Nearly Insane Quilt - Update #5 June 2015



Nearly Insane Quilt - Electric Quilt image

It is a while since I mentioned anything about my Nearly Insane quilt progress, so I thought a post on the blog would set me into action.  I have taken this image from my Electric Quilt software to show the final layout, and this image is now on my sidebar.

Nearly Insane Quilt - Zig Zag border

I am pleased to say that I have pieced together all the zig zags required in the border.  From my last post you will have read about the false starts I had with this.  I think they contributed to a lack of motivation I had for the border, which is why they have taken such a long time.  Do you ever suffer from lack of interest in your quilt borders?  I had hoped to keep up with this whilst I was completing the blocks, which I did until there was a change of plan. Anyway, they are together, I just need to insert a cream border and either side of the zig zag and then the top is truly finished. That is all I need to do ...


English Paper Piecing - removing the paper

I am still removing the paper from the English Paper Piecing and there are large areas of the quilt which are looking revitalised without the tacking stitches showing through. At the final count there were 6032 pieces in the quilt - all those 6032 templates are in the process of coming out.

Suzi the cat helping with the quilt borders

With all the supportive help I get from Suzi the cat, I expect there are 6032 cat hairs to remove as well....

Miniature Block of the Month June 2015 - The Quilt Room

Miniature Quilt Blocks - Quilt Room Free BOM

We are half way through the year and I am pleased to say that I have kept up with the FREE Miniature Block of the Month currently being offered by The Quilt Room. Each month I pull out my shoe box with my fabric selection and a new block joins the group. I am starting to think how I will set them - at the moment I am thinking of putting them on point.  The fabrics I am using are mainly from 'Snowman Gatherings' by Primitive Gatherings and I see from a few online stores that there is now 'Snowman Gatherings II' available.


Miniature Quilt Block- June 2015

I quite enjoyed the June block.  I only had to undo one line of stitching!  With the foundation piecing the flying geese have come out perfectly. Not quite a star this time, so to keep on theme I have included a tiny star print.

Suzi the Cat

Suzi the cat hasn't featured on the blog lately, so here is a photo for all her fans out there.  It is only June, but we are starting to think about the August extravaganza - Pets on Quilts 2015!   

Miniature Doll Quilt Swap - May 2015

Miniature Doll Quilt Swap - Marcia at Grammy Quilts

As you will have seen on my blog, early May was spent making a Mini Doll Quilt for a swap organised by Humble Quilts.  I was ahead of the game as I was abroad in late May/ early June, so having sent mine off before I left, I was looking forward to returning home to see what was waiting in the post.

Miniature Doll Quilt Swap - Marcia at Grammy Quilts

I wasn't disappointed. My swap was from Marcia at Grammy Quilts. Did someone tell her I LOVE scrap quilts?  She calculated that she has used 124 different civil war shirtings and reproduction fabrics, which seems amazing for such a cute little doll quilt.  There are some particularly cute red and white ones in there which would have been great in my Nearly Insane quilt....

Civil War Reproduction Fabrics - Grammy Quilts

Not only did she send me the pretty doll quilt, but she very kindly sent me some civil war reproduction charm squares for some future projects - a lovely mix of shirtings and repro fabrics.

Civil War Reproduction Fabrics - Constant Quilter

Also waiting in the post was another parcel from my other partner, Wendy at the Constant Quilter. Having read my blog and hearing about the shortage of civil war reproductions in my stash, she also felt sorry for me and sent a lovely selection - it seems to have every colour you could wish for! How generous everyone has been.


Miniature Doll Quilt Swap - Marcia at Grammy Quilts

What perhaps pleases me the most is that the quilt Marcia made me fits my mini quilt stand perfectly.  This has been sitting dormant for nearly two years waiting for a miniature quilt. Like everyone, I really enjoyed making the little miniature doll quilt.  Thanks to Lori for organising it and keeping it simple. It was my first swap and with all these lovely fabrics, roll on the 2016 Miniature Doll Quilt Swap!

For a peek at all the Mini Doll Quilts hop over to Humble Quilts!

Miniature Block of the Month May 2015 - The Quilt Room

Miniature Block of the Month May 2015 - The Quilt Room

I have just been catching up with myself again.  The Quilt Room have issued their FREE Block of the Month foundation pieced star for May 2015.  This month there was a log cabin centre. It is only the fifth block I have made, but it feels as if I should have a lot more.

Carol Doak's Foundation Paper

I am continuing my search for the ideal foundation paper.   I was visiting the 2015 Malvern Quilt Show last weekend and Creative Grids had some of Carol Doak's Foundation Paper on sale.  It is a US, rather than UK, standard size paper but I purchased it knowing that. It doesn't say what weight it is, but it feels like lightweight drawing paper that I used to have in primary school. Thanks to Marly and Annie for their thoughts last month.

