Tag: Quilting

Jacob’s Update…

So here’s an update on where I’m up to with my Jacob’s Ladder Quilt…

All hand-quilting stitches have gone bye-bye and the quilt (along with my sanity and comfort) said a delightful ‘Hello!’ to my sewing machine and walking foot!

I spent a good three to four days quilting  – not surprising, as this quilt is a beast of a size! Here are some waves of quilty goodness!

And a snap shot of the finished quilting…

I’ve got to the stage where I just need to stitch the binding to the back of the quilt, label it and then, ta-dah!, it’ll be all finished! Yay!!

 However, that glorious day won’t be in the near future as I’ve dived head first into getting all of my Christmas presents made etc.  After the hectic-ness of Christmas is over, I’ll get right back into finishing my Jacob Quilt – It really has been the most patient quilt in the world and I love it more because of it!

Once finished, I’ll need to chuck it into the wash as it’s covered in dirty paw prints (thanks Lucy!) as well as sticky jam patches courtesy of little nephew fingers!

Mentioning Christmas: with only 27 days now until the big day, I’m on a slow roll to getting gifts prepared, made and finished.

Handmade Christmas cards are complete,

Mum & Dad’s present almost finished…

and only today I’ve begun work on some very special softies for my nephews! (Hopefully this shot doesn’t give too much away!!)

 I can’t wait to share them with you – I’m planning a few blog posts for the beginning of next year documenting my process as well as the gifts I’ve made for everyone… So be on the look out for that in January 2013!

Last Friday I received the last of the prizes I won for first place in the How Does Your Garden Grow? Quilt Competition – a brand new sewing machine…

It’s somewhat the same model of machine as the one I already have – it’s just cosmetically a little different.

Not to seem ungrateful for winning such an awesome prize, but I’m in two minds whether I like it or not. You see, I’ve grown such a huge attachment and sentimental feeling towards my old sewing machine that I found it quite hard to make myself pack it away and then unbox this sweet little beauty in it’s place.  I’ve made some really beautiful quilts on my old sewing machine – Jacob’s Ladder being it’s last (!!) and taught myself new and exciting techniques (as well as failing miserably in a few others). I would sit down in front of it with greedy pursuits and selfless projects and it would always be wonderfully loyal and trustworthy to get everything finished to my picky satisfaction!

And yet, I must admit, this new sewing machine does purr quite sweetly when it’s sewing along compared to my old machine, which would admit a loud chugga-chugga as I sewed along… It’s the same pretty pink and I’m sure will handle my quilting adventures with the same strength and gutsiness as my old one…

Oh well…I suppose I should just get over myself and be humbly thankful for receiving a NEW high-tech sewing machine for FREE!!

Happy Sewing! xx

It Shall Be Called: A Summer Bloom

It t’was a glorious day yesterday – at around 7.30pmish last night I finished my How Does Your Garden Grow? Competition quilt!! It was a very happy, happy moment…. stepping back and admiring the long hard hours I put into making it. And yet, strangely, all I could make myself see were the faults and mistakes I’d skipped over and tried to ignore. Apart from that, I’m very pleased with the end result and hope it does well in the competition – fingers crossed!!

So, here’s how I made it…

To start the paper piecing process, I bought four large pieces of poster board and sticky taped them together in a very professional manner (sprawled across the floor, butt in the air, tape hanging out of my mouth while my measure tape, hanging around my neck, tried desperately to strangle me to death!).

I made a 1m ruler out of a wood stick I had floating around (I’m a poor artist and can’t afford to buy a real 1m ruler stick) and drew up a 1m-squared square, cross-sectioned it into fours etc. and then drew in my petal blades and stem. I made a few adjustments here and there until I was satisfied with the final design. I numbered each piece in a clock-wise direction so I wouldn’t get lost and befuddled with all the different pieces. It more or less became a big number puzzle for me to cut up and then stitch back up again.

So that I wouldn’t be too overcome by cardboard everywhere, I cut and sewed back together the pieces in quarters; the first quarter of the flower design, then the second, third then fourth which then completed the quilt top.

