“You spin me right round, baby, right round, like a record, baby, right round, round, round.” Do you remember that song? It’s one of my favourites.
It inspired me to make this block.
Which I then turned into this cushion.
Which gives me another tick on my 2013 FAL list. Go Girl!
Hurrah, I can put a tick on my Finish-A-Long list! Yes, that’s right I’ve finished my Hexie Heart Cushion.
Once I had decided to quilt the hexies in a diagonal pattern, as suggested by Leanne from She Can Quilt, it was a very quick finish. I’m happy with how it came out and hope I can raise a bit of money with it for our local cancer treatment centre.
Do you remember my little list of UFOs? Well, there was one unfinished project that didn’t make it onto the list because, quite frankly, I’d completely, totally and utterly forgotten about it.
My Swoon block, which was made with Camille Roskelley‘s fantastic pattern.
I had started on the quilting, trying some stippling and didn’t like it. I need to practice a lot more to get it smooth, I think. I buried the block in one of my drawers until last week when, with the speed of light -bang- it reappeared. I started unpicking my stippling and did some echo quilting instead. The star in the middle was hand quilted using some perle cotton.
As this is supposed to be an outdoor cushion, mainly used for our picnics in the garden I used a darkish print on the back and used a zip for the opening.
Stippi the bear seems to like it and I’m just grateful I have one less project on my list of UFOs.
Hurrah, I finished my London Star cushion cover and I’m really pleased with it. There are a few things that niggle at me but I won’t share what they are as I don’t want anyone to study the picture too carefully and find the flaws. I quilted it by following the star shape twice. I thought about continuing to echo quilt but liked the way it looked now, so I stopped.
I learned a lot from making this project. First, designing your own block is daunting but a lot of fun and once you’ve started you see quilt blocks everywhere. I’ve got a few sketches in my little notebook but before I can sit down and translate them into fabric I have to finish a few WIPs.
Second, think about how to iron the seams before you start sewing and stay consistent. Because I only thought of this as a trial piece I didn’t really care and ironed some seams open and some not. It makes it all a bit awkward.
Third, I realise that I’m not a fan of white as a background. After my Summer Luv mini quilt and this cushion cover I can honestly say that it will be quite a while before I sew with white again. Cream or light grey I would use anytime but not white.
Fourth, I really, really want to make a whole quilt with different size London Stars. Again, I have to finish a few things before I can think about that but when I do I might try to write a pattern. Biting off more than I can chew? Probably, but if I don’t try I can’t succeed, can I?
This cushion cover is coming with me to Switzerland next week and will be given to someone special.
Here it is:
I’m a bit sad as I didn’t have an insert in the right size. This one is an 18″ one that I pinched out of Little Miss Bossy-Boots’ Tumbler Cushion and it’s definitely too big. Poor cushion cover is bursting at the seams. However, I will wash the cover, get a 16″ insert this weekend and then just enjoy looking at it.
On. My. Bed.
Have a lovely weekend!
Do you remember my little doll quilt that I started piecing a while ago? It’s finished! I’m really happy with it. It is, after all, the first quilt I have ever made properly with batting and binding. Ok, so it might not be perfect but it’s definitely the first of many.
My friend Delphine gave me five fat quarters of “Hoopla!” by Moda and asked me to make a doll quilt and pillow for her daughter. Delphine’s husband made a doll’s bed for Charlotte for Christmas and they wanted to make sure the dolls would be comfortable. It was quite daunting at first but once I started it was so much fun. The pillow is just pieced together from leftover bits from the quilt.
There was quite a bit of fabric left after I finished with the quilt so I made a cushion cover for Charlotte. I thought she might enjoy having a cushion for her bed in the same colours as her doll’s quilt and pillow.
I added a bright yellow zip to the back of the cushion as it’s always good to be able to wash a cushion cover.
The best thing about the whole project? Apart from having loads of fun, this is part of a swap. In return for making this quilt for Charlotte, Steve will make Little Miss Bossy-Boots a doll’s bed for Christmas! Definitely a win-win situation for me as I get a fabulous gift for my little girl for Christmas and, on top of that, get to make another quilt.
BTW The doll quilt is 38cm by 44 cm, the pillow is 20cm by 24cm, the cushion cover is 36cm by 36 cm (just in case anyone is curious about dimensions).