classic meets modern QAL
Showing posts with label classic meets modern QAL. Show all posts
girly pincushion and planning
Getting to grips with my FAL list and I finished up this sweet pincushion, it really took no time and I love it's chunky feel. I like a deep pincushion and this is a great size. It's from the book Quilting on the Go
by Jessica Alexandrakis and I think I will make more because it's a fun little gift to give.
by Jessica Alexandrakis and I think I will make more because it's a fun little gift to give.
I let my four year old Joan pick the fabrics (can you tell?!) and it's a smiley little pincushion as a result.
Here's one from Jessica's book and I love that you could make this look really modern or give it a vintage vibe. It would also be a fun way to show off a favourite button.
I've been cracking on with my WIPS too and I finally got round to making the March block for the Classic Meets Modern QAL:
I crazy love doing DP blocks and I always use this method without pins. So much quicker and always a good result when I use my quarter inch foot too.
I've also prepared some lovely scrappy binding in preparation for my le challenge project. This months theme is charity.
Lastly I would be so grateful if you would vote for my Bees of a Feather quilt in the hand quilted category of the Blogger's Quilt Festival - you can vote for it here
So much to sew, catch you later!
Linking up:
simple sewing and a phew!
I've been getting on with my QAL and BOM blocks but I started with the easy bits. I've yet to do March of the Classic meets Modern QAL but here is April's Double Z block:
I want to get on to the pretty appliqué but for now here's my background for the first English Country Garden BOM block:
I know it looks dark and kind of boring but it's going to make that daisy pop and I've used some of my very favourite fabrics since I've decided this will be for the (not so) baby girl. I need to get cracking with Joan's big girl quilt too, those butterflies are waiting on me finishing the final appliqué block.
It's been fun getting back to work on the machine because I've done some marathon hand quilting. I just finished quilting a baby quilt and this is how much of the cream perle thread I had left - so lucky I didn't run out!
I've got the bias binding ready - the chevron print is hopefully going to add a cool graphic look to the edge of the quilt - not that I forgot I was cutting it on the bias and it wouldn't be stripy obviously *doh*
Wish me luck it doesn't look too much of a f**k up bad!
having fun playing
**Be sure to enter my giveaway of 4 fat quarters, open until Friday 28th!**
Here's my Amethyst block for February of the Classic Meets Modern QAL at Sew at Home Mummy:
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| Fabrics: Lakehouse dots white on white; Voltage Dot in red and Cross Square in red, Chicopee by Denyse Schmidt; Red Chevron, The Sweetest Thing by Zoe Pearn |
It came together pretty easily though my Y seams aren't perfect. I'm really pleased with my red and white theme and am going to try and use some of the Voltage Dot in each block to tie it together even more. I love seeing all the blocks people have made each month, they all look so different.
I've got the final flower appliqué block for the butterfly quilt under way. I enjoy picking threads to match fabrics for appliqué, it's my favourite thing next to picking the fabrics themselves!
I can't remember if I gave you any feedback about the big bundle of cheap thread I got from this Ebay shop (sorry if I'm repeating myself). To be honest they are thicker than I would like but they are doing the job. The quilt police would hate them, they are fairly visible. For the mere fact that I got a huge variety of colours for not that much money I am happy with them. If I got serious about doing appliqué though I think I would slowly try to build a collection of colours in a thinner thread. I haven't had any breakages so I know the cotton is strong and for the purposes of making my eldest daughter a quilt that's probably a good thing! Her current job ambitions are to be a scientist, investigator (too much Scooby Doo you can never have too much Scooby Doo!) and a ninja - curious and active about sums her up.
Red and white
I have a stash of red fabric that I had been collecting for a different pattern but since that's got pushed down the list I decided to break it out for the Classic Meets Modern QAL. I also had some of the lovely Lakehouse dots left over from my S is for Stitch quilt blocks so I decided to use that for the background.
I remember Janine mentioning about making a red and white quilt and I loved the idea of using that classic colour combination for a sampler quilt.
