Friday 11 May 2012

Fresh out of the wash and still in one piece!

I hope you're not sick of this already.   Probably it seems as if I'm jumping up and down on the spot shamelessly shouting "Me! Look at me!  I made a quilt! Me!" but I am so happy.  Look!  I made a quilt! 


This is the first full size one I've made and I can't be too insufferably smug because it's full of bits that aren't very professional.  Some of the points don't meet up and it would have been a lot more classy if I'd given more thought to the direction of the prints.  The most annoying mistake I made was somehow to include a small lump of coloured fluff in between the backing and wadding. It shows through and looks as if a spider has crawled in there and died.  My husband suggested I do key-hole surgery on it, but I think it will have to stay there.

It was a great learning experience because I am not naturally organised or meticulous, but the quilt is going to such a good cause and I wanted it to be right.  If I'd been making it for myself I would have cut all the corners (and probably all the points), but I really had to buckle down and try and do it properly. 


Geeky details: The quilt is approximately 55 inches square.  The coloured star was pieced from fabric very generously donated by Patchwork Queen who sent me this lovely package - I picked out some and all the rest has gone off to Trudi Quilting Prolifically for her Siblings Together granny squares.  I quilted it in the ditch round all the stars within stars and then round and round the rest, with organic (ie wonky) lines.


The binding is a Riley Blake stripe which, of course, I now wish I'd ordered more of.

 I just noticed the cat hair...

I used the calculator here to work out the amount of binding fabric needed.

You're only spared further artistic shots of it on a beach, or hanging over my clematis, because it is foul weather and the forecast is awful for the whole weekend!  I might just have to take a few more pictures of it before it goes off to its new home, though.

Have a great weekend.

10 comments:

  1. It looks very nice.i love the way you quilted it.

    Hilarious spider analogy. :)

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  2. I think it is wonderful.. cat hair, dead spiders and the rest xx

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  3. Wow - looks great front and back! I love that binding fabric - I under order great fabric way too often!

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  4. Wow, a gorgeous quilt! I love the way you've quilted it, and that binding is amazing x

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  5. It's wonderful!! I love the size and scale of it. The quilting really suits it too. A gorgeous quilt that is going to make somebody very happy!!

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  6. its really beautiful...did you use a pattern or is this your own?

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! Rather long answer follows:

      I didn't use a pattern. I guess you could call it my own but like most patchwork patterns it contains elements of other ones! The block is pieced entirely with HST squares cut to make best use of the fabric from Patchwork Queen, sewn in strips. My starting point was I wanted a central star as a kind of positive message for the recipient. I ended up with two rough layouts and asked for advice - more people liked the one that eventually turned into this. It contains elements of a traditional block called Star and Chains, and also of one variation of Star of Bethlehem with swoon-like outline (hopefully not in a rip-off kind of way. It doesn't have the corner blocks and the layout of blocks is different).

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