*UPDATE: I took this quilt over to show my friend Janet, today, and she is going to display it on her stand at the Spring Quilt Fair at Duxford in March - if you're going there you might get to see it too!!
Do you remember this Mango Salsa quilt top that I pieced together back in September 2012? The fabric was called "Mango Salsa" and was a couple of packs of pre-cut 10" squares, by Timeless Treasures, and was purchased from Glenroy Designs. This pattern is called "McGuffy" from the book "Schibbles Times Two" by Carrie Nelson, and was a breeze to put together! Well I finally took it to Janette, a longarm quilter, and on Saturday I drove over to her studio to collect it, and as usual I wasn't disappointed..... .....the quilting pattern that I chose is called "Frisky Feathers" and contrasts beautifully against the geometric design of the quilt top. Janette had suggested an extra-wide backing, in mustard yellow, which looks great. She also suggested a quilting thread in a similar shade as the backing - this blends nicely with the backing fabric and looks stunning on the front..... .....my original plan was to use the same batik fabric for the binding that I had used for the inner border, but when I saw the finished quilt I thought it needed something a bit stronger for the binding. So on the way home from Janette's studio, I made a detour to Quilters Haven, my local quilt shop, and look what I found!! This beautiful orange batik that went perfectly with the oranges and yellows in the quilt..... .....I decided to use a wider binding on the quilt, and cut 3.5" strips of this gorgeous batik. I joined the strips together with diagonal seams, then folded the binding in half lengthways. Once the edges of the quilt top had been trimmed, I stitched the binding into place on the front of the quilt using a Mettler quilting thread in both the top and in the bobbin..... .....the binding is then folded over to the back of the quilt, pinned into place and stitched by hand using the same Mettler quilting thread (shade 517). I had already added one of my new labels to the back of the quilt (I stitched this in place before I machined the binding on)..... .....what do you think? I'm so pleased with this one - it looks so bright! I took a picture of it spread out on my bed, so you can see the full effect, but it will also be perfect over the back of the sofa.
*UPDATE: I took this quilt over to show my friend Janet, today, and she is going to display it on her stand at the Spring Quilt Fair at Duxford in March - if you're going there you might get to see it too!!
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Do you remember the Mango Salsa Tonga Treats that I bought from Glenroy Designs? And do you remember that I sliced these all up on Friday evening?? Well just look what happened over the weekend! Firstly I kept them in neat piles of each size..... .....then I pieced these squares and rectangles together, and made a few blocks. Actually, if you're counting, I made 36 blocks. Lots and lots of chain-piecing and lots and lots of pressing seams and lots and lots of more chain-piecing and finally there were 36 blocks of yummy batiks. All it needs now is an inner border and an outer border..... .....and after much umming and ahhhing, this is the fabric that I decided to use for the inner border. This was already in my stash, and has been lurking there for at least a couple of years! I must've been psychic when I bought it as I can't believe how well it works with these Tonga Treats. So this evening I got my sewing machine out again, and added the inner border.... .....and then lots and lots of chain-piecing and lots and lots of pressing seams and lots and lots of more chain piecing and the pieced outer border was finally added to complete it. These batiks really do look great together. I keep thinking how fabulous this will look on the back of my brown leather sofa!..... .....now I've got to save my pennies and then I can take it over to Janette to work her magic on it with her wonderful quilting. Now - decisions!! What quilting design will I choose? And what colour backing fabric?? And which batik for the binding??? Maybe the same batik that I used for the inner border???? No this isn't because of the snow or the freeeeezing cold temperatures this month, but I have borrowed the blog title and borrowed this picture from Janette's blog - she is the wonderful Longarm
Quilter who magically turns an old rag into an absolute work of art - if you have a look over here, you can see what she has just written about my Christmas Schnibble quilt. Thanks again Janette - it was put to VERY use over the Christmas holidays. Last year I made this quilt top using a couple of Layer Cakes (Fruitcake by BasicGrey for Moda). The pattern is from the book "Schnibbles Times Two" by Carrie Nelson..... .....anyway, after I'd made it, it was far too big for me to quilt myself on my Bernina, so it was folded up, put in a box with lots of other quilt tops, and it was sort of forgotten about..... .....then along came Janette, and her longarm machine, and yet again she has created something fantastic!! I chose an all-over quilting pattern, Meandering Stars, for this festive quilt, and I am sooooo pleased with it!..... .....my local quilt shop, Quilters Haven, sold this beatiful fabric last year, which luckily just happened to be from the Fruitcake range - so I used this for the background to showcase the stars, and for the inner border..... .....and as you can see, I also used it for the binding too. I cut the binding strips into 2 1/2" strips, joined the strips at a 45 degree angle and folded the binding over double. Then I sewed the strips onto the quilt about 3/8" inch from the edge..... .....I slip-stitched the binding to the back of the quilt