WIP - Scarlett's string quilt (and a bonus giveaway)

This week has been more borders I'm afraid - and even worse a border for a secret project. It won't be published until September so nothing much to show other that this little teaser shot...

As a break from border hell I rewarded myself with whipping up some blocks for Scarlett's string quilt.  I have 48 blocks to make and have done 27, so my aim over the next week or so is to do at least 3 per day and knock this project on the head.  After all it's only been languishing in my "current projects" box for 2 years.
 

I love making these scrappy blocks - you get to fondle favourite fabrics from projects past and the colours are just so pretty.  I taught this project at one of our retreats a few years ago and you can download a tutorial for how I do it here if you like.

Trimmings

All neat

 

Only 21 to go!

The layout so far

Earlier in the week I took part in Sew Mama Sew's giveaway - I have been overwhelmed by the response to my giveaway.  When I first posted it I wondered if I'd have anyone enter at all!   I have absolutely loved ready everyone's comments, it is amazing seeing where everyone is from and learning a little bit about your corner of the globe.  You guys have amused me so much that I have decided to have a little bonus prize.  I have another 8 Whimsy fat quarters and I will do a second draw on the 25th for them.  So if you're keen head on over to this post and add your comment there.

The bonus 8 Whimsy Fat Quarters

As usual I'm linking up with Quilt Story and Freshly Pieced and you can follow the links below to see what everyone else has been up to this week.

 

Giveaway Day - Whimsy by Fig Tree & Co

 Bang a gong - we are on!!  It's giveaway day, hosted by Sew Mama Sew.

For the giveaway I am offering 8 fat quarters of Whimsy by Fig Tree & Co that I've been hoarding.

These are the fat quarters you will receive

For a chance to win this gorgeous fabric simply leave me a comment telling me where you are from and if you feel so inclined, I'd enjoy a random fact about it too.  That's it!  

I will ship internationally and the winner will be drawn by random number generator on the evening of the 25th of May.

If you are a no reply blogger please leave your email address in your comment.  I will announce the winner on the 25th of May.

Good Luck!

Bloggers Quilt Festival

Hi Everyone!

I'm excited to enter the Blogger's Quilt Festival for the first time.  The quilt I am entering is the Hunter's Star quilt I made for my Mum.  The pattern is from Sew Scrappy Volume 1 and it measures approximately 60" square.

 

I love how it turned out.  The fabrics I used are a combination of Pom Pom de Paris by French General,  Collection for a Cause - Faith by Howard Marcus, Lily and Will by Bunny Hill and Antique Fair by Blackbird designs.  Plus, some of my favourite neutrals that I'd been hoarding.

 

Mum quilted it for me with a pretty feather panto (what kind of gift is it when she had to quilt it herself? - oh, and she bound it too!  Don't get a gift from me - it's too much work). 

Here's a close up of the quilting on the back.  I love this fabric - I am a sucker for a birdie!

I loved making this quilt so much that I have since made two more.  You can read about those here.

I am off now to drool over everyone else's quilts.  You can too - head on over......

WIP - Jewel Box Quilt

This week has been border central again...I am a bit over it but I still have borders to go on at least three more quilts so I just have to suck it up and soldier on!

So here is this week's big reveal - the border is finally on my Jewel Box quilt.  This is a quilt I made using a Bliss by Bonnie and Camille Jelly Roll and a Layer Cake.  It was one of the projects at a Wallaroo Retreat about 18 months ago.  I know, 18 months - it's ridiculous that it's taken this long to get its border! But here it is hanging in the sunshine from my washing line sporting a nice little border.  Happy Day!  Now I just have to get this baby quilted.   My mum would need to quilt for me full time for a fortnight to get all of my quilt tops done - unfortunately I only pay with love and that's not a great way to run a business.

One of the things I love about this pattern is how different shapes appear depending on how you squint when you look at the quilt.....

It's a shape shifter.

