The Carousel Quilt - Part 3

A Finished Quilt

It's a celebration! Seven months in the making and it is done. My Carousel Quilt may have sat idle for some of that time but it was never far from my mind or even from my sight. This quilt has taught me many things, including how to hand piece, but more importantly, that it is a process, and that it doesn't matter how you get there in the end, as long as you are happy with the outcome. And I am!

While I set out to hand piece this quilt top I ended up finishing the piecing of the quilt top by machine. All of the arcs and large circles were hand pieced. Once the circles were complete the project sat untouched for several weeks until one evening I decided that I was done looking at it, and I pieced the circles and background fabric together by machine. Lots of curve sewing, all without pins.

Click on any image for a larger view.

I then decided that to keep this project moving along this quilt needed some extra special quilting and I sent the quilt top off to the long arm quilter - Karen Terrens from Quilts on Bastings (Karen is also my sister). I told Karen to "go for it" but she also knows that I like my quilts densely quilted. To say I am thrilled with how she worked her magic would be an understatement!

For the back of the quilt I have chosen a single pink floral fabric from the Strawberry Biscuit collection by Elea Lutz, and for the binding I have used an irregular stripe fabric from the Simpatico collection by Michelle Engel-Bencsko for Cloud9 Fabrics. It is an older fabric that I pulled from my stash, and the muted tone and color of the stripe worked perfectly with both the backing fabric and the quilt top.

QUILT STATS

Carousel Quilt

A Pattern by Sandra Boyle.

The finished quilt measures 53 inches x 53 inches

(the pattern includes additional borders which I have omitted).

Hand pieced and machine pieced.

In excess of 550 patchwork pieces.

Background fabric is a floral print  from the 30's Collection

by Atsuko Matsuyama for Yuwa Fabrics.
This quilt is not for sale.

Carousel Quilt Pattern  by Sandra Boyle
and additional (optional but very useful!) acrylic templates
available from:

GJ's Discount Fabrics

http://www.gjsdiscountfabrics.com.au/

Phone orders (03) 9482 5528

Since completing this quilt I have been eagerly plotting and planning my next hand piecing project or even another English Paper Piecing project. Last week I thought I had found it ... and I started it. However it wasn't long before I figured out that I could just as easily machine piece it. And so it goes. Hopefully I will have a new quilt top to show you next week.

As always, thank you for stopping by,
Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:
Carousel Quilt - Work in Progress - Part 1
Carousel Quilt - Work in Progress - Part 2
Professional Long Arm Quilter of Choice: Karen Terrens from Quilts on Bastings
Sewing Curves without Pins ~ Tutorial
More RPQ Slow Sewing Quilts:
The Daisy Chain Quilt
The Wagon Wheel Quilt 

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content - this specifically includes all photos - from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

Sunday Stash #386 Gingham Girls by Amy Smart

Gingham Girls by Amy Smart

for Penny Rose Fabrics

Gingham Girls is Amy Smart's debut fabric collection for Penny Rose Fabrics. Inspired by by her 1970's childhood and a time when her mother made clothing for Amy and her sisters. Often matching clothing for all the siblings. This so rings true for my childhood. My mother made all our clothing and my older sister and I had matching sets of clothing, as did my two younger sisters! Shirts, skirts, dresses, pants, coats. You name it, my mother made it. Gingham featured often.

This collection features summer-themed colors and vintage-inspired prints, and includes an adorable floral gingham design, strawberries, butterflies, small scale florals as well as a number of excellent fabric stash basics ... dots, checks, and more gingham ~

GINGHAM GIRLS BY AMY SMART is available from:
The Fat Quarter Shop
Lady Belle Fabric

SPONSOR NEWS

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Oakshott Fabrics  Order the 50 Shades + Grey Quilt Kit before Monday 5 June 9am UK time and get FREE SHIPPING on your entire order. All the details including free shipping codes here.

Craftsy  $US10 Memorial Day Class Special. Grab one of these popular classes for just $10. Deal ends Monday 29 May 2017 at 11.59pm MT.

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COPYRIGHT and DISCLOSURE: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. I have personally selected (and purchased) all featured Sunday Stash fabrics/products, unless clearly stated otherwise. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

Two Block Patchwork Quilt - The Finished Quilt

A finished quilt! I am pretty happy with how this quilt turned out. I love simple patchwork quilts and this soft color palette isn't unlike several of my previous quilts. I also like to make use of the fabrics that I have on hand and I am pleased to say that many, if not all, of the fabrics were pulled from stash, several even from my scrap bin. I think you'll recognize many of these prints.