Malvern Quilts UK 2015 - Judges Merit Award



'Welcome to my Stash' quilt - Judges Merit Award

A while ago I showed you all a half square triangle quilt I had been making and had long admired.  Once it was finally finished, it was just in time to enter it into the annual Malvern Quilt show.  When you spend so much time alone stitching it is always nice to share what you have done by displaying your work.

Judges Merit Award - Malvern Quilts UK 2015

On arrival at the show I was delighted to see a rosette against my quilt - a Judges Merit Award.  There was no feedback, but I think I am safe in saying that my quilt probably had the most variety of fabrics in it! LOL


Half Square Triangle Quilt

 

Miniature Doll Quilt Swap - May 2015

Miniature Doll Quilt Swap - May 2015


A few weeks ago Lori at Humble Quilts put out a call for a Doll Quilt Swap. I fancied making a mini quilt.  I fancied doing a swap for the first time.  I resisted the first call, but by the second, I caved in.  So I signed up. There were a few rules, but the main one was that it should be Civil War reproduction fabrics and that it should look like it 'time travelled from days past'. 

Judie Rothermel and Jo Morton Civil War Reproduction fabrics

Once committed I went about choosing fabrics and a design for my miniature doll quilt swap.  However, it appears that I don't actually have any Civil War Reproduction fabrics (yes, I was surprised too, perhaps I should have checked first) so it meant searching online for some fabrics and waiting for them to arrive.  To add to the fun I ordered a pot luck  'Civil War bundle' from the Laughing Hedgehog.  I was really pleased with the selection they sent, which included some Jo Morton shirtings and some Judie Rothermel civil war reproduction fabrics.

English Paper Piecing - Irish Chain Quilt

 I procrastinated for as long as possible by doing a lot of online research about civil war quilts, but with the unexpected fabric search and knowing I had to send it abroad, panic set in.  I also knew I only had a few windows of opportunity to get the project done.  Finally, I ended up stitching an Irish Chain quilt, hand stitching it using English Paper Piecing.  Living in the UK, my knowledge of the American Civil War is largely based on what I learnt watching 'Gone With The Wind'.  Following through on this theme, Wikipedia informed me that the colours red and green are used symbolically throughout the original book by Margaret Mitchell.  So along with this and Scarlett's Irish descendancy, an Irish Chain seemed appropriate. 

Hand quilting - cross hatch

Conveniently, the UK government had decided to have an election early in May which gave me hours of stitching in front of the television watching the results come in through the night. Once hand pieced, I made up the quilt sandwich and I decided to hand quilt it with a cross-hatch, to add that 'days gone past' feel. Naturally this took longer than anticipated as it always does, but it was a joy to do and I am really pleased that I took the time to make this little quilt.

Mini Irish Chain Quilt - Doll Quilt Swap - 16" x 20.5"

Just to add to the panic, I noticed on the internet that several quilters taking part in the Doll Quilt Swap had already completed their quilts and had received them.  I am pleased to say that once labelled, this little quilt is now heading across the Atlantic to a recipient who is part of the swap.

Thanks Lori for organising the Doll Quilt Swap!  You will be able to see all the Doll Quilts made in the swap in a few weeks time over at Humble Quilts.

Joining up with Confessions and Crazy Mom Quilts.

 

Miniature Block of the Month April 2015 - The Quilt Room

Miniature Block of the Month April 2015 - The Quilt Room

We are a few weeks into April and I have only just remembered to do my Miniature Block of the Month, currently offered FREE by the Quilt Room.The blocks are turning out to be a collection of stars and on this occasion I merged some of the pieces to get a more satisfying shape.  I am still struggling with foundation piecing - I managed to cut all the pieces backwards and still had to unpick some .... I will keep trying.


Layout Paper - foundation paper alternative?

So far I have been using regular A4 computer paper for my foundation paper, as I print out the patterns in my Electric Quilt software, but was struggling with its heavy  80gsm weight.  I went on a tour of the aisles at our local stationery store to see if there was an alternative I could put through a printer.  The best I could find was layout paper which is slightly lighter at 50gsm.  This works fine through the inkjet printer, but was not so happy in the laser printer.  Have you found any alternatives?

Joining up with Design Wall Monday

Anna Maria Horner Liberty Fabric Feather No #4



Liberty Fabrics - Anna Maria Horner Feather

These Anna MariaHorner feathers are so addictive.  I thought I would make a little mug rug feather from some Liberty Tana Lawn scraps. The reality is I don't have Liberty Tana Lawn scraps and who does at £22.50 / metre?  The fabrics are so lovely that instead of cutting a set of them up, I thought I would showcase just one, and for this project I used Poppy and Daisy from the Liberty Art Fabrics collection.  The background is a French General solid.



