Holly Hobbie Quilt

Hello. Brace yourselves, there's an actual finished item on the blog today!

The patchwork top for this quilt was finished back in June, but as it's quite a whopper (224 squares), it's taken me this long to summon up the energy to quilt it. The majority of squares are Liberty remnants left over from previous makes, plus a few fat quarters picked up along the way from Sewbox. The light coloured 'neutral' squares are cut from another Liberty print (Cathy), which is also used as the backing fabric. 

It's very busy and flowery but that's exactly what I love about Liberty prints. Plus the busyness of the fabric hides a multitude of quilting sins...

Because it's made almost entirely from Liberty lawn (I think there's one non-Liberty imposter in there) the feel of this quilt is different to others I've made. Liberty lawn has a slight sheen and silkiness that you don't get with regular quilting cotton, giving it a really luxurious feel.

The intended home for this quilt is on the guest bed in the loft. Everything is very plain and neutral up there and it adds a nice pop of colour.

However... I was testing it out on the sofa last night and it actually looks great in the front room, so I'm a bit torn. It has magical properties too, I was asleep within about ten minutes of wrapping it round me... Maybe I'll alternate between the two?

As for the name, I've called this my Holly Hobbie quilt as it reminds me of a doll I had in the seventies.

It was probably around the same time Little House on the Prairie was on TV, when spriggy florals and patchwork dresses were flavour of the month for little girls! Anybody else remember Holly Hobbie? Have a good Tuesday. x

Liberty quilt question

Just a quick post today to announce that I've finally finished the top for my Liberty quilt. My god it was gruelling, it seemed to take forever! 

The quilt won't actually be needed until the autumn, which gives me time to do a spot of research and brace myself for the next stage. All but one of the fabrics I used in the quilt top are Liberty Tana Lawn, which is noticeably lighter and finer than quilting cotton. My question is, do I need to add an additional layer of light cotton fabric (cotton muslin for instance) to the quilt top to provide extra strength and support? Or will it be OK once everything is quilted together? I've spent so long piecing it all together, I want to make sure the quilt has a good, long life! 

I know there are some experienced quilters who read my blog - I'm just hoping they're reading this post! If any of you have quilted with Liberty lawn (or indeed any thin cotton lawn), I'd appreciate your advice. Thank you!

Now all I have to do is quilt the bloody thing...  

Musings on quilts

This week I popped up in Issue 18 of Simply Sewing magazine, as part of a feature on sewing for the home. Although my main sewing focus is usually dressmaking, I've enjoyed sewing a few quilts and cushions over the years, so I was thrilled to be featured.

2016 was the year I actually completed a quilt for myself (previous quilts had all been for family members). I always knew I'd enjoy having a quilt of my own, but what I wasn't prepared for was just how attached I'd become to it. It is, without doubt, my most precious sewing creation and I absolutely love it. I was never the kind of child who carried a blanket everywhere Linus-style, so I don't know where this mad quilt-love comes from!

It might just be the warmth and comfort a quilt brings that makes me feel like this, I don't know. What I do know is that wrapping myself in my quilt makes me happy. Problems lessen and worries become fewer - it sounds ridiculous but that's how it makes me feel! I never tire of looking at the colours and textures. And the stitches! I love looking at the stitches! Who would have thought that sewing a few squares together could give me such pleasure.

My bestie!

I'll never be a serous quilter - I'm far too impatient - but I do quite like the process, so I've decided to make another quilt for the home, this time for the guest bedroom in the loft. Cutting and sorting the fabric will be the perfect summer occupation and sewing the quilt together can be a project for the autumn. My grand plan for the quilt top is to use Liberty prints. Unlike other fabrics, I never get rid of Liberty scraps, probably because the fabric is so expensive in the first place, but also because I love the prints so much. I've sewn with Liberty Tana lawn quite a lot, so have accumulated a reasonable collection of offcuts over the years - enough for a decent sized quilt anyway.

I was inspired by this Striped Throw from The Liberty Book of Simple Sewing (reviewed here). Obviously I don't have great long strips of fabric to use, so mine will be patchwork squares, but I do like the fact that the quilt features lots of random prints. Liberty prints all seem to work effortlessly together, so I'm using this as my starting point. I may have to buy a few lighter colours for contrast, but hey, that's no great hardship! Wish me luck!

