A Well Worn Path

The postman is familiar with the path that leads to my front door.  He knows also that door knocking is unnecessary as the dog will bark outrageously at the sound of a parcel landing on the veranda.  Fabric has arrived!

 Little Folks by Anna Maria Horner

Having used most of my Little Folks stash I was keen to replenish supplies before these fabrics become "hard to get" or heaven forbid "rare".  Yikes, my heart skipped a beat just writing those words!

Whilst in shopping mode I also stocked up on the Pastry Line Solids - Dobby Dots also by Anna Maria Horner.  Isn't amazing  how much fabric can fit into one of those USPS Priority Envelopes (especially voile), and how fast they cross the Pacific Ocean!

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RELEVANT LINKS:
Little Folks Baby Quilt 
Little Folks - Revisited 
More Little Folks - A Baby Quilt 
Little Folks Quilt in Progress
Little Folks Custom Quilt
Little Folks Hour Glass Quilt in Progress
Little Folks Hour Glass Quilt - Finished Quilt
Wordless Wednesday

Little Folks ~ Revisited

I've got an inordinate stash of the Little Folks fabric collection by Anna Maria Horner!  Even though I have previously made several quilts from these super soft voile fabrics (see here and here and here) the stash remains.  So it was time to revisit Little Folks ~ and not just for stash reductions reasons; these fabrics are a joy  to work with:

This really is a very simple design using the fabric's colors and prints to provide visual effect and interest.

Can you also see from the pictures that I have added an extra set of quilting lines ~ stitching two lines on either side of all seam lines?  Twice the amount of quilting to create a more detailed grid of intersecting lines. Well worth the extra effort.

There's nothing quite like 100% cotton goodness, especially when fabrics are oh so soft, I do wish you could feel this quilt ...   I have bound the quilt in my favorite Little Folks print:  Little Honey in Ink

As usual, my Etsy Store has been updated ~ you can find the listing for this Little Folks Quilt here.

Happy browsing,
Rita

Did you know ...

"There are 12 hours during the day and above fifty in the night" - Marie de Rabutin- Chantal

Although it is not unusual for me to burn the midnight oil, this week has seen me stay up late to create every night.  And I mean really late - I think I may have found those 50 hours.  It was worth it.

Finished Quilt measures 51 inches x 65.5 inches

I have finished the Little Folks Quilt and am super pleased with it.  It is so soft and dreamy, and drapes so beautifully.  Even when you fold it, the creases just fall out.  

 Piecing with the voile fabrics was daunting at first, but my fears were very much unfounded.  I used a little spray starch to settle the edges when piecing together the long strips of fabric.  (Remember Little Folks Voile is extra wide at 55 inches).  This ensured that the strips did not stretch or curve.  

I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that machine quilting voile fabrics was a not as difficult as anticipated.  As the fabrics are smooth and slippery they cause less friction and move through the sewing machine easily, gliding effortlessly.  What I did do was change to a thinner needle, using a Microtex 60/8 needle.  This is a sharp needle suitable for lightweight and fine fibers.  No broken needles to report.

This quilt was inspired by a quilt made by Debbie from Calico and Ivy.  Debbie used some perle cottons to feature some colorful hand quilting, and I was easily tempted to do so as well.  My experience with anything hand sewing is limited indeed, but  I was very pleased with how my stitches looked.  I might have to start stashing some Perle cottons ...

 

The back of the quilt is also a voile fabric from the Little Folks range by Anna Maria Horner.  I think having used all lightweight voile fabrics for both the front and back of the quilt certainly helped make the decorative hand stitching a little easier, with the needle gliding through quite happily.

The binding fabric is again more voile, and similar to the inspiration quilt, I used perle cotton to blanket stitch around the top and bottom edge of the binding (although I think I may have done it upside down?).  It adds a touch of interest and a feel of luxury.  

Lots of pictures here today, but my words alone are insufficient in describing this quilt.

