the rest of April's makes

After making the diamonds scrap quilt, I didn't know what to make next so I dug out the box that held all sorts of odds and ends. Blocks that I'd tried and decided there was no way I would make a whole quilt with, practice blocks I'd made to see if I liked them and generally all sorts of "odd" things that I'd need to do something with to fit them into a quilt. This is just some of the contents of that box!

I put some of them together (6 words don't nearly cover the amount of work involved!!) and came up with these two:

Whilst I was happy with both of those, I wasn't keen that I had some number blocks left which would look strange in a quilt on their own so I set these both aside with the idea that I would maybe shift some things around.

In the meantime, I made up some more blocks using up some more pictures in the centres of some square-in-a-square blocks ... (the 9 and 0 number blocks were already made)

... and some more 9½" blocks (9" finished) using scraps ...

... and some others that were odd sizes.

I had fun making all of these but set them aside - in another (bigger) box 🤪 - so I could make some other things.

The first things on that list were two small round table toppers for my daughter, Jo. She'd bought herself a round, pink trolley and wanted a couple of toppers to put on it. She was delighted with these!

So that's me caught up on April. May will come soon. 😀

the diamond scraps quilt

Way back in April, I watched a video on youtube by Jordan Fabrics.

I thought I'd like to have a go as I always have masses of scraps and this would be a good way to use some of them up. This method uses paper to keep the fabrics from stretching. Donna made her paper square but I wondered how it would look if I left the paper at A4 size. It would save all that cutting and, I thought, would look fab.

I made a test piece and then made some more.

Then some more ...

Even more ...

And some more ...

Then came the fun part - tearing off the paper. Takes a while but, like I said, it's fun!

Then I sewed them into a quilt top:

I decided it wasn't big enough! As I had plenty more scraps and still had some of the greens left I'd used to make the diamonds, I decided to make some more blocks. I needed 7 facing left ...

And 6 facing right.

I joined those on to the quilt top and was much happier with the size.

I backed it with bump (curtain interlining which is much cheaper than quilt batting and just as effective) and a green sheet and quilted it by sewing a straight line right down the middle of the scrappy bits.

I bound it with the same green sheet and put a label on it.

It's one of my favourite quilts and to think it's 90% out of my scrap boxes makes me so happy.

Double Wedding Ring Quilt finished!

I was working away sewing a new block for the Double Wedding Ring quilt thinking I had loads more to do and getting a bit put off by that idea. I had made 6 out of a possible 16 or 20 I'd originally planned to do. Then I saw someone (can't remember where I saw it!) had made a DWR quilt with only 6 blocks in the middle with borders around it to take it up to a bigger size. Well, my mind started thinking of that possibility and I started doing sums.

If I did the 6 blocks in the middle as a 3 x 2 arrangement, that would mean the centre of the quilt would be about 48" high by 32" wide. I thought I'd prefer it a bit wider than that so decided to make another 3 blocks so I could do a 3 x 3 arrangement which would make the centre about 48" square. If I then added a 4" border all around, that would be 56" square - plenty big enough.

So here are what turned out to be the last 3 blocks - each one bumpier than the last!:

I then joined all 9 blocks together to make the centre panel of the quilt. Oh my goodness, I love it already!

I had enough of the navy sheeting to make the borders and used up some of the pink and blue squares which were the accents of the DWR blocks in the corners. Goodness me, I love this even more!

I decided I was going to put a navy fleece on the back which, of course, I didn't have in my stash so I went to eBay and found a shop which sold fleece in 150cm squares - approx 60" - which was ideal. I duly ordered it - £12.99, free postage!! - and sat back to wait the 4 to 5 days it suggested it would take to get to me. It arrived 2 days later! Fab!

I immediately pinned the quilt top to the fleece trying to flatten out all the bumps which are a bit inevitable when sewing so many curves. It's not perfect but who cares about that? I don't! I am sooooooo pleased with it. Definitely worth all the effort!

I made a label on a piece of the navy sheeting and sewed it to the back. Love it!

As I said way back in July last year when I started this, I've always had a hankering to make this quilt and now I've done it. I don't know if I'll make another as it's a TON of work but I'm so glad I did it. Go me!!

purse, pinafore, blouses and others

I've not just been a quilt-making machine this year. I've also made a few (!) other things. Let me show you.

First, Joanna asked me to make her a coin purse so I dug out my bits of leather and made this one for her. It's the same pattern as I used for my own one back in May last year (who knew it was so long ago!!). This time I made it from one piece of leather so no seam to contend with. I like it. She likes it. That's all that counts!

Next I made a cover for a notebook which I intend to use as a sort of journal for the things I make. This is the outside cover. It's not as big as it looks - this is it flat!

