Cool Strings Quilt - a finish

 I finished my Cool Strings Quilt this week. Measures 42” square, machine quilted either side of the rows and columns seams.

A close up of some of the string blocks:

And the backing, using one of the new backing fabrics I recently bought online, increasingly the width with a band of fabric which came from  quilting friend Helen after she downsized her stash.

This has gone into my cupboard until the right recipient comes along.

I added to my Ticky Tacky houses for the RSC 2021 Blue month :

17 blocks, all have some blue fabric,  some blocks more blue pieces than others.

Then a 49 patch block and 5 x 4.5” Crumb blocks, made from mostly blue fabric scraps.

Then I made a start on the Bonnie Hunter Easy Breezy blocks I had chosen as one of my blocks for this year’s RSC project. Quite a few pieces in these blocks but they went together extremely quickly. They take longer to cut than piece - for me anyway. 12 blocks in total.

But of course for my country this week has been all about HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who sadly died  on 9th April, just a few weeks short of his 100th birthday. What an amazing man he was, a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather but most of all a great husband for our Queen. A love match which lasted 73 years. He was a very clever and talented man, having expertise in so many different fields which have formed the basis for many, many ideas that will outlive him.

One of his creations was the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme, for young people of any class, creed or colour. Both of our children took part and learned so many new things. Our son, Christopher was a Scout, attending the Jamboree in Seoul, South Korea when he was 16 years old. Christopher completed his Gold Award not long before he tragically died in a car accident at the age of 21, in February 1996. The local 

D of E organiser asked if we would like the Award to be made posthumously and we agreed. We were invited to St. James’s Palace in London a little while later and we had the honour of being presented with Christopher’s Gold Award by Prince Philip. We were taken to an anti room, away from all the other recipients and their families and had a private time with the Duke. He was so kind and thoughtful and made a point of speaking especially to our daughter who was just 19 at the time. We will never forget his kindness and hope he is now at peace and at rest after all his labours. God bless you, Prince Philip.

Adding to Angela’s Soscrappy RSC 2021 project.

Final flourish of 2018

Just finished my final quilt of 2018.
It's a 4 Patch baby quilt made from 4" square Crumb blocks and novelty squares.
Everything from stash including the backing which was a piece of fabric given to me at least 3 years ago.  One of my Patchwork friends was having a clear out and thought I would be able to use it for a baby quilt backing and now I have!
The quilt is a nice size, finishing at 41" square.
This joins a Girl baby quilt so I have now covered both eventualities: whether the expected baby in New Zealand is a boy or a girl. I think it's lovely when parents decide to wait until the actual birth to see whether they have a  son or daughter but it does mean as a quilter it's useful to have a few boy and girl quilts ready made!

I've made 14 quilts this year: baby quilts, premature baby quilts and 2 doll quilts.
Happy with them all.
Tidied my sewing room today  - several UFOs and sets of blocks to be worked on in 2019 and I have an idea for an RSC project too.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year.

Splashing out the pink

I finished hand sewing the binding on this baby quilt yesterday and have started embroidering the label. I'm gifting it to my cousin's granddaughter born on 20th November.  Baby's name is Margot Emily- a very pretty name, I think.
I loved making the quilt, all made from stash.  Four patch blocks using Crumb Blocks from blocks stashed in a big tin and 4" squares cut from favourite scraps.
The sashing, outer border and backing is a piece of fabric I bought a couple of years ago in New Zealand.  It was a bargain from Spotlight. I love the colours in the fabric- the way the pinks, oranges, blues and turquoises splash across the fabric is delightful. Reminds me of Jason Pollock pictures. So the title of the quilt came to me straight away.
Splashing out the pink!

Working hard on my finishes

I have had a very busy week trying to finish (and start!) lots of projects.
On the left-hand side of the photo is a very pink baby quilt which I'm gifting to my cousin's granddaughter born about a week ago.
Made from scraps. The binding is on and I hope to hand stitch it tonight.  Then I will embroider the label.
In front are crumb blocks(from my stash) and 32 x 4" squares which I cut yesterday ready to make a boy quilt like this pink one
On the right-hand side of the photo is a Happy Blocks baby quilt and it's binding, all ready to be attached.
In the middle are 5 more angels which h I will take to church this morning.
So a very satisfactory week!