I have quilted the quilt by ditch stitching all seam lines, both horizontal and vertical seam lines, as well as the diagonal lines. I have then added additional vertical straight lines spaced just over 1 inch apart across the width of the quilt, giving the quilt additional texture and a further point of interest.

For the back of the quilt I have used a single floral fabric from the Milk, Flower & Sugar collection by Elea Lutz. I love this small scale print and rather than continue to hoard it, I thought this was the perfect backing fabric to complement the quilt top. For the binding I have used a narrow soft pink and white stripe fabric from the Petite Basics collection by Sevenberry.

QUILT STATS

Two Block Patchwork Quilt

The finished quilt measures 49 inches x 64 inches.

17 rows of 13 blocks.

111 Hourglass Blocks

110 Rail Fence Blocks

Each finished block measures 3.75 inches x 3.75 inches.
See work in progress details and photos here.

Printed Fabrics:

A range of prints from stash both dark and low volume/white background,

including several pieces of cotton/linen blend fabrics and vintage fabrics.

Solid Fabrics:

Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton in a range of colors

including White, Snow, Cream, Natural, and Pink.

Batting:

Low Loft Cotton Batting:

Warm & White batting from The Warm Company.

This quilt is available for purchase from my Etsy Store.

See all the listing details here:

Two Block Patchwork Quilt

Thank you for stopping by,

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:

Red Pepper Quilts Etsy Store

Two Block Patchwork Quilt - Work in Progress

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

Sunday Stash #385 Old New 30's by Atsuko Matsuyama

Old New 30's 2017 by Atsuko Matsuyama

for Lecien Fabrics

I couldn't wait to get my hands on the latest Old New 30's collection by popular Japanese artist and quilt designer Atsuko Matsuyama, and they are every bit as good as I had hoped they would be. I love reproduction prints! These fabrics are easy to use and work well as a cohesive collection and just as ready mix with other fabric collections, including modern fabric ranges.

The collection features mainly small scale designs in a rainbow of colors all of which are great stash basics and perfect for scrap quilts. How adorable are the sweet floral prints? The tiny roses - pictured directly above - are perfect and I have ordered extra yardage the yellow, pink, and white background prints.

The collection features four designs each printed in up to five different colorways. In addition there are two cheater block panels that complete the range ~

OLD NEW 30's BY ATSUKO MATSUYAMA is available from:
The Fat Quarter Shop

SPONSOR NEWS

Expired coupon codes and sales information has been deleted.

Enjoy Sunday!
Rita

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COPYRIGHT and DISCLOSURE: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. I have personally selected (and purchased) all featured Sunday Stash fabrics/products, unless clearly stated otherwise. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

Sometimes I Knit ... and Sometimes I Crochet

Faux Cable Shawl 

Pattern by Christopher Salas

Published in Vogue Knitting, Holiday 2016 Magazine.

I love to knit and it has been a while since a knitty update. I have missed spending time with yarn and the knitting needles. Instead I have spent quite some time over the last 12 months either hand piecing or English Paper Piecing, both of which have meant less time with yarn. Sometimes though you have to make time for the things you love, even if it means staying up till the early hours of the morning. And the Faux Cable Shawl was not only a great pattern (a charted repeat of rows and intuitive knitting) but the finished shawl is also a warm and wearable item.

THE YARN:

3 Skeins Madelinetosh Merino Sport

in Candlewick

More photos of the Faux Cable Shawl on my Ravelry Page here.

And sometimes I crochet ...

Hexie Love Actually Blanket

Pattern by Pink Stitches

My Hexie Love Actually Blanket may be the first crochet project that I have shared with you here but my history with the hook goes back quite some time. My mother taught me to crochet as a child and as a left hander I have fond memories of sitting opposite my mother to mirror her actions with the hook. Since then I have crocheted scarves and blankets (less successfully) and also curtains for my kitchen windows (more successfully). That was all some time ago.

THE YARN:

Primo Fingering by The Plucky Knitter

Picking up the crochet hook again after more than a decade is like riding a bike; a little wobbly at first but you soon pick up speed. I have been working on this project since early March and since then I have frequently questioned my decision to use fingering weight yarn for this project, but I think it is going to be awesome when it is done. Right now I am about a third of the way through and have ordered more yarn to join the Hexie units together. There's still a long way to go on this project but I am enjoying every chain and every double crochet (not so much weaving in all the ends).

More photos of the Hexie Love Actually Blanket on my Ravelry Page here.

Hexie Love Actually Pattern available from Pink Stitches.

Thank you for scrolling through my non-quilty photos!
Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:
More RPQ Knitting Projects
Red Pepper Quilts on Ravelry

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.