Liberty
Showing posts with label Liberty. Show all posts
fabric and day off frolics
I'm gearing up to prepare for next year, despite this definitely being the time of year where I feel like hibernating! It's time to make plans, thinking about what next year will bring and sorting out sewing projects. I'm hoping to get things in order over the Christmas break, sorting out my sewing stuff ready for a fresh start in 2020. Recently there have been a few stash additions, I've been out in Manchester stocking up and enjoying cheese toasties, and finally sneaking some project finishes in!
As I continue to work on my Manx Log Cabin blocks I realised I wouldn't have enough Essex Metallic for the centres so ordered a bit more from Sew Hot and the other prints were just irresistible:
clockwise from top left: Essex Yarn Dyed Linen Metallic in Oyster; Camo in Yarrow, Gleaned by Carolyn Friedlander; Dottie in Coral Metallic, Basics by Cotton + Steel and Pop Off in Peach Fizz, Pop! by Rashida Coleman-Hale - this print is one of those that I HAD to have and knew if I didn't get some I would wish I had. Honestly it's pretty easy to resist these urges nowadays but when it comes to Rashida Coleman-Hale prints I have no control because they are always fabulous.
This next selection was a surprise treat, a very kind lady that came to one of my classes had been to Standfast & Barracks and picked up these big cuts of Liberty Tana Lawn. She knew I loved Liberty and so I got all this for less than the price of 1/2 metre! These aren't scraps, they are large folded pieces. I'm very grateful she let me buy them from her and these snowdrops have already found their way into my log cabin blocks.
Stitch Gathering 2019 ✁
"This is the power of gathering: it inspires us, delightfully, to be more hopeful, more joyful, more thoughtful: in a word, more alive." - Alice Waters
Last Sunday was Stitch Gathering, the wonderful day retreat organised by Jo Avery of myBearpaw, in Edinburgh. It is always a full day of fun, with great classes and company and it's always over too soon. I was there teaching a class - something a little different, more on that later! - and also had the opportunity to take a class. As someone that relishes learning and trying new techniques it was very exciting. And oops... I've started a new quilt!
Now, as I type this, something has occurred to me. For the first time I did not have the overwhelming anxiety I've had before every social occasion/journey/outing/time being around other people that I've had for the past three years or so. It could be because life has been extra crazy busy and I didn't have time to stress, though I suspect that's disbelief talking because those negative/anxious thoughts shout really loud. Mental health is fluid, with ups and downs - I am under no illusions but right now it does feel that gradually all those things that previously felt SO difficult just aren't. Usual worries like 'have I got everything?' and 'will people enjoy my class?' were fleeting and manageable. Thoughts like 'I can't do this' and 'I don't want to do this because of x,y,z', which would usually flood my brain, didn't take over. I know I batted a few of them away, they weren't non existent but they were quiet and didn't feel real. Anyway I'm taking that as positive and, however I may feel in the future, it feels nice that there wasn't a dreaded build up and it was all enjoyable!
At Stitch Gathering, Jo asks us to create a 'ticket' and each year these are swapped between participants. This year it was an 8" hoop, which we could stitch and embellish as we liked. It was fabulous to see them all hanging together and a nice variety of hoop art! Here's a closer look...
⚞ DIY boho fabric hoop ⚟
Whimsical, calming and a cinch to create! I'm going to show you how to make a fun 'no sew' fabric wall hanging, using only an embroidery hoop and strips of fabric.
You will need:
An embroidery hoop
Strips of fabric in various lengths
Optional: nail polish / paint
For this project I used a 10cm" hoop, which makes for a cute mini decoration but you could use any size - the bigger the hoop, the more scraps you can bust! I recommend using narrow strips but if you were making a mahoosive one you might want to use wider strips to make it quickly.
1. Divide the fabric strips by length, so you have piles of long and short strips.
2. Take the long lengths of fabric and tie to the hoop using lark's head knots. Starting at the bottom of the hoop, take your longest strip and fold in half length ways. Feed the folded end through the hoop and pass the ends of the strip through the loop created by the fold, creating a knot. Pull to tighten.
3. Continue tying strips, pushing them close together until you've covered the lower portion of the hoop. I created a sort of gradient, using the longest strips at the very bottom and getting smaller as I worked up the curve of the hoop.
4. Once you've covered about 1/4 of the hoop with longer strips you can move on to the shorter strips. Feed one end of a short strip through the hoop and tie with an overhand knot / single knot. If your strips are long enough you could tie a double knot but since it's a decorative hanging I wasn't concerned about the knots coming undone.
5. Continue tying short strips, keeping all the knots on the same side (i.e. the front or back of the hoop). Trim the ends of the strips after knotting to keep them even. You can completely cover the hoop or leave a section uncovered as I have.