Pink Cornerstones

I make 4" Crumb blocks as Leaders and Enders.  They have been steadily building up in a tin for a while so I decided it was time to use them. I decided on making a 4 patch block and using white 100% Egyptian cotton as sashing with pretty flowered 2.5" cornerstones.  All from stash.  The Egyptian cotton is from a bundle I bought at the Festival of Quilts last year. Each bundle consists of pieces of white cotton, very long 6/7" strips or quite large pieces which I assume are off cuts from making bed linens.  Beautiful quality.

I started making the blocks a couple of weeks ago at my Patchwork Group but yesterday I really got stuck in and completed the top apart from the final border which I have done this afternoon. Although I had a tin full of Crumb blocks I still had to make an extra six to have enough to make 25 blocks.
The top finishes at 52" which will be a good size for a Siblings Together quilt.

 

Close up showing the sashing and cornerstones

 

 

I have seen a couple of ideas using 4 patch units made from 1.5" squares so made a few as Leaders and Enders as I constructed the quilt top.

Here's a lovely small scrappy pink star I discovered yesterday, hidden away amongst my Crumb blocks. I knew I had acquired it in a Swap and went through my Flickr page to find out its origin.  From Valerie in Canada, sent as a little extra in a Block swap I participated in back in February 2012!
As it's Pink month for Angela's So Scrappy RSC 2017 I thought I should include it. Really beautifully made.

And two more Roman Stripe blocks.

So a profitable weekend's sewing.  I have had a dreadful cold since Tuesday evening and spent a lot of time in bed feeling rotten but yesterday I really felt like sewing and it was great medicine!

 

Linking up with So Scrappy RSC 2017

Making blocks like crazy!

Following on from cleaning and sorting my Sewing Room I am still dealing with scraps and trying to use up "things" I have found.

I found a Square in a square block given to me by a New Zealand quilting friend as an example of this block. I decided not to add it to my Orphan blocks but to 'Use it up"!

So yesterday I created a block which will be made into a 12.5" QAYG block for Soy Amado.  I also used strings and leftover piano keys and added scraps from my recently sorted stash:

 

I made this larger than the size required because I find that QAYG takes up a bit of the size and the blocks finish a bit smaller.  I can always trim it to size after quilting.

 

I have been amassing a huge amount of part-finished Crumb blocks so I finished off 12 more of those:

 

Finally I had a splurge on String blocks using phone book paper as a base - 24 of them:

 

All made from my strips stash (recently added to !).  I think this photo illustrates beautifully the colours I use most: blue, pink and green!

 

 

All that Jazz

I had a productive day at my Vintage Quilters Patchwork Group yesterday.

I used 16 already made 4.5" Crumb blocks and a FQ from the same bundle that I used for my last Strawberries and Butterflies Quilt and make a Premature baby quilt top.

During the day I made the top, sandwiched and machine quilted and bound it.
My second quilt finish this year.

 

It measures 21" x 22".

The backing I bought from Spotlight, not for this quilt, but for my UK stash.
I didn't have enough strawberry fabric left for the backing so used this pretty animal one.

Both of these photos are far too pale: the actual quilt is much brighter and vibrant,
hence it's title: All that Jazz

Strawberries and Butterflies - a finish

My first finished quilt of 2017..............................  Drum roll please!

I present "Strawberries and Butterflies"!

This little Premature baby Quilt was made from already completed 4.5" Crumb blocks, alternating with 4.5" butterfly fabric blocks cut from a FQ which has been in my NZ stash for some years. The sashing is a Strawberry one which I bought this year at Spotlight. I also used the Strawberry fabric for the backing and binding.
The quilt measures 22" x 24" which I understood to be the size required by our local Maternity Unit at Motueka. Apparently those are the maximum measurements: anything from 18" x 21" is required.
Thankfully mine was acceptable and I received some nice comments following Show and Tell.

