The WIP list

Okay, so time for a recap.

It's been nearly five months since I started my blog and my quilting time stradegy, yet I seemed to have amassed lots of projects or 'work in progress' without having finishd one. 

1) Flag Baby Quilt – needs backing, quilting and binding

2) Rose Star Quilt for my niece – five 'stars' completed, estimate 50 to go!

3) Swoon Quilt for our bedroom – one swoon block completed, with lots of shopping for fat quarters done!

4) Baby Quilt for work friend – half triangles cut, some sewn (will share this with you very soon)

5) Wedding Quilt – started, need to arrange blocks and sew front (wedding 4th August!)

6) Opps, bought an Anna Maria Horner tapestry - I'd say about 1/10th done (but am enjoying doing this in front of the TV in the evenings)

7) The Post-it Note Quilt – long term WIP (started in 2000!), but needs backing, quilting and binding

Phew. Must crack on as that's quite a list. Wish me luck in crossing a few off, and also giving me something to take along to the next LMQG meeting 8th July (along with a name badge for a fellow member)

Wedding quilt... started

I've started another quilt (I know I seem to have several WIPs, but it's quite an eventful summer with babies, birthdays and the wedding of my stylist – and stylish – friend Emma).

I taught Emma to sew far too many years ago than either of us care to rememer, so it seems only right that I make something for her and husband-to-be Matthew's big day.

She's a bit of a vintage girl at heart, so when I saw Kate Spain's Good Fortune range as a layer cake at Tricolette after last month's LMQG meeting, I knew I'd found the right fabric collection.

I decided to follow a pattern from Moda Bakeshop by The Polka Dot Chair, which starts by divding your layer cake into five colour groups. With a bit of improvisation, I finally got the right number of fabrics in each pile. Then it was on to cutting three groups into strips of three and mixing them up before machine-stitching back together.

Then, armed with my rotary cutter, I got lots of cutting practice in as I trimmed my machine strips and the remaining squares to 9inches. Yet more scraps… I love the colour and pattern hit these give.

So I did what every quilter does, and popped the scraps in a zip-lock bag. I wonder if I can use them on the back of my wedding quilt, maybe to 'frame' the label, although I need to sort out a label (and blog header) design, which has been on my 'to do list' for months now.

Although I do like an empty Bon Maman jam jar, washed out with its cute gingham lid. I used one to fill up with haberdashery for our recent swap at the LMGQ meeting (oh great news, they've also found space at the John Lewis bistro on Oxford Street for all of our 'What modern quilting means to me' minis, so my little hexie one will be there!).

Modern mini finished (just in time)

I've finished my mini quilt for tomorrow's LMQG meeting – I think I'm pleased, as it mixes trad patchwork with a modern twist, which was my plan.

I'm loving the grey solid background, which lets the fab retro patterns of the hexies really pop…

I hope I get away with the fact that it's slightly bigger than the 12inch square we were supposed to produce (mine's about 13inches), but after free-motion quiliting it, I couldn't bear to trim too much away.

It's only the second project that I've quilted in this way, and my stitches did get better once I was into my swing (I've also finally worked out how to set my stitch length to zero, having had to make do with 0.2 the first time I tried to FM quilt).

To define the hexies further, I hand-quilted them, using a single thread of a coral/pink DMC thread.

I went for a yellow solid for the binding, adding in hanging corners (just in case my little 'Hexies, but not as we know them mini' makes it into the John Lewis set to go on display in July). Will keep you posted after tomorrow's meeting…

Hexies, but not as we know them

I've started my mini for this month's LMQG challenge on what modern quilting means to me. I wanted to mix English paper piecing with something more modern. My plan was to take a traditional patchwork shape, which visitors to our display in the bistro of John Lewis on Oxford Street during July will recognise and feel comfortable with, and add in a surprise, deconstructed hit.

Of course, my mini has to get shortlisted at May's meeting first. The competition is tough - I've seen some great ones on fellow LMQG member's blogs, including Charlotte's ingenious QR code design!

It's this mix that I love best about modern quilting, that there's always something different waiting to explore or shake up.

I love Rashida's quilt in Block Party by Alissa Haight Carlton & Kristen Lejnieks. The block party members used a mix of Grandmother's Flower Garden clusters and then hexies breaking out in a kind of "Blockbuster" way (remember: 'I'll have a "P" please Bob'?) along the quilt. I've been wanting to make such a block since I got the book at Christmas, so this challenge has really spurred me on.

In true modern quilting fashion, I plan to use grey as the solid, and appliqué my hexagons onto this. Fabric-wise, I've picked a selection of Jenean Morrison's Silent Cinema prints from a bundle I bought just before Christmas at Ray Stitch.

Then I will free motion quilt it, maybe adding in a bit of embroidery... well that's the plan.

A 'swooning' day off

Back to work tomorrow, but as it's both my birthday and wedding anniversary today, I allowed myself a whole afternoon of sewing – pure bliss. I cut out the pieces for my first Swoon block for our bedroom quilt last week, using my mocha and duck egg stash so I set up the sewing machine in our dining room and got started. I've finally decided to 'Swoon' rather than 'Sparkle Punch' this time around.

As it was sunny out, I took a leaf out of Selfsewn's recent post about showing off your patchwork outside, and pegged my first completed block to our cherry tree, which is just about to burst into full blossom. As a first attempt, I'm pleased, although the points could line up just a tad more.

And then I got a little carried away with the blossom/Swoon combo…

And then I got a little arty…

Perfect day…