Quilt No 019: Jungle Friends

When things go quiet on here, it usually means I am working on something I can’t share just then. This is another of those projects, a jungle friends themed quilt that I gifted a couple of weeks ago so I can now share it publicly!

jungle friends quilt

It’s the first time I have quilted using printed polycotton, and I was quite disappointed with it fading on its very first wash. Hopefully, that is it for future washes. I’ll also give you a tip – always check the ironing instructions for unfamiliar fabrics. It turns out that setting the iron to the normal temperature and steam for cotton fabrics ends with the polycotton firmly adhering to the iron and shrinking somewhat.

And the pedant in me chafed all the way through the making that lions were not jungle creatures. And neither are giraffes as far as I am aware. Or indeed zebras. What about tortoises? Sheesh, what are we teaching our kids? Continue reading

Quilt No. 018: ‘Great Expectations’

It has been 18 months in the making. Well, may be a couple of weeks in the actual making, but with lots of gaps! This is my first (and possibly last) double wedding ring quilt, made as a wedding gift to good friends. I missed the wedding deadline, and their first anniversary, but managed to get it finished for Christmas.

Continue reading

Quilt No. 15: Honey Meadow

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Started just three weeks ago, I have just finished a mammoth session of hand-binding and have just the label to do to complete this superking size quilt (100″x84″) featuring Lewis & Irene’s Fabulous Forties Honey Meadow Fabric Roll for the centre panel, and yards of finest calico for the rest. I’ve learnt how to use Electric Quilt 7 for designing, how to make pintucks, make sure that I have the right machine needle for the top thread to avoid constant breakages, and that I really should have bought the 16″ long arm quilter I was drooling over at the NEC Hobbycraft show last week! I’ve also learnt that measuring twice and cutting once holds just as true for quilters as for carpenters! I hope to have a pattern sorted for the panel soon – I’ll add the link to this page when it’s ready 🙂