Tag Archives: quilt

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.

Home Again

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We are safely home after being away for 3 weeks. It was fun to spend time with family and friends in different surroundings but it is also good to be back and I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight.

Here is a quick round-up of what has been happening.

The gifted quilt is now in its new home.

A final farewell to some of the family.

A couple of shots of an approaching storm yesterday. We had to pull off the road as there was a short burst of wind, very heavy rain and some hail. Thankfully, there does not appear to be any damage to the car.

It was a hot, sunny day here and I was able to do 2 loads of washing when we arrived home and get them all dried this afternoon. Now the folding and ironing awaits…………

Time to Reveal

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I have made some fleeting references to some red and black patchwork that I was working on in the latter part of the year but I couldn’t reveal too much as it was a gift.

This is a photo that I took in the very early stages when I was still unsure of the overall plan.

It all came together quite quickly as I used some larger pieces in places rather than all disappearing 9 patch blocks. This after it had been quilted but before the final trimming and binding.

The quilt was not actually a Christmas gift but an early (milestone) birthday present for my brother. I know I won’t be with him to celebrate on the day so this was a good opportunity to be able to give it to him in person.

I was very pleased with the result and I think his smile says it all.

Finished and Delivered

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I have been working furiously over the past couple of days to finish handsewing the binding on the quilt. I had set myself a deadline as we were going to visit our daughter today. It is no mean feat to hand sew tiny stitches around 8 metres of binding but it is now all done and the quilt is firmly ensconced with its new owner.

Here is the final result.

Apparently, someone else thinks it is pretty good too.

Now that I have completed that job I can turn my attention to a few other jobs around the house that need doing.

Nearly Finished & A New One

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Today I sewed all of the patchwork blocks together.

My next step is to contact a lady who has a longarm machine to do the quilting. Once that is done I will bind the edges and the quilt for our daughter will be complete. I am hoping that I will have it done in the next 2 weeks so that it is finished in time for her birthday.

I am already planning my next project which is a similar quilt for our elder granddaughter. My goal is to have it done for her 18th birthday which is at the end of 2025. I know that sounds a long way away but it does take time to source suitable fabric and cut the squares before you even start sewing the blocks. Of course, I don’t work on them consistently as there is always other sewing to do as well cooking, gardening and simply having a life.

I have made a start by finding the precut pink fabric I had on hand as well as beginning to cut some larger pieces. I need 378 5 inch squares to make a QS quilt.

Do you have any long-term craft projects that you return to from time to time?

42 Finished

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This morning I completed the last stage of the final seven blocks for the patchwork quilt I am working on for my daughter.

The pile of 42 blocks does not look particularly impressive for the amount of work that went into them

However, the work is more evident once they are all spread out. The next step was to adjust the blocks to get the best balance of colours and patterns.

I think I am happy with this layout.

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.

Nothing New

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In June 2014 I took my first tentative steps towards making a quilt using Disappearing 9 Patch blocks. I was finally completed nearly 7 years later as I finished sewing the binding on while I sat with my mother when she was in hospital. I am so glad that I was able to share the finished quilt with her as much of the fabric had come from her stash of offcuts from garments she had made for herself and various family members over many years. You can see it here.

Last year I offered to make one for our younger daughter. Her preferred colour palette was soft greens such as sage and olive. I wondered how on earth I was going to source sufficient scraps of these colours as they are not generally colours that I use. However, I have been remarkably surprised at the bits that have come my way from many and varied sources.

Initially, I made about 6 blocks but I have not made any since before we moved. I had been collecting and cutting fabric in preparation. So, the past couple of days have been a bit of a marathon and I now have 33 completed blocks. I have some squares cut out but need 42 blocks altogether so I need to keep a close eye on fabric in op shops.

This is a preliminary layout with the completed blocks.

I am confident that this quilt will not take 7 years to complete.

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.

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.