It has pockets for pens on the inside cover.

And this is it tied shut with the ribbons. By the end of the year, I suspect the ribbons will do a good job since the pages will get fatter as I paste the pics of my makes and maybe even samples of fabrics inside.

I made myself a pinafore dress. The pattern is the Mildred pinafore from SewgirlintheUK. I sewed it up very quickly and there's only been a couple of days in the 2 weeks since I made it that I haven't worn it. I LOVE it! I got Douglas to take a photo of me trying it on before I'd even sewn up the hem! You might be able to see the pins! You can see the back of it in the mirror out in the hall!

Then I made a couple of Archer shirts. I have made a LOT of these shirts since I got the pattern back in 2014. I have definitely had my money's worth! (The link shows the pattern costing $18. I can't imagine I paid that much - too mean/thrifty/canny! Actually, I just went and checked my emails and I only paid $12 for it. Wow! a 50% increase??) Anyway, the shirts are very comfy under my new pinafore!

This one is made from a duvet cover that I bought in Asda's. OMG I LOVE this!

When Joanna saw the stripey one, she asked me if I'd make her one too. The duvet cover for it is washed and pressed and ready to be cut out!

Lastly, in my bid to get on with the double wedding ring quilt, I made another block. It looks like it could do with a good press!

another 2 quilts finished!

Back at the beginning of the year, I saw lot of posts on blogs and youtube videos where people were making lists of 12 UFOs (unfinished objects) or WIPs (works in progress) that they wanted to get finished this year. I'm not guilty of having tons of those lying around but I did have the sampler quilt and the double wedding ring quilt I had started last year that I thought I'd try and get finished.

I counted up how many more blocks I'd need for the sampler quilt and decided I had too many for one quilt! I then worked out how many I'd need for 2 quilts and that was 6 more blocks each. There were always two of each block pattern so I needed to make 2 more of 6 blocks. I dug into my 501 Quilt Blocks book again and chose 6 blocks that didn't involve too much fussing! (Just as an aside, I got the link for the book from Amazon and there is NO WAY I paid £149 for that book! Holy moley!!) Anyway, these are the blocks I ended up with:

Strip Heart:

New Album:

Ohio Star:

Homeward Bound:

Crayon Box:

and Counter Change Cross:

As I started to add the sashing on to the blocks, there was one block that, no matter how much I tried, just would not fit on to the sashings. The block (Four X Variation shown in this blog post) was nowhere near the 9½" square it should have been so I dug out the book again and made Calico Puzzle:

I then divided the blocks into two piles so neither quilt had two blocks of the same design then added all the sashings and cornerstones - wee squares of colour between the sashings. I bought a couple of very soft fleeces from Asda for the backs as neither of the two I had on my shelves were big enough. They cost me £7.50 each which, to my way of thinking, was a great price to make the backing of the quilts easy to do and the results are so warm and cosy. Perfect!

Here they are in all their glory. I LOVE them!

This shows the penguins fleece on the back and the quilt label:

I hope to get on with the double wedding ring quilt this year too but I have a lot more of those blocks to make and they're nowhere near as "easy" as the blocks for the sampler quilts so it'll take me a while. Mind you, it is still just February so I might still get it done this year! 🤞

2 quilts made already!

Is it too late to say "Happy New Year"? I never know when we should stop saying it! I mean, if you meet someone in October who you haven't seen all year, do you wish them a Happy New Year? Maybe not. But, as it's my first post of 2023 and it's still January, I'm going to go with it! Happy New Year! LOL

First, let me show you Joanna's diary cover which I made way back in November but had to keep hidden until after Santa had been.

The front - I embroidered the wording on my embroidery machine:

The whole of the outside:

The inside.

My first sewing projects of the year are a couple of quilts for Joanna. I had mentioned I didn't know what to make next and she asked me for a quilt. No problem, said I! This is what I came up with.

I backed it with a fleece blanket which I had bought last year when Poundstretchers was having a half price sale. Naturally, I bought two of them - as you do! Or I do! 🤣 The label (again, embroidered on my embroidery machine) isn't too clear but it's a bit easier to see on the next quilt.

When I gave it to her she said she'd put it in a basket and that there was plenty room for more if I was still looking for something to sew. I didn't need asked twice! This was the result.

The backing is the second fleece from Poundstretchers with the easier to read label.

I used 2½" squares for the first quilt (already cut by me) and scraps for the second one but I swear you wouldn't know to look at my 2½" squares and scrap boxes! I suspect I could make quite a few more quilts with them and still have plenty left over.

My next "game" is to tidy my fat quarter boxes as they are jammed in pretty tightly. I really should use some of them up. Maybe an idea will come to me as I play with them.