Sunday, February 24, 2008

My Next Quilt.




My next quilt is underway. Another scrappy one, to use up all those I Spy fabrics I have left. I didn't have sufficient pastel plains for the background blocks though, so after P & Q last Friday I went to my local for the first time in months (been trying not to buy anything! ) to get a few.
This project came to mind while I was making the last quilt ( got the binding fabric for that too ) and is also a continuation of the hearts quilt I made last year. It uses the same basic ,very easy, technique.In the photos I have shown the steps taken.
1. Cut background 7 " squares in a variety of light / pastel shades.
2.Make a free hand template of a basic flower shape or outline.( I did 2 different ones )
3.Cut out, using the template, flower shapes of bright fabric you wish to use up. ( all different - but doesn't have to be )
4. Centre the flower shape on a background block; pin; machine sew around the shape about 1/4 of an inch from the raw edge.
5. Turn block over and from the back fabric carefully cut a circular shape from inside the sewing line - taking card to pinch the background fabric away from the front so you only cut the one layer.
6.When you have lots of blocks made, mix the circles up so they don't match the background and pin one to the front centre of each flower.
7. Sew the centres on - consider if you wish to leave them plain or do you wish to include some embellishment at this stage? I am going to use a variety of methods for different centres:-
Buttons ( sewn on at the end stage ); embroidery; ribbon; Angelina fibres ( see one in the photo ) and anything else I can come up with to jazz the flowers up a bit.
I am still making blocks at the moment so will show more as I progress. How many blocks I am making , I'm not sure yet....maybe enough for a single bed size.
Thank you to all those who left such lovely comments on my last 2 posts; I was very glad to meet some new bloggers - melinda; and mariajaan I tried to leave you a comment at your blog but my Spanish is extremely limited! I was also delighted that Viv hadn't vanished from the face of the earth or met with some awful happening. There is another friend on my side bar list, who has been missing for months - it does make one wonder if they are okay?
New Zealand is getting RAIN! In the far north far too much, causing flooding, but luckily for us in the BOP it is now steady, beautiful, replenishing, much needed rain. 20 mls by early this morning and another 20 mls since and still going. When you grow things ( fruit vegetables , trees or animals ) for your living it is the first requirement really. ( not too much or too little )
That's all I have time for now. I'll do the book meme soon okay.
I was delighted ( and also a bit worried - cause now I will have to be extra careful what I say ) to know the at some local P & Q friends have found and are now reading my blog! Sorry if I made you waste computer time (LOL) but hey that's why we blog ; to reach out to others and learn about them as well as communicating our own thoughts and projects. Keep smiling everyone! ( it's raining ; it's pouring )

9 comments:

Digitalgran said...

Thanks for more quilt instructions Ali. I haven't started the last one yet. I'm glad this rain is just what you needed at this time of year.

Unknown said...

This looks like a fun quilt pattern - can't wait to see it evolve

Shirley Goodwin said...

Yup, I was hanging out for the rain last week too.

the new design looks good -often those simple designs can be the most effective.

loulee said...

Those blocks look like fun. Thanks for the mini tutorial.

Unknown said...

These blocks look great. They will make a beautiful quilt.

meggie said...

Another lovely quilt coming up!

So glad you are getting rain. My Aunt told me the Waikato had been declared a drought disaster area, & my sister says she has never seen it so dry in Morrinsville, which is where she lives.

We too, have had a lot of rain- Sydney got a whole Month's worth in a storm in half an hour!

Mariajaan said...

I noticed your visits! Thank you very much, I am very happy to have a visitor from NEW ZEALAND! The furthermost place in the world from Estonia! Mine is a blog with virtually no traffic, and do not worry because its small audience can speak a variety of languages: Estonian, English, Russian, Spanish, etc...
I am amazed at how people specialize and concentrate on one activity. I cannot do the same. As I told you I love quilting, but I also like linguistics -the cultural content of my mother tongue- Spanish, I am interested in paintings and illustration and in general anything crafty. I have no idea why I did not study to be a journalist but at the same time I am in love with laws, politics and contracts...I have an obsession for jewelry, ribbons, old photographs, hats, leather bags and papers, I wished my son to become practically a professional origami-er- but he is only 12 and seems to be heading towards becoming a chef, By the way I like food blogs A LOT! In short,I cannot use one life to exploit to the utmost any of the new things that I discover EVERY single day. Blogging confuses me even further, because this opens the mind to endless possibilities... Would not you say so?
I will come back sometime soon!

molly said...

Great use of stash fabric!

julieQ said...

Thank you for your tutorial!! That will be so fun when it ravels a bit in the washer. I am glad you are getting rain, just not toooo much.