So here's my first block the Polar Bear Paw:
I remember Janine mentioning about making a red and white quilt and I loved the idea of using that classic colour combination for a sampler quilt.
So here's my first block the Polar Bear Paw:
The red fabrics are: centre - Voltage Dot in red, Chicopee by Denyse Schmidt; main paw - Charles in rich red blue, Bloomsbury by Liberty Lifestyle; claws - Scrolling Ditzy in orange, Daisy Mae by Denyse Schmidt (this is possibly my favourite print ever... or one of them!).
Looking forward to seeing what February has in store!
Head over to Erin's if you'd like to join in:
modern? traditional? how do I become a better quilter?
There's so much gorgeous modern fabric and so many great quilt patterns but sometimes it feels like quilting is about things being fast and simple to make. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a sweeping statement about modern quilting, there is a lot of complicated piecing and amazing quilting going on too. Perhaps it is just that I am drawn to the modern quick makes (I don't have a lot of sewing time) or maybe because I still consider myself a beginner and so avoid difficult patterns because I don't think I would be able to make them. It is making me tired though. Tired of rushing, yes, but also tired because it is too easy.
This year I would like to push myself further. Yes I would like to try new techniques but not for the sake of it. I really want to learn to be a better quilter. In the relatively short time I've been sewing I've tried many things - practically all of it was learnt through blogs and online tutorials, for which I am truly grateful. I would like to trust myself more, use what fabric I have and chose patterns that speak to me and will push me out of my comfort zone.
I've been thinking hard about what I want to sew and have realised that so much of what I yearn for is hand sewn and hand quilted. I also want to add more to my Etsy shop and try to grow it, so while I work on my hand sewing skills I will still make some machine quilts for the shop.
I've had piles of fabric set aside for specific patterns almost since I began quilting but now my ideas are changing and I'm willing to be braver.
It is highly unlikely I am ever going to write patterns, my brain just doesn't think that way, but I can still use quilt blocks to create something unique - isn't that what all quilts are anyway?
One skill I would love to try is hand applique. I have to say I'm really not very drawn to the traditional floral patterns but I may be willing to give them a go. I saw Green Tea and Sweet Beans by Jen Kingwell and that's more the sort of fun and whimsy I want to try. I have a birthday coming up soon and that's on my wish list! I have my Bee A Brit Stingy bees working on butterfly blocks for me this month and I'm planning on attempting some applique flowers too, my daughter has picked out her favourites. I recently bought some bargain books second hand from Amazon and they are proving so inspirational. A lot of the traditional block patterns and the very old quilts in these books are incredibly modern looking to me (click the books to see more):
There is a lot of talk about 'modern' and 'traditional' quilting and I've been thinking about where I stand on it and which is more me. It's practically impossible and, while I think there are certain distinctions, the division is really limiting and even trying to make some sort of crossover is limiting too because it feels too contrived. I read a fantastic article by Thomas Knauer in Quilters Newsletter Dec/Jan 2014. It's part of a series (annoyingly my Dad got me this copy on a recent trip to the US so I will miss the rest!) and it really got me thinking about the terminology. He writes, "Traditional and modern are just two words, and we do both genres of quilting a disservice when we fail to look beyond these generalizations and engage with each quilt on its own terms. I prefer to talk about quilting tradition, that large umbrella that encompasses everything we do, and then consider the differences that makes that tradition so remarkable". So I'm not choosing, instead I will just appreciate aspects of all quilting styles and pour myself into every quilt I make.
That said I'm joining Erin in her Classic meets Modern QAL, which I think will be really interesting... to see how everyone interprets the blocks and also to try making different blocks. The first block is the {Polar} Bear Paw Block, and you know I love those Bear Paws! I'm going to have a good think about what fabric to use and how I will interpret 'modern'.
I am not a perfectionist but I really have a strong desire to be good. Get really good. Be able to make beautiful things with my hands. I want to say I am a good quilter and really believe it myself.
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