using a quilting thread that will blend in with the backing fabric, so the stitches don't show - and while I'm sewing I'm listening to some favourite Christmas songs..... .....now the binding is on, I can use this quilt over the Christmas holidays - it will be perfect for snuggling up under on cold dark evenings!..... .....and here it is on my bed - very cosy! Merry Christmas - now, where did I put those other quilts to take over to Janette? Think I'll be keeping her very busy in 2012!! When we returned from Bodø, we decided to make another Schnibbles - this one was called "Plan C" and Eva used the remainder of her "Boutique" Layer Cake to make this one (these small quilts use 5inch squares - my top tip is to use a Layer Cake, cut it into quarters, and you have enough fabric for 2 different Schnibbles - isn't that a cunning plan???) Eva worked very hard, and she was a very good student hehe..... .....here is the completed quilt top - it looked really nice. Kjempefine, Eva. .....I couldn't resist taking a picture of Eva's sewing corner (hint to Mr F - I really NEED a sewing corner like this) - the view was superb - mountains, pine forests, snow - it all looked stunning, and such a comfortable chair to sit in :) The drive up to the mountains had been fantastic, and yes, the sky really was this beautiful colour, and it really did take my breath away..... .....and the air felt so clean and crisp. I think I may be inspired to make a quilt to remind me of these spectacular scenes..... .....when we returned, we decided to spend the afternoon sewing. Eva wanted to make a Schnibbles quilt, and so we set about transforming 5inch squares - with Eva doing the hard work on her Janome sewing machine (Eva even let ME have a go on her Janome)..... .....I look very happy here presing fabrics - I can assure you I don't smile like this when I'm ironing Mr F's shirts..... .....this is Eva's completed McGuffy. The fabric is Boutique, by Chez Moi for Moda. I'm sure it won't be her last Schnibbles - we might even make another one before I leave Norway :) Yet more Schnibbles - the first one is "Short Story" and I'll be teaching this pattern at my local quilt shop, Quilters Haven, next term. I used 2x Charm Packs, "Spring Magic" by April Cornell for Moda. This has now been quilted very simply, just stitch-in-the-ditch and the binding is on, but I took this over to QH today and realised that I had forgotten to take another picture of it :( sorry!! and the other one is called "Spin City" and is made from 2x Charm Packs..... the fabric is "Blush" by Basic Grey for Moda. Now please excuse me - but I have to search my stash for some more charm packs hehe!!
Not an actual fruit cake to eat - but I've finished the quilt top for the Schnibbles class that I taught over at Quilters Haven last week. This pattern is called "Plan C" and is from the book Schnibbles Times Two by Carrie Nelson and was made with 2x Layer Cakes from the "Fruitcake" collection by Basic Grey for Moda. I'm getting quite a collection of "Basic Grey" fabrics. (I've also got the Origins Jelly Roll, which is going to look fab once that's sliced up). It was sunny this morning when I took this photo, but really blustery so the quilt wouldn't hang still... ..and once I've got this quilted, it will hang over the back of my sofa for the festive season. This was a very quick quilt to piece together - the "Schnibbles Times Two" book by Carrie Nelson is probably the one I'm using most of all at the moment. Now I'm going to raid my stash of charm squares to make some of the smaller ones. Meanwhile, as all this sewing malarky has been going on, Mr F has been busy assembling a new fireplace - it makes the lounge look so much cosier than having a radiator as a focal point!!
I'll be teaching this pattern on Monday over at Quilters Haven - this is called "Plan C" and is another Schnibbles. It can be made with either 2x Charm packs (small size) or 2x Layer Cakes (large size). This one was made with 2x Charm packs - and the fabric is "Boutique" by Chez Moi, for Moda.
Whilst surfing the net and "blog-hopping" I discovered that lots of quilters have been making "Schnibbles" - hop over to Stina and Sherri to have a look for yourselves - anyway,I thought they looked great, and decided to have a go at these myself, especially as they used Charm packs, and I'd got a few of those in my stash. Then a few weeks ago I bought this fabulous quilting book - "Schnibbles Times Two" by Carrie Nelson - each quilt in the book is made twice - a small quilt with 2x Charm packs, and a bigger size with 2xLayer Cakes. I have already made 4 - yes that's right 4 of these quilts - ooops - make that 5 - (forgot about Beth's uni quilt) - this is the remains of a Layer cake called Luna Notte, by 3 Sisters for Moda (I had cut the layer cake in half to make 2x Charm packs) . ready to make another small Schnibbles!! I have already taught a Schnibbles class at my local quilt shop, and I'm teaching another class there on Monday. This fabric is "Pure" by Sweetwater for Moda - (bought last week from Chilford Quilt Show) - and I am going to teach another Schnibbles class next term - "Short Story" - I'll use this one as my class sample - my daughter helped me to pick the fabric to use for the background - it's very useful as she's the Saturday girl at my local quilt shop so is brilliant at helping me chose fabric and brilliant at helping me to spend money :) this is the larger version of McGuffy - my daughter Beth chose the fabrics - well, it was for her - and she chose "Patisserie" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's" by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda. ..... |
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July 2023
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