Three Quilts for children and some wildlife

I have seen a few Falling Charm quilts in recent years and a friend posted one on Instagram recently it prompted me to into action!  This is a free pattern from Missouri Quilt Company.

The pack of charms has been in my stash for 5-6 years!  It was quick to make the blocks, but I had trouble putting it together because of the weave in the solid pink - my needle unthreaded everytime I had to sew over a seam of pink fabric.  So it got shoved in the pile, until I could consult my Sewing Brains Trust and they successfully advised a heavier needle was required.

This found quilt top finally got quilted with some stitch in the ditch and straight lines. It is going in the donation pile for a kids charity.  

As well I finally put a small plain border on this star quilt.   I have just purchased a backing for it.   Had a complete brain fade and purchased extra for binding, only to find I had already made the binding from the leftover grey!   Its way bigger then I normally make a cot quilt (50" approx), but I am pleased with how the pattern turned out, so next time I will just make smaller HST.  

I want to make another version with pink and grey, just need to find the right fabrics.  I also need to do better calculations so I purchase the right amount of fabric, as I ran out of background when I made this.

Dad and I had a morning of driving around the district, picking up donated fleeces for our local fleece and flower show.  Driving past our farm (we called in to see my brother and progress with his renovations) we saw three kangaroos in the front paddock and they ran parallel to the road along our boundary.  I don't think I have ever seen kangaroos in the front paddock so close to the houses before, normally they are way down the back paddocks of our farm - because that is where the scrub is.  You tend to see them later in the summer looking for feed and water, but there is plenty of feed this time of year.  Unfortunately that is not the only wildlife sighting we have had, as my husband chased a 5 foot brown snake out of our yard, into the neighbours and then back into ours...and lost it!  So I am now very careful where I put my feet in the garden!

Happy quilting Sue.

Warrnambool Retreat

This is me packed up and ready to go at home...after I had a bit of a cull, to make sure Lisa and I both fitted in the car.  As it turns out, my stuff fitted in exactly half of the backseat and boot.  

We left for Warrnambool on Thursday morning and got there after lunch, after a lovely relaxing drive with a stop for coffee and cake, as you do when your on holidays!

 I was trying to blog on my phone so l could join in Chookys virtual sew along the same weekend :)  but it did NOT work!  Might be something to do with me needing new glasses, as my 0 birthday creeps up!  Or my lack of IT skills ; )

WARNING 3 New projects commenced!!

This top was one of two I kitted up before we went.  I found sufficient pre made four patches in my novelty stash, as well as cornerstones, I just had to cut the sashing.  Sashing was a new purchase from Spotlight while they had 40% off patchwork fabric.  I had taken some fabric for possible borders, but decided to wait and see if I liked something better at home.

I had also pre cut all the parts for these Vivid Grid blocks, from my pre cut 2.5" strip collection.  I had oodles of blue and red but not so much yellow.

Luckily when we went to visit Ann at Periwinkle Patchwork I found this bundle of joy...bargain scrap bag!  All pre cut 2.5" squares, perfect for adding to my blocks.

I got all the 10" blocks made, but not sewn together.  So when put together this should be 50 x 50" which is a decent size quilt for a kids charity quilt.

I made another Eye Spy top, from a different sized collection of four patches - all blue, with blue sashing from my stash.  This is also going to be a  kids charity quilt. once it has some borders.
There was some bag construction, some further retail therapy, lots of chat, coffee and time spent relaxing reading books and magazines brought to share. 

Happy Quilting Sue.

Jungle quilt

I had been given some jungle prints from good friend Elaine quite some time ago.   Elaine and I had met through sewing charity quilts, so I thought it would be appropriate to make a charity kids quilt out of these fabrics.  I decided on a simple nine patch so you get a glimpse of the animals in the jungle and in a days sewing go this far.  I wanted to do a thin outer border of the white polka dots and then attempt a pieced border with the rest of the animal fabric.

I had a date with some local ladies to make kids charity quilts, where I .....

(with their advice).... decided on a simple bright stripe from my stash.

 Then finally stitched the big churn dash blocks together with some sashing from my stash.

Dragged this panel out of my stash, joined it with some blue from Lisa's stash and bordered it with appropriate fabric back out of my stash. Ta da another quilt top born!

 
 Lisa made this gorgeous quilt top. She is not finished yet, needs borders.

And Chris finished this cute top.

So a productive day was had by all and some stash sharing occurred, which is always fun.

Happy quilting Sue.

I Spy kids quilt top finished

After resewing all the four patches into their background colours I laid them out as a top. 

