Missing In Action? Part 1

When I was updating my Quilt Record recently (I confess that it was a couple of years since I'd last updated it properly!) I realised that there were a couple of quilts that once they'd been finished had never made it on to the blog - so I'm going to put that right!

The first one to show you is this frame quilt.

It was the merging of two projects.  I wanted to set my own challenge to design and make a 'mini block' project to replace a simpler quilt on a living room wall, but I was also working on a frame quilt challenge for my old quilting group.

I started the frame with a simple pinwheel, that flared out into a star. Then I left a good chunk of negative space to allow room for quilting.

The next challenge row was to use seminole.  That was a fun one!

Triangles (I used flying geese) came next.  Then it was curves - a bit of a cheat for me, as I applied this gold bias binding in gentle curves.

Stars was the final prompt, and I used them as corner stones to complete my challenge piece.

After that I managed to make the batik blocks fit (with a little 'fillet' of 1/2" or so in batik to make it work properly!).

You can tell that I had fun with the quilting!

I had a blast and I'm very happy to have it up on the wall!
 

Card Time Again

It's that time again.  I always seem to reach the end of the summer with a shortage of cards, but lots of dates in the diary when I need them!

So, a few fabric scraps, a little hand sewing and a glue stick, and I have sufficient cards to get me through the next couple of months!

Not all shown here - I forgot to take a photo of the first patch that I made.  

It's always fun to match up the fabrics with the recipients!

 

More little projects

The start of the school year and the Uni year are rolling round so quickly!  I've seen a few ideas for elasticated pen holders on line, and I thought that this version, with a zip to keep pens and pencils secure, would work well.

This one with black elastic was made for an A5 notenook, DD2's favourite size.  Made with fabric that was included in her Uni quilt.

 And this one for DD1 is an A4 size in fabric that she chose.

The pattern that I used was this one from PolkaDot Chair.

Elastic Pencil Case Bookmark

I think that I'll probably be making a couple more of these!

Finished!

I always love a quilt with legs!  It reminds me of Terry Pratchett's Luggage in the Discworld series....

Anyway, here it is, complete with the borders, fully quilted and bound.

I'm really pleased with it!

The all important label.

Scrappy binding to match the scrappy border and main blocks.

I did a meander pattern for the quilting, adding in hearts at random along the way.

So hearts in the pattern as well as hearts in the quilting.

The only thing that wasn't scrappy was the backing.  A lovely floral - good counterpoint to the busy front!
 

I Added a Border

I decided that I did want the scrappy hearts to be a bit bigger (it was 54" square), so raided my 2.5" strips and scraps to make a double border for all four sides.

It didn't take much to fiddle the scraps so that there wasn't too much overlap of the most populous fabrics.

So here is the quilt, stretched out and being spray basted on the living room floor.

Next, quilting and binding!
 

Palette Cleanser

A pause, following all the trimming of the HSTs and QSTs of the scrappy quilt that I'm working on.

These bits and bobs match the quilt that I made DD2 for uni.

This little fabric bowl is just for me - foot cream, plasters etc have to live somewhere, but I decided that they could have a mini fabric bucket of beauty.

And it was time to renew the washable face wipes too, adding new fabrics for my daughters.

Fun small projects are always so satisfying, aren't they?
 

Blocks Complete!

Not a great photo - but I've completed all nine blocks and I'm really happy with the way that they sit together to make the additional hearts.

However, I've put it aside for a couple of days, so that I can have a think about how to complete it.  It's 54" square, and I think that I'd like it to be a tiny bit bigger.  I can either use a single fabric to add a border, or, as it's a scrappy quilt, dive into my left over 2.5" scraps and make a border from them.

Decisions, decisions!
 

Making a Start

I've been working on a scrap quilt, with a pattern called Love you Scraps by Mary Anne Warren, which was published in LoveQuilting Magazine recently.

It's involved A LOT of trimming!

However, it's always satisfying when you get to the piles of squares in their colour families....  this shows them before the larger HSTs became QSTs!

And here is some of the Love from the quilts name.

I did my best to keep them scrappy, but I have to confess that my red scrap bag is a little light on scraps big enough for the quilt!

Now I've reached the stage of making the blocks - there will be nine.

Can you see those red HSTs and QSTs?  When the blocks go together they will form extra hearts - isn't that cute?  I'm really looking forward to the final assembly! 

 So, these are the first two blocks complete.  I'm hoping to have time to complete the other seven this week, and make the quilt top.

