Archive of ‘Scraps’ category
Welcome to Pretty Bobbins! I’m stop number two on the Cushion for Christmas bloghop and today I’m sharing a QAYG cushion tutorial. The lovely Ms Midge came up with the great idea to feature cushions that can be made in a day – the ideal Christmas gift! Speaking of Ms Midge, I’m pretty sure she is freaking out right about now as my modem died over night and I have been offline for over 24 hours leading up to my stop on the hop… Amazing how long the battery lasts on my iPad when there is no wifi in the house 
I am sharing a cushion that I made yesterday morning. I didn’t time myself but I started after breakfast and finished before lunch, so it is definitely do-able in a day 
I am familiar with the techniques though, so it might take a beginner a bit longer I find the key to the Quilt As You Go (QAYG) method is to be organised. I set up my machine, ironing station, cutting mat and fabrics (in order) within reaching distance. I used a 16″ cushion insert. I pieced together cotton wadding and cut backing both at 18″ square.
Now my QAYG cushion is technically not QAYG as I didn’t quilt the sections other than to sew them in place. Usually with QAYG you will sew your strip down as I describe below, flip it right side up, then quilt it in place. I have done this and it does look rather lovely but I find it to be an unreasonably time consuming and thread hungry method. So I cheat a little Below you can see a lovely QAYG iPad pouch I made last year. I keep meaning to FMQ over a cushion that I’ve made using my cheats QAYG method but I always love the end result too much to add any extra quilting The choice is yours
I started with a reasonable sized scrap off center and then added a piece that covered the width and over hang 1/4″ each side. I cut all my pieces 1.5″ wide and worked out the length as I went along. The key being to ensure that each piece overhangs by 1/4″ at both ends.
I used my walking foot which has 1/4″ marked on it and I secured my stitches by going back and forth a few times at each end. I didn’t use any pins, I just lay my wadding on my backing and they stayed in place while I was working. After sewing each strip in place I trimmed back any overhang from the previous piece to the 1/4″ seam allowance. After trimming I ironed the most recent piece flat. Ironing after adding each strip will give you the best outcome.
I was trying to be clever with colour and laid all of my prints out in order and then checked as I went along. I didn’t quite get the affect that I was aiming for but I’m still really happy with the cushion.
After finishing the teals I laid out the purples. So pretty
I found it easiest to use my ruler to measure the required size of the next strip. You need to ensure that you strip has 1/4″ seam allowance from any raw edges.
In the above example the strip would need to be 7.25″ x 1.5″
I started to fall in love with this cushion when I was about half way through adding the purples
There’s something about pink that I love. In hindsight I should have gone teal, pink then purple but in the end I added the pinks starting from light to dark (both purple and teal were added lightest to darkest).
I realised after adding a few pinks that I didn’t have enough to continue with only 1.5″ strips so I laid out my remaining pieces to finalised the placement. I started with an 18″ square piece with the intention of a finished 15″ cushion cover.
After adding all of my pins I trimmed back my mini to 16″ (width) x 17″ (height) and cut a backing piece the same size.
I decided on a zipper closure in the bottom seam and I always like to add an extra inch for this purpose. I don’t have access to my overlocker/serger at the moment so I used a flatlock stitch on my sewing machine along the bottom edge (17″ edge – important if your prints are directional).
Lay both your backing fabric and mini right sides together and stitch 1/2″ in from the edge. This will be where you insert your zipper. You want approximately 1.5″ at both ends in your normal stitch length and the area in between in the longest stitch length possible. You can sew these three areas separately, but I’m lazy and just secure my stitches and adjust my stitch length without trimming
After timming your threads press the seam open. Because we’re making a cushion cover that involves quilting I always fuss with the pressing. You want a nice straight and flat seam
Select a zipper longer that the width of your cushion (I think I used a 21″ zipper) and pin in place so that the teeth are ligned up to where the front and backing meet. I use pins to remind me where my basting stitches begin/end. Grab your zipper foot and sew your zipper in place. Don’t forget to make sure that the tab is within the sewn area. I cross over the zipper just outside of the basting stitches and sew back and forth a few times.
