Sun & Sea quilt finished

I have just finished my sunshine and sea quilt that I started just after I came back from Australia… and I am really pleased with how it turned out. I keep looking at it and smiling. It reminds me so much of the fun time we spent at the beach, when the sun was shining and the water was warm. On this cold and over cast Portland day it reminds me that sun does shine, somewhere! Summer is not going to come quick enough for me.

The overcast day does have one advantage – it is great for taking photos (as long as it is not raining!). Okay, enough about the weather… moving on.

With this quilt I have been struck by how a quilt pattern can change when you sew the whole quilt together. I rarely map or sketch out the finished quilt. I really like to just see where it all takes me, for better or for worse. So I started the process with an easy block that looked like this.

The pattern in the block is like a simple star with four points. I mirrored the block pieces to give it a more interesting effect. When I look at the quilt now I struggle to find the stars, all I see is a pin wheel. The original pattern is in there, I just have to search a little harder for it.

This quilt was really quick and simple to make but the interesting part came when I was sewing it all together. There are sections of the quilt where 12 block pieces meet which causes a little bit of bulking, even with sewing seams flat.

To help with the bulking I chose quilting that would go through and around the center of this join. In having so much quilting through the bulk it helped flatten and strengthen this area. It also made for a lovely pattern of quilting.

A pieced back and scrappy orange binding finishes the whole thing off.

I must admit it had been a month or so since I had hand stitched the binding on a quilt and in that time I seem to have forgotten how to do it. The stitches at the start are a little big and a little rough, but by half way through the process I was back to invisible stitches. I was tempted to unpick it all but decided to leave it be. Looking at the small section where the hand stitching is visible reminds me that the quilt is hand-made and that a lot of effort has gone into the finished product.

22Mar2013

Loud, bright and fun… the quilt

Posted in Finished Quilts, Quilts, Scrap quilts by wombatquilts

.. and the nephew. When I was back in Australia I took the opportunity to photograph the quilt I made my nephew last year. I finished the quilt just before I started blogging and forgot to photograph it before I sent it on its way. Better late than never right….

This pattern was an out-and-out steal/borrow from a “do good stitches” quilt posted on Blue Elephant’s site. I fell in love with the pattern immediately and thought it would be great for my nephew. The block is simple and the directions are easy and clear – its foundation is a 16 piece block of rainbow colours. If you are interested in the pattern check out the above link for all the great instruction straight from the source.

For the back of the quilt I used some of the extra blocks I had. I usually have blocks left over because I make more than I need so that I have choices when I am putting the finished quilt together.

This quilt replaced a baby quilt I made for my sister about 12 years ago. I actually made the quilt without knowing that my sister was pregnant or what sex the baby would be. All I knew was I was heading out on an adventure and I did not know when I would be able to quilt again. This is the much-loved, much washed old quilt.

Photographing these quilts involved more time and effort than usual as there was much misbehaving, silliness and photo-bombing going on.

In amongst the crazy I did manage to get a photo of Miss Banana and her new quilt.

What I did not manage to photograph was the hilarious sight of my 6ft tall husband walking around Portland Airport with a pink and yellow quilt sticking out of his backpack. It is a sight I will not forget in a hurry.

27Feb2013

Granny Square Quilt…. wip Wednesday

Posted in Scrap quilts, WIP Wednesday by wombatquilts

A little while ago I discovered the wonderful Granny Square quilt on Blue Elephants site. It was love at first sight. Using the tutorial on the site (they now has two different ways to make this quilt up) I started making my own Granny squares for one of my friends who has been waiting patiently for a quilt from me for year. I cut lots of 3 inch squares, played with the colour combinations and started making blocks..

I have made about 17 blocks so far and I have either 3 or 13 more blocks to go. I have not decided how big I want the quilt to be. Whatever the size of the finished quilt, I know I will have to get it basted somewhere other than my house. My quilts are usually for kids and are usually not much bigger than 60 inches wide. I do not have the floor space to baste anything bigger really. Luckily I have a quilting partner in crime who has more floor space at her place (heads up Lisa).

Anyway working on these blocks this week it made me think about using some of the spare 5 inch squares I had lying around to make a BIG version of this quilt. So yesterday I threw together this quick and simple quilt top for Project Linus.

The quilt top is currently 47 x 47 inches, just the right size for a little kid. I think there will be more of these in my future, it was just way to easy to make.

Now back to the smaller blocks… I keep missing my deadline to have this quilt finished. I am now promising delivery by August… just in time for a birthday, hopefully.

15Feb2013

Green & Grey finished

Posted in Finished Quilts, Quilts, Scrap quilts by wombatquilts

I finally finished the binding on my green and grey quilt yesterday.

The quilt did not quite turn out like I envisioned it but I am pleased with the results none the less. When I started making the blocks I thought there might be more stronger contrast between the grey and green so you could clearly see the pattern of the star, but alas it was not meant to be. Instead I think I have a quilt that you have to search harder to find the repeating pattern, making the whole thing more interesting. The finished quilt is 48 inches by 48 inches, just the right size for a kids quilt if you ask me!

If you are interested in the start of the process for me, and links to the pattern you can find my older post here.

At the end of the process I had an extra block (my maths is not what it used to be) so I decided to use it on the back.

I played with a couple of different bindings (scrappy, grey and green) and settled on using a Kona solid I had in my stash. I continue to be amazed at how something as simple as a binding choice can radically change how your finished quilt looks. The solid bright green just gave the quilt an extra pop.

It would be interesting to hear what you think of the finished quilt. Does it work for you or is it too muddy? I really value the opinion of my fellow quilters/artists out there.

8Feb2013

Postage Stamp quilt finished

Posted in Finished Quilts, Quilts, Scrap quilts by wombatquilts

I finally finished the postage stamp quilt…

In the end I think it was worth the madness…. though I did not make the quilt as big as I originally planned. I love the brightness and variety in this quilt. Some kid is hopefully going to love exploring all the different fabric. If you are interested in my process and a pattern link you can check out my previous post here.

Because the quilt was so busy I went with simple straight line quilting and a backing of just one fabric piece.

I am busily trying to get some more of my quilts finished, as our chapter of Project Linus has had a huge call on blankets in the last week. A local school, Crestline Elementary in Vancouver WA, burned to the ground and Project Linus is delivering 500 blankets/quilts to the kids this week. The kids affected are aged between 5 to 10 years old so the call is out to replenish our kids blanket/quilt stocks. The sewing machine will be going full pelt this weekend.

Happy quilting.