Fi's Birthday Quilt - done!

I keep forgetting to post the finished quilt! It looks a lot like the 'in progress' picture except that the quilting and binding was added - not that you can really see it in the photos.

My sewing machine was playing up while I was quilting. :( No matter how I adjusted the tension the red bobbin thread kept showing on the front of the quilt. So, I had lines of little red dots. I pulled the sewing machine apart and gave it a clean and found a little screw on the bobbin compartment when I took it out. I tightened it and woo hoo, the tension is balanced. Pity I had already finished the quilting. But the red dots were annoying me so I put in some variegated thread and embroidery quilted a wavy pattern over the lines and it looks purrfect. I was a lot happier.

I sewed for 16 hours straight on Friday to finish the quilt so that I could give it to Fi on Saturday. Hand stitching the binding takes soooo long. But it looks great. I was really happy with the label, apart from the fact that I had stitched it on sideways. But I printed another message and attached it the right way up so that it looks like I made the label to be that way.

I probably should have ironed it before giving it to Fi but I rather like the crinkly effect that quilts get after being washed. Ironing it would have made it to crisp and new looking. If I had more time I would have quilted it a bit more in each square - it is a little saggy because it was still a little damp when I took the picture.

The top of the purple border still annoys me. I wish I had more red so that I could have extended it up a little bit. But Fi really likes the quilt and already has it on their bed so that is all that matters. As always, Milly is in the background doing her quality check before the quilt is handed over to its new owner.

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In Progress: "Me Healies" Quilt

I had a very productive weekend - sewing wise anyway. This quilt is a birthday present for my friend Fi. On Saturday I went and stood in front of fabric for about an hour picking out the colours. The shop is pretty quiet so it was nice and relaxing just pottering around. I wanted to get a colour wash type of effect but not too blended. I was really happy with the final group of fabrics. I was even happier with my new floor standing OTT lamp too! I've been wanting to get one for so long. It is really hard to sew, at night, as the light in my room is terrible. The OTT bulbs mimic natural daylight so you can see true colour and more detail. As a bonus it came with a portable OTT desk light too - woo hoo! Anyway, here is the quilt so far. I'm debating whether to applique aqua blue & green spirals (or maybe red) over the top and stipple quilt it or leave the spirals off and stitch in the ditch and in the squares. Tonight I think I will fix one little bit of the border that doesn't look quite right. The bottom right where the purple ends needs to extend up a bit further. If I have enough of the red fabric I'll put a bit of red in between. It is too much of a jump between the purple & yellow/orange at the moment. Ugh, I'm not looking forward to the unpicking. This quilt is very different to any other quilt I've made so far. I'm usually not very bold in the colour department. I don't usually pick bold colours, usually my quilts are made from safe colour combinations and introverted, like me.

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Cat's Rest Stop

I was getting sick of finding cat hair on my cutting board. Pixie & Milly love sleeping on my desk when I'm working or sewing. I had a couple of baskets in my sewing room so I filled them with batting off cuts and put some leftover fleece over it. Pixie l-o-v-e-s her new bed the most. The baskets are placed so that the cats can see out the window and nap in the sun. Spoilt monsters.

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Quilt for Charlie

I made this quilt for my friend's baby, Charlie.
Charlie is having her first birthday tomorrow.
Of course Milly had to quality check it before I posted it.

Happy Birthday Charlie!

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Jen's Bag

Here's a full picture of the bag I made for Jen.

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Sneak Peak at Jen's Present

I am mailing Jenaveve's belated birthday present today. Sorry it is so late Jen! As compensation for the delay here is a sneak peak at part of the present. I will post full pics once the present has been received.
Bell

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