6. The hoop becomes double sided and can be hung either way, with the knots at the back or the front depending which look you prefer! As an optional extra, if you have left part of the hoop visible, you can paint it or decorate it. I used my current favourite nail polish colour as it complimented the fabric well. It has a nice washed look and a lovely sheen! You could use washi tape wrapped around the hoop too. It would be easy to personalise and write someones name or a message... so many options!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial - it would be a fun project to do with kids over the summer holidays or just for you to relax and enjoy a quick, simple make. It makes a very pretty, tactile hanging and I know I will be making more, there's a bag of fabric strings waiting!!
Vintage Home BOM
Last year Jo Avery of myBearpaw invited me to join in with her Vintage Home BOM Quilt Along. Each month in Today's Quilter a new block is released and features items from around the home, with a bit of a vintage or retro twist. I chose May's block, with the theme of light and decided to make the candlestick block. This one spoke to me as my name, Lucy, comes from Latin origin and means "light" - I even have it tattooed on my wrist!
The blocks are machine sewn, a few have a small amount of foundation paper piecing but this one is made with regular machine piecing and a little bit of hand appliqué. I decided to challenge myself a bit by mixing different weights of fabric in the block. The background is the beautiful woven Illuminated Graph in Rust, Loominous by Anna Maria Horner and the candlestick holder is a Japanese geometric lines linen. This print is one of my favourites, I see it often because I used it for the basket that holds my everyday make up!
I like how these fabrics play together, both have a different vibe and yet the lines create a relationship. The orange toned rust colour of the background gives that warm glow you get from a candle too. For the flame itself I cut into my precious Liberty, the Farhad print is perfect and I thought the black grid on it looked good as a representation of the wick.
The hand appliqué was quick to do, just the flame and the circular candlestick holder. I didn't clip the outer part of the circle, as it's linen I didn't want it to fray too much and it was large enough that I didn't need to. I did clip the inner circle though and it behaved relatively well!
Clearly I love candles! This block was a joy to sew and it was nice to have some hand sewn elements included. Jo's patterns are so easy to follow and the other blocks in the BOM are all so sweet, the theme is charming! You can find the candlestick, along with a lampshade block in issue 36 of Today's Quilter.
friday night quilt and cathedral cushion
Liberty is one of my favourites and I use quite a bit of tana lawn in my own projects. I also have some of the lifestyle cotton prints they did a few years ago for quilters. The new Cottage Garden Collection prints from Liberty are quilting weight cotton and lovely to sew with. I cut them up into lots of pieces to make the Friday Night Quilt from Three Patterns by Pam & Nicky Lintott.
The book has patterns to use with the Creative Grids Double-Strip Kaleidoscope Ruler, which makes cutting much quicker! It's a pretty design, with a nice sized scrappy border. I went back to basics for quilting, using a plate and my hera marker to mark a curve across the corner.
After stitching a few lines, with my walking foot and guide, I realised it needed something more, so I went back and marked another curve on the corner diagonally opposite. It gives lovely movement to the quilt and I like seeing the lines intersect.
Thanks to my little helper for holding the quilt - she had the most horrible allergic reaction that day and was covered in hives :( We still don't know what she reacted to!
There was also fabric folding fun, making up a Cathedral Windows cushion using a pattern by Jo Avery. Despite there being a fair bit of preparation in making up these squares, which seems daunting, I actually enjoy it because it's meditative and can be done while watching tv.
The windows feature Bees, All Stars by Tula Pink and Blackbird, Hello Love by Heather Bailey. Rather than place the squares in an alternating pattern I played about and settled on this arrangement:
Then the pinning begins!! My least favourite part, and probably why I would prefer to hand sew (I would just fold the edges over as I went), it is important to pin if sewing the edges down by machine and helps keep them more even.
The past week has been a bit of a blur, I have had big deadlines so non stop making as I get ahead with projects. You will see them here soon! I knew that I would be pushed and would need to force myself to take a day off. I actually scheduled it in my planner!! So today I've done nothing, no sewing (so far, I might end up doing some epp tonight) and just been lazy really. I wore the most appropriate t-shirt too! haha!
I'm off to binge on that :) Happy weekend everyone!
linking up to finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts
🦋 Liberty butterfly quilt
It's been gloriously sunny in Manchester and spring is in the air. The blue skies were a nice backdrop for this dancing Liberty butterflies quilt, even though it was a little bright to perfectly show off the pretty prints. Classic floral prints are quite delicate but look bold and modern framing the butterfly blocks.
I mixed the two print fabrics, swapping the borders in the four outer blocks and changing the butterfly wings. It's nice to play about with the wings, as they look different depending on the fabric combinations. You can also create another version of the block by swapping the larger wing pieces, which changes the top angle of the wing so they are pointing straight out from the body (see one I made here).
For the butterfly antennae I used a decorative stitch on my machine - mode 2, #07 note to future self. I used the memory function to stitch four star chains and I think they add a nice detail. In the past I have also used a zig zag stitch and hand sewn the antennae but I think it would be fun to play about with other stitches and make them all different!
