What's in a name?

The absolute hardest part of any project for me is naming a quilt that I have made.

I love picking the colours for a new project, I love making the blocks, I like (not love) putting the blocks together to make the top, I love the quilting and I love, love, love binding my quilts but its there that the love affair stops.

Some people come up with the most inventive and unique names but when it comes time for me to name a quilt I draw a complete blank.  Every single time.

I want to think of something fun and appropriate but I never can.  I really hate this part of the process and I confess to having made and gifted many quilts that were left unnamed simply because I couldn't come up with anything.

Anyone else have this problem?

For example, I have just completed a Japanese X & + quilt for my gorgeous 7 year old niece.

It's been a week since this was bound and I still cannot come up with a name for it so it feels unfinished in my mind.

Whats wrong with me?  Why do I find it so hard to come up with anything?

Help me please.   Where does your inspiration come from when naming quilts?  Is it the colours you use in the quilt, or the style of quilt or maybe its to do with the recipient?  I try to draw on all of these elements but still I get nothing, nada, zilch!

I don't want to settle for the usual "handmade with love blah, blah, blah" so any input or inspiration you can throw my way would be very gratefully received.

Until next time.

Sue

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 

Groovy Granny

I have spent the last few days putting an impromptu quilt top together.

Granny Square quilt has been on my 'want to make' list for a long time and the other day I got the urge to put everything else aside to make one.  I have not used any one fabric line, I just dove into my stash and found fabrics in pink, lilac, aqua and orange.

Using a strip piecing method I cut my 2.5"strips to size...

Joined them...

And subcut into 2.5" sections...

Then it was a simple matter of laying the block out and sewing it together...

Each set yielded two complete blocks which when trimmed look like this...

Using this strip piecing method made the quilt top a very quick process and I think it is so much easier than handling lots of 2.5" squares.

My blocks finished at 9.5" and I added 2.5" sashings.  I still need to put a border on to complete the top but all up I am happy with how quickly it came together.

I'm not sure but I am thinking of making the border with a scalloped edge which I thought might give the quilt a little more of a homely or antique feel.  What do you think?
Of course I will have to get onto Google and You Tube to learn how to do it so that might just be the deciding factor!

Until next time.

Sue

Paper Piecing Frenzy

Despite the ridiculously hot weather not letting up, I forced myself into my sewing room on the weekend in an attempt to catch up on some bee obligations.

I am a new convert to paper piecing.  I love the crispness and accuracy of the finished blocks and I can see a lot more of it in my future.

The queen bee this month requested grey & yellows for her stars and here are the 2 blocks I made for her.

I was so thrilled with these that I made the same for myself in my chosen colourway (green/grey/white).

I have decided that as I make blocks for the queens each month I am going to make the same for myself so that when the bee ends I will have enough blocks for an extra large quilt which I plan to give to my husband. With all the quilts I make and give away, he has never been on the receiving end so I thought it was about time I correct that!  As he chose my colourway for this bee, I thought it was fitting that he get the quilt.

Now if only this relentless heat would let up, I might be a bit more productive.

Until next time.

Sue

Sizzle

Things around here have been sluggish to say the least.

I want to sew, I really want to sew but oh, it is just too hot.  We are experiencing a heat wave in most parts of Australia with temperatures being 40+ degrees (that's over 100 degrees in American speak) for days on end.  My little sewing room cops the brunt of the heat so although I am more than willing, it's just too damn hot to be covered in fabric with an iron on next to me.

We have had a little reprieve yesterday and today so whilst I could, I managed to put together this little top for AQWL.

Ideally I would like to make at least one top per month for charity.  I am behind already with this horrible weather (I really, really dislike hot weather) and although today is cooler, things are going to heat up again tomorrow so I am not going to catch up any time soon.

But at least my WIP list is one project shorter.  I managed to finish this quilt for a co-worker who is due to have her baby this week.

I loved how it turned out.  Although not the best picture it is really quite vibrant.
I decided to call it "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" because the colors reminded me of a rainbow.

And to finish of, the obligatory quilt roll photo!

One WIP down, about 14 to go!!

Until next time.

Sue

First Flimsy Finish

Anyone that knows me or reads my blog knows that I am a huge Bonnie Hunter fan.  I love her quilts but more than that I love her philosophy and outlook when it comes to quilting.  Every year Bonnie gives up so much of her time and hosts a mystery that thousands of people follow.

This year my first finish is Bonnie's Celtic Solstice mystery.  I chose to go a different colour way than Bonnie which is always a gamble because without knowing the quilt design it is difficult to know how the colours are going to play together.

Here are the colours I chose for this year.

And here is the finished quilt top.

And here it is on my bed.

There are thousands of pieces in this top (another Bonnie trait). Had I seen the picture before starting I may have passed thinking it was to complicated but when broken down into weekly steps it is really easily achievable.

I love the design and the way a secondary pattern is created when putting the blocks together. The colours on the other hand....well let's just say I am not enamored with them.  I liked them together when stacked in a pile but in the quilt top not so much.  If I had my chance again I would probably rotate a couple of the colours.

The top finishes at 75 x 75 which is a nice snuggle on the couch in front of the TV size.  When quilted I will be gifting it to a special friend (who for now must remain nameless).

Now to get on to some WIP busting.

Until next time.

Sue