Trim your zipper ends and secure with a few stitches. Next you want to grab your seam ripper and carefully rip out those basting stitches. I usually use tweezer to grab the tiny threads left afterwards.
Then you want to sew your cushion cover together. Make sure you leave the zipper open so that you can turn it right side out. I like to use a 1/4″ seam allowance, first with a straight stitch and then with the serger or a zigzag stitch to prevent fraying.
Et voila! You have a brand new cushion ready for Christmas!
I used a lovely Kate Spain fat quarter (from her line Good Fortune) for the back. LOVE.
I hope you have found my tutorial helpful. For me, as always, this was an exercise in colour play as much as it was in quilting and whilst I didn’t end up with exactly the affect I was after, I do love it In case you’re wondering, yes, it will be a Christmas present for a very special friend
Don’t forget to head over to Ms Midge on the 14th of December to link up your cushions. You can find all of the details here and links to the other fabulous bloggers below. I can’t wait to see what everyone has been up to!
Sunday 1st December – Ms Midge
Tuesday 3rd December – Kristy at Quiet Play
& Ms Midge
Wednesday 4th December – Joshua at Molli Sparkles
Thursday 5th December -Rachel at Little White Dove
Friday 6th December – Fiona at Finding Fifth
Saturday 7th December – Abby at Things For Boys
Sunday 8th December – Lauren at Molly & Mama Makes
Monday 9th December – Jodi at Tickle & Hide
Tuesday 10th December – Adrianne at On The Windy Side
& Ms Midge
Wednesday 11th December – Alyce at Blossom Heart Quilts
Thursday 12th December – Gina at Party of Eight
Friday 13th December – Jane at Quilt Jane
Saturday 14th December – Round up of Blog Hop and link up YOUR projects at Ms Midge!
Wednesday 18th December – Winners Announced at Ms Midge!
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| Patterns Only - $20 Voucher |
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| The Oz Material Girls - $20 Voucher |
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| Fat Quarter Shop - $50 Voucher! |
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| Polka Dot Tea - Fabric Bundle! |
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| Intrepid Thread - $25 Voucher! |
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| Blossom Heart Quilts - Ornamental Quilt Pattern! |
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| Quiet Play - Winner’s choice of 3 Paper Piecing Patterns! |
Let the cushion madness begin!
Welcome to I Quilt Linky Party! It’s Thursday and it’s time to get your FMQ on (any quilting really, I just like saying that ) and link up your quilting process! This week I’m talking wadding (or batting, depending on where you live) which is a really important part of the quilting process. I’d love you to share your thoughts and experience on this topic too. It’s kind of the unglamorous part of quilting but oh-so-important! I have been quilting up a storm this week and if all goes to plan I will have finished three large quilts in two weeks!! Eeeeek! I’ve been sharing lots of progress pics on Instagram so won’t double up, but here is one in case you aren’t on IG (but you should be! Sooo fun!!).
I’ve been quilting like crazy this week!
This week I am featuring the absolutely amazingly talented Julia Graber from Life as a Quilter. Seriously, this woman is impressive! I wrote to her and asked if I could feature her and you know what she said? “I would be honored…” Julia, the honor is mine, every week that you have linked up I have been blown away by your work. Please check out her blog if you haven’t had a chance yet! Who can resist a quilter that is talented, modest and polite?!
Image and work by Julia Graber
This week Julia made a BEAUTIFUL sailboat piece based on a photo. So impressive! Julia, if I’m ever in Missisippi can I please come by your studio and watch and learn? Thanks so much for sharing with us. I also LOVED Julia’s bird on a wire from last week. Beautiful and so interesting to see how two different artists started with the same photo and created unique pieces.
