**Argghh! Right at the last minute I’ve just realised I’ve been quoting the size of the block wrong throughout the whole video!! The size of the blocks will be 12.5″ square NOT 12&1/4″! The set square ruler I use is 12.5″ NOT 12″! Oh my, where was my brain today!
Hello and happy Wednesday to you all!
Today brings to you the first block in my HST Sampler Quilt Along series, the Formal Garden Block!
Everything you’ll need to know in regards to the measurement and cutting information as well as the fabrics* I’ve use to piece this block together are in the pattern sheet linked at the beginning of this post! If you would like to use the same 12.5″ set square as me, you can find it here: June Tailor Get-Squared 12.5″ Ruler.
I know I’ve said this a thousand times now but don’t forget to share your finished blocks with me! I love, love, love seeing them!
Happy Sewing, Friends and I’ll see you on Friday with block #2!
xx
*A big thanks to Australian wholesale supplier and fabric distributer Dayview Textiles for supplying me with such beautiful fabrics! If you want to see all of the fabrics I’ll be using in this Quilt Along, check out this post where I share them all with you!
I haven’t done as much as I had hoped for this past week on the Rail Fence Quilt.
I did do a few more lines of quilting here and there over the days but not to the point where it’s worthy for a WIP photo opportunity…
In the moments after I finished writing the previous sentence, I had a quick squizz at my quilting efforts on the R.F Quilt and felt compassion. (Weirdo alert!!)
So here is an up-to-date ‘progress-report’ image…
Current State | 27/01/14
Yeah….there’s not much difference from what it looked like last Monday.
I also must confess that I have been giving my time to another (new!) project.
I received an email Saturday morning from the NSW Quilting Guild containing information and forms for this year’s Sydney Quilt Show.
A more-than-mild wave of panic washed over me at that moment.
I hadn’t at all begun planning my entry for this show; the thought had always been at the back of mind but nothing else!
Although the Show isn’t until early June, it’s always nice to have things on-the-go from an early start!
Of the categories in the show, one or two stood out: Amateur Small or Wall Quilt (minimum size 40cmx40cm) as well as an Open category named Miniature (a quilt with a scaled down pattern with a perimeter of 200cm).
So early Saturday afternoon, I picked out a bunch of pretty and modern fabrics and raided my quilt book library for some block inspiration.
I had the thought of pairing two contrasting modern fabrics together and patch them together into a ‘traditional’ block formation.
In one of my favourite patchwork/quilting books, 130 Mini Quilt Blocks by Susan Briscoe, on page 46, I discovered an itty-bitty version of the Snail Trail Block that had a finished block size of 12.7cm or 5”! Perfect!
I have made this block before a few years back so I felt pretty comfortable tackling it.
Start to Finish | Mini Snail Trail Block
I quickly drew up a sketch to make sure the colours would sit well together – and they did!
The next hour or so I cut out all of the tiney-tiny pieces and begun sewing mini squares and HST together.
Four blocks were completed by yesterday; they were quickly sashed together and the quilt top is now ready to be quilted!! Whhhaaattt?!?!
(You know, I’m really liking this Mini-Quilt making thing – it’s quick, easy and non-stressful!)
The size of the quilt top measures 46cmx46cm or 18”x18” and fits into both Show categories as previously mentioned. I’m just not sure which one I’ll choose yet.
I’m also torn on what I’ll name this sweet little mini; I have two in mind…
Golden Trail
— OR —
Yellow Brick Road
Which one would you choose??
So there we have it.
Perhaps next week I’ll have more progress on my R.F Quilt to show and not have to confess that I’ve been distracted (again!) by other things.
The day has finally arrived for me to show off my finished quilt!
The Happy Quilt
Better known as the Double Wrench Mini Block Quilt (phew what a mouth full!), I re-named this little treasure The Happy Quilt.
I came about this name while I was quilting it.
The thought struck: everything about this quilt just simply makes me happy!
They include –
The bright modern fabrics.
The choice of block.
The uneven quilting lines (I could never get them perfectly straight, even if my sewing machine depended on it!).
The individual characters each little mini block seems to hum.
The brave choice of finishing with a white (eek!) binding (I’ll regret that, I just know it!).
The fact that I used a lot of my scrap and bulk fabrics up (yippee – that means I get to shop for more fabric!).
That a majority of the blocks don’t match or perfectly join up at the seams or points (adds a bit of character I say!).
The size of the quilt: perfect as a lap quilt | perfect as a wall hanging | perfect for the bed.
I’m happy with the gamble I took on how I quilted it (I was prepared for some major puckering!!), with my patience and risk-taking rewarded with a brilliantly textured quilt!
It quite possibly will be my entry into the 2014 Sydney Quilt Show (we’ll see what happens between then and now!).
I’m happy that I simply stuck with it and just got it done.
And…the overall me-ness of the quilt just makes me happy (and there’s nothing wrong with that!).
So to sum it all up, I’m just totally smitten with this quilt!
But to be honest, I’m now feeling a little lost at the realisation that it’s finished and that I don’t need to schedule my time around getting it completed…
Unfortunately it’s time to move onto other projects and give life to another heap of fabrics, threads and batting! (I’ve got tonnes of that stuff lying everywhere!)
If you want to see more of the photos I shot visit this Flickr Set or alternatively, you can watch this video!
‘That’s the one I want to do!’, I whispered to myself.
I plan to create a quilt that predominately features a traditional block design but is constructed with bright and colourful modern fabrics that have differing scaled prints and designs.
And I think I’m on my way to achieving that…
Blocks lined up like little soldiers!Perfect little blocks…
So far I’ve made 35 14cmx14cm (5 ½ inch) squares with 7 more to go to complete the size quilt I want.
When preparing the blocks, I found myself patiently taking the time to cut, piece and iron each little unit that makes up one block and finding it hard to resist taking some scrumptious photos along the way… (and flooding my instagram and twitter feeds!)
A sweet pile of fabric goodness!Freshly cut and pieced mini HSTs…ah, such delight!Mini units ready to be ironed and pieced together!
The construction of these blocks are easier than you think and I find that as soon as I’ve begun making one, I was onto constructing the next within minutes!
My set up | Organisation is the key to success!
So when time permits, I’ll sew up the last 7 blocks, piece them altogether and save and save and save for some batting and then get this baby quilted and bound!
Yes, that’s right! Today is 3and3quarters: A Quilters Blog 1st birthday!
A whole year has past and so much has happened within those 52 weeks.
This week I took a reflective look back at the posts I’ve written since day one, reminiscing on past quilts I’ve made and given away as well as the endless quilts and projects that I’ve started but are now left unfinished and forgotten. I never realised how many embroideries I actually tackled and finished this past year…last count was 11 plus 1 in progress equalling twelve.
This whole blog thing all began with wanting to eagerly show the process of making a quilt I made for a cousin in the UK. Purple Rain became a beautiful quilt that challenged my perceptions on the shades and values of the colour purple.
Hopefully one day I can make another like it, studying colours such as oranges and yellows or pinks and reds.
With thanks to the Craftsy Block of the Month (BOM) series, I learnt and became a master of some new and exciting quilting techniques, which in turn became concrete fads for me to delve into and get lost in. They included…
These wonderful techniques have definitely added another dimension to my quilting practice by enriching my knowledge, confidence and technique for the better.
Throughout the year, I’ve also shared some big moments in my life…
I left my job of six years and delved into a strange new work environment that didn’t end up being the right path to go down
I started the year enrolled in a Fine Arts course and am ending the year in a teaching/education course
I travelled to new and exciting places as well as experienced my very first plane trip
It’s quite a strange feeling looking back at, what is, a written documentary of the past year of my life. There have been so many moods and emotions felt: feelings of failure, accomplishment, success, frustration and happiness. Confidently I can say that these things have made me stronger and much more determined to “Do what I love. Love what I do”. I couldn’t imagine life without my quilting practice. It’s what I breathe. What I think. What I feel. What I love. It is something that truly makes me feel happy, contented and successful.
And so with all that said, this week I’ve been meddling in a few new embroideries, have drunk far too many cups of tea and sewn together a couple more Union Jack Blocks.
Within the next few weeks I plan to sew together all of my finished BOM blocks into a beautiful sampler quilt and then get a start on some homemade Christmas gifts. (Oh my goodness, is it really that time of the year already!?). All the while, I’ll be continuing to hand quilt my Jacob’s Ladder quilt battling the Australian summer elements of hot, sticky humid days.
It’s been quite a quiet and slow moving week on the sewing front. I’ve lazily taken the week to sew on the first border of my Jacob’s Ladder quilt while experimenting with a HST border, in an attempt to use up some of the leftover 2.5inch squares of DS Quilts fabric.
I also did a lazy mans attempt at bunting. Springing from an idea I saw on Pinterest, I dug out some coloured twine, matching fabric (British themed) and drew up a diamond shape on some plastic template.
I traced around the diamond template onto the fabrics I had chosen, then cut along the lines with pinking shears to avoid any fraying and then (here’s the lazy bit!) I stapled the little folded fabric flags over the twine– and TAHTAH – Lazy Mans Bunting: British Style.(In no way am I implying the British are lazy. I love the British!)
I’m not sure what I’ll do with the bunting, but I’ll find it a home somewhere in the house.
It seems this week I’ve been doing everything else but sewing. I’ve spent time in the kitchen cooking delicious food stuffs – orange shortbread (a household favourite and greedily finished by the end of the day!)
and a disaster of a carrot cake that definitely tasted better than it looked. It actually came out as more of a carroty-crumbly-moosh than a cake which had deflated and pancaked 2 minuets after it had come out of the oven. (No photos of this one – I’m too ashamed!) What made the experience of making this cake worse was that it had about ten billion steps in its method making that were time consuming and complicated. I mean how hard can it be to make a simple carrot cake?! Never, and I mean NEVER, will I be making that recipe again! I felt as deflated as the cake was after making it; it didn’t even deserve the mouth watering cream-cheese frosting that was meant to be slathered generously on top!!!
So, there is another reason why I’ve been distracted from my sewing table this week and which I’ve been devoting my waking hours to and that is Harry Potter. I’ve dedicated myself to re-reading the entire series again, which isn’t something too difficult to do. Within one week I’ve become a serious bookworm and have read the first three books while only this morning I brought down from the bookshelf HP & the Goblet of Fire, ready to cozy up on the lounge and begin reading.
The books are so hard to put down, even though I’ve read them many times before. I’m not ashamed to admit I’m a Pott-Head. I even have a Pinboard on Pinterest dedicated to my love for Harry Potter and the brilliance of JK Rowling. So there, I’ve just outed myself as a massive geek (and possible loser?) but who isn’t when it come to these things?!
So from looking after my three beautiful nephews pretending to be Princes for an evening…
To enjoying a glorious teaser of Spring (albeit windy) weather in Sydney with a much deserved unhealthy lunch treat on Monday…
I’ve had a great week before ready myself into beginning my online university studies next week!
3and3quarters 