progress

Pieced blocks:

and pieced top:

Now I must figure out a suitable quilting scheme... I don't want to go with my old linear, the white fabric is too stretchy for that...

back to the quilting way

Hi there, I'm back.

A couple of days ago I got again the quilting frenzy: you know, planning, picking fabric, drawing schemes... this evening I actually took out my charm pack and yardage of white fabric and got down to business.

As in chain piecing

yes, I did sew right there...

and pressing

and finally admiring the view

I don't exactly have a definite plan for this top, the only thing I know is I want it to be a little wonky.

I have to finish piecing the blocks, there's more white sashing to do. Then I'll have to "wonk" it out the blocks and finally piece the whole top.

This quilt will be a surprise gift, so I can't exactly make lots of photos... but you'll get teasers, lots of them. Stay tuned!

summer nap - completed

No, I'm still living in this hemisphere, the winter-y one... Summer Nap is P's quilt (P is my friend's baby boy, the one I made the burp cloths for).
I certainly hope his mom won't read my blog anytime soon, 'cause I'm giving her the quilt on P's birth, in march... (S, if you're reading STOP NOW!)

Here are the shots:

 I didn't want a gender-specific color, so I went with these summer colors instead. I think it turned out well. The coin quilt structure brings out the yellow tones, and the contrast is very refreshing.

 That's the quilt in a heap. You can easily see that the back is a total yellow: sorry, I just love this fabric!

Here's another shot of the back, which also brings out the quilting pattern (which is obviously NOT a pattern...). I opted for an "almost linear" quilting: a combination of straight and wavy lines, randomly spaced.

The binding is in the same turquoise fabric I used for the front and it's (as usual) hand stitched on the back of the quilt. I just can't bring myself to try the machine stitched binding, sorry. The label is my standard one, with an important detail: there's P's name on it, as a special dedication to the little dude.

The quilt is 40"x49", a little off in size, but I don't mind that. It's also lighter than my usual since I used a super thin polyester batting: I wanted it to be used also for real summer naps, after all... I also considered the version with no batting at all, but I wanted it to have some structure so it was a no-no option.

Well... what do you think? The only thing left is the packaging, which I'll think about when it's almost time...

twin mug rug

Remember I made a provence-style mug rug? Well, I'm making a twin one. I want to give them both as a gift to one of my friends.

I plan on finishing soon, this week. Should be easy.

I've quilted (during nap time)

The Chrysalis Sudoku Quilt is finally quilted and now ready to bind!

Yesterday I made the back and the basting and I had no idea how I was going to quilt it. I've slept the whole night (yeah, Smurfette#2 does sleep 11 hours in a row... lucky me!), so this morning no news... but during nap time (eh eh!) I got it.

It's kind of simple, in fact: in the central five square rounds I used a concentric pattern with bubbles and straight lines:

quilting stitches combination

bubbles (left) and straight line (right)

In the external two ones I went with straight lines:

the lines cross at the corners of the quilt

In this quarter of the quilt I highlighted everything so you can get the idea.

yeah, well... I can't draw very straight lines on computers... nor  bubbles

Important note: the little bubbles are a saved sequence in my machine (there's no way I'd be so regular and precise with free motion...), I've only combined it with straight stitches when reaching the corners.

perfect little bubbles (Gracie did it)

my 'intervention' in corners

I'm pretty proud of this one. Can't wait to attach its binding!

during nap time...

... I can short my 'to-do' list. I know I'm in good company here... ;)

Today I've planned a back for my Chrysalis Sudoku Quilt, cut the necessary fabric, pieced the whole thing, pressed front and back, cut the batting and basted everything up, ready to quilt.

Now I must come up with an idea for a quilting scheme that will suite both the front and the back. It's not going to be simple. It's also likely that I'll ask for your help...

But... here we say that the night brings advice (I don't know if you have something equivalent). So, I'm going out with Doggie, breathe some fresh air (yeah, right... too hot for that...) and finally sleep in my comfy bed.

Hopefully the right inspiration for quilting will hit me soon.

PS: sorry, no photos 'cause I'll take them tomorrow, in natural light.

Chrysalis Sudoku Quilt - top pieced

Last week the mailman dropped my Chrysalis Charm Packs, so today I decided to piece the top following my project direction.

Things went well, with some minor seams ripping.

I made the 3x3 blocks and then I sewed them together. I admit I did have a little helper: Smurfette#1 has recently fallen in love with fabric...

work table: note that my tools also include the tv remote and my iPhone... 

Smurfette#1 removing pins (she likes pins with colored head)

secret project - completed

My secret project has no more reason to be so, 'cause it's going to be handed over very soon to its future owner (who happens to be my sister-in-law).

So now I can proudly show you what I've been up to these last days.