Image and work by Julia Graber
Getting back to wadding/batting, a question that most quilters ask themselves at some point is, “can I piece together wadding and use it for a quilt?” My answer is a resounding yes! I haven’t gone so far as to mix different types of wadding in one quilt but you can see in the below photo just how scrappy I will make my wadding. If I am being super scrappy (as per the below example) I just make sure that I quilt the piece fairly densely so that all of the joins are covered and the wadding won’t slip around with use.
Yep, I use the scraps most people throw away! I hate to waste things!
Sometimes I will use the flat lock stitch on my machine to join the wadding but usually I just lay it so that it is slightly overlapping. I do this all the time and have never had a problem (I do usually add a few extra pins whilst basting to make sure that I don’t end up with any gaps). You could use the zigzag stitch on your machine and I find that by only very slightly overlapping the wadding that you don’t end up with any bulk, it’s all caught in the stitches. I have been told that a good idea is to cut your wadding in a curvy line where it meets so that you don’t get a noticeable fold. I don’t bother and I haven’t had any issues so far
I am still a newby quilter. My obsession with quilting only really began just under two years ago and whilst I did a beginners course at my (former) LQS most of what I’ve learnt is through trial and error and the internet. I decided that I wanted to make a number of quilts that I would keep out of different types of wadding to see how they would wear. So far I have tried out 100% cotton, 100% wool and 100% bamboo, all three are Matilda’s Own brand. The quilts that I’ll discuss below are all made with top quality quilting cottons unless otherwise stated
My daughter’s Princess Quilt is made with 100% wool wadding and has been in use for about three months. It has a top quality flannel on the back and was really easy to quilt. I love how puffy it is and I love quilting with wool. The brand I use is low loft but has enough loft to really show up your quilting. I love using wool wadding for items that have lots of texture. It has a lovely drape and feels kind of bouncy. What I don’t like is how much it has pilled! Honestly, that quilt needs a shave! I plan to experiment with other brands of 100% wool wadding and try blends to see if I can overcome this issue. I’m loath to use this particular wadding in a bed quilt again 
It is, however, my favourite for items that won’t be washed often, such as wall hangings, art quilts and table runners (maybe not at my house though – 3 young kids=food everywhere!).
This close up of the Princess Quilt shows you how fun it can be to quilt with 100% wool wadding.
Mr 7′s Rainbow I Spy Quilt was my first foray into 100% bamboo wadding. This stuff is CRAZY! It actually squeaks LOL Before washing it feels a little stiff but supple at the same time. It’s strange, but don’t let that put you off! Bamboo wadding is my current favourite. It quilts like a dream, it’s light and it wears SO WELL!! I plan on buying a bolt of 100% bamboo wadding to use both for myself and customer quilts. I recommend you give it a try
Mr 5′s Kitchen Window’s quilt is made with 100% cotton wadding. It has worn exceedingly well considering the number of times it has been washed. I did use some dress making cottons in this quilt (I’ll elaborate another time) and the white sashing is linen, but otherwise it is made with quilting cottons and organic quilting cottons. Whilst this quilt has a nice drape I do feel that it is second (both in drape and wear) to the bamboo quilt. In another year or two I’ll probably be able to pinpoint it, but at this stage all I can say is that it just doesn’t quite live up to the bamboo standard (but it is older, so that could be age).
I’ve used archive photos of the above projects as they are all on their way to Australia, but I did finish three quilts this week with three different types of wadding and I thought you might like to see them side by side. You get a better idea of the loft and texture on an angle.
So there you go! What’s your favourite type of wadding? Do you use scraps? Do you have any special tips for joining wadding of which is best for what type of project?
Now it’s your turn to link up! Please remember that this linky is about the quilting process (the last Thursday of each month I will introduce a theme and you are welcome to join me by posting on this topic or sticking to quilting process – your choice). I urge you to please visit three other linkers. We all love sharing and comments <3 Please add my button and/or a link to my blog in your post. Share the love! My goal is to share, encourage and educate quilters. I’ve been learning each week and am loving visiting all of your blogs!
