cotton and steel fabric | WOMBAT QUILTS

This week I managed to finish up my Cotton and Steel Economy block quilt…and I am very pleased with myself.

cotton steel economy block quilt

You see I signed this week for the 2nd Quarter of the 2016 Finish Along and I am determined to get more done than I did last quarter. I am finding having a bit of accountability in my quilting a good thing… it really is making me conscious of finishing things up instead of just adding them to the large pile of works in progress.

cs quilt detail

This quilt is such a fun one to start with. I really had a blast fussy cutting up my Cotton and Steel stash. I had been collecting bits and pieces of the C&S since the line first came out but it was not until I started this project that I realized how well it all works together.

economy block detail

I have used prints from just about every Cotton & Steel line (including some of their new Garland line which has just come out).

quilt detail 2

And definitely have a piece of fabric for all the Cotton & Steel designers. I must admit for a brief little bit I was thinking that I might hold onto the blocks and wait till the next line comes out and add more to the quilt, but in the spirit of getting things finished, I just put what I had together and called it good.

quilt detail

I kept the quilting simple… lots of straightish lines using the lines in the block as the guide for my walking foot.

cotton steel quilt detail

For the back of the quilt I used some larger pieces of my stash…

quilt back

And to finish it all off I used a navy blue scrappy binding…

binding

So my first finish of quarter two is done and dusted…. now to get another quilt out of my WIP pile and finish it up. I am highly motivated at the moment…I just hope it lasts.

Quilt Details:

Name: A Cotton and Steel Economy
Pattern: 7 1/2 inch Economy blocks
Fabric: Cotton & Steel collections
Finished size: 45 x 60 inches

I have recently become slightly obsessed with quilted cushions. It all began when I started making class sample for Modern Domestic (my local quilt shop)…and it has not stopped yet.

After making my tiny Economy block mini quilt I wanted to do a bigger version of the block, just for fun. Using a 5 inch block I made this easy cushion in no time…

I used more of my Cotton and Steel stash and just loved fussy cutting the little bunnies in particular…they are so darling. What I love about the Economy block is it is so easy to pick three colours – with this pillow it was pink, navy and yellow… and just go.

Your colourway guides your fabric choices as you rummage through your scraps and stash. As I was pulling fabric I made sure I had a variety of tones – lights and darks in the three colours. The rest is as easy…make the blocks and sew them together. Because you have a coherent colour scheme you can lay out the blocks randomly and get beautiful results.

The cushion top took twenty 5 inch blocks or if you are more adventurous you can do a baby quilt with just sixty three (63) blocks..

This cushion gave me my first opportunity to test out the walking foot on the Bernina 550… and oh what fun it was…

It was so easy to attach the foot (unlike my old machine which involved screw drivers and painters tape!) and the sewing was a breeze. I can not wait to try a bigger quilt with this foot. Hopefully next week I will have quilt done and dusted!