Patchwork Please! Zakka Along 2 : Swedish Bloom Quilt

Welcome to week 10 of the Patchwork Please Zakka Along 2 hosted by Lindsey and Debbie.  I was so thrilled when Ayumi told me she was finally writing a book and even more excited when I got a copy of Patchwork Please!  I felt so proud of her and her huge accomplishment of creating a book where every project is a delight.  It is packed full of projects with a little bit of everything- applique, paper piecing, quilting, small projects, big projects- I chose the biggest, Swedish Bloom Time lap quilt, it was love at first sight.  

A project this size with paper piecing as the main design needs a little organisation.  I printed out my foundation templates first- I use a scanner to transfer the pattern from the book.  It does use a lot of paper but the cheapest thinnest paper makes the best foundation patterns so don't use your best printer paper.  I was systematic in my process.  I picked out a colour combination for each flower looking for contrast and harmony.  I made plastic templates of each separate piece of the petals and leaves and drew round them on the reverse of the fabric with Sewline pencil and cut 1/2" seam allowance all round.  I worked on 4 petals at a time so I could sort out directional prints and laid all the pieces out before I sewed anything.  This method means you use a less fabric, allows you to fussy cut a little and keeps all the pieces on the grain.   I used just over a yard of background for the flower/leaf blocks rather than 2 yards.   Each flower took around 2  to 3 hours to assemble from beginning to end.  

If you are a beginner at paper piecing, using non directional prints or solids makes this process a lot easier- no need to worry about getting things upside down- (read about directional prints here).  I also  creased all the seam lines on the foundation paper pattern  using a Hera tool as this makes the process of flipping the paper back and forth for each seam easier for me.  I pressedand trimmed all the seams to 1/4" as I sew. You can find paper piecing tutorials here.  The same process is applied to the leaves- I did a 9 of these in one session so I started to pre-cut the pieces in bulk and create an assembly line.

The template method has some big advantages.  The pencil marks on the reverse help lining up the pieces.  You can see how I aligned piece 3 on the petal.

This is especially useful when adding diagonal pieces.  The pencilled corners give precise points- in the pic below I am adding one of the background corner sections- the pencil corner aligns with the edge of the paper, then I know the fabric will fit without being too small.

When it came to sashing, I got a little confused with the different strip measurement so I went my own way with it.   I stuck to the same widths but I cut my lengths differently and assembled in a different order.  My outer columns and top/bottom strips ended up 1/2" longer than those in the book which may have been trhough my strip construction but it is worth checking your measurements, especially the lengths before you cut the sashing. There is room to be creative and play around with the layout- add more leaves, take leaves away.  Just a single bloom would make a great pillow/cushion or mini quilt, or the design could be shrunk down for mini blooms, they would look great all in a row!

The border was 5" pieces, mainly a the remains of a Posy layer cake with a few extras added.

I kept the quilting simple.  There was a lot going on with the flowers and so I did a little colour matching with these fantastic variegated 50wt threads from Aurifil- this selection is chosen by Tula Pink and the colours were a great match.  The quilting is mainly echo quilting on petals and leaves with parallel lines round the quilt border.

I did get a little fancy in each flower centre.  Free motion quilting does not come easy to me so these were stitched with a pencil line to guide me, lets just say they are organic in design!

 I used Amy Butler Full Moon dots for the binding with a little Riley Blake Mind's Eye  'Lost and Found' coral dot on one corner and Rita's trusty sewing machine binding tutorial, plus glue basting- it  produces perfect corners!  Clover wonder clips are a boon for this, essential for the gluing.  The backing is a cotton unused vintage sheet.

I used my favourite batting of the moment, Quilter's  Dream  Blend.  This has a little more loft (only a little, it is still very flat) than the 100% cotton Quilter's Dream Natural Request so it makes for a little softer, cuddlier quilt plus the touch of poly makes it lighter and quicker to dry.  It is a very stable batting that holds its shape whilst cutting and making the quilt sandwich and it can be stitched far apart.  

