A Liberty of London Trip Around the World Quilt

Let me start by saying that this quilt is NOT MY WORK but it is a recently completed quilt made by my mother in law. My mother in law (Jan) has been sewing for many years, learning the ins and outs of garment sewing at a high end fashion house many moons ago, and has dabbled in a range of crafts including knitting, crochet, teddy bear construction, embroidery and ribbon work, and patchwork and quilting. Jan has kindly given me permission to share photos of her beautiful quilt with my readers.

Jan is a meticulous hand piecer; the quilt top was pieced entirely by hand (this quilt is not English paper pieced), one slow stitch at a time. Jan's stitches are tiny, precise, and so even, that for a moment you wonder if it was pieced by machine! This is truly inspiring work and it definitely makes me want to become a more confident hand piecer. Jan has had a lot of practice - and I know she thoroughly enjoys it - and I hope that one day I allow myself to find the time to do the same. Jan worked on this quilt for a period of approximately four months. 

Jan's quilt is a traditional Trip Around the World Quilt and was hand pieced from the center of the quilt out, adding one round of squares at a time. All of the fabrics used are luxury Liberty of London Tana Lawn. Many of the fabrics have been fussy cut to repeat the same square of fabric for that round. Fussy cut! So much work. 

QUILT DETAILS

Jan's Liberty of London Trip Around the World Quilt

The finished quilt measures approximately 60 inches x 60 inches.

Each finished square measures 1½" x 1½".

1600+ patchwork pieces.

Fabrics Used:

Liberty of London Tana Lawn

Thread:

Aurifil 50wt cotton thread for hand piecing.
Quilting:
Machine quilted by long arm quilter Helen Hayes - Melbourne.

For the back of the quilt Jan has chosen to use one of my favorite Liberty designs - Betsy. The use of Liberty fabric for both the quilt top and the quilt back means this quilt is feathery light, and combined with the use of the low loft cotton batting, it has the softest hand and a beautiful drape.

For the binding Jan has used a Liberty design called Yoshie which is also the same fabric used in the last (edge) round of triangles for the quilt. This finish gives the quilt a pinked edge which I rather like. My only contribution to this quilt was to attached the binding - by machine - to the quilt. Jan then hand slip stitched the binding to the back of the quilt.

I consider myself very fortunate to have many inspirational quilters in my immediate circle of family and friends. Jan and I have a lot in common and we bounce ideas off one another, share techniques and fabric stashes, and enjoy the banter that is quilting.

Click on any image for a larger view.

Thank you Jan for allowing me to share your work with my readers!

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:
More Trip Around the World Quilts:
Giant Granny Square Quilt - April 2017
Giant Granny Square Quilt - May 2016

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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.

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.

Carousel Quilt - Work in Progress Part 1

I am hand piecing. And no-one is more surprised than me! If you had told me at the beginning of 2016 that I would start and finish an English paper pieced quilt (the Daisy Chain Quilt), start a second English paper pieced quilt (the Wagon Wheel Quilt) and then decide to try my hand at hand piecing I would not have believed you. It's all happening.

This is the Carousel Quilt ~ a pattern by Sandra Boyle. I first saw the Carousel Quilt at a local quilt show and immediately fell in love with it. However when I saw that the pattern was written for hand-piecing with paper templates for cutting fabrics and piecing I quickly forgot about it. Then one day I was visiting a neighbor who happened to be working on this quilt and she encouraged me to give it a go. The next day I headed out and purchased a pattern from my local quilt store and I haven't looked back! That was in October of last year ...

Since then I have cut 550+ tiny fabric wedges with a paper template and a rotary cutter, marked a 1/4" seam on all of the edges of every single one of those fabric pieces with a pencil, hand pieced those fabric wedges into quarter arcs, and eventually turned arcs into complete circles/wheels. I have ended up with 17 complete circles; one more than required for the pattern. (The quilt design features four rows of four wheels on a single background fabric, with additional pieced borders and appliqued yo-yo's. The pattern doesn't include a photo of the finished quilt.)

I have really enjoyed the hand piecing. Many of the arcs were completed while I was travelling during the month of November. Not having a sewing machine at my disposal helped greatly to avoid the temptation to sit and machine piece this quilt (which I think is entirely possible). It took a little while to find my hand sewing rhythm, the right needle and thread, but I soon found myself enjoying the process. I may even have been sad to finish piecing the arcs! (I used a Foxglove Cottage Sharps size 10 needle and Aurifil 50 wt thread - the orange spool - for hand piecing).

The next step is to cut out the background fabric and hand piece the quilt top. Right now that feels rather overwhelming, but I am simply going to take it one step at a time. I have already chosen a background fabric - pictured below; a soft floral fabric with a vintage feel by Atsuko Matsuyama.

