Cross Stitch Sparkle quilt

Posted in Finished Quilts by wombatquilts

This week I managed to finish up another quilt… my Cross Stitch Sparkle quilt finally got quilted and bound….it only took 30 weeks and a friggin ton of half square triangles!

This quilt started last year when I agreed to test a quilt pattern for Sara at Knotty Gnome. I love to challenge myself and I had never done anything with half square triangles before so I jumped in feet first. Each block is 18 inches square and I thought I could make a little baby quilt. My original top finish was four blocks by four blocks.

But…in a moment of crazy a month or so ago… I thought I would make the quilt bigger and added an additional 5 blocks! I had just cut a whole pile of 4 inch solid squares so I thought why not use some of them.

Actually I love this size quilt…I think you really get a great sense of the pattern with the extra blocks added.

I used so many different warm and cool solids in this quilt. I know I have tons of Kona and Michael Miller Cotton Couture as well as Moda and a sprinkling of American Made in there. Basically any appropriate solids I had in my scrap bin went into this thing.

I quilted the top using straight lines on my home machine. For some reason I did not want to quilt it too densely and straight lines echoing the grey center square seemed to be the thing to do.

For the backing I used part of an IKEA duvet cover I had in my stash… it was the perfect back for this crazy colourful quilt.

Finally I hand bound the quilt using scraps of different greys. The grey was the perfect way to frame the quilt and contain the colour explosion.

Quilt Details

Pattern: X stitch Sparkle by Knotty Gnome
Fabric: Various solids
Quilt Size: 55 inch x 55 inches

6Apr2015

Pink is the new….

Posted in Paper Piecing Monday by wombatquilts

Another Pink themed Paper Piecing Monday…

Today’s block is the last one for my baby quilt. It is another EQ inspired block that I turned into a paper pieced pattern. You can find the free PDF pattern for this 12 inch block here…Pinwheel Snowball

Now that I have completed four of these blocks, I have been playing with the layout for the baby quilt. For the first time I had a plan for my paper piecing Monday blocks before I started making them…

I knew I wanted to make the most of the scrappy black and white background fabric so I cut a stack of 6 1/2 inch square blocks from my b/w stash and started playing with the layout.

I have a bit more rearranging to do with the blocks, but I am close to being happy with the layout. My hope is to have the top done by Friday…weather permitting!

3Apr2015

Back on track….

Posted in Finished Quilts by wombatquilts

So I am not sure if any of you noticed…but I have been very slack in my posting lately. I have managed to keep my Paper Piecing Monday posts happening but everything else has just fallen by the wayside.

Bad bad me. Last week I was teaching all week and found that my creativity was completely absent. I have been a little out of kilter for a couple of months now and I am slowly getting my mojo back….and here is the proof.

Yesterday I had a blast using the new Bernina long arm machine at my LQS (local quilt store), Modern Domestic. Up until yesterday I had never done a whole quilt by myself, and I was so excited by how much fun I had. I did an all over squares and boxes pattern which seem to come very naturally to me (that means I did not quilt myself into a corner once!).

The quilt was one of my unfinished Do Good Stitches quilts… and I love the scrappy feel to it all. If you are interested in the pattern we used, you can find the link on my original post here…

I did a simple solid back and a wide navy binding to finish it all off. In a couple of weeks I am going to go back and give it all another go with one of my other unfinished Do Good quilt tops. I may branch out and try something loopy!

I have a long way to go before I master this long arm free motion thingy but I am pleased with the results of my first step. I must admit I am now hankering for some straight stitch quilting on my home machine, so I may baste up some more quilts this weekend. I had forgotten how satisfying it is to actually finish something up.

30Mar2015

Pretty in Pink

Posted in Paper Piecing Monday by wombatquilts

I am running a little late today…sorry but it is still Monday in the US so I am still within the set parameters of Paper Piecing MONDAY! So here goes…

I ummed and ahhed about making the center of the block black and white or pink. A pink center give the blocks a cool star at its center but I liked how the black and white highlighted the pennant like section of the block.

The free pattern for this 12 inch block can be found here….Pink ball 3.

I will have four blocks done next week which will allow me to start playing with the layout of the quilt top. I promise to include some wip photos of all the blocks next week.

23Mar2015

Tickled Pink….

Posted in Paper Piecing Monday by wombatquilts

This weeks Paper Piecing Monday block is the second in my snowball series….

I am loving the shape of these blocks and I must admit I may do more than I originally scheduled… this block is adapted from a pattern that came with my EQ program. It has quite a few little bits, and takes 80 fabric scraps to make!