Am I the only one to feel sentimental over a quilt or do they bring out strong feelings in you too? x

Jane's Quilt

Remember me wittering on in this blog post about wanting to make a quilt for myself? Well I finally found time to make one, and this one's all mine!

I actually finished the quilt top a good few weeks ago, but then Christmas came along and scuppered all my plans. It would probably still be languishing in my sewing pile if temperatures in the UK hadn't started plummeting and galvanised me into action. All I could think about was how cosy I'd be if I had a lovely handmade quilt to wrap myself in whilst watching Silent Witness. So the past week has been quilt week! 

The colours for my quilt were chosen to complement my bedroom walls and chair and comprised various shades of grey, mustard and turquoise. The quilt design is an Easy Bricks pattern by Amy Smart. I was hoping it would be idiot-proof and I wasn't disappointed. The squares and rectangles are a manageable size (I'm far too impatient to be cutting thousands of teeny, tiny pieces), which made it really straight forward to sew up. 

The quilt back is just a simple flat sheet which I bought for £12 - my finished quilt is 63" x 84" and a double flat sheet was plenty big enough. It's also much more economical if you're on a budget - initially I had my eye on some extra-wide fabric which would have cost me £40, but I couldn't really justify the cost. The pale duck-egg colour of the flat sheet blends in perfectly with the patchwork front, so I'm happy I went for the budget option. 

My least favourite part of making a quilt is safety-pinning the layers together - it just seems to take forever. I'm lucky in that I have a very large back room with lots of floor space, so I can actually tape it to the floor to pin it, but still, crawling around on my hands and knees for hours is not my idea of fun. On the plus side it does warm you up, I was boiling by the time I'd finished! I like the sleek look of a patchwork top before it's quilted, but I still prefer the puffy, springy appearance it takes on afterwards.

Pinned and ready to be quilted - doesn't it look sleek?!

After pinning, it took me two long sessions at the sewing machine to quilt it. I brought my sewing machine downstairs and quilted it at the kitchen table, which gave me acres of space. It's only now, working on my fourth quilt, that I realise quilting downstairs is a far more comfortable and spacious option than trying to quilt at my tiny sewing table in the loft. Hindsight is a wonderful thing eh?!

I decided to make my own binding after the wonderful Maryanne (Mrs C) sent me an excellent link on how to bind your own quilt. It takes you through all the steps, from cutting your own binding through to hand stitching it into position (I skipped that bit and machined mine instead!) The colours of my quilt are quite muted so I picked one of the brighter turquoise shades (Adventure Springs from M is of Make) for the binding, which I think frames it nicely.

All the quilts I've made have been photographed on my bed, simply because my bedroom is the lightest room in the house. None of them actually belonged there though….apart from this one! I love this quilt. I love the colours, the patterns in the fabrics, the stitches and the binding. I love how heavy it is and that I can totally wrap myself up in it. This one isn't going anywhere! x

Somebody decided to road test it on the sofa!...

Quilt plans

Despite having made three quilts (here, here and here), I still haven't exactly been bitten by the quilting bug. All three quilts were gifts for family members, so maybe it's because I'm always one step removed from the finished product? I'm not sure. Whatever the reasons, I've decided to give quilt making another go, but this time, the quilt will be for ME!  Call me an old lady, but I like nothing better than to be wrapped in a blanket whilst watching TV or reading on the sofa. The blanket I currently use is a ratty old fleece specimen, so a replacement in the form of a quilt is long overdue. It can serve double duty by brightening up the end of my bed during the day too. 

Colour-wise, I've been inspired by this beautiful baby quilt by Crafty Blossom. 

A Quilt for Harry by Crafty Blossom

Mustard and grey are two colours that crop up quite a lot in my bedroom furnishings. They feature in this print by Eloise Renouf...

...and in the fabric that covers this chair

My bedroom walls are painted cream and green/blue so I'll be picking out both of these colours too. The fabrics I've chosen are all from M is for Make, with the exception of the Hemingway grid print (RHS in the second picture) which is left over from my 1950's shoulder tie dress. 

As I'm a beginner, my previous quilts have all used the simplest of designs. So this time round, instead of using all squares, I'm going to be using…. rectangles and squares, talk about edgy! For the design, I'll be using the Strawberry Fields Bricks Pattern by Amy Smart for Moda, which seems relatively idiot proof. And because I can't bear the thought of cutting up countless plain, cream squares for the lighter accents, I'll use these pre-cut squares. It may not be strictly ballroom, but do I care? Nope. 

