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Tag Archives: textiles

The Modern Quilt Guild’s Riley Blake Challenge

10 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by sewjournal in Sew journal, Uncategorized

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

#mqgrileyblakechallenge, Andalusian tile templates, applique, hand-piecing, handwork, machine piecing, Modern Quilt Guild, patchwork, quilting blog, Riley Blake, sewing blog, sewjournal blog, textiles

RB fabricsThe Modern Quilt Guild is hosting a Riley Blake quilt challenge. All members who applied were given 6 fat eighths of Riley Blake fabric and they could make whatever they liked as long as it was quilted.

The rules were that you didn’t have to use all the fabrics you were given, that you could use any solids with them and any other Riley Blake prints.

I didn’t use the blue gingham and the turquoise chevron in my quilt. This actually surprised me as these are my favourite colours. However the whole process was organic.

P1050616I began with the centre and I used my Andalusian tile templates with the dark grey and the grey and white stripe fabrics and hand-pieced them to make this.

centre

I had then intended to pair them with the blue and turquoise fabrics. I looked for a suitable background to put the central medallion on but none of the greys I had did anything at all for it. I didn’t have a suitable blue or turquoise solid so I opted for this really bright yellow.

I hand appliquéd the medallion to the background and then had to ponder my next move. I cut a star out of the white spot on yellow fabric using my templates and appliquéd it to the centre of the medallion.

bordersI bought some grey Riley Blake small chevron and used it for the first border and then decided to use the white spotted yellow fabric as cornerstones and make a Riley Blake white solid border with four hexagons from my tile templates made from the orange design fabric and hand appliquéd them on. 

I then added another grey chevron border. I almost finished at this stage but I really have no use for small quilts so I decided to keep going.

I sewed two fabrics together in strips to make a wide border – a Riley Blake white solid and a Riley Blake grey solid. This looked unfinished somehow so I decided to make a zigzag of the white spot on orange Riley Blake fabric I had bought. Here’s how I did it.

I had bought a large grey chevron but it’s size just didn’t fit this quilt so I used it as a template to make the zigzag. I ironed some freezer paper onto the large chevron and traced the zigzag through it with a small ruler and pencil.

P1070087
Then I peeled off the freezer paper and cut the zigzag out. Once this was done I ironed the freezer paper to the orange fabric, wrong side up.

I cut around the zigzag with the freezer paper still attached to the fabric, leaving a 1/4″ seam allowance. I then pressed the allowance down before removing the freezer paper. I removed a little at a time fabric glueing as I went.

P1070089P1070091

P1070094

P1070095

I hand appliquéd the zigzag at the join of the white and grey borders with Aurifil 50wt thread. The borders were all only as long as the square of the quilt as I was planning on cornerstones as I didn’t have enough fabric – oops! This meant leaving loose ends of zigzag at each edge to appliqué together once the corner stones were in place.

P1070101

The outermost border is a lovely grey and white Riley Blake fabric called Shuffle. I didn’t have enough of this and had to fiddle around but luckily you can’t tell. I added cornerstones of the yellow spotted fabric and then bound the whole thing with Riley Blake solid orange. Want to see the whole quilt?

Here it is…

P1070115quilt

Hand quilting

I hand quilted the whole quilt and rather than describe it all I’ll show you some photos of the individual pieces, and the back. You might have to click on the photos to be able to see the details.

P1070116
P1070118
P1070117

photo 5 photo 4photo 3 photo 2 photo 1

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Some lovelies arrived in the mail…

26 Wednesday Jun 2013

Posted by sewjournal in Sew journal

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Daiwabo, Denyse Schmidt, fabric, fabrics, Flea Market Fancy, Parson Gray, quilting blog, sewing blog, sewjournal blog, textiles

These lovelies arrived the other day but this is the first opportunity I ‘ve had to photograph them. What’s your favourite?

I think I like the yellow Daiwabo Japan Nordic Stamp and the Parson Gray fabrics best. Though those three Denyse Schmidt, Flower and Dot, Flea Market Fancy Legacy Reprints are also very cute.

P1060305 P1060306 P1060307 P1060308

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Mr Tiggy takes matters into his own paws

25 Friday Feb 2011

Posted by sewjournal in Sew journal

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Mr Roscoe, Mr Tiggy, quilting blog, sewing blog, textiles

Mr Tiggy decided it was high time he penned his own blog post and tried to mucscle in on the keyboard as you can see.

Unfortunately his spelling left a lot to be desired and so he was banished pretty swiftly. In the meantime his outdoor “brother” Mr Roscoe was pretending to be a sleeping tiger blending into the soft bed of Mondo Grass in the dappled sunlight streaming through the leaves of the Crab Apple tree. What a life!

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Decor fabric samples…

09 Sunday Jan 2011

Posted by sewjournal in Sew journal

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

decor fabric, fabric, fabrics, quilting blog, sewing, sewjournal blog, textiles

On Thursday I visited Patchwork Plus at Miranda and found these eye-catching furnishing/decor fabric samples.


I thought I might use the top ones for a bench cushion and the others for bags or cushions.

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Ralli Quilts

29 Wednesday Dec 2010

Posted by sewjournal in Sew journal

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

applique, embroidery, quilt, quilting, quilting blog, Ralli Quilts, sewing, sewing blog, sewjournal blog, textiles

Do you know what a Ralli Quilt is? I didn’t until I came across this wonderful website. A Ralli Quilt is a traditional quilt made by the women of Pakistan,and western India.

