Saturday 17 January 2015

Herringbone Quilt and Fabric Giveaway


Being a mum of young boys with not much time to sew I recently started using a number of quilt-as-you go techniques when I was in need of a quick quilt. I must say one of my all time favourites is Maureen Cracknell's Herringbone quilt. You can find the brilliant tutorial here. This is  super quick project for a decent size quilt that uses long batting panels and 2.5 inch strips.

I am always making quilts for others and wanted something for me this time to sit with on the couch of an evening. I had a beautiful set of fat quarters from Tanya Whelan's Dolce collection on hand that was begging to be used.


Given the brightness and busyness of these fabrics I decided to bind with a simple black and white stripe which I think finished the quilt of beautifully.


My beautiful quilt made over the weekend now sits on my couch ready for me to snuggle under each night and I love it !!

To celebrate my quilt finish and thank the wonderful Maureen Cracknell for her great tutorial I'm teaming up with my sponsor the Fat Quarter Shop to give away FOURTEEN prints of fat quarter cuts of Maureen Cracknell's latest range "Wild and Free. " Isn't it just amazing !!!

http://www.fatquartershop.com/wild-and-free-fat-quarter-bundle


GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

1. To be in the draw simply leave a comment on this post (one entry). I'd love to know what you would make with this gorgeous bundle.

2. My followers get a second entry. If you follow me on Instagram just let me know by making a separate comment to record that entry (optional extra entry).

That's 2 possible entries. The draw will take place at 8pm (Australia - EDT) on Sunday 18 January 2015, and the winner picked at Random. The winner will be announced by edit to this blog post and will also be contacted by email.

* Note * This giveaway is open to EVERYONE. If you are a no reply or anonymous commenter, please remember to include your email address in your comment !

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GIVEAWAY HAS NOW CLOSED
 
Thank you to everyone who entered the Giveaway !! Mr Random says the lucky winner is....
 
Comment #60
 
 
 
Congratulations Kathy !! Kathy has been contacted by email.
 
http://www.fatquartershop.com/

The Fat Quarter Shop, founded in 2003 by Kimberly Jolly,  brings you the best selection of Fat Quarter bundles but also yardage, pre-cuts, notions, patterns, books, BOMs and more.

 
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We hope you enjoy visiting the Fat Quarter Shop's sites!!

Till next time....happy sewing....

xx Jenny

Thursday 15 January 2015

6 Steps to create the perfect baby clothes quilt

I have had so much interest in my baby clothes quilts I thought I'd put together a brief guide on how to make one for yourself. This will show you how to make a baby clothes quilt with a squares design.

Step 1 - Cut your baby clothes in 6 1/2 inch squares and interface to stabilise


The first step is to get your baby clothes and lay them out to find the most interesting pieces. I use my 6 1/2 inch ruler and rotating cutting mat to find my favourite feature and cut out my square. I look for writing, embellishments, ruffles etc. anything that will create interest in the finished quilt. I then cut 6 1/2 inch squares from light weight fusible interfacing and per the manufacturers instructions fuse to the back of each square. This helps stabilise the fabric when you join them together. I choose light weight as I want my finished quilt to still feel soft and snuggly.

Step 2 - Layout your squares into rows in a pleasing design


I use my design wall or floor and layout my clothes into rows to balance out the colours in the quilt. Don't worry there are so many different fabrics and colours in the quilt it is meant to look scrappy I just make sure that all my pinks (for example) are not on one side or in one corner.

Step 3 - Sew your squares in rows with your sashing

 
For my quilts I chose a sashing width of 1 1/2 inches but chose whatever width you feel comfortable with. Be careful when sewing not to pull the fabrics to much and use lots of pins to avoid stretching and warping. 
 

Step 4 - Sew your rows together with your sashing to form the quilt top
 

Similar to the above be careful and take your time sewing on the sashing strips and pin, pin, pin. The interfacing does help stabilise the fabrics, especially those stretchy ones but as it is lightweight only they is still quite a bit of stretch.

Step 5 - Add your borders


For this quilt I used a boarder cut at 7 1/2 inches wide to frame the quilt. The customer had requested purple sashing so I needed a print to tie the pinks in the clothes and the purple sashing together.

Step 6 - Quilt as desired and add your binding to complete



Till next time.....happy sewing....

xxx Jenny