Quilting

Quilt design by Katy Jones in Love Sewing issue 28

This is the design I saw which set me off making the cot bed quilt I am currently working on. You will have seen the top in my last post, here. The layers have all now been pinned together. The backing is a piece of plain calico. I use those bent safety pins. I had to buy a third pack to add to my collection and still ran out! My fingers are still quite sore from sticking the pins into the quilt layers. I do feel that it is well worth the effort since the layers do not get a chance to move.

This photo shows the pinned layers along with a sample of the wallpaper from the baby's bedroom. There is also a wall painted in buttercup yellow, hence the colours chosen for this quilt. The parents seem very happy with it all so far, I'm relieved to say.

Sample square constructed to test out the quilting patterns.

I've also made a small sample to test out the quilting patterns since the stitching will be visible on both sides of the quilt. Beneath, you will see the completed sample fully quilted and the reverse of the same sample.

The sample will be turned into a cushion cover since this may well prove a useful addition to the bedroom chair.

I'm planning to get started with the quilt as soon as I finish writing this entry to my Blog. The parents are planning to come to visit at the beginning of next month, so I don't have much time.......

Still dreaming and stitching

Solar dyeing kits outside my workroom

I eventually got the solar dyeing kits under way. I wrote about my dyeing experiences on that day here. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens to the fabrics. I've used silk fabric, silk thread, cotton organdie, butter muslin and wool slub.

Solar kit labels

You can see the colours I should be able achieve on the packaging shown above. Do get in touch with Helen Melvin if you find yourselves in North Wales. She is an inspirational dyer.

A gift from Japan

My dear husband met up with a Japanese gentleman recently. They worked together on a project in Japan some years ago. He came home with some little gifts for me. I love the little fabric horned sheep. It has a scented sachet inside a slit in the back.

More gifts from Japan

If you look closely, the little scented sachets are tied with little sheep. So sweet.

Woven quilt top under way

There has been sewing. I have been steadily working on this quilt top. It will eventually be a quilt for a cotbed. A first quilt for a new baby. There are borders to add now that I know the size I need to work to.

Lily in the sunshine

It has been so warm lately that getting to work in my workroom has been left until the cooler hours. It leaves me time to daydream amongst the flowers in the garden. I just love the juxtaposition of the colours. How many of us would actually put pink and orange together and yet it works.

Garden flowers

I find myself deciding what projects I need to do and organise the sequence when I daydream these days. I just can't stop my brain working on ideas even when I am physically doing nothing. You've already seen a couple of the projects I fully intend to finish before too long. I showed these in my last post. More hours in each day would certainly be useful.

More projects ready to go.

My dress got finished quite quickly after my last post here, but then had to be washed since it ended up with a mark on the front....... my own clumsiness, I expect. It now hangs in my wardrobe ready to be worn.

Today I spent some time getting some more projects cut out ready for sewing. They have all coem from a couple of magazines I bought recently - both copies of "Love Sewing".

The first is this top, using some shiny fabric I bought on impulse some years ago. It is a soft jersey and should suit this design. It is the first of a couple of jersey tops which I shall be making.

The next is this rather useful looking bag. I do love project bags. A useful gift if not something to use. I can't help feeling that I have rather a lot of bags already. I couldn't resist this one. The fabrics are also from my extensive stash.

This second top can also be found in the new "Great British Sewing Bee" book, "From Stitch to Style". I actually got a copy of the book when I took out a subscription to the magazine. There are some interesting designs in the book alongside the patterns. I'm looking forward to trying some of them out. The BBC website about this programme can be found here.

These are the magazines I've got. I've enjoyed reading them too. You can find out about the magazine here.