A Final Goodbye

This is a final goodbye to Amy's BOM.  There was one block left over from the main quilt, and it's now a cushion cover.

I quilted the front, and then added a simple envelope style back.

Now, when I use the quilt, I can have a complimentary cushion.



21 Months

That's the length of time from start to finish for this quilt.  I started making the blocks in January 2010 and finally got the binding on yesterday.

I didn't have a whole piece for the back, so I did a pieced back.  To the piece of yellow, I used what I had left of the fabric from the block borders.

I used some brown for the binding, and in the end, got a quilt with a real autumn feel.  I've gone from hating the blocks, as they weren't brilliantly made, to loving the resulting quilt.  I am sure it will be getting plenty of use over the next few months.

I have one remaining block from this quilt, so the aim is to make it into a cushion cover.  Hopefully, illnesses permitting, that will be done this week, not many more months down the line.

Amy's Blocks

The animals were very kind to me, and all my blocks stayed in place on the floor overnight and the blocks got sewn into rows



I wanted the finished quilt to be just a bit bigger, so I ordered some more fabric to add a strip between the rows and to form the border.  It now looks like this:

 With the added length and width, it will fit the bed with a decent overhang.

The next thing I need to work out is the back.  I need to see if I have enough fabric to piece a back.  I know I don't have enough yardage for one piece.





 There was one block left over and this  will most likely  become a cushion to go with the quilt.  I'll make it up once I know what fabric I have left over from the main quilt.

Now, I'm loving these blocks more than I did.  I can definitely look back on this as an experience, and a very steep learning curve.

UFO Challenge-Amy's Blocks

This project is gradually coming together.  Another pile of these

 became a pile of these.

I now have alternating blocks laid out in rows on my front room floor.  I am just hoping the cats and the dog will be kind to me and not rearrange them while I'm not looking.

I have enough blocks for four rows of four, and one block left over.  This means, I'll get a quilt and a cushion from the blocks.

As I want to add a bit more to the size, I've ordered some fabric to add borders between the rows, and around the edges.  First job though, is to sew the rows together so I know what goes where.

UFO Challenge

The UFO challenge took a bit of a back seat as I was saving up for my holiday.  Now that's gone, and I can start to buy fabric again to get some of these projects finished.

The next thing on the list, was to make a quilt from the BOM's I did last year from Amy's blog.  Originally, this was going to be two lap quilt and one or two cushions.  This was because, as you can see from the picture, the blocks were all different sizes.  The piecing left a lot to be desired in some of the blocks, but I had only just started quilting.  A lot of the blocks were beyond me, and at the time, I was pleased with how they turned out.  The trick now, was to find a way to rescue them, and make them look decent in a quilt.

 I've had several months to think about it, and decided, if I put a border around each block, I could make them all the same size and get them all into one quilt.  That will mean, I can get three months worth of UFO projects done at once..

I bought two lots of fabric, thankfully in a sale, and divided the blocks into two piles.  The first lot have this rusty colour around them.

These blocks are now151/2", so I am going to end up with a large quilt.  I am pleased to say, that the blocks seem to have a new lease of life and no longer look so shabby.  The next job is to add the borders to the second lot of blocks.

UFO Challenge-May

I had a little time before we had to go out yesterday morning, so I attached the binding to the quilt and pinned it over for hand sewing the back.  I was able to make a start before leaving, but I packed it up and took it with me.

While the boys had their athletics session, I managed to get most of the binding sewn.  There was about six inches to finish when I got home.

Fortunately, it didn't take too long to do after dinner.  I did do another line of quilting around the centre of the quilt, which I think looks better.

That's another quilt off the list, and all being well, I might get June's done before the end of the month, but I'm not promising anything.  The knitting bug has caught hold.

Reunited with the Sewing Machine

The last couple of weeks seem to have been rather hectic.  There was housework I could no longer ignore that needed to be done and it's been a busy time with the boys, so time at home has been at a premium.  It was so lovely to be able to spend some time with the sewing machine before an appointment yesterday.

This is a project that should have been done last month, it's Mays UFO project, but it's better late than never.

The joined blocks are made up from leftovers from the jelly roll quilt I made last year.  I managed to find some fabric at a reduced price from the same line to create the panels and borders.

 So far I've quilted in the ditch around the centre panels, but I am thinking of doing another one around the centre block.  I shall see how I feel before the binding goes on.

The backing fabric was also on offer, so I can't complain.  Now I am just waiting for some binding fabric so I can get this one labelled and finished.

Nightime/Daytime

The new binding arrived last week, and although I waited a few days, the original binding didn't make an appearance, so I went ahead with plan B.