All the colors of Little Folks by Anna Maria Horner

 

As you can see I have enjoyed every single quiet moment late into the night. 

A Quilt in Progress II

I rarely add borders to my quilts.

Having said that, I have decided to add two borders to the Hour Glass Quilt top -  first a solid white border and then a pieced border using fabrics that have also been used in the Hour Glass blocks.

I do wish you could  actually see and touch this quilt top.  I am not sure if the pictures doing justice here.  Both the Liberty fabrics and the "Little Folks" fabrics are lightweight and make for a lovely flowing quilt top.  So soft.

I am enjoying seeing some of the other creations made with Little Folks fabrics and particularly love some of the quilts in the Flickr Little Folks Group.  Wonderful inspiration. (I already have plans for the remaining Little Folks fabrics in my stash!!)

The quilt top measures 64 inches x 73 inches, bigger than most of my quilts.  I am awaiting the arrival of both the backing fabric and quilting inspiration.

A Little Folks Baby Quilt

Last week a quilting and blogging friend welcomed a sweet baby girl into her family. Even though I know that this is one baby girl who will be surrounded by much handmade and quilted goodness, I figured a girl can never have too many quilts. 

My fabric of choice was Little Folks - Voile - by Anna Maria Horner.  This fabric is buttery soft and fly-away light weight, and therefore perfectly suited for little ones as well as being suitable for a warm/hot climate.

This design is a repeat of earlier Little Folks Quilts made in 2010 (see here and here), although this time I decided to omit the binding.  I have previously made quilts without binding using a "bagging out" technique by sandwiching the layers together, stitching around the outside edges, and then turning the quilt inside out through a gap left for this purpose.  (See detailed tutorial here:  A Quilt Without Binding).

I love the looks of these edges!  So sleek and modern, but also colorful when contrasted with the backing fabric.   I have used a 100% cotton batting, which is my standard batting of choice; it is a low loft, natural fiber, batting.

All of the images here are of the hand washed quilt (in a small tub with Soak Wash - a no-rinse gentle cleansing formula), and then tumble dried in a dryer on a normal setting.  I anxiously waited for the quilt to come out of the dryer however could not have been happier with the result:  the fabric stayed true to color (without color run) and a gentle crinkling of the quilt.  

Super light weight  - weighing in at less than 250 grams.

Happy Stitching indeed!  This baby quilt is now making it's way across the country, and ready for sweet baby dreams, baby cuddles, snuggling, even nappy changes ....

Welcome to the world baby Olive!
Rita



COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission.

Sunday Stash #35

It's great to be stashing again.

Anna Maria Horner 

Little Folks (voile) wich comes in three palettes 

Sugar Cookie, Moonlight & Playground.

 From left to right:

Forest Hills in Sweet

Coloring Garden in Berry

Baby Bouquet in Sweet

From left to right:

Forest Hills in Citrus

Coloring Garden in Sea

Little Honey in Meadow

Little Folks - Voile - is a lightweight, free flowing cotton fabric with a high thread count.  It has a really beautiful drape and is suitable for clothing and soft furnishings but surely also quilts!

Little Folks fabric stash was purchased online at Hawthorn Threads and Sewmamasew.

I can't wait to cut into these!

Just a reminder that the comments/entries to win the Bricks and Stones Quilt as detailed in the GiveAway post will be closing tonight, Sunday 10 January at 12 midnight AEDT.  The draw will take place on Monday, and the winner will be announced shortly thereafter. Good luck everyone!  Your enthusiasm and support has been totally overwhelming and much appreciated.

Little Folks Quilt II

This week I am working on a custom quilt; a baby quilt very much in the spirit of the Little Folks Quilt made earlier this year (see here), albeit a miniature version.

The quilt top is pieced with all fabrics from the Little Folks collection by Anna Maria Horner and Dobby Dots from the Pastry line.  The baby quilt top is finished, the backing prepared, the quilt sandwich basted and I have started quilting - a familiar process.

