Out to Sea

Today I wanted to share with you a nautical inspired quilt made from the beautiful Michael Miller Littles collection. The fabric is super sweet with anchors, boats and lifesavers and also includes some great complementary dots and stripes.

I had fun making this one up adding 3 sailboat blocks as a feature in the centre.

The quilt is cot sized and would make the perfect edition to any little boys room.

In keeping with the nautical theme the quilt was quilted with an all over wave design by my longarmer, Donna.

I backed this one with Britten Nummer fabric from Ikea. It is 150cm wide so is perfect backing for cot quilts and requires no joining.

This quilt was featured in Patchwork & Stitching nautical inspired edition.

If you would like to purchase this quilt it is available in my shop here.

 

I'm linking up with these fun places today Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday.

 

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

 

xx Jenny

Pathways - A Table Runner in progress

I'm excited once again to be working on another little project for Fat Quarterly magazine this month - the brief was simple make something with curves.

 

I have always been worried about curves and have tended to shy away from them so when this opportunity came up I grabbed it. I ordered myself a drunkards path ruler and away I went.

I must say I was really surprised at how easily and quickly these blocks came together and it has inspired me to start my own King bed quilt for my bed at home. I will make sure I blog some progress shots of that too.

I was sent the fabric which had amazing green and blue tones so decided to team it up with some charcoal shot cotton I had in my stash and I was very please with the result.

Some simple but effective straighline quilting 2cm appart and I can wait to show you the completed runner out in Fat Quarterly soon.

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

xx Jenny

The Friendship Patch

A few months ago I was asked if I would like to provide Down Under Quilts magazine with a Christmas inspired quilt. I had already made a cute little advent calendar wall hanging for Love Sewing Australia here so I wanted something simple yet effective.

I decided I would make a quick and easy quilt using traditional quilt blocks (friendship patch block and four patch block) and classic red and white colours but not use Christmas fabrics. See the fabrics I used here. I figured that this way the quilt could be utilised all year round and not packed away in the cupboard after the festive season ends.

The result was my Friendship Patch quilt seen here on the cover of Down Under Quilts Christmas edition.

I'm very proud of this one as I love simple clean lines and it's a quick yet effective quilt and fits perfectly on a single bed. It would look fantastic in a red and white inspired little girls room (pity I only have boys).

The quilt was quilted by my longarmer, Donna with an all over stars design. I even made a few extra blocks to feature on the back of the quilt.

This quilt is currently available for sale at my shop here.

I'm linking up with these fun places today Crazy Mum Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday.

 

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

 

xx Jenny

A Whale of a Time - Work in Progress

A few months back I posted about some gorgeous fabric from a range here called Marine Too by Dan Stiles for Birch Fabrics which also happens to be 100% certified organic premium quilting weight cotton.

I was totally in love with this fabric when I first saw it that it spend a number of months in my display cabinet and become one of those fabrics that we just look at and don't want to cut up !!

Well guess what I did cut it up well just a little. A lot of this fabric features very large prints so I was looking for a quilt pattern that would utilise large blocks that would feature the fabric rather than distract from it.

This is where I want to mention the fabulous Jera from Quilting in the Rain. Like me she has young children and like me only gets to sew when they are sleeping for that few hours during the day or at night. Often I find lots of piecing and large quilts difficult to complete as I am always starting and stopping and as a result I lose my momentum and sometimes my interest. Well not anymore !!

Her fabulous book Quilt as You Go Made modern is a fresh approach to quilting for us busy people and features some great patterns that make putting a quilt together any size a quick and easy process. The blocks are simple and effective.

Making up a block at a time and quilting it gave me a sense of completion every step along the way and the sewing together was simple and easy. The pattern I used for my quilt was called "Rainy Days". I found that I could keep my large prints features and just added some of my white jelly rolls strips I'd had lying around for a while.

I'm loving this quilt so far and all I need to do is back with some super cute whales from the collection and I think some bright red binding too.

If you want some simple and fun quilts to make I really recommend you purchase this book as there wasn't one project in the book I didn't want to try!!

 

Linking up at Freshly Pieced for WiP Wednesday! 

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

 

xx Jenny



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 !!!

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 !

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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.

 

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.

SHOP * BLOG * FACEBOOK

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

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

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

xx Jenny

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

The Queen Bed Baby Clothes Quilt

 

It seems that once I started offering my customers quilts made with baby clothes I couldn't stop. They are such a special item and so full of memories for the parents and a real keepsake.

I must say I have a love/hate relationship with them. I love creating something so unique and special and talking to the mums about each item and the memories they have......BUT working with so many different types of fabrics can be a quilting nightmare. I do back each piece with iron on stabiliser but in order for the quilt to remain soft I choose a very lightweight one so there is still a lot of stretch you need to deal with when sewing. My trick - go slow...very slow...and pin your pieces....

I must admit putting all these little pieces of clothes together is fun and my favourite part of he quilting process is putting the binding on. There is a real sense of achievement at this stage.

To break up the busyness of the quilt I added two plain borders. A smaller border to frame the quilt and a larger one to soften the overall look of the quilt. The quilt is backed with a soft blue flannel and being Queen size is the biggest baby clothes quilt I've attempted and hopefully the last - they just are so time consuming.

 

Make sure you come back soon as I will be posting an easy step by step guide on how to make a baby clothes quilt in the coming weeks !!

 

I'm linking up with these fun places today Crazy Mum Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday.

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

xx Jenny

Reindeer Table Runner

As I was scrolling though instagram I noticed a post asking if anyone would like to participate in a Fat Quarterly designer challenge with fat eighths of Pine and 25th by Basic Grey for Moda. I quickly added my email with a resounding yes please !!

I'm happy to say I got my little bundle in the mail of fabrics and went about to design something Christmassy.

I came up with my Reindeer Table Runner. This makes the perfect statement for Christmas adding that festive flavour to any room of the house.

The little deer were raw edge appliqued using fusible web and machine blanket stitch. I also added some ric rac for that extra festive cheer! All the instructions are available in this months Fat Quarterly Magazine here. The Fat Quarterly magazine is a digital magazine with many cute but practical handmade patterns so why not take a look at what they have to offer.

I'm also pleased to tell you that the wonderful team at Fat Quarterly released this year their "Quilt Colour Workshop" book where they share the secrets of using color in your quilting. Learn a practcial approach to colour theory, from quilts and cushions, to wall hangings, table runners and bags. Very easy to follow and each lesson builds on the previous one.

 

I'm linking up with these fun places today Crazy Mum Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday.

 

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

 

xx Jenny

Sunday Stash - The Linen Cupboard

It's not everyday that an amazing and talented fabric designer and quilter lets you play with their fabrics so I was honoured to received the latest fabric from the beautiful Emma Jean Jansen called "The Linen Cupboard".

There are a total of 24 fabrics in the range from large florals to stripes and polka dots. The  range was inspired by Emma's love of vintage sheets from the 1960’s and 70’s. Colours and bright and vibrant and have a clear retro vibe.

Large bold and bright florals contrast with the smaller floral daisy prints.

And there is also these lovely softer florals made subtle with an all over one colour floral design.

There is also a basic spot and a vibrant stripe that works perfectly for borders and bindings.

These fabrics are now being cut up for a special quilt commission for Down Under Quilt magazine and I can't wait to show you some sneak peaks along the way.

To see the full range of The Linen Cupboard click here. These fabrics are available in December 2014.

It's Sunday so I'm linking up with Molli Sparkles Sunday Stash weekly linky party.

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

xxx Jenny