Category Archives: quilts

Possible New Project

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A while ago, I received this gorgeous book “Art of the Needle” with 100 masterpiece quilts from the Shelburne Museum. The photography of the quilts is fabulous. I’ve spent hours pouring over it and am now daydreaming about another 2-colour quilt.

I’ve had this brown print in my stash for ages and am playing with the idea of making the two-colour quilt with it and a cream. Whether I’ll actually do so is another story as I’m not sure I’ll be able to stick with it. Brown isn’t a colour I gravitate to, although I do love the design on the fabric.

Baxter was at the vet yesterday afternoon for a check-up and his shots. I’m not sure, but think he was perhaps not too impressed with that whole experience and was trying to tell us so with this look.

Drunkard’s Path Variation in Rouenneries

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Finishing this top was an almost bittersweet moment, as I have loved every second of working with the gorgeous Rouenneries fabrics. It was hand pieced, other than adding the two borders. While I generally don’t make square quilts, this one finishes at 54″ square. It’s large enough to use as a throw. I can also imagine it as a large wall hanging.

I made it from 5 charm packs of Rouenneries plus two larger pieces of fabrics from that line for the borders and used the 3″ Inklingo Drunkard’s Path collection. I know Rouenneries Deux is coming out sometime in the future, and can’t wait. Working with these colours/designs was an absolute joy. I’m thinking that a star quilt in Rouenneries Deux may just be in my future.

This quilt was being worked on when I finished Chintz Circles.  I knew I wanted to use the same binding fabric, so made enough binding then and it’s ready. The backing fabric I used for Chintz Circles will be used for this one too. All that’s left to get is the batting and then this one will be hand quilted. And I need to find a name for it.

The past few nights I’ve been working on hand quilting the whole cloth quilt, but everything is going to come to a standstill for a few days while I make a quilt from the flannel fabrics I showed last week. I’ve decided on a double 4-patch. It needs to be made quickly as it’s for a friend’s brother-in-law who has just been given a rather grim diagnosis/prognosis.

Baxter showing that he’s a real quilter’s cat – posing under the quilt on the temporary design wall, by the floor hoop.

The Pickled Ladies are Getting Together

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Three rows of the Pickled Ladies are now together. After the first two rows were joined I thought perhaps this needed to be a larger quilt than originally planned. After the third row was added, I completely changed my mind. Because of the number of triangles in each arc and the fact I used some metallic Oriental prints to fussy cut, this is a heavy piece already. In fact, as it is now it’s heavier than the X’s and O’s quilt. Decision made. It’s going to be a large wall hanging.

Initially I was thinking about a rich blue floral print for the border, but now I’m wondering if I should try to find a real Art Deco type print in keeping with my initial idea about these ladies. I’m calling this the Pickled Ladies quilt as I have visions of some very elegant, almost Audrey Hepburn-like, ladies in an upscale Art Deco bar.

I have been fascinated by the Breakfast at Tiffany’s piece being put together at Plays with Needles. Seeing a favourite movie being depicted with such amazing detail in an embroidery piece is a pure delight, as is her entire blog and well worth a visit.

Baxter was looking somewhat startled, perched on the loveseat.

X’s and O’s

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While we were out taking pictures of Twinkling Stars on the roof garden, we also took a few of the top I’ve named X’s and O’s. The name has everything to do with how I plan to quilt this one, with circles and X’s.

It was made using shapes from the Inklingo Orange Peel Deluxe collection and was pieced by hand with the exception of the black inner border. The centre of the top took just over 3 weeks to put together from the time I got the idea through to its completion. Adding the borders took a while as I ended up auditioning a couple of different versions before settling on the final.

When it’s time to quilt this, I’m going to get a silk batt. The binding will be the same black ’30s print as the inner border.

Baxter getting his nightly yogourt treat.

Twinkling Stars

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The top is done and is now in the queue waiting to be quilted. This one I’m going to quilt by hand with either a silk or wool batt. I’ve got some quilting ideas for the plain squares that will carry on the star theme of the quilt.

We took advantage of a sunny day on the weekend to take the photo out on the roof garden as it’s difficult to get a good shot indoors of a quilt that’s anything larger than a wall hanging. Twinkling Stars finishes at 57 x 72 inches and was made using shapes from the Inklingo Tumbler collection. This year’s baseball playoffs quilt top is done.

Last year’s baseball playoffs quilt is still waiting to be quilted.

Baxter had a very busy weekend chasing leaves as they flew by the windows and watching squirrels and birds.

Pickled Ladies Joining Up

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Out came the box in which the clamshell pickles, aka Pickled Ladies, were stored and I began putting the top together.

The first two rows are almost all joined together now. They’re going together quickly and oh, so easily. I’m hoping to get the centre done within a couple of weeks. That, of course, remains to be seen as I’m so easily distracted by other projects!

The piecing of the Twinkling Stars top is complete. The two borders were added yesterday and it was finished even before the second game of the World Series began. We couldn’t figure out where to photograph it last night, but will be getting a good photo of it today.

Baxter had another very busy day on the windowsill, as we had a fairly windy day again and there were leaves flying by the window. Last evening he was posing in my computer chair – or was he perhaps plotting and waiting for his chance to get on the keyboard?

Colourful Little 9-Patches

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The last pieced border for Twinkling Stars was finished last night, but the baseball game was on and I didn’t want to be at the sewing machine attaching it to the quilt, so out came the 9-patch blocks to set on point. They’re now going to become a little quilt on their own rather than be incorporated into the Twinkling Stars quilt.

As the blocks are finished, they’ll be stored in a very special box from a friend. So far 13 of them are done. Once they’re all done, the quilt will be quick to stitch together. They finish at 4.24″. I think I’ll have about 100 of them by the time they’re all stitched.

There was some great feedback yesterday on working with flannels. I think I’m going to make a double 4-patch with the flannels. Once they’re washed and ironed I’ll get started. But today my plan is to attach the two borders to Twinkling Stars and hopefully get a good picture of it.

Baxter was posing in the pink chair after another busy day on the windowsill.

What to Make With Flannel Fabrics?

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These fabrics have been in my stash for ages and ages. I seem to bring them out every year just around this time and try to sort out what to do with them. They’re mostly FQs, with a few half yards and one piece that’s a couple of yards.

I’ve never really worked with flannel, so am rather at a loss as to what to make. I’ll definitely be piecing the quilt by machine and would like to be able to get a couple of lap quilts out of these fabrics. I’m thinking that perhaps a simple 9-patch, using 2″ or 3″ squares, might be one possibility but …

What would you make with these? Is it necessary to use a wider seam allowance than a quarter inch when working with flannels?

I have perhaps another hour or so until the pieced border for Twinkling Stars is done. Then it’s a matter of pressing the borders and sewing them on. I’m definitely on track to get this done, perhaps even before the second game of the World Series.

Baxter loves to lick/chew fabric so when we were setting up to take the pictures Tuesday night, he was eyeing the fabrics and doing this.

Earlier in the day, he had been showing his more elegant self posing as kitty in lace.

Ideas from Fabric

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This group of 10 FQs is really calling to me. I haven’t quite figured out yet what I want to make with them, but I keep looking at them and trying to decide what would show them off to their best advantage.

Yesterday a friend asked me for some ideas for a quilt using a certain type of fabric and it got me thinking about those FQs again. All I need to do now is choose the right background fabric for them and then play. But that’s not happening until the Twinkling Stars top is finished and the Pickled Ladies top is well on its way to being finished.

I’m almost halfway through making the pieced border for Twinkling Stars and am well on the road to finishing it before the baseball is over. The little 9-patch blocks on point are going to end up in a quilt of their own as I completely changed my mind about the Twinkling Stars borders.

Baxter was relaxing after another busy day of watching out the window. The leaves are starting to fly by the windows as it has been a bit windy, and he’s quite busy during the day on the windowsill, going back and forth trying to get them.

Twinkling Stars Progress

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The main part of the top is together. Now to make and add the borders and this year’s baseball playoffs quilt will be done. With any luck, it will be finished before the World Series is over.

This is a big milestone for me. While I hybrid pieced some of the blocks and totally hand pieced some others, the majority of the quilt was put together by machine. it’s given me a lot more confidence about machine piecing, which will come in handy for some quilts I want to make.

On Friday evening I got a call from the LQS and, after close to 6 months, the white on white fabric has finally come in. I’m thrilled as it means I can definitely finish off the Feathered Star/Sunflower quilt exactly as I wanted with the pieced border I had envisioned for it.

Baxter is still teething and, on the weekend, he lost (and we found) a baby tooth. Rather than put it in a little pillow for the kitty tooth fairy, Mr. Q.O. tossed it. I think Baxter deserves a new toy and plan to get him one from the kitty tooth fairy.