Plaid quilt #1 finished

Last April I won 48 blocks from Block Lotto. The blocks were plaid and white with thin strips of color inserted between. Many of the plaids were recycled from old shirts.

I sashed 24 blocks with some striped shirting fabric that I found in my mom's stash that she's had for as long as I can remember (30 years?). I'm not convinced it was 100% cotton, but in the spirit of recycling I thought it would work well. I added some plaid squares in the corners of the sashing. These fabrics were leftovers from shirts made for me and my grandfather (also 30+ years ago).

When I returned home I pondered the border. I thought I needed one to make the quilt big enough for a single. The two thinner borders were fabrics from my stash and the plaid outer border was purchased from my local fabric store. I admit it was a bit hideous, but I think it works. And besides, my theme of 'making do' and recycling includes fabric that nobody else would buy.

The pieced back is a big plaid made from a few fabrics. Mostly leftovers from other projects. Even the batting is pieced from leftover pieces (big ones).

I had it all put together months ago and even started the quilting before Christmas, but it has taken me a little while to finish it up - silly, because it was probably only a few more hours to quilt and then a few more for the binding.

The end result is better than I thought. I was sure the big plaid border would never work. Or, maybe it's grown on me and my quilt survival instincts have kicked in and convinced me that it's turned out fun and quirky, not tacky.

Either way, it is destined for our ski house where plaid is appropriate and warmth is required.

The remaining 24 blocks will be laid out very differently. I thought it would be fun to avoid the obvious layouts and try something new. Stay tuned...

I really want to start something new

On my day off today I was itching to start a new project. But, I spent some time deciding how to quilt my first plaid quilt. After sketching out a few ideas, I had to consider what would be the best option. There's a lot to weigh up when making a decision - how much time do I want to spend, is the design practical, will there be lots of starts and stops, what will enhanse the patchwork design, and so on. Sometimes I take the hard way, sometimes the easy. Considering my desire to start something new, I chose an easy option and am glad that I did.

I've started quilting an 8-loop flower pattern centered on each block and it's quick and easy. There's no marking and the design softens the strong squares and perpendicular lines of the blocks. I've done half the blocks and should finish the others this week. I'll use the same motif on the borders although I have not yet decided on the scale yet.

Last weekend I also made some progress on my green HST quilt. I've now completed 15 blocks - I think I have at least that many more to go plus the borders. I have this project at our beach house so I don't get a chance to work on it often, especially this time of year. I know that over Christmas when we are there for a few weeks it will definitely get done. (Sorry for the bad photo, I can't manage a good one using my phone for some reason.)

I have 5 bed-sized quilts in various stages of completion. I would love to get them all done this year, but it seems unlikely. I haven't started thinking about Christmas presents yet - have you started yet?

As usual, I'm linking up to Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday.

Too busy to blog

Lately I've felt like I am so busy doing stuff that I can't take the time to blog about that stuff. (Stuff=quilting.) I often ask myself "Should I write about it or do it?" My answer is usually "Do it!"

I've been working on some little projects - probably because all of my big projects are overwhelming me.

My first one is a ukelele bag that I made for my daughter. When I saw her toss the instrument onto the couch one day after school, I decided that what she needed was a quilted bag to carry it in safely. I picked all the fabrics from my stash and started with just the triangles but was told that it was "too brown" by the intended bag recipient. So, I added the blue strips between 2 rows of triangles, and it was much improved.

I've joined a new group called Monday Moderns. During my first meeting we exchanged scraps. There was a half-hearted challenge to do something with them. This past weekend, I used them to make some little pieces. I don't know if they are big coasters or little place mats. I wanted to practice my drunkard's path piecing and try out the new templates that I ordered. Here they all are - fronts and backs.

This is a closeup of my favorite one. It's made using my colors and I did it first. The later ones were a little less coordinated (nothing wrong with that though).

The AMQG raffle quilt is all quilted and another member is doing the binding. I was amazed how much FMQ I did on it and in hindsight, it should have been less dense - but, once you start, you have to carry on. I went through countless bobbins and at least 1/2 mile of top thread.

I sandwiched together the first Block Lotto quilt and did some stitch in the ditch to get started. It's not my most favorite thing in the world, but yesterday when I was off work I decided to work on my least fun thing first. The backing is pieced like a giant plaid and works well.

I'm making slow progress on the butterfly heart quilt and just realized that I've sewn on the hearts flying in the wrong direction. So, I will need to rethink how they go - just part of the design process, I say.

No progress on Blue Snowflakes for ages. I brought it along when we went skiing a few weeks ago but the mountain was closed because of bad weather. Rather than sitting by the fire alone sewing while DH & DD skied, we spent the days together trying to entertain ourselves.

No progress on the Green Triangles. Do I have too many WIPs?

Back home in New Zealand

I am back home after our long trip to the USA. It was a shock to my system to arrive to such chilly weather after the intense heat we experienced on the east coast before we left. But, cold weather is quilting weather.

Someone asked me once for tips on quilting a bed-sized quilt (not that I'm an expert). One of my tips is to save this job for cold weather because it can be quite physical and you inevitably get wrapped up in your quilt. So, the cold weather prompted me to do some quilting. My quilting corner is also in my bedroom which is the warmest and sunniest spot in the house.

Butterfly hearts: I started this over a year ago and then set it aside while I tried to figure out how to move to the next step. Yesterday I machine quilted slightly random parallel lines across the whole quilt. Next, I am appliquing hearts cut from many (many) butterfly fabrics that I have collected. I decided to do raw edge applique. I tried out 2 using chunky running stitches with 2 strands of embroidery floss. I like the look (front and back) but am worried that it won't be durable enough. Now I wonder if I should machine sew them on and then do the running stiches on top of the machine stiches. Any advice?

Plaid Block Lotto winnings: I went to my local fabric shop looking for something to use on the border. I was committed to only selecting fabric from the clearance rack, so my choices were limited. I came home with this grey/red/coral/black large scale plaid and a matching bright red-coral print. I think I will do a narrow strip of the bright print and then a border with the plaid. I've only used half of the blocks so far, so I should be able to do a second quilt with the remaining blocks. I am considering donating at least one, maybe both.

Blue snowflakes: I finished one block and started a second, this time blue on white. My needle-turn applique is improving and the silk thread my mother recommended is really good.











Auckland Modern Quilt Guild (AMQG) raffle quilt: We have 56 wonky stars in bright colors on white. The original plan was to make the backgrounds white and light grey but nobody used grey except for me. I admit to having quite a few in my stash, but looking around the shops lately, there's not many on offer. There's a lot of white in these blocks, and I feel like they need some neutralising. We have a few working sessions scheduled to piece the front and back. The quilting is still TBD.

I have a few ideas in the pipeline but have promised myself that I cannot start anything else until I get through these ongoing projects.