Category Archives: patchwork

“I Spy” play mat

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Last week, I pulled a quilt top out of the drawer to finish off . . . having learned that one of my husband’s ex-colleagues had become a Papa to a bouncing baby boy.

This is a quilt I put together using some little printed squares, featuring butterflies, snails, a mole, birds, and lots of other little critters.

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I think it’s perfect for a play mat (or a snuggle quilt) . . . lots of bright colours and lots of details to notice.

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Lots of white, to keep things fresh looking, and a solid turquoise binding.  Quilt measures 39” square.  I hope baby and parents like it.

projects underway for 2017

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2017 is only 10 days old, but I’m feeling quite pleased with progress on a couple of new projects.  I showed you this start

statement flowers

Which now looks like this

statement flowers 01

Lots more black outlines but I also gave into temptation and starting “colouring in” simply because it got quite boring just stitching in black.

A patchwork project that was only in the sketch stage at the end of last year

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Has begun in earnest, with three of the predominately red blocks assembled

Black and red 01

And I’ve just pulled out a quilt top from my box

stripes 02

This was pieced in August, for no specific occasion.  I was just having fun playing around with fabric . . . I am now in the process of quilting and this will be gifted to a baby boy as a playmat. 

And a last photo, to say thank you to Storm – for these lovely decorations.

from Storm

another cushion

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2016 seems to have been the year of lots of cushion cover making.  I buy 16” inserts, therefore making a cushion cover is a lovely, quick, sewing project, and I think they make great gifts.

Here is the latest

for Sean 01

I made this for eldest son’s Christmas and the idea is . . . it will coordinate with the quilt I made him last Christmas. Photo of cushion is taken indoors – quilt photos outdoors but fabric is really purple not blue.

 

X and O fini 03

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Not the same block pattern for cushion but I’ve used the same marbled black and the purple leaves fabric which features on the back of the quilt.

Bagpuss dear Bagpuss, old fat furry catpuss

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Another freebie kit stitched.  Bagpuss, from the August 2002 edition of CrossStitcher magazine.  And finished off as a 16” cushion cover for my daughter, for Christmas.

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I used the embroidery option on my machine, just to date this little project

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With a bright pink cotton back, and pretty buttons, so the cover can be taken off and easily machine washed.

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“Kokeshi–Love & Devotion”

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The other week, I showed you a small finish – a freebie kit from the March 2010 issue of CrossStitcher magazine, by Lucy Heaton. Since then, I played around with fabrics, having lots of bright scraps left over from recent patchwork blocks (for the F2F2 swap).  I simply used bands, making up as I went along until I had a top that measured 17” square.

WIP kokeshi

The kokeshi doll is deliberately off-centre because I see no reason why she has to be dead centre . . . next came some simple quilting

kokeshi cushion 01

and the finish as a 16” square cushion cover

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I’ve used plain pink cotton for the back, and added three wooden buttons

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And this cushion is now already to be wrapped, and gifted to my neighbours’ 6 year old daughter for Christmas.  She always loves to admire my wooden kokeshi collection when she visits.  Now she’ll have her own kokeshi doll, in cross stitch, to go in her bright fushia & white bedroom.

F2F2 swap #Miss December

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Some very vibrant colours for the December blocks, in the F2F swap organised by Kate.  Miss December is Gun, in Sweden who loves bright colours and chose this combination.

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Here are the blocks I made and sent.

F2F2 Dec 01

Balkan Puzzle was my first choice of pattern – I do like the movement in this.

F2F2 Dec 02

For the second block I did some flying geese and found the most gorgeous blue fabric which (I think) looks like a star spangled night sky.

F2F2 Dec 03

And for the third block, I used the pattern Kitty Corner.  My first attempt at having squares at at 45° angle.  I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

Please check out the F2F2 gallery to see what blocks the other participants made.

“tickled pink”

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I am having a happy dance, and feeling tickled pink . . . because not only have I just finished a small quilt that had been dragging on for 12 months, but it’s a Christmas present,  therefore something to tick off my list.

tickled pink 01

This quilt measures 44” x 42” and was made using a Moda charm pack “Bandana” and solid white.  I started it in December of last year, over optimistically thinking I’d get it finished in time for Christmas 2015 . . . One year later, however, and it’s ready for Christmas 2016.

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I’ve called it “tickled pink” because there is rather a lot of pink in this quilt,

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but also because I really was feeling tickled pink as this finally came to a finish.

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It will be gifted to my 15 year old niece, and will probably clash horribly with everything in her bedroom lol, but I don’t care!  I love sewing with bright fabrics, and I’m pretty sure niece will forgive me for my choice of fabrics/colours  for this quilt simply because Auntie Claire made it with love.