There's nothing like a deadline...

... to overcome crafty procrastination. This is my baby quilt in progress. I finished putting the top together yesterday and wondered if I would ever baste, quilt and bind it.

I hate basting a lot. I am also not a huge fan of machine quilting.

I am not quite sure why I decided to make a quilt like this and not the good ole tied-quilt-with-chenille-backing that I have made a little stack of. I think perhaps I (a) wanted to do something different, and (b) I wanted to have another crack at the process without going crazy like I did last time.

Anyways, the machine quilting is done already and it is less than 24 hours after I finished the quilt top. I was not expecting that!

The quilts are multiplying

It wasn't a pretty sight, but I finally got down on the floor and tied Caleb's quilt together. My poor pregnant body did not enjoy the process one bit, but I am so pleased it is finished! He has been very patient as Jem got hers in May.

I had the quilt finished to the point of tying it together at least a month ago, and then got distracted by the house getting new carpet/paint a few weeks back.

I love the fabrics: a mix of Ikea, Echino (from Superbuzzy) and some giant black gingham from the stash. The green chenille backing was a long searched for item on Ebay. Green was not my first choice- I had wanted white, but wasn't having any luck.

The little shelves above his bed head were put up on the weekend and house some of his treasures.

I decided this week I needed to get some crafty skates on. I really want to make a quilt before the baby is born (in 3-4 weeks time) and make few other little things. We'll see how we go.

"Quilting" for the Blondie

This is my favourite kind of quilt to make. It's the 3rd time I have made one, and the 1st time I get to keep it in the house (on Jemima's bed). Hooray!

Obviously it is just fat quarters sewn together, then with a vintage chenille backing and tied together (using this tutorial again). This is about the only kind of patchwork I can manage. I don't have what I suppose is a true quilter's temperament. I want my quilt done now!

I bought a fat quarter pack from the Fat Quarter Shop before the bottom fell out of the AUD (what's up with that?) They are Lecien Old New Collection 30s, which are really sweet.

The chenille bedspread was from ebay, and I am trying to get my hands on a white one for Caleb's quilt, but it is proving difficult. Who knew vintage chenille bedspreads were such a sought after item?

The kids will move into Caleb's room a few months before bebe makes her arrival, so these new bedspreads are in honour of that. Much to do!

Crafty monkey off my back

I am a bit bummed I haven't been recording all my craftiness of late, because there has been a lot of it! Unfortunately Chris and I have lost our camera argh! which makes posting quite difficult. Mum has come to the rescue as usual and lent us her camera so that I can take pictures of the kids on Christmas day (and of some of my crafty pursuits).

Remember this angsty wedding quilt post? Well months upon hours later here is the finished product! I will finally give it to my brother today (he got married in October... oops). I hope it fits in with their minimalist, trendy, brand new apartment!

This was a true labour of love in that if I didn't love them, this quilt would not be finished! It turned out OK in the end. There are a lot of dodgey bits, and I could have done a lot more quilting on it, but I did as much as I could without experiencing crafty burnout. I ended up hand sewing on the binding, which I actually quite enjoyed, so the project finished on a high.

This will be the only single bed I attempt to machine quilt on my machine, so it is a one off in more ways than one.

For Sweet Baby Amber

One of my dearest friends had her first baby a month ago and she is just beautiful. Oh so little. Little dark pink lips, often shaped in a little "o" and a little covering of dark hair atop her little round head. Ahhhh. I am not as clucky as I once was with just any baby, but this little miss is special.

So a special gift was in order. I bought the vintage chenille squares precut on ebay, sewed them together and popped on a cotton back. I tied the "quilt" together. While making it I sort of grew attached to it a lot which happens from time to time, but I am more than happy to pass it over to be spewed and probably pooed on by my new little friend.

In over my crafty head?

So... I have left this...

won't see this on Apartment Therapy.. hahaha

To work on this...

Which is supposed to work out like this. There is absolutely nothing at all wrong with the tutorial. It is a great idea and I love it, which is why I set to work on one (a single bed size or thereabouts) for my brother and his wife-to-be.

But right now I am feeling a bit out of my depth.

I ran out of quilting pins about a third of the way into basting- and they were $20 a pack or something, so I didn't fancy buying another couple of packets, especially when it is highly unlikely I will ever quilt anything of this size again (based on current enjoyment levels). So my regular pins are scratching viciously at my arms like a nasty cat whenever I turn the quilt around in the machine... and my lines look ridiculous as I am pushing more fabric through my machine than I ever have before making them all wonky like.

Exhale.

I feel a bit better now. Thanks.

Patchwork pondering

Ever since I made this quilt for my brother and his wife as a wedding present late last year, I have wanted one for me and Chris. I needed a little break from quilting/patchworking after making it though, as this one was a pretty intensive effort. From cutting to completion was about 4 days- and it was queen sized, albeit rather large squares, tied and the simplest design possible.

But now I feel ready. I purchased quite a bit of fabric from www.fabric.com in preparation for it, but I have actually decided to only use 2 of the 6 or so I bought, favouring some vintage sheets I bought on holidays. I think I will do the same pattern as the last one- the checker board deal- as it is simple and I like that. I bought a chenille bedspread on ebay yesterday, so I am going to back it and tie it in the same way. Can't wait to get started. Might even start cutting tonight. Probably won't be finished in 4 days though.

Phew!

Queen size quilt is complete! As of about 1am in the morning (and then I was caught up watching To Kill a Mockingbird and had to finish it. What a movie.)

I love it. And want to keep it. But that's a good sign, right? It wasn't all that difficult to make in the end, just very time consuming. It isn't perfect, but then, who is?

I can't speak highly enough of the technique for backing and tying the quilt here. It is a lot less painful than I would imagine machine quilting something this size, and the chenille backing is wonderfully soft and comfy. 

I am all glowing now. And need to clean the house. It has been a bit neglected these past few days...

Quilted

I've invented a new term. It is "quilted". As in "exhausted" or "buggered", but the fatigue is specifically linked to quilting. 

The completed quilt pictured here is not the quilt I have been working on pretty solidly for about 9 hours today. And a couple of hours last night and a few hours the day before that. This is a lap quilt from Bend the Rules sewing that I made pre-blog. If I was smart, I would have made another one that size for my brother and his new wife for their wedding/christmas present. But I thought a queen size would be more useful, didn't I. 

I have finished the top of said queen sized quilt, and it has come together very nicely. Fortunately I have no plans to bind it- that would take most of 2009 methinks. I have a vintage chenille bedspread that I am going to use to back it. I'll tie the quilt too so I don't have to be wrangling anything through my ailing machine. Oh, she will need a service after Christmas.

I will post the finished quilt hopefully in the next few days. I kept thinking of corny marriage metaphors whilst sewing, you know, like how sewing a quilt is like a marriage. Maybe I'll share those thoughts later. So cheesy.

I'm quilted.