Welcome to Saturday Quilting Bring & Share. I hope you’ve had time to sew this week. Bring along your projects and ideas to share in the inspiration provided by patchwork-quilters from around the world. Click on the links below and become part of this warm-hearted community. Remember to leave an encouraging message in the comments box of any posts you find inspiring.
Over the past two weeks I’ve actually managed to bring two projects to completion!
First the black and white project: a quilt top I rediscovered earlier this year having completely forgotten I’d made it! I made the blocks this time last year as an easy sewing project to distract me from all the stress of Mum’s illness. I used fabric scraps but followed the Pandora’s Box pattern designed for Jelly Rolls in Pam & Nicky Lintott’s book ‘Jelly Roll Quilts’. Before quilting it I added an extra row of five blocks to bring it up to a more useful size. The finished blocks measure 8″ and the completed quilt measures 40″ wide by 56″ long. I choose to have a fleece backing. I did consider one with funky colours to contrast with the monchrome patchwork but in the end played safe with plain grey. I put a layer of Sew Simple EcoBlend wadding in the middle so it is a very warm, snuggle quilt. I decided on a simple echoed wavy line quilting design. I like the way the gentle curves add a softness to the chunky squares of the patchwork. Most of all I love the texture created in the fleece backing – it looks and feels so cuddly! I made the binding using a fabric with a wavy checkerboard design.
Second finish is the Spring Irish Chain quilt which comes in at a very large 76″ square. It took a long time to stitch out the grid quilt design and even longer to hand stitch the binding but it’s all done. Coincidently this quilt is also made using a Lintott method from their book ‘Antique to Heirloom Jelly Roll Quilts’.
Four left over blocks form the centre of the pieced back. I’m pleased with this back – maybe it makes the quilt double-sided? I used Sew Simple Ecoblend wadding and quilted the layers together with a yellow variegated Auriful thread 3920.
Last weekend I enjoyed a 24hr retreat treat ☺️ Here’s my view on Saturday evening:
My retreat project: complete the first two of the Little House blocks from the latest historical QAL created by Melva of Melva Loves Scraps The QAL is inspired by the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. One of my favourite series of books! In fact one of my earliest blog posts featured my own aging copies of Laura’s childhood memories published by Puffin Books. All of Melva’s blocks have a 6″ centre block surrounded by Log Cabin strips. Block One has a Maple Leaf centre representing The Big Woods of Wisconsin. I made four of these to represent the seasons. Melva’s inspiration for Block Two was the feathers in the head dresses of the two Natives who visited the family in their Little House on the Prairie.
I still have some catching up to do on this QAL but this coming week is looking a bit short of time to sew…
Here are your links into the Worldwide Quilting Community:
Publishing blog posts can be part of a creative therapy. Mari has had a long break from publishing and sewing but has been encouraged to resume both as she and her family go through a desperately tough season.
The annual Rainbow Scrap Challenge is a great way to work through a stash of scraps. This month the RSC colour is red and Nancy has made two charm square charity quilts from her stash of squares.
Melva has shared a chatty blog post running through progress with her patchwork quilting projects and sharing the books she’s been listening to whilst stitching. She was surprised by the gritty tone of Jennifer Worth’s ‘Call The Midwife’ – definitely more graphic in the descriptions of post-war life in the impoverished East End of London than the TV series showed. The very last episode of Call The Midwife was broadcast on BBC tv last weekend but (drumroll) there is the promise of a prequel coming to our tv screens soon!
How about making a Bunnies quilt in time for Easter? Allison Harris has come up with another winning design and there’s a photo of actual fluffy bunnies sitting on her sample quilt (just saying – you might want to click and see!).
And finally, Sandra is celebrating a finished quilt and evidence of Spring arriving at the Great Lakes. She made her medallion quilt whilst participating in the SAHRR (Stay At Home Round Robin) challenge. The colours are wonderfully bright and I think the patchwork piecing shows a lot of patience and skill (I’m not sure I’d cope with all the math required to fit those borders so neatly!).
Happy Stitching!
Allison
Your quilt finishes are lovely, particularly the green one. I love extra blocks being used for a quilt back. Don’t you feel frugal when you do that? A finished quilt is always the best feeling. A 24-hour retreat? I’ve not heard of one like that. But it’s short, isn’t it? I always enjoy those that are at least three nights away from home. I’ve retreat for seven nights, and that can be a challenging stretch of time, especially to come up with all the projects one might need AND bring one’s meals along! (A friend rents a condo, so we can do this each fall.) Like Melva, I read Jennifer Worth’s books, and found them more intense than the TV series. I was particularly shocked by the actions of Sister Monica Joan who was a kleptomaniac in the books, stealing jewelry even! Hope you continue to enjoy your Little House QAL.
Hi! Linda The ’24hr retreat’ was a treat from the owner of the fabric shop where I work. Her bi-annual retreats are lovely, running from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening and are all inclusive with an expert running a couple of classes. It was my turn to work in the shop on Saturday so at the end of the day my colleague and I popped our overnight bags and sewing machines in her car and whizzed up the motorway to join in the fun! On a longer retreat do you organise some trips out for a change of scene? I’m a bit of an introvert and would definitely need to withdraw from the socialising for a few hours here and there but it would be a wonderful opportunity to really progress with projects and get inspiration from seeing everyone else’s projects and methods.
Hi Allison. I see you’ve made the LH blocks. 🙂 I’d love to have you link up with my block parties. I do know that I couldn’t include you in the prize drawing, but I’d still like to share your blocks with everyone! 🙂
Hi! Melva Thanks again for a lovely Sew Along. I have commented on your Block Nine post and left a link to my post. I tried using the link up but I’m not sure it worked (tech is most definitely NOT my superpower!).