Tag Archives: fabric scraps

Outsourced

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The past week since my last post has been somewhat devoid of blog material. In fact, it has been generally fairly quiet with us spending most of the time at home. There were a couple of fine sunny days which were perfect for some more fence painting. We have now completed 2 coats on all of the outside of the pickets and both sides of the gates. Once we finish the inside of the pickets then I will just need to do some touching up of baseboards and posts which are dark grey.

We did go out yesterday afternoon to pick up the quilt which I had taken to a friend to quilt on her longarm machine. It is always a delight to see the transformation from a piece of patchwork to a completed quilt. I think this one looks particularly spectacular.

A close-up of the stitching pattern.

The backing fabric from a thrifted doona cover really highlights the quilting.

Meanwhile, in a change of pace we have a weekend full of activity but more about that next time.

Inching Slowly Forward

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My recent sewing has been doing some paid alterations to 3 skirts. Now that they are finished I have turned my attention to my ongoing patchwork project.

I completed 2 more blocks this afternoon.

That leaves just 7 more blocks to do to have enough for the QS quilt. I need about 6 more squares but I have exhausted my supply of suitable colour fabrics so I will check out the op shop tomorrow when we are out and about.

I hope to be able to have the quilt assembled as pass it on to a contact who has a long arm machine to quilt it.

I have other sewing to work on as well as a germ of an idea for my next patchwork project but more about that another day.

A Safe Scarf

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I have a shoebox full of scarves in various weights and colours which I wear on a regular basis. However, yesterday I made myself a new one which is a bit bit different and rather special.

It is a infinity (loop) scarf made from some fabric scraps from my stash. The particular feature that prompted me to make this was the ability to create a discreet pocket for valuables. I had seen a similar item advertised a few years ago as being suitable for travellers and I had always considered making one. 

So, I finally did it. I used a lightweight crinkle cotton as our next trip is to Hawaii so a heavy fabric is definitely not required.

You can see the zip and pocket section more clearly in this close-up. The zip was also a salvaged one from my stash. I was fortunate to have one in an appropriate length and colour.

The zip opening and pocket are large enough to hold a passport. The ability to carry my passport and cash discreetly and on my person is an important consideration when in busy public spaces when travelling.

Here is an example of me wearing the scarf with my passport in the pocket section of the scarf.

A Combined Effort

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I have recently finished making this lap quilt.

Let me explain the ‘combined effort’ in the title.

The embroidered calico blocks came to me in a bag of salvaged textiles that had been donated to an op shop but were destined for landfill as they were deemed not to be saleable. The blocks were sandwiched between other larger pieces and may not have even been seen. They had been hand embroidered and I felt it was important to respect the love and care which had gone into the handiwork.

So, I trimmed the blocks to a standard size and set about sourcing some plain coloured fabric which would complement the embroidery colours. Some were from my own stash and others from a friend.

The patchwork top was finished earlier in the year before we left Queensland. Once we moved I needed to find someone with a long arm quilting machine as I wanted to make sure that I did justice to the work so far. I bought a king-size sheet from an op shop for the backing and the binding and handed it over to be quilted. My quilting contact did a marvellous job of highlighting the various elements of the embroidery and patchwork.

Then it was my turn to add the finishing touches with the binding which was also cut from the sheet.

You can see the backing and quilting detail in the photo.

I feel like this was a really worthwhile project and the only new materials were the batting and thread.

A Parisian Creation

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I was looking back over my posts from the past few weeks and it seems to be all about sewing. This is primarily because we have been house-sitting and any kind of organisation is really not happening.

Apart from sewing, we have been quite social with a variety of lunches and catch-ups with numerous people before we depart for Victoria.

Meanwhile, my final sewing project for a while was this dress for a friend. I created the pattern from an existing dress. The fabric was some offcuts which were in a box of scraps given to us. When J first spied it she immediately wanted a garment from it. There was not enough for trousers but we realised that a simple dress was possible with a bit of creativity.

I am really pleased with how it turned out.

Patchwork Tutorial

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Tonight I want to show you a step-by-step guide to making a block of ‘Disappearing 9 Patch’ patchwork.

This quilt top is made up of 42 of these blocks.

As the name implies, the first step is to collect 9 different squares of fabric. I choose to use 5 inch x 5 inch squares but you can select whatever size square you wish.

Nine squares laid out in the preferred arrangement.

Sew the squares together to create 3 rows. Press the seams as you go.

Sew the rows together. Make sure that the seams line up.

You will now have a block of nine squares sewn together.

Fold the block in half, press and then cut.

Repeat the process to create four equal quarters.

Rearrange the quarters to create a pleasing visual balance.

Sew the pieces together. Remember to ensure that the seams line up in the centre of the block. Press.

Make as many blocks as you need for your project.

I generally use a plain coloured block for the centre block.

This is the first of 12 blocks needed to make a throw for the foot of the guest bed. It may be a slow process as I do not have a great deal of fabrics of suitable colours.

UFO No More

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It is less than 2 months since I wrote this post in which I committed to completing some unfinished projects in 2021. The first was a patchwork quilt for our queen-size bed.

I am pleased to report that the entire project is finished. I did not do the quilting as I have neither the skill nor the equipment to quilt such a large piece. My primary aim was to make a piece of patchwork which used all of the blue-toned fabrics and to declutter some of the bits of fabric that I had be hanging onto for far too long. All have been salvaged from one source or another, with many of them being scraps of homemade garments from various family members. What wonderful memories!

After completing the patchwork, I purchased a piece of suitable backing fabric and placed my handiwork and faith in Tanya who had been recommended to me. I was not disappointed. Tanya quilted the piece using a fairly simple design as I had requested.

Once the quilting was done, the final touch was to bind the edges. I cut bias strips from the remainder of the backing fabric. The handstitching of the binding was a bit tedious but it is now finished and I am thrilled with the final result.

Here are a selection of views of the quilt which is now an integral part of our bed linen.

I hope you have enjoyed following the story of the quilt as much as I have enjoyed creating it.

There has been a significant hiatus in blog posts and I do apologise. Real life events have been first and foremost as my mother is quite ill. Please keep her in your thoughts. My blog presence may be a bit hit and miss but I will certainly be here when I have something of interest to share.

2021 – Year of the UFO

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In this instance UFO refers to ‘Unfinished Object’.

UFO’s often frequent craft and sewing rooms and mine was the beginnings of a patchwork quilt.

You can read about the first part of the project here.

Everything came to a grinding halt a bit over 6 years ago. This was predominately because I did not have enough scraps to create the additional blocks which I decided that I needed.

Fast forward a few years and I had managed to collect more scraps so I restarted the patchwork a few weeks ago. This is the first block of the new batch.

11 blocks finished to create a total of 42. This will be enough to make a generous quilt for our queen size bed.

Today I sewed all of the blocks together. The patchwork is complete. The next step is to make the quilt.

I spread the completed patchwork on our bed to get an idea of how it would look. I am very happy with the result.

I hope there is not another 6 year hiatus before it is completed.

Sewing Projects

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Last month I wrote this post about a baby quilt I was making.  I finished it last week and gave to my colleague who was absolutely thrilled with it.

Here is the result of my endeavours.

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This crazy quilt was made entirely from scraps and thrifted fabric and bits and pieces of it were made over a number of years.

In complete contrast, my next sewing project was made in less than an hour this morning.  GMan recently bought a new Kindle e-reader but had not decided about a case/cover so I suggested that I could make one.

I did not take any photos during the construction process as I did not have a pattern and just made it up as I went along.  I was pleased with the result.

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It is made from a couple of scraps of poly cotton fabric – patterned on the outside with a plain red lining.  I cut up an old handtowel which had been in the pile of old towels and used this for some padding to provide some protection for the Kindle.  The bias binding and velcro tab were also scraps that were lurking in my stash of sewing bits and pieces.

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And this is how it looks with the flap sealed with the velcro.

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The rest of my day was spent far away from the sewing machine but more on that tomorrow.