Machine Quilting - Angela Walters Diamond Pattern

Also, I felt like I would be wimping out by just meandering the background again, so decided to try something new.  I am not short of books of machine quilting and this time I reached for Angela Walter's 'Shape by Shape' Free-Motion Quilting book.  I found a great diamond pattern - great because it is made up of straight lines, so I could stitch it without having to lower the feed dogs.  I also liked it as it has an art deco style which fits nicely with the historical Liberty print. I had to mark the fabric with a water erasable pen, but it was worth it to get the lovely all over pattern.

Detail - Machine Quilting Diamond Pattern

I haven't used Liberty fabrics for quite a while and had forgotten how lovely and crisp the finish is.  Putting the binding on this one was a dream.  I also added some corner pockets on the back so that it could be hung as a mini quilt on the wall.  It won't be on my wall, as this one a is gift.

Liberty Mini Wall Hanging - corner pockets

See more feathers here, here and here
Linking up with Confessions



Anna Maria Horner Scrap Fabric Neutral Feather No #3

Anna Maria Horner Neutral Scrap Fabric Feather

Here comes another Anna Maria Horner feather.  This one is made up from the scraps from my equilateral triangle quilt which I made last April with the Sassy Quilter  and is being modelled by Suzi the cat below.


Equilateral Triangle Quilt with Suzi the cat



The background fabric is  French General for MODA (#13529) which is a lovely natural linen colour.  I outlined the feather with stich in the ditch, outlined the shape again and then filled in the background with a free motion meander. 

Free Motion Meander quilting bachground

Not only is the feather made up from fabric scraps, but I also used some scraps of wadding for the middle.  Having made a few of these, I can tell you that they are quite addictive.  I just love how they come out so differently.

Anna Maria Horner Scrap Fabric Feather No #2

Anna Maria Horner Feather

A few weeks ago I mentioned that after making my scrappy Half Square Triangle quilt I had created a new set of scraps to use up.  They were mainly 1.5" strips from reducing 5" squares to 3.5" squares, so were quite thin and some of them quite short, but plenty big enough for another Anna Maria Horner scrap feather. 


Box of fabric scraps

I was working towards a particular colour scheme, so was able to pull out all the co-ordinating colours to foundation piece the feather.


Foundation Piecing Scraps

For the quilting I stitched in the ditch and then did a 1/4 inch outline around the feather shape.  Then I kept on going.  Because these are only small quilts / mug rugs they are a good place to experiment with new quilting patterns.  The trimmings from the HST's for this feather were only a drop in the ocean from my box of scraps, so I can see more of these in pipeline.


Scrappy Anna Maria Horner Feather Mug Rug

 Linking up with Connie at Freemotion

Nearly Insane Quilt - Update #4 March 2015



Removing English Paper Piecing templates

I expect some of you may be wondering what progress I am making with the Nearly Insane quilt.  As you can see here, I have had a go at removing the papers.  The tiny bits hidden under the seams have required the patience and precision of removing a splinter from a finger, but gradually progress is being made.  Suzi the cat knows it is going to be a long job, but is joining me for the long haul.


Suzi the cat offers moral support with the paper removal

Another dilemma that I have been dealing with is the border.  The original design has a zig zag border.  I don't think it is the most attractive edging, but in the spirit of keeping to the original I intend to put a zig zag border around my Nearly Insane quilt.  When I saw the Dear Jane exhibition in France, I noticed how the quilts without the original full scalloped border didn't look quite 'finished', and that has stuck with me.  Maybe I will do something different on my next Nearly Insane quilt ...

Nearly Insane Quilt - Solid Red Zig Zag Border

You may have noticed in some of my early 'reveals' that I showed the developing red zig zag border.  I had done almost one and half sides by the time the rest of the quilt was together, but when laid against it, it just looked TOO bold.


Nearly Insane Quilt - Red with White Zig Zag Border

So I started again, using some of my red with white fabrics for the zig zag.  Again, I had done nearly a side and it just looked wrong.  It looked TOO big.


Nearly Insane Quilt - Small Red with White Zig Zag Border

So having stitched over two sides of the border I then decided to actually read the instructions in the book and make the zig zag the smaller size that was suggested ....

We live. We learn.

I think is eligible for Slow Stitching Sunday ...

 

Miniature Block of the Month March 2015 - The Quilt Room

March Block - Quilt Room 2015 Miniature Quilt BOM

February was a short month this year.  Already March and another block has been released as part of The Quilt Room, Dorking FREE Miniature Block of the Month.  I will admit that I struggle with foundation piecing as I am easily confused by working on the reverse, flipping, reversing the colours etc. etc, but I do love the look of it.