The binding wasn't the same fabric as used in the quilt, but it did match the colour of the teddies.  I used the teddy fabric for the backing.

That's another project off the UFO list completed and the mountain next to my sewing machine has reduced a little.

When Things Don't Go To Plan

It's been a busy week here, so sewing time has been at a premium.  One of the goals this week was to finish the teddy quilt.  With that in mind, I got the fabric out at the beginning of the week to give time for some of the creases to drop out as it had been folded in the bag for some time.  I had everything ready for when I got the chance to sew.

That opportunity came yesterday morning.  The pieces were ironed and sandwiched and we were ready to go.  I quilted in the ditch around the squares inside the brown, then quilted 1/4" either side of the line of the on point teddy squares.

There was still a bit of time before lunch, so I thought I could get the binding on before lunch and sew in all the ends in the afternoon.  Trouble was, between the beginning of the week and Friday, the binding has gone walkabout.  I can't find it anywhere, and I've tried several times.

In the end, I've had to order some more fabric and hope it will mean the binding will jump out at me.  So far, it hasn't worked, so this little quilt will be waiting a little longer to get finished.

UFO Challenge

The number was drawn at the end of last month and it corresponded with the postage stamp pillowcases.  These were made from extra blocks leftover from the postage stamp quilt.

It had been a bit daunting thinking about getting these done for some reason, but doing it step by step, they came together quite easily.  I've come a long way since I made these, and the piecing was quite awful, but now they are finished, it doesn't seem to notice, unless you look for it, lol.

 It felt too mean to move Rumple out of the way to take photos, so I left here where she was.

I used some calico to back the postage stamp fronts and did some simple straight line quilting.  I then added a border to get enough width to fit the pillow and then bound the edge.  It was then a simple process of sewing on the back making sure I had the fold over going the right way.  The fabric I've used to do the pillowcases is the same as I used for binding the quilt, so they tie in very nicely.

All I need to do now, is to buy a lovely sheet so I can swap the duvet for the lighter quilt.  Warmer nights might be useful too.

Flower of the month quilt

There's nothing quite like a challenge to get things done, and the same is true with the UFO 2011 Challenge.  This months number corresponded with the flower of the month quilt.

 The embroidery blocks, ended up taking a little less than a year to embroidery, but then they sat and waited several months for something to be done with them. 

It took quite a while to work out what fabric to use, with a couple of aborted attempts.  It's not always easy choosing fabric online. In the end, I decided on something plain and dark, to let the flowers do the talking.  Then it was a choice of borders or just the sashing.  After having the blocks laid out with variety of fabric around them, sashings only seemed to be the way to go.  I've used a dark green, similar to the colour used in some of the embroideries.  Maybe someone cleverer at choosing fabric than me, might have found a more interesting combination.

A separate binding was originally chosen, but when it came to sewing it on, I just didn't like it, so went with the same fabric I used for the backing.  As I really like this fabric, so it wasn't a painful decision to make.  The hanging sleeves are also made from the backing fabric.  The binding was hand sewn to the back of the quilt.

Seventeen months after the first stitch went in, the flowers of the month are now completed in their own wall hanging.

Creative Tuesdays and Jennifer

This is another week where I've tied two projects into one.   The theme for Creative Tuesdays this time was Valentine, so Jennifer seemed to be the perfect project.

I've adapted the design from  Little Ladybug Creations and finished it in a slightly different way.  Unfortunately, I didn't have enough suitable fabric for the borders, so the quilting and finishing will have to wait for another day.

For the month of February, I need to get out all my red scraps for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and it is UFO Number 8.  Before I can start on that, I need to do some shopping,  In the meantime, I need to catch up with this week Mystery Monday.

2011 UFO Challenge-Number Three

The UFO chosen to be finished this month was number three, which meant for me, getting the postage stamp quilt finished.  I spread the finishing over two days.  Saturday I quilted, and then Sunday, I cut and attached the border.

 Of course, it had to be tested immediately

 Within seconds, Hamlet was curled up in a ball.  I think the quilt passed the comfort test.

I even remembered a label. I'm calling this one a "Beginners Tale" as it was talking to me as I was quilting.  It told the tale of  of piecing that improved over time, a temperamental sewing machine, the arrival of a new machine, and then the ability to compensate for the bad bits, a story of a quilter that went from a complete beginner to one with a little experience and less fear.  Now I know a bit more about what I'm doing, I think I would like to do another one of these, but it won't be any time soon, I don't think.

I've used calico for the backing of the quilt, as it was quite a rustic looking quilt.  I have enough of the binding fabric, I think, to do the pillowcases.  Hopefully, they will be done in time for the set to be my summertime bedding.