International Quilting Day

To celebrate this lovely day, I did some quilting!
My husband pointed out that it wasn't much different than any other day!

I made a little table runner using a ruler that I borrowed from my sister. The table runner is 12" x 26", the triangles are 6" high.

The ruler is called "'S' Curve - One Tool - Many Designs", but I could only find a couple of different pictures of quilts made with it. It is an interesting shape and was very easy to use.

I cut out 14 triangles, each is a different fabric. To cut out the fabric I used the small rotary cutter. I also put a layer of kitchen plastic wrap on the back of the ruler to make it less slippery.

I pieced the triangles into two rows.

I didn't use pins when I was joining triangles, I just lined up the edges as I stitched.

I pressed all the seams open.

I did pin the points together when I joined the two rows.

These triangles would also make a nice kaleidoscope pattern. I have also seen it used to make diamonds by using two triangles of the same fabric side by side.

I used cotton batting, and free motion quilted an allover meander - I just wanted something simple and flat.

For the bias binding I used a 15" square of fabric, and this method. I made the binding 2.5" wide.

I just use a rotary cutter to cut along the lines of the binding.

The finished table runner on the 'coffee table' in the family room.

We were surprised to see two squirrels at the bird feeder this week (we never see squirrels).

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Knitted Tea Cosy

This past week I knitted a tea cosy!
Like my family doesn't think I am crazy already - my son asked why there was knitting on the teapot!

The pattern is a free pattern on Ravelry, called Fairy Cake Tea Cosy by Frankie Brown. The pattern is extremely well written and easy to follow; it is written for two sizes, I made the large one. The only change that I made was that I knitted the top section in the round because I didn't want to have to sew a seam.

This project started out as 100grams of natural wool roving (Knit Picks Bare Roving, it was the first time I have used it, and I would buy it again).

I dyed about two thirds into two different colours, using acid dyes and steaming.

I spun it into a thick-and-thin, singles yarn, because I wanted a really rustic, 'homespun' look. I used a  'quick-and-dirty' short backwards draw - it took less than an hour to spin the three skeins.

I washed the skeins in very hot water to set the twist, and rinsed them in cold water to felt them slightly. It was fun to spin, and the yarn was nice to knit with.
Spinning - because knitting isn't weird enough!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!❤

Quilt Bucket-List & Knitting

Thank-you so much for all the kind comments on my Anniversary Quilt!!! I tend to forget how wonderful blogging can be!

As a word of encouragement, that quilt was much easier to make than I thought it would be. I kept putting it off until the last moment, and now I don't know why. I thought there would have to be lots of planning, marking, unpicking, struggling..., but really it was lighter than a pieced quilt top, I didn't have the restraint of seam lines to quilt within, I didn't break needles on bulky seams, I had the freedom to quilt the designs I wanted to, where I wanted to.... It was really a joy to quilt, it came out better than I anticipated, and it made all the 'practice' quilting I have been doing the past few years worth it. A whole cloth quilt was on my Bucket-List of quilts to make, and I am glad to have checked it off.

It looks like this outside my windows, so I did take the whole cloth quilt off my bed since it was just too much 'white'! I'll save it for summer.

I put the log cabin quilt back on my bed. A Log Cabin quilt was the first quilt on my Bucket List of quilts, I had been wanting to make one since I first started quilting seriously 7 years ago. It took me a while to collect a good assortment of light and dark fabrics to be able to make it (these are mostly reproduction fabrics). I made this one last year, and it is probably my favourite quilt. I made it for my son's room, but it looked better in mine, and I found a better one for him in my stash of quilts.
The next quilt on my bucket list is a double wedding ring quilt, I have the fabric and I am ready to go! What's on your Bucket List of Quilts?

Last month I also did some spinning and knitting.

I bought a 'fibre of the month' subscription from SweetGeorgia Yarns, and this was the January fibre (BFL and silk).

I divided the fibre into the different colours,

and spun it gradationally,

into this skein.

I knit a scarf/shawl with it. Although I just made it to the yellow, I am glad that I didn't make it any bigger, it is 2.3m/95" long and 40cm/16" wide. The pattern is Heaven Scent by Boo Knits, more details can be found here.

This is another Boo Knits shawl that I made last month -

The pattern is Sweet Dreams, it was a surprisingly easy knit, more details here.

It is made with lace weight yarn (Knit Picks Shadow), and it is the first time that I have knitted with beads (Matsuno Dyna-Mites 8/0) - easier than I thought it would be too....hmmm......

This next one I started spinning at the end of the month-

This is the February fibre (merino, silk and bamboo).

I spun it into a DK weight, 2ply yarn. It is the first time I have tried something with bamboo. It is lovely, soft and silky,

and knitting up beautifully. I am hoping to have enough to make my first hand spun sweater. It is top down, with short sleeves (might be very cropped if I run out of yarn!).
I joined the fibre of the month to get different colours than I normally dye, and these two have definitely been out of 'my box', I look forward to this month's (it is the last month of the subscription).

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!♥

Anniversary Quilt

This month (February) my husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary! I knew I wanted to make something special, and last year when I saw an antique french wedding "boutis", I was inspired.

All the material for the quilt was "gifted" to me - I won a gift certificate from SewCalGal's Free Motion Quilting Challenge (bought the fabric), and I was given a gift certificate when I helped make a quilt last year for the school where I volunteer (bought the batting and thread).

The quilt is 93" (235cm) square. I used double wide fabric for the quilt (Bella by Moda, in cream - 6yds), with wool batting (Hobbs Heirloom Queen size). The thread is Bottom Line by Superior threads - it is a 60wt thread and was lovely to sew with, and it hardly showed backtracking.

I had one 3000yds cone, and when I started to run out, I had to use regular cotton thread in the bobbin. The last bit of quilting was the parallel lines in the outer border, as I was running out of thread my lines kept getting wider apart - I did go back and add more lines here and there, when I was finished, and had leftover thread.

I knew that I wanted to make a relatively simple whole cloth quilt, because I wanted it to be "my now style" of quilting (very little marking, free-form, favourite quilting designs...), and I wanted to have it as a backdrop on my bed for throws, bed runners etc. and not worry about covering it up.

Here is how it all went together -

As I was pinning the three layers, my sons were surprised to hear that this would be a quilt - it is just one piece of plain fabric, where were the colours?!
I measured the top of my bed and figured out how big the centre feathered wreath would need to be, and where the feathered border should go. I then placed small pieces of masking tape on the quilt top as a guide.

Using a Hera Marker on a piece of string I drew the centre circle. 

I also marked about 6" on both sides of the line as a guide for the area the feathers needed to fill.

I filled in the centre of the wreath with simple cross hatching on a 1/2" grid. 

For the outer feathered border I marked the wavy line around the quilt top with the Hera Marker.

The feathers filled in about 6" on both sides of the line too.

I quilted the Cathedral Window background on a 1" grid.

Lots of marking and lines to follow! In hindsight I should have made the feathers larger.

I do really like this background though, it reminds me of crocodile skin and has a great tactile quality.

I marked the scallops before quilting the outer border, by tracing around a quilt that was the right size and had scallops (this is Winding Ways).

I added small feathered wreaths (about a 7" circle - I traced around a plate) in opposite corners - this one has 25 and the other our initials. I quilted "scribbling" around the letters and numbers to make them stand out.

I chose parallel lines for the outer border because I wanted it to look like fringe (although in this picture it looks like wheat - which is appropriate since we live on the prairie). I also added our children's initials in this border.

The binding is cut on the bias using this method.

The whole quilt was free motion quilted on my domestic sewing machine. It was much easier to quilt a whole cloth quilt than a pieced quilt top of the same size because there isn't the added weight of seam allowances. Also wool batting is wonderfully light, soft and "squishable".

Because people ask - I think it took about 80 hours to quilt, at times it seemed endless (for Cathedral Windows every 1" line is stitched 3 times!). I pinned it on the last day in January, but all the quilting was done this month, and I finished hand stitching the binding last night! It was definitely a labour of love, but I would make another one, just not right now- 

it looks like this outside, so now it is time for some colour!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!♥

Favourite Tools

I am currently working on a large whole cloth quilt and wanted to share some of my favourite tools that I have been using.

This is a Hera Marker from Clover (I know I mention it all the time), it is my absolute favourite marking tool. It just makes an indentation in the fibres of the fabric, so there is nothing permanent or damaging left behind, and nothing to remove later (the fibres bounce back in time). I attached a piece of string to it, to mark circles, and I have marked 6" increments along the string with a felt marker so that it can be used as a measuring tool too. It does need a hard surface underneath it when marking.

These are my newest purchase - Tron spring action scissors. They are so fine and sharp, plus they get around the pressor foot and under the quilt very easily - just lovely (they came highly recommended and I can see why). When I quilt feathers instead of back tracking up and down the spine, I just stop and reposition all the time, so there has been lots of threads to clip, these have made the job a breeze and they are pretty too.

This whole cloth quilt will be over 90" square, but because it is just two pieces of fabric and wool batting it is much easier to quilt on my domestic sewing machine than a pieced quilt (no seam allowances to add weight). I do have a good sewing machine, in a cabinet (which is wonderful!).

The quilt is my February project, and there will be lots more pictures when I am finished.

I have also been knitting and spinning -

I knit an entrelac hat from wool that I spun. It is my own design.

 This is my first ombré yarn that I have spun (BFL and silk from SweetGeorgia Yarns).

This shows the shading better. I am knitting a shawl with it.

Like lots of places we are still in the depths of winter! But is shouldn't be for much longer.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!♥