A few weeks ago, my niece's sister-in-law had a baby boy, and I had promised her a baby quilt - well I started a couple, and they didn't seem quite right, and then I saw this fabric called Road 15 by Sweetwater for Moda. This was just perfect for the project I has planned! I ordered a charm pack and some fabric from the same range for the backing and the binding, and then spotted this cream tone on tone fabric also by Sweetwater, from their range called "Lucy's Crab shack" which was just what I wanted for sashing and borders. The strips for this quilt quickly pieced together (I used mettler fine embroidery thread as that's what my Bernina seems to prefer) and the top was completed in just over an hour... ...this quilt pattern is called "Charm Squares Baby Quilt" and is designed by Elizabeth Hartman. the pattern is a free download from her blog Oh Fransson! and I've made this several times and it always looks great no matter fabric range I use. I've used cotton wadding by Quilters Dream, and a cream quilting thread by King Tut. lots of straight rows half an inch apart gives the quilt a lovely soft ribbed effect. The binding is a lime green stripe from the Road 15 range, and yes I've sewn one of my labels in the corner too... ...now this can finally be posted off to baby Leon and hopefully he'll have lots of happy dreams snuggled up n it, and hopefully I'll get to see him soon and have a cuddle too!!
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Do you remember a couple of weeks ago I blogged about a baby quilt that I had made for a very special baby girl called Olive? Well her mummy has emailed me a picture of Olive on her quilt, as she thought I'd like to put a picture on my blog - and just look what a gorgeous little girl she is!! I've explained to her mummy that this quilt is fully machine washable (made with 100% cotton fabrics and wadding) and can be tumble dried or line dried, and will stand up to a lot of wear and tear!!
Once the "toalettveske" (toiletry bag) was completed for Alice, I just had to make her a matching cosmetic bag too - so using the same fabrics as before, "Salt Air" by Cosmo Cricket for Moda, and "Painter's Canvas" for Michael Miller, and using the pattern "Anna's Sminkepung" by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa, I set to work. I decided to add a little bit of trimming to this one, just to make it a bit more feminine (Alice doesn't really do lace and frills and pink and girly!!)... ...and here it is completed with one of my labels too. (I forgot to sew the label into the side-seam, so hastily stitched into the corner when I was machining the binding into position!!). The zipper has been slip-stitched by hand, and the bindings have too - I try to make the inside of the bag look as neat as the outside! It will be a great set for Alice to use at uni, especially if she comes home for the odd weekend and if she goes to stay with her friends. So now I've made her a quilt for uni, and a toiletry bag and a cosmetic bag - does she need anything else??!!
Have you had a crafty weekend?? I've been busy, as I needed to make a baby quilt for a colleague's grand-daughter and decided to use this beautiful "Oasis" range of fabric by 3 Sisters from Moda. It had been on my shelf for far too long and was just perfect for an extra special project! I decided to use one of my favourite baby quilt patterns, "Charm Squares Baby Quilt" designed by Elizabeth Hartman (check out her blog, Oh Fransson!) and it is quite quick and simple to piece together... ...in no time at all I'd pieced the rows together, and was ready to add the sashing. I used a white tote-on-tone print for the sashing and the top and bottom border too - it looks really fresh! I used a cream Mettler fine embroidery thread shade 844 for the piecing and a Schmetz Microtex needle size 60. It was such a windy day when I took this photograph yesterday!!... ...then it was time to get the quilt layered and ready for quilting. I decided to use the same white fabric for the backing too - and quilted this in lots of straight rows about 0.5" apart. I used a cotton wadding (Quilters dream, select weight) and white Mettler quilting thread and a Schmetz Topstitch needle size 80. The binding strips have been cut 3.5" wide, and folded double. Then using the edge of the walking foot as a guide, the binding is machined into place 0.5" from the edge of the quilt, the folded edge rolled over and hand stitched into place on the back of the quilt, giving the quilt a nice neat finish... ...and here it is completed - this measures approx 33" x 40" and is really a great size to have as a playmat/quilt - and still be used she she's a little girl toddling around! I used this grey print which is also part of the "Oasis" range for the binding and the backing. A label is stitched securely in the corner and it's ready to meet it's new owner, a beautiful little girl called Olive Mabel. Hope her mummy and grandma like it!!
