Oakshott Quilt ** Finish! **

The first finish of the year! The Oakshott quilt that was started almost a year ago. 

Quite a while ago I won a £100 gift certificate to spend at Oakshott and was able to get quite a range of fabrics with it (See here). My mum and I needed a new challenge so we decided to share the fabric and make joint quilts. We each made a starting block and then sent it to the other to have it added to. I guess a bit like a round robin type quilt, only we didn't restrict ourselves to what could be added. 

The two starting blocks (mine on the right, mums on the left):

We continued to send them backwards and forwards until we decided it was the perfect size (or maybe we'd had enough by then!).

The end pieces (mums on the top, mine on the bottom):

 

I decided mine needed to be heavily quilted. So I selected matching threads and did lots of different free motion quilting patterns.

I took lots of pictures of the quilting, because I really liked how it turned out! :) The back looks pretty good too.

And the final piece front and back:

The front

The back

I don't have a picture of my mum's finished quilt (yet!). We are now trying to decided on our next challenge for each other. Watch this space.

This was on my list of WIPs to get finished this year, and one of my goals for the Finish Along (here).

Stats:

No Pattern.

Fabrics: Oakshott Cottons.
Quilted: Free Motion quilting by me using a variety of cottons.
Started: Apr 2015
Finished: Mar 2016
Size: 25" x 24"

Finish Along - Q2

I made some progress on my list of things to complete this year. But nothing to cross off yet! So my list for this quarter is the same as last quarter but some are much closer to being finished.

1. Friends for Christmas wall hanging - just needs the last few bits of embellishment.

2. Plus Quilt - still needs quilting

3. Double 9 patch quilt - still needs quilting

4. Doctor Who quilt - needs the back completing and quilting

5. Simply Colourful quilt - still needs a plan!

6. Oakshott Challenge quilt - this one is actually finished but waiting some pictures

7. More Simply Colourful II - Made progress on this one, but this is the best picture! 

8. Old Romance Cardigan - still plodding on with this one

So it's still quite a list! Hopefully this quarter will see more progress!

Linking up with the Finish-A-long with She Can Quilt.

Rope Bowls

I had been watching lots of rope bowls appear on Instagram and eventually found some cotton rope at my local DIY store.

I searched for some tutorials. I am not one to just jump in without checking out how to do these things! The tutorial I used was this one at Flossie Teacakes. 

They really are not very difficult to make and do not take very long either. This was my first bowl. 

I used a variegated purple thread in the middle. I am not too keen on the shape of this one. I think the base was not large enough and so the sides ended up too steep. But it holds my wool very nicely, so that's ok.

I changed it up a bit of the next bowl. I wrapped the rope with some fabrics before sewing it together. I used my favourite comma fabrics, but really anything could be used because you can't really tell what the fabrics are.

The base is much bigger on this one and so the sides are not so steep or high. I am liking this one much more. The next thing to address is finishing the end. of the rope. I wrapped the end of this one in fabric and stitched it down. I have seen other bowls which much nicer finishing. Oh dear, I shall have to make another one! :)

They are such fun to make, and would make excellent gifts. I see more in my future!

2016 quilting goals!

Hello there, it's been a while, but I'm trying to get back to this again! Wishing everyone a Happy New year, hope 2016 is a good one.

I worked on plenty of things last year but only managed to actually finish 3 quilts, one of which was a small one! So this year my focus is to finish some WIPs. I have no doubt that other things will creep in here and there, like they do, but the focus is finishing not starting! 

I'm just going to list all my WIPs that need attention and hope that the list gets short as the months go by. College has started up again so I am not going to aim too high until after April. But after April my college days will be over (yay!) and I will have more time to sew again (until I get a proper job anyway!) :)

So in no particular order:

1. Friends for Christmas wall hanging 
This is so very nearly finished which is a good job as it's been about 7 years in the making! I just have the binding to sew down and some embellishments. Can't possibly leave them all with no eyes! 

2. Plus Quilt
It is basted and ready for quilting.

3. Double 9 patch quilt
This is a quilt that I started over 5 years ago for my now 7 year old daughter. It's not really my choice of fabrics anymore but it needs to be finished. Another one that is basted and ready for quilting.

4. Doctor Who quilt
The blocks are made. I started making some words to add around the blocks to make it a reasonable size. So the words need finishing and a back needs piecing. There is a plan it just needs putting into action. Deadline October!

5. Simply Colourful quilt
I pieced this one using just a Simply Colourful charm pack and Kona solid. It was one of those days where I just had to sew and do something new (see here). I then had intentions to extend it using another charm pack from the Simply Colourful II range (blues, greens and purples). But now I am not sure, that requires a decision at some point!

6. Oakshott Challenge quilt
My mum and I have been using some Oakshott Cottons to make joint mini quilts. We both started with a block and then sent the piece to the other to add a section to it, we continued doing this until we were running out of motivation and fabrics! So now I have the front finished. It needs a back and some quilting inspiration. Mine on the left, mums on the right.

 

7. More Simply Colourful II
Ok, so this one is not technically a WIP yet as I haven't actually started, but it is on the cutting board waiting, so it counts right!? I want to use these 3 gorgeous layer cakes to make a round and round quilt.

8. Old Romance Cardigan
This poor cardigan has been taken apart and restarted several times over the last year and a half, but hopefully I am on the finishing stretch now. I just have to knit down the back to the length that I want and finish of the cuffs and collar. How hard can that be!?!

