I had a reasonably ordinary weekend last weekend. Now it is Friday and almost the next weekend I can't remember all of the terrible so it can't have been all that bad but I do remember quite badly rotary cutting my finger and nail and needing to go to the doctor and that did put a slow down on lots if the quilt blocking I had planned to do.
Instead Nik and I went to Carlton to do a few things we had been meaning to go for a while and had a little walk around and an early but delicious dinner. On the walk I happened to pop into Readings bookshop - all the stores in this small (and I think only Melbourne based chain) are great but I have found the one in Carlton to have a particularly good sewing and craft section. And what do you think I saw, and a week before the publish date but Sarah Fielke's new book - Quilting: From little things! You know Sarah, she writes for Sewn and was one of the two co-authors Material Obsession: Modern Quilts with Traditional Roots
and Material Obsession Two.
So, what do I like about this book? I love the way it is set out with the book working through different techniques with each being demonstrated by two quilts, a doll quilt and then a larger bed sized one. And, like all Sarah's books, they include some challenging and more time consuming quilts. There is a place for beginner and quick quilt books but I really enjoy some with more difficult quilts as well as they are so rare.
I really love this quilt and it is going on the list. I think it also shows really well one of the things I especially appreciate about both Material Obsessions books and this new on and is the focus on the whole quilt and not just the piecing. It is easy to finish a pattern by saying 'quilt and bind as desired' but I find the liberal use of hand quilting and the notes at the end of each pattern on how and why quilting methods and designs were chosen elevates what could just end up being a quilt top to an actual quilt.
And I think this quilt has to win the title for the best quilt name EVER and one of the nicest stories behind it.
And one more thins I really love is this picture. Sarah is a wonderfully talented quilt maker and her designs and quilts inspire so many people but I love this picture as a demonstration of how nothing is absolutely perfect all of the time. See the seam allowance folded over in the middle?
As I understand it this book is only available in Australia at the moment (and possibly the UK?) with this availability getting wider by the day. Should you not be in those areas and can't wait for it to come to a store near you I think Sarah has some for sale on her blog and Readings has it here ships worldwide.
I started this quilt more than a year ago, and had been thinking about making it for a few months before that but, almost as soon as I had started piecing it a hit some stumbling blocks and all work seemed to cease.
My quilt is based on this pattern in the second book from Material Obsession. Material Obsession: Shared Inspiration is filled with two quilts made around each theme, with one being made by both ladies from Material Obsession the store.
In the beginning the quilt seemed meant to be. I bought the book on the basis of this pattern, mostly. While I already had their first book
, and really found it inspiring, I saw this one at just the right time. I had spent the afternoon at a professional development session (I am a psychologist and work exclusively in schools) learning about a program that I was to implement based on seasons. A lot of time was spent talking about developing environment in which the group was to be run. When I saw this pattern I thought {insert light bulb picture here}. I had this lovely idea of using the quilt to set the scene and having the participants from each of the groups over the years writing or embroidering their names on the back.
I knew I would have to alter some of the colours chosen to reflect the seasonal colours represented in the program and not to use so much purple but I thought those differences were easily accommodated and it was an achievable project.
[incidentally there is so much feature purple fabric in this quilt because it is the theme of this pair of quilts in the book. It is a Kaffe Fassett print, he handed it to the girls and challenged them to come up with a design around the feature fabric, or so it says in the book]
And so I bought the fabric, choosing browns to go with all the colours was not easy but I did it. And I sewed the 'leaves' of the trees and cut out the templates for the trunks.
And then I started the applique. I didn't think it would be a problem. I already knew I generally don't enjoy hand sewing but I can do it, it is fiddly and takes time but I find if I take the time I need and don't cut the thread too long in principle it isn't that difficult. But I don't enjoy it. I really didn't enjoy sewing the trunk I have already done. The trunks have a lot of sewing in them and a lot of really narrow branches and lots of corners and curves.
And I'm stuck as to what I'll use in the wedge sashing (between the brown that I have cut out but am not that attached to) and as the border.
For the backing I'd still like to use the signature idea, maybe having a pieced back and having a strip down one side of signature blocks without signatures in them, a sash and then the rest of the back in a solid piece. But what solid piece?
I still really want to finish this quilt. The idea of how it can be used when finished is still appealing and the techniques needed to finish are within my grasp. It is the motivation to get over the mental block about the hand sewing that I need to overcome.
My plan at the moment is to finish the applique when I am stuck in the hotel in Melbourne while we are looking for a new house and I'm without my sewing machine. But then again it was my plan to finish the hand sewing when we were in Perth for a few weeks last Christmas visiting family as well.
Hopefully, inspiration will strike in the meantime about the wedges and the backing, unless any of you have any ideas....
