Category Archives: Quilting

Makes on Monday: Candlewick Quilt

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I learnt a new skill at the end of last year – candlewick embroidery. Quorn Country Crafts were running a workshop, and it was something I’d not come across before, so I signed up with a friend. At monthly sessions from September to December, we whiled away several hours learning embroidery stitches with a patient tutor in Sue, and dutifully completed our homework. I took my second-ever embroidery panel with me on holiday, and it was the start of many conversations, not least as I was a male doing embroidery. Here’s the final result, finished earlier this month:

Candlewick embroidery quilt made as a sofa throw, featuring raised knotwork panels in neutral tones
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Quilt No. 032: Christmas FQ Stars

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It has been some years since I last made a Christmas-themed quilt. I have been collecting seasonal fat quarters for that long as well, and I felt it was time to actually do something with them. My family Christmas at the end of November provided the perfect inspiration in the form of a book ‘Quilts from Quarters’ and I chose to adapt the ‘Octagonal Stars’ pattern. Quick making notes and critique of the pattern follow, but here’s the finished article:

Christmas FQ Stars quilt: octagonal stars using Christmas themed fabrics with calico background and sashing.
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Quilt No. 031: From Scratch

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I’ve been planning this quilt since August 2021 – at least, that is the creation date of my design file. I’ve created this one from scratch, designing the pattern, working out the fabric requirements, editing it for different dimensions and then choosing the fabric. The quilt was finally commissioned as a sofa cover back in March 2023 and I completed it last week having worked on it on and off since the summer.

blue, grey and white geometric patterned quilt created from scratch
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Quilt No. 030 – Garden Trellis

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I‘m sad to report the demise of the quilted cover for the hall chair that has served well since January 2019. It was a comfy perch for the dogs and through repeated washings had deteriorated to the extent that the fabric tore several times and the binding was wearing out on the edges. It was no longer viable to repair and was sadly consigned to the bin.

But, hurrah! This meant I could justify making a new one! I raided my stash for a jelly roll, batting and backing and my trusty shelves for a pattern. I set to on Wednesday afternoon and by Friday lunchtime I had finished. Here it is, complete with Esther who jumped up and made herself comfy within seconds of it being put on the chair!

Quilted chair cover in Garden Trellis pattern with muted rainbow colours Continue reading →

Quilt No. 026: Rotating Squares

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I made this quilt back in June and was due to teach it this weekend. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough people signed up for the workshop and the session has been cancelled. This frees me up to share the quilt, and more importantly, the pattern!

It is my own design and pattern. If you’d like to buy a copy (£5), click the button below. You will be shown a download link on completion of the order. The link will also be emailed to you with your invoice – if you don’t receive it, please check your spam folder. The file format is a PDF.

By clicking on the download button, you acknowledge that once you have paid you are not entitled to cancel the order or receive a refund (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 – digital downloads). Continue reading →

Quilt No. 025: Serenity

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Where has the time gone – I’ve just noted that it’s been a month since I last posted. As normal, if I’m not posting, it’s because I’ve been busy on projects that take a little longer to bring to fruition and shared. This time, I’ve been working on another set of praying hands for church and a new quilt cover for our sofa (since we’d worn out the first one).

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Quilt No 024: Modern Background

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I have a chair in our hall that seems to have been designed specifically for the dogs to sleep on, clamber onto to see out of the hall window, and otherwise act as a dumping point for bags as one comes through the door. Thus, apparently, it needed a contemporary cover that looked smarter than the throw that routinely covers it. The suggested colour scheme matched some fabric I bought some time ago, and after a quick planning session, I set to with a quilted pattern of my own making…

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Sewing: Miranda Day Bag

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Over the last two days, I’ve had a sewing project on the go… a quilted day bag. The pattern is from our trip to Canda and is available from Lazy Girl Designs. It’s not the first bag I’ve made, but even so, it took some effort to follow the instructions properly (operator errors, the instructions were actually pretty clear…). The pattern calls for quilting cotton fabrics – I chose a heavier weight printed canvas for longevity. I’ve also learnt from previous experience and on finishing it, liberally sprayed it with Scotch Gard fabric protector. It will be washable though. Fabrics from Thimbles Fabrics & Crafts. Finished size: 12″ x 6″ x 10″. Total make time approx. 8 hrs, materials £40.

Quilt No. 23: Christmas Swirl

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Christmas Swirl QuiltI’m on a roll… or should that be a bolt (of fabric)? This table runner was surprisingly quick to make and quilt. I took a couple of gratuitous shortcuts, such as daring not to baste the quilt sandwich together and merely relying on a firm press with a hot iron to keep everything together. I got away with it.

The quilt itself is made up of numerous 60° triangles with intervening diamonds, all cut from strips of stripes. The finished runner is quite long at 84″ and is 13″ wide. It traverses the length of our dining table with a small overhang at each end. Quilting was quick and simple stitch-in-the-ditch along the diagonals emphasising the diamond shapes.

The fabric is by Northcott and was obtained in Canmore, Canda whilst we were on hols. The pattern was called Triangle Frenzy Swirl and purchased on our previous USA trip two years ago.

Quilt No. 22 ‘Stanley Park’

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It’s not just photographs that can prompt reminiscences of a wonderful holiday… Following the success of my USA quilt, I decided on our recent holiday to visit any quilt shop within driving/walking distance of our location at the time, with the intention of buying a kit illustrating an aspect of the holiday. This is the first that I have finished of the two kits I bought. It prompts memories of a horse-drawn carriage tour of Stanley Park in Vancouver. We had a stop off at a collection of totem poles as part of the tour.

The kit is from Quilts with a Twist bought in the Rushin’ Tailor quilt shop in Skagway, Alaska and featured a laser-cut fusible applique totem of an eagle and a bear. It included all the fabric required for the 18″x 40″ wall hanging to be completed. It took just over a day to finish.

I found the laser cut applique easy to use. If it wasn’t for my laser cutter recently dying I’d be having a go with my own designs…

Totem pole quilt design