The weather has turned again this week as we experience a run of south-westerly winds bringing grey skies, mist and rain. But inside my little blue shed all is a riot of colour as I have been sorting out my fabric stash for my new quilt as well finishing off the first project for the March Magazine, a bowl of spring daffodils….
A companion piece to the bowl of snowdrops pattern I gave away in my last blog post (the snowdrops are still available, if you’d like to stitch them please just CLICK HERE to visit the post and download your free pattern).
But back to my new quilt project…. way back in 2012 I undertook and completed possibly my most ambitious quilt ever….
Shown here in my old bedroom at Coombe Leigh in Devon. I rather like this photo of my quilt as you can’t see all the wonky bits and problems – in fact it really looks quite professional! I blogged about it at the time and you can read the post here. I still have my quilt, though these days I use it as a throw for my sofa. It’s no longer quite as pristine as it looks in the image above, since in the last decade it has been sat on by three Newfoundlands, a cat, a Labrador and a very naughty Parson Jack Russell! Now I’m setting out to make another, but this one will be a little bit different….
As Bustle & Sew Magazine readers will know, each month there are six (five completely new and one blast from the past) patterns in every issue. Not all of these patterns are embroidery, but a fair proportion are, and of those, quite a few are stitched on linen or cotton – fabrics that are hard wearing and stand up to laundering.
I stitch a sample for every pattern, after which it’s photographed, written up and kept to hand for a while ready to refer to in case of queries. Then the sample hoop disappears into a cupboard or is stacked on a shelf, almost never to be seen again. This does seem such a pity, and now I’ve decided to do something about it by creating a new quilt incorporating some of the suitable samples I have lying around. This is quite a lot as we’re now up to issue 146 of the magazine!
As I am not a very good quilter and my cutting skills are inaccurate to say the least I have decided to take a different approach to this quilt. I had a couple of metres of faulty cotton that I ordered for kits, but couldn’t use due to ink marks running through the whole piece and magically there were 10″ squares marked on it. So I decided to use these printed squares as a base for the stitch’n’flip technique. This would mean (fireworks, and celebrations) all my squares would be exactly the same size, nice and robust, and I could use lots and lots of scraps from my stash. Above are the first four panels I’ve completed and I’ll post more as I progress.
Oh my what a wonderful quilt this bee! (Pun intended) I’m over the moon with this idea of using your exquisite embroidered pieces with lots of different fabric blacks. Been wanting to tackle that bee myself for a gift. Probably couldn’t part with it though. 🤣 my husband’s grandmother was a stitcher and very fine quilter. She made for us a queen sized quilt for our wedding that within each block was embroidered with a state in the US along with its state bird and flower. All 48 states. Actually that was 48 years ago this April.
Thank you so much Pamela – I’m certainly having a lot of fun making it – will be sure to keep you posted x
I don’t know who will be the recipient of this fairytale quilt but they will own a treasure beyond measure! This is absolutely magical and I can only imagine the joy it brings just working on this project.
I love everything about it. Thank you for sharing this extraordinary project with us!
Thank you so much Jamie – I am enjoying making it, each design brings back all the memories of when I sat and stitched it x
What a great idea to put your work into a quilt. I bet your house is filled with your treasures! Mine is getting overwhelmed with crafty things I make – it’s become an obsession I can’t live without doing. Designing and creating is one of the most therapeutic things to do. I try to only have 2 things on the go otherwise it’s counter productive for my relaxation if my mind is thinking of too many projects. Good luck with that, I say!
Thanks so much Mary x
It’s going to be absolutely beautiful. What a fantastic way to use up all those pieces! If you made four smaller quilts, representing the seasons, you could frame them and better protect them. I’m really looking forward to seeing your progress.
Btw, thank you for the delightful photos you include in each post , I love them!
Kitty
Thank you Kitty x