Sparkler quilt

As mentioned in a previous blog post, the Sparkler pattern came as a freebie from Freshly Pieced after I purchased the 2017 Summer Sampler pattern. Just recently I had looked over my 2.5” strips in my scrap box, there’s a large number of blue and aquas in there - tada!

I looked over the instructions, they suggest 2.5” strips for the lap quilt version, resulting in 12 1/2” blocks - a 4x5 block layout will give me a nice little rectangular  baby quilt, just the size I like.

I slightly simplified the block construction, only cutting 6 1/2” and 4 1/2” rectangles. I use my Hera marker to help with the diagonal and them trim back to 1/4” from the seam.

It takes me less than 30 minutes to construct a block, and overall there is very little seam matching required. So far I’m up to 3 (of 20) blocks; there are enough strips for a few of these in my scrap bin 😉

Happy Sewing!!!

Venus Quilt

(Copied from IG)

Starting the New Year the way I finished it, playing with fabrics:

When your best buddy @suzjob1 sends you IG posts with intriguing quilts like in this case from @eyecandyquilts and you end up cutting up bits’n’bobs on NYE :) another IG rabbit hole I seem to have fallen into 🤣

Given that curved seams are a tad fiddly, I doubt this will go beyond baby quilt size though.

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It took a while to cut all my pieces (necessary in this case as I wanted to spread the fabrics around) - probably not helped by the fact I cut 30% more green than I need 🙄

The blocks go together surprisingly easy. I couldn’t resist to piece the first four together 🥰

I’m aiming for baby quilt size, always good to have one ready when a friend has a baby.

Happy New Year!

The new year isn't that new anymore lol but as I'm still on annual leave I'm definitely still in holiday mode! I have been watching other quilters' NY resolution posts appear, and like many others I have been mulling over my plans for the year.

Looking back at 2019
At the beginning of 2019 I decided to revive my blog, and while I still posted way more on IG (126 posts 😮), 24 blog posts for 2019 is more than I have written in any year since 2013! I have been more disciplined about taking my quilting photos only with my private phone and eventually saving those photos to my MacBook organised in folders which helps with record keeping. I had looked but couldn't find a (free) blogger app for my phone at the time, so IG was still much more accessible.

I also made myself a Quilt Planner which I have updated as required. It helped my keep all the projects I had in mind listed in one place. Lots of other quilters use actual paper copies, but digital documents work well for me in my day job as it did for my WIPs for 2019. It's not the prettiest version out there, and I like to add a section 'all blocks pieced' and 'completed flimsy', but it will do again for 2020.

2019 finished quilts:

1. BerninaZenChicQAL for DH
2. Giant Panda Quilt for my niece
3. Elephant Cushion for youngest DS
4. zenstudioqal, a baby quilt for a colleague
5. Arco Iris - Rainbow, a baby quilt for another colleague
6. ScrappyAppliqueQuiltAlong: Aotearoa
7. Vintage Quilt Revival: Tutti Frutti

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2

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4

5

6

7

Quilts that progressed in 2019:

• Rainbow at Sea quilt: Just about half the blocks are pieced.
• Patchwork City 2018: All 30 blocks are pieced, and I have bought the backing
• Metrorings: There is still some more quilting to do,  but I can see the finish line.

The only quilt on my list with no progress is the Scraptherapy top.

Looking ahead at 2020

1. I want to continue blogging, and just today I found a free iPhone app that appears to work for use with Blogger. Provided this works I should be able to post straight from my phone to Blogger - and if it's just a copy of what I post on IG.
2. I will also continue tracking my WIPs with a 2020 version of my Quilt Planner
3. Suzanne and I had a look through my sorry excuse for a stash the other day; for 2020 I want to use up many of the left-overs and scraps in projects so I can start building a new stash with a clear conscience 😉
4. There are a number of projects I want to work on in 2020:
• Metrorings: I first blogged about this in June 2015 - 2020 is the year to get this finished.
• Patchworkcity 2018: It would be great to have this finished and on the bed by next Christmas. However, at this stage I want to custom quilt it, so this might take longer.
• Rainbow at Sea: I love the pattern, but it can be tedious piecing the blocks. Realistically, by the end of the year this should be at the flimsy stage.
• QAL were the 'stars' of 2019, they actually got done lol. Therefore Suz and I have set us the challenge to make Linedried by Coriander quilts. My goal is to not fall behind Suz 😂
• As a bonus, I want to use the same FQ pack but a different background fabric to make Summer Sampler 2017 by Lee Heinrich and co. I have been ooing and aaing over their various sampler patterns for a while, so I finally jumped in and bought the pattern. Still contemplating how to exactly distribute my colours, but I hope to have all blocks pieced by the end of the year
• It's only the 15th, and I have already fallen down some rabbit holes... I could not resist Venus by @eyecandyquilts. Using almost exclusively fabrics from my stash and the clammy ruler from @latifahsaafirstudios, I am making a baby quilt sized version as leader & ender project
• With the Summer Sampler order came the free Sparkler pattern; using 2.5'' strips from my scrap bin, this will become another baby quilt (I really hope we get some babies at work this year 😆)
• Judi Madsen's Celebration panel has been sitting in my drawers for most (all?) of 2019, and it's been challenging to say the least! Before I received the panel, a message said there was a delay as the panel had not been printed to their standard and needed reprinting. Eventually it arrived, and while I knew it was polyester, I was still not prepared for how different this feels to cotton. Despite the reprint, there were still some bleeds and smudges on the top due to which the owner of Honest Fabrics offered to replace it. Though I love Judi Madsen's work, I am not in love with the texture or the colours, so the quilt won't end up on my bed any way. I will use it as a practice for ruler quilting, so I declined her kind offer and kept the top as it is. Today I finally pieced a backing, then made it larger (though still not quite wide enough so will trim the final border back a bit) and sandwiched the top. Suz will either 😂 or 🙄at me as I (once again) pricked my finger with the safety pin and ended up with blood stains (I'm quite good at removing these, years of practice...). Due to the rain, I threw the sandwich in the dryer, but once I took it out, I had some new smudges on it 🙄🙄 which I (almost) removed, then proceeded to hang the quilt on the line after all. ONLY to drop the wet end on the ground 🙄🙄🙄. I think I will call this quilt Perseverance when I finally get it done!!! Karin from https://thequiltyarn.blogspot.com/ is planning a ruler quilting linky-party, so I will try to get some work done and link up.

This will have to do for now - teenagers are requesting an urgent taxi service lol

Happy Sewing!!!