first quilt of the year ... finished!

I think it's always good to finish a project reasonably close to when you started it ... in this case, just a week or so, which is almost a record for me. To be fair, I think the big squares made it pretty easy!

As I mentioned last week, I needed to sew the binding on to my quilted patchwork of Yardage Design fabrics. Possibly my least favourite job, but worth the effort in the end ~ I think the red really sets the other fabrics off beautifully.

Lots of Yardage Design fabric packs (mixes of three or four designs and colourways) are available in the shop at the moment if you fancy making a quilt like this yourself.
There is also a new SALE section of the shop with discounted and discontinued fabrics and homewares ~ be quick and snag a bargain!

More Thursday creativity here.

first quilt of the year

This week, I've been working on my first quilt of the year ~ is it just me, or are the months flying past! I have been wanting to make a patchwork quilt from my own fabrics for ages, so lots of large squares were cut and sewn ...

I used curved basting pins for the first time with this one ~ in the past I've just used normal pins which invariably come out during the sewing. It's been quilted (I stitched in the ditch for the first time too), but now needs the edges trimmed before some contrast bias binding is sewn on ~ I'm thinking red ~ naturally! I'll be back soon with the finished product.

More creativity here, each and every Thursday.

a quilt for riley

Those of you who dally over at the Yardage Design facebook page might have already read that over the weekend I was making a quilt for a new baby boy - Riley. I'm pleased to say that I started this quilt on Saturday and finished it late last night. It's exactly how I wanted it to be - bright, simple and fun ...

All of the bright fabrics and the binding came from the stash, and I backed it in Yardage Design "Circa" fabric in deep red - I love the combination! The final size of the quilt is about 110cm x110cm - perfect for tummy time on the floor!

Have a great Monday!

quilt candy

This morning I visited the Craft & Quilt Fair which is on this weekend in Melbourne. Aside from all of the fabric and supplies you can stock up on, there is an amazing exhibition of quilts on display adjacent to the main area of the fair. I only had my little happy-snapper camera with me, but there were some lovely quilt ideas and designs that caught my eye ...

If you're planning to visit the fair, my advice would be to go early or late if you can - I was there around late morning and it was very busy. Also, don't forget to stop in and see Nicole and Brianna at Nicole Mallalieu Design and get her new A-line skirt pattern (this was first on my list of things to do today!).

Have a lovely weekend!

quilt two ~ a bedrunner ...

My second quilt project has been a surprise gift for a friend ... a simple bedrunner (a purely decorative item for the foot of the bed - totally useless, but pretty!) ...

I sketched out my design idea after googling bedrunners for some standard dimensions (this one is 60cm x 230cm for a queen bed). I matched Yardage Design Agapanthus fabric (in purple) with two shades of plain purple fabric from Patchwork on Central Park. It's a basic block and stripe configuration, not too densely quilted.

I made my own bias binding and backed the bedrunner in the dark purple fabric.

So, once it was finished, I wrapped it up a little bit fancy ...

... and gifted it to my friend who already has an Agapanthus cushion on her bed ...

It's lovely to make things for other people for no reason, don't you think?
More creativity over at Kootoyoo.

progress ...

My second quilt is progressing. Today, I am quilting the layers together with the help of a quilting bar. I've never used one of these before, but it's been a brilliant guide, and it's been sitting in my accessories box this whole time!

Hope your day is productive too!

my new favourite sewing tool ...

My new favourite sewing tool is batting seam tape that I found at the Australasian Quilt Convention yesterday. It's the answer to perfectly joining up bits of batting, instead of buying new whole pieces (or trying to sew them together like I have done in the past - it doesn't work).

Just cut straight edges on two pieces of batting and place them side by side as close as possible. Cut a piece of batting seam tape to length and then iron it across the join. A perfectly stable, flat join. Love!

Being a relative newbie to quilting, I'm sure most of you knew about this product, but for me it was a super find - no more piles of odd ends of batting - they can all be used. This business was where I bought it at the convention yesterday, but it may be available at other places.

Have a lovely Sunday.