Wednesday, 12 November 2014

firecracker quilt reveal

 This must be some kind of record for me
three quilt reveals in one year?!
My camera does not like red
apologies if my pictures burn your retinas!
Enjoy...you know the protocol..







 The juicy bits.
Firstly I'm shocked that I finished this all in one year
especially as its hand pieced and hand quilted!
This quilt began after I had a purge on all my scrap fabrics.
Some how I had all these heavy woven fabrics
rather than throw them out I decided to make something from nothing.
The red and the cream were given to me by my Mum (as they do).
The denim was a skirt that I ripped.
The turquoise was a curtain from my last home.
The navy floral was a junk shop find
and the stripes came from another quilt back.
The quilt backing is a vintage sheet from the same junk shop.
Quilt measurements 75" x 60" 
diamonds 8" at the widest point. 
Quilted with cream anchor perle cotton 8.
I quilted lines that exploded out from the middle star
to add extra fireiness.
Lastly the name.
I soon realised as I began this quilt that I was going to keep it 
red white and blue.
As my birthday was a big one this year
I started to call it my celebration quilt.
But then my friend Mary
told me that people whose birthdays fall near July 4th
are called lil firecrackers.
And so I found the perfect name!!!
ps. this quilt is so heavy...man!

Thursday, 23 October 2014

back in the hoop

 For a couple of weeks now I've been 
quilting quilting quilting!!
I first hand basted the quilt sandwich with my favourite
heirloom 80/20 cotton blend wadding
and a perfect vintage sheet from my stash.
I find it works well to roll my quilt like a scroll when I'm basting
so I'm not distorting the layers by kneeling on them.
 Painted that wall mustard in summer!
 I have returned to the hoop.
I was a renegade for awhile...that was until
I realised it was okay to have more than one thread on the go!
I'm also using masking tape to guide my lines,
I'm not looking for perfect spacing
but straight lines are a must for this quilt.
 Multi threads (Lucy!)
I have chosen to exaggerate the explosiveness of the design
with the perle cotton 8 
I hope I made the right decision.
It reminds me of that White Stripes
Seven nations army video.

Thursday, 9 October 2014

four cornered firecracker



What a perfect day for a quilt shoot!
This is my english paper pieced firecracker quilt top.
As its a heavy doodeee piece I was worried the quilting may be tough.
But no worries, this little sample was easy enough.
I have found the perfect backing
from my stash (of course)
Its a vintage sheet
not one of those soft over washed ones
but quite a heavy draped one....
love it when a plan comes together
especially without leaving the house!

The wadding is 80/20 cotton blend which I get from the cotton patch.
And the animation was made at gifmaker.me

Thursday, 2 October 2014

summer exhibition


  Autumn is in the air today
lets look back to my mini exhibition
in my garden!
Can you spot the falling quilt?


Monday, 8 September 2014

Celebration, firecracker or magic carpet?

 Wow its been awhile since I've shared any progress of this project.
Another quilt made entirely from scraps,
this time I'm using heavy duty fabrics.
 I had been putting off making the corners of this quilt,
but I've done it, no biggie!
 As I mentioned this quilt is entirely made with remnants,
so I stumbled for a while trying to find the last piece.
I tried the floral above, but found it lacking the punch.
 So I stuck with a solid heavy canvas
which adds more strength!
I still have some way to go...
as they say...'Rome wasn't built in a day'!
And so to the name?
It began as a celebration quilt but then my pal Mary 
said that my birthday in July made me a lil firecracker....
..but now I think it looks like a magic carpet!!

Tuesday, 2 September 2014

economy block reveal

 Yay a quilt reveal!
This is my economyblock quilt.
There are many others like it,
but this one is mine....
..more details below.

  




 I began making this quilt to join in with the whole economyblock along,
having failed to join in with the trip around the world quilt along.
I thought it would be a good way to eat up my scraps,
so this quilt give or take a few sweet fabrics
is entirely made from old fabrics or remnants.
I really wasn't too fussed on fabric selections,
I just made sure I chose ones with a good tonal balance.
I was loving it so much that I decided to make it Kingsize for our bed.
Throwing the rule book out really opened my mind
and made the whole process such fun.
In my head I could see black quilting,
so that's what I went for.
I hand quilted using a perle 8 cotton,
I was a little worried about how the stitches would look
on the vintage sheet backing,
but when they are 'en masse' they don't seem so harsh,
still horribly uneven, but I'm living with that.
Each block measures 7.5 inches
and there are 90 in total!!
I went with a solid binding in Ron burgundy,
so as not to compete
but also it's what I had.
I used Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 wadding
which makes quite a light quilt.
and finally...
I've named this quilt Pearl Jam
after my favourite band.
I finally got to see them live this year after twenty years.
I hope this quilt keeps bringing back the memories of 
the best gig ever and to celebrate a wonderful year x

ps. thanks to my fabric donators,
you know who you are xx

Tuesday, 26 August 2014

done quilting

 I know its hard to believe because I only just told you how I was quilting my economy block quilt,
but I have finished hand quilting already.
My first idea for binding was a solid red..
however I remembered this fabric my Mum gave me.
Its a dark burgundy which I think could actually work,
with the interests of using what I already have 
I shouldn't hesitate should I?
I think red may actually be to brash for this already busy quilt.
Plus I don't have any red
so I could getting binding today
couldn't I??

ps. I have mentioned before, I am now on instagram.
If you don't have the ability to join in
you can still see my feed here
there are lots of progress pics 
go take a look x

Monday, 18 August 2014

the dark side of quilting

Lately I've been tackling the economy block.
I went with my first plan to quilt with black.
Im a little unsure as always
Dont the stitches look like marching ants?


 Phew... Still a long way to go, but I'm enjoying 
courting the darkside x

Tuesday, 12 August 2014

Great Dixter house and gardens


  If I was a garden I would be Great Dixter,
the family home of the late Christopher Lloyd.
Christopher's gardening style was an anything goes approach.
This garden will seriously blow your mind.
Do not expect meticulous lawns or tasteful bedding.
Do expect wild abandonment and experimental planting!









This year I left some long grass in my lawn
and yes
I WANT some topiary yew amongst it!!
I left Great Dixter feeling refreshed
and with a changed attitude toward my own wild garden.
I already like my way of gardening
but to have the style confirmed in a beloved garden
is a freeing experience.
I just wish I lived closer so I could volunteer!
Christopher Lloyds vision is superbly continued 
by head gardener Fergus Garrett.


Great Dixter can be found in Northiam East Sussex
more info here

I really love Great Dixter.