So pleased to finally have a finished quilt to show for all the sewing I have done since being in NZ from the beginning of January.  However  today at my Quilting Group I put together another Premature baby quilt and sandwiched it ready to quilt and bind at my Saturday Group meeting.

I handed in Strawberries and Butterflies at today's meeting and will give my current project in at the next meeting on 15th March. It's another variation of Crumb blocks

Groovy Movers for Oliver

I have finished another baby quilt!
This time a commission one for Oliver born on 12th September.

My friend wanted the baby's name on the front and as it was a last minute request I made a fairly simple design using some already-made crumb blocks alternately arranged with 4" squares of various coordinating fabrics.

A few weeks ago one of the Quilt shops which emails me had a sale of some children-type fabrics and I bought 3 metres of several of them to use mostly as backing fabrics. One was a lovely robot fabric, depicting some great funky robots with amusing expressions.

Here's the finished quilt:

 

 

 

 

As you can see I used the robot fabric for the borders and the backing.

The quilt measures 32" x 38".
The title "Groovy Movers" was an idea suggested by my Patchwork Group.  One of member's son's removal business is called "Groovy Movers' and the dancing robots reminded them of this name.

A close up of some of the blocks:

 

 

I mostly machine quilted this quilt, hand blanket stitched the appliqued letters and stars and hand quilted around them.

This quilt was really fun to make, quick to put together and I am pleased with the  result.  The robots really make me want to smile.

 

7th quilt finished!

Yesterday I finished my 7th quilt of 2016.  It's a Baby Quilt which I have called Strawberry Patch.

In the next three months I know of three babies on the way - one is due any day now.
So, I have been busy making baby quilts - four in the pipeline, one of which is Strawberry Patch.

Here it is:

 

The finished quilt measures 42" square and consists of alternate 4" Crumb blocks and 4" fabric squares.

I hand quilted in the ditch.

I love striped bindings and just had enough of this bright pink and white fabric to bind my quilt.  I literally had a 3" piece of binding left!

 

The backing fabric was a piece I bought at last year's Festival of Quilts. I love owls and couldn't resist this one. However, when I came to use it for the backing I discovered it was unusually narrow, nowhere near the normal WOF and once the selvedges were cut off  it was not wide enough to back my quilt.  So, I decided to put a pieced strip off centre down the length of the quilt.

I used some 10" squares of vintage sheet fabric I had bought many years ago at a Table Top sale at my NZ Group.  I have been steadily using these squares in my projects this year but still haven't finished them all.

 

 

 

And a couple of Close-ups to show some of the variety of fabrics I used up in this quilt.

 

I am pleased with it, it's really bright and cheerful. Stimulating for a baby I think and lots of opportunities to play "I Spy". 

So, if Fiona's baby is a girl, this is for her.

 

Strawberry Patch

I have made another baby girl quilt using 4" Crumb blocks interspersed with a variety of pink fabrics.
I made a similar quilt earlier this year and I have used the same design again, this time featuring a lovely strawberry fabric I bought in Spotlight. Originally I used the fabric as the backing for another baby quilt but as I had a sizeable chunk left I decided to showcase it in this new quilt project.
A few 4" patches of Strawberry Fabric and used to make the outer border too.  Still got some left which should be enough for another border in a similar quilt which I am sure to make sometime soon!

Some of my favourite Owls fabric in this photo - only scraps of this fabric left now!

 

Another of my favourite fabric in several blocks in this picture.  Can you see the pink fabric with little French buildings on? I bought this for a quilt I was commissioned to make a couple of years ago.  Again, only scraps left now!

 

 

 

I was awake early this morning so I was able to assemble the quilt and it is now ready to quilt. 

The owls fabric I had in my stash (not the Riley Blake owls in the 4" squares) was bought at last year's Festival of Quilts in Birmingham.  It wasn't very wide, nearer 40" so I had to add a pieced strip vertically. I think I will hand quilt this as I did the last one.

 

 

This was a fairly quick project as the Crumb blocks were all in my tin and it was just a matter of choosing the ones I thought were most suitable. My pink scraps were all stashed in the same drawer, so it was quick to cut the required 4" patches from them.

 

 

Here's the whole quilt.  I love it!

