Patchwork Progress

I began this quilt way back in the summer last year.  It has been a slow process but a pleasurable one.  

I love sorting through my fabric stash and selecting the prettiest colours.  I love cutting out the paper templates and then the fabric itself.  I love putting two designs together for each block, even though it can take a while to decide what looks right.

And then there is the stitching which I love the best, sitting somewhere quiet maybe under the apple tree when it is warm and listening to the birds or in the playhouse when it is raining listening to the raindrops on the roof. 

I love laying out all the beautiful coloured rows and deciding on what goes where.  Getting an idea of how it will look when it is finished. Sometimes it's tricky when similar designs are closer together than I would like, it can take a while to sort it all out into a pleasing effect that feels just right.

Then the most exciting bit of all, sewing the strips together to create something beautiful and unique.  That is where I am right now.........


Dev x

What a Scorcher!

Well, what a scorcher of a weekend it has been, and if I am honest I have found it almost unbearable. The apple tree has been a god send and has enabled me to spend most of the time outside without overheating. I cannot remember the last time it rained. Watering the garden is taking hours and we are just managing to keep it all from dying in the baking heat.

The geraniums don't seem to mind the heat.


The figs don't either and are starting to swell and ripen..yum..yum!

The grapes too are thriving and producing tiny clusters of fruit which will hopefully be delicious when they ripen.

Oh, what have we here, can you see it snuggled there under the vines in the early morning sunshine? Oh my, it makes me go a bit giddy looking at it, and no it isn't too much sun! Just lots of gorgeous hexagons slowly coming together into a quilt top.


Would you like a closer look perhaps? Oh, go on then, as you are asking so nicely.....

I just never seem to tire of sewing these together, so much so, that I am also working on the second one for the Littlest Fairy.



This is just to give you a flavour of what it will look like when it is done. I have also sourced some new fabrics from Moda. I so love this material, everything they do is gorgeous in fact.

This is the Santorini range and is available from here. I discovered this site on ebay and have to say that her service is second to none. I ordered on impulse Thursday night around 9.30 pm, [having spent several days drooling] and it was in my letterbox on Saturday morning. She also has a Moda sale on right now, so all in all, fan dabby dozey!!

This will be for my third quilt. I love this design, it is called the Tumbler quilt and have seen several versions now. I also think it would look lovely in christmas fabrics too.

www.modabakeshop.com/2009/09/sweet-baby-quilt.ht

It was our village fete on Saturday, and despite the soaring temperatures, Littlest Fairy and I donned the sun lotion, hats and sunglasses and ventured down to the village green to see what goodies we could find. What do you think about this beautiful vintage apron?

I say vintage, it might not be, but it just looks the part I think. The fabric and the colours just scream vintage to me. It is handmade, 100% cotton and cost me £1. I would love to know what the material is if anyone has any ideas?

Then I spotted this lovely shoulder bag, such a beautiful shade of green suede, sort of applely. It doesn't look to me like it has ever been used and a bargain at £4. I have a friend who is going to be "green" with envy when she spots this one! Ha ha, too late, it is all mine!!

I spotted this pretty on the jewellery stall. It was a trimming removed from a dress so I was told. I thought it might come in useful for something and most of the stones are intact. [Note another piece of Moda fabric underneath].

Anyway, I am away now, the garden desperately needs another watering and I have a basket full of gorgeous hexagons with my name on them.

Dev X

p.s. Has anyone else been getting these japanese/chinese comments? I seem to have a couple each time I post. I don't seem to be able to block them except by moderating my comments before they appear on my blog. Still doesn't stop them coming through though. Such a nuisance and was wondering if there is something more sinister in them? Any advice??

Love it!

I thought it was time to show you an update on my hexagon quilt which, I have to say, is now so lovely it makes me want to sing and cartwheel around the garden shouting yippee at the top of my voice. Of course, I am much too much of a lady to do anything so outrageous...and besides, I would probably seriously injure myself in the process and then where would my lovely quilt be then?

So, at the beginning of the week I had neat little piles of 6 hexagons, and by midweek they then became rows of 18.

As I explained in my last post, I was really struggling with the layout of the quilt. I just couldn't seem to get it right. I decided that I did want it random after all and just joined everything together and crossed my fingers. This afternoon I rushed home from work and took the plunge. I have very little floor space, so decided on the bed as that is where it will end up.

In the end, it was easier than I thought it would be. I only had to swap a couple of rows around to avoid duplicates, but essentially, it just fell into place and I have to say I Love, LOve, LOVE it! YIPPEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, what do you think, go on be honest, do you like????????? Please say that you do. I still have a way to go yet sewing all the rows together and then actually quilting it. I haven't decided on the material for the back or the binding yet. First things first as I still have a lot of sewing to do..and on that note, I'd best make a start.

Dev x

Dilemma!

Such a Dilemma with a capital D am I having over the layout of my new hexagon quilt. I have cut out 324 templates and tacked/basted 324 pieces of scrummy fabric and now I am ready to sew them all together one by one, with tiny little stitches into something that is pleasing to the eye. The only problem is.....How!

