Tag: Echo by Lotta Jansdotter

Modern Churn Dash Ta dah!

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This quilt has been in use for a while already, half quilted and unbound. I put it on the bed, just to see how it would look after I stitched in the ditch. There were still safety pins in it but that didn’t disturb Charlie in the least and he had his nap on it.

It stayed on the following day too and the day after that. Then I took it off and started quilting the pebbles. I can’t really call them circles as most of them are anything but round. Because they’re quite big I kept hitting my hand on the machine resulting in very wonky pebbles. Now, if this quilt had been for anyone else I would have ripped out all the stitches and done some straight line quilting but as it was always meant for me (it was made with the first fat quarter bundle I bought: Echo by Lotta Jansdotter) I thought it would be fun to continue and see if the quilting would improve. It did, a little.

Charlie asleep

I started hand quilting the churn dashes but then didn’t really like the look and instead quilted them half an inch from the edge with my walking foot. As I was showing my mum the quilt I realised that I’d forgotten to sew around one of the insides. I may go back and do it one day but maybe not. It’s quite fun to have a quilt that isn’t perfect. Apart from the fabric and thread, that is.

Charlie

Charlie was on my case while I was quilting and when I was sitting in the evening hand sewing the binding to the back, which by the way is Pearl Bracelets. Wherever the quilt was, Charlie was. It now resides on my bed again and Charlie is happily sleeping on it!

Modern Churn Dash

The quilt finished at 53″ x 68″ after washing and is perfect for snuggling and sleeping under. I pieced it with Aurifil  50wt (2600) and quilted it with a gorgeous variegated Aurifil 40wt (4669) in various shades of cream and blue.

This is another finish on my Finish-A-Long list, number four to be exact. I feel the need to take another picture of this quilt, maybe down by the lake, as this one was taken in the evening in lousy light.

Categories: Quilting13 Comments

A Dashing Echo

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Two years ago I fell in love with Lotta Jansdotter’s first collection, Echo. I bought a fat quarter bundle with nine different fat quarters in the blue, teal, brown and grey colour way. They were earmarked for a quilt and hoarded together with a pink fat quarter that I received in a swap. Last month both queen bees of the two bees I’m in asked for churn dash blocks. I hadn’t made any before but always liked the look of the humble churn dash. Making these blocks  was so much fun and it made me want to make more. I got my greens and yellows out but they were really all bought for a specific quilt and I just couldn’t get myself to cut into them. That’s when I remembered Echo. I wanted to see lots of the gorgeous fabrics so decided to design a big churn dash that would use up the whole fat quarter. In the process I also linked the churn dashes which again triggered a different design in my head (but more on that later). A Dashing EchoYep, photo bombed again. Charlie does get around…

It was, of course, pieced with my beloved Aurifil 50wt, this time in white (2024).

The blue sketch in denim was the only yardage in my stash that was big enough for this project. It was one of these situations where the sewing had to be done there and then. No way was I going to wait for fabric to arrive. I’m still not convinced by it but am hoping that I will like it better once it’s quilted, bound and lying on my bed. The quilt finishes at 56″ x 72″ and is my biggest so far. I’m hoping to do some free motion quilting on it but am a little worried because of its size. As I have to order wadding and piece the back before I can start basting and quilting anyway I’ll just put this in the wip (work in progress) pile and forget about it for a little while.

Next up: basting and quilting Little Miss Bossy-Boots log cabin quilt. If I’m really quick I might be able to finish before Q3 of the Finish-A-Long ends. Wish me luck!

Categories: Quilting, Work in Progress2 Comments

I’m Back!

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Hello! Wow, that was a very long blogging break and I have missed it big time. What’s new? I’m now talking to you from wonderfully hilly Switzerland rather than very flat Cambridgeshire, UK and my sewing machines now have their own room rather than a corner in my bedroom. There have also been changes on a more personal level which I might tell you about at a later stage. Now I’m just happy to show you around my little sewing space.

Sewing Corner

My sewing room was the first room I (almost) finished in my new flat. There are  still a few things I’d like to add such as a design wall and a few shelves but all in all it’s already pretty functional. I love the fact that I share this space with Little Miss Bossy-Boots.

Fabric Cabinet

Below is her corner of the craft room as we call it. She loves to draw, cut stick and paste and I thought it would be fun if we could do it in the same place. I can sew and supervise or help if needed.

Crafty Corner

The rest of the flat is still rather messy as I need to buy a few pieces of furniture to get rid of the last boxes: a bookshelf, a sideboard, a shoe rack and a desk. Next week I’m going to hit the charity shops to see if I can find some nice bargains. Otherwise I’ll hop on a train to Ikea to see if I can find some bargains there.

PS These pictures are from last week when the sewing room was still fairly tidy. Since then I’ve sewn a few bee blocks and started on a quilt using my hoarded Echo by Lotta Jansdotter. The sewing room is now very messy and needs a good tidy up. Hey ho, at least I’m sewing again.

 

Categories: Musings, Quilting2 Comments

Hello Blog

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Elisabeth: “Hello, Blog, how are you?”

Blog: “Lonely.”

Elisabeth: “I know I haven’t been around much, but then I haven’t been crafting much either. My mum was here for her birthday last week which means I didn’t do much (except baking and eating cakes. Oh yes, cakes, as in baking three and eating two!). I’d like to show you a couple of things now, though.”

Blog: “Great! What would you like to show me then?”

Elisabeth: “First, I want to show you a gift I got from my sister Kristine. She crocheted this lovely bag and showed it to me on Skype. When I said how cute I thought it was she gave it to me. Fabulous, isn’t it? Sadly I don’t get to use it much as Little Miss Bossy-Boots has taken it and is using it all the time.”

Blog: “That bag is lovely! What else did you want to show me?”

Elisabeth: “I suddenly had the urge to do some embroidery. The bird was inspired by a drawing I did for Little Miss Bossy-Boots. I’m not sure what I’m going to make with these two embroideries but I’m sure I’ll think of something at some stage.”

Blog: “Cute. How about turning one of them into a Kindle cover?”

Elisabeth: “Good idea, Blog, I’ll see if I can find some fabrics to go with the bird. The last thing I want to show is a really fabulous book.

You know how much I like Fat Quarterly, don’t you? I mean, I’m going to their Retreat in London, I go on and on about Katy Jones (bit of crush there?!)….. When I heard that they were writing a book I knew I was going to buy it and yesterday it arrived. I love it. Last year I bought some fat quarters and yardage of Echo by Lotta Jansdotter and I’ve been looking for a pattern to turn it into a quilt ever since. Well, I’ve found it.

This is my all time favourite block. I’m sure nobody who knows me is surprised by the fact that I’ve fallen for a block that’s called Castle Wall (for those who don’t know me: I studied Medieval English Language and Literature) and it’s by John Q. Adams, aka Quilt Dad.

Blog: ” I can see why you like Castle Wall. I’m sure it’ll look lovely in Echo.”

Elisabeth: “I can’t wait to start but I have to finish some work stuff first. At least I have a project to take to the Sewing Retreat. Although how much sewing I will be doing I’m not sure but more about that later. See you very soon, my dear Blog!”

Categories: Crochet, Embroidery, Fat Quarterly Sewing Retreat, MusingsLeave a comment