As the title suggests, I’m just hanging in there. I’ll spare you the grim details of post-packing fallout, suffice to say that Mr 7′s teacher pulled me aside today and told me that he is going to fail his final evaluations because he has mentally shutdown following the packing up of our house. If anyone has any suggestions on motivating, building confidence and managing change when it comes to children… I’m all ears! In the absence of good parenting I have promised Mr 7 the Nintendo DS (game thingy) that he desperately wants if he works hard like he did before last Monday. I have been saying all year that it is too expensive and not possible but I hope the lure of the DS is enough to get him working again. I have informed his teacher of this incentive and asked that she remind him if possible when he is head down refusing to work. Terrible parenting but I’m desperate. It is heartbreaking to watch your child shutdown and risk repeating a year of school because they are not coping with the thought of leaving their friends and the only home they remember. Sorry, I meant to spare you the details…
‘Dream’ mini in progress – made with scraps from Rainbow Plus quilt top. Aprox 15″ x 30″
Usually I keep my works in progress to a minimum. At the moment I’m suffering a lack of clarity when it comes to quilting designs but I’m pushing on and then procrastinating when I feel that the design I’ve gone with is not right. I was thinking the word “dream” in the above mini was too obvious but when I shared it on IG the clever peeps there suggested outlining it in black. I’m still procrastinating…
I use my ‘tri recs’ ruler when piecing triangles :)
I’ve started a table runner for Mr 7′s teacher as a thank you/farewell gift. I loved it during the piecing stage. I’m worried I messed it up whilst quilting. I’ve probably quilted a 1/4 of it but didn’t grab a photo before the light went (and can’t find the charger for my DSLR, sorry for the ipad pics!) so here it is pieced.
Aprox 15″ by 60″
The other main piece I am working on is a custom order, a Butterfly quilt based on a cot sized one I made a few weeks back. My wadding arrived today so I hope to baste it tonight (although crying into my wine is more tempting!).
Butterfly quilt in progress aprox 2m x 1.9m
I’m using fusible adhesive and raw edged appliqué and I love all the pink on the grey. Quilts like this make having a large stash a lot of fun. My customer had a great time going through all of the pinks and putting together her picks
I’m linking up to Work in Progress Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. I’d love you to pop back tomorrow and link up to my Quilting Process linky <3
Hello! Welcome to I Quilt, a weekly linky party all about the process of quilting. 23 awesome crafty peeps linked up last week, yay! I’m going to give a shoutout each week to someone from the previous week Lindsey from Inspiring Creations linked up last week and shared her GORGEOUS sunnyside pinwheel quilt. Her first quilt! It’s beautiful, pop by and check it out if you haven’t yet <3 Lindsey made the great point that she considered diagonal lines but really wanted her piecing to shine so stitched in the ditch. As much as I love quilting the heck out of everything in reach, Lindsey is spot on, the piecing is really important in determining the quilting design and ditch stitching is a great way of letting the piecing tell the story I haven’t stitched in the ditch since my first quilt as I find I’m too impatient to be super accurate Well done Lindsey, your quilt is beautiful! Thanks for sharing
Speaking of letting the piecing speak to you this is my current work in progress. I have an idea for quilting but I’m not sure. This was entirely pieced using scraps most of which came from my Primary Plus Quilt but a few from my scrap stash. I’m thinking I might stick with the colours of each area or using a thread which blends in with all the scraps such as Aurifil 2000 (a golden colour). I’m trying to decide between some stark SLQ and really intense FMQ. So rather undecided really
I shared a progress pic of this mini on Instagram and a few friends commented on how tidy the back is. First up I will admit that I am pedantic when it comes to my own work. In all honesty though, I really think that a tidy back helps with quilting. I trim all loose threads, press my seams open (to reduce bulk and improve accuracy) and press the heck out of my top. I’ve never used starch and I’ve heard that spray basting is not great for free motion quilting. Do you have any things that you do to improve your quilting?
Speaking of tips and tricks, I wanted to introduce a theme for the next Thursday I would LOVE it if you could talk about thread issues. It’s very easy in blogland to select which photos you share and hide any little mistakes. This week I’m going to share some photos of my work that you may not have seen before
You may remember the Rainbow I Spy quilt I made a while ago for my eldest son. I really wanted the quilt to be truly double sided so in addition to the top you see above I pieced a rainbow back with scraps and a grey solid (Bella Steel from memory). I then decided to quilt pebbles in white thread in the white sashing and use grey thread in the bobbin. Alarm bells are ringing right about now.
Rainbow I Spy quilt back
For some reason lots (all? most? or maybe just me…) of quilters have issues when using significantly different coloured top and bottom thread. Seriously, the quilting was a right pain. I persisted but I was messing with the tension constantly (I normally rarely have to adjust tension on my Bernina 440). In the end I found some solace by dropping the top tension to zero, using a spool stand and (strangely) missing the last loop when threading my machine (so not running the thread through the little metal loop just above the needle). Pebbles probably made it worse with all of the tight turns as I didn’t have as many issues with the straight line quilting (SLQ) in the borders.
The pebbled area here is about 2″ wide to give you some perspective :)
If you look closely at the above photo you will see the threads popping through. After a wash and some wear the thread issue isn’t an issue. The quilt is loved and NO ONE is ever going to look at it as closely or as critically as I will look at my own quilts (tell me I’m not the only one who does that LOL). I did learn a good lesson from this though, now when I use different coloured threads in the bobbin and spool I make sure they are not as dramatically different as dark grey and stark white. I also quilt more smoothly now than I did at that point which I also think helps reduce thread issues.
When I made my daughter’s Princess Quilt I used a range of different threads colours from white to soft mauve and with each thread change I used a different colour in the bobbin. For example, White on top, soft pink in the bobbin. Soft pink on top, soft mauve in the bobbin. Pink on top, dark pink in the bobbin. Et voila! No thread peaking through, no tension issues, no constant stressing and fiddling. Lesson learnt
I would love to hear if you have any tips on thread. I exclusively use Aurifil thread as I believe it’s the best (and I pay for it out of my own pocket – no sponsorship or paid reviews here). It is super fine so the bobbin goes further (win!), the colours are beautiful (win!) and my machine feels smoother when I FMQ. Win, win and win
Some stash favourites including Aurifil thread and kona solids <3
Do you have a favourite thread? How do you prevent thread issues? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experience, I’ve aired my dirty laundry, maybe you can share yours too There’s no requirement to link up a post on thread issues but if you feel like it, that’s the theme for the next week. I’ll be talking about quilting designs that I find particularly easy and troublesome when it comes to thread showing through.
Blessings Quilt in progress – an all time favourite <3
Please remember to visit at least two other blogs and to please write about your quilting process. As much as we all love finished projects, this linky is about process. Your linked up post will be most helpful to everyone else if you talk about your quilting in some way, even if you’re discussing an old finished project, a current work in progress, quilting sketches, that kind of thing Please feel free to link finished projects, or any type of quilting project, just include some of your process so we can learn I also ask that you add a button to your post or sidebar. You can find the html in my left hand side bar or right down the bottom of the page if you’re on a mobile device.
Now it’s your turn to link up and talk about your quilting process I’ve been having so much fun visiting new blogs, I hope you’re enjoying the quilty party too <3
It’s about three weeks until I pack up my house and I currently have about five in progress WIPs (let’s not count the ones that are being ignored). So what’s the best thing to do? Start another!
I finished sewing together my Primary Plus quilt top (above) and I LOVE it (I haven’t had a chance to properly photograph the finished top yet)! I’ve just paid for my long arm and this baby will be packed away ready to quilt on the long arm early next year. I ended up with a pretty pile of scraps and seeing as I require a reward for cleaning I decided to play with them this afternoon.
I was originally thinking a cushion cover to match the plus quilt but I just had a light bulb moment and have an idea for a mini One can never have too many minis, right?
