Works in progress

 I have continued with the leftover Star block baby quilt this week. It is now machine quilted and I did my usual echo quilting with Perl thread around the star itself. I have also made the binding so the quilt is ready to be trimmed and the binding sewn on. Perhaps tomorrow?

For many years I have had this funky piece of fabric in my stash.

It’s a Michael Miller fabric called Penguin Parade. I have no idea how I acquired it but during a recent tidy up it came to light so I decided to turn it into a small quilt for donation. I collected together Wonky star blocks, scraps and other fabrics and started to make two strips of 2” pairs of blue and yellow fabric to go above and underneath the penguins. How this strippy quilt grows is at present a mystery. Hope to have more to show next week. 

Work in progress and another finish

 When I was making my Piccadilly Quilt I found I had made 10 Star blocks instead of the 9 the pattern required. Whenever possible I am trying to use up scraps and leftovers as they occur so I decided to turn the extra block into the centre of a small Medallion Quilt for the local Maternity Unit. I also incorporated some of the leftover HSTs as a border. I have finished the machine quilting and made the binding but I want to echo quilt around the Star with Perle thread so I will work on this during the coming week.

I just managed to finish my third Dolly Quilt to post it to our little great niece Maggie in time for her 4th birthday last Friday.

And the reverse, a lemon coloured small gingham fabric. 

I was happy with how all three quilts turned out but this is definitely my favourite. Very fresh looking with the greens and yellows.

Second Dolly Quilt finish

 I have finished a second Dolly Quilt for our great niece Seren’s 3rd birthday. Same design as the first Dolly Quilt but in different colours and fabrics. 

The name Seren means Star in Welsh so I thought the pale pink shooting stars fabrics for sashing and borders was ideal. 

It’s a dull grey day here so the colours look drab in this photograph. 

I used the same dusky pink with tiny white stars fabric for both the backing and binding.

I have now got to work quickly to make another one for our other little great niece Maggie’s 4th birthday on 20th October. Maggie and Seren are cousins who live near each other so they will be able to compare Dolly Quilts.

I also finished another quilt which has taken me months to do, mainly because I haven’t been in the best of health for well over a year and haven’t had much sewing mojo.

It’s a Jo Kramer quilt, which she showed on her blog and also made some videos for Youtube. I used the same colour combination as Jo did, greens and blues. I didn’t add the extra border that Jo did as the quilt would then have been too large for me to baste. The pattern is called Piccadilly Circus.

It finished at 42” square, the baby quilt size I prefer.

A couple of close ups of some of the blocks:

By mistake I made an extra Star block which I’ve turned into a 24” square quilt for our local Maternity Unit. It’s basted but I have to quilt and bind it. Once Dolly Quilt 3 is done I’ll finish this Star Quilt.

So, a productive week for me. 

Dolly Quilt finsh

 My best friend’s granddaughter Grace will be 4 years old on Monday. I managed to finish a Dolly Quilt for her and put in in the post along with a book called Drama Llama. 

The little quilt measures 24” square. The appliqué motifs are hand blanket stitched and the quilt is machine quilted. I did hand quilt around each motif using off white Perle thread which makes the figures pop out from the background.

I understand from Grace’s Grandma that she loves wrapping up her dolls and soft toys so I hope she approves of this quilt.

I’m now busy making the blocks for two more Dolly quilts, both little girls’ birthdays coming up in the next two weeks!

And a photo of the backing: