Quilting

When you’re feeling blue …..

by Helen on March 2, 2013

Feeling a bit blue today.  I always feel a little flat the day after magazine publication day – all the effort, all the planning and creating has come to fruition and – pouf!  That’s it until the next time!   I’ve also had some upsetting personal news …. so my flatness has turned into feelings of blue (does that make sense?  I’m not sure).  Anyway .. as my grandma used to say “When you’re feeling blue my girl, just stop and count your blessings!”  And I do have a lot of blessings to count, probably many more than I deserve.  But the real pick-you-up for me is fabric and sewing, so I thought I’d make something I’ve been planning for a little while.  Nice and simple, but lots of colour to cheer me up: 

Patchwork Picnic Blanket

 Doesn’t look very colourful at the moment does it?  But I’m sure you have guessed what it is ….. 

Patchwork Picnic Blanket

It’s a  picnic blanket – a patchwork one – with a waterproof backing (perfect for our damp English weather).  And it’s a gift for one of the most enthusiastic picnic-ers I know – my daughter Rosie.  I’ve tried to choose fabrics that she’ll enjoy, and not too much Cath Kidston!

Patchwork Picnic Blanket

I’m trying to convince Rosie that there are lots of other lovely fabrics to choose from  as well as Cath.  So there’s quite a lot of Tilda in this blanket, as well as some Cape Ann by Liesl Gibson for Oliver + S, vintage Laura Ashley and some pieces that I simply can’t remember where they came from.  I think the strong geometric designs of the polka dots and red gingham set off the florals nicely and stop the blanket from becoming too “wishy-washy” (another term from my Grandma!).  It’s nice and lightweight for carrying too.  I cut 5″ squares and joined them into strips and then into a 12 x 9 square rectangle which I lightly quilted onto a Hobbs Poly-Down Crib-size backing.  I chose this as it won’t shrink on washing and is nice and light.   

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I didn’t quilt the waterproof backing though as in my experience(!) water will leak through even the smallest needle holes if given the chance.  I simply stitched the backing to the top, right sides together and turned out, topstitching all the way around the edge to encourage the layers to lie flat together.  During this process I developed a strong admiration for anyone who works with waterproof nylon on a regular basis – it’s the most horrid, slippery stuff!    Two pink (very girlie) ties stitched into the turning gap when closing complete the blanket.  I do hope Rosie likes it.  

Now we’re off to the beach – perfect for blowing at least some of those blues away! 

Newfie on the edge

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Quilting as I go ……

by Helen on October 30, 2012

Before bringing you progress on my quilt-as-you-go project…. I have been watching the news updates this afternoon as images of the terrible damage being inflicted by Hurricane Sandy across the eastern coast of the USA are brought to us here in England.  These images of devastation and destruction are heart-breaking and will remain with me for a very long time to come.  My thoughts are with everyone affected by this terrible natural disaster. 

On a happier note, I’d like to thank everybody who left such lovely comments on my last post, whether about my e-zine quilts or that extremely naughty canine I happen to live with!  Unfortunately Ben now smells even worse – and doesn’t care a bit!  I left him with his Auntie Gillian in kennels this weekend while I visited Rosie in Bath, and upon collecting him discovered that he had been able to enhance his odour during a lovely walk around her farm on Saturday afternoon.  Thank goodness his grooming appointment is tomorrow as at nearly 12 stone (160 lbs) he is far too large to bath at home!  

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 Staying upstairs in the workroom, keeping well away from the smelly one – I have made good progress on my quilt-as-you-go project for our bed, having quilted and joined the first two strips of six blocks.  Before quilting each strip I marked the boundary for the quilting along the top – so that I would have enough seam allowance to join the strips (picture above).  Then I stippled the blocks and stitched parallel straight lines, 1/2″ apart, along the sashing…. 

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 I carefully joined the sashing of one strip to the blocks of the other – on the top only.  Before I joined them I trimmed to 1/2″ and then folded back the batting and backing.  Then I joined the tops with a 1/4″ seam, after which I pressed down the batting, trimming it right back so that it lay flat with the edges butted together.  I didn’t fuse the batting at all as there wasn’t much room – only about 1/2″ and now I am wondering if I will regret this?  Any advice gratefully received please! 

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I trimmed one side of the batting, and folded the other side over to cover the join and tacked in place.  Then I flipped the joined strips over and completed the quilting of the joining strip.  All that now remains is to slip stitch along the folded edge to keep it in place – the two lines of machine stitching will take any stress or strain.  I am using strips cut from an old duvet cover to back my quilt in homage to my lovely neighbour Julie, who enjoys quilting, but never purchases any new fabric for patchwork.  Julie feels that patchwork and quilting are the best possible ways of reusing and recycling fabric and sees no need to buy new.  I am afraid that I am all too easily seduced by the wonderful fabrics available and whilst I admire her single-minded approach I cannot completely follow her example.   

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Here are the first two strips quilted and joined with another strip ready to be quilted thrown over the bannister rail next to them.  Please ignore any wonkiness – I am not an experienced quilter and this is the most ambitious project I have attempted so far. 

I am enjoying quilting as I go and have discovered that it is ideally suited to my way of working because

(1) I don’t have to complete one stage before moving onto the next, so boredom is avoided

(2) I don’t have a large space to lay out big quilts so working on small sections is great

(3) I am not wrestling a huge quilt through and around my sewing machine, and

(4) any problems with inaccurate cutting/seam allowances can be resolved much more easily as I go along rather than discovering a major problem at the end.

Hmmmm… I think that maybe points (1) and (4)  reveal quite a lot about my make-it-up-as-you-go-along-and-if-it-doesn’t-fit-then-tweak-it working methods – my cover is blown!

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A little spare time …..

by Helen on October 25, 2012

Thank you so much to all those who left comments on yesterday’s post or emailed me about this month’s magazine.  I’m so pleased everyone seems to be enjoying it – the November 2012 issue is definitely one of my all-time favourites and I’ve loved putting it together.  The days leading up to publication day are always a little tense, but now the ezine is safely delivered to all my lovely subscribers I have a little time to relax.  But that doesn’t mean no sewing – of course not!  I’ve been working on a couple of projects for Coombe Leigh for a while now and thought I’d show them to you.  The first is a quilt for our bed …..

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It’s a very simple design – there are 3o blocks with 9 x 5″ squares in each block – 5 rows of 6.  This means that there will be plenty of quilt to hang down at the sides of the bed and to wrap around the sleepers!  I’ve chosen fabrics that remind me of the beautiful natural world all around me here in Devon – and my selection includes “Across the Pond” and “Fox Hollow” as well as “Curious Nature” and all sorts of other bits and pieces ….

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This quilt is going to be very large so, after doing lots of reading and watching some very helpful videos on YouTube, I’ve decided to try the “quilt as you go” method.  I’m assembling the horizontal strips, then will join them once quilted.  I’ve quilted the sashing in parallel lines and stippled the blocks – trying to capture the feeling of the natural world enclosed by man-made boundaries.  

I can’t relax in the evenings though, without some work in my hands, so my second project is a throw for one of the armchairs in our living room.  I’m working my way through the 12 different snowflakes from the vintage quilt design by Nancy Page (Florence la Ganke), published in US newspapers in the 1930s……

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I’m stitching the snowflakes in dark blue floss on natural vintage linen (yes, my favourite mangle cloths again!) and am wondering about assembling them into a patchwork throw with some Harris tweed patches.  I love combining this linen with other colours and textures and think this might work well.  I’ll let you know how I get on!  I took my projects out into the summer house to photograph them – it’s been a very grey day here today so indoors was a non-starter.  Whilst in the garden I was delighted to spot some late foxgloves… 

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As well as a beautiful little autumn-flowering cyclamen nestling amongst the fallen leaves …

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I was less pleased to discover, however, that somebody has been leaving his toys outside to get wet in the rain again …

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Poor battered bear!  Ben is in disgrace for more than this today though – I took him down to the beach at Lannacombe this morning where he found a heap of smelly rotting seaweed and proceeded to roll and roll and roll in it.  By the time I reached him (yes, he made sure I was some way away), he was covered.  He has been scrubbed and soaped, but the smell still lingers ….

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He has gone outside to sulk – which I think is the very best place for him!

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Letting go is hard…..

by Helen on September 5, 2012

Sometimes it can be hard to let go.  Even when you know you should … indeed that you must.  Every last stitch has been finished, every single thread has been snipped and the last binding on the corner carefully stitched into place.  But now the time has come to admit to myself that there’s nothing more to be done – one of my most favouritest projects ever – my Rosie & Bear Diamond Jubilee Quilt is complete.

Diamond Jubilee Quilt

This has been a work in progress for the last 6 months, and I’ve been sharing the designs with my e-zine subscribers on a monthly basis.  The quilt commemorates the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and comprises 12 blocks – one is the Royal Coat of Arms and the remaining 11 are countries of the Commonwealth, with a special “Friendship” block to reflect the USA’s friendship with Commonwealth countries.  

In the embroidered blocks Rosie & Bear had lots of adventures!  They met a koala in Australia and an elephant in India, whilst Bear got rather closer than he might have liked to a lovely young lioness in South Africa.  They swam in Mozambique and sailed in Barbados, and even watched some rugby in (current world champions) New Zealand before meeting George Washington himself.  

I’m currently in the middle of combining the patterns and all my notes on the project into a new book – and if you’d like to learn more about it when published please do sign up for my free newsletter as I’ll be keeping everyone informed that way.  There’s a form in the right-hand sidebar.   I’ll really miss my quilt, but will just have to fill my stitching time in other ways ……

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