More Half Square Triangles

I have lots of teal and grey HSTs left over. I can't waste them.

I bought a solid magenta when I was at Patchwork Passion yesterday to go with them. I was worried the magenta would be a little blinding for a baby, but it looks ok so far. I won't use it excessively.

Wonky Log Cabin Blocks Done

Had a test layout on my bed and it's a good size. It will be about 82" x 82" or 210 cm x 210cm when I have sewn the sashings on. The biggest I have ever made.

I have ordered a white jelly roll which I will cut up for the sashings - way easier than accurately cutting one million strips 2.5" wide. We've decided to go with the blue honeycomb for the back so that's been ordered. As has a wool batting. Exciting.

I am relatively confident about getting it finished in March, so long as the fabric doesn't take too long to arrive.

I think I will crosshatch quilt it ... I might google and see how other people have quilted wonky log cabin quilts.

PS On my bedside table, The Fosterling by Emma Neale. It's an ok read so far. I don't really know where it's going though. The plot line would be a flat if we were making a tension graph on the whiteboard. Still about a third to go though.

Voila!

It's not really magic as voila would suggest. More like hours and months of sewing. Either way, the Little Patchwork Village is done.

The Clams Are Growing

Slowly, but surely. I am trying to add a row a day.

Quilting the Border

I am quite pleased with my choice of stencil. I have quilted one side of the first border on the Little Patchwork Village quilt.

Wonky Log Cabin - A Start

All of the fabric has finally arrived - the downside of buying it from America. Washed and dried it yesterday. Cut and sewed it today.

Have made 5 blocks. Not sure how many I am going to need. Between 25 and 30 is my guesstimate at this stage. And while they are slightly different sizes at the mo, I will straighten them up later to about 14" x 14".

The fabrics we (me and cousin Kelly - because the quilt is for Kell's Mum, Aunty Judy) chose are:

• Timeless Teasures C8224 - light turquoise on turquoise
• Honeycomb by Kei Fabrics in Blue and Red
• Mamma Birds by Valorie Wells
• Mini Mikes Ting Gingham by Michael Miller - red
• Plain grey and plain white
• Just Wing It by Momo for Moda - blue on blue fine stripe
• Metro Living by Robert Kaufman - navy with white circles

I found these tutorials useful Tall Grass Prairie Studio's, Blempgorf''s and Quilt Dad's.

7/9

And in Wk 7 of the term ... I am on track.

It's hard to see all the quilting, but it is there!

I Like This Idea

GIANT clamshells.

I have small clamshells in my sampler quilt. Might make my next baby quilt using bigger clams. I think it would need a fairly busy quilting pattern on bigger clams though. Hmmm.

2/9

Two blocks down. Seven to go.

TGIF. When I got home this afternoon I mowed the lawns and re-photographed my gift quilt in the forest. I thought yesterday's photo was pretty budg.

The sun is still shining. Spring.

A Present

From Kat and Al. All the way from Canada. Lucky.

I am still trying to work out how the quilt-maker did it.

It Takes a Village

I have started quilting the Little Patchwork Village quilt. It's 'in the ditch' quilting, so not that exciting.

I hope to find a more exciting pattern for quilting the borders. That's a wee while away though. Finding a stencil might be a good excuse to go to the craft show in Hamilton in Sept.

N is for Next

I am making something like this next. I am making it for my cousins to give to their Mum for her birthday next March.

It's from the Block Party book I bought from Book Depository. We have ordered fabric in similar colours and await its arrival. The book is good. I could happily make most of the blocks in it.

In the meantime, I can start quilting the Village Quilt now it is basted. I think basting is the worst part of quilting. It takes ages, you have to crawl around on the floor and you end up with numerous pin pokes in the end of your fingers. The best part is removing the safety pins one by one as you quilt and get nearer to a quilt being finished.

P is for Picnic

I have had a productive day. Did out and about jobs this am, planted some poppies in my garden, filed about 60 recipes (55 cake/pudding related and only 5 'proper' food) into clearfiles, AND got the top of the picnic quilt finished.

Decided at 4pm to go and buy some backing because I want to experiment with the quilting. And seeing as Briscoes was across the carpark, I bought some ramekins and came home and made caramel and macadamia self-saucing pudding. I found the recipe amongst the pile I filed this morning. I hope it is yum.

Oranges in the Mail

After a bit of trial and error and good old freezer paper, I have worked out the size of the triangle fillers and have started squaring up the picnic quilt. Then after cutting several triangles, I realised I could just cut a square and then cut that diagonally. Better late than never.

My next dilemma is whether to fill the four corners with the orange or the more colourful fabric. I am leaning towards staying with the orange. I plan to use the more colourful fabric for binding - at least, I think that's what I was thinking when I ordered more of it! Oh well, the NZ$ is strong. (I should probably say that the US$ is weak.)

Little Patchwork Village - Top Completed

From this ...

 to this ...

to this ...

to this ...

to this ...

It measures 1.63 cm x 1.63 cm or 64" x 64" in old money. And is clearly in need of an iron.

I have told Mum she can have this one and it can live on the bed in the spare room - ie my bed in my room when I go home. It might be ready for Christmas, although it will take a lot of quilting.

Nearly There

I have just 4 more small blocks to make to complete the outside border.

Check out the snow on the hills beyond Napier this morning. Napier is at sea level, so the snow would be down to a couple of hundred metres, I'd say. 6 degrees.

A Frosty Day

These East Coast mornings can be a bit chilly. However, the days turn out to be blue sunshiney ones. Yesterday I got 14 blacks made for the next border of The Little Patchwork Village. I am not yet half way - lucky it's a two week holiday!