scrappy tripping

 

I've not sewed much at all since the beginning of the year... time to change that and start another quilt or two! Always on the lookout for ways to use up my scrappy stash, I decided to make another 'scrappy trip around the world' quilt. I played for a few days, pulling fabric from my baskets, making little piles, and then narrowing things down a tad. 

I'm going with a selection of mainly pastels for my scrappy trips, with a slightly deeper medium/dark for the centre diagonal of each block, creating that diamond effect when four blocks are joined together.
I intend to use an assorted mix of fabric designers, including Kaffe and Jennifer Paganelli {inspired by Michelle's recent leader/ender project} And I'm using Bonnie Hunters tried & true free scrappy trips pattern, {which you can find here}. 

Four blocks up on the design wall today!

started last year, finished this year

 

- backing fabric

- binding prep

I've had Brigitte Giblin's book "Feathering the Nest 2" for ages now, the quilts are delightful. Her designs are inspired by vintage quilts, with a little more colour here & there.
'Quilt dos a dos' is Brigitte's back to back quilt. The front is a scrappy combo of hourglasses, HSTs and squares and the back is the vintage looking strippy quilt. They must be the easiest two projects in her book!

I started this quilt back in June 2020, you may remember the earlier progress photos. I used an eclectic mix of prints from my fabric baskets, including precious snippets of Liberty & Kaffe, plus a few designer treats, and anything else that I thought would create depth and interest. I'm sure you will note that a few of my 'lights' are more 'mediums' this time, all just adds to the mix, yes? 

And with those sashing pieces cut in long strips, I'm hoping it looks like some wild striped wallpaper, adding to the handmade vintage feel.

For my backing I chose 'Fern' by Amy Butler, a soft cotton sateen. I had it machine quilted by Leeanne from quiltmekiwi last year, in an edge to edge pattern called "ripples'.

Fast forward to this year, and I've just finished adding the binding today. It's an older Joel Dewberry print 'ornate floral' and seems to draw out the pinks & plums quite well. 

With a little clash of pattern and some strong colours to stand out amongst the others … this little quilt is done. The finished size is 126 x 162cm (49" x 63").

My vintage strippy quilt will live here for a while, and then when I feel okay about it, I’ll donate it. (Probably once I forget how long it took to make, and how many $ went into it!)

Feels so good to get another one finished #emptyingtheufocupboard

Linking up with Kelly for 'needleandthreadThursday' here

Until next time, Linda
 

where do all your quilts go?

Ah yes, it's a question I'm often asked...

Where do all your quilts go? 

Mine move around quite. a. lot… some are in a glory box… others are in a cupboard… some are being used on spare beds … and lots & lots of other quilts have been gifted to family & friends or donated over the years. 

And, I do have a few quilt 'stacks' here, love seeing them all together. These really "old" quilts are on a shelving unit in my sewing room, along with treasured old teddies & doll.

 

#sundayquiltstacks

Linda

summertime reading

 

"Daisy Jones and the Six" by Taylor Jenkins Reid is such a good read. I fell in love with Daisy and couldn't put it down until I got to the end.

 It's a novel that transports you back to the music scene of the Fleetwood Mac era, about the whirlwind rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their beautiful lead singer, revealing the mystery behind their infamous break up.

And it's a love story, where everyone remembers the truth differently! 

"The Survivors" is Jane Harper's latest book. It's a stand alone mystery, in which a small Australian town's secrets begin to totally unravel. 

"Kieran Elliott’s life changed forever on a single day when a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal community he once called home.
Kieran’s parents are struggling in a town where fortunes are forged by the sea. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn.
When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away..."

Sally Hepworth hits it out of the park as usual with this engrossing and brilliant psychological thriller, 'the Good Sister'.

Rose and Fern are unidentical twins and their dynamic is interesting, complicated and not necessarily the way it appears to others. Like layers of an onion we learn more and more and then it all smashes together in the most Hepworthiest way.

Fern has Sensory Processing Issues and is often overwhelmed by loud noises, bright lights, and pungent smells and Rose has always been her fierce protector.

As the story progresses though, I became quite concerned as to how things would pan out. I wanted a happy ending for Fern, but knowing that life doesn’t always give us what we want, I was compelled to keep the pages turning!

And, nothing to do with books, but check out this little chocolate prezzie we received. It was beautifully wrapped, and the chocolate has a very quilty texture! Made with only 2 ingredients- cacao beans & organic cane sugar, from the Foundry Chocolate Co. here in NZ. 

Love to hear about what you have been reading lately?

Linda

a delightful scrappy finish

I was determined to get another 'finish' in this year, and this is it "Second Star to the Right". I seemed to have taken a long time to work through the quilting processes with this quilt, but I'm still loving it!

After piecing all those stars and agonizing about the setting triangles, I was ready to just- get- it- done! But I'm so glad I waited until the 'right' fabrics came along for the borders. 

There's something very appealing to me about the combination of the grey spot, the pink & white stripe and the Kaffe Guinea Flower wide border. It was a little tricky to decide on the binding material, but I think the Kaffe Aboriginal Dot in Orchid works well at containing everything.
And there are some delightful scrappy fabric combos within the stars too, lots of my favourite fabrics here.

I used a vintage sheet for my backing and chose a wool batting, which has given the quilt a soft cuddly feel. I had it quilted by Leeanne from quiltmekiwi in a 'Baptist Fan with a curl' pattern. The finished quilt measures approx. 60" x 54". To see the enlarged photo just click on any pic

Keen to start on something new now! 

Wishing you and yours a safe & healthy holiday.

I'll be back next year, and let's hope it's way better than this year!

Linda

sewing it all together

This week I decided to have a go at the RAY quilt by Carolyn Friedlander, it's a free pattern inspired by the classic log cabin. Follow the link here to see other versions.

Those of you who stop by often will be thinking "hang on, where are all the blues?" Oh yes, this is a bit of a different colour palette from my usual I'll admit, but I'm loving the ivory & blush teamed up with a few darker colours. 

Sewing it all together was a quick & easy process. The hardest part was deciding on the order of fabrics. In the end I decided that my fabrics would playfully bounce back & forth between light and dark choices from the centre out, with just a little gentle colour transitioning from border to border.  Quilt top measurements approx. 57" (145cms) x 71" (180cms). 

I really wanted to use a pretty Outback Wife fabric as my starting point, but I only had a couple of snippets left... so I joined them, and added a little floral collage... perfectly imperfect!

     To see the enlarged photo just click on any pic
Until next time, Linda

blueberry crumble, yes please

Another scrap quilt all finished! 'Blueberry Crumble' was a fun make that's for sure. You will have seen progress photos of these crumb blocks over the year, and it feels good to be able to tick another WiP off the list. Totally inspired by Chris @afullenglish, gotta love his improv approach, with lots of recycled fabrics, corduroy, and that orange boilersuit fabric, oh my!

For my version, I used fabrics from my stash, including a few designer treats, a little 'outback wife' and Liberty, along with shirt offcuts and snippets of my mother's vintage apron. I used a vintage sheet for the backing and chose a wool/polyester mix for the batting. 

It was machine quilted in a straight line matchstick pattern by Leeanne from quiltmekiwi. The finished quilt measures approx. 58" x 48", a nice throw size. Linking up with Cyndy for 'oh scrap' here

To see the enlarged photo just click on any pic

Until next time, Linda