The only thing to watch out for is not to get a hot iron near it.  I was trying to fix a nick in the border by pressing a little fusible interfacing underneath the fabric  but my iron was too hot  and ended up scorching the fabric and the batting went a little hard and flat underneath.  I had to hand piece a new section of fabric and  batting.  All was hidden in the quilting but it did give me a little flutter at the time.

The quilt is with its new recipient, my daughter.  She is most happy!

Now time for some giveaway goodies, generously donated by some of the sponsors involved in the the sew-along,  Form and Fabric and Aurfil.    

• 1 person will win Form and Fabric fat 8th pack in green prints plus a great sticker plus Aurifil sample pack, further 3 people win Aurifil sample packs. 
•  I can post anywhere so international entries are welcome but you must have an email address that I can contact you on in your profile/comment.  
• I always find giveaways where you recommend me something are great to read and really helpful- please recommend: a great book- audio/fiction/whatever, or great music- track, artist- whatever and if all else fails recommend me something totally random!

Leave one comment with your recommendation!

Random winners chosen 12th August

Don't forget to visit Lindsey's blog where she has a Zakka Along 2 linkup details and  prizes provided by the generous sponsors. 

Plans

It is a rare day when I say I am bored and I have nothing to do.  I like to be busy, very busy, even when I feel I am getting nothing done I like to plan future projects.  Sometimes they happen fast, others are slow burners but most come to something, I rarely abandon them all together.  And having so many friends designing great patterns too keep me well booked up with ideas.  Sara at Sew Sweetness has been developing her brand and range of bags.  Her recent Aeroplane bag had me hooked.  A spacious weekend away type bag- I am making one for retreat to go with my new wheely Cath Kidston Suitcase, bargain price on ebay if you need one.  Having decent luggage must be a sign of being a grown up- I have lived a life of rucksacks and oversized Head bags so a decent case and a handmade overnight bag makes me finally a grown up!  Once my supplies arrive, this is going to be sewn and I will share my progress with you along with a giveaway- bide your time, its coming soon!  Sara is developing clothing patterns too- ahh!  Cannot wait for these!

Christina at The Sometimes Crafter has been busy and found the time amongst all her activity to draft a great new paper piecing pattern. 

All the instructions are there to make a table runner but the squares within squares feature could be used for pincushions, pouches, anything really and the pattern includes all the different sizing used so no need to reduce/expand the pattern pieces.  Ideal for those who are maybe a little wary of paper piecing too as all the piecing is done in a single section for each square.  I think I maybe trying a pincushion or a zipper pouch with these, maybe with something like Liberty- I have some more thank you goodies to make.

Talking of Liberty, I was lucky enough to win an e-copy of this wonderful book from Stash Books at Kate's blog.

There is a huge number of projects in this book- pretty much all you can see on the cover- the picnic quilt, baby dress, woman sitting on rug dress ( quite fancy making this one), neck tie and lots more inside- bags, pincushions- a great variety. There are full size pattern pieces and with the ebook they are ready to download and print at home too!  It also includes the Marcelle quilt, you can see Kate's progress so far here and Lynne's here.

And more Alexia Abegg, I just ordered her Diamond Ring Quilt pattern from Annie at Village Haberdashery.  I have a little plan for this- will share more soon but I was so taken with it from Quilt Market photos that it stuck with me as a must do- I do love a circle on a quilt! 

 I have also got into sewing knits recently with a bit of success- will show you soon but the Briar is a great shape and Megan includes so much info on variations on her blog.  The pattern comes in thick paper which makes handling and tracing a lot easier.  Her pattern presentation is my favourite amongst all the indie designers. 

 We are doing a bit of visiting of various peeps over Easter so whilst I catch up with hand sewing and another bunny, L is going to be working on a little 'Penguin and Fish' Lion embroidery kit from Eternal Maker.  This kit comes with everything you need- hoop, thread, needle, designs, instructions.  I traced onto the fabric using a Sewline pencil and it is ready to stitch. She wanted something simple and easy to do and this is perfect!

And finally, Ayumi's book arrived here in preparation for the Patchwork Please sew a long!  You can see more details here. 

I don't know what I will be making yet but I would be happy making anything from this book- it is a joy from start to end!  I am going to make this quilt anyway for L's birthday because we both love it.

That should keep me occupied just for a little while.  What about you... plans?