As The Beatles said: "Strawberry Fields for ever!"

 

In the Pink baby quilt

My second finish for 2016. Another Scrap quilt alternating Crumb blocks with scrap squares, all cut at 4" square.

Close up showing the alternating Crumb blocks

 

The bright pink homespun border and candy striped pink and white binding finished the quilt nicely.

The quilt measures 40" square and is all hand quilted.

This quilt will go back to the UK with me and go into my stash of baby Girl quilts. I know of a couple of babies due this year, one may be a girl!

Hurrah! I finished my WIP!

Earlier in the year I decided to use up some of the MANY 4" square Crumb Blocks that had been accumulating in my tin.  There were so many I couldn't fit any more in.
So I created a quilt top by sewing four Crumb Blocks together and decided to use sashing and corner stones to complete the top. All the fabrics came from stash: a lilac Kona Cotton for the sashing and two fabrics for alternating corner stones.

Recently I decided it was time to turn this WIP into a quilt, thinking it needed a couple of borders to finish it.  Then I decided to just go with one lilac Kona border and get it finished.

I machine quilted in the ditch and then hand stitched in a variegated pink Perle cotton to add more interest and stability. I also did a few stitches in the centre of the Crumb Blocks to make sure the quilt top was well anchored.  This is a baby quilt which will get lots of washing so it needs to be firmly quilted.  It's a good size for a baby quilt, measuring 40" x 48" so it's big enough for the cot when she is older and can even be used as a top on a single bed.

And, here it is!

Jazzy Squares: showing the backing

 

Jazzy Squares, resting on the sheep we have in our garden!

 

This quilt is going to live in Leeds, as a gift for Rebecca, born in March. Her older brothers Robert and James already have quilts from me so Rebecca had to have one too.

 

I am really pleased with this quilt.  It is bright and pretty and girly.  Lots of interesting snippets for Rebecca to find as she gets older: there's a tiny rabbit, a cat's face, a rhinoceros, an elephant, flowers, stars, hearts etc for her to find.

 

I made Jazzy Squares completely from stash - including the backing and binding which had been given to me by Sue, one of my patchwork group friends.

 

When we went to New Zealand I took some white acrylic yarn (which had been hanging around for too long) and a pretty woven basket style baby blanket pattern I had found on the internet.  I almost finished it before we came home but I ran out of yarn.  I knew I had more at home so when we came back I finished the blanket and put it away.  I now have a recipient, our step Granddaughter is expecting a baby and has a Baby Shower in August so I will gift the knitted blanket then.

 

Knitted blanket:

 

 

 

 

Completing a WIP

When I was putting away fabrics and part finished items a couple of days ago I was surprised at how much fabric, scraps and threads I had.  Too much to put away unless I have a big sort out.  I don't have time for that at present but it will have to be done in the fairly near future as I don't always know where certain things are and I will be wasting time hunting for a certain bit of fabric, notion etc.

That made me decide to definitely finish some WIPs that are already neatly stashed in a plastic bin in my sewing room.  There are also sets of blocks in there - some were from Bees I took part in a few years ago.

Yesterday I took out the almost completed top which was on top of the pile in this box.  It only needs borders to be finished. For the backing I decided to use a lovely piece of fabric recently donated to me by a patchwork friend. It's a good sized piece, measuring 56" by 70", more than big enough to back this quilt, with some sizable pieces left for a future project.

Here is the top, backing and possible border fabrics:

 

 

 

I added the first border using the same lilac Kona Cotton I had used for the sashing.

 

This measure 40" x 45", already a good size for a baby quilt.
Now I am wondering if I really need to add a second border and, if so, which of the four fabrics should I use? What do you think?

As I won't be doing any sewing for the next 10 days or so the decision can be left on the back burner - or in this case, laid out on the bed in my sewing room! I will bind the quilt with the backing fabric and I think that may just be enough of a pop of colour to pull together all the colourful Crumb blocks and define the edges of the quilt.  .....................  I think I have already talked myself out of adding another border and that will help me finish the quilt faster.  I have a baby girl in mind for this quilt and as she was born a couple of months ago I do need to finish the quilt.