I started by picking them out of the basket in a totally random way....The first half dozen look like this and I wasn't very happy with it....

Next up, just place them side by side randomly and see what happens.....

Don't like this either. Next idea was to put them in piles according to colour and see if that inspires me....

Nope, definately nothing happening at the moment. So I know, I will make flowers shapes up in each colour and put them together like that......

This started to make a bit of sense, so I made some coloured piles....

The problem with this idea is that I don't have enough different designs in some of the colours to make them up as I have several repeats...AARRGH!

Who would have thought that it would be such a difficult thing to do. I just want it to look right and at the moment it doesn't. Maybe it is just a case of laying it all out on the floor and playing with it until it fits. So, where do I go from here? Anyone out there who has made one of these who can offer some advice......Well, I am all ears!

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Now, this quilt on the other hand just feels right. I am making two, simultaneously by the way, because Littlest Fairy also needs a new one apparently!

This time, 308 templates cut out in a slightly different hexagon shape. This one is smaller and more elongated.

What is strange about it though, is that I am using mostly the same fabrics for this one as mine..and yet this one just looks so much nicer....mmmmm....can't work it out? I have my next quilting group on Tuesday, so will ask for their advice I think.

What do you think?

Dev x

Oh Dear

Another cold, miserable Bank Holiday has passed and it has been too depressing for words really. There was a trip to the beach, but there were no flip-flops, no sunhats, no sunglasses, just wooly hats, wellies and a thermos of coffee. Puppy and Littlest Fairy had chattering teeth and it was a case of hot baths and cocoa when we got back. It's outrageous...WHERE HAS THE SUMMER GONE!!

So we have struggled to entertain ourselves. It has been one of those weekends of grouchyness and pickyness! Getting on each others's nerves and trying hard to keep our tempers. We are all feeling thoroughly out of sorts!

Puppy has had some fun it has to be said....I, on the other hand, was ready to explode!




To help keep me sane, I have sewn and sewn and sewn and now have a substantial pile of gorgeous jewelled hexagons.

I seriously miscounted the number of hexies that I needed for my quilt. I can't understand how, but then maths has never been my strong point. I originally counted it as 216, but that has now leap to 324! No matter though because I am loving it.

I have some new fabrics winging their way to the Fairyglade, but the Bank Holiday...the miserable cold stinky Bank Holiday has delayed them...Bah! Hopefully, postie person will drive up to my gate in the morning, the sun shining and pop longed for parcels in my box.

Sorry, for the poor picture quality. Did I mention dark, dismal, stinky Bank Holiday?... Oh well, there is always another one in August, fingers crossed!

Dev x

Hexagons

I have been itching to do a bit of hand sewing which coincided with a neighbour asking me to help her make a simple patchwork quilt. A rummage through the stash revealed loads and loads of pretty fabrics that I have been saving for just such a project. Now, I have to be truthful here...I have several quilts in the making, so I must be mad to start another I hear you yelling over cyber space. However, I have always wanted to make a hexagon quilt using the paper piecing method.

The history of this type of quilt dates back to the 1800's when fabric was costly and every scrap was saved. Small blocks were constructed and several were then sewn together until it was big enough to make into a quilt.

So, the sun was shining and a gentle breeze was blowing and into the washing machine all the pretty fabric went. A few hours later and it was all dry and smelling of spring.





Out with a hot iron and you end up with lovely neat piles of crisp fresh fabric already to use.

However, we are still not ready to begin because a template has to be chosen and the required number of hexagons cut out...in my case 216 in all.
I can hear some of you groaning from here, you are saying that life is too short and just get the sewing machine out and have done with it! Go on, be honest. But, I really, really enjoy this method of quilting. I admit that the sewing is more fun, but this is all part of it. Sat under the dappled shade of the apple tree, a cool glass of elder flower cordial and the waft of wall flowers on the breeze. What could be nicer?

So, now all the papers have been done, it's the turn of all those gorgeous fabrics. I might say at this point that I use old leaflets and magazine pages for my templates. Ordinary paper is just not quite rigid enough and cardboard is too thick. The leaflets at supermarket checkouts are perfect...shhhh, don't tell tham I said that!

Then when all that is done, it's time to begin stitiching. For this quilt I am trying to make no more than 2 or 3 hexagons in the same fabrics, and in some cases like the lilac polka dot above, I only have enough material for for one single hexagon. I use cheap old cotton for the tacking/basting, which you do all the way around each hexagon. Here is what it should look like.

They soon pile up as each one only takes a couple of minutes to do. And soon my little pile becomes a small stack of bright jewels.

I am really enjoying the making of this quilt. I like the repetition of it and above all, I love the yummy fabrics that are finally getting used. All of them are 100 % cotton. I believe that it is important to do this and that you should wash all your fabric before hand, just in case of shrinkage and loose dye colours.

On the subject of yummy fabrics, here are my favourite, favourites at the moment. I still do not have enough material and so ebay will be my next port of call for some more.

I know that it isn't everyones cup of tea, but I love it!

Dev x