Showing posts with label boy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label boy. Show all posts

Monday, 24 August 2015

Circles Baby Quilt









Dies used: Drunkard's Path Quarter Circle
                 Drunkard's Path & Fan Background


Last time I posted about the baby quilt I had just begun for my friend's baby that is due in a couple of weeks time. Having made the first four circles as a test run it was time to work out how the rest of the quilt was going to come together. After going through my entire stash of blue fabrics I opted to use some blenders to bring out some of the more detailed prints and not to repeat any as I'd originally intended and instead use 16 different fabrics.

I have to say that I'm not sure I'd have managed a quilt even as small as this if I had to cut all of those curves by hand! Here are all 16 circle blocks ready to be sewn together.


I always photograph my final intended layout and use the photo as a guide to work from as once sewing them all together gets under way I always lose track of what goes where! They were sewn together into four 2 x 2 blocks and then joined in pairs and then together to give the final quilt top.

The quilt is now basted and the backing is some super soft organic brushed cotton with a clouds design, perfect for snuggling a newborn under.


Quilting has begun and the plan is to have 4 different quilting designs for the circles, so there will be 4 of each style. One down, 15 to go.


As it's only small it's easy to manoeuvre on the sewing machine and fun to quilt. Next time I post there may be a little baby tucked up in it!

Happy sewing!





Monday, 10 August 2015

Works In Progress: Baby Quilt & Table Runner












Dies used: Hexagons, 1 1/4in Sides
                 Hexagons, 1in Sides #2 (for the papers)

                 Drunkard's Path Quarter Circle
                 Drunkard's Path & Fan Background

We're back home again now after our family holiday to the Isle of Wight. The days were packed with visits to castles, beaches, Roman villas, boat trips, dinosaur attractions and more but the evenings were much more relaxed with plenty of time for some English paper piecing. The box I took to hold my basted hexagons filled up nicely over the course of the week.


Still going to need quite a few more though to make a 6ft+ festive table runner!

Returning home again meant getting back to the deadlines and trying to get back on top of the to-do list. One of my close friends is due to give birth in the next few weeks and I want to make a little quilt for the new baby's arrival. Whilst there isn't quite the same pressure as a work deadline, time is running out quickly and so it was time to get on with it!

I've been wanting to use my Drunkard's Path dies for a while to have a go at a circles design and this seemed like the perfect project. I decided to make 4 circles using some printed children's fabric and see how it went. Having spent years sewing toys full of tricky curves as a result I don't really mind sewing curves and found that the quarter circles and background pieces went together really nicely. With the finished circle being quite large at 7in diameter, the curve isn't too tight and didn't feel awkward to manage instead it felt quite comfortable to sew.


I think 4 circles by 4 circles will work out at a good baby quilt size and so the top is almost a quarter complete already. Oh and if you haven't guessed, it's a boy!


To make the children's prints stand out more it might be good to add a few circles made with basic blender prints, or add another background fabric, hmm. Some more playing about with fabric is needed I think!

See you next time and happy sewing!



Monday, 13 July 2015

STAR QUILT: PART 5










Dies used: Half-Square Triangles, 4 1/2in Finished Square
                Square, 4in Finished (4 1/2in Unfinished)
                Star, Nested

One single-size boys quilt, completed!


I'm so happy with the results and more importantly so is its new owner, Aidan. It was really very straightforward to make (especially the cutting, obviously!) using just two shapes (and therefore only two dies) for the pieced quilt top - definitely an example of simple but effective! A third die was used for the small applique stars that pepper the low volume, in-between areas.
There are plenty of colours in it but it meets his specification (thankfully it passed!) of 'mainly blue' with the orange fabric really bringing out the blues and providing some depth.

The backing fabric was picked up in the sale in Ikea and although it wasn't ideal to quilt with being more of a canvas weight it looks really good, the large print contrasting nicely with all of the fine detail on the front.


Hand-sewing the binding took longer than usual as making a stitch through thick backing fabric wasn't as easy as it would have been with quilters weight cotton but it wasn't too much of a hardship.