I kept up with the decorative stitches for the quilting too, with a stitch I've used before - for waves on the Sailing Sailing quilt and a little on the Butterfly mini quilt - mode 2, #19, stitch width 9.
I love the pattern it creates, like fluffy clouds. The only problem is because the stitch is directional you can't turn the quilt around during quilting without making clouds into waves! After quilting through the centre diagonally I stitched the next lines to the left so the bulk of the quilt was going in to the throat of the machine - toughest part first! And then went back to the centre and quilted lines to the right. Technically I should have worked the other way, so the quilted section would be going in the throat (just to keep the quilt nice and flat and well basted) but I wanted to make sure I remembered not to turn it round. The quilt is 36" x 48" so it wasn't really a struggle to quilt.
You can see the demonstration in the video below and then 2 hours in to the show John and I have a 'sew off' making wonky star blocks, which is quite hilarious if you want a laugh!
Wishing you all a joyful weekend and to friends in the UK a lovely bank holiday too!
linking up to finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts
nest quilt, cube & stash
It is sometimes difficult to find fabric I love for babies. The new Nest collection by AGF Studio, Art Gallery Fabrics is adorable, wonderfully neutral and low volume. It features a few panels, which are so easy and quick to turn into a quilt.
For this baby quilt I just added some strips of fabric top and bottom, the dots and stripes at the side are part of the print - pretty cool! I quilted simple wavy lines, please excuse the fold creases! This is one of the simplest and quickest quilting patterns and I like the movement it adds.
The other panel I used has to be my favourite, with sweet sayings and illustrations. This one I cut up to create a baby cube using the McCalls pattern M7372, which was the perfect size to show off the designs. It's not small, here's my 5 year old holding it!
four projects: it's all in the details
It's my birthday today! I have lovely plans, lunch with my mum and step-dad, a relaxed afternoon, a film with the kids and then a meal with my husband. Chilled out and spending time with people I love, a perfect day.
This is a little catch up on makes for Sewing Quarter from last weeks shows. Cute cushions perfect for a nursery or just for fun and a mini quilt with Liberty rose appliqué.
First is this adorable bear cushion, pattern from Sweetly Stitched Handmades by Amy Sinibaldi. The book is full of such sweet makes!
This was simple to make and I really like the way the ears are pieced into the half square triangles. Clever and cute detail.
I embellished the cushion with ric rac and used felt for the eyes and nose. The padded face gives the bear personality and someone suggested adding a squeaker in there which I think would be brilliant! There are lot of ways you could add details to the bear and make really unique cushions.
I made a sailboat cushion, pattern from the book Lovely Little Patchwork by Kerri Horsley. The cute fish prints worked so well in this project and the red, white and blue combination is classic. Pom poms are a great way to finish off a cushion, they just add a special something!
I enjoyed stitching the bunting detail. I used a dab of glue on the fabric scraps to hold them in place and then stitched straight lines to create a drawn effect.
Using these pastel Kaffe Fassett fabrics was a lovely way to recreate my Four Patch of Charm cushion design.
And now I realise I never blogged my original finished cushion. I do remember hand quilting this one on a trip to visit my sister.
I love how the choice of fabric can make a patchwork pattern look so different!
Finally this is the Liberty Rose mini quilt, pattern from Quilt Petite by Sedef Imer.
I rather wish I hadn't used the darker thread to outline the rose. At the time it seemed like it needed more definition but I would unpick that. Anyway it's a sweet design and I enjoyed this method of reverse appliqué, cutting the shapes out of the top fabric before stitching. It was like a maze outlining each of the shapes! The Liberty print of a rose looks so subtle and pretty peeking out.
Have a fabulous weekend everyone!
linking up to finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts
Duck Egg Threads ~ Giveaway! 💙
I am thrilled to welcome Duck Egg Threads as a new sponsor! Duck Egg Threads was born from the love of Liberty prints but not wanting (or needing) to buy large pieces of this expensive and luxurious fabric for quilting projects. The shop has come a long way from selling a small range of Liberty Tana Lawn fat eighths at launch to growing into being the go-to online shop for a large range of Liberty cuts, Art gallery fabrics’ Pure Elements solids (they stock one of the largest ranges in the UK), patchwork notions and the hugely successful We Love Liberty Monthly Club. Take a look and have a browse – you’re sure to be tempted to add to your stash!
My weakness for Liberty fabric is strong and, while I would buy bolts of tana lawn if my purse allowed, I appreciate being able to get smaller pieces in a much wider variety of prints. I have a growing collection and even the tiniest scraps get used in epp or hand piecing projects.
Duck Egg Threads have beautifully displayed all the Liberty prints on their website. It is easy to navigate by colour, collection and style. The hardest part is choosing between which ones to buy, though you can easily get all your favourites since the prices start from just £1.38!
Duck Egg Threads have beautifully displayed all the Liberty prints on their website. It is easy to navigate by colour, collection and style. The hardest part is choosing between which ones to buy, though you can easily get all your favourites since the prices start from just £1.38!
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