There are probably more WIPs hiding in the cupboard but for now if I can complete this list before the year is out (giving myself plenty of time there!) I would be happy.

Linking up with the Finish-A-long with She Can Quilt.

A Plus Quilt

A few weeks ago I pulled out my Denise Schmidt Florence collection to make a plus quilt. There are a few other fabrics in this photo that aren't from the collection but initially I wanted some more light colours.

I kind of had it in my mind to have a colour gradation from light to dark. However, after much moving of fabric around I decided it wasn't working. I guess partly because there are so many colours in this collection and I just wasn't feeling it. So abandoned my initial idea before I lost complete interest in the entire project!

I added some solid colours and split the collection by colour and tried again. The arrangement I ended up with is this:

I rarely buy large quantities of a fabric unless it has a specific purpose. So not having anything large enough for a backing I created one using the same fabrics. These pluses are larger than the ones on the front, and finished at 12 inches rather than 9 inches. I only just had enough of the Kona Ash (I think it's ash!) to complete it!

I am liking the back more than the front now! Possibly because it is simpler, less busy than the front.

It's now basted and patiently waiting for me to quilt it! I think I might have just enough of the aurifil 4670 to quilt it. However, I have now hit my usual problem of how should I quilt it! So it will no doubt sit for a while until I can decide on a design or the deadline will get so close that I am forced to get on with it! 

Charm Packs

There are just so many adorable fabric collections around! But without the space to store, the time to use and certainly not the cash to buy complete sets I often opt for a charm pack. So I have a shelf of charm packs that I find hard to use - saving for something special! Ha! So I decided last week I was going to use one.

So my challenge was to use a charm pack and just add some kona white, since that's usually one of the only fabrics I have more than a fat quarter of in my stash! 

This is my latest favourite V and Co's Simply Colorful! I love them all! Just look at those adorable oranges, reds and yellows! 

There are only 30 different fabrics in the range but there are 42 squares, so there are a few duplicates. Because of this I decided to make some pinwheels by simply combining 2 different fabrics. Before long I had a small collection:

The selection of duplicate prints determined the amount of pinwheels I could make and the colours. I ended up with just 2 yellow, 4 orange and 3 red. But several charms remained so I added some smaller pinwheels and simple squares to make a block 12" x 10" (yellow and red) and 10" x 8" (orange).

I continued until every single charm was used and not a scrap of coloured fabric was left. No waste at all!! Yay! It's not a particularly useful size at 41" x 39". I guess I could have added larger borders. The final quilt top looks like this. 

I am now longing more yardage of many of these prints. They are so lovely, colourful and happy! And lets not even mention the impending arrival of the second collection - Simpy Colorful II in blue, purple, and green! I really might need some yardage of those! And have you seen the Ombre collection to be released early next year? That really is a must!!

Anyway, for now my top is done. Now back to some of the other things that I should be focusing on rather than starting something new!

Linking up to The Needle and Thread Network and Freshly Pieced.

Pyjama shorts

These pyjama shorts whipped up in about 2 hours, once I had found the pattern! I have made them several times before, so I guess that helps. And they are forgiving too, when fudging the measurements!


I changed a couple things because I was running short on the ball fabric. So I added the waistband in orange. I also added cuffs as when I put them on the boy, they were plenty big enough but given he seems to be on a growth spurt, they would be too short in now time. So this way they are a bit long now, but should (hopefully) last longer!

I finished them at 8.35pm and he was very pleased to wear them to bed!

So now, of course, I have to whip up another 2 pairs for the girls. Trouble is, I didn't find the pattern for them which is a bit annoying. I might get away with the boy pattern for the 6 year old girl but not sure the style will fit the 11 year old girl so well.

I found some white knit fabric that made some excellent vest style shirts to go with the shorts. Since plain white is not much fun, we decided to tie dye them and some other shirts we found. They turned out quite good!

The shorts were one of my goals for Q3 in the Finish Along!

Finish Along - Q3 Goals

Wow, Quarter 3 of the Finish Along!

I lost my sewing mojo around the middle of the last quarter so I did not manage to complete much of my list. But the last couple of weeks I have at least made it into my sewing area, if only to look at the fabrics! I am hoping that making this list will help get me back to it. So to start me off I am going to start a new project rather than focus on a WIP.

1. Plus Quilt
I want to make a plus quilt for some friends of ours. In my mind I see a gradation from dark to light, but with a little randomness mixed in. I have a collection of Denyse Schmidt to use, and a couple of lighter fabrics added. This will hopefully be a start and finish project!

2. Who Quilt
I really would like to get this quilt finished, ideally before the end of the summer! I am stumbling with the sashing though. I have the fabric all ready to go. The blocks range in size from 11.5" to 12.5" square, basically because I didn't check the scaling when I printed the patterns! Oops! I don't want to highlight the differences so kind of want a random layout and different sized sashing, but this is proving tricky in the planning.

3. Boy Shorts
These really shouldn't take me long to complete. It would be good to do it before the cold weather hits and he doesn't want to wear them! These are the bright fabrics, the zip is obviously not needed for this project! 

4. Old Romance Cardigan
This has been in the working for about a year now so I really would like to finish it. I have made some progress but it still needs a good few inches in length!

A short list, but maybe manageable this time!?