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. 

Places to go, people to see

Fancy a crafty tour around my kitchen?  Click on to my latest post at Sew-Ichigo.  

Need a pattern?  I have to give another mention to Penny's Latte-to-go with its cute gift card sleeve- free tutorial here and pattern on sale here. 

And Ayumi's deliciously tasty 'Dishy Treats' August block for her Superbuzzy/Pink Penguin Quilt-a-long.  How does she do it?  Each variation is such a  clever mix of shapes.

And finally,  Leila's traditional Japanese style teapot pattern.   I love the chunky heavy base on this pot!

Happy touring x

Birthdays and a Giveaway

The birthdays are all done.  Lula had hers yesterday and we seemed to have unintentionally gone for an Ichigo-Strawberry theme.  The doll is Hini Ichigo, a Pullip and has not left Lula's side since she opened her box.  We made the cupcakes for her girl friends and much lovely birthday fun was had be us all.  

The Hello Kitty rice paper hearts and cup holders can be found on ebay.

Penny sent her a vintage waist pinnie- so cute and a perfect fit.

And I made her a soft and huggable pillow using Ayumi's new popsicle pattern for Super buzzy- more strawberries here too!

The middle lolly is filled with a mango sorbet- in my imagination obviously- as this is a favourite with L.  I was recently sent some Art Gallery fabrics by the kind folks at Hantex and this fabric from their Floral Elements blender line really reminded me of Mango and the flower print added a little ice texture!  Art Gallery fabrics really do feel different.  They remind me of the smooth and silky cotton of Heather Ross Munki fabrics.  They are fine with a delicate sheen- I've tried to capture this with a extreme close up!

This makes them a delight for paper piecing.  Bulky seams are an occupational hazard with foundation piecing and a finer fabric which still has the strength of quilting cotton is a boon for seams. I wanted chocolate all around the 'bite' of ice-cream like Ayumi's orginal Ringo Pie block so you can imagine the potential for lumpy bumpy layers here but the Art Gallery cotton really helped keep seams flat.

The new LillyBelle line by Bari J for Art Gallery has been catching my eye since I saw the illustrations in the 'Inspiration booklet'.  There is a big focus on clothing so I thought I would try a couple of the LillyBelle prints- I plumped for Henna Stripe in grey and mustard boards for the fabric line.  There is a  video too so you can see the fabrics in action and get a feel for the colours and the story behind the print.  I like this style of promotion with a narrative of how the designs link together and where they have come from.  This is my next dressmaking project.

And a now time for a mini giveaway!  Four fat quarters which include a couple of solids, a couple of floral elements blenders and a Lace elements print.  By the way, if you are reading Art Gallery, I would love some polka dot or thin strips in your blender lines- that would be mighty fine.

I will post anywhere, they are waiting here so you to claim them and stop them disappearing into my stash you are going to have to do a tiny bit of work-

Comments are Closed

Thankyou to all who took part!

 Please leave a comment and recommend either:

1.  A recipe- salads and soups are especially welcome.  I don't eat meat but I do eat fish and there is always cake- I love cake, especially fruit cakes, so a recipe would be good,

or...

2. a book recommendation.  

In the meantime, if you want to find more Art Gallery fabrics including the freshly available LillyBelle and the coming very soon "Indie" by Pat Bravo (check out the 'Tapestry' print for great clothing fabric) this link will take you to UK stockists online and local shops.  I know Annie at Village Haberdashery has LillyBelle in at the moment too.

Usual giveaway rules apply- if I can't find your email I will not be able to contact you if you win so please add to your comment if needed. I'll randomly choose a winner in a week x   Looking forward to the recipes and recommendations!   Giveaway closed and the winner has been notified.

Play time

We were meant to be on a little holiday this weekend but the weather conspired against us and we realise on Friday there would be little chance in going.  As it turned out there were floods on the route we were going on and it has been bad in Devon- though not where we live- so a staycation has been in order.  Yesterday I spent a bit of time just playing with ideas, not something I do very often but I should, it leads me to new places! 

These are Secret Garden blocks, similar to Cathedral Windows, I followed a tutorial here.  They are not especially hard, all hand sewing and easy to cut out.  Mine are 2.5 inches square.  It was a test run for my Brit Mini Quilt swap partner so I am waiting to see if s/he comments.  I also got a chance to make an ice lolly from Ayumi's new popsicle pattern for Superbuzzy.  It is the first of a series of Block of the Month patterns!  If you haven't done much paper piecing, this is an idea pattern as it is very straightforward.  This will be for my daughter, an ice lolly pillow, a surprise for her birthday.

And as I wasn't away I got a chance to go the car boot sale.  I saw all the fabric ladies- Mary + daughter, Wendy and Barbra and they had fun rummaging in some scraps from my car boot that I brought along for them.  It was actually sunny so a lovely morning and I could not resist this little beauty!

It will make the most perfect pattern weight and you can get an idea of size from the buttons!  Not going on holiday is a bit rubbish but I always love being at home.  An afternoon of Wimbledon, strawberries and Carcosonne calls  x

Squeaks

It sort of feels wrong for a grown woman to squeak when she opens the mail- a bit like going- Ahh!  when you drink a cup of tea ( I promise I don't do that...yet).  I have had some great mail this week, almost like a secret extra birthday that I didn't know I had.  These printing press beauties came from Suzanne, an act of kindness, she knows how much I love to see her printing press photos and student activities.

