Catching up on my latest quilt projects

So, as update on a the earlier post about my latest beachy quilt, I now can show you the final pictures. The quilt finally got done - I finished the edges with a wide light blue bias strip around the edges and rounded corners and used a binding sewing foot to keep all the layers of fabric and laying flat while stitching.

Perhaps it's not the right colors for the cold winter months we are experiencing in Johannesburg right now, but I absolutely love the blue and beige colors as it reminds me of the beautiful blue sky on a typical winter's day and of the different blue colors of the ocean. The colors and the style is so soothing.. I think I'm totally sold on the hexagon shape and could definitely make another hexagon quilt in the future. Mmmm, maybe it's time to check my scrappy stash again..... 

So now the next scrappy quilt project I'm planning is for my daughter in various left-over blue and pink fabrics. I just love the idea of little Russian dolls (in various sizes) in the centre of each block and I am about half way with the final number of blocks, so here is a little pic to give you an idea of the overall look. 

And in order to create the pattern with the pink and blue fabric strips, the colors are strategically placed. The right and bottom strips are shades of blue and the left and top fabrics strips are in different shades of pink. 

After these are done, I will add another layer of pink and blue strips around to get to the final block size. 

Below is an example of 4 log cabin blocks, that placed together, make this visual pattern. 

Beachy Hexagon Quilt

On my to do list of sewing projects, I always have a quilt in varying stages of completion waiting to be worked on. My latest project is such a quilt.

I have a huge scrappy stash in big bags and when it looks like its about to burst, I take a little peek inside to see if I have enough off cuts of fabric to start a quilt. Well the bag with blue fabric off cuts were nearing such a stage and so the scratch and dig began.

This quilt is based on the Sexy Hexy Love Quilt design from Amy Butler design and the pattern is downloadable from this weblink. Thank you Amy Butler!



http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/products/free_patterns.php

The hexagon pattern instantly caught my eye. I was intrigued with the shapes and pieces to make up the large circle like hexagons and thought it will look very striking once it's spread out over a bed.


The quilts I've done in the past were made up of blocks, strips and triangles and are pretty straightforward in the sense that you just cut out a bazillion blocks and/or strips and figure out the correct placement of the rows before the arduous task of stitching it all together.


By doing this design I hoped on cutting down on sewing-time as the pieces are much bigger and still has a final striking image that catches the eye.


The colour palette is beachy, with all the shades of blue (from the above mentioned scrap fabric stash) and to balance, I added neutrals of grey and beige.

I was inspired by memories of going to the beach and thinking of the different shades of blue in the water and sky and colour of the sand and sea shells.


          


OK, so here we are. At this point I had chosen the fabrics, cut them out from the pattern pieces and had stitched the hexagon halves together.

Placement of halves

Now to do the placement and make sure all the dark colours don't end up all bunched together in one side of the quilt and that the patterns are evenly spaced out.

There are solids, polka dot's, tiny flowers and even stripe prints in this mish-mash and it's exactly how I wanted it to be. The many shades of blues will tie all the blocks nicely together for the overall look.

Final placement and numbering of rows

I will load up final images of the completed quilt top sheet so that you can see the overall look as its ready for the final stage of assembly. 

Lay it out over a layer of batting (middle) and a layer of soft cotton fabric as the underside of the quilt.

Triangles quilt finaly finished!

I'm so utterly proud of myself for sticking it out on this one. It took almost 2 years to finish this project but I pushed through and never gave up.
Here is the finished product.

working on a new Triangles Quilt

So, after cutting out like a zillion blocks, I've started to sew them together using a great technique (which I found online) to create triangled blocks.  This morning, I decided to pack them out just to get a general idea of what it will look like. So far - pretty nice I think!

I'm trying to make use of my stash of scraps and the colors I've chosen are all in the reds and pinks and I've added neutral colors black and whites to break it up a bit.

The rest of my stash of scraps have mostly blues and greens, which I will use in the next quilt project. But that is for another day.



Wavy Quilt all finished...

...and on my bed. I also changed the duvet cover to a white one with pink flowers. It should all go together very snugly. I found stunning sheeting that I added to the "wrong" side.

GOING CONTINENTAL

I decided to make new continental pillow cases, as the plain ones I had was a little sad looking. My bedroom is looking so snazzy with the new quilt and new cushion, something had to be done. It took a bit of scratching through my things for similar colors and also dashing off to the fabric store to get some more pieces. They are almost identical in pattern and also double sided. Me being so very fond of the log cabin quilting style, I decided to stick with it and came up with these cusion covers. I think they are gorgeous!

my wavy quilt

I was so inspired when I saw this tutorial for a "wedding quilt" - I immediately decided that I will try this out and give it shot.
So I went about thinking of the colors that I want to use and then started cutting. and cutting and cutting some more....
http://www.purlbee.com/wedding-quilt/

So this is a little taste of how it will look like. I haven't added the strips together as yet so it looks a little uneven, but that's ok. Once it's lying flat and iron properly, it should start to look really beautiful.

For my quitl I decided to opt for purply colors like Grape, Mauve, violet, lavender, egg plant, etc. And instead of using white pieces in between the rows, I opted for beige, mushroom, sandy colors instead. I am hoping to even out the contrasts and it looking a little more cohesive. It might not look as striking as the quilt from the tutorial, but hey, this is one will be timeless and snug.

I will post more photo's as I get along with it. I hope to get a little further with it on the weekend.

Logcabin Quilt coming together!

I'm currently on a quilting frenzy - my latest project is taking shape. Many, many square (64 in total) all done by hand, and can now be stitched together. I've taken stock of all the other quilts that I've done to date - and slowly but surely, it's all stacking up.


I'm so excited as I can start to see all the blocks together. the colors are amazing together - even though it looks like a mish mash, I think it's great like that.
I'm not so fond of matchy-matchy kind of coloring.

Patchworking

This was my first attempt at working with patchwork strips back in 2007 - It's currently covering my bed and purposed as a duvet cover. And still a favorite - I just love the color combination.

Patchwork - another Duvet

This duvet cover waited over 2 years for me to finish. I only managed to finally finish it in 2011. The reason for this is that I got stuck with the ribbon flowers. Putting the blocks together went super quick, but the flowers took a lot more effort. In hindsight, it would have been better to add the ribbon flowers before putting all the blocks together.

I still like the Autumn color combinations on this one and will start to use it more when it starts to become cooler.

I'm quilt crazy...

This little blue logcabin quilt is still a favorite of mine. I managed to finish this one in early 2008. It's only 2m x 1.5m, so perfect for a single bed cover.
I like to drape it over the bottom end of my bed, as shown in the picture.
The soft blue hues in this one is very calming.