I'm making slow progress so far. I've almost cut out all of the rectangles and I'm hoping I'll soon be able to play with the patchwork pieces on the floor to make a pattern, which is probably my favourite bit! If I get my finger out, I may get this finished by Christmas, as long as there aren't too many party dresses clamouring for my attention in the meantime. The fact that I've outlined my plans on the blog will certainly give me a bit of a kick up the arse anyway.  Anybody else have any mad quilt plans? x

Herrick

When I helped my friend Berni make a quilt from her late brother's shirts last year, I had no idea I'd be making a similar quilt myself a year later. It's been a long, sad process but I'm pleased that it's finally finished and I can hand the quilt over to the recipient. 

This quilt was made from my beloved Uncle Herrick's shirts and is for his partner - Chris. Herrick died suddenly 18 months ago, which was a terrible shock for the whole family. I offered to make Chris a memory quilt of her own as I knew she'd get a lot of comfort from it, but even so, I had no idea how difficult it was going to be. Chris gave me the shirts at New Year (exactly a year after Herrick's death), but it took me about four months to pluck up the courage to even open the bags. I did open them eventually, and after lots of blubbing I finally started cutting out the squares for his quilt. This was the longest part of the whole process, partly because it was so emotional and I had to keep putting it away, but also because cutting up enough shirts for a sizeable quilt just takes ages. There were a few shirts left over so I made two of them into cushions as a little extra gift for Chris. They were super easy to make - look out for a tutorial on how to make them soon.

The finished quilt is large enough for a double bed and measures around 64" x 74". It's made up of 5" squares from as many different colours as I could find amongst his shirts. I decided to lay out the quilt top as a random design, which was actually quite a departure for me (in case you haven't noticed, I like things to be symmetrical, colour co-ordinated and lined up!) My only rule when laying out the patchwork squares was that no two squares of the same colour should lie next to each other. Sewing up the patchwork top was very straight forward, helped by my favourite new haberdashery purchase - Aurifil quilting thread from M is for Make. This high quality thread is fab - there were fewer instances of snarled up knots when sewing the squares together and it gave a lovely, precise finish to the top stitching.

The backing is just a plain, red cotton sheet (Chris wanted a red quilt back as Herrick was a lifelong Liverpool supporter) and the binding is the same blue and white striped binding I used for my son Charlie's quilt.

The brown square is from Herrick's work satchel - Chris had it personalised with his initials some years ago.

And this little Liverpool badge is from one of his football tops. The top wasn't suitable for using in the quilt but the badge was, so I unpicked it and sewed it onto the quilt back.

For the actual quilting, I sewed ¼" either side of each square, which gives a nice, neat effect on both sides.

I won't say too much about Herrick, as thinking about him still sets me off in floods of tears. He was only 15 years older than me, so was more like an older brother than an uncle and the funniest man I knew. There are so many little things that make me remember him…. I'll remember him whenever I see a terrible zombie film (watching Plan Nine from Outer Space with him was the time I laughed most in my entire life), I'll remember him when I hear the theme tune to Inspector Morse. I'll remember him when I see a copy of Tess of the D'Urbervilles. And I'll especially remember him whenever I hear Fagin's throwaway line in Oliver!, "Shut up and drink your gin." I miss him terribly.

I don't know anything about the individual shirts used in this quilt, they're Chris's memories. All I know is that it was a privilege to piece them together and make such a personal gift. I think its time to hand it over to its rightful owner now.  x

Chequerboard Baby Blanket Tutorial

The idea for a chequerboard blanket came to me when I was pondering what to make for my brand new baby nephew. Initially I planned to make him a quilt, but wanted to retain the lovely fleecy backing you get on a traditional baby blanket. So I used my standard baby blanket tutorial, and adapted it to include a patchwork top. I also bound the edges with bias binding. 

I knew there had to be a simpler method of achieving a chequerboard top than cutting each single square individually, so I set to work experimenting with strips of paper. Not being blessed with a mathematical brain, this working out stage took ages, but I'm pleased to say it works and should save you a bit of time. I even sent the instructions to my novice quilter friend Berni, to see if they made sense to a beginner. This was a wise move as she picked up on a couple of things that needed clarifying, so thanks Berni!