Quilt Room 2015 Miniature Quilt BOM

They haven't stated how many there will be, but I assume it will continue up until the end of the year so that we have twelve blocks altogether.  So, in just three short months I have accumulated these delightful little blocks, which seems to be filling the void of the Nearly Insane blocks which I completed several months ago.

Miniature Block of the Month February 2015 - The Quilt Room



Miniature Block of the Month February 2015 - The Quilt Room

Here is the February edition of the Miniature Block of the Month FREE from the Quilt Room, Dorking.  I am really enjoying this BOM so far.  Just one block means I can usually get it done quite quickly during one evening after work.

Just like last month I have put the pattern into my Electric Quilt software and printed off the foundation patterns.  I am pleased with the colours of the 'Snowman Gatherings' fabrics I am using.  I haven't taken any of the papers out yet.  I love the firmness and stability it gives - it reminds me of the more refined finish you get with dressmaking when you add an interfacing.


Suzi the Cat on her Cat Mat

We have had some warm winter days here lately which makes for hard work if you are a cat.  Moving from room to room following the sun is exhausting!

Joining up with Feline Friday! and Crazy Mom Quilts.
 

Half Square Triangle (HST) Scrappy Quilt

Half Square Triangle Scrappy Quilt

You may recognise this quilt.  I have been admiring it here and here.  I decided it was time to have one of my own.  It is a Katherine Guerrier design from one of my favourite books, 'Scrap Quilt Sensation' .

Scrappy Triangle Quilt

I have had a pile of random charm squares which were given to me in my stash for some time.  They are not fabrics I particularly like, but it was hard to turn down the offer of free fabric at the time. I don't think things have changed. This is the sort of quilt you can hide these ugly fabrics in quite easily.  Just to make it interesting I also added some of my favourite fabrics too.  The need to get as much variety as possible allowed plenty of petting and stroking of the fabrics in my stash. I had many happy hours in my sewing room. 

Double pinning quilt seams

I think there are about 896 3" half square triangles in this quilt.  It is a surprisingly simple quilt to make, it is just the sheer quantity of square half square triangle blocks which need cutting, stitching and trimming which take up the time.  The finished size is about 84" x 96". Any half square triangle pattern really relies on accurate seam joins and I took time from the very beginning to double pin every seam to keep the seams in place as they went through the sewing machine. On the front (which is where it matters) they look as if they have behaved very well, but on the back there are a few which tried to go against the flow.


Half Square Triangle Scrap Quilt

Comparing it to the same quilts I have seen already, it is clear that the look of the quilt will depend on the DNA of your personal stash.  I struggled for large scale prints for contrast, and I struggled for murky dull fabrics to stand out against the brights, but I wasn't about to go shopping for this project.  The aim was too get rid of some scraps, but in the process I seem to have created a new set of scraps! He ho ...


Joining up with Scraptastic Tuesday! and the scrap fans at Crazy Mom Quilts, and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Minature Block of the Month January 2015 - The Quilt Room

January Miniature Block of the Month - Cross Canoes

If you read my last post you will see that back in November I had every intention of doing Bonnie Hunter's 2014 Mystery Quilt, Grand Illusion.  I had the fabric and everything.  Sadly I was just too busy and it just feels too late now.  I know that if I am joining in a mystery quilt or Block of the Month, I need to be sure that I have the time to complete them.  To satisfy my stitching itch, for 2015 the Quilt Room in Dorking, UK is running a FREE Miniature Block of the Month. Yes, just one miniature block a month.  I think I can manage that.  The blocks are released on the first Monday in the month on their website.  I assume that there will be twelve 4" blocks altogether and they are using a blue and white colour scheme.  To make life easy I am following the same colours using up a Snowman Gatherings Layer Cake that I have.  BTW, we did have a very light covering of snow here this morning ....


Cross Canoes Block - Foundation Piecing

The first block is a Cross Canoes block.  After all the Canoe blocks I have made for my Nearly Insane quilt, it was very familiar.  They are providing the patterns and instructions FREE online and if you are local to the shop in Dorking, they are providing fabric packs and support. 


Foundation Piecing - Cross Canoes Block 

I transferred the pattern into my Electric Quilt software and printed off the foundations papers. I love the sharp finish you get with paper foundation piecing, but I will admit that I find it quite scary, especially the bit when you flip the fabric and discover that you have not sewn it correctly! So far so good.

With the Cross Canoe block completed for January 2015 I feel that I am well on track. 

Joining up with other finishes at Crazy Mom Quilts!