Decision made

With an autumn chill in the air, yesterday I decided to layer & baste this quilt top I completed last December with the intention of having it quilted to use on my bed this winter

Inspired by Carolyn's book on utility quilting, the decision was also made to use cotton perle 8 and big stitch quilting for this top. If you haven't seen this book I can highly recommend it as a wonderful resource for hand quilting.

It is full of good information & techniques with clear step by step diagrams, which is perfect for a hand quilting novice like me.

Once the threads were selected I was on my way......

I'm really enjoying this big stitch quilting & think it suits this top as it has so much colour & pattern.

Having tried a little traditional hand quilting first to compare (sorry didn't think of taking a photo) I felt the latter became lost & not so visible.

Here's a view from the back, ok, the stitching isn't as regular as I would like but I'm not striving for perfection! lol  If you're after quilting something quickly, this is the way to go as it's progressing well ........at this rate I may have it ready for my bed as the weather turns really cold.

Boxes & Baskets

My friend Sandra was telling me all about a workshop she would be attending with Bonnie Hunter using old shirts last week which reminded me I had quite few striped ones I had been collecting ready to use for the shirt stripe boxes quilt by Kaffe Fassett from his Passionate Patchwork book.

This inspired me to sort out what I had with some hindrance help from Lucy (she was getting ready to pounce in this 2nd photo!)

After much cutting, which was really easy with the Companion angle triangle ruler, a lot of  chain piecing took place.

Eventually quite a few shirt box squares were ready for the fun part of laying them out to form 18" blocks

1st block done

.........and a 2nd one added. This is going to be my ongoing machine project when I need a break from hand stitching to give my poor fingers a rest when they get sore (I just can't use thimbles)

BASKET PROGRESS

These little baskets are still being appliqued and 'quilted as you go'

The next batch ready to have sashings attached and made into rows

2 more rows ready to join to the main piece

This quilt is growing to be a bit of a big one, over the half way mark now......yeah!

Till next time, thanks for stopping by :)

Japanese boxes templates

As a result of my last post I've had a few requests for the EPP template sizes used for the JB diamond block.    
I always tend to cut my own paper templates for EPP as I have a ton of card stock left over from my card making days.

To start with I fished out my Darlene Zimmerman 60 degree diamond & Sue Daley 2.5 " diamond fabric cutting templates.

I traced around the large diamond, then placed the smaller one inside & traced around that one (is this making sense?)

Next draw a line from the smaller diamond's lowest point to the edge of the larger diamond, which gives you the 3 pieces you need to form the block as in the photo below. 

If you click on the photo above, you can see that the distance from one diamond edge on the side to the other is 2 inches, so alternatively, if you do not have a smaller diamond to play with, you could measure 2 " from both side points of the large diamond to draw a line to form your trapezium.
Is this as clear as mud? If not, drop me a line and I'll answer any queries you may have :)
Please note that you can make your diamond block templates smaller or any size you wish, I just used what I had to hand to make big ones as it makes the quilt top grow faster!

Resistance was futile........

9" across (point to point)

I just had to have a go at this design which I saw in Quiltmania Issue #81 & absolutely loved!

I was in need of a bit of a colour fix & a little break from making baskets, so these diamonds were perfect & really quick to make up using the EPP method.

.......... the quilt top is growing quite quickly, I love the optical effect this pattern produces.

Now I need to get back to appliqueing some more baskets!

Happy stitching G x

Anyone for Cupcakes or How about some Strawberries?

 

Sometimes you just need a break from making big quilts which can take forever to complete, so it can be quite satisfying to create something small in a day..........like a pincushion or two.

 

As you can tell, I got just a little carried away! 

I had seen various cupcake pincushion styles out there, but wasn't happy with the designs so decided to come up with my own. These are now selling in the gift shop at the Wildlife park where I work so it was worth the effort :)

  

In the meantime, progress is being made with the basket quilt, sashings are going on the ready quilted blocks.........

A quilt is gradually coming to life........ have I mentioned that I love this Quilt as you Go method?

May have to change that dark blue circle though

back view

'till next time, happy stitching :)