I really enjoy hand-sewing binding but it's starting to feel a bit indulgent when deadlines are looming and other sewing projects are stacking up, it may be time to investigate machine binding techniques!

Here it is in its new home.


Now to start something new, probably not another full size quilt just yet but I do have another son wanting one for his bed.

Happy sewing!




Monday, 29 June 2015

Star Quilt: Part 4










Dies used: Half-Square Triangles, 4 1/2in Finished Square
                Square, 4in Finished (4 1/2in Unfinished)
                Star, Nested

There are 2 lessons that I really should have learnt from making my last quilt:

1. Multiply the amount of time expected to complete the quilting by 4

2. Buy 1 more reel of thread than required

Oh and maybe a third lesson should be added on:

3. Never say 'X should be finished in time for my next post'.

Sure enough the quilting has taken an enormous amount of time, largely because it's so dense to make sure the die-cut applique stars are well secured (I love those little stars so much alongside the big, pieced ones). I'm in complete awe of people who can quilt a substantial item in a day or so.



And of course my thread ran out within a whisker of the end, again. Ho hum.


Before basting and quilting a border was added all around the edge to increase the overall size to just larger than that of a single duvet so that when on the bed there won't be any duvet sticking out from underneath. The backing fabric is from Ikea, it was half price in the sale and although it is a heavier weight than is ideal, the larger apple print was too good to resist.


This quilt is for my son, Aidan he turned 8 last week and his birthday made a natural target deadline. Unfortunately it wasn't possible to meet that deadline but as things worked out his birthday became a bit of a non-event as he became ill with a throat infection the day before. As a result his trip to Legoland had to be cancelled and replaced with 2 visits to the doctor and he didn't manage a single mouthful of his own birthday cake. A re-run of his birthday once he's fully recovered is set to take place. In the meantime he can snuggle next to me under this quilt and watch films as I hand sew the binding down.

See you next time when this quilt should be...no, lesson 3, I won't say it.

Happy sewing!

Monday, 15 June 2015

Star Quilt: Part 3










Dies used: Half-Square Triangles, 4 1/2in Finished Square
                 Square, 4in Finished (4 1/2in Unfinished)
                 Star, Nested

The piecing for my eldest son, Aidan's quilt is now finished.


I mentioned in my previous post that there was an issue with the quilt top that needed ironing out and so after the piecing was done resolving that was next on the list. I ordered the background fabric online and so didn't examine it thoroughly before buying it but I knew that the many little line drawings of everyday objects that covered it would fascinate and appeal to Aidan. So far so good. It was only when I began to cut it into squares and half-square triangles on my Big Shot that I noticed an unexpected picture that wouldn't really be at home on an almost 8 year old boy's quilt. I'm not going to go into detail here about the not-particularly-suitable items that were depicted (I have gone into more detail on my own blog http://twoowls.typepad.co.uk/ ) but after some thought, concluded that they should probably be covered up.

Applique was the obvious choice of cover-up method and a star shape to echo the patchwork design seemed most appropriate. I fixed some iron-on adhesive (fusible web) to the reverse of some scraps that were just big enough to cover the smallest, central star on the Stars, Nested die and cut out a neat pile of perfect little stars.


After removing the backing paper from the stars, I then pressed them in place over each of the unwanted pictures wherever they occurred on the quilt top. Considering the stars were added purely to solve a problem, they really add something to the overall look of the quilt top and it looks better for them.


Each star now needs to be sewn around to ensure that they are firmly held in place and they will also be quilted over later for extra security.


From now on I will be posting every other week and so hopefully this quilt will be finished in time for my next post - it has to be really as it's Aidan's birthday in 10 days time!

Happy sewing!






Monday, 8 June 2015

Star Quilt: Part 2









Dies used: Half-Square Triangles, 4 1/2in Finished Square
                 Square, 4in Finished (4 1/2in Unfinished)


Hello and happy Monday!

