpful' folks ready to help...

 

 

Once basted, last night  I started the actual quilting....  Yay!  I decided to 'stitch in the ditch'  along the edges of the square panels.  This was considerably easier than last time due to my new grippy gloves which are small & a better fit.  My first pair of grippy gloves were way too big & flappy. 

 

 

This quilt is bigger & heavier than the first quilt I made & while sewing it last night, I discovered some muscles in my forearms I never knew I had (!).  This morning my arms are aching  ;}

 

I've just noticed how miserable I look.. but I'm just concentrating... honestly!

Looking forward to quilting 'pebbles' on each panel. 

[See the left sidebar and click on 'Quilting efforts' to read about the piecing process of this quilt & about the making of my first quilt].

 

Bead critters & quilting..

Tiger-girl has been making 'Beadlings'... cute little critters made from teeny glass seed beads...

   

 

Smurf also made me two beautiful bead rings.

I have been working on the frog quilt again.  Christmas threw me off my momentum but I'm keen to get on with it again.

 

 

Recycled bag-lady and newly 16 year old son...!?

This post has been linked to Homemade Thursdays at the blog Ship Full O'Pirates.

 

Roman had a fairly quiet day on his Birthday.  He opened his presents & cards and was pleased with everything.  The pic below shows his new electric razor.  Husb gave him a chat about the ins & outs of shaving then Roman charged it up & had his first shave.

Chef gave him a £10 voucher for the shop 'GAME' and Tiger-girl & Smurf bought him choccy.  There was quite a pile of paper with the Queen's face on it which Roman is going to put in his bank account.  We'll get some new clothes too.  I'm not sure how I feel about having a sixteen year old son.  Husb was joking with him about being old enough to get married... I was busy thinking how recently it was I taught him to tie his shoelaces and do long division.  We go by what it says in the Word (Bible) about a parent's job being to train a child up in the way they should go & when they're old they'll not depart from it. 

  

I made a bag.. a tote bag to be precise. 

 

It is made from re-cycled kitchen curtain fabric and is lined. I adapted it from this pattern which I found on the internet.  I wanted it to be simple, strong & recycled.  Chef took the pic below when I was pinning the handles on... super-strong because the handles go right down under the bag.  I used up the whole 50 metres of  strong thread. 

   

I have also finished the top patchwork of the frog quilt.

 

Matching together all the points was a labour of love.  After my matching up disaster of the first quilt I made... I was very careful to match EVERY SINGLE PANEL because a half centimetre 'out' at the start, can become ' a whole lot out' by the end.  It took some time but the quilt is now ready to 'baste'.  I bought another charity shop quilt cover to be the backing fabric... it's very colourful and looks almost new.  More re-cycling or I think the correct jargon is 're-purposing' but I could be wrong  ;)

 

 

I took the children swimming last night.  The leisure pool is open till 9pm and I swam too.  I went on both flumes and raced Smurf around the rapids.  The wave machine is the best ever.  Husb has a new job and his shift finishes at 7pm so the days seem long without him.  Hence the ... "Hey guys, let's go swimming!" which shocked them all as it was dark & takes two buses to get there.  Husb picked us up at the pool so it worked out pretty well.  Good to keep the chidlers on their toes    :)

Quilt panels & Gingerbread...

There was some excitement and joy in setting out all the quilt panels.  The lime-green-bogey colour & dark purple hour glass panels certainly create a cool optical illusion when alternated with the chunky churndash panels.  Chef has been intrigued with the clever effect.  Smurf and Chef patiently arranged & re-arranged the panels & it was quite tricky getting the colour combinations to sit nicely together.

 

Here's the final lay-out... 

I'm pretty excited to sew it all together  :)

During this time Tiger-girl baked-up a batch of Gingerbread cookies... 

 

Warm gingerbread straight from the oven, hot tea and a short break reading a quilting techniques book...  One happy Mama....

The handsome rotary-cutters assistant...!

Phew!  Many, many triangles have been cut to make up the 'Hourglass' panels for the quilt.  We nipped out to the quilt shop to get the wadding (padding) and 3/4 of a metre of darkish plain fabric to complement the lime green (bogey) green that will make up the hourglass panel.  Smurf came too and keenly had an opinion on the colours.  In the end a dark purple was the best choice.  Smurf wasn't that pleased as he thinks purple is for girls (!)  Husb had to convince him it was macho enough!

Husb helps me when I'm cutting with the rotary cutter and quilting ruler.  (A labour of love tonight as he'd had a long day at work.)

 

   

Totally LURVE this ruler... it is so clever... there are lines ruled all over it so you get the right angles & seam allowances etc.  Seasoned quilters may laugh but I cut my last quilt with scissors and an old 30cm ruler.  I feel so posh!

 

 

The blue, bubbly fabric strips piled on the right are (probably) going to end up as a border.  There's something about the necker on a boy scout that reminds me of this panel... hoping it'll look good when it comes together.

I was at the dentist (again) today... brief saga is that he took some more x-rays last time after the root canal teeny plastic rod/filling malarkey & said he'd call & let me know if all was well etc.  Anyway, there was a call & I had to go back as he didn't like the look of the x-ray.  I feel hunky-dory in the teeth department and was pain free when he investigated.  Gotta go back in 3 weeks for another look-see.  It is well.

Quilted panels...

I have spent many happy hours today quilting up the 'chunky churndash' panels of the frog quilt. 

 

 

 

The panels are spaced out because there'll be another different panel in between.

Get your shades on to view this quilt!