Cherry Christmas Quilt

Woohoo - I finally have a finished quilt to share with you!  I started this quilt all the way back in July 2013 (in this post) - can you believe it?

 

It's not even that this was a massively time consuming project - it just kept getting pushed aside in favour of other things.  I used Aneela Hooey's Cherry Christmas line, with a couple of other random fat quarters thrown in to make up the numbers, and the scrappy trip along design that went viral a couple of years ago.

 

I had this quilt thread basted by Sue Burnett, a local long-arm quilter.  Seriously, if you have access to a long-arm quilter, ask them about this.  After trying it myself, I don't think I'd baste a large quilt again and many of my friends are converts now too.  It's generally not very expensive and such a time and hassle saver.  I then quilted the quilt myself on my Juki (for those who are curious, I didn't use the frame - this quilt was a bit big for it unless I added the extension).  I love the simple loops design - it's the one I start off with when teaching free motion quilting and I like to show that it's something I actually use on my quilts as well.

 

I like hand stitching my bindings and I usually do so in the normal way - with a simple ladder stitch that's nearly invisible.  On this quilt, I decided to do something different and stitch the binding down with Aurifil 12 weight thread using a running stitch.  It's probably not quite as secure (and it certainly took a lot longer) but it's oh so cute.  I will put together a little video tutorial on how to do this when I get back from QuiltCon (and I'm sure I've seen someone else use this on their quilt but I have no idea who - if you know, let me know!).

So now I have a Christmas quilt!  It's hanging out on my couch even though it's nowhere near Christmas time.  Luckily, Ivy approves.

Anyone else working on something completely out-of-season?

This is the first item I've finished off my Q1 Finish-Along list.  I'm afraid my number of finishes for Q1 is going to be fairly unimpressive!  How is everyone else going?  

WIP Wednesday

Wayyyy back last year, I started a scrappy trip-along quilt using Aneela Hoey's Christmas collection, Cherry Christmas.

My plans to have it done for last Christmas didn't come off, but I finished the top early this year.  A couple of months ago, I made the back and then had the quilt thread basted by Sue Burnett - it's so much easier to handle a big quilt like this without the weight of all those pins in it!

After quilting my Christmas Leftovers quilt (made from the leftovers from making this quilt, and, ironically, finished over a year before...), I knew I wanted to free motion loops on this quilt as well.

This weekend I made a start and I love the way the quilting is looking so far.  Hopefully I'll have a finish to share with you soon!

Are you working on any Christmas makes at the moment?

I'm linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced:

A Christmas Quilt in February

I'm going to claim that I am really really organised for Christmas 2014.  Let's ignore the fact that I was originally aiming to get this quilt done for Christmas 2013.

 

Anyway, the top is done now, and I'm loving the fabric (mostly Aneela Hoey's Cherry Christmas line) as much as I was when I hunted it down in the middle of last year.

 

I know how I want to quilt this top, it's just a matter of when.  There's kind of no rush now, but I don't want to forget about it and end up being really organised for Christmas 2015…

So, how is your Christmas sewing going?  Any tips for me to make sure I don't forget about quilting this quilt?

WIP Wednesday

This week I'm working on my long-ignored Cherry Christmas scrappy trip along quilt. 

I have 12 blocks finished out of 36 - the other 24 are prepped and just need to be stitched together.

I'm still really loving this quilt but also really not sure it will get finished before Christmas.  I definitely have time to finish the top - quilting is another question!

I thought I'd also let you know that I've made a button for my "How to stop being a no-reply blogger" tutorial, at the suggestion of the ever-glittery Molli Sparkles.  I know I had a truckload of no-reply bloggers enter my SewMamaSew Giveaway Day giveaway (still running here if you want to enter), and it's a shame, because mostly they have not left an email address.

<div align="center">
<a href="http://thewindyside.blogspot.co.nz/2013/06/how-to-stop-being-no-reply-blogger.html" title="How to stop being a no-reply blogger"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4UVNgArcaqBERJKsZEo-Ug3HCAgsUNJmfck89mt7JLkvt9FAcxWYUo_c6V-ZbGupdlEdM_Z-QdDnaFQ43NGC-07tsYe3pGhKYfX-PfIk4paJWUbgVlF_IQGkh1BuFtpP4OJ6QgR_xn6o/s1600/nrb.jpg" alt="How to stop being a no-reply blogger" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

If you'd like to add the button to your blog, you can grab the code here, or from my sidebar.

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced:

WIP Wednesday

These are the first four blocks for my Cherry Christmas Scrappy Trip Along quilt.  I made a beginner's error for one block and put green fabric at either end, so I was left with a double stripe of green.  I'm going to see how it looks once all the other blocks are made - if it's still bugging me then, I'll unpick it.

I have to say, I am not regretting the decision to hunt these fabrics out - I love working with them and I can't wait to make more blocks.  I'm going to try and finish up a few long-standing WIPs first, but then it's straight back to these lovelies.

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced:

 

P.S. My giveaway to celebrate my first year of blogging is still open, so don't miss out! 

La Piñata - finito!

I finished La Piñata, my version of the scrappy trip along quilt that went crazy online in January, and managed to take some photos this weekend.

As I've said before, I used the technique described in this Scrappy Trips Around the World Tutorial from Quiltville.  However, because I used strips cut from yardage,  I made my blocks 8 by 8 squares, using 20" strips and ending up with 16" square blocks.  You can see my initial fabric selection and the mock-up of what I thought my quilt might look like here.

