...Doll Quilt Swap II - the beginning

About two months ago I looked around my sewing room and notice how many quilt I had almost done, just started or stacks of fabric waiting with a specific quilt in mind and decided that I needed to concentrate on these things before joining any more swaps. They are heaps and heaps of fun but I have limited sewing time and I need to remember things always take longer than I think it will. 


But then I saw a post on the Doll Quilt Swap Flickr group discussion page about the theme for this round - miniatures - and I couldn't resist. 


So I have spent some time working out the maths to sew some smaller blocks. Based on my secret partners preferences I came up with two options.

I have decided to go with the second option. I do like the stars in the hexagon but someone else is also doing one very similar and I would like to be a little individual!

I have started cutting and piecing this afternoon, almost all from my scrap containers. Only the star centres is cut from a 'new' half yard from the fabric cupboard.  

Each of the blocks will finish at 3" and there will be 16 blocks making a quilt of just over 12" square. For such a small quilt there are a lot of seam to sew, and still to go, but I'm pleased with how it is turning out so far. 

Of doll quilts - A wonderful end to the week

I had a very ordinary week at work last week.Why is it that when you have lots to do but a plan to get it done with little room for movement that is exactly when the crisis always happens?

So by the time I had it home on Friday afternoon I was tired. At least I think it was Friday, the days all burred into one.

But my week was brightened when I got home to find my Doll Quilt waiting for me from DQS10! The information included in the partner email indicated I liked traditional designs with a modern twist and I think she really paid respect to that!

 How lucky am I? I am still trying to work out the perfect place to display it but having it off the wall means I can pick it up and admire it more often!

Thanks Lisa (Lisajanlovestoquilt)

A doll quilt...done.

I started this quilt early in the swap period. Just as well too because although it is only a small quilt, at about 20" square it has taken me a long time. A lot longer than I thought it would that is for sure.


But I am really happy with how it has turned out....and I hope my partner is too when it arrives on his or her doorstep.


It started with this design idea.

And tracing and resizing and drawing some templates


I paper pieced and trimmed the 'petals'.

And appliqued them down. I really wanted to piece them but I just was not confident in getting the petals to meet neatly in the middle and I really wanted them to.

The backing stumped me for awhile, I considered an AMH print but couldn't find any of the designs locally in the quilting weight and didn't think the voile would be strong enough. In the end I pieced a contrast back and actually really like the striking contrast to the print, and the front.

The quilting was one of the things that took me longer than expected. There are 16 petals in this quilt and 7 triangles in each petal. If you are better at maths than me you will know right away that that is 112 triangles that were quilted in one of 7 different coloured threads.

I broke 2 needles in the fist 6 petals quilting these. I usually use a chenille needle and No. 8 perle cotton when quilting. This one was done in proper hand quilting tread and with a betweens needle - apparently they don't bend as much as the chenille.

I also really love the way the quilting stitches show up on the back.

In the end I bound it with some voile - and only because I didn't think the quilt would face a lot of punishment and it was the best colour I had to do it. I'd never use it for a 'to be used' quilt. It beautiful and soft but just doesn't seem that strong.

The label was printed on fabric paper and included the flickr group logo.

Now it is labelled, packaged with some small extras and on the way to a new home.

Stats
Fabric:    Anna Maria Horner Voile (mostly Good Folks)
               Kona Ash
              Kona Coal
Binding: Anna Maris Horner Voile - Pastry Stripe -Blue

Size: 20"x20"

Construction: The triangles to form the petals and the backing was machine pieced as well as the front of the binding. Petals were hand appliqued with a needle turn method. Quilting was by hand.

Label: Printed on fabric and appliqued on. Image taken from the Flickr group button designed by Badskirt.

A weekend of almost dones....

I've been really busy this weekend and have made a lot of progress with nothing finished to show.

So a series of progress shots

Claire's quilt - do Good Stitches {a Charity Bee}

This one was basted with a Ikea fabric backing, quilted in a grid pattern with horizontal and vertical lines approximately six inches apart.

The binding (Kona Coal) has been machine sewn to the front, just waiting on the back to be hand stitched.

Doll Quilt
I finally finished the hand quilting 

and this this was bound using a voile - Pastry Stripes in blue.

A label has been made using printable fabric and just waiting to be stitched on.

Charming Stars in the Park quilt
This was basted and then machine quilted 1/4 inch inside each of the sashing lines and borders.

I have started hand quilting inside each of the stars in a variegated blue perle no 8 cotton.

Moving forward in the Doll Quilt

I have made some progress on the Doll Quilt for the swap.

I finished sewing the applique petals on during the week and am generally happy with their placement. There is one that is a little off but I tried to improve it an actually made it worse so I decided to leave it there.