I have two piles of fabric sitting here patiently awaiting my attention. First up is a twin sized butterfly quilt for my son’s love (they are both five and I have finally convinced him that they can be in love without having to kiss! This Momma isn’t ready for that!!). This pile of pink will become a flutter of butterflies on grey <3
Second up is a gender neutral baby quilt and I have all sorts of fun modern ideas floating around in my head. This one is for my son’s (same son) teacher as a farewell/baby gift at the end of the year. We’re moving away, she’s pregnant, I quilt. You get the idea
And with that I must get back to the roast chicken. We have a dinner guest tonight and it would appear that I need to vacate the sewing/dining room so that we can entertain
I’m linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced! I’d love you to pop back tomorrow for my I Quilt linky party <3
Put your hand up if sewing is your therapy This week is selfish sewing week and I totally needed to make myself some pretties to feel better. Yesterday I turned my quilt as you go (QAYG) mini into a cushion. I didn’t quilt it at all as I just wanted the colours to show. Isn’t she pretty?
QAYG selfish cushion
Because it’s selfish sewing week I decided to use one of my favourite prints on the back. I’m worth it dammit.
Because it’s Selfish Sewing Week I used a special print just for me!
As much as my daughter loves this cushion I managed to snaffle it for myself and I love how it looks on my bed.
I used some favourite scraps and LOVE how it turned out!
This morning I really needed some sewing therapy; look good, feel good, right? I pulled out the last of my Nottinghill voile yardage and grabbed a dress that I love but is a little too small. I managed to kind of figure out the measurements and set about making myself a dress.
Nottinghill voile halterneck dress
Big love to the folk on IG who gave me some honest feedback that the boobs were baggy so I spent a good hour adding darts and trimming. In hindsight I think the issue is probably that I joined the skirt to the bodice too low. I think the dress would have a better shape if the elastic casing was just below the bust rather than at waist height. Anyway, I got on with it, hemmed her (I love a good blind hem!), added a contrasting sash and decided that if it feels good it looks good
You will notice there is one spot and one spot only in my yard suitable for photos LOL
I’m not generally one for a halterneck and I actually prefer this dress with the straps hanging long rather than tied in a bow. It will be nice and cool on our hot summer days anyway
Summer here I come!
And the all important details I use Aurifil 50wt for dressmaking, in fact I use it for everything! I do need to start growing my Aurifil stash again, at the moment I’m getting by with about 20 spools. The cushion is 20″ square with wool wadding, has a concealed zipper closure in the bottom seam and is backed with an old Alexander Henry print, African Butterflies. I bought the Nottinghill voile at Pink Chalk fabrics and 3 yards got me both a Washi dress and this halterneck dress (I’m stingy LOL).
I’m linking up to TGIFF over at Cherry Valley Designs for my cushion (it’s a mini quilt!) and Selfish Sewing Week because this week it’s all about me!
If you’ve read this far you probably already know, but don’t forget that I’m starting my quilty linky party here at Pretty Bobbins from next Thursday. You can read more about it here.
I shared this quilt as a work in progress earlier this week. Today I’m going to bore you silly with a bazillion photos of this finished quilt.
I made this quilt as a gift for a little girl as part of the Curves Class I took at Stitched in Color. Funnily enough I’m generally not a pattern follower and when I was making the top I was enjoying it but I got to thinking about how you can follow a pattern but still make a piece your own. Coincidentally Rachel wrote a blog post earlier in the week that really helped clarify how I was feeling. If you haven’t read it I encourage you to pop over, it’s all about discovering your style. This speaks volumes to me. I am learning to be confident in my style, to always listen to my instinct, to respect but not be confined by traditional rules. I put a lot of “me” into this quilt and I am super proud of it. It is quite possibly my favourite quilt to date and definitely my best FMQ so far. But moving right along
I’m not sure whether the recipient will use this quilt as a wall hanging or baby quilt so I included a hanging sleeve but I also made the back fun and a little girl.
Working on this quilt I found myself feeling really proud of how well it was coming along and that maybe it would become a wall hanging in Baby’s room. Let’s not forget that quilts are meant to be used and kid’s quilts can be fun, I would be so happy to see this quilt used.
