My Own Path

For the last month or so I've been working on "My Own Path", in the Quilt Along, "Follow Your Own Path", designed and organised by Sandra Walker of  @mmmquilts.

photo indoors with overcast skies and drizzle

Adding the binding, with a glimpse of the backing fabric: a purchased remnant of  unknown origin:

My version is smaller than the original, as I halved all the measurements of the baby quilt. This has resulted in a quilt of 20" by 18" with the same number of blocks as the original. 

Background fabric: Contempo's "color weave" in light grey.

arrows: from scraps

shadow arrows: Contempo's "color weave" in medium grey.

Two days ago, outside, in bright sunlight

Making this during the sixth month of our second Covid lockdown, inspired the layout: it could only get better: the only way from here was up! [That turned out to be true; most of the restrictions have now been lifted, and more will be from next weekend.]

The ghost arrows in the quilting represent my moments of indecision, and ideas not followed through; the points of potential deviation from my path.

I really enjoyed this deviation from my plan for this year. Thank you Sandra!

I'm linking this to:

           

                

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Keep safe and healthy

Happy Sewing

Marly.

Magic cubes and works in progress.

My magic cubes is now a top. I really didn't think at the beginning of February that this would ever happen, but working on it was my goal for February, and see here!

This wall hanging is approximately 24 inches square. The fabric is hand-dyed poplin and Moda Bella anthracite. Now it is on the pile to be quilted. 

Also finished is my contribution to the Do Good Stitches Comfort Circle; this month's queen is Charlotte . The assignment was three navy blocks with stars in two of them; difficult, when you don't have much navy, to create the necessary contrast in the patchwork. I hope these meet the requirements.

Meanwhile I will be seriously working on this fabric collage, which is my one monthly goal for March (I've already done some fabric trials),

 

and a table runner prompted by the table scraps challenge. No photos as yet, but it will be green.

 

I'm linking to:

 

 

 Click on the buttons above to see more patchwork progress.

Stay safe and healthy.

Happy sewing

Marly.

 

Rainbow rows - finished top

For the past year I've been participating in the quilt along organised by Irene of Sugaridoo, and Bernina Sewing Machines.

This month's assignment was to sew the top together, either completely, or in three sections of four rows each, to make quilting easier. Here are my three sections, laid out as they will finally be joined after quilting.

This quilt is enormous! Too big for my camera lens!

Irene gave the instructions for a new row every four weeks, and included reverse appliqué and foundation piecing as well as "ordinary" piecing. As well as the written instructions on the Bernina blog, she also published a YouTube video to reinforce the instructions. I learnt a lot from doing this and my phobia over foundation (paper) piecing is largely dispelled. 

Speaking of rainbows: how about this one:

I don't think I've ever seen so complete a rainbow. It continued round to the tree tops off