Karli's Quilt - WIP (1)

'Willow by Mind's Eye for Riley Blake Jelly Roll'

It was such a treat unpacking these fabrics.  Cutting hardly took any time at all and that is an absolute bonus using pre-cut fabrics.

The layout design for the quilt I'm making could not be simpler.  Most of the pieced blocks are based on the log cabin block, using a 2½ square in the middle and framing it with a contrasting print/colour and repeating it one more time again with either dark or light prints.  This design is perfect for using jelly rolls.  

So I decided to start off with block 'A', there are a total of 10 I had to make and before I knew it I had all the blocks done.

Block 'A' - One of 10 

Then I moved on to making block 'D'.  There should be a total of 40 blocks, I am going to make 20 blocks using dark print fabric in the center and light on the outside, and the other 20 just the opposite.  

Chain piecing is a huge time saver, the only thing I have to keep in mind is when I take the strip of pieced blocks to the ironing board, to cut and press exactly the same as I've run them through the machine, and not to mix them up to not confuse myself when piecing the other sides.  It works like a charm :-)

Block 'D' - Making 40

I should be done with making all the blocks for block 'D' before the weekend.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

Happy quilting.

Karli's Quilt - WIP

I love using pre-cut fabrics, except for cutting time that is halved, I love that the fabrics already match and that the difficulty having to choose fabrics that works well together is completely eliminated.   

I've made a few quilts using jelly rolls and charm packs and if they were more readily available here in South Africa I'm certain I would use it most of the time. 

'Willow by Mind's Eye for Riley Blake Jelly Roll'

I'm going to make a baby quilt for a friend, they are expecting their first baby and Karli is due in September.  They are so lucky to have a name picked out already.  The night before Kayleigh was born, we still had a list of about 8 names to choose from, and in the end we decided on a completely different name, one that wasn't even on the list, LOL  

She ordered these fabrics all the way from the US from Missouri Star Quilt Co and she has entrusted me to make her something really special..

Isn't it beautiful?  I cant wait to start!

I will keep you updated on the progress...

Happy quilting.

Diamond block, -the way its intended UPDATE

If you go back to my previous post "Diamond block -the way its intended" you'll see what a mess I've made of a block which should be so simple.  I completely went at it all wrong, and I'm so glad I went back to change it.

Here is a sneak peak of my quilt.  I've finished basting it this afternoon, and I will start quilting tomorrow.

Happy quilting

Diamond Block, -the way its intended

A couple of days ago I posted that I needed help with a quilt I was planning, you can read up on it here.  

HUGE FLOP..

But  when I looked closely to my original block (right), I realized it didn't look one bit like the one I intended on making in the first place.  Why would I want to complicate something that is already done, and which I liked enough to make.

Diamond HST Block

Because of silly pour planning, I started out all wrong, so after looking at the block (left) again, and comparing it with mine, I noticed that my purple block did not even 'match' the one shown in the picture.  So I drew out the block on a piece of paper, numbering the fabric, and went from there.  I should have done it in the first place, as the tutorial called for 4 different types of fabric, I wanted it like the picture, using 9.

Now the center block, is purple all round with the green around it.  Exactly the way it should have been.  At least now, the block makes sense, right?

After I was happy with the result I carried on piecing all the little half square triangles.  I've linked up the video tutorial I used to make them at the end of this post, be sure to check it out, it's very simple to do.

So after cutting, piecing and pressing the seems open, which comes to a total of 160 small half square blocks (excluding the 2 finished blocks I already made) I decided to carry on tomorrow.

Happy quilting.

I'm stuck and need help!

This morning I was looking at some videos on the web, specifically easy ways to construct pinwheels...  

So I had a look at this video on how to make fast and easy pinwheels.  Which was very easy to follow and so simple to do

But instead of ending up with your basic pinwheel, I wanted a completely different look, and searched the web again and found a tutorial for this diamond block.  

I used 3 purple, 3 green and 4 cream printed fabrics.  But once I started playing around with the placement of the blocks I came up with so many different settings that now I am completely stuck, and I don't know what to do.

I took pictures of the different block setting, and copied them next to each other to see what it will look like, and to get an idea of how they will fit and how the 'movement' of the blocks would be, but now I cant decide which looks best...

With this placement, I had to add quite a few blocks to see the effect.

I really need some input, and I realize its all about personal preference, but this time, I just don't know.........?

Happy quilting

 

Back at it... high time!

These past few months have been a huge test and struggle.  Things was so out of my control and I had no sense of what I needed to do, to make my life worth while again.  Its amazing how when you're at your lowest how your people can help you on your way, and show you life does go on.  You just have to pick yourself up and try and move away from that which hurt the most, to see that every dark cloud DOES have a silver lining...

So I got back into my sewing room.  Since I have not sewn a single stitch in over 4 months I realized how much I missed it, and how much I enjoy it!

I made this dresden plate wall hanging using Moda's Autumn Breeze and sewn the plates to a plain white background... Not sure how it happened, I cut the 'petals' all the same size, but one plate has 19 and the other 2 has 20 petals... weird :-)

But it all worked out fine...

I can't wait to start something new.
Happy quilting.

  

Trapunto Quilting

Winter is here, and getting colder by the day.  So making time for sewing/quilting is hard, especially early mornings and evenings.  So I wait till the sun is warming up my little sewing space before I even think of doing any quilting.  


I would sit behind my laptop having few too many cups of coffee searching for ideas on the internet.  It's a wonderful source of information, especially since every thing I've learnt and learning still comes from this huge library.  So I was looking at trapunto quilting, how to and ideas.


So I thought of trying it and decided to do a small or rather medium quilt using circles.  

I used paisley FMQ design

Piecing this quilt was fast, simple and very quick.  I used scraps fabric for the circles.  I love how they 'pop' and it gives the quilt so much texture.  I'm about halfway done, and cant wait to bind it.  I plan on (if it comes out looking good) to put this on Kayleigh's wall.

Back of quilt

 Happy quilting.

Desperate Housewifes Quilt

I came across Desperate Housewifes Quilt from Quilt Jane's blog with some beautiful block designs, here are only a few examples:

Flower Power

Salt 'n Pepper

Beans

So far there are 48 blocks, and guest bloggers get a chance to add their own blocks too, have a look!  So much talent, so much to do, so little time.....

Happy quilting

Eight more to go...

This block is based on the 'snow ball block', measuring 16½ by 16½ inches.

Its basically 4 blocks sewn together to make up one large block using 2½ inch print/colour strips and 3½ inch squares of white fabric.

I still have 8 blocks to go, from there I will decide on the borders.

Thanks for popping by.

Happy quilting.

Jelly Sandwich - Finished

My Jelly Sandwich Quilt is done at last, measuring 48½ by 54 inches.  The pattern is from Me and my sister designs.

I chose stippling to quilt it.  I guess its because I feel safe using stippling since I had a lot of practice and I feel confident doing it.  I am very happy with the result, there was not one pucker at the back of my quilt, which is the 1st for me.

I should really invest in a better camera, as soon as I try and make the pictures a bit larger, the images is blurred, so these will have to do, enjoy ♥

I'm already planning my next quilt, and as soon as I have my 1st block done, I'll share it with you.

Thanks for popping in.

Happy quilting.