 

Sorting out my sewing room

Well, suddenly we are halfway through January, so 2015 is already starting to slip away, and it's time to sort out my sewing room and have a good old tidy up.

I have a drawer with "Project Packs" which I did not touch today. I do more or less know what's in there.  Mostly packs of fabrics and scraps ready to make a quilt, not WIPs.

However, I did delve into the cupboard which has packs of blocks, including a couple of Sewing Bee groups I participated in a few years ago.  Time they saw the light of day!

 

Thirteen 12.5" blocks which really need to be made into a quilt - or donated. 

 

Another Bee Group, similar colours to the previous set but Stars this time. Perhaps I could combine both sets of blocks?  There does seem an awful lot of white in both sets ( although one block in this set definitely has  cream background).  Perhaps a bit of trimming and adding colourful strips? 

Then I have a few sets of blocks I make as "Leaders and Enders" - in the Bonnie Hunter style:

Top row are a set of 6" Crumb blocks and 2 sets of 4" Crumb blocks
Middle row: a set of Hour glass style blocks and rather anaemic pinwheels(should I undo them into HSTs?)
Bottom row: Wonky stars, Bonnie Hunter style. Boy colours.

And a quilt top made from 4" Crumb blocks made into 4 patch blocks, made into a Cornerstones top (Gwen Marston style).  Probably needs a border.  A good size as you can see from the photo - it is spread out on top of a single bed. Once this is finished I think I will donate it to Siblings Together.


I also sorted out my scraps.  Any reasonable sized pieces I put into a large zipped poly bag which originally  held sheets. I do find these bags so useful.  Smaller pieces I cut into 2.5"  or 3" squares, or strips. All tidily away in my stash.

Not quite finished sorting out as I ran out of time but hope to finish the job tomorrow.

Feeling pleased with my efforts so far.

 

Using up Crumb Blocks

As an avid follower of Bonnie Hunter I am always making Crumb blocks as a leader and ender project.
I usually cut them at 4" square and collect in an old biscuit tin.  The tin was overflowing so I decided to put some together to make a quilt top, combining  ideas from Gwen Marston's book "Liberated String Quilts" and, of course, Bonnie!

A year or so ago I made a Cornerstones Quilt ( Gwen Marston' s idea) using single 4" blocks and sashing them as suggested in this pattern:

 

I am sure I have seen 4 small crumb blocks made into a 9 patch ( Bonnie's blog, Flickr, not sure where) so I pieced together pairs, just as they came out of the tin, no over-thinking as this is a Scrap Quilt!

 

 

Here's my string of 4" blocks sewn into pairs:

 

 

Then I snipped them into pairs of 2s, left them 'webbed' and easily put them together in a 4 patch block.  I did pin the centre but it really wasn't necessary as this webbing idea gets the blocks lined up beautifully.

 

 

Can you see the 'webbing"? It's the tiny thread holding together the pairs between the left hand side of the joined pairs.

 

 

And here they are, all sewn and pressed, a really colourful bunch:

 

 

I am now finishing the sashing of the blocks to make another Cornerstones Quilt.

 

I am using a lilac Kona cotton and a couple of scraps which tone well with the lilac to make my 'cornerstones".  I am assembling this exactly as Gwen Marston shows in her book. But as my blocks are larger I have cut the sashing and cornerstones at 3" instead of 2.5".

 

The cutting didn't take long - even cut up the remaining cornerstone fabric scrap into some 3" squares and a strip for my Scraps Stash - and then chain pieced the sashing onto the blocks.

So far I have only completed one of the cornerstone-sashed blocks but I accomplished so much in a short time yesterday.

 

This is where I got to:

 

And that's where it stays at present.  I'm off to London with my husband for the weekend, setting off for the train station quite soon. We are going to a couple of exhibitions at the National Gallery and the Dulwich Gallery, plus a bit of shopping and sitting and reading in book shops!  Loads of walking of course, catching lots of tube trains where you walk miles along underground tunnels so my Fitbit will be working overtime.  I'm hoping to get some amazing totals on my weekly report next Tuesday!

Happy sewing!