72 Blocks done, 28 to go.

I am still battling away with the blocks for my City Sampler Quilt.
Love making these little blocks but due to the fact that I have not been well recently I am lucky to get three made each day.
I am pleased with them as a whole but some are a little bit off line as I iron them I can see the tiny little defects.
It is so difficult to keep them straight with the mixing of different fabrics.  Although all are cotton they are many different brands of fabric. There must be at least 400 different patterns, some of them of course are from the same story taken from Charm Packs and Jelly Rolls.
Here are a few more, I can't wait to start putting them together, I am still thinking a slim white between them.

So it is going to be a rainbow type quilt, lots of colour as you can see. 

This is a nice clear block, I like the plain cross.

I was worried about the above block but it worked out quite well.  The fabrics did not look good together before I started sewing but now it has grown on me. 

Another favourite, I like the colours again of this one but as much as I tried it is not as straight as I would like. 

Yellow, always nice. 

Now I really look at this one it is a little off line, It is so annoying when I look at a finished block and notice that it is not sitting as well as I would like, I hope it goes unnoticed in the finished quilt. 

A lone little bee, another one that is not as straight as I would like, oh well onto the next one...

More blocks for my latest quilt.

I am really enjoying this process, very time consuming but that is taking me hopefully to a lovely outcome.

I am thinking I will put a white 1 1/2 inch between each block.  But I have some thinking time yet as the process is ongoing. 

Some of the fabrics used in these blocks and upcoming blocks are Kona Solids in the skinny strips, 

'This 'n' That' Strip Roll from Nancy Halvorsen for Benartex and a Dottie Charm Pack from Moda all from www.fabric.com 

I loved also using a layer cake for some of the darker hues from Joel Dewberry for Free Spirit called Bungalow. And you will notice 'Bee my Honey bee' by Mary Jane for Moda. 

Oh and More of this and That, by Nancy Halvorsen which I found at Missouri Quilting company. 

Plus bits and pieces from my stash. 

My Gridlock Quilt

I am making a Gridlock quilt from Tula Pink's City Sampler 100 Modern Quilt Blocks.  I just love the book it is so nice just to look through that alone attempt all the blocks.
I have been working on this for some time and now I am I suppose getting up to half way there.  Or maybe not.
I have searched my stash again and again looking for fabrics that will sit well in this quilt.  The quilt shown in Tula Pink's book is lovely and done with her fabrics, sadly I could not stretch to that at this time so mine is a mix of goodness knows what.  So 100 blocks all very interesting and fiddly to cut and to sew for that matter. Such a great quilt to take on as a project.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the process so far even though it has been stretched over months while I have had other things on the go.  But that is about normal to me, I usually have a hand sewing item for the chair in front of the TV, and a couple of machine quilts on the go.
This is my very first fully trimmed block.

Maybe I should have taken the photo on a base that is not quite so telling, but I am sure it is square I have checked 3 times !!

So onto the next lot to sew together. Hope to see the end result sooner rather than later, although then I will have to be onto the next one and I have not thought that through well enough yet. I must show you my latest hand sewing project, will do that soon. 

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Still Catching up Rabbits on Scooters

Just finished last week a lovely little quilt using the herringbone pattern from The Missouri Quilt Co also using fabrics from their huge range as well.  I used Kona Blue Bell and Kona white. For the backing I used Andover Rabbits on Scooters, love love this fabric.

The way this pattern works is wonderful, I am sure it is something I would not have put together without the help of Jenny Doan at Missouri Quilts and her tutorials.  I enjoyed making it putting the pieces together was a breeze and it looks so much like a herringbone.

I wanted a pattern that would suit a little boy, he is around two months old now and I did not want to resort to the usual trains and cars. 

So to find this lovely Blue Kona was a flash moment for me, I knew it would be just right. It is so soft as well, I used cotton batting and quilted with a meandering line. I am sure the new Mum liked the quilt when I gave it to her, also I am hoping it will be useful for many years to come. 

I decided to bind it in White, this is a first for me I have never used white for a binding before. I just could not think of what would sit well with the blue and white although there were a few options for the Rabbit fabric. 

Being slack and Hexies

I have been off line with my blog for so long, I didn't realise how long it had been. Well back on track now I hope after a time of not being really on track.
My sewing has been suffering as well with only a few clothing pieces yet have been finishing off my hexie quilt and also starting another marathon hexie quilt.  This one i have started without having the right planning and now have gotten to a stage where I am not really sure what I am doing.

This is my finished quilt.
I started with the idea of doing a picture in an hexagonal shaped batik, So then it was interesting to work out how to set them so that it would sit well.  After my son drew me a perfect six sided paper pattern i was off and running. I like my quilts to be made for use, so I made it to fit a queen sized bed.  I like to think I keep the family warm. The inner pictures were fancy cut from Michael Miller's Anjou pour vous.

I wanted the quilt to be 'strange' something out of the ordinary and colourful.  I am not sure why I settled on the back and white spot but it was in my mind to have it somewhere in the quilt.
The batiks came from my stash and a jelly roll, so it worked out well.
When it came to binding I could not look past the black and white I think it topped it off.
I backed with green, It took me ages to find a backing fabric I just could not put my mind to it.  I quilted with a meandering pattern on my Bernina Aurora 440
Finally it is done and in use.

And here is the next one in the works. It started with a gift for Christmas a couple of years ago of a few fat quarters of 'Holiday Flourish" by Peggy Toole for Robert Kaufman and has since been added to and added to as it grows.  I really didn't think it through at all, next time I will that is for sure. I hope it will look ok in the long run it is for my son as a 'keep warm' quilt.

I have also recently made a cushion cover for my son he has recently moved so it is to brighten up his new place. 

Just loved making it, of course it is Alexander Henry Fabric called Frida la Catrina.

Hexie Small Colourful Quilt

I have been making some random hexies with nothing in mind to do with them so I thought I would make a couple of small quilts, first one finished now.

This one is quite bright with some little I -spy things added. A lady bought it for her puppy dog, so all is good in the world.

Crazy Log Cabin Black White Zebra with Mustard Quilt

Well I have been a bit slack with posting on my blog, what with Christmas time and generally not blogging.
I can show you my Christmas Quilt done for my daughter this year.  I used lovely Kokka Linen fabrics with some of my stash thrown in for good measure.

I really enjoyed this quilt the fabrics are of course extra crisp and I just randomly picked up the pieces I had already cut into shapes and put them together making blocks.  

I put in one little dash of red for a focal point. 

Lovely birds and spotted deer. 

This picture is a bit fuzzy from the sunlight flowing into the top. but it should give you an idea of the full quilt. The black and white just goes so well with the mustard I think.  I backed it in a light mustard gingham check, just a soft cotton because I thought that as a lap quilt it would be softer with the cotton on the contact side.