the easiest one in the book

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

I've had Brigitte Giblin's "Feathering the Nest 2" book 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 strippy quilt. They must be the easiest quilts in her book! And just perfect for what I feel like sewing at present. 

I decided to make the strippy quilt using an eclectic mix of fabrics from my baskets, including Liberty, checks, Kaffe, and anything else that I thought would create depth and interest. And with those sashing pieces cut in long strips, I’m hoping it will look like some wild striped wallpaper, adding to the handmade vintage feel.

Until next time, Linda

on the design wall

One nice outcome of all of this extra time at home - I have had more time to sew. If you stop by often, you will already know that I tend to flit from one project to another, and I also start new projects before finishing things too, as lots of ideas continue to bounce around in my head.

Now & then, I am also trying to pull out and make a little progress on some of the other ideas from the past few months as well. Quilts I started 'just because', not for the end result or to use up the fabric, but for the pleasure of making, and making what I love.
I remembered when & why I started each one of them, and how much I love the creative process of making a quilt - the fabric choices, the cutting out, the piecing, and the moment when it's all up on the design wall, so close to looking like a real quilt!

Here's a peek at what's happening around here, on the design wall & on my sewing table.

On the design wall is my next batch of 'flea market fancy' quilt blocks. Probably my favorite part of making these is the chance to play with different fabric and colour combinations. It’s like making a mini quilt with each block.

And then there were six . . . 

On my table – my cutting and prep station for a few more blocks.

As you can see in the below pic, my 'wagon wheel' blocks are still up there on the design wall. Even though they’ve been put to one side slightly, I’m keeping them out so that I keep working on a block or two occasionally. I’m still really enjoying these blocks, that pink fabric is so pretty, and it would be fun to get this UFO done.

I did manage to get my 'sidewalkchalk' blocks up off the design floor and all together. Loving this random scattering of colour and values

I was tempted to add a few embroidery stitches to this simple quilt, in keeping with the vintage crazy quilt that originally inspired me. However, I decided not to, as my version was always intended to be a more 'modern' rendition.

I did decide to add a little extra embellishment to my 'blueberry crumble' quilt top though . . .

. . . and true to form, I'm still starting new projects! I felt the need to make something just for fun yesterday. I received a small bundle of fabrics from treehouse textiles during the lockdown, a pretty selection of mainly Liberties & assorted plaids. So, with my new fabric bundle in mind, off to my fabric scrap baskets I went, throwing all the shapes and sizes into a pile on my cutting table, mixing and matching colours.

More on my progress with these triangles later in the week.
Linking up with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' here
Oh, and I guess you want to see a full pic of my whole design wall, this will make you smile!

{wink wink} what is it they say about cluttered workspaces?

until next time, Linda