The website asserts that the motifs and symbols used in these stunning quilts have been passed from mother to daughter and woman to woman for possibly thousands of years. There are three distinct styles – patchwork, embroidery and appliqué. The quilts are traditionally used not only as sleeping covers but also as floor coverings, storage bags and as padding for animals and workers. They can also form an important part of a girl’s dowry.  The word “Ralli” is derived from local words meaning to mix or connect. If you visit the website do take a look at the items they have for sale. I especially like the pillows.


Some of the motifs are very reminiscent of Hawaiian Appliqué. Also take a look at the Textiles page. These textile are just gorgeous. I’d love to be able to see them “in the flesh”. I don’t have any affiliation with the Ralli Quilts site, I just wanted to share. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did.

There is a book too, that is devoted to these lovely quilts called Ralli Quilts: Traditional Textiles from Pakistan and India written by Patricia Stoddard. I’m contemplating purchasing this one as I love traditional crafts. It’s available from their website and Amazon but I’ll probably get mine from the Book Depository [affiliate link]as the price is the same  (AUD$32.54 – US$29.95) but there’s free worldwide postage. I’m still eagerly awaiting two books on Hawaiian Quilts that I ordered from them. Perhaps they got snowed in at Heathrow?

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Bee in Oz block is finished

16 Thursday Dec 2010

Posted by sewjournal in Sew journal

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

applique, block swap, quilting blog, sewing blog, sewjournal blog, textiles

I finished my Bee in Oz block for Emma yesterday. I’m really happy with it. I hope  she likes it too. What do you think?

Looking for the Sew Mama Sew Give Away Day post?

I’m joining with hundreds of other blogs and participating in the Sew Mama Sew Give-Away Day. My give-away is a totally hand-sewn pin cushion. There’s still time to join in so if you’d like to enter please click here. Good luck! Why not take a look around while you’re here?

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Wouldn’t you just love to see this?

10 Friday Sep 2010

Posted by sewjournal in Sew journal

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Tags

exhibition, quilting blog, sewing blog, sewjournal blog, Textile Museum, textiles

The Textile Museum in Washington DC has an exhibition on at the moment called Art by the Yard –Women Design Mid-Century Britain. It finishes this weekend so if you’re in DC, do yourself a favour and pop in and see it. I’d love to show you some images but they’re copyright and while I have written to them in the past to ask if I can show some of their images to publicise their great exhibitions, they have never bothered to even reply to me.

A thing of beauty is a joy forever

That’s how I feel about quilts. You know how it  is. You have them lying around here and there, stacked and folded etc., etc., and then one day the sun catches one or it gets folded differently and you see it in a different light. This happened to me the other day and I snapped a photo of it. It’s one you’ve seen before but I just liked seeing it with the back exposed.


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Scrap busting!

05 Sunday Sep 2010

Posted by sewjournal in Sew journal

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

fabric, patchwork, quilt, quilting blog, scraps, sewing, sewing blog, sewjournal blog, squares, textiles

The last few days have seen me, rotary cutter in hand, reducing my ever increasing pile of odd shaped scraps into various sized squares. They go right up to 8.5″ squares and down to 1″ squares. The 1″ squares (shown here) are destined for my granddaughter. I’m going to suggest she stick them with paste onto cardboard and make some pretty bookmarks for family and friends. They all look so lovely in their different sized piles, that I want to start sewing them together immediately. However I am resisting. I want to have as much choice available to me as possible before I dive in. So I guess today is another cutting day.

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My bargain Kaffe’s have arrived!

08 Thursday Jul 2010

Posted by sewjournal in Sew journal

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

bargain, fabric, fabrics, Hancock's of Paducah, Kaffe Fassett, Kaffe Fassett fabrics, sewjournal blog, textiles

A while ago Hancocks of Paducah had a half price sale on some of their Kaffe Fassett fabrics. Given that these fabrics cost upwards of $26/metre in Australia I couldn’t pass up sale at half US prices which are already substantially cheaper anyway. As my husband was planning a US trip I ordered some fabrics and had them sent to the home of a friend in the US.  Today my husband arrived home and the fabrics arrived with him.

A Kaffe bargain

What a bargain! A set of fat quarters (supposed to be 28 but actually 29) that were US$79.98 for only US$39.98. (That’s only AUS$1.60 each compared to the usual AUS$6.50+) And two jelly rolls that were US$19.98 for only US$9.98each! And the postage was less than US$8.

Want to see them? Here they are. I can’t wait to use them.

Bargain Kaffe Fassett fabrics!

Bargain Kaffe Fassett fabrics!

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Suzani stash

06 Tuesday Jul 2010

Posted by sewjournal in Sew journal

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Australian fabric designer, design, fabric, fabrics, Michelle Marvig, sewjournal blog, textiles, The Patchwork Heart

Michelle Marvig traveller…

Last night I went to the Camden Quilters’ Guild where Michelle Marvig came to tell us about the quilting tours she had hosted through the US, Europe and Britain. Her photo albums were wonderful. I particularly liked the ones taken at The European Patchwork Meeting which is hosted in four picturesque Alsatian villages.

… and fabric designer

She also told us how she started designing fabric (somebody asked her over dinner “would you like to design a fabric range?!!) and brought some of her latest range called Suzani to show us. This was inspired by the exquisite traditional embroideries of the eastern European states and I decided to add some of it to my stash. Take a look…

Suzani

Suzani

Michelle has her own shop called Patchwork Heart and you can see the whole Suzani range online here.

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