I'm linking up with  Freshly Pieced and Quilt Story - head on over and spread the fabric love.

Stealth Photographer

My four year old daughter has recently worked out how to take photos using my iphone.  She is trigger happy.  When I was wading through the 542 photos she took (mostly of herself, the tv and her feet) I came across some of me that I hadn't noticed her taking.

It seems I spend an awful lot of time staring confusedly at fabric.  And I wear a good deal of fleece.

WIP - Giant pinwheels

I feel like this week all I have been doing is wrestling with huge swathes of fabric with not much to show for my efforts.  I absolutely love making quilts but I find putting borders on to be the most loathesome part of the process.  Do you like putting them on?

Anyway, enough bitching about borders.  A few weeks ago after watching a Missouri Star Quilt Co video on You Tube (I love their tutorials!) I decide to use their method to make pinwheels on a layer cake.  Here is the video if you care to watch it.  In the clip they use charm squares but the idea is the same.



The only thing I would say about this method of making pinwheels is that because you stitch the straight grain on the fabric in your seam then cut in an "x" through the centre of the square, all the outer edges of your pinwheel are bias edges - this can make them very stretchy so be careful and use starch to help stabilise everything.

I wanted a kind of soft wash effect so I used a Cabbages and Roses "Athill Range" layer cake and here is the result.

I plan to use the Quilt in a Day Scalloped Edge ruler to create a scalloped border - again I was inspired by the Missouri Star Quilt Company.  You can watch the video for that here (sorry, blogger wouldn't let me embed two videos)

So Stats for the giant pinwheel quilt:

1 Athill Range Layer Cake (I used the whole thing, bar 2 squares, for my pinwheels just matching lights and darks)
40cm fabric for border 1
1.5m fabric for border 2

Quilt is 5 rows of 4 blocks, has a 1" inner border and a 7" outer border.

Finished size 66" x 78"

I'm really happy with it - super quick and easy to put together.  I just need to get it quilted so that I can try out my new scallop ruler!

I'm linking up with Quilt Story and Freshly pieced so head on over and check out more crafty goodness.

WIP - Bits and Pieces

This week there has been a lot going on in my sewing room with not a hell of a lot to show for it.  But here are this weeks slim pickings - hopefully by Friday I will at least have a few flimsy quilt tops to reveal.

So, the first thing I have been working on are my quilted cushions.  I absolutely love how they turned out - particularly the house cushion.  I designed these cushions with the Ikea 20" feather insert in mind.  It's all about Ikea in this house.  God bless the Swedes. 

I have finished both of the covers although only one has an insert.  Fool that I am, I thought I had bought two inserts but alas, I only have one.  And as it's a 2 hour round trip to Ikea for me the other cushion will  remain empty for the time being.

The other thing I have been working on this week is an idea I have for a quilt.  I love the rolling star block but can't be bothered with templates, so I worked out a way of making it without them.  Here is my first effort.  I like it, but I'm just not sure about what colours I'd do a quilt in or how I'd join the blocks together.  It feels like it needs a bit of something else, so I'll just let it stew for a while I think. 

I also unpicked a quilt top.  It was all ready to be quilted but after staring at it and staring at it I decided that it needed a different type of sashing so I unpicked the whole thing.  Here are the blocks all patiently waiting to be restitched.

And lastly here are two tops waiting to have their borders attached.  The first is a giant pinwheel quilt I made out of Athill Range.  I am really looking forward to doing this one because I am going to try to do scalloped borders.  

And after some internet fabric hunting I found some Hemming House to put the borders on this quilt.  I was originally going to do a thin red inner border but when I was at Hettie's on Tuesday I  decided on the soft green 3 Sisters fabric.  I think it picks up the green of the boder really well and I just can't go past fabric with writing on it.

So there you have it, my week in fabric.  All over the shop! 

I'm linking up with these two fabulous blogs - hop on over and check out what everyone else has been up to.