Sewing has been happening in fits and starts over the last week as my youngest (and most energetic) son has had an extra weeks holiday from pre-school and so superhero games have been top of the agenda instead.

Out of 15 blocks, 10 almost 11 are now done and decorating the wall above my sewing machine (along with the Counting Sheep blankie from the current issue of Love Patchwork and Quilting).


All of the fabric is cut out and ready go for the remaining blocks but just as things were speeding along the thread ran out. Typical.


It's starting to take shape though and so far thankfully it meets with my eldest son, Aidan's approval. Phew!


That said, there is a small issue with it though that will hopefully be ironed out over the course of the coming week and I'll post about it next time.



Monday, 1 June 2015

Star Quilt: Part 1









Dies used: Half-Square Triangles, 4 1/2in Finished Square
                  Square, 4in Finished (4 1/2in Unfinished)


Hello again!

I've been promising to make my eldest son, Aidan a quilt for his bed for months and so a couple of weeks ago finally got around to ordering some fabric for it. He gave me clear instructions on the sort of fabric he wanted: travel and transport, strictly no animals or dinosaurs and mostly blue. It's always good to have a client with a clear brief!


The quilt design we chose is nice and simple using just 2 dies in total, with each block featuring an 8 pointed star. The simple arrangement helps to show off the printed fabrics that feature in the centre of each star.



Each block uses:

4 squares, feature print
8 half-square triangles, for points of star
8 half-square triangles, low volume for background
4 squares, low volume for background

Sewing all of the half-square triangles together and then joining the squares together to form rows before joining everything up was the most convenient method for me.


I just chopped enough fabric on my Big Shot Plus to make a block at a time, as cutting with a Big Shot is so quick and convenient it never feels like pausing to cut some more fabric interrupts the sewing rhythm at all.

Two blocks are done so far with a third nearly completed and I have checked with my client that they meet his specifications.


Aidan is trying to get me to commit to a finish date already and so with him cracking the whip there should be plenty of progress to see in next weeks post!




Thursday, 28 May 2015

Little birds for a baby




The long anticipated baby has arrived - and it's a boy - James Arthur, brother to 3 beautiful girls!
So there will be a quilt for him - but I really must finish the quilts for two of his sisters and one of his cousins before I start his ( the good news is that all 3 tops are made - I just need to layer them up and quilt them!!)
So a quick gift is what I need - so here it is -
a little string of birds that can fix across his pram - I did think of adding some little bells to this but know that my daughter, Naomi, wouldn't appreciate it.
I used Bigz die 657685 http://www.sizzix.co.uk/product/657685/sizzix-bigz-die-birds-3 and the Big Shot http://www.sizzix.co.uk/product/660200/sizzix-big-shot-machine-only-white-gray  to cut the birds in felt - I chose grey and aqua - cutting 4 birds, 2 wings and 2 eyes in grey, and 2 birds, 4 wings and 4 eyes in aqua.
I started by stitching the eyes and wings in place, using a small running stitch, but this can also be stitched on a machine. ( remember to make pairs of birds)

Then I stitched 2 grey birds together, with a length of grey ric rac running through the middle, and adding a little toy stuffing before completing the stitching -
it just remained to complete the other 2 birds in the same way.
I now have a little gift to take when I visit again tomorrow.
An alternative would be to make the birds into a mobile - hanging the birds from ribbon attached to the back.
I could also make a little quilt to match - or even add a bird to a tiny t-shirt - I'm sure my granddaughters will help me decide on the next thing to make for him.
So that's all for this week, have fun sewing.
Angela



