Who's behind the Pink Door?
Hopefully, this quilt will one day go home with a little premature baby after being cared for at King's College Hospital Neonatal unit. This is the first 'incubator quilt' I have made since Connecting Threads Group invited Jenny Strong to talk to us about the work that the ladies of Dulwich Quilters were doing to support the unit. These quilts are draped over the incubators to create a dark environment for premature babies, like being in the womb.
But the nurses need to have access to the baby without removing the quilt all the time, so they need an opening with a flap to cover it.
I struggled with the idea of cutting a hole in a patchwork design and then having to make a flap to match up with the missing piece. Of course, a whole cloth quilt would be the obvious answer, but I didn't have any appropriate children's prints. So I had it in mind to design something around the flap and came up with a door to a house.
As usual, it was a 'make it up as you go along' design.
I started with the roof and had such fun sorting out some of my long cherished pretty floral strips. I don't mind telling you it was a bit of a wrench to part with them - but this is all in a good cause!
I calculated where the cut out would be and left a gap in the top. Then, as I was finishing it off, I had to ask Jenny to clarify the size of the hole and the flap, as the template didn't match the instructions. As a result, it didn't quite come out as I envisaged, but I think it works ok.
The climbing vine should perhaps have been a bit greener. But I had these turquoise bias strips already in my stash and I think the colour makes it extra cheery. It didn't need to be botanically accurate after all!
The little flowers were cut from shapes that already had fusible webbing on them, that I had left over from a previous project more than 10 years ago.
Likewise the hearts in the border were already cut. You know I save everything for just such a project and I love it when it all comes together!
The little flowers were cut from shapes that already had fusible webbing on them, that I had left over from a previous project more than 10 years ago.
So I enjoyed a good bit of pink piecing - I guess the next one needs to be blue!
Today I have put in an all day stint up in the loft. It was cold up there! I have just finished this neatly pieced 'panel' quilt made by Diane.
Sometimes less is more. The printed panels were all different and I think it would have looked messy if I tried to follow the lines in each picture. So I concentrated most of my quilting in the sashing - another chance to practice my ribbon candy technique. It takes concentration, and there is no room to wobble on plain fabric.
I love the effect.
It looks even better from the back!
Next up - a modern quilt from Janet S.
Happy Quilting Everyone - Stay safe and keep cheerful!
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