Again, I wish I could convey in a picture how deliciously soft this quilt top is, and how similarly beautiful  the voile fabrics are to work with.  There could not possibly be a more perfect fabric for babies.

Today I am going to spend some time adding machine and hand quilting detail to this baby quilt, the combination of these two together with  the use of brightly colored threads will add  much detail to the quilt.

Happy Stitching!

Sunday Stash #269 Folk Song by Anna Maria Horner

 Folk Song by Anna Maria Horner

Folk Song is Anna Maria Horner's most recent collection and features a reprint of four designs from the Good Folks collection as well as a number of prints from the Little Folks collection which was originally released as a voile range (in 2010), but now available as quilting cottons; music to my ears and creative hands.

Above and below - reprints from the Little Folks collection

now in quilting cottons

These strong colors and medium to large scale floral prints are unlike my more recent fabric stash purchases but I was really drawn to them, perhaps because I have worked with these designs before and am excited to work with these again as quilting cottons. A happy nostalgic purchase.

FOLK SONG BY ANNA MARIA HORNER is available from:
The Fat Quarter Shop
Westwood Acres
The Quilted Castle
Stash Fabrics
Fabric Worm

Enjoy Sunday!

Rita

COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission.

My Creative Space ...

Now that the school holidays have commenced it has been a week of late nights and slow mornings.  I love having the teens at home, with leisurely late lunches (like 3 pm!) and a lack of structure and routine.  The  last few days, however, I have sorely missed my sewing machine whilst it was being serviced.

Thankfully my local sewing machine repair and service center, the Camberwell Sewing Centre were very understanding of my "plight" and again took care of my machine with expediency, and it now hums like a brand new machine. 

In the meantime though I had the use of a borrowed sewing machine ( my sister's Bernina Activa whilst she seeking out quilting inspiration and patchwork stores in Europe) and have enjoyed piecing  another simple Little Folks Baby Quilt.  This time I have made a little baby girl quilt with lots of pink and even a touch of purple.

 Little Folks Voile by Anna Maria Horner

I thought it wise to stick with something familiar and manageable with a strange sewing machine.  Although the borrowed machine is the same brand, I felt like a sewing novice using this smaller machine.  The first hiccup came when I needed to wind a bobbin -  eventually I worked out (with the help of the internet) that a simple press of the foot pedal solved the inaction of the bobbin winder!  Mmmm too simple.

Of course a pretty pink quilt does need pretty threads, which has meant a quick dash to The Lazy Daisy - Needlework Specialist, where I discovered a huge range of Perle8 thread in stock, and now more in my stash!  These will keep me entertained for what promises to be a rainy weekend.

For inspiration you will find many more Creative Spaces at Kootoyoo.  Thanks Kirsty!

More Little Folks ...

You already know how much I love the buttery soft voile fabrics from the Little Folks range by Anna Maria Horner, and therefore need no excuse for making this adorable baby quilt.

Quilt measures 40 inches x 32.5 inches

Although I do like what it adds to the overall look and feel of the quilt, I am only just starting to enjoy the decorative hand stitching.  It seems to take quite some time for me to find my hand stitching rhythm and struggle to let go of perfect stitch length requirement (totally self imposed!).

Combining both machine and hand quilting is proving to be a colorful combination.  I have matched the machine quilting thread with the color of the fabric, and have used a contrast color thread for hand quilted stitching.

The voile fabrics drape so beautifully and creases just fall away, even after the quilt has been folded. 

Although this is a repeat design, I still loved making it.  It was a comfort project that I could start whilst my own machine was being serviced and finished with my own "brand new" humming sewing machine.  I really should try to get my sewing machine serviced more regularly.

I have updated my Etsy Store to include this quilt.  You can find the listing as well as more pictures here. SOLD

I know, picture overload!