Christmas Challenge Quilt - Completed

Christmas Star Block.  Block tutorial from Quilters' Cache by Marcia.  Size: 16" x 16".  Batting:  Polyester.  Quilting: Machine. Backing:  Calico.

Blouse in progress.  Looking at the JJ Blouse tutorial as a guide.

Underground Railroad doll quilt in progress

Pumpkin Rice for Sunday lunch

Christmas Challenge - Quilt Top

 

The Christmas Challenge quilt top is completed. The binding will be in green.  I am not sure if I am going to quilt it by machine or by hand ... we'll see.

I am going to make another Christmas Star quilt but this time in Christmas fabrics.  I've ordered a couple.  Their from A Dickens Christmas by Sentimental Studios for Moda. So happen I had this little piece of cross stitch in the 4 1/2" square which will be just perfect.  The design is a freebie by Lizzie Kate. 

Yesterday's lunch was brown rice with stir fried bok choy with some fried anchovies.  A little too salty, should have gone slow with the anchovies :p

In the process of cutting fabrics for Underground Railroad doll quilt found in Kathleen Tracy's American Doll Quilts book.

Amish Star Quilt - WIP

The Amish Star quilt is coming on lovely.  I've run out of Kona Black so I need to order from my favourite IQS Fabric Shack to continue with only 10 more stars left.  Of course there's the borders and cornerstones too.  I've got a whole LOAD of help from Merilyn (no blog) with deciding on the borders and it's layout.  She even designed it on EQ so that I could get a visual picture of how it will turn out.  My sincere thanks to you, Merilyn.

That's my anything goes fried rice for Sunday lunch, with prawns, chinese pork sausages,  chopped french beans, sliced onions and I can't have fried rice without an egg!  Needless to say I pigged out! :)

That's my HST and QST for the Christmas Challenge on SQT Yahoo! Group.  My design is a block found on Marcia's Quilter's Cache.  I used Lori's tutorial for the HSTs, it's really very clever.  You can find the tutorial here.  Now the QSTs were a royal pain.  I did not measure the pieces bigger so that I can trim back the pieces after piecing to a 2 1/2" square and I was having so much trouble sewing them together.  So I had to cut a bigger piece again and redo all 8 QSTs!  The quilt will be only one block with borders around it. I am using the precious sampler fabric by BBD that Jess gave me some time back.  Love it to bits.  And  I'll most likely hang this on the wall, the whole year through since their not Christmas fabrics.

More doll quilts to be quilted

Enjoying the hand quilting of these doll quilts, they go so fast!

Sewing ham is done using the tutorial found on Burda. Need to buy some more rice to fill the weight and then I'll stitch it up. 

Yesterday's lunch of stir fried cabbage, pork and dried shrimps with brown rice. 

Doll Quilt Finishes

Nine-Patch Doll Quilt (Freebie).  Designer: Kathleen Tracy.  Batting: Hobbs Tuscany cotton.  Backing: Calico.  Size: 14" x 18".  Quilting: Hand quilted with Pearl No. 8

Red and Blue Shoo Fly.  Designer: Kathleen Tracy (American Doll Quilts book).  Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose cotton.  Backing: Calico.  Size: 13 1/2" x 17".  Quilting: Hand quilted with Pearl No. 8

Both the doll quilts are completed.  It now needs a wash in the washing machine to bring out all the puckering goodness when cotton batting is used.

Four baby kimonos are in progress using flannel.  I did not use Heather Ross' pattern after all, too much grief.  I went with Amy's of Habitual. Need to get them serged and I intend to use 3/4" satin ribbon as it's binding and ties.

1.5kg of rice and cotton wool for 2 projects i.e. weights for hand quilting and a sewing ham respectively.

Quilting and Binding

Both hand quilted with Pearl No 8. The cotton batting used are from different brands.  Thanks to Robyn's tip the Mountain Mist's Cream Rose was lovely to hand quilt with.  And a very close second is Hobbs' Tuscany.  Binding fabric being auditioned. Ready for hand binding, will try to get it done by this evening.