A very very long time ago, I bought this fabric from my local quilt shop, Quilters Haven - it is a range called "Fresh Flowers" by Deb Strain for Moda. I had planned to use it to make a couple of runners and place mats, and over the Easter weekend I had the perfect opportunity to finally get this project done! The pattern I chose is by AnnAKa, and is called "Kle Kjøkkenet i 60-tallsdrakt" and was in issue 4/07 of Quiltemagasinet, a Norwegian quilting magazine..... .....these blocks made up very quickly, as I did lots and lots of chain piecing. I used a light grey Mettler fine embroidery thread shade 724 for piecing. In no time at all, I'd completed enough blocks for a runner for the dining table with 6 matching place mats and another smaller runner suitable for a coffee table..... .....I used a non-fusible pellon for the wadding. This is quite thin, and is ideal for runners and bags, where you want your project to have just a bit of structure, but not be too thick. Lots of straight rows of quilting with this gorgeous variegated lime green King Tut quilting thread, shade 927 and as a final flourish the prairie points are embellished with these bright yellow buttons..... ....quilted, bound and a couple of my "quiltystuff" labels machined into place on the back of the two runners (I didn't bother to sew them on all the place mats!)..... .....drum roll please - finished!! As you can see, I've now got a pair of very smart runner! These bright colours are perfect for the Spring and Summer and would definitely cheer up any dining room and lounge! This fabric is called Gypsy Girl and is by Lily Ashbury for Moda. I bought this pack of charm squares, along with the floral fabric for the backing and the green print for the binding from Glenroy Designs. The whiter tonal fabric is also from Glenroy Designs, and will look great as the top and bottom borders and the sashing too..... .....this is one of the easiest baby quilts I have ever made - the pattern is by Elizabeth Hartman (I avidly follow her blog Oh Fransson! and I've got her books too!!) anyway, this pattern is designed by her and is a free download over at the Sew Mama Sew website. I love the modern design and the clean straight quilting lines..... .....This charm pack is one of the prettiest ones I'ver used. These colours look great mixed together too - pink and red and turquoise and lime green. The dense quilting lives this baby quilt a lovely ribbed effect..... .....and here it is finally completed - quilted, bound and one of my labels securely stitched in place. As you can see, I've stitched the label on the front of this baby quilt, which my daughter suggested as a design feature..... .....and you can just see a glimpse of the backing fabric, which really is BEAUTIFUL! This quilt is for a special little baby girl called Nevaeh May. I hope she'll love being snuggled up in it, and hopefully her mummy will love it too!! Another baby quilt will be on it's way to it's new owner later this week! One of my colleagues is a daddy-to-be (a baby boy is on the way!) and his partner's favourite colour is turquoise. I had this jelly roll in my stash - "Odyssea" by Momo for Moda - and thought it would be perfect for this little boy's nursery..... .....this pattern is a free download from the Moda Bake Shop website, and the pattern is by teaginny designs. The strips were quickly pieced together, to make the centre panel of this fun quilt. I was worried about it looking too dark, so chose a this turquoise jelly-roll strip for the inner border, and the white outer borders keep it looking fresh..... .....I already had a metre of fabric from the same "Odyssea" range which I decided to use for the backing rather than the jelly roll strips that the original pattern uses. My friend Janette had given me some turquoise quilting thread with a beautiful sheen that I used for quilting the centre panel, and I used white Mettler quilting thread for the two side borders..... .....again, lots of dense quilting in half an inch apart gives a lovely ribbed feel to this quilt. A label is sewn to the back of the quilt, the binding stitched into place by hand and it's finished. I used 4 jelly roll strips for the binding, which is the same print as the backing fabric but in 4 different colourways. It's useful using jelly roll strips fro binding as it's already