I know I said I wouldnt be posting for a while but that didnt seem to happen did it! I do mean it this time though, we fly tomorrow so things will be quiet for the next week or so. I havent had a chance to line up lots of scheduled posts, so everything will be put on hold (just for a little bit)
Thanks everyone for all the best wishes. I look forward from writing my next post from Australia!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Friday, March 2, 2012
London Baby!
Jennifers Modern Mini Challenge came at an interesting time for me. I had just made my first ever mini quilt which was for my swap partner in For The Love Of Solids. I had so much fun making it and also because I have been looking at the amazing mini quilts on peoples walls in Sundays Sewing Space, I decided that I could easily become addicted to mini quilts.
On the other hand I am smack bang in the middle of moving from one side of the world to the other and really needed to pack. I hate packing to move and will do anything to put it off so the modern mini challenge became my distraction.
I have loved this project so much and thought I would share a bit about the process with you rather than just the end product.
I mentioned in an earlier post that im finding muted colours in art and illustration really inspiring at the moment. I love illustration and have been pinning loads recently so I knew I wanted a mini quilt that looked like an illustration or poster. These are just a few of the things that I love
I love the muted colours in this
These houses are cute and the colours are fab
I think this colour pallette is really cool
I love these illustrations and so a plan began to form. A quilt version of the above illustration but featuring a place that I love.
I decided on fabrics, I wanted mainly solids to give it that illustration look
I chose my size, cut out my applique and ironed in place. I machine stitched everything in place and then stood back and looked. Then I began to question myself. The colour was all down one side, things didnt look balanced, should I have done everything in muted blues, greens and greys? Oh well too late now. I would have to add extra colour, this is when I added the phone box and the sun peaking from behind the cloud.
This made me much happier. So what to do next? How to quilt it? I asked my family what they thought of as quintessentially British and decided maybe I could stitch some extra things in.
I drew up this very quickterrible rough sketch.
The pen shows the applique and the pencil shows some quilting ideas
Then I decided I wanted it to look like I had just sat and doodled but I wanted it to be subtle. So I chose a thread the same colour as the background, and I started doodling with my machine!
A couple of my ideas were a bit complex to just doodle (the crown and the lamp post) so I used an embroidery pen to lightly sketch them on first, The rest I did free hand. I then decided I wanted to put London on it. I originally thought that I would FMQ this like I had been doing, but then changed my mind and appliqued it. I FMQ'd a few british sayings though.
And the last dilemma was how to bind it. I considered using the background fabric or doing an invisible binding but then I realised that posters frequently have white borders, so I went with skinny white sides and a deeper white top and bottom.
And here it is - London baby! (was anyone else ever obsessed with Friends?)
Im so pleased with how it turned out. Its going to go on the wall of my new studio and remind me of home.
Thanks Jennifer for holding this fab challenge, I have loved every minute of it
On the other hand I am smack bang in the middle of moving from one side of the world to the other and really needed to pack. I hate packing to move and will do anything to put it off so the modern mini challenge became my distraction.
I have loved this project so much and thought I would share a bit about the process with you rather than just the end product.
I mentioned in an earlier post that im finding muted colours in art and illustration really inspiring at the moment. I love illustration and have been pinning loads recently so I knew I wanted a mini quilt that looked like an illustration or poster. These are just a few of the things that I love
I love the muted colours in this
These houses are cute and the colours are fab
I think this colour pallette is really cool
I love these illustrations and so a plan began to form. A quilt version of the above illustration but featuring a place that I love.
I decided on fabrics, I wanted mainly solids to give it that illustration look
I chose my size, cut out my applique and ironed in place. I machine stitched everything in place and then stood back and looked. Then I began to question myself. The colour was all down one side, things didnt look balanced, should I have done everything in muted blues, greens and greys? Oh well too late now. I would have to add extra colour, this is when I added the phone box and the sun peaking from behind the cloud.
This made me much happier. So what to do next? How to quilt it? I asked my family what they thought of as quintessentially British and decided maybe I could stitch some extra things in.
I drew up this very quick
The pen shows the applique and the pencil shows some quilting ideas
Then I decided I wanted it to look like I had just sat and doodled but I wanted it to be subtle. So I chose a thread the same colour as the background, and I started doodling with my machine!
A couple of my ideas were a bit complex to just doodle (the crown and the lamp post) so I used an embroidery pen to lightly sketch them on first, The rest I did free hand. I then decided I wanted to put London on it. I originally thought that I would FMQ this like I had been doing, but then changed my mind and appliqued it. I FMQ'd a few british sayings though.
And the last dilemma was how to bind it. I considered using the background fabric or doing an invisible binding but then I realised that posters frequently have white borders, so I went with skinny white sides and a deeper white top and bottom.
And here it is - London baby! (was anyone else ever obsessed with Friends?)
