Speedy table runner

For Christmas, my lovely little girl was given a new dresser by her grandma and grandpa.  I was concerned that, with the amount of junk that goes through her room (often via the dresser), it was at risk of damage without something to protect it.

Enter… the speedy runner!  I whipped this up during two occasions when my husband said he “just needs to quickly check ebay”.  I’d say it took 2 hours from idea to finished – not bad, in my view.

It only took one charm pack, a few scraps of batting and some backing and binding fabric (I used Miss Kate to bind, and a happy-go-lucky charm pack, both by Bonnie and Camille and selected to match a quilt I had already made for the room).

I finished the last of the binding on the bus to work… voila!  I’m really happy with how it looks in its new home, and am reassured by knowing there’s something in place to protect her furniture.

Have a great day!

jf

 

“Spell it with fabric” quilt

Hello!

I know the pattern was released about a year ago for the Moda Blog Hop (you can access the pattern here) but it is only now that I am getting around to making it up.  It’s to be for my little girl’s new bedroom – she moves into a big-girl bed soon, with a new room to boot!  An educational wall quilt seemed like the perfect accessory.

Here are my early observations:

1.  Making a quilt where every block is different is surprisingly enjoyable.  I really like that every single one is a different task!

2.  The hardest part seems to be deciding on colours.  Someone with more flair than me might have embraced colour in the background, but I’m not that person.  I’ll have a colourful border, I think.

3.  This is a great way to use up scraps, because each block needs surprisingly little of the coloured fabric (if you are doing a low-volume background).

4.  I’m only 7 blocks into it, but it is addictive and I can’t wait to knock over a few more!  As each one doesn’t take very long, it is a quite satisfying project.

Of course I will share pictures of it with you as it progresses.  I’m using up a lot of my Bonnie and Camille for Moda odds and ends in the process.  This is such an enjoyable sewing project.  Loving it!

Have a wonderful day!

jf

Finished baby quilt

Hi there.  It’s been a while.

Here’s the baby quilt I prepared for a friend.  She had a gorgeous little girl (which is lucky, because I took a guess and started making it in pink before she arrived).  I mailed it today and realised that I never took a final pic of it, or shared it on this site.

I’m really happy with the finished result.  The fabrics are ABC Menagerie by Abi Hall for Moda on the top, and a cheaper homespun pink on the back.  The backing is still patterned, it has an all-over spotty finish.  It’s Lincraft’s home brand.

The binding is a similar yellow fabric.  I used a cotton filling (though I was tempted to try the bamboo).

The quilting is an all-over stipple in white thread.  I like to use The Bottom Line.

I hope this inspires you to whip up a wonderful gift for a friend or family member’s child.  What could be more wonderful than a perfectly imperfect project?

Have a great week,

jf

Bloomsbury Gardens quick quilt top

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

“Fresh” block #2

Hello hello…

Fresh block number 2 is now complete.  It took a lot longer than I expected, mainly due to interruptions rather than any particular difficulty with the project.  Here it is!

The process of very carefully trimming each half-square triangle patch to exactly 4.5″ made a huge difference to the ease of assembly and the quality of the points.

There’s one step I haven’t mastered, and that I will need to improve for the next block, and that is making sure that the way I press my seams at the time of putting the 9 patch unit together anticipates the direction that I will need those seams to be in when it comes to joining the four 9 patch units together into a star.  Never mind, I’ve got to have something to work on.

If you’d like to compare block #2 to #1, you can see #1 here.  The fabric I am using in all of them is the Bonnie and Camille Scrumptious layer cake with Bella Solids white.

Happy sewing,

jf

Fabulous Fabric Friday: September Blue

Perhaps it is my longing for Spring, but I am smitten by Dashwood Studios’ new range, September Blue.

It’s designed by Susan Driscoll of The Print Tree, and it is just so pretty.

I have not yet found an Australian fabric shop that stocks it, but you can get it shipped online from The Homemakery.

If you know a local place that sells it – please let me know!

Happy Friday, y’all.

jf

Making the “Fresh” block

I’ve been thinking a lot about the more complex patterns that can be made with simple shapes.  Using just squares and half-square triangles (HSTs), the pattern for the “Fresh” quilt, designed by Camille Roskelley, makes a large, beautiful star.

So of course, I started making one.  It’s the perfect quilt to make with layer cakes and yardage of a background fabric.  I love a good layer cake project!  There’s something about the manageability of a 10″ square that appeals, along with the great variety of prints it permits across the whole of the quilt.

I had a lapse when I made my first quarter-block (I blame the sleepless nights that come with a small child).  I forgot to trim the HSTs to precisely 4.5″ before assembling the 9-patch unit.  Big mistake.  After trying to fiddle with the points a couple of times, I just unpicked the whole thing and started again.  Sigh.  Still, it is a good reminder that I shouldn’t forget, or get slack about, the fundamentals.  Anyway, nothing that the quick-unpick and a bit of time couldn’t fix.

Thereafter, everything went much better.

Here’s what a single block looks like.

 

It’s pretty big – around 24.5″.  You don’t need to many of these before you have a nice, big quilt!

This block isn’t perfect, but it’s a good start. Sometimes I think a little imperfection is nice.

The pattern is from Camille’s book, Simply Retro.  The fabric I have used is Scrumptious, by Bonnie and Camille, and a Moda Bella Solid in white.

Work and life generally have kept me from the craft room for the last few weeks, but getting back in there to do this block gave me so much joy!  I never regret making time to spend sewing.  I’m so blessed to have a hobby I love, and a place in which to practise it.

With a bit of luck, I’ll get some more time in there this weekend.

jf

Arrow tail quilt tutorial by Sing All You Want

I saw this quilt tutorial from Sing All You Want this morning, and thought it was too good not to share.

Isn’t it pretty?  Here’s the step-by-step tutorial she offers.

It’s just an all-round great blog, with lots of great projects to try.

Enjoy.

jf

Clever Camille’s Australian tour

Last night I had the pleasure of attending Camille Roskelley’s talk at the Quilters’ Store in Salisbury, Queensland.  Such a lovely evening!

It was the first time I had attended an event for Quilters other than a quilt show.  I was surprised by a few things:

1. the sheer number of attendees.  I thought I was one of only a few fabric nerds in my home city!

2. the average age of attendees – younger than I expected.  Quite a few people in my age group, 25-35 ish.  I’m so pleased to see that traditional crafts still have a lot of young practitioners.

3.  the level of excitement.  I swear I heard a few squeals that would have rivalled those of a teen One Direction fan.

So there you are.  Camille, it turns out you have groupies.  Who would have thought?

On the night there was a great selection of Bonnie and Camille goods for sale, but the most enjoyable part was being able to see and touch, up close, the quilts Camille brought with her from home, and hearing about the process by which she and her mother design fabric.

I restrained myself, and only bought these:

I had been eyeing Camille’s books off for a while, but had hesitated because I don’t like to spend a lot of money on shipping, and books are heavy (and usually expensive) to post.  I can’t wait to get into them.

The evening was a lovely one, full of pleasant surprises.

jf

Charm star: finished!

A little while ago, I posted a picture of the Charm Star quilt top I’d made my mum for mother’s day.  Here is the final result.

On the advice of a creatively brave friend of mine, I quilted it in navy blue thread rather than white (my usual, very safe choice).  I’m really happy with the way that the dark thread shows off the quilting.  It meant I had to be sure to do a perfect job!

I bound it in an aqua polka-dot fabric from the April Showers range.  It links nicely to the fabrics in the star, and ties it all together.

Mum loves it.  I think my grandmother wants to pinch it!  I’ll just have to make her a different one.

jf