Ta-da!

the front 

the back

the quilting

the binding

This beauty (although I should not say so myself, but then again... I like it! can't help it!) was some sort of personal challenge: Sister-in-law asked me to make her something that should include the funny little ants my (fantastic) sewing machine can embroid all by herself (yes, I did name my sewing machine... I'm that crazy). So... what about a picnic quilt with little black ants? 

the ants path

And Picnic with ants was created, cut, pieced, batted, basted, quilted, labelled and binded. It's not difficult, only very long because of the horizontal quilting, which if it's a light task on a baby quilt size, on a square lap quilt size (150cmx150cm) is quite loooooooong and tricky.

the label

 I am very pleased with the outcome of this project. I'm learning to be a REAL quilter and I'm also defining my personal style... which should be good, shouldn't it?

I'll post soon a 'technical sheet' for this quilt, in which I'll explain the process behind the project. I'm not sure I'll be able to write a pattern for you, but you should still get the idea.

hints on secret project

Yes, I'm still alive, and working full time on my secret project.

That's also the reason why I can't properly fulfill the 'process pledge'. When I'm finished, you'll have plenty of details, maybe a pattern too (since the project is entirely a concept of mine).

This is a little hint. As you can see, I'm on the quilting phase.

Why it's a secret? Because it's a gift and I don't want to spoil the surprise in case the person I'll give it to is reading my blog.

I really like this quilt!

quilt finished

A few days ago I engaged in this project. Well, I finished the quilt.

the front

the back

the binding

This training quilt surely has been a great school for me. I'm a self-learner quilter, so I don't know much about tradition nor tips and tricks some of you are well packed with... whish I was too... but, as I always say, I live on the wrong side of this planet, and quilting here is not usual. I must learn everything trying it out on my crafts.

Things about this quilt:

• the sudoku scheme came out wrong (unintentional squares swapping): next time I'll mark every bit of fabric with number, position and direction;
• when working with squares, unless they are pre-cut in a nice charm pack or something similar, accuracy in cutting is the key; or, alternatively, you must draw seam lines on your fabric and then trim everything;
• pressing open the seams results in less bulking and more 'discipline' and precision for your walking foot;

wonky but pretty back

• planning a back is as fun as planning a top, when you try to imagine something you could use also on that side; 
• I'm not so fond of "full" tops: in fact, in this case, I like the back better... could be 'cause I love the sparse look? (which, by the way, for me is "modernish"...)

• pins and safety pins are pure bliss in basting a quilt, especially if layers tend to slide around (duh!);

• yes, safety pins probably get in the way when quilting... guess I must learn how to place them out;

• binding can be sometime difficult, but a good stitched binding surely makes the quilt look great.

I decided on a simple quilting with straight lines running 1/4 from the ditches, and I opted for a light brown thread to match the mood both on the top and on the back. I love how it came out.

All in all, I'm quite satisfied with this project. It's not the best I can do, obviously, but I'm learning and I hope next project will shine with the things I learned with this one.

mug rug Provence style

In the end, we all seem to succumb to this virus, the 'mug rug fever'. I'm no exception. 

I've been eyeing one particular section of my stash for quite some time, and today I wanted a project easy and fast enough to test my sewing machine quilting skills. I also wanted to try a new batting (some light felted fabric) and see how it comes out once it's quilted.

I had a little fat quarters bundle (6 pieces) with Provence colors and patterns which I've always wanted to use: I decided for a somewhat modern design, very easy and speedy for my first mug rug project.

freshly pieced stripes for the project

The top sewed up in no time, it really was very easy. Then I cut the batting and a solid cream back (I didn't want to complicate things) and started quilting with a very simple straight lines pattern alternated with curly ones. You can see what I'm talking about in the next photos:

on the front

on the back

Next I sewed and attached the binding (sorry, I still handstitch on the back, I'm not brave enough to try out the machine binding tutorials you all keep talking about).

I'm satisfied with the final product and I've achieved my goals for this project:

1. I did make a mug rug that's pleasing to watch;
2. I've finally used my long-eyed bundle of Provence fabric;
3. my sewing machine is quilt-ok;
4. the (felted) batting works for this kind of projects, but it probably will be too stiffy for a quilt.

Yes, it's been a productive day! Got to have some tea...

sudoku training quilt

While I wait for the Chrysalis bundles to arrive, I decided to train my skills in a sudoku training quilt. It's incredible how I'm perfectly able to piece crazy or traditional blocks, but when it comes to simple square blocks I am clumsy beyond belief.

So, back to the point. I had these two cuties:

With some pieces from the layer cake and coordinated pieces from the charm pack I put together nine 5" squares in nine different patterns:

and then proceeded to piece them following the sudoku game I previously prepared.

It came out pretty well (pinning when piecing does help), but when I was pressing open the seams I realized I made some little and definitely unwanted block swapping... Since it's a training quilt, and it's quite balanced nonetheless, I didn't take it apart.

Tonight I'll cut the batting and the pieces for the back, and I hope I'll have something for you to see very soon!