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If you’re a regular reader of my blog you will know that I love using Aurifil. In fact I only use Aurifil these days. Why? Because the colours shine, my machine feels better when I quilt with Aurifil, my bobbins seem to last longer (I think this is because Aurifil is so fine) and I always love the result.
I quilted each of the segments of the wedge in a matching colour of Aurifil 50 wt (2250, 1100, 2235, 1135, 2884, 2720, 2810, 1128, 2545 and 2605). I actually started to quilt the negative space in grey, but I wanted it to feature without being overbearing so I changed to a soft pink (2410).
The binding (Kona Lagoon) has to be one of my favourite parts of the quilt. I love how it totally defines the edge of the quilt, is fun and perfectly matches the quilted flower in the centre of the quilt. I was worried it might be too much, and it may not be to everyone’s taste, but remember this is a kid’s quilt
For the first time ever I marked some quilting lines. I’m glad I did, by marking the most inner and outer diamond lines in the negative space I was able to achieve balance. I then echoed one of these lines. The rest of the quilt is entirely free motion quilted and I’m super proud with how well I did. It ain’t perfect but it’s my best effort so far and keeps me dreaming about one day owning a longarm and maybe even quilting for others
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| My wishes for the recipient <3 |
I recently wrote about photographing quilts, I’m trying to find a balance between detailed shots, interesting shots, shots I think others like and shots I like.
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| standard shot (midday, out of direct light, taped to wall) |
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| hanging shot. Seemed like a good idea, but not sure it works. |
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| I love showing a little of Nouméa’s colours |
And then there seems to be an unwritten rule of photographing your quilt folded LOL
This quilt was pieced and quilted by me on my domestic machine (Delilah my Bernina 440QE) using Aurifil threads, cotton batting, scraps, Kona solids (except for the back with is a Spotlight special LOL) and using the pattern provided as part of the Curves Class at Stitched in Color. It measures a little under 40″ x 40″
I’m linking up with TGIFF over at Quokka Quilts! Have you had a fun finish this week?
I can’t tell you how much fun I’m having with this project. It is the wheel quilt project as part of the Curves Class that I took at Stitched in Color. I decided it was the perfect Baptism gift and went with a rainbow theme.
As much fun as it was to piece the top I set it aside for a few days. We recently bought a new home and I’m having to rationalise spending. I needed to decide whether I could spare the wadding for a gift right now. In the end, I knew how much fun this project would be so I went ahead and basted it up.
I have a small collection of lovely Aurifil threads in rainbow colours and based on this decided to quilt each cog differently. Each FMQ design is inspired by the scraps in that cog. Of the 18 FMQ designs in the cogs I’d say I’d only done 4 of them before. I’m really pleased with how well they turned out!
That left me with a lot of negative space. Negative space = FMQ fun!
I have three books that feature quilting designs, my favourite is probably Free-Motion Quilting by Angela Walters. I think I was channeling my inner Angela with this quilt LOL
At the last minute I changed the design for the diamond shaped area and I’m so glad I did. To me it has a real artdeco look and I love it.
The next photo will make your eyes burn (it’s bright LOL) but it shows the FMQ a little better
I love a pieced back (this quilt is only 40″ x 40″) and I didn’t need to piece this back, but I’m not sure whether the recipient will use it as a baby quilt or a wall hanging so I wanted to make the back fun and girly. In hindsight, with the amount of quilting I did I should have kept it whole. Ah well, you live and learn
I can’t wait to finish this quilt and pop it in the post! Did I mention that I love it?
On a complete side note, I was posting updates on Instagram. I feel like such a loner over there LOL If you’re on Instagram, please let me know so I can follow you and if you like what I do, please feel free to follow me back Inserting an Instagram icon is mucking up the formatting, but hopefully there is an icon below that will take you to me on Instagram. Otherwise just search for prettybobbins
I’m linking up with WiP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced Do you have a super fun WiP this week?
