Tuesday, February 26, 2013

A Baby Quilt - Not Quite Low Volume

A non-quilty friend is having a baby - a baby girl - due late April, and of course every baby does need a quilt ... and a quilt makes a practical and personal gift. The quilt design is loosely based on the Tiffany Quilt Pattern (I have turned the center square into three equal strips).


Rather than limit myself to using only low volume fabrics, I have this time also included slightly "noisier" fabrics ~ prints with a light/white background but also with plenty of color.   I have not favored any particular color palette using blue, green, pink, orange, grey and yellow, as well as small and larger scale prints.  It all seems to work.  As always, anything goes.


For the back of the quilt I have used a cute print from the Little Apples collection by Aneela Hoey (Tortoises).  It's rather the perfect fabric for a baby quilt.  So sweet.  


For  the quilt binding I have used a soft baby pink/white stripe fabric.  There were no details on the fabric selvage but I believe it is from the Color Basics range by Lecien.
Shhh!  Don't Wake the Baby
36.5 inches x 48.5 inches

Ready for wrapping and gift giving.   

Rita

Relevant Links:
Low Volume Projects

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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Sunday Stash #176 - Happy Go Lucky by Bonnie & Camille

Happy Go Lucky by Bonnie & Camille for Moda

Happy Go Lucky by Bonnie & Camille is due for release in May 2013 although a limited number of pre-cuts have sporadically been available online.
The collections features 8 different designs printed in up to nine different colorways.  My eye immediately wanders towards the basics included in this range, including an excellent range of tiny dots as well as:


Happy Go Lucky - Skip in Grey, Aqua, Yellow, Navy and Red

Happy Go Lucky - Jump in Orange, White Red, 
White Lime, White Navy, Navy and Red

Happy Go Lucky - Checks in Red Aqua, Aqua Navy, Navy Lime

There are so many great collections due for release in the next few months, it's going to require some serious budgeting!

Enjoy Sunday!
Rita

Happy Go Lucky by Bonnie & Camille is due to arrive in stores in May 2013.
*Sign up for notification of arrival here:

*This list is a work in progress and I will update details as the release date approaches.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Liberty Love

Weekend sewing - in pictures.
I love fabric. Bet you knew that already! I have been collecting Liberty Tana Lawn slowly and steadily for a number of years.  When I spotted the release of Alexia's book featuring Liberty fabrics I knew I had to get my hands on a copy.


Bursting at the seams with 25 different projects this little pincushion project called my name. Pronto ~ get out the rotary cutter and the Tana Lawn stash! These fabrics are so delightful to work with.
And I couldn't just make one!  I don't think you can ever have too many pincushions.  Right?
These will also make great gifts for quilting and sewing buddies.


(I have used Robert Kaufman EssexYarn Dyed in Flax for the back).

It was an excellent weekend.
Rita

Relevant Links:
Liberty Love by Alexia Abegg - Amazon
Liberty Tana Lawn fabrics available from:
Alice Caroline
DuckaDilly

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Sunday Stash #175 - Gingham and Summersville Spring

A little basic stashing.
Small Gingham from Riley Blake

Gingham.  The perfect stash builder.  Not unlike your basic dots and stripe fabric this collection by Riley Blake comes in a rainbow of 11 different colors as well as three different sizes.  Pictured here is Small Gingham.  Also available in Medium and Large Gingham.


Gingham by Riley Blake is now available from:
The Fat Quarter Shop
Fort Worth Fabric Studio

I was also rather excited to receive a complimentary bundle of Summersville Spring by Lucie Summers this week.  The black/white print (second from the left - and called Bloomsbury) may well be my next favorite fabric.  Yardage is heading my way!
Summersville Spring is Lucie's second collection for Moda Fabrics (see Lucie's first collection here).  Summersville Spring consists of 7 different designs in up to five different colorways (not all are pictured here). I am looking forward to cutting into these!


Enjoy Sunday!
Rita

Friday, February 15, 2013

Hand Pieced Hexagon Star Quilt

Please let me start by telling you that this isn't my work.  Instead, this is a recently completed hand-pieced quilt made by my mother-in-law.

Hand-pieced Scrappy Hexagon Star Quilt
Finished Quilt measures 55 inches x 70 inches


The progress of this quilt has previously featured on my blog, right from the very first hand pieced stars blocks:
Machine Quilted by Karen from Quilts on Bastings
Three years and much hand-stitching later the quilt is finished (my MIL has also worked on several other hand pieced and applique quilts during this time).


All of the diamonds have been traced onto fabric using a single plastic template, positioning the template so as to fussy cut the desired fabric portion.   Fabric has been been cut by hand, a seam allowance marked with pencil and hand stitched with tiny and consistent stitches.  Truly inspiring.


