Little Island Quilting

In awe

2012-01-31T18:42:00.001Z

She was looking for pattern testers and someone to proof read her English.

I offered.

She wanted to send me something.

I said I didn't want anything. Was just happy to help a talented quilter.

She asked again.

So I said some used stamps from her part of the world because my mum collects them and knew she wouldn't have any from this corner.

The stamps arrived today.

And so did this.

It is called shadow trapunto and she has written a book about it.

I am in total awe.

There is workmanship and then there is workmanship.

This is most definitely workmanship.

You can see more breathtaking examples of workmanship on her blog.

Courthouse steps quilt

2012-01-27T14:49:00.001Z

The best thing about this quilt?

The fact that it is made almost entirely from scraps. And until I sorted my over-flowing scrap bins into colour order I couldn't see the new quilt possibilities that lay there.

All the strips started out life as 1 1/2 inch across. 99% solids but with the odd patterned piece thrown in for good measure.

The centre rectangle was a Suzuko Koseki print with the exception of this one above. I have no idea what it is, just a fragment of French writing which came with the complimentary scrap bag you get when you make an indulgent order here. I like that I have managed to find a home for it. I've also just noticed that's three lines of quilting I've missed out!

The back is some Kona Artichoke with a strip of the centre fabric.


Daughter No. 2 wants to know if you can spot her bunny ears fingers.

I like how the back shows off all the hand quilting.

And can you see that something sewn into the left hand binding?

It's this.

My new as in 'never bought labels for my quilts before'. Bought from here.

And the front.

Linking up again with Amanda Jean's Finish It Up Friday and 12 quilts in '12.

A surfeit of stitches

2012-01-20T16:16:00.002Z

Hand-quilting.

Still think it is possibly the best part of the whole 'making of a quilt' process.

Whether it is working with perle.

To give a more noticeable texture to the quilt.

Or just using regular quilting cotton.

The enjoyment is still the same.

Not exactly complete finishes I know, but linking up nonetheless to Amanda Jean's Finish It Up Friday

A Work In Progress Wednesday What Went Weally Well

2012-01-18T20:28:00.000Z

(Sorry....I just liked all those Ws popping up)

Not the best of photos I appreciate, taken on the hoof with my ipad but you get the gist hopefully. Totally inspired by this and previously this, both of which I could just dribble over for most of the day.

Borne from the result of finally tidying out my scrap bins into colour groups and suddenly being able to see all the new quilt possibilities in front of me. The grey/neutral and the greens scrap bags looked like the makings of a quilt.

The only non-scrap bits are the tiny centres of each courthouse steps block which are a Suzuko Koseki fabric (31st one down if you are interested).

I think I am going to quilt this one with perle cotton.

Linking up to

The kindness of stranger friends

2012-01-17T08:13:00.001Z

I have always struggled with the concept that people you have only ever 'met' online could be termed friends. I don't know why. It seems a bit odd to think that people you've never spent time with could be called friends.

When I started blogging I never thought of the 'friends' element. It was to show and talk about my secret hobby of quilting that no one in the 'real' world got.

The months go by and gradually some of these people you have 'met' online become a part of your life without you even realising it. And even though Ryan Gosling could be a shelf-stacker in Waitrose for all I know and the Winnipeg Jets could be the Canadian equivalent of the Red Arrows, you still keep tapping away and before you know it, you start to think of them as a friend.

One of these virtual friends is Kristie

Not only does she make quilts - that was the important bit for me;-) - she also knits. And she knits these rather scrummy hats.

And I liked them.

So I developed a rather annoying virtual cough every time she posted pictures of them.

To the effect that the cough would more than likely clear up if one of those hats came my way.

And yesterday.

On the coldest day of the year on the Little Island.

It did.

So I immediately put it on, overjoyed by the bounty that was mine.

And almost immediately my husband said I looked like Ena Sharples from Coronation Street.

Now if you are not British and of a certain era that will mean nothing to you, so let me help you:

Ena Sharples:

And me:

What do you reckon?

A bunch of bags

2012-01-13T14:54:00.001Z

I'm always interested in bag patterns.

Can never have too many bags.

And I kept seeing this one popping up all over the place.

A look at the Flickr group for how others had interpreted this bag convinced me to hit the 'pay' button to get the pattern and I'm thoroughly glad I did. In one afternoon I managed to crank out not one, not two but three of these bags.

This one lives here now.

Although the pattern doesn't call for it, I used home decor weight fabric on all the bags as I wanted them to be fairly stiff and resilient. With this bag I also backed each fabric piece with interfacing.

Bag lined with regular quilters cotton weight fabric.

I also top-stitched around the edge of the bag which wasn't mentioned in the pattern but which I think adds to the finish and also keeps the lining from peeking out.

On this bag I used fusible fleece to back each piece of fabric and then I used a velveteen to line it. This has made for the sturdiest of the three bags.

The pattern had instructions for fabric made handles but I skipped that as I had a roll of cotton webbing (2 inch wide) which you can pick up for a reasonable price. I've also used jute webbing in the past if you want a more rustic look.

All in all, a bag pattern to be recommended and an afternoon well spent.

Linking up to Amanda Jean's Finish It Up Friday.