My First Quilt!

It's taken me a week, but I've finally finished the front of my quilt:

It was a bit difficult to get a picture at 1 x 1.1m it's bigger than my kitchen table!

I had the elephant fabric as a fat quarter and I wanted to use it as the main feature of a quilt.  I wanted to give it some borders and corner squares to bring out the colours in the elephants, so I opted for white border pieces and yellow and green corners.

I found inserting the corners was the difficult bit.  I'd read quite a lot before I started and books suggested sewing the long border to the quilt, then sewing the corner pieces to the short borders and attaching the whole piece to the quilt:

Once I'd sewn them, I realised I'd taken the seam allowance into account twice, and the corners weren't in the right place.  I unpicked them and resewed them, and I'm much happier with them now :

Phew!

So now the front is finished, and I need to quilt it, then work on the back and think about the binding colours.

Back soon with a progress report!

3,2,1 - Quilt!

Well, I've finished the special request, and they were very pleased with it, so that was great!  I can't post a picture yet as it's a surprise gift for a new addition to the family, but Ill post one soon.

Today, I'm going to start my quilted cot throw.  Im going to start by drawing out the templates I need and double checking my design measurements and calculations are correct!  I'm hoping to get it finished ready to display at our next craft fair on 23rd November.

Finish What You Start

Well, I've finished to hoodie!  I'm really pleased with it, I really like the colour combination.

I've been designing a quilted cot throw using a panel of bright motif fabric with plain borders, and colourful squares on the corner.  For now though, that will wait because I've just had a new special request come through.  And that means an excuse to visit the wool shop!

Craft Fair

We had a really good time on Saturday at the Old Chapel in Upminster.  The venue itself has been lovingly restored by the tea and an army of volunteers - many of whom served tea and cake all day!
We met a lot of interesting people, and some very talented crafters!

Last week I was mostly getting ready for the fair, finishing off some quilts for Debbie and things, so not much time for anything else.  This week though, I'm finishing the jumper for my friend.  Ill post a picture once it's finished - Im determined to have it ready to give to her on Friday...  watch this space!

New Baby Blanket Design

So, I've finally finished one of my many projects I have on the go!  It's a blanket that is designed with car seats and prams in mind.  It's 22 x 18''so it's just the right size.  I was given the idea of a smaller blanket when I saw a lady pushing her baby in a buggy with the corner of her blanket trailing on the floor behind her!

We are going to be at The Old Chapel in Upminster on 5th October, if you are nearby pop in and say hi!

While I'm in the swing of finishing things, I'm going to have another go at the button hole on the dress!

Time for the blankets to come out!

Well, the weather certainly changed very quickly here!  I've been listing the blankets and more winter items in the shop over the last couple of days.

I'm still working on another blanket design, I'm nearly finished now and I'm hoping to be able to post a picture later this week of the finished article!

I do love summer, but at least the cooler days mean I can wear my favourite jumper again!  I certainly needed it this morning,  I took my grandparents out to the Mucking Nature Reserve as they hadn't been there.  We had a short walk to the riverside, and a long cup of tea!  I always pick the wrong days for day trips out.

Wednesday Update

I've been really busy since I last posted!  We have had some work done on the house, and got ourselves a puppy!  Ill post a picture of him later - he doesn't stay still long enough to get a nice picture!

The craft fair in Orsett on Sunday was nice.  The venue was visited by BBC Essex, and if you look in their picture linked below, you can just make out Debbie and Hazel in the background.  Cool huh?

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=536483439740441&set=pb.174558089266313.-2207520000.1378285511.&type=3&theater

I'm still having a problem with my second design dress.  I think I've done something to the button stitching option on my machine - Ive restitched it at least three times, and unpicked it each time!  Im thinking of sewing it by hand instead.

I'm also working on a striped hoodie for a friend, and a blanket I designed.  I'm not a big beliver in working on one project at a time!