This tutorial was first published in Issue 13 of Love Sewing magazine in April but annoyingly, a couple of the step-by-step photographs were printed in the wrong order. So I'm pleased to post the full tutorial here on the blog, with everything hopefully in the right place. I've tried to be as clear and thorough as I possibly can with the instructions, but as always, if there's anything that doesn't make sense, please do let me know. Have a lovely weekend. x

CHEQUERBOARD BABY BLANKET TUTORIAL

You will need:

1 metre plain cotton fabric

1 metre patterned cotton fabric*

1 metre fleece fabric

5 metres double fold bias binding (25mm/1inch wide)

*The adorable elephant fabric I used was from here

Seam allowance is ¼” throughout unless otherwise specified.

1. Cut your fabric into strips:

Six strips of patterned fabric each measuring 10cm x 100cm wide

Six strips of solid fabric each measuring 10cm x 100cm wide

2. Right sides facing, sew six strips together along the long edges, starting with a patterned strip at the top and alternating with the solid strips e.g.pattern/solid/pattern/solid/pattern/solid. If you’re using a directional print, make sure it’s all facing in the same direction!

3. Do exactly the same with the remaining six strips, except this time you need to start with a SOLID strip at the top.

Press seams to one side towards the patterned strips.

4. Mark across the top and bottom of each panel at 10cm intervals. The width of each panel is 100cms so it should be evenly divided into 10. Use a cutting mat or a long ruler to line up the marks to get a straight line.

Cut each panel vertically as marked. Repeat for the second panel.

You should end up with 20 vertical strips of fabric, each comprising six squares. 10 vertical strips should start with a patterned square at the top and 10 should start with a solid square at the top.  

5. Sew two vertical strips of the same sort together at the bottom i.e. attach a strip starting with a patterned square to the bottom of another strip that starts with a patterned square. The rubbish diagrams below illustrate what the two strips should look like when sewn together.

Then do the same with the strips starting with solid squares. Here's what they should look like when sewn together.

6. Press seams as above. You now have 10 vertical strips of 12 alternating squares and you’re ready to start sewing them together!  TIP: lay all the strips out next to each other before you begin sewing, just to make sure they’re in the correct order. Take a photo! 

7. With right sides facing, sew each column of squares together, matching seams as you go. Don’t worry if some of your seams don’t match up perfectly, I personally think it adds to the rustic charm of the blanket!

8. Once you’ve sewn the columns, press seam allowances together all in the same direction. Trim any squares that overlap the edges. You now have a patchwork top for your blanket: 10 squares wide x 12 squares long.

9. Cut your fleece fabric to the same size as your patchwork top, it should be roughly 90cm wide x 110cm long. With WRONG sides together, pin both layers together with safety pins, smoothing out the fabric widthways as you go. Use as many pins as you need to – it’s worth spending a bit more time pinning at this stage to ensure the two layers don’t shift around too much. If you have a walking foot, use it now!

Stay stitch around all four edges with a ¼” seam allowance.

Now we just need to bind it. I used 25mm double fold bias binding tape.

10. Open out the binding and pin the raw edge to the edge of the fabric side of the blanket, right sides together. Start about halfway along one of the short edges and pin all the way round, leaving a gap of about 5 inches from where you began pinning.

Sew in place using the fold of the bias binding as your stitching guide.

Here’s what to do for corners:

11. Stop stitching when you’re ¼” from the corner and backstitch (see above).  Fold the binding upwards at a 90 degree angle, then fold back down on top of itself.

12. Make sure the edge of the binding is lined up with the edge of the blanket.

Start sewing right from the top edge of the blanket. Repeat for the other corners.

13. To sew up the gap in the binding, fold the two edges of binding towards each other so they’re edge to edge.

Mark the point where they meet and sew it closed.

14. Press open and trim the binding edges. You can now sew the gap closed as you did for the rest of the binding.

15. Trim the edges of the blanket down and turn the binding round to the reverse side (the fleece side). Pin into place, making sure the binding covers your first set of stitches. 

16. The corners should have a nice mitred edge to them. Sew the binding in place all the way around, as close to the edge as you can. If you prefer you can do this bit by hand using an invisible catch stitch.

Give everything a good press and you’re finished!