It has taken 3 months to get to this stage of completion and I imagine it will take me at least several weeks to stitch together the quilt top. I like to set aside my evenings for hand work - hand sewing, paper piecing, or knitting - however the evenings are short, especially in Summer. Time just seems to disappear.

As always, thank you for stopping by,
Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:
Carousel Quilt - Work in Progress - Part 2
Carousel Quilt - The Finished Quilt - Part 3
More slow sewing projects:
The Daisy Chain Quilt
The Wagon Wheel Quilt 

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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 #365 Sew Cherry 2 by Lori Holt

Sew Cherry 2 by Lori Holt 

for Riley Blake Designs

Happy New Year everyone! I have had a wonderful Christmas and have spent this last week enjoying some down time. That's not to say I haven't been playing with fabric, sewing, or knitting. It has been all of those things plus trying to stay cool. We've had some really warm and humid days. The heat is one thing but combine that with humidity and it becomes so counter productive! I am a friend of Winter.

Sew Cherry was Lori Holt's first fabric collection (released in 2011), snippets of which have since become rather sought after. Sew Cherry 2 is not so much a reprint but a collection that has been reworked based on this popular collection. Whilst is does includes several of the favourite designs from the original collection, new designs and colors have been added.

The collection features cherries, gingham (!!), several adorable floral designs, and a fun dot. The collection also includes three fabric panels - not shown in the photos above - with each panel divided into four equal fat quarters as pictured below. These too are rather pretty and a great way to add small fabric pieces to stash.

Sew Cherry 2 - Fabric Panels

SEW CHERRY 2 BY LORI HOLT is available from:
The Fat Quarter Shop

SPONSOR NEWS

Expired coupon codes and sales information has been deleted.

Best wishes for 2017!
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.

The Daisy Chain Quilt - An English Paper Piecing Project ~ Part 1

For some time now I have been wanting to start another English Paper Piecing (EPP) quilt project. I say another for this is not my first EPP project. Unfortunately I failed to finished my first EPP project (started in 2007) and after some time of it sitting around I passed it on to a quilter keen to work with my UFO. So this is a fresh start.

A slow sewing project does not exactly suit the otherwise fast paced nature of my blog but I thought that if I occasionally show you a progress update that would work. I am allowing myself most of this year to complete this project; no pressure behind the scenes hand sewing. It may cut into my knitting time but that was a sacrifice that I was happy to make.

This project was bursting my head, it was all I could think about. Obsessed. I already had a starting set of papers (purchased from Sew and Quilt at the Quilt Festival in Birmingham back in August) and preparation finally began in mid January. As you can see I spent quite some time cutting fabrics and preparing papers. I am glue basting! What a time saving revelation. I am using a Sewline Water Soluble Glue Pen and Sewline Refills to baste fabric on papers and it is working a treat. (Here's a great tutorial for glue basting).

I have made quite a few Daisy Flower units in the last few weeks - 80 at last count. I am working my way through my fabric stash, choosing predominantly small scale fabrics for these small patchwork pieces. Some fabrics have been fussy cut, some flower units have petals that are all the same, and some flower units have petals with two different alternating fabrics.

I have also worked my way through a bunch of different needles and have finally settled on Jeana Kimball's Foxglove Cottage Betweens Quilting Needles - Size 10. They are short and thin sewing needles which allow me to whip stitch by just catching a few threads of the fabrics so that the stitches are not visible on the front of the units. I am consciously making an effort to relax my hold of the fabric; to not grip the fabric/paper pieces with such great intensity when stitching, for this will quickly lead to a sore hand, wrist, arm, shoulder, neck, and headache. Ask me how I know.

That box of ready to go pieces is now empty. My order for more papers has arrived and I am going to spend another day or so cutting fabrics and glue basting. I can then settle and sew slow in the evenings to my heart's content. My target is for 3 finished units a day. I haven't yet set a target date for completing the quilt top (I haven't even calculated how many I units I will need) and I haven't yet made a final decision on how to join the Daisy Flower units, although a likely solution is with a diamond shape.

The Daisy Chain Quilt ~ An English Paper Piecing Project

1 inch Hexagon Centers

1" x 2" Jewel Pieces (6 for each  Daisy Flower unit)

Also useful is an Acrylic Jewel Cutting Template for cutting fabrics

with a 3/8" seam allowance

Now all I have to do is enjoy the process, one slow stitch at a time. 

Thank you for stopping by,

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:

The Daisy Chain Quilt - Part 2

The Daisy Chain Quilt - Part 3
The Daisy Chain Quilt - Part 4
The Daisy Chain Quilt - Part 5

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