Bits and Bobs

Using up some of the excess fabric from the project (I shall probably make cushion covers and other things too!), I made this bag.  It might be used for transporting the quilt (I made it the right size for that!), but I also think that it would make a great laundry bag too.  Easy to hang on the back of a door!

It's completed reversible.  Fun fabrics either way.  And this one was quilted from the front of the fox fabric, so I was able to avoid sewing over any of the foxes.

I also carried on with another 'set' - this time of travel items that I made last year (also for DD2), using some of the left over fabrics.

This was set out as a splashproof glasses case - but given to my daughter as a waterproof-ish bikini carrier, for those days when you end up having an early dip and not wanting your wet bikini to make everything else that you are carrying to get too damp!

Perfect size for that.

Sorry that I can't attribute the designer.  I think that it was through sewcanshe - but I'm not sure, sorry!

Enjoy looking at the patterns there anyway - always fun stuff to find!

Anyway, it's a basic zipper pouch with clear plastic so that it's more or less waterproof.

Keep enjoying sewing fun stuff!

 

Its Been Gifted!

In a process that started over a year ago, I let my DD2 choose a short list of quilt designs that she liked - and then relinquish the rest of the process to me, to make her Uni quilt.

After looking at the options, I chose this pattern, called Hearts Crossed, by Darcy Fox of the Dandelion Quilt Studio.

It allowed me to use lots of different fabrics, all the warm colours that I thought my daughter would enjoy.

I even found some fun print fabric for the backing - with foxes and woodland creatures on it.

Although I made the quilt top last summer when she was away, I hadn't had a chance to complete it until she was away for a few days last month.

Pleased that I managed to do it.

Then I had to decide when to actually gift it  - that was nearly harder than making it, as I'd started to wonder if I'd got the right colour family for her!

I'm pleased to say that when I passed it over, she was delighted with it!

The rest of the backing was made up with this improv strip - that used up lots of the scraps that I generated in making the front of the quilt.  Always a nice idea, and it gives a quieter side if the front is too much!

When I quilted it I added leaves and a few flowers to the meander quilting that I was using.

You can see the front and the back together here.  I love them!

Of course I added a label.  Now it's all ready for her to take to Uni in September, after her year off.

This is one of the blocks - you can see the hearts quite easily here.  On some blocks they point in, in alternate blocks they point out.  Nice variety.

I love this pattern, and can see me making it again!
 

Puffin Folder Cover

This is my completed folder cover!  Let me talk you through the steps.....

First of all, get a lovely friend to unexpectedly gift you a frame of mini hexies made of bird prints, and a puffin print panel. (thank you so much, Benta!  I absolutely love them!).

Apply the frame to the puffin print to the best of your ability.

Pull your folder of patchwork notes / patterns / scraps of papers with quilting designs on, and decide to make a cover for it.

Apply the puffin and hexie panel to the seagull fabric that you bought for another project and forgot to us (see post from two weeks ago!).

Try to keep it straight!

Back with some 'frankenbatting' (wadding scraps, for example from quilt edge trimmings, sewn together to make a larger piece) and quilt.

Trim (in this case to 13.5" x 23"), add a lining piece of the same size, and two 'wings' of 13.5" x 8" folded WST and pressed).  Place the larger peices RST with the 'wings' between them and pin.  Sew around the outside.

Trim the corners, turn through, and top stitch close to the edge.

Ta-da!  You have completed your folder cover!
 

I'm so pleased with it!  It's a perfect fit, and a lovely cover to a well used folder.

Pickle Dish Workshop

Through the Miniatures Group, part of the UK Quilters Guild, I took a two part workshop with Judi O'May.  She was a great tutor - lots of patience with showing and re-showing different techniques to achieve the Pickle Dish blocks.

These were my starting point

And now, the crescents made and trimmed, with the squares and centre 'eye' shapes, all ready to join.

I had to remember to reverse the order of the fabrics to get them to be opposite each other, as that is what I wanted to do.

Playing with scraps is always such fun!

And here are the shapes, all joined up.

I made four, in order to make a small wall hanging.

Judi even gave us quilting ideas, as well as layout ideas and instructions on how to join them.

I went with echo quilting the shapes, with a denser infill - you can see it clearly on the reverse.

And here is the front in it's full glory.  Already hung on my study wall.  I'm very happy that I've made it, but I'm not sure that I'd want to tackle a full size quilt with this technique, lovely though it looks!