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

Christmas Quilt 2014

I started this year’s Christmas Quilt earlier in the year, but it stalled, and as has started to become traditional, I spent a week in December finishing it off. I didn’t follow any particular pattern, being guided by the sizes of fabric pieces I had. After designing and cutting a stencil for the swirl and spending two days doing all the quilting on the calico border alone, I am so glad it’s finished. The overall quilt size is 56″ x  71″ (142cm x 180cm). The centre blocks are from fat quarters, with the borders added and mitred (finally got the hang of that!). There’s approximately 1 km of sewing thread, with 400m of quilting (I know this as I used exactly one 400m reel of the variegated gold/brown thread!).

I’m looking forward to the arrival of my ‘what do I get a man who has just about everything’ Christmas present, which after much thought is going to be …. an overlocker 🙂

I’m also going to be hosting a sewing/stitching/quilting session in the studio on Wednesday afternoons in the new year, so keep an eye on my workshops page if you’re interested in joining the group.

Continue reading