First up, choosing the fabrics
... and like many, I love fabric! Lots of my stash is made up of scrappy little bits & strips, fat 1/4's, and lots of leftovers. I do buy the odd biggish piece from time to time, but I rarely buy more than 1 metre/1 yard!Using my older stash and turning it into a quilt has been a focus this year. Which is where my daughter comes in... she has a great way of looking at things, colour first, mixing up the fabric styles, with no bias towards any designer ranges. And she loves my stash, old & new!
The boy/girl question is unknown still for this little quilt, but the mum-to-be is definitely a 'blue' person, so that was a good starting place. I pointed my daughter in the direction of my blue scrapbaskets, and let her go for it...
As she really wanted to stick with an all-blue look, I suggested maybe mixing up different shades of blue for a bit more visual interest...
We sorted even more. I felt we maybe needed more range of large/medium/small scale between the prints to give added contrast, and so I popped in a few of my choices too ...
Next up the maths
... and for this little quilt we kept it nice & easy. Lots of scrappy squares cut at 5", so the finished squares end up 4 1/2".
Then followed a quick lesson on how to use the rotary cutter. Safety first, and trimming up the raw edges of each fabric, and then lining up the ruler and cutting, using that good old "measure twice, cut once" rule.
She quickly progressed to layering up a few fabrics all at once, and once they were cut, she was very keen play with the squares all laid out. First alternating lights & darks, then laying them all diagonally. In the end she opted for 'scrappy' {like mother like daughter, yes?}
And then onto the fun part, the sewing!
... we chatted about consistent 1/4" seam allowance, pressing not ironing, and then got onto some time saving chain piecing {before Evie woke up and Olive got back from the park with Gramps!}
As she really wanted to stick with an all-blue look, I suggested maybe mixing up different shades of blue for a bit more visual interest...
We sorted even more. I felt we maybe needed more range of large/medium/small scale between the prints to give added contrast, and so I popped in a few of my choices too ...
Next up the maths
... and for this little quilt we kept it nice & easy. Lots of scrappy squares cut at 5", so the finished squares end up 4 1/2".
Then followed a quick lesson on how to use the rotary cutter. Safety first, and trimming up the raw edges of each fabric, and then lining up the ruler and cutting, using that good old "measure twice, cut once" rule.
She quickly progressed to layering up a few fabrics all at once, and once they were cut, she was very keen play with the squares all laid out. First alternating lights & darks, then laying them all diagonally. In the end she opted for 'scrappy' {like mother like daughter, yes?}
And then onto the fun part, the sewing!
... we chatted about consistent 1/4" seam allowance, pressing not ironing, and then got onto some time saving chain piecing {before Evie woke up and Olive got back from the park with Gramps!}
- chain piecing
- and more chain piecing
- oops, side tracked looking at fabric again!
This time choosing the backing fabric
'la paloma' The Alexander Henry Fabrics Collection 2011
- close up pic just for me, checking those intersecting seams are lined up nicely!
Pop back soon for part 2 - you too darling - where we add in a bit of a 'zinger'!
wonderful to spend sewing and quilting time with your daughter - and sewing for a new grandbaby too, even better!
ReplyDeleteI love all those blues! It must be a thrill to guide your daughter into the craft of quilt making!
ReplyDeleteSuch gorgeous fabrics!
ReplyDeleteWonderful mix of fabrics there, love that you are adding in some turquoise!
ReplyDelete