I chose randomly which petal blade got what purple print fabric because – well – because that’s just how I roll.  I like to be spontaneous and try (very hard, with little success) not to over think things.

Hand basting was a slight nightmare. You see those pins? Well, let’s just say many cuss words came out of my mouth thanks to those sharp little buggers. (Please understand my meaning of cuss words: crap, poo, sonova biscuit, far-out and [oh] flip it!) Once basted, I patiently whipstitched all the pieces together, in their correct order, while watching a fair few classic episodes of Friends.

Spray Starch became my best friend – my crime-fighting buddy (no, more like my seam-flattening buddy! Ha!) and my quiet achiever while I untact all the paper pieces away from their fabric companions. I steamed ironed the hell out it and then became stuck on what to do next for two weeks.

Do I put a Dresden Plate Wheel on it to create the illusion of it blooming? No…

Do I use a browny/earthy centrepiece? No…

Should I put both of these together to see if they cancel each other out to make something better? Ew. No…

Do I break my pact of not resorting to making a typical flower with a yellow spot in the centre? Yes. And it works. You know why? Because purple and yellow are matching opposites on the colour wheel and so naturally work and look well together. (Ha! See I told you I don’t over think things!!)

After making such a crucial important simple decisive essential boring time wasting decision, I got on with the job! I hand stitched the centrepiece onto the quilt top and then got onto setting up ready to quilt it.

To shake off the tag that Gen Y (which is me) are a throw away generation, I recycled the idea of the Dresden Plate Block and the browny/earthy coloured centrepiece and appliqued it onto the back of the quilt – just for the sake of it. (And for the fact that I really didn’t want to throw it away after all the effort I put into making it.) I’m changing the world one quilt at a time!!

Once basted and ironed (for about the tenth thousandth time), I spent three days quilting. Three whole days of sewing line after line after line after line after line after line after line… It was fun – for the few minutes. I had to force myself to go to a happy place for the sake of my sanity. But, you know, this is what you do for your art, your passion and for your living.

Next came the binding and stitching on the rod pocket while watching more classic Friends episodes.

And then – tah dah!!! Finish! Fin! Finito!

So, that’s my very first self-designed, hand pieced, machine quilted competition quilt! Hoorah!

It shall be called: A Summer Bloom (as the photo I took of the inspired flower was blooming mid summer this past January).

And so I say: Bring on the next one!

Happy Sewing! xx

Quiet Quilting Days

Over the past few days I’ve been quietly quilting my How Does Your Garden Grow? Competition Quilt – stressfully patiently stitching row after row after row after row…

I’m three quarters of the way through and I’m really happy with how it’s working out.

With a big satisfying grin on my face, I find my self stopping mid sew now and again just to run my hand over the texture that the stitched lines have created.

I hope to get started quilting on the last quarter either tonight or tomorrow morning, with the goal of finishing all the quilting by days end tomorrow. Then it’s onto making the rod pocket and attaching the bias binding.

Yay, the finish line is in sight! (I’ve watching too much of the Olympics!)

Happy Sewing!! xx

The Beginning of Juicy-Lime Squares

It’s been a fantastical productive sewing day today with the construction of half a new quilt top. I’ve completed the five blocks that make up the top and now need to sew on the sashing etc to completely finish the quilt top. I think I’m going to call this one…..Juicy-Lime Squares.Image

These are my two favourite blocks – I’m in love with the bright vivid lime green fabric, it’s just devine!

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As promised, here are the photo’s of the finished Gumnut Babies Quilt….

Front & Back….

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Quilting close-ups…..

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Happy Sewing!! xx

A Quilters Mind Never Stops Thinking!

Just only a few moments ago this afternoon, I finished hand sewing the binding onto the Gumnut Babies Quilt – escaping with only a few needle pricks and my sanity still in tact! Tomorrow I will label and photograph it, share here with you on my blog and then pass it on to the lucky lady who gets to snuggle underneath it’s warmth and comfort. Here is the quilt being quilted during the week. I had fun playing around with the composition of the quilting lines to tie in with the modern approach I took to making this quilt.

Obviously you’ll be able to see the final result when I photograph it tomorrow. I’m genuinely happy with how this quilt has come out, especially when I wasn’t following a pattern; it turned out exactly how I pictured it in my head and that, in itself, is refreshingly satisfying!

The quilt top I’ve made for the How Does Your Grow? Competition has been finalized and yesterday I embellished the quilt backing, cut the batting down to size and basted all three layers together.

The next step now is to decide how I’m going to quilt it so I can fully emphasize the overall design and message of the quilt, as well as to highlight the hand pieced flower blades.

So, now that these two projects are nearing their ends, it’s time to start thinking about the next few quilts that need to be made! I love planning and starting new projects; there’s such joy and excitement in choosing the right quilt designs, fabrics and quilting patterns! Within the past few months I’ve seemed to become addicted to solid block colours and have a few quilt designs in mind that, I think, will show off the harmonies between certain colours.

I was recently inspired to use a particular colour palette after watching the highlights of the 2011 Dew Tour on Fuel TV. I love the bright and vivid lime green that’s smattered around the Skate/BMX course and how the greys and black sit comfortably next to each other. These aren’t the best pictures, but you can see what I mean about that intense lime green!

So naturally I thought that those colours would look awesome in a quilt! I think the fabrics I bought match very well with the course’s colours and I plan to re-visit the notion of the ‘modern approach’ that I used with the Gumnut Babies Quilt, but with a different design of course!

Here’s a rough design sketch of the quilt that I hope to construct…

It’s amazing how inspiration can be found anywhere along with how it hits you like a ton of bricks when it does!

Another project that has sprung to mind is taking the opportunity to explore the use of negative space in a quilt. This thought came about after receiving an email from the organizers of QuiltCon (Texas, 2013) about the different categories that can be explored for the Quilt Show that they’ll be presenting. Entry is open for international quilters, so I’m thinking why not try my luck and make something that could be chosen for display! You never know these things unless you try!

These are the two fabrics I’ve chosen to use; purposely paired for the minimalistic design I’m working on. I’ll update more as things progress!

I’m also dying to find the perfect quilt project so I that I have an excuse to use these Denyse Schmidt fabrics that I oh-so love!

They’re just sooo pretty and fun!! I think I’ll have to spend some time this researching quilt patterns, waiting for the right one to jump out at me and inspire my mind!

Happy Sewing! xx

A Modern Approach

This week I’ve been getting stuck into the Gumnut Babies Quilt – playing and experimenting with a modern Log Cabin block design. The quilt top is now finished – yay! – ready to be basted and quilted.

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I purposely made the quilt top look patchy especially with the grey block fabric as I wanted to really embrace a modern approach and thinking towards constructing this quilt. Personally, I think it adds character and whimsy to the overall design. I’m really happy with where it’s at and can’t wait to get stuck in quilting it.

For the back of the quilt, I’m going to make my first pieced backing with some of the left over fabric strips I used for the Log Cabin blocks and again just play and experiment my way through to the finished product!

Let’s get into it!

Happy Sewing! xx

 

All In A Day’s Work

In my opinion, the best way to pass a cold and miserable rainy winters day would be to rack up a few good km’s on the sewing machine, pump out some extraordinary quilt blocks and projects and then sit and admire your accomplishments for the rest of the afternoon! That’s how my day was spent yesterday (minus the rain and misery) and how the rest of today will go – hopefully!

I’ve dived right back into a project I had previously started but realized I didn’t really like what I had started. I refer to this Gumnut Babies quilt top that I shared a few posts ago. I felt it was a bit bland and boring – to brown, messy and flat. I didn’t feel that ‘thing’ towards it….so it’s been rejected!!

And this is now the direction I’m going in! I’ve added a few more coordinating prints with bolder colours and patterns and decided to do a very modern Log Cabin sort-of design.

It’s only in the early stages of design and the layout of the blocks isn’t firmly decided yet as I still have a few more to make.

With this project, I’m totally going in blind while making it. I’m not following any pattern or specific instructions. Just like all my other quilts I make, the design is all up in my head and I just hope that I am able to translate what’s in mind into an aesthetically pleasing quilt. Fingers crossed xxx!!