Some of the fabrics used may look familiar as my MIL has free reign over my scrap bin and stash.  Other fabrics are from my MIL's fabric stash and swapped with sewing group friends.  The red/white polka dot backing fabric and red/white bias binding are a perfect finish touch to this colorful quilt.  


252 Hexagon Star Blocks
3000+ diamonds


My MIL's work is inspirational, and one day I hope to have the patience to piece with such precision.  Perhaps I'll start small, and an English Paper Piecing (stabilizing the fabric shapes with pre-cut paper templates) project may well be in my future.  


With thanks to my MIL for allowing me to photograph and share this amazing quilt.

Enjoy the picture overload,
Rita

EDITED TO ADD:
My MIL did not use a pattern to make this quilt, instead all that was used was this 60 degree plastic template.  The plastic template is placed on the fabric and a line traced around the template with pencil.  The fabric is then cut out with a small pair of scissors.  A 1/4 inch seam is marked on the fabric again using a pencil in preparation for hand stitching.


This template is from Victorian Textiles - a 60 degree 2.5 inch Hex.  Code VT917.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Tickled Pink - A Finished Quilt

Tickled Pink
Finished Quilt Size:  44 inches x 56 inches

I have finished my hourglass quilt and I love it!   I so enjoy working with simple traditional quilt designs, and randomly collating modern fabrics (from my fabric stash) to make a quilt. 


I have combined a wide range of fabrics in every shade and saturation of pink, as well as a mix of fabrics with a predominantly white or off-white background to make a scrappy quilt with an overall cohesive look.  I think you'll recognize many of these fabrics used from previous projects.


As this quilt is all about fabrics I have limited the quilting detail by ditch stitching all of the seam lines  (horizontal, vertical and diagonal).  It was a lot of slow and careful stitching, but I think the result is well worth the effort. The quilt still has the lovely texture created by the quilting but there are no visible lines of stitching across any of the fabrics.


For the back of the quilt I have used a fabric that I have been saving for just the right project - Sherbet Pips by Aneela Hoey (Scooters in Vanilla Ice).  And although I auditioned many different fabrics for the binding there was no other fabric that made quite the same statement as a black/white striped fabric.  

It is going to make a lucky girl very happy.

Here are some of the work in progress pictures
 of this quilt posted on Instagram.
My Instagram profile:  redpepperquilts

Thank you for stopping by, I appreciate it.
Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:
Tickled Pink [workinprogress]
Hourglass Block Tutorial

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Sunday Stash #174 - Posy by Aneela Hoey

Posy by Aneela Hoey for Moda Fabrics

Aneela has done it again!  Posy is the latest collection by UK designer Aneela Hoey for Moda. The collection consists of 9 designs in up to four colorways. Reminiscent of all things girly but also Spring and a change of seasons.  For us down under we are ready to welcome Autumn; a more gentle season after a dry and long hot Summer.

Weave in Lily of the Valley, Foxglove and Lilac
Stripe in Lily of the Valley, Geranium and Hollyhock

Story in Daisy, Foxglove and Lilac

Posy includes small scale prints, stripes, and text prints, all of which are excellent stash basics - fabrics which combine readily with other collections and to which I turn to often when collating a fabric stack for a quilt project.  
Bouquet in Forget Me Not, Honey Suckle, Daisy, Foxglove and Lilac (bottom).

I am particularly obsessed taken with the Bouquet design (above), and although I have started with this bundle of Fat Eighths, I have re-ordered these in yardage!   You may also have noticed that several prints from this collection have already made an appearance in my Hourglass quilt top (see last blog post).

Bunnies in Honeysuckle, Lilac and Foxglove.

Posy by Aneela Hoey is now available from:

Enjoy Sunday!
Rita

Friday, February 8, 2013

[workinprogress] Hourglass Quilt

Tickled Pink

It's been a week of all things pink in my "studio" and I am happy to say that although it has been a while since I have been quite so heavy handed with the pink color palette, it has been ever so delightful.  


I am also revisiting my love for Half Square Triangles and the traditional Hourglass Block; repetitive easy piecing although dealing with bulkier seams - where points meet - is always a little tricky.  I have pressed the seams together and have tried to be consistent throughout the piecing of this quilt top to ensure that seams lock together and try to avoid excessive bulk. 


My fabric selection is from my stash of pink fabrics, with a touch of red and orange.  I have contrasted these with a wide variety of low volume white/black prints which has added much detail.  My initial plan was to make two baby quilts however once I saw the impact of the small hourglass blocks on my design floor I revisited the plan and pieced a single quilt top.  


More soon.
Rita

Relevant Links: