Two Little Baby Quilts

I know I’ve possibly overshared these two little beauties throughout the past few weeks but I just wanted to wrap it all up by showing you the final finished quilts in all their glory before being posted to their final homes!

And aren’t they just lovely!!

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Words really can’t describe just how happy I am by how darling they’ve come out! Everything just works. The blocks, the fabrics, the colours, the quilting, even the binding and backing I chose to use. They all just work so well together! Never have I had a brief go so well and match exactly to what I was planning in my head! I love it when that happens! Yay! 😀

So, shall we do a quick low-down of each quilt? Just so we can say goodbye together…

Let’s start with the Granny Squares Block Quilt.

GrannySquaresBlockQuilt

This was the first time I had ever attempted to make a Granny Squares Block. I had always looked at it and thought, ‘Geeze, that looks complicated!’ But after delving more into how the block was pieced together, I realised just how incredibly simple it was to make and I literally jumped straight into it!

You can check out the block tutorial I made right here!

I loved matching the adorable Cotton+Steel Basics fabric with some of the similar coloured Art Gallery Fabrics (AGF) that I already had in my stash. The direction and shapes in the prints added such a great depth of character, movement and sweetness to the quilt so much that every time I stepped back to observe it, a squeal of delight came out my mouth!

Then, the way that I quilted it made me fall in love even harder! I decided to do a grid-like-pattern that was sewn off-set to the squares in the block.

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To make it easier for me to get sharp and precise straight lines, I used my Clover Hera Marker to ‘score’ or ‘bruise’ my ‘to-quit line’ on the top of the quilt. I then simply followed this line as I quilted, resulting in this lovely even design!

GrannyDuo

When basting this quilt, I also came across a beautiful batting that I’ve always wanted to use, but always thought it was too expensive to buy. The one that I was recommended to use by my always-so-helpful friend Bitza at my local Spotlight, was a bamboo/cotton blend batting made by Legacy that didn’t cost the earth or empty out the balance of my bank account!

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It was such a delightful batting to work with! Super soft to the touch, lightweight and dreamy, easy to baste and quite literally glided like butter through my machine! Oh. My. Gosh. I was in love! It’s going to be really hard to now go back to using an all cotton batting!

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To finish this little delight, I backed it with a darling lime pin-spot fabric and used the leftover ‘Hello Bear’ black spot fabric from AGF for the binding. It simply came out perfect!

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PinwheelQuilt

Oh. The Pinwheel Quilt! This came together so quickly and perfectly that I could almost cry at the ease of it!

I always love a good little pinwheel and I think they’re just so ideal for little kid quilts! They’re super-easy to piece together and are the perfect block to use up all of those leftover HSTs you’ve got floating around your sewing room!

You can check out the tutorial for this block here!

Again, for this quilt I used a mixture of the Cotton+Steel and AGF fabrics paired with an off-white solid. I also chose to incorporate another dominate type border sash around the blocks to ‘frame’ the main focus of the quilt.

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With this quilt, I tried my best to really ‘echo’ or be inspired by the shape of the pinwheel in my quilting. As you may know by now, I love to quilt my quilts using straight lines. And with this, I always love to challenge and stretch my self with the different ways I can do that by exploring direction, shape and density. I think you can really see that with this quilt, especially around the outside border and corners. (BTW: I love doing those little fan-like-designs in the corners, they look so Art Deco-y!) To help achieve the beautiful lines in this quilt, I again used my Clover Hera Marker to create lines in the right positions before quilting over them.

PinwheelFront&Back

To finish this little lovely, I backed it using a teal and creamy white stripe fabric and used a AGF fabric with little triangles on it for the binding.

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TwoLittleBabyQuilts

I’ve had so much fun making these gorgeous little quilts and I’ve loved sharing every single step along the way with you! It also makes me cringe-worthy happy that I’ve even inspired some of you to make these blocks and turn them into beautiful quilts for yourselves!

Thanks to everyone for all of your lovely comments and encouragements throughout the last few weeks when it came to these quilts! It truly means a whole lot!! 🙂

So now, let’s all say ‘cheers’ and wish the lucky little bubbas and mummas-to-be all the best!!

Happy Sewing, Friends!

xx

An Update From My Sewing Room… #3

A very good afternoon to you friends! I hope you’re doing well! Me? Well I’m rugged up in a scarf and woollen jacket, with a lovely cup of tea beside me while I write this post to help keep my fingers warm! Ahh, winter… It’s nice to think about when it’s hot out but when it really comes along, you hate it with every inch of your numb digits and extremities!

Anyway, today we’re delving again into the fun things happening in and around my sewing room! Lots of things have been happening and I’m so excited to share them with you!

Right! Let’s get started!

