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There's a quilt show in Woodbridge this weekend, organised by a local quilting group. It's on from Friday through to Sunday. It never fails to amaze at the fabulous quilts that are displayed locally, and just goes to show that you don't have to go to the big quilt shows to be inspired. Of course, there'll be stalls there too to buy one or goodies, and hopefully lots of quilting friends to stop and have a chat with, and maybe a cuppa and a slice of cake! Are you going along too? 
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I wanted something simple to showcase these gorgeous brown batiks that I'd bought from Sew and So's when I went to Bungay with my friend Sue, when I was on my stay-cation a few weeks ago. I used this pattern called "Take 4" (designed by Cary Flanagan for Something Sew Fine Quilt Design), and I quickly set about slicing these batiks into neat little piles...
...these mats pieced together VERY quickly, and I used a mid grey Mettler fine embroidery thread in my Bernina, and a Schmetz Microtex needle size 60. In no time at all 4 place mats were pieced and pressed...
...unfortunately I didn't have the right fabric for backing them in my stash, so had make a hasty visit to Quilters Haven on my day off. Brown polka dots (from the "Cherry On Top" collection by Keiki for Moda) was just what I was looking for, and already had this brown tone-on-tone fabric in my stash, (it was left over from a previous project - enough for binding but unfortunately not enough for the backing too!!) so I was ready to get started on the quilting. I've used a plain brown Mettler quilting thread, shade 712 and a Top stitch needle size 80 (I don't like using anything larger than that when I'm quilting batiks). These were quilted very simply, just stitch-in-the-ditch, and I used some thin pellon wadding. (Pellon is a felted polyester and is perfect for runners and place mats and bags too)...
...these were bound with single-fold binding. I cut strips of fabric 1.5" wide, and machined them into place 0.25" from the edge of the mats, and mitred the corners. Then the binding is folded over to the back and hand stitched into place with ladder stitch. I used the same dark brown Mettler quilting thread for this...
...and here are the completed mats. When I bought these batiks, I was very greedy - they're actually half metres hehe!! so I've got some leftovers for a runner too and I just "need" to find a couple more to add to them. That'll be my project for next weekend! These mats will look very smart on my dining table. They're machine washable, so it won't be a complete disaster if Mr F spills any gravy on them ;) 
 Back in 2011 when I went to the festival of Quilts in Birmingham, I bought a selection of 25 fat quarters in various cream and white tone-on-tone fabrics, with the intention of making a quilt for my then-about-to-be-decorated bedroom. Well I've been saving these fabrics and decided it was finally time to slice them up and start piecing them together again. I had already decided to make up this pattern, "Turning Twenty" by Tricia Cribbs. I thought it would look lovely made up in these subtle tones, to match the cream décor in my bedroom. This is a very quick quilt top to make, and took a total of 2 hours to piece all these blocks together, including the borders. Well, that's the top finished - now it's off to Janette to get this top quilted so I can get on with some other projects!
"Scrumptious" is the perfect name for this gorgeous fabric range by Bonnie and Camille for Moda. I bought 3 Mini-Charm packs of this range from my local quilt shop, Quilters Haven, along with this pretty white tone-on-tone by Robert Kaufman, and then did a quick online search for some more fabric for backing, borders and binding. I found a great online shop called Hulu - it's not quite the same as browsing around a quilt shop, but it certainly saved the day as I was desperate for some more of this fabric for borders and backing and binding. These Mini-Charms pieced together really quickly...
...I used a favourite quilt pattern, "Pure Baby Boy" which is a free download from the Moda bake Shop website, and substituted 3x Mini-Charm packs for the Jelly Roll that's used in the original pattern. This spotty fabric is great for the narrow borders, and looks great framed by the white floral tone on tone...
...then it was time for rows and rows of straight quilting. I always use Schmetz Topstitch needles for quilting, and now I have a new best friend - Aurifil thread. This quilt was initially quilted with stitch in the ditch, then quilted every half an inch apart, using the edge of the walking foot as a guide, stitching in opposing directions. I love the soft ribbed effect this quilting gives, and it is perfect for wrapping around a baby, giving it lots of cuddles and snuggles...
