The Easy Way to Mitre Borders

Hello Everyone,

I love the way mitred borders look but I used to find them fiddley to do - that is until I discovered this method of doing them.

Step 1: Cut 2 strips the width of the quilt plus twice the border width plus an extra 2" and 2 strips the length of the quilt plus twice the border width and 2" extra.

Example: width of quilt before border = 65”, width of border(s) to be added = 6”

65” + 6” + 6” +2" = strip 79” long. Cut 2 strips 79” long (width measurement)

Repeat steps for length of quilt.


NB. For multiple borders, sew strips together first and attach to quilt as one unit.


Step 2: Centre and pin border strips in place.

Step 3: Start and end seams ¼” from raw edges of the quilt top. Backstitch to secure. Press seams toward quilt top.

Mark the 1/4 inch point with a pin or a marker

Step 4: Lay quilt top right side up on ironing board and fold each border end flat back onto itself, right sides together, forming a 45 degree angle at the quilt’s corner. Press to form sharp creases.

The arrows show where you should have 45 degree angles.

Step 5: Fold quilt on diagonal, right sides together. Align border strip raw edges, border seams at the ¼” backstitched point and creases. Pin in place. Stitch along crease, backstitching at ¼” border seam.

Step 6: Press seam open. With quilt right side up, align 45 degree angle line of a square ruler on the seam line to check accuracy. If corner is flat and square, trim excess fabric to ¼” seam allowance. If you don't have a 45 degree angle just unpick and start again.

Voilà! Perfect mitred corners. Gorgeous!

It's nice having a tall husband - he comes in very handy!

Mother's Day

It's a bit late, but I thought I would share a photo of what I made Mum for Mother's Day and also share a story.....

When I was a little girl, my brother and I used to watch a movie starring Michael Keaton and Henry Winkler called Nightshift. It was about two guys who worked the nightshift at the city morgue. One of them (Winkler) was a straitlaced, nervous guy and his counterpart (Keaton) was a bit of a buffoon. Michael Keaton's character (for those of you who haven't seen this triumph of modern cinema) used to come up with all kinds of crazy schemes which he would then record into a dictaphone as inspiration struck. The ideas were usually completely stupid (for example "microwave underwear")

Anyway, in her day Mum has come up with a few crazy ideas of her own, so much so that I call her Mike (after Michael Keaton) and it has become a running joke between the two of us. So for Mother's Day I decided to follow the fantastic tutorial from Bloom and make her her very own ideas book and here is the result.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you fabulous Mummy's out there....as the saying goes "God couldn't be everywhere so he invented mothers" and what a good job that He did! I don't know what I would do without mine...crazy ideas and all.

Thread Catcher

Many thanks to the lovely Lea from 'The Stitching Room' for helping me to make this lovely little thread catcher. Her online tutorial is available here for anyone else who would like to make one.

They would make a great little gift for your stitchingly-minded friends! I will be busy with the Janome in overdrive over the next couple of weeks whipping them up for our retreat attendees.

Until next time,

Free Antique Nine Patch Pattern

Hello everyone!

I have uploaded the PDF of the pattern for the Antique Nine Patch quilt for you to download. Unfortunately Blogger doesn't support PDF files so if you right click on the link above and open a new window you can download the pattern from Media Fire. If you do make the quilt I would love it if you would email me photos. Also, if you have any queries don't hesitate to contact me and I will do my best to help you.

Over the coming weeks I will be adding more patterns and tutorials, so come back and check for updates.

Happy Sewing!

Projects for the Mannum Quilt Retreat

Ok ladies! I have been busy with my pedal to the metal on the Janome and have finished two of the quilts for quilt retreat and I just have the borders to go on the final one. My poor machine will need a cuppa and a lie down after this week!

The first quilt on offer is 'Heritage Hexagons' and with the borders will measure 57"x68".

This quilt takes 1 jelly roll and approximately 1m of border fabric - exact fabric requirements will be sent out with your retreat pack.

The next quilt is 'Wedgewood' and will be available in two sizes. The quilt as pictured is 83"x 83", but will also be available in a smaller size 68"x53".

The final quilt is 'Starburst' and is also available in 2 sizes. The size pictured is 61"x61". I made this quilt in fresh vintage florals and spots and the quilt has a lovely soft feel. I think it would be striking in different red, blues and whites or in Civil war era repros.

Rear view


My favourite block in the quilt

Have fun choosing your project and fabrics. I am looking forward to seeing you all in June!!

Quilt Retreat 2009

The Pumphouse

Quilt retreat is coming! We will be holding our inaugural quilt retreat at Mannum from June 12th - 14th. We will be staying at the Pumphouse in the grounds of the Mannum caravan park on the banks of the Murray. There is dorm-style bunkhouse accommodation available or we can book you an ensuite cabin if you prefer. We have three lovely quilting projects in a variety of sizes planned for you to suit everyone from the beginner to the more advanced patchworker. Photos will follow soon but there will be a double irish chain quilt and a rising star quilt both with flying geese borders and available in two sizes and a hexagon quilt strip pieced and made from a jelly roll in a large lap size. The retreat is $170.oo and includes:

FREE bunkhouse accommodation
Pattern for your choice of project
All meals (except for Sat evening dinner - we will be going out for a lovely meal)
Tuition
A gift bag filled with goodies

There are only 20 spaces available and places are filling fast - please call Sharon on 0411 268 924 to secure your place and join us for a lovely fun filled weekend doing something that you love!

View of the Murray from the caravan park

Mum and Scarlett on the verandah of the Pumphouse

The lovely airy work room

The FREE dormstyle rooms

Antique Nine Patch Workshop

Our next workshop is going to be the lovely Antique Nine Patch quilt. It is a one day workshop and we are running two of them on the last weekend in March (28th & 29th). There are still a couple of spots available on Sunday so be quick and call Sharon on 0411 268 984 to secure your place. The cost of the workshop is $50 and includes your pattern, lunch, tea and coffee and yummy cakes!

The quilt itself is rotary cut and machine pieced and is suitable for all skill levels. The finished quilt will be 56" x 56" but can easily be made larger to suit your requirements. It is comprised of a nine-patch and a diagonal cross block and can be made from scraps in your stash or purpose bought fabric. For a scrappy look, use up odds and ends from your stash or, as is my personal preference, go for the more stuctured formal look that is created when using only 4 fabrics - but each to their own! What I will say though is that the cross blocks definitely look better when there is a strong contrast between the cross fabric and the background fabric - you really need this contrast to tie the quilt together. The photos below should make all of this clearer.

This is Mum's antique nine patch. She has made it bigger by adding extra blocks - easily done and now it fits her king-size bed. Also, she has only used 4 different fabrics and has acheived a lovely structured look.

This quilt is the size that we will be doing in the workshop. I have also only used 4 fabrics.



This is the original antique nine patch that I made at a workshop with Faye Packham. You can see that I have completely lost the effect of the cross blocks in the light blue squares and the quilt looks a bit wishy-washy as a result. I learned alot about fabric selection while making this quilt!