cut into strips AND it's perfectly co-ordinated!!..... .....although it looks a bit dark in this photo, it was actually snowing this morning when I took this! Now it's just got to be wrapped up an delivered. What do you think David? Will this look ok in your little boy's nursery? When I saw some Marmalade "Mini Charms" for sale in my local quilt shop, Quilters Haven, I couldn't resist them!! As soon as I saw this lovely range by Bonnie and Camille for Moda, I knew it would make a lovely baby quilt, and I had the perfect pattern to use that is a free download on the Moda Bake Shop website. The original pattern (by teaginny designs) uses strips from a Jelly Roll that is sewn into strips and cross-cut. I thought this was going to be a slow process as I was using all these little squares..... .....but these mini-charms were quickly pieced together in no time at all I used the green spot from the same range of fabrics for the inner border (I'm going to use it for the binding too) and this white floral fabric that is used for the two outer borders keeps it looking fresh and bright..... .....and the dense quilting (lots of rows stitched ½" apart) adds a wonderful ribbed texture to it. I used white Mettler quilting thread in both the top of the machine and in the bobbin too. When this quilt is washed and dried it will wrinkle up beautifully, and be really soft and snuggly..... .....label on, binding on, job done! As you can see, I have stitched the label in place along both sides, and after sewing the binding onto the front of the quilt by machine, I have hand-stitched the binding to the back of the quilt, using pale grey Mettler quilting thread shade 0813, and ladder stitch..... .....this will soon be posted off to Norway, as my friend Eva's daughter, Hilde, is expecting a baby girl next month. I made a baby quilt with a "Pure" jellyroll by Sweetwater for Moda, using the same pattern when she had a baby boy, Sondre, last year - I hope she likes this quilt just as much as she liked the last one! This is the latest Red Brolly design that I have stitched, and have decided to turn this into a cushion cover for a very special friend - actually she's a very NAUGHTY friend too, but if I say anything more it will spoil the surprise..... .....I really wanted a red and white spotty fabric for the borders, but when I saw this fabric in my local quilt shop I knew it was just perfect for this project! This fabric is called "Vintage Modern" and is by Bonnie and Camille for Moda. I love this range of fabrics, and this really compliments the red stitchery design beautifully. I then layered a piece of calico with some cotton wadding and the cushion top, and quilted it very simply using "stitch-in-the-ditch" using a cream Mettler quilting thread..... ....and what a surprise when I looked in my box of zippers - a dark turquoise zipper that works perfectly with this fabric! I used the zipper foot to put this zipper in, and didn't need to pin it in place. I used a grey Mettler quilting thread to sew in the zipper as it blends in with the background colour of the fabric..... .....as you can see, I've added a label to the backing fabric - and used a spotty turquoise print from the "Vintage Modern" range for the double-fold binding. I think it looks fab!!..... .....and here is the front of the cushion. I really love it - it is going to be very hard to give this away!! I hope my friend likes it as much as I do!! This is another simple baby quilt, made with a Moda Honeybun. The fabric range is "Spring Magic" by April Cornell. Some white fabric from my stash was added for the borders and a nice bright yellow was used for the binding. The quilting was kept very simple, just Stitch-in-the-ditch using white Mettler quilting thread, then some straight rows of quilting in the borders. Again this had a little bit of stitchery added to the top and bottom border in coral coloured DMC thread that matched the colours of the fabric. This quilt was made to be raffled off a couple of years ago to raise funds for a maternity bereavement support group that I belonged to. A fundraising garden party/fete was held - "Celebrating Life Acknowledging Loss" and this quilt raised lots of money for a very good cause.
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July 2023
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