...one of my labels is machined into place on the back of the quilt, and the binding fabric is the same same spot that I used for the inner borders. The binding is machined 0.5" from the edge of the quilt, and then stitched by hand to the back using ladder stitch...
...and here is the finished baby quilt, and it's definitely one of my favourites. At last it's stopped raining and I could finally take a photograph!! I'd wrapped this one up ready to be delivered, and had rather stupidly forgotten to take a picture of it, so it's got a few creases in it but they'll soon come out with a few cuddles!! I absolutely adore all the ranges by Bonnie and Camille and may have to invest in some more of this gorgeous "Scrumptious" fabric to make a big-girl quilt too ;)  I was busy last week on my stay-cation, and on the Tuesday I went to Sew and So's at Bungay with my friend Helen (she's a wonderful quilter, and I'm always in awe of her beautiful work!). I needed some fabric to make a baby quilt for a boy, and spotted some mini-charm packs of this bright, modern, funky range called Comma by Zen Chic for Moda. I really liked the idea of a black and white backing, so chose this print for the back (599 Numbers by Henley Studio for Makower UK), and teamed it with this bright lime green polka dot fabric for the binding. I used a tried and trusted pattern that's a free download from the Moda Bake Shop website called Pure Baby Boy, and used these mini-charms instead of strips from a Jelly Roll for the pieced panel...
...it's really difficult to find white tone-on-tone fabrics that aren't florals, so I was really pleased to find this geometric style fabric at Quilters Haven (it's by Robert Kaufman). As you can see it was really blustery on the day I did a quick photoshoot...
...lots of rows of straight quilting 0.5" apart gives a lovely ribbed effect to this quilt, and I've used white Aurifil quilting thread and a Schmetz Topstitch needle size 80. Aurifil thread sews absolutely beautifully, and my Bernina loves it...
...it's a good idea to have your wadding a bit wider than the quilt top, and the backing fabric a bit wider than the wadding. I bought a king size pack of Quilters Dream select weight wadding from Quilters Haven at the weekend - this is much more economical than buying smaller packs! This black and white backing fabric looks super with these rows of white quilting, and made a great alternative to the Jelly Roll strips used in the original pattern...
...a label is sewn into place on the back of the quilt, and after being machined onto the front of the quilt, this bright spotty binding is hand stitched into place with ladder stitch. These binding strips were cut 3.5" wide, and I used the double fold method of binding...
...and here's the finished quilt. Hope the baby gets lots of cuddles in this quilt! 
The "High Street" range of fabric by Lily Ashbury was just perfect for my latest project - another baby quilt using the pattern "Charm Squares Baby Quilt" by Elizabeth Hartman. This pattern is a free download from her blog, Oh Fransson! and is one that I've made lots of times before. I bought a charm pack of this gorgeous fabric from my local quilt shop Quilters Haven and bought some yellow fabric for the backing from the same range, along with some white tone-on-tone for the sashing and borders...
...once this simple quilt top was pieced together, it was quilted using white Aurifil thread and a Schmetz Topstitch needle size 90. I used the edge of the walking foot as a guide, and quilted lots of straight rows half an inch apart, and then it was time to add the binding. I cut 3.5" strips of this gorgeous pink spotted fabric and used the double fold method of binding, and stitched it in place 0.5" from the edge of the quilt...
...one of my labels was added to a corner of the quilt, and machined into place. The binding was hand stitched in place on the back, with a single strand of a Mettler quilting thread in a matching hot pink, in ladder stitch. Oh and of course thank goodness for my Clover "Protect and Grip" thimble!...
...and here is the finished quilt, perfect for a baby girl! Now I need to get hurry and get it wrapped up and delivered to a gorgeous little girl who was born just a few days ago!  |
 About me...Hi - welcome to my quilting blog! My passions are my family, my dog, my friends and sewing, not necessarily in that order! 
 
 
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