The amazing technicoloured dream quilt

So finally the amazing technicoloured dream quilt is finished. I can hardly believe I have managed to finish a project of this size. This achievement has left me with an enormous sense of pride/relief/surprise.

Binding it took a few days, due to the size, there was a lot of slip-stitching to be done. But I really enjoyed this, picking it up where I could, slowly progressing along the sides. I think it's the first time since giving up my day job that I feel like I have been spending my time how I hoped I would be. Once my various jobs of the day were finished I managed to squeeze in a hour of sewing before picking the kids up.

Inevitably, the combination of me sat down with a quilt attracted some wildlife...

... which is turn attracted further wildlife...

I bound the quilt using some hugs and kisses, and hand quilted a few flowers.

hand quilted flowers

And finally we get to use it without dodging pins, and it is oh, so cozy. Every night I see the kids snuggle underneath it in that final wind-down at the end of the day. Despite whatever child-based shenanigans will have inevitably preceded that moment, it feels like all is good in the world.

I feel a little sorry for the kids that in my house, no moment seems to escape being captured on camera. But when just me and my girl were up on Friday night, I had to reach for my phone and capture this one incase I forgot it.

So, what to sew next? finishing this quilt has left me keen to get sewing on something else but equally lacking in motivation as to what. I would like it to involve this, but what to make?

In the middle of something...

• This weekend I found myself in the middle of something I didn't really understand
• That thing was quilting
• Thankfully there are tutorials for everything on the internet
• Sandwiching the 3 layers of quilt together, smooth and lined up is extremely tricky
• Finding an urchin doing a snow angel on that smooth quilt makes the process more complicated

• Smooth quilts are also irresistible to puppies

• The puppy found herself visiting the emergency vet this weekend, leaving me shedding tears over that floppy eared destroyer of cardboard and gardens
• Ibuprofen is magical for poorly dogs and kids. I love it's mystical powers
• This is definitely the biggest sewing project I have undertaken
• Why on earth did I make it so big?

• 'Stitch in the ditch' makes me snigger, I know, it's childish
• I probably should have bought a special foot for my machine for this

• Seeing my resident urchins snuggled under this unfinished quilt before school this morning made me very happy
• Today I am going to have a go at binding it using this excellent tutorial by Katy, wish me luck!

Meg and the amazing technicoloured dream quilt

I've been making steady progress with the flannel quilt that I mentioned before Christmas, having changed the design into something that is actually make-able thanks to advice from you clever followers. I am determined to make it in time to use this winter. Thankfully, it is quick to put together and so when I find the time, progress is pretty good. The colours are turning out a little more lurid brighter together than I was anticipating, perhaps I should have scattered in some more neutral tones, but I couldn't get it to work.

At least this way, when I inevitably spill red wine on it. It won't show.

Meg is drawn to the quilt whenever I put it on the floor, but I know where those paws have been and they are not allowed on it until she has at least had a bath. Puppy progress continues along side quilt progress and I can report that she will not just be a puppy for Christmas (I completely understand that ad campaign now). Having taught her to sit and shake hands, I have made an investment in the pooch and she will stay. Also the kids would not speak to me if I packed her off.

Thank you for your lovely comments on my 2011 post,  I hope 2012 is treating you well, I have ordered lots of new fabric in the last few days and hope to share it with you soon, in the meantime, happy sewing.

Loulouthi Needleworks and Flannel

image from Anna Maria Horner

New in at M is for make, Loulouthi flannels by Anna Maria Horner. These flannels are beautifully soft, and perfect for snuggling under or in.

Also new in are Loulouthi needleworks prints.

"Loulouthi Needleworks" prints are a clever translation of the traditional cross stitch craft into a printed cotton. Charming when simply used as a printed fabric, the 58" wide goods are printed with tiny X's just waiting to become a lovely hand-worked surface. Frame some of the vignettes for beautiful wall art, use some stitched squares in your next quilt or stitch up a whole border for the edge of a dress or some new pillowcases.

images from Anna Maria Horner

Catching up...

With the kids firmly back at school now I am finally getting some free time to catch up on some much needed projects around the house. Our table has been in need of a spruce up for a while, and the Loulouthi laminated cotton was perfect for this project.

I used spray glue to stick it to a foam heatproof backing as in the past I have used dabs of fabric glue that have shown through leaving a stain. It was a better way of fixing it, or rather it would have been if I hadn't run out half way through and got my hands covered in glue trying to spread out the last few drops from the can. This left me with sticky hands that even spiderman would have been jealous of.

I'm so pleased with the result, the print is bright and spectacular, it looks amazing. I may have to make the kids eat on the floor from now on incase they get it dirty or something equally awful.

I hope you are having a great weekend whatever you are doing.

Kate
x

Scream curtain

Many years ago (eeek - Wikipedia tells me it was actually 15 years ago) I went to the cinema with my boyfriend (now husband) to see a film. I remember clearly sitting down and asking him what film we had come to see. (I find it fascinating that back then, going to the cinema was such a regular occurrence, I didn't even bother to find out the name of the film first.)

More fool me, as the reply was 'Scream'. 'What is it about?' I asked with a knot of fear forming in my stomach. I didn't have to wait long and the opening 10 minutes scared the hell out of me. I hate scary films, and this is a spoof scary film. It instilled in me a life long fear of being in a house at night with lights on and not being able to see what is going on outside when it is dark as the windows turn into a mirror.

Really, the only scary thing that is likely to be in my garden, is a fox, or my kids. But with the evenings getting darker, there is something about those windows that has prompted me to make this curtain. I decided to use a Loulouthi fat 16th bundle initially thinking I would use the 9" x 6" pieces and sew them together as they were but gradually I cut them smaller and smaller turning a quick job into a much more time consuming one.

my cat: tough on patchwork,
tough on the causes of patchwork

It took me a while to cut out all the pieces, even with my rotary cutter I managed to cut out quite a large proportion of the pieces about a cm narrower than the others, not sure how. And it took me a while to decide what order to put them in, laying them out on the floor and having the cat plough through the middle of them numerous times, scattering the squares so that I had to take a photo to remember where they all went.

Sewing it all together was much quicker, and so satisfying. I love the back of quilts almost as much as the front, maybe that's a little strange, but the construction is so geometric and neat when it is all ironed.

Having it closed in the daytime does block out an awful lot of light, but I love the almost stained glass effect it creates.

In the interests of honestly, here is a photo of what my kitchen usually looks like, and the junk I had to shove to the sides to take this unusually tidy photo.

It does the job well, and I no longer get spooked while I do the washing up in the evenings. My husband helpfully pointed out that if a 8 foot bogey man was lurking in our garden, he would still be able to see in. Thanks love.

I am planning a blog post to feature your creations from the fat 16th bundles, so do send me a photo of anything you have made.