I did not want sashing that was too light or too bright.  The polka dots was just right!

 And the stash revealed 2.5" novelty squares perfect for sashing, some of which had previously been fussy cut - others were just too cute to throw away, even if I did cut off half the kite!

 

I auditioned a few options for borders, but it had to be red in the end!  

Ta dah!  A lovely kids quilt - not large, but the majority out of my stash.  And although incoming fabric (sashing) was more then outgoing fabric (completed top), the sashing will go towards another top in the same style, but next time with bigger squares.

Now back to stash browsing to find a backing!

Happy quilting Sue.

Just a quick finish on a Kids quilt

I made a tumbler quilt in September last year from novelty fabrics.  I found the process of trying to get all the fabrics to line up the same way a bit frustrating.

Then I started using the left over tumblers as leaders and enders.  Lately I rediscovered them lurking on my sewing table, unfinished and tangled.  I sorted them out, decided on a finished row size and set to making the rows the same length.  I did not focus too much on keeping any sort of uniformity, just fun brights and novelty fabrics.  

Then made a few more rows to get it to a decent length and cut a border out of my stash of plain colours.  I tried red, but it was too overwhelmingly bright.  Dark blue (not so dark in the photo) gave your eye a rest.  Very happy to have finished a UFO flimsy (not that it is really old) and used up some more stash. 

Happy quilting Sue.  

Colourful Tumblers

I started a kids tumbler quilt at camp in August.

I thought it would be a good way to use up some novelty fabric scraps.  And it turns out also some bright scraps.  Unfortunately the bright green border only stretched to two sides, but I kind of like it like this.

I was thinking of snuggle factor (and finances) when I decided to back it with flannel - which was cheaper the cotton!  Then I decided to use cotton wadding, when I usually use wool/poly.  It was so easy to quilt and to pin with the cotton wadding I think I am a convert.

So here it is finished with a pop of orange binding!
It was such a easy quilt to quilt, due to the lovely cotton wadding (sticks to your fabrics and did not shift as much as wool) and the tumblers were the perfect shape to stitch in the ditch, without needing to quilt the centres.
I have lots more novelty scraps to use up, so going to make another one, but perhaps with a more colour co-ordinated look, I will see what happens ; )
Happy quilting Sue

Boys I Spy Quilt

Ta dah another finish using stash and scrap!  Sorry folks there has been a bit of deception going on here.  I quilted this big lap quilt in October, but only just put the binding on.  So please don't think I am superwoman, I am just craving some sewing and binding is as close as I am getting to my machine at present.

 I used all my previously cut up novelty scraps.  But as I had previously found them a bit busy if I randomly pieced them together, this time I sewed them into four patches, matching them by their background colours.

Then I used a great idea I found on Pinterest - this jigsaw quilting pattern.  It was easy to do - basically straight lines down the quilt with a bump outwards.  Then you quilt back up the other way and do a bump inwards!  And I didn't have to mark lines I just eyeballed in the middle of my blocks, too easy and super cute on a kids quilt!

So there you have it.  It has just struck me that I lack fabrics with purple and pink backgrounds, but given I have just made some cot quilts in those colours I guess I must have used up those scraps...well a girl can only hope!

Happy quilting, Sue.

Kids Quilts

Not quite sure what has driven this recent obsession with starting more kids and cot quilts, but I can assure you I am not pregnant/nesting! I have precut a large amount of squares out of my novelty stash.  When I want some "mindless" piecing I open the box and go for it.  

I love four patches, and even though the animals heads sometimes get cut off, 2.5" squares in the smaller prints looks effective.  I didn't have enough of the little squares to make a whole quilt, so I teamed them up with the 4.5" cut squares.  While I like this layout and it uses up some more stash, it is a very busy pattern.

So I thought I would make one in a split nine patch format with some colour to break up the pictures.  But I couldn't work out how to make "the pattern" AND keep the animals up the right way.  I am not sure that this layout is anymore soothing to the eye!

SO I found one novelty print (which I swear I did not buy - must be from Mum?) and teamed it with some left over pinks out of my stash.  There is not a lot of pink in my stash so I was pleased to have a "girl" quilt.

AND THEN I found my 2.5" strip and square box.  There were some orphan pink and white four patches in there.  That started a whole new sewing session of four patches.  Which then lead to this quilt top!  So while I now have four new WIP, I think will consider it a glass half full - because there is a whole lot less fabric sitting in my stash!  

Next step is to find them all borders and backings....from the stash!

Happy quilting, Sue SA.