This quilt has been epic and I think it’s probably going to
hold the title of my first and last quilt…
I made this for my best friend whose
baby is due next week. I bought the kit from Cotton Patch back in December and picked up the backing fabric (a soft
check brushed cotton) from The Remnant House when we were in
Harrogate over New Year.
You start by cutting strips of the plain coloured fabric and
sewing them all together to make a rainbow then you cut those to create the 4
squares of sashing. It really pays to be extra vigilant with the ruler doing
this and I can see why quilters have so many rulers etc
The quilt has the large central panel which you basically
add to around the outside. It wasn’t too complicated and the instructions were
pretty good although I did have to Google a couple of quilting terms that I wasn’t
familiar with. For example when I’d constructed the front panel and was ready
to attach my 3 layers together the instructions said ‘quilting can be done in
which ever method you feel happy with… have fun’ – eeek! I ended up just
stitching in the ditch as there were so many seams I could sew along. I decided
that I didn’t want to sew over the caterpillar pictures and just wanted enough
quilting to hold the wadding in place.
I also found that I had to make my own bias binding which
was a slightly bonus as I’ve got a bias binding maker which hasn’t had much
use. There was enough of the blue binding fabric left so I measured the quilt
and stitched the strips together so I could make one long piece to fit around
the entire edge of the quilt in one go. I had a go at mitring the edges which I
found tricky, it’s not entirely perfect but, when my friend opened it, no one
pointed out any of the mistakes I’d made.
So, in all, I’m glad I made it but not sure I’ll be attempting
another quilt anytime soon – back to dressmaking for me!
To finish off here's some photos of our new arrivals - a pair of 4 month old rescue kittens from Celia Hammond Animal Trust Holmes and Watson are keeping us busy by demanding food, cuddles, games and constant attention!
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| Mr Holmes |
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| Dr Watson |
Gosh, this quilt is absolutely brilliant!! I'm glad it's new owner loves it. I so hear you on the first and last quilt thing, because I'm there myself! I too made a quilt for a friend who is pregnant; and good grief, it took for ever. I have so much respect for all those quilters out there. And your new kittens are gorgeous!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, in all I'm pleased with how it turned out but didn't enjoy having in my lap sewing it in the heat we've had recently! Maybe one day I'll have a go at sewing a mini one instead...
ReplyDelete