Free to Quilt: 2020 Vision

Free to Quilt: 2020 Vision: Inspiration! I was so inspired by this lovely quilt that Jean S asked me to finish off for her! Before it was even off my  ...

2020 Vision

Inspiration!

I was so inspired by this lovely quilt that Jean S asked me to finish off for her! Before it was even off my frame I had decided to make one myself.  It is a present for her daughter who just loves the United States, so the stars and stripes look was perfect. 

The pattern, by Lynne Goldsworthy, was featured on the front cover of Today's Quilter (issue 53). It was intended to be a scrappy project and Jean had put together a lovely selection of fabrics. We have similar taste and I think it was this pretty combination of prints that attracted me so much.

 I just let fly with my feathers and couldn't stop until it was finished. 

I rushed right round to show it to her the minute it was done and she loved it too.

For my own version, I have chosen to replace the stars with hearts. Unusually for me, I am not using scraps, partly because some of the strips would need to be 16 inches long and my scraps don't measure up! Also, I was so keen to get started I didn't want to spend the time sorting them all out. So I pulled out some of my favourite fabrics (including some of my brand new ones) and sliced them right off the bolt - I have to be really committed to do that! They were all Edyta Sitar prints - no surprise there. 

So that is already a work in progress, interrupted only by the Christmas break. But I can't just make one project at a time, so I have tapped into all that enthusiasm to start making little 'broken dishes' units from these pretty floral one and a half inch half square triangle units I have accumulated. I have long said to myself:

'There's a quilt in this little box.'

Now I have them all sorted into pairs and lined up by my machine to use as leaders and enders in between each 'log' of the larger project. Now that WILL be scrappy project.

As usual, Father Christmas was very generous and I have four lovely new books to peruse for inspiration. 

I think 2020 is going to be a 'Tilda' year! 

The trouble is I have so many ideas on my To Do list now, I just don't know what to do first.

Happy New Year and Happy Quilting Everyone!

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www.englishquilter.co.uk

Free to Quilt: Ducks in a Row

Free to Quilt: Ducks in a Row: Vania's First Quilt There's nothing like a deadline to focus the mind!  Vania has been working on this playmat since joi...

Ducks in a Row

Vania's First Quilt

There's nothing like a deadline to focus the mind! 

Vania has been working on this playmat since joining my patchwork class at The Sewing Studio in Borehamwood in the spring. It was intended for her great nephew Atti and he was due to visit with his Mum at the end of November. With a bit of help from me she was able to get it finished in time. 

Vania is a newcomer to sewing and patchwork and has been so keen to learn. As it was such a special project for her, I wanted to make sure it came out as she hoped. So I offered to do the quilting and start off the binding for her. But apart from that she has learned to cut with a ruler and rotary cutter, master a quarter inch seam, chain piece, match seams and choose fabrics and design a layout. And she put in the final hand stitch on the binding!

Her niece was delighted with it, of course, and I am sure Atti will love it for years to come. 

Now we have persuaded her to buy a machine of her own, she is already planning her next project - a lap quilt for her Mum. 

I think she is officially one of us!

Talking of deadlines, I have at last finished a  Christmas project for myself in time for the holiday! Okay, I have to admit that I started it in November 2018! So it was a legitimate 'UFO' for our session at Maxwell Park on Saturday. As you can see, I don't do red green and gold for Christmas. I have been sitting on these icy blues and silvers for about 4 years (and some date back about 15)! It needs a wider hanger to make it hang straight.

But I am really pleased how it turned out!

Happy Quilting Everyone!

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www.englishquilter.co.uk