Im so pleased with how it turned out. Its going to go on the wall of my new studio and remind me of home.
Thanks Jennifer for holding this fab challenge, I have loved every minute of it
Thursday, March 1, 2012
To Do First March
Yay I am loving my monthly To Do lists, they are really working for me. Do you want to be more organised this year? Write a monthly To Do list and link up here, its definitely making me a bit more productive and keeping me on track.
But first lets start with what I actually managed to make in Feb
Not too bad considering I should have been packing, not sewing! Still some packing to do, Its not easy moving a family of 4 across the globe and not exceeding our luggage allowance! We hope to get a few things shipped over but not for quite a while so I have to choose what is essential (my husband says my fabric is not essential and I have to wait for it to be shipped over later, can you believe it??? Im stuffing in as much as I can in every nook and cranny!)
I have finished my Modern Mini Challenge quilt, there is a sneak peak in the bottom row of the mosaic. I am loving this and am pretty pleased with how it turned out. All will be revealed on the 5th March!
I didn't do my sisters quilt tops but that was because I decided there was no point making tops and then lugging them to Oz to quilt, instead im going to make and quilt them while im there and then bring them back in my suitcase in November.
Ooops, I also didnt get a chance to make my bee block for Piece Bee With You, I have apologised though and its top of my priorities!
Ok so what do I want and need to do this month, Its going to have to be a light sewing month, 1 because I wont have much fabric with me in Australia and 2 because we are moving from England to Oz on the 5th so I guess my priorities should be packing/unpacking/settling in/ visiting family etc.
Must do:
Bee blocks
Sew Bee Joyful - Have febs and marchs to do but we were told to take our time with febs, as there is no hurry (which is great for me at the mo!) Dont know whats in store for marchs blocks yet
Piece Bee With You - Need to do febs fish block before I do anything else. Marchs theme is cats, should be fun
Commissioned Baby Quilt - My sister has asked me to make a baby quilt for her husbands sister. There is no hurry on this one as I will bring it back to England with me in November but I have a great idea and cant wait to get started.
Sew Out Loud QAL - I am loving these blocks so much, I already have a couple of weeks to catch up on but I definitely want to make them all.
Might do:
Farmers Wife blocks - I have packed the book and fabrics in my suitcase (shhhh!) so if I get a chance then this will be a good project to catch up on
Skill Builder blocks - I have also packed a small amount of the fabrics for this (he is going to be so cross with me!) so hopefully might get a couple more blocks done.
Ok if you are writing To Do's then link em up, dont forget to link back here in your post. Im linking up with Lynne for Fresh Sewing Day
But first lets start with what I actually managed to make in Feb
Not too bad considering I should have been packing, not sewing! Still some packing to do, Its not easy moving a family of 4 across the globe and not exceeding our luggage allowance! We hope to get a few things shipped over but not for quite a while so I have to choose what is essential (my husband says my fabric is not essential and I have to wait for it to be shipped over later, can you believe it??? Im stuffing in as much as I can in every nook and cranny!)
I have finished my Modern Mini Challenge quilt, there is a sneak peak in the bottom row of the mosaic. I am loving this and am pretty pleased with how it turned out. All will be revealed on the 5th March!
I didn't do my sisters quilt tops but that was because I decided there was no point making tops and then lugging them to Oz to quilt, instead im going to make and quilt them while im there and then bring them back in my suitcase in November.
Ooops, I also didnt get a chance to make my bee block for Piece Bee With You, I have apologised though and its top of my priorities!
Ok so what do I want and need to do this month, Its going to have to be a light sewing month, 1 because I wont have much fabric with me in Australia and 2 because we are moving from England to Oz on the 5th so I guess my priorities should be packing/unpacking/settling in/ visiting family etc.
Must do:
Bee blocks
Sew Bee Joyful - Have febs and marchs to do but we were told to take our time with febs, as there is no hurry (which is great for me at the mo!) Dont know whats in store for marchs blocks yet
Piece Bee With You - Need to do febs fish block before I do anything else. Marchs theme is cats, should be fun
Commissioned Baby Quilt - My sister has asked me to make a baby quilt for her husbands sister. There is no hurry on this one as I will bring it back to England with me in November but I have a great idea and cant wait to get started.
Sew Out Loud QAL - I am loving these blocks so much, I already have a couple of weeks to catch up on but I definitely want to make them all.
Might do:
Farmers Wife blocks - I have packed the book and fabrics in my suitcase (shhhh!) so if I get a chance then this will be a good project to catch up on
Skill Builder blocks - I have also packed a small amount of the fabrics for this (he is going to be so cross with me!) so hopefully might get a couple more blocks done.
Ok if you are writing To Do's then link em up, dont forget to link back here in your post. Im linking up with Lynne for Fresh Sewing Day
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