It’s been a little quiet around here the past few weeks. First we had my Dad visiting, then he left and I came down with a migraine right as Mr 6 was starting school. Then a humoungous coldsore and then a tummy bug. In actual fact, this post was written for two Sunday’s past but things have been so hectic that I just didn’t get it done. It has been so long since I’ve linked up with Sunday Stash over at Finding Fifth that I just have to make this happen!
Fiona is celebrating a year of Sunday Stash Linky Party and is having a giveaway, so if you’ve ever thought about linking up, this is a good week to give it a go
Recently I received a lovely package from Pink Castle Fabrics. They had a sale on bundles so I lashed out and purchased a liberty scrap bundle (or maybe it was 2). Just lovely!
These are probably my favourites. I don’t know how I’ll use them, but I know that it will have to be for something special
I squeezed a few other prints into the envelope. I’m not sure exactly while I photographed these together but I do like them both. Seperately LOL
I’m actually really excited about the dumb dot (I think that’s what it is, but I’m writing this on the laptop on the sofa and the thought of walking 10 feet to my stash is a bit much LOL). It is the PERFECT binding for my Rainbow I Spy quilt!! Yippee!! In fact I’m so excited about it that I’ve started work on that quilt again
Another recent addition to my stash was this little torch from Carrefour. It actually has a sticky patch underneath and you press the centre to turn it on.
I paired it with a slightly damaged food storage container and created my own little light box
It works a treat and lives on my sewing table for paper piecing at night time.
So there you go, a few pretties, a DIY lightbox and a Sunday Stash on Monday
Have you added to your stash recently? I encourage you to join the weekly confessional over at Finding Fifth, you don’t need to actual use your pretties, just share them
I’m linking up to Sunday Stash at Finding Fifth
I’m really glad it’s Friday. Really, I’m glad. But I’m not feeling the sweet relief of TGIFF *sigh*
I hoped to scrape in my November Wombat Stew bee block for Kristy. I’m 3/4 of the way there, I’ve designed a Paper Pieced sewing machine block. It’s big at 10″ x 10″ and I’m loving the machine. Not so much the stripy wall paper!! Who chooses stripes when PP??? Not me next time
With that little frustration off my chest (it’s going to be awesome and I love Wombat Stew, I’m just having a few issues with matching my stripes) I can share one gorgeous finish this week
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| Front inside pleated pocket (pen pockets) |
I mentioned on Wednesday that I was working on gifts for our teachers for the end of the year. I’m making both teachers and iPad pouch using this fantastic pattern from Michelle Patterns. I have to admit, I’m not really a pattern girl, too many words LOL but this one has come together really well. The only thing that you should be aware of is that it uses templates, I prefer measurements, but of course you can take these from the templates for future use I will happily use this pattern again and again!
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| Front |
I have finished the pieced pouch for Mr 6′s teacher but the second one is only half way there (I decided to jump to my bee block which remains unfinished…). The finished one is awesome though So let’s focus on that!
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| Front inside |
I did a combination of Quilt as you go and traditional quilting using both stash and scrap fabrics including some precious Liberty of London scraps that I bought a while back. I used Aurifil 50 wt for both piecing and quilting (and had fun using my new colourful threads!) and bamboo batting. I love how it came together. Next time I will do more of the dense straight line quilting. I love the look and it is rather therapeutic
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| Back |
The text print is really lovely and very relevant for an inspiring and dedicated teacher. It has a number of sentences including, “The purpose of Life is to grow”, “The essence of life is to give”, “The joy of life is to love”, “The adventure of life is to learn”. As much as I really love this pouch and dearly would love to keep it, Mr 6′s Maitresse is absolutely wonderful and I am more than happy to give her something that I would love to keep!
I also have to make a special mention of my gorgeous friend Melissa. Until recently she was my scrap supplier, but she has caught the quilting bug and this week is joining up with TGIFF for the first time. She has beautiful scraps so I’m hoping to see more gorgeous quilts from her Pressure’s on Midge! ;P How’s that for friendly encouragement? ;P
I’m linking up with TGIFF at Making Rebecca Lynne.