Red and Blue Shoo Fly Doll Quilt Top

The top strip of red gingham has been tea dyed for a more authentic aged look.  This is a pattern by Kathleen Tracy from her book American Doll Quilts.  Measures 13 1/2" x 17".  It was rather quick to cut and piece together.  It'll now go into my 'to be hand quilted' pile.  Next doll quilt will be Underground Railroad.

Danielle Blouse - Completed

Fabric: Pure charm pack by Sweetwater for Moda & Moda Snow solid charm pack.

Binding: Pure yardage

Batting: Polyester

Quilting: Cross hatched by machine

Backing: Flannel

Size: 37" x 45" 

Very happy with how the Danielle blouse turned out.  My confidence in garment sewing is increasing in leaps and bound.

Matthew's Pure baby quilt is also completed.  Now destined for a wash.  And giving ... great joy indeed!

Danielle Blouse - WIP

The Danielle blouse is a free pattern from Burda Style.  I am using the cotton fabric by Quilt Gate to try this pattern.

 I only needed 2M of 45" width fabric.  However it's better to use slightly more for ease in cutting.

 I reduced one of the pleats for the sleeve as it was taking up slightly more than 1/2 the width of the fabric.  Am glad I did because it was an almost perfect fit when I sewed the sleeve to the armhole.

Here I am using a bodkin to pull through the elastic.

Not hemmed. And the facing not stitched to the bodice yet.

Sewing on the invisible zip is getting easier and easier.  I need to get a pack of eye and hook for a more complete closure at the top of the zip. Only the armholes remains to be serged and then I'll call it complete.  I spent a wonderful 2 days sewing the Danielle blouse.  So pleasurable and I feel so accomplished! :)

I have 1/2M of fabric left so I think I'll sew this up for a friend's newborn baby girl.  This is a pattern from Heather Ross' book Weekend Sewing called Lucy's Kimono.

Pure baby quilt all basted with a pieced backing.  I think it's a nice touch.  Just know that it's going to be a handsome quilt for an equally handsome little boy!  I plan to machine quilt i.e. cross hatching.

Amish Star Quilt - WIP

Some piecing with my afternoon tea. :) Ah ... joy ...

Creative mess?

Oh ... so worth it! :)  That's 16 blocks out of 42 (I think).  Please don't mind the colour placement, they'll be more distributed come the final audition.

Pure baby quilt - WIP

  This is the beginnings of the piecing process.  Very simple alternate block pattern using 2 charm packs.  Sometimes Most times simple is best :)

All pieced and ready for final press and quilting.

Below left will be the binding fabric from the same collection i.e. Pure by Sweetwater for Moda and two extra charms to be incorporated into the backing.  I think it's the perfect colours for little boys!

Fabric shopping

 I was at Jalan TAR this afternoon and did some fabric shopping at Harisons.  The Deepavali sale has not started and the prices of almost all the fabrics were still regular prices.  I actually wanted to get some linen and lawn cotton but they were not discounted, so I decided to go for the clearance / best buys :)

 

 Above are 2.5M each of Thai Silk blend and all for a princely sum of RM5/M!  What a bargain!  They'll be especially good when I am now beginning to learn the ropes of this wonderful hobby of being a seamstress.  They are a pretty soft and flowing fabric with lots of drape, something I have not tried before ... we'll see how it goes.

 The left cotton print was also clearance at RM8/M by Quilt-Gate, Moda Crackle for RM10/M and flannel for the backing of the Pure baby quilt.

I was wondering if my order from Fabric Shack would arrive and I saw the pack thrown into my porch when I got home. Mostly quilting fabric except for the bottom blue and white cotton/nylon blend from Roman Holiday collection by 3 Sisters are for garments.  They have a sheen and looks really grand.

Soot & Ashes - Caught up

15 blocks in all.  I think Cheri's next blocks will be applique.  A little excited and nervous at the same time as I hardly applique and avoid it like a plague.  Well there's no avoiding now :)

All ready for applique :)

 The Thimbleberries Village Quilt blocks all laid out to be sewn together.

How did these come about?  ... sigh ...Gotta figure away to get them all even somehow.