I’m the first to admit that I spend way too much time on Pinterest – possibly border lining on addict. However, I was so inspired by a particular pin that I used it as inspiration and made some sweet little wreaths!

These were made by using left over knitting wool/yarn, wrapped hundreds of times around a foam wreath, hot-glue gunning store-bought felted flowers in a pretty bunch together and then attaching some contrasting ribbon as the hanger bit! Ta-dah! A pretty wreath for your front door! It took next-to-no-time to make and the materials where very cheap to buy. So get your craftiness on; make it and be surprised at the results!

I’ve finally finished hand-piecing my How Does Garden Grow? Competition quilt and am now playing around with different techniques to add more interest etc. to the centre of the flower design. I’ve made a few Dresden Wheels but am currently stuck on making them the right size to be able to stack them on top of each other, as if the flower was still blooming.  It’s a head scratcher, but I’ll work it out in the end. Here’s peek…

Right, well I’m off to sew! But only after I make myself a green tea and turn the heater on! Brrr, it’s cold!

Happy Sewing! xx

In love with progress!

I love a good dose of progress in any way possible and the past few days have been full of it!

I’ve come to the point where I’ve almost, just almost, finished the Butterfly cot quilt and I’m so-so-so-so-so happy with it!

While finishing this little beauty, I tried out two techniques that I’ve always shied away from: spray basting and free-hand quilting (stippling).

First of all: I thought I’d give spray basting a go as I knew that safety-pins would constantly get in the way while I was trying to free-hand quilt. So I bought a small can, sprayed away (following the instructions of course!) and was dumb-founded with the instant results I got. My god, the stuff truly does work!

It’s not too sticky but sticky enough to hold all three layers to one another, it’s repositionable and it doesn’t gum up the sewing machine needle. These were my fears of using spray baste but I was happily proven wrong. Plus it only took like two seconds to baste the whole quilt together compared to a few hours rolling around on the floor, pinning and stabbing yourself while tackling all three layers together.

The next technique I successfully conquered was free-hand quilting or stippling. At first I was hopeless and was having terrible issues with the tension – all of my stitches were too loose and it looked horrible and messy. But with YouTube and the Missouri Star Quilt Company to the rescue, I was able to remedy my troubles by changing the tension (very high or tight!) to achieve beautiful, clean and crisp stitching. Here’s the link to the YouTube clip http://youtu.be/yGNOS5JQHYQ Check it out as they go over how to spray baste, set up your machine for stippling and do a little demonstration. They do talk a lot, but it’s helpful if you don’t know what you’re doing!

Here is the quilt on it way! A minute into it I had to stop to have a look and see if I was doing it right, and HUZZAH, it was working!!

Now I’m not going to show you a whole finished look of the quilt just yet – I want to wait until it’s reached the ‘mum-to-be’ before I do that. But here are a few sneaky-peeks!

So from one quilt, onto another…. Today I begun cutting and piecing together another project for a friend who bought some adorable Gumnut Babies fabric. I’ve had these fabrics sitting in my to-do pile for the last 3-4 months, so I thought it was about time to get it started! This lovely lady has been ever so patient and tolerant with my poor time management skills!

Here’s a peek at the fabrics just before they were pieced together this morning.

I also managed to finish my babushka embroidery that I started over my horrible sickie weekend.

It’s just so sweet and colourful. I’m not too sure whether I’ll just frame it or if I’ll add a border around it to make it into a little wall-hanging. I’ve got some adorable babushka print fabric I’ve had sitting in my stash for a gazillion years that I’m just itching to use!

Last but not least, two days ago I decided to quit my job and take up quilting, patchwork, crafting, and blogging as my ‘full-time’ career. It was decision that I didn’t make lightly but felt that it was a now or never kind of feeling/situation. Quilting is my life and my deepest passion and I couldn’t think of anything else in this world that I could commit myself to to make me happy and content in life.

I have sat down and written out a full list of goals I want to achieve and know that I will accomplish them with hard work and dedication along with support and encouragement from my family and friends. I’ll also be taking this time to finish my Fine Arts degree with the plan to go on to studying Education so I can teach my craft to others!

So that’s been my week: busy, stressful, teary, successful, content and intense! Hmm.

Happy Sewing! xx

The Greatest of Intentions

So I had the greatest of intentions to commit myself to my sewing machine and to projects that need to be finished ASAP this weekend. However, as the way life goes, I got sick and was lounge ridden with near-to-no energy, killer sore throat and the worst headache that could ever be ached.

But I did mange to make myself do some sort of sewing and made my nimble fingers start a new embroidery.

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This is what I managed. I’ve mixed it up from my usual use of back-stitch and decided to chain-stitch the main design and satin-stitch the eyes and other roundish/circular features.

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Therefore I stayed on the lounge all day, omitting toilet breaks and panadol stops, and watched a few seasons of Friends – one of my favourite TV shows – and the last two Harry Potter movies (Deathly Hallows Part I & II). Both of these definitely cheered me up in some kind of way but didn’t help me getting any of my quilting projects done! Fingers crossed I can find some time during the week to get the things that should’ve been done, on their way for this following weekend.

 Happy Sewing! xx

 

Hooray for the weekend!!

What a week! I’ve been so overwhelmingly busy these past few days that I’m so glad it’s the weekend!

The last two days I’ve spent at the Craft & Quilt Show at Darling Harbour where I helped man our stand full of our latest issues and associated quilting products.

Of course I took full advantage of my time there to go shopping and spend a ridiculous amount of money on fabric. I mainly bought fat-quarters in mind of a new quilt idea bubbling in the back of my brain. Let’s just say, for now, it will feature the use of a lot of spotty fabrics!

I also bought a beautiful Amy Butler fabric which I’m thinking I could use as a feature print in a quilt sometime in the future.

I also found the sweetest Babushka Sailor Doll, who is now a new addition to my sewing table.

 

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So one of the biggest thrills (as well as the most loserish in the world!) a quilter can get is the purchase of a brand new, shinny, fang-dangle iron! And I, as a quilter, had one of these wet-your-pants-with-excitement moments last weekend when I bought our new iron.

It’s just so pretty and fancy! And yes, I understand that I am the dorkiest, most insane and weirdest person ever in the world to be so excited over an iron. Everyone in my household thinks I’m crazy, and you know, I don’t blame them because I would think the same thing if the roles where reversed. But for a quilter, without an iron you can’t get clean precise lines to match up or have all your blocks lie flat resulting in a flat pristine quilt top that will obey your every command. In patchwork and quilting, an iron is just as important as your sewing machine, fabrics and threads! Hence, my giddy excitement and wet pants.

So of course I had to find a legit reason to use this new piece of appliance that had come into our household and my June Craftsy BOMs where the perfect excuse! Plus I knew I could get them done in a few hours, curing me of my sewing addiction for the day.

With a twist to the old nine-patch block, I’m really pleased with how my fabric choices work in these blocks, especially the Greek cross – the bold pink print fabric really makes it pop!

I’m about to get started on quilting the Butterfly Cot Quilt, where I’m going to take a big bold step and stipple (or free-hand machine) quilt  around the butterflies. I haven’t done very much free-hand quilting before – let alone on an actual quilt – but I’m all for taking on challenges; doing it, learning from it and loving the result! How will you grow in your skills if you don’t give new things a go right? I hope to get started on it this weekend as I’m so anxious to get it finished as I think it’s going to turn out really sweet and charming!

I’ve begun the first steps of figuring out how to create my How does your Garden Grow? quilt competition quilt by mocking up a smaller scale of the quilt design and playing around with a few of the techniques I mentioned in my last blog. I think I’ve come to a conclusion of which direction to go in to construct this one: English Paper Piecing. It’s going to take a while and require a lot of patience but I think it’ll be worth it in the end!

So there’s a lot to carry on with during the weekend and maybe, just maybe I can hopefully squeeze in an extra few hours at the Craft & Quilt Show and explore its inspiring goodness and tempting products in my own time, at my own leisure. Maybe. If I have the funds to spare it!

Happy Sewing!! xx