Last week, I bunkered down and got my Diamond Square Block Quilt finished to finally gift to one of my good friends for her 50th birthday! Although Donna’s actual birthday was at the end of May, she received her quilt over a month late with exclaims of excitement and thankfulness!

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It was quite funny to watch her reaction: as she was talking, she kept folding and unfolding the quilt to look at it and inspect it! I’ve seen many reactions to people receiving quilts but this one, well, it was super lovely to watch!

I’ve also just realised I haven’t shared with you the final finish of the quilt! The quilting design I chose was one I’ve been wanting to try for a while now and have been waiting for the right quilt-top to come along for me to try it on. It’s the technique where you sew two parallel lines next to the seam joins of each block/unit to create a grid-like surface pattern. (Ooo, did I explain that well enough?)

DonnasQuilt1 DonnasQuilt2 DonnasQuilt3 DonnasQuilt4

I’ve seen this type of quilting on so many quilts when on Pinterest and I just fell in love with how simple but effective it seemed to be. I love how it adds a subtle outline to the blocks as well as adding that secondary grid-type pattern to the quilt-top. I definitely think I’ll try out this method again, especially when I’ve made a quilt that has quite a distinctive design/pattern to it!

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Over the weekend, I shared a new quilt block tutorial with you on my YouTube channel! This time round it was the super simple and insanely cute Pinwheel Block!

I thought it would be nice to share the uber-simple way I make my Pinwheels in a quick mini tutorial after using the block in the second of two baby quilts I’m making for a friend! Here’s that quilt-top for you now…

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I’m hoping to set aside some time next week to get this baby quilt and the other one (the Granny Squares Quilt) quilted and finished! I have a fair idea of what types of designs I would like to quilt onto each, but I’m still up for being persuaded with something else if I see it on Pinterest!

And as always, I do a little shout to those of you will be giving this tutorial a go, to share your finished block with me on Instagram, Twitter or on my Facebook page! I love, love, love seeing what you make and in turn, love being inspired by how talented you are! 🙂

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Speaking of all things YouTube, sharing, talent and friendship, on Monday morning I woke up to my end-of-year goal surpassed by reaching over 5000 subscribers on my YouTube channel! What!?!?

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I sometimes wonder just where all of you are coming from!

Although this number is practically minuscule compared to other channels that are out there, this number of people was something I never thought I would achieve! I was totally happy with just having 50, but 5000, gosh my brain hurts just thinking about how many people that actually is!

Thank you!

Thank you to each and every one of you for supporting, commenting, liking, encouraging, contributing, chatting, sharing and hanging out with me! I never actually thought anyone would watch or be interested in what I make or share. It truly, truly, truly means a lot and your support has given me so much more confidence within myself as a person and as a quilter! I feel so lucky and humbled by how many lovely friends I’ve made since starting this whole thing! It makes me so happy to be in touch with others who just ‘get it’! Who understands that rare passion, desire and drive we feel for making beautiful quilts, for swooning over richly designed fabrics, for buckling at the sight of beautifully nested seams and for making quilts for others, not for the glory or compliments it’ll give us, but because making and gifting a quilt for someone special is one of the best feelings you can give and receive.

So again, thank you!

And, just a heads up, make sure to be watching my channel this coming Sunday (12th July 2015) for a special GIVEAWAY (!!!) as a thank you for just how wonderful I think you all are!

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And now onto the last exciting bit of news for today!!

Tomorrow I’ll be publishing another fun little blog post where I’ll be sharing with you the finished Mini Quilt I’ve made using these beautiful coloured solids!!

MysteryMiniQuilt!

Ooo, what could it be…??

All I know is that I’m completely in love with the finished result and I hope you will be too!!!

Eek!!

Until then,

Happy Sewing, Friends!!

xx

An Update from my Sewing Room… #2

I can tell you a secret?

(Well, it’s not really a secret. More of a thought, actually.)

I really loved having the opportunity to sit, write and share what had been happening in my Sewing Room last time and the response to that post was really encouraging and supportive! So because of that, I’ve decided to make this into a bit of a series to explore and to use as a ‘newsletter’ type thing, keeping you updated on things that I don’t share so much on YouTube, Instagram or any other of my social networky places. Sound good? Good!

And also, I like writing these types of posts as I love to be able to go back and read about what I was up to this time last year (yes, I am the type of blogger that actually likes to re-read what they wrote a year ago!), or to re-fresh my memory on the progress I made with quilts-in-the-making. I especially like looking back on posts about quilts that I give away, remembering what they looked like and re-living the thoughts (and struggles) I was facing when making them.

So, where to start off this time… Hmm…

Let’s start here!

The other day I did share this completed quilt top on Instagram of one of the commissioned baby quilts I’m making for a friend.