You can just see my vkb initials stamped on the corner.  It is a notebook with upcycled paper- very loud squeaks!  And just look at the cards- I think they are going on the wall.  Printing is one of those processes that I love with an intensity but I am too messy when I work and maybe a bit impatient so I have to admire the work of others.  I really admire Suzanne's!

Ayumi sent me 2 beautiful bright and happy blocks for 318 Patchwork Bee to go with my Teatime theme.   I love them Ayumi, so sunny!   They look very pretty alongside Charise's tea caddy and Leila's teapot.  I plan to make a table runner with my 318 blocks.

And Amy sent me some paper bits and pieces for no reason apart from her general loveliness- this is her latest paper pieced pattern on sale here.  Her shaping on this watering can is unbelievable- look at the handle!

Thankyou ladies, you are making this a very happy mail week xxx

Ringo Pie May Block

May is Ayumi's month in The Ringo Pie bee and she made a great inspiration mosaic- click here to see, the coloured pencils caught my eye straightaway and the germ of an idea started to grow.  And then Ayumi made this block, which is simply stunning!

All those colour colur envelopes and prints and some very cute fabric choices.  Just wonderful!  So I had to wait a while to recover from having seen this before I  started mine!

I wanted to do a colour wheel with coloured pencils but I didn't want rainbow order, I fancied a scrappy mix of vintage and new fabrics and more random colours to complement Ayumi's block.  I had to work out the logistics of the pencils first.  Each tip is foundation pieced on to stabiliser- I prefer this to paper.   Foundation piecing is very accurate for little fiddly things like this when the right shape is vital.

Here they all are in their wheel  doodling and writing Ayumi's name.  

She choose a great theme- I had other ideas about letter paper sets and stamps and could've made a whole quilt of blocks.  Each month in Ringo Pie is an education- sometimes the pleasure and pain of each block are a little close together and it was definitely a pain piecing that inner circle as it is on the small side,  but the themes have had so much potential and seeing the designs that the other bee members come up with has been amazing and constantly pushes us all creatively, it is always exciting!

Lesson

It was of course Ayumi's idea to make a set of coasters for Suzuko Koseki,  18 crafters each making a coaster, from 8 different countries.  It was like this last time you saw it but I completed it over Christmas.

It was backed, quilted and bound when I noticed a tiny mark.  I dampened it, added a tiny rub of Vanish, rinsed it and patted it dry.  When I came back to it the next day I could see a reddish glow in the corner.  

You can see a bit of the bleed, difficult to catch as the flash bleaches the colour but around the red loops and seeping into the binding is a distinct tinge of scarlet and this item is going to a fabric designer for whom I have huge admiration, I can't send her a substandard piece, even if it is her own fabric range at fault.  This, one of my favourite fabrics of all time, is the culprit.   It saddens me because I love it so much. Last night I washed each fabric I had used to make the original coaster and this one bleeds red dye and not just a little.  

Last night I remade the same thing all over again thinking there would be a post today and it would be shut Monday for bank holiday.  Post Office is shut both days as it turns out but still plenty of time to get to Japan.  Remaking was not what I had planned but time is running out for this and of course it cmae out better even if i did struggle to remember all that I did on the first one.  My original idea was a vintage type writer key but as I chose red and white it also echoes the Japanese flag.  The tiny bell is a sort of Suzuko Koseki trademark- Suzuko translates as 'bell'.  All the fabrics are by Suzuko Koseki.

A different back to the first coaster which had a vintage fabric backing but maybe this is better. I like the Made in England reference and there are a lot of button prints on the other coasters so it helps to have a family resemblance.  Check them out, they are going to make the most beautiful gift and each makes me smile at how it reflects creator's style. 

 

 I did work out some helpful hints to sew a really neat single binding for items like this so I'll put a tutorial up soon- great for mini quilts and mug rugs too.

I  am all for learning from my mistakes but it as a monumental pain in the backside.  I hate prewashing but I am going to wash all my unchecked reds with colour catcher sheets.  Lesson learnt.

I hope you had the best time you could have over Christmas.  Some of my lovely goodies below...

The bag was from Damian and custom made by the very talented Mia.  The fox reminds me of Lottie and the whole bag makes me smile.  She even included a little foxy keyring.  Mia sent me the beautiful Snowman coaster/mug rug as a pressie too as a thank you for taking part in her advent blog makes- she is such a sweetie x

This little bundle is from Lula- she knows me too well.  The compass and protractor are because I am always cadging these things off her when I am in the middle of a quilting sewing idea.  A compass with its own pencil leads- I love precision stationery!  Ayumi knows this too- she sent me a surprise gift which just reached me just in time to go under the tree.  Cooking cute writing stuff and an amazing Martha Stewart stamp set with loads of letters and gridded mounts, circle ones too- stamping and typography heaven.  I have so many plans for this, she is so generous x 

Our Christmas day was good but lots of family and extended family is a bit exhausting and I feel a little haunted by the ghosts of not so good Christmas' past so I am often a little tense.  We still had snow which made for a beautiful post lunch dog walk.

Boxing day was wonderful, just me, D, Lula, my brother and mum.  I do the food and drinks- soup, bread, crisps,olives, rocky road, fruit cake plus cocktails and juice.  Eating, drinking and playing board games- 221b Baker Street .  Have you played it?  A great game for adults and older children- relaxing, thoughtful, quiet and funny- although that could've been the participants...