I honestly think I like the back of this quilt as much as the front.  The back is made up of two prints designed by Australian fabric designers Prints Charming for Spotlight (basically the Australian and New Zealand version of Joann's).  I found the large print on sale and bought all my local Spotlight had, which wasn't quite enough to back this quilt.  I used the blue print from the same collection to fill in the gap, and in the end I think it adds interest.  These fabrics are not quilting cotton (I think they were described as cotton poplin), but they are 100% cotton and seem to work happily enough with the quilting cottons I used to piece the front.

The binding, Alexander Henry's Heath in Black, was totally inspired by the areas of black cross hatching on the backing fabric.  It pops really nicely against the front too.

I quilted a simple cross-hatch grid on this quilt, similar to my A Brighter Shade of Pale (Lucky Square) Quilt.  This time, I marked every quilting line with my hera marker, and it really helped me keep the lines straight.  Also, I pin basted this quilt with a safety pin in every other square, checkerboard style.  When it came to quilting, I quilted the cross-hatch grid in all the unpinned squares, then stopped, took all the pins out, and quilted the rest of the squares.  It meant I was never having to stop for pins mid quilting, which really slows things down and makes it hard to keep lines straight.

So this quilt is now ready for someone to snuggle under.  I don't have a plan for it at the moment, but I'm sure the right recipient will come along.

What have you been up to this weekend?

Quilt Stats

Pattern:  scrappy trip around the world using a modified version of this Scrappy Trips Around the World Tutorial from Quiltville.

Finished Size:  Approximately 64 inches square.

Fabric: Assorted bright blenders, including several different colours of Mirror Ball Dots from Michael Miller and the egg prints from various of Thomas Knauer's collections for Andover Fabrics.

Backing: Prints Charming cotton poplin from Spotlight.

Binding: Alexander Henry Heath in Black.

Pieced and quilted by: me, on my domestic sewing machine.

This quilt is the third of my first quarter goals for the 2013 Finish-A-Long - three down, six to go!

Linking up with:

and, of course, Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

And, how could I forget, this was my February goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes:

(Nearly Wordless) WIP Wednesday

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced:

WIP Wednesday

Very short WIP Wednesday for me this week.  I have been really quite busy at work, so progress has slowed somewhat.  I'm hoping to get some decent sewing time in this weekend.

I finished quilting this baby quilt on the weekend, and am now hand stitching down the binding.  It needs to be finished off for the baby shower on Sunday, so will be my focus until it's done.

I've also finished quilting La Piñata, my scrappy trip along quilt, and I have made the binding, so just need to attach it and sew it down.  A nice relaxing project for my down time over the weekend.

What have you been up to this week?

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced:

WIP Wednesday

Today is a statutory holiday, so I got to spend some time at the sewing machine rather than at my desk.  On the agenda was quilting.  I basted two quilts at my parents' house on Sunday night - they have a lot more space and I found a nice breezy spot that was much more pleasant to work in than my very sunny dining room.

I got started on my scrappy trip along quilt - I'm doing an all-over cross-hatch grid.                                    

This is the backing fabric - it's from Spotlight, but is designed by Australian fabric designers Prints Charming.  I think its perfect for this very bright and colourful quilt.  Finishing off this quilt will be my February goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes.

I've also been working on this baby quilt for a colleague's baby.  So far I've just quilted a crosshatch in the beige squares, but I think I'll add in stitch-in-the-ditch quilting along all the seams.

My mission for this weekend will be to find a good binding fabric - I've been right through my stash and nothing seems quite right.

What are you working on this week?

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced:

La Piñata (scrappy trip along)

Phew!  After some concentrated sewing effort (aided by a long weekend), I finished my scrappy trip along quilt top.  My particular version has finished at 64" square - a nice throw size, and easy to handle for quilting.

Ok, so it's not exactly scrappy, I tweaked the tutorial everyone is using (this one from Quiltville - except that I made my blocks 8 by 8, by using 20" by 2.5" strips cut from yardage), and we have a bit of a love/hate relationship, but at this stage I am HAPPY that the top is done!

The bright colours and the design made me think of a piñata - so La Piñata she is.  To be fair, given that this quilt contains 1,024 2" finished squares, it was pretty painless.

I never thought I would use metallic looking fabric in a quilt, but after I spied the Mirror Ball Dots from Michael Miller here, I had to have them.  I was a little nervous about ironing this fabric, but after I did a small test piece, I ironed in my usual way (hot and lots of steam) with no ill effect.  So, if you like the look but were holding off because of worries about how the fabric would behave - go for it!

Is it wrong that I kind of like the back more than the front?

I have some great fabric for the back - it is nearly as bright and crazy as the front, so I will try and baste this quilt one night after work this week.  It would be good to have it ready to quilt when the urge strikes.

How is your scrappy trip along quilt going (almost everyone in the quilt blogging world seems to have drunk this particular kool-aid)?

Scrappy trip-along

Well, just as I was getting momentum on some projects that I actually need to get done because they have deadlines, along comes a viral quilt-along that I just can't resist.  I saw it get going on instagram a little while ago (I am adrianneonthewindyside if you want to find me), and it has since taken off, with an instagram hashtag (#scrappytripalong) and a flickr group.  Check it out, but be warned - it is very difficult to resist jumping on this bandwagon.  In case you are keen to join in, this is the tutorial from Quiltville that everyone is using.

This is my fabric pull - not exactly scrappy, but it's super bright and I'm looking forward to seeing how it comes together.

I have cut all my strips - the white fabric will be the centre diagonal of each block.  Because I am using fabric strips rather than scraps, I decided to go for an 8 by 8 block rather than a 6 by 6 block - it is a more efficient use of fabric and also means that I only need to make 16 blocks to get a 64 by 64 inch throw size quilt.

This is a mock up of what my quilt might look like - it will be less organised because this is just one block duplicated over and over, whereas all my blocks will be slightly different.  I can't wait to get started.

Have you also fallen victim to the scrappy trip along mania?