March Musings

OK, so blogging was out the window for all of March but I did keep myself busy working on several Charity projects.  I belong to 3 online groups that make quilts for different charities.

This month I made:

Blocks to be donated and made into quilts.

Three quilt tops (but I only have a picture of 2 of them):

And one complete quilt.

Sewing for me was limited to some bee blocks for 2 different queens:

And a very spur of the moment Autumn inspired quilt top.

I was cleaning some shelves in my sewing area when I came across a pile of Autumn charms from an online swap last year.  I had recently been looking at disappearing 4 patch quilts and really wanted to try the technique so I decided to use the Autumn charms I found rather than hide them away again.

I struggled with the blocks a little.  There are many, many tutorials out there and they are all just a little bit different.  I went with what I thought was the easiest version but I still had to put my thinking cap on for each block to make sure they were all rotated the same way.

With the addition of a couple of borders the quilt top measures 56" x 56"which is the perfect size to hang on the empty wall in my dining room.

My WIP count has not lessened...in fact I have added to it!  Maybe next month I will make a small dint.

Until next time.

Sue

Ta Da!!

This is definitely a first for me.  A quilt started and completely finished in less than two weeks.  I am not sure why but I was compelled to make this quilt right now and couldn't stop until it was completed.

(Let me apologise in advance for the terrible picture quality.  I took some pictures outside but as it was blazing sunshine the quilt was too washed out.  These were taken inside at night which I concede was not the best idea but whata ya gonna do?)

Here is the front:

And the back using left overs:

I went with my instincts and did a scalloped border.  Boy was that an adventure!  I Googled and I You Tubed and with every video I got a little more confused.  Maths certainly is not my strong point.  I thought I was getting it until my 19 year old son decided to help me.  Mr B is in his 2nd year of a Science degree majoring in Mathematics and let me tell you, if I thought I was confused before his input my head was in a tail spin after it.  His formulas and equations were waaay too complicated for me.

In the end I went with a dinner plate for the corners and then measured between each corner and found a common measurement and again using the dinner plate I fudged until the scallops evenly fit.

I am not 100% happy with the binding.
1. I am not so sure a striped fabric was the right choice and
2. I don't think I quite got the mitering right in the v's
but as this was my first ever scalloped binding, I will cut myself some slack.

To keep with the theme I decided on an all over stipple for the quilting in mint thread for the body of the quilt and straight line quilting in the borders.  I thought it looked a little more 'old fashioned' and it keeps the quilt soft and cuddly.

I am going to give this to my gorgeous 6 year old niece. Her birthday is not for a few months so I just have to resist the temptation to give to her before then.  What are the chances of that?  Pretty slim I'd say!

Now that Granny Squares (which I am thinking of naming Peppermint Twist) is out of my system, I can get back to some WIP's that have been waiting years to be shown some love.

Until next time.

Sue