Last night, I finally decided to use the fat eighth pack of Liberty Bloomsbury Gardens in the blue colourway to make a simple quilt. It is only small – 40″ x 36″ approx. – a size I like to call telly rug size. Perfect for a grandma to have over her knees as she watches TV in the chilly Queensland evenings (don’t laugh, this winter it has been cold by our standards!).
That’s precisely what I am making it for. I’ll give it to my nana.
The picture shows only a part of the quilt top, but it is the same style all over. It’s a simple jumble of 5″ squares. It worked well for the fat eighths, because for most of them I could get 8 patches from an eighth, with almost no waste. With fabric this expensive, no waste is important.
In fact, the picture doesn’t do it justice, because each patch of fabric is so beautiful, that it is easy to be drawn into it and look at that one patch for quite a long time.
I had hesitated about how to use this fabric, partly because it is so beautiful, but also because the coastal colours aren’t the kind I use a lot, and so I was hesitant about how to put so many busy patterns with lots of shades therein together. But then, I saw the June 2014 issue of Homespun magazine, and it had a project that used Liberty Tana Lawns to make an even smaller quilt, and it gave me confidence that very busy could also be very good. It also helped me to decide that these busy fabrics needed a simple pattern, so that their detail could be seen. I think it was the right decision.
I’ll post another picture once it is quilted and bound. I’ve chosen spotty aqua yardage from the happy-go-lucky range by Bonnie and Camille for the backing. I already had it at home, it was a good colour match, and I prefer patterned backings (it’s just easier to keep it looking clean). I’ll bind it in the same, too.
Not bad for a very short sewing session last night!
Have a great day,
jf
finchley street 