Thursday, 30 April 2015

Tessellations for fun


I’ve been very busy this weekend, but I haven’t finished the quilt from the last blog. I’ve been a little distracted because I suddenly thought that I need to get some quilts finished for my grandchildren – before the next one is born ( due around 20th May)!!
You see I’ve made one for Oona the youngest, and Daniel, the eldest already has a couple of quilts, but Kieron and Abi  are still waiting for me to complete theirs, and I haven’t started one for Eve – until today.
So I hope you’ll bear with me.
I’m featuring just one die – Tessellating Pinwheel 659584 http://www.sizzix.co.uk/catalog#q=tessellating% – but with about 5 different layouts/colours.
You do need to be careful cutting - if you are using patterned fabrics you will need to make sure that the fabric is always the same way up so that all the pinwheels tessellate in the same direction - for plain fabrics it doesn't matter ( but you do need to make sure that you stitch plain fabrics to keep the tessellation correct)
The first 2 samples are of cushion covers – the first shows the easiest layout – just using 2 fabrics, so each block is the same.
The second cushion cover uses more fabrics but they are laid out in rows - so it’s still really easy.
 
Now this quilt is for Abi – she loves elephants – so these fabrics are ideal for her – and the quilt will be bordered with fabric with just elephants. This is the most challenging layout – you need to lay all the pieces out in rows – so that all the blocks make interwoven pinwheels – you need to do careful pinning and labelling (and even so I still needed to relay the last 3 rows again before stitching.
I think it's worth the effort - at least I do now all the rows are stitched!!
The next photo shows the beginning of Kieron’s quilt – now he decided that he wanted the pieces to be put together in a random design – I couldn’t quite cope with that so I’m creating pinwheels with random fabrics around each one – it’s easier – but I’m not sure how it will look when it’s complete – I guess the important thing will be that Kieron likes it.
It will be interesting to see this progress!
Now Eve has said that she would like to make her own quilt, and she can use my sewing machine quite confidently, but at the age of 6, I think this might take her quite a while – so I’ve started this quilt – and it’s so easy!
As long as I make sets of 4 matching pink with 4 white pinwheels – then the lay out is so simple because the blocks can just be joined together –
The great thing about this one is that I'm using some of the fabrics from my stash, and I also think Eve will love it.
So 5 looks from 1 die – I reckon that’s very good value for money.
Will I have them all finished by next week – no – but I’ll keep you updated, and hopefully complete them before the newest member of our family arrives!
So enjoy this Bank Holiday weekend, and I’ll be with you again next week.
Angela
 
 
 
 
 

Sunday, 15 February 2015

A "Congrats!" Layout by Gerry van Gent

Hello Sizzix peeps!
Happy Sunday to all of you ....
Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day with your loved ones!
Today I prepared another layout for you using New Sizzix dies and a 
"touch" of old ones ....a perfect combination :-)
This photo of my son was taken last Summer on his 11th birthday -
a day certainly worth remembering :-) and treasuring on the wall.

Congrats!

siz
657900 Sizzix Big Shot Machine
NEW 660210 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set Alphanumeric (1" Tall) 
NEW 660222 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set Scribbles & Splat
NEW 660220 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set Mixed Media
657826 Sizzix Sizzlits Dec. Strip Die Washer Border
656938 Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die Tag & Bookplates
*      *      *
To give more dimension and "glam" to the letters from my title I 
added "Dimensional Magic".  To be sure the letters won't  wrinkle and
to make them flat I die cut each letter three times.
 Then I adhered each letter on top of each other - it makes them now stable.
Subsequently I added the three dimensional accent.
How letters

N.B. I used the exclamation mark as a "body" for the dragonfly. 
3
 It took 3 hours for the letters to dry!
But once dry the result is simply amazing. 
As a final touch I distressed the letters with ink. 
close 1

 The Bookplate was die cut from corrugated cardboard and dark brown pattern paper.
When I adhered the pattern paper on top of the corrugated cardboard I distressed the
pattern paper with sanding paper. As a result you get "white" spots - 
these white spots I painted with blue paint.
I did almost the same with the die cut pattern paper matting the photo.
First I die cut the paper by using one of the NEW Mixed Media dies.
Then I painted the edges with gesso and once drie I painted with blue paint.
close 2

close 3

660220_Mixed media_Tim Holtz
I used this flower shape to decorate my embellishments.
close 4

close 5

whole close 3

I hope you enjoyed my project today!
Have a creative Sunday!