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I’m completely over the moon with how well it’s all come together! I absolutely loved how the fabrics shone, glimmered and danced in the winter sunshine and soft breeze on the day I shot these photos! It was a beautiful moment where my crazy quilt-nerdisms went into hyper-drive and I squealed and giggled to myself over its cuteness!

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All up, I made five Granny Squares Blocks and had a hard time deciding whether to leave in the top left yellow spot block or this green spot block (ie. the first block I made at beginning!)

My First Granny Squares Block!
My First Granny Squares Block!

I ended up using the yellow spot block as it seemed to balance out all of the mint-green fabrics I had used. It seemed to give the quilt an over-all subtlety and softness that I really like.

Moving on to baby quilt number two. This time around I’m making a small bunch of 5.5″ Pinwheels using the left over 3.5″ squares I over cut for the Granny Squares Blocks. (They really are super adorable!)

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I’ll also be using up any left over 2″ sashing I used on the previous quilt to sash the Pinwheels together. I think I’ll then add the same kind of border I did to the other one as well, but instead use the soft yellow spot fabric in place of the green strip border.

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Yesterday afternoon I spent some down time finishing the piecing of the Pinwheels and then begun sashing the blocks together. I’m now at the stage where I can quite easily finish the quilt top in one afternoon or evening sewing session. (That’ll either happen today or tomorrow!)

I’ve set myself a goal to have both baby quilt tops finished for the start of next week so I can concentrate on getting them quilted. I think I’ll stick to some pretty basic quilting lines – nothing as intense as my Geo Dreams Quilt or Amelia’s Baby Quilt – as I think it’ll really compliment the softness and simpleness that each of these quilts already radiate.

(Here’s a piece of behind the scenes trivia for you: While piecing the Pinwheel Blocks together, instead listening to music like I usually do, I played season four of Adventure Time in the background! It helped tremendously to make those tedious steps of squaring up HSTs and pressing tricky seams a lot more bearable and fun! Math!)

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Finn & Jake // IMAGE SOURCE

The next thing I wanted to share with you is a pattern that I’ve been swooning over for the past week! And it’s this one by Fat Quarter Shop

The Panda-Monium Mini Quilt!

Panda-Monium Mini Quilt by Fat Quarter Shop // SOURCE
Panda-Monium Mini Quilt by Fat Quarter Shop // IMAGE SOURCE

I’m dying to get stuck into making this sweet little mini but I just can’t… I already have my fingers in so many pies, so to speak, that I really need to calm myself down, put my patience pants on and begin it when I don’t already have so many other quilts to get finished!! (And seeing so many great versions of it being made on Instagram doesn’t help to calm my fever!!)

Oh, and I forget to mention – it’s a free pattern!! (Say what!?) Yep. A FREE pattern! I love a good freebie! Annndd, there’s also a YouTube tutorial on the Fat Quarter Shop channel showing you how to make it! How good is that?! 😀

And lastly, may I just say, how awesome is the Mollie Makes magazine?!

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If I could sum up everything that I want to be as quilter/sewer/crafter/whatever, this magazine is it! It’s 100% me but in pretty matte-pages form!

Although we’re a few issues behind here in Australia and you literally have to pay a small fortune for just one copy, it’s totes worth it, especially when you get cute freebies like pastel vintage buttons and DIY pincushion kits!!

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So that’s it this time ’round.

The weekend ahead, as usual, is full of sewing, creating, filming and editing!

I hope you’re weekend will be just as fun as mine!

Happy Sewing, Friends!

xx

Tutorial: The Pinwheel Block

Pinwheel Duo

Good Afternoon to you!

With a comforting mug of tea settling next to the keyboard and my written notes laid out before me, let’s explore the latest instalment in my quilt block tutorials – the Pinwheel Block!

Inspired by a block in the book ‘500 Quilt Blocks’ by Lynne Goldsworthy & Kerry Green, the Pinwheel Block is deceptively easy!

Here’s what you need to do to make this block!

Measurement & cutting instructions

(This block only requires two contrasting fabrics.)

Cut x2: 6″ squares from one fabric for the corners

Cut x2: 4.5″ squares from each fabric for the HSTs*

Final block size: 25.4cm or 10″ square.

And as always, let me know if you’re going to give this block go! You can email your lovely pictures to this address: 3and3quarters@gmail.com

Happy Sewing Friends!

xx

PS. Regarding my Christmas videos: These will begin in December, with the first one due to come out on Wednesday the 3rd! Then every Sunday & Wednesday upload, until the end of the month will be Christmassy related! Whoo! (This is just incase I didn’t really explain it well enough in the video!) I hope you will all enjoy the ideas and projects I have in store!

*HSTs = Half Square Triangles