pas de deux: April update

I've made a start this weekend on April's ensemble for the Pas de Deux BOM,

the 'Evening Star' blocks …

And I had a little dance of light & dark blues with my 'Pinwheel Star' and 'Checkers' blocks …

And finally, a close-up group photo of my blocks so far . . .

So fun to see the interplay between the sections of this.

Linking up my BOM progress with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' here

Until next time, Linda

broken dishes

Another quilt crossed off my list of projects to finish. This 'broken dishes' quilt was started way back in March 2017, inspired by a post I spotted from Simple Simon and Company. I used a selection of Outback Wife fabrics along with some Karen Lewis fabrics and a few ginghams. 

It was easy enough to make... the larger blocks and the random placing of fabric combinations not only shows off the fabric, but gives the quilt a fresh look. I really love this quilt, no idea why I left it so long to get it finished!

Each of the Broken Dishes blocks ended up  9″x 9″ and I made 21 of them. Then I added 4 more 9″x 9″ “blocks” that were just solid pieces of gorgeous Outback Wife fabric, to add some variety to the quilt. And finally, I added a wide border of the leftover floral barkcloth fabrics. 

For the backing I used "Patches" - it's not a denim but it sure looks like my well loved well worn jeans! And I had it quilted by Leeanne from quiltmekiwi. I chose a simple edge-to-edge meander. I then used the leftovers from the backing as my binding too. Finished size: 53" x 53". 

Enjoy the photos.

- close up of fabric selections

Until next time, Linda

emptying the ufo cupboard

I have a few projects on the go at the moment that I’m jumping back & forth between just to keep them all moving forward, and it’s time to get this project out of the cupboard and give it a little attention.
I am making a fun 'scrappy triangles' quilt. I love using old patterns or blocks mixed with new fabrics, it's like breathing new life into an old favourite!

I started making my HST blocks back in March 2021, it's a quilt from the Heritage Series collection - vintage quilt patterns by Penelope Handmade {see here on ig for other versions}. 

Beginning with a curated bundle of pretty wildflowers, I then added other prints & solids from my stash. I've kept to a limited palette in this scrappy quilt, where the focus is a little play with the gentle variations in value.

Isn’t this AGF vase print cute? The vases are a nice, small-medium scale with fun directionality. Normally, I don't really pay too much attention to how my fabrics are placed within my quilt, and so I decided to simply embrace the randomness, letting these vases fall as they may. How do you feel about using directional fabrics? 

And we're done!

I do like this quilt, a very simple pattern that lets the fabric do the heavy lifting.

And it's progressed into the "to be quilted" pile now!

Linda

maggie pearl quilt and binding thoughts

I’m pretty much loving a zingy binding right now. Picking out the binding fabric for a quilt is one of my favourite things in the quilt making process. And then, to be honest, I tend to stall, as actually binding a quilt is not one of my preferred tasks!

 
My technique has been the same for ages - I cut my binding strips 2.25" and I join my strips with a diagonal seam. I square off my quilt to leave a slight amount of batting along all the edges. The batting excess then gets folded into the binding, making it firm & full and more durable.
I always machine attach my binding to the front and then hand stitch down my binding on the back with a mitred corners. I use a blind stitch where my needle travels through the backing fabric and picks up a bit of the binding fabric. 

I want to try hand stitching to the front with big stitches sometime, any tips? There's a tutorial here on big stitch hand binding, looks interesting.   I'm also keen to try machine sewing my binding to the back first, wrapping it around, and then machine sewing on the front. It sounds like it's a nice, clean look… and fast? I see Rita too has a tutorial here which I need to check out before I actually give this a go.

Maybe if I find a better way to do this part, my quilts could all get finished in a timely manner 🤞

Hm-m-m there are so many lovely binding ideas out there, what's your favourite?   

Quilt details:

"Maggie Pearl" quilt, a free pattern from @penelopehandmade on her website!

A quick & easy project that sure packs a scrappy punch!

I started out using Liberty lawn fabrics 

then added in a few fabrics from The Deco Dance Collection, Liberty by Riley Blake Designs, 

and some Karen Lewis tone-on-tones to balance things out.

Batting: Lately I've been using a wool/polyester mix, 

which {when combined with an open quilting pattern} gives a lovely soft cuddly drape

Machine quilted by me in a zig zag design - it was a little tedious but so so worth it! 

Backing: I stitched together a bundle of FQ into a big 9-patch, a successful use of boring fabrics!

Binding: a three toned blue stripe, Onofrio in Shirt by Giucy Giuce.

Finished quilt top measures: 40" x 56"

I'm very happy to get two small quilts all finished this week. One is off to a new mum-to-be already, the other is waiting patiently to be gifted sometime … and maybe now it's time to start something new? Linking up with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' and with Kelly for NNT 

Linda

a quick 'trippy' quilt

Here's what I finished up yesterday - my little 'Trippy' quilt. It was a super quick make. And I'm loving this scrappy delight, the colour combination and the randomness of the design speak to my heart on so many levels.

Nothing shows texture better than quilting, and I am currently exploring more ways to machine quilt my quilts. Right now I’m in love with simple straight-line quilting - I’m not marking any lines, just quilting diagonally through the squares.

Quilt details:

Trippy quilt

Fabrics are a mix of art gallery, AMH, Karen Lewis and a healthy dose of low volumes, 

all from my stash here. 

Inspiration & pattern from southerncharmquilts

The backing is a teal vintage lawn from my stash.

Quilted on my domestic machine with a simple crosshatch.

Wool/polyester batting which {along with an open quilting pattern} gives a lovely soft cuddly drape

Binding: loving the zing of this two toned pink/rose stripe 'sonnet dusk' by Riley Blake

Finished quilt measures 54" x 40". 

This little quilt is off already to it's new home!

Linking up with Kelly for "needle and thread Thursday" here

Linda