144 HSTs Quilt ... a delightful finish :)

It's wonderful to be able to share another finished quilt. The top was only done at the beginning of February so not too bad really! A gift for my frolleague, my #2, who works hard, makes me laugh and loves my (quilting) work!

Inspired by a photo she sent me of the HST rug she had bought for her new conservatory, I selected mainly Makower Spraytimes, with a few Kona Solids and other plain fabrics from my stash:

Each HST was trimmed to 5.5" and pinned to within an inch of its life - still didn't give me 100% perfect points, but I can live with that:

A few more photos:

Binding - is it really like Marmite? Well, I LOVE it! 

I didn't clock how much time this took to make but Mandy asked so I tried to calculate and I would estimate at least 50 hours. She loved it! I do believe her eyes were a little moist when I gave it to her on Monday ... bless! That's why we do what we do, hey? 

Linking up with Amanda Jean and Sarah.

Battle of pragmatism v perfectionism :)

This quilt - 144 HSTs in a variety of colours - was inspired by my friend's rug / mat for her new conservatory:

and I said I'd make her a quilt to match it ... as you do! After painstakingly selecting the right fabrics, matching the squares, making the 144 HSTs and trimming them all down to a precise 5.5 inches, I figured it would be a doddle to sew them all together into a finished top:

First mistake - I don't do random ... so I spent ages deciding which blocks sat best next to each other. Next step - an easy one, just sewing the pairs together. Second mistake - I am such a fussy perfectionist ... there you go, I've said it out loud. So, after a little bit of unpicking when my points didn't quite match, I had 72 pairs to start placing together in rows of 4 x 12 ... I remind you of my first mistake; this - again - took me ages. 

Having decided (finally) on the order, I decided to throw my usual caution to the wind and not pin! The first few blocks were displeasing on my eyes :( So, that was my third mistake - do not stop doing what you know you have to do when you are a perfectionist - so I pinned, pinned and pinned:

And last night, I finished the top ... yay! Do you know what? After all of the hours cutting, arranging, pinning, sewing, unpicking, pressing ... it is NOT PERFECT! Some of my points are not exactly 100% and some of my colours repeat too close together. But does it matter? The overall effect (I think) is delightful and I know that Mandy will love it when it's all complete:

I need to chill out a bit - less than perfect is okay, hey? I'm probably the only one who notices 'the mistakes' and it can stop me from enjoying the overall result. This hobby gives me an enormous amount of pleasure so from now on, I will be less perfect and more pragmatic - and you can (please!) hold me to that.

Linking up with Amanda Jean @ Crazy Mom Quilts and Sarah @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Hope you have a good enough weekend :)

Chickens ...

I have been working with my 'unsexy fabric' again today making more HSTs ... just 20 more to make :)

A month ago, my dear SIL bought 3 rescue hens. She has wanted some for years and has finally pecked her hubby into agreement! Meet Mabel, Gertrude and Hilda:

They are adorable, sis loved them immediately, and they've already produced a few eggs. I wanted to make her a little Christmas quilty gift so, of course, it had to  be hen-themed. This bundle caught my eye on eBay so I just had to buy it:

There was no selvage so I went back to the ebay listing and it only described it as - midnight blue hen house fabric - so I Googled that and it is made by Westfalenstoffe, who I admit I've never heard of. It says it's organic fabric sourced from Egypt and Pakistan ... never used organic fabric before - seems very fitting.

I'm going to make her another charm square bag (her choice) from this fabby  tutorial by Missouri Star Quilting. This will be her 'winter bag' - this was her summer birthday bag (which she really liked): 

Linking up:

Not so sexy Sunday Stash :)

Sometimes, your fabric choice just doesn't grab you. This Makower Spraytime bundle (and some others from my stash I'm using) is not the stuff to get your heart racing, it won't get me any 'oohs' and 'aahs' and it certainly wouldn't win any prizes in the Míss Fabric beauty contest! 

But, it is what I'm working with at the moment so I'm just going to have to suck it up and get cutting and sewing. 52 HSTs done and 92 to go:

This is for my 'frolleague' who has had a nightmare conservatory-building experience this year so am hoping the gift of this lapquilt will help her relax in there now it's all built and it has been designed to match her rug (the inspiration for this quilt):

Why don't you pop over to see the delectable Ms Molli Sparkles where there is a bundle of far sexier fabric to ogle at! Or my friend Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts who's fabric wins all the prizes this week :) 

Positive ponderings on all parts of the process ...

Now I know my 'soldier's quilt' is going to a US serviceman, I'm working on it with renewed energy! Thanks again to Jennie @ Porch Swing Quilts for reading my post :) 

I've nearly finished the second four rows and thought it would be nice to share with you some of the process with some photos.

So, we start by making 36 half squared triangles (made from 72 x 6.5" squares):

I like to press before cutting: 

Then, trim down to 5.5":

Add 12 x 5.5" white squares and you're ready to sew them all together. Keep your pattern close by, then you won't sew the squares the wrong way around ... apparently! Come here, little seam ripper:

Then you have your four rows ready to sew into your blocks:

I have pressed all the seams open and like to press the 'joint' first - seems to make it easier when you then run the iron along the rest of the line:

And voila, here's another block:

I love ALL these stages! Seriously, I do ... they're all important parts of the process which lead to the wondrous finish - c'mon, what's not to love?!

Linking up with Lee @ Freshly Pieced and Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts:

Baby Quilt quick finish ... meet Ted!

I started making this little baby boy pram / crib quilt for Laura (a friend at work) on Saturday afternoon and finished it (late) on Sunday evening - I'm well chuffed!! Isn't he a cutie:

All the fabric was from my stash, except for the baby fabric fat quarter. I do like Makower Spraytime fabrics, I think they're my favourite 'blender' and this orange was just perfect for the quilt and binding. I think my tortoise-slow hand stitching the back of the binding probably was the longest part of the quilt making but I LOVE the whole process of making and attaching the binding, do you?

The backing fabric is fleeced and was thick enough, I thought, so I didn't add any extra wadding / batting and it FMQ'd like a dream  - with one bobbin and in less than an hour ... I know!!! (Doing a little happy dance!)

His cute little eyes and nose were made using a cotton reel as a template and appliqued with a small zig-zag stitch:

The pattern is from this book by Pam and Nicky Lintott of The Quilt Room - I have used this book before and find their patterns really easy to follow:

I can't remember where I read this tip (might have been Carla or Julie?) but instead of just discarding the cut off triangle bits, I sewed another 1/4" seam at the same time so no wastage and 26 little HSTs for another project ... yay!

Although it was meant to be made using a jelly roll, I upped the sizing a little bit as I only wanted to make one teddy bear, not 4 as the pattern called for. But I might just make it with 4 in the future if I wanted a larger quilt.

I am so looking forward to giving this to Laura and baby Matthew - she doesn't know I've made it so it will be a lovely surprise. Linking up with Quilt Story - Fabric Tuesday :)