This morning I pieced the back. I have gone with a background Kona Coal and some of the AMH prints for the strips. I really think the darker colour sets of the lighter prints and adds a contrast to the front.

And then basted the sandwich. Can you tell I really didn't want this to move? When quilted it will be trimmed square to just outside the circles.

And I've made a start on the quilting.

Brown Bag Quilt Contest - A fabric challenge

Have you seen Stash Manicure? As is the way with most of the blogs I read I can't remember exactly how I stumbles across it but I started reading more regularly when I was trying to make some order of my storage system.

In the process I came across some fabric that I could no longer imagine myself using - but couldn't throw out. And about then the Brown Bag Challenge was announced on Stash Manicure.

The idea was that you signed up, sent 2 yards (2.5 yards, I can't remember, it was awhile ago now) of no longer wanted fabric for someone else to turn into a quilt. They could add as much of their own fabric as they wanted but had to use at least 90% of what was sent to them.

This arrived from Becky in my letterbox just after we moved. Not at all my usual style. This quilt was going to take a little thought.

The fabric was mostly strips at about 5" wide so I made the decision to go with a modernish design, a bento box. I constructed it by first making the Courthouse blocks and then cutting in quarters and reassembling. The centre sqaures were all cut in 5" squares and the outer rounds at 2.5".

The fabric was split into 'light' and 'dark' value piles and but eventually it became the blue flowers and everything else because of the quantities in the package.

I cut the sqaures and borders as I went, making pairs of blocks together. I had not planned out my fabric use so I really had no idea how many blocks I was going to be able to make or how big the quilt was going to end up. I stopped only when I couldn't cut an outer border long enough any more.

It reminded me the whole time I was sewing it of a book I used to read at my grandmother's house when I was younger, Something Absolutely Enormous. The little girl in the book starts knitting and make a whole bunch of things before knitting something huge that takes over her whole town....then she starts baking.

The fabric left over at the end of the block making was sewn together to make a pieced stripe in the back and to add a little length to the binding that was taken from my stash. 

In the end I only had the trimmings. The backing fabric was purchased as I didn't have anything that would co-ordinate but the batting was two or three off-cuts sewn together from the batting scrap box.

I outline quilted the Bento Boxes into quarters,

and I think it looks good on the back as well.

It has ended up about 48" square.

Why don't you check out the Flickr group to see what others have come up with from their Brown Bags?

The road less smooth

You know when there are those days and weeks that you just need everything to go the way you want them to, and if a couple of unexpected things fall your way you will be incredibly grateful? 


For me, this was one of those weeks.


Unfortunately it was not the way things panned out.


Good things did happen. I got some wonderful blocks back from my Bee Seam Piecing Downunder Bee, look what I have so far

1. Block 1, 2. Block 2, 3. Kristy's blocks 001, 4. Kristy's blocks 007, 5. Bee block 2 for Kristy, 6. Bee block 1 for Kristy, 7. BSPDU block 1 - circles, 8. BSPDU - November - Circles for Kristy No 1 Close Up, 9. BSPDU - November - Circles for Kristy No 2 Close Up, 10. BSPDU - November Block2, 11. Kristy November block - 2, 12. Kristy November block - 1, 13. BSPDU~ November block #1, 14. BSPDU~ November block #2, 15. BSPDU Block 2 for Kristy, 16. BSPDU Block 1 for Kristy


TWO wonderful mug rungs in the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap with some extra goodies and I do have today off work.

Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bubbles-135/5203550536/in/pool-1533394@N22

THANK YOU Bubbles@135!

But things also went contrary to the plan as well. The day off was to travel across the country for my brother's wedding tomorrow. And I'm still in the airport in Melbourne, I should be ion Perth by now.

The Double Wedding ring quilt top isn't finished. I'm stalled on the first column. And I forgot to take a photo.


The house is still a mess cause work went unexpectedly crazy this week. And we got to the airport on time this morning but couldn't get on the flight. So we were up at 4:30am, for no reason. And now we are sitting in the airport...waiting.

The worst thing, I was looking forward to a rest on the plane, maybe even a little nap with my sleeping mask I whipped up last night using a pattern from In Stitches, fabric from Prints Charming.



I think I'd be looked at a little strangely if I did that at this time of the morning.

Scrappy Mug Rugs - A happy Sunday

A little while ago I joined the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap group on Flickr. And about 10 days ago I got my partner for the second swap round, my first.   

I have been spending the time since then playing around with some ideas.

Last weekend I made these...trying out some design ideas.

I made this one just for me....cause I never do that.

I really like the back too.

I think I have finalised the design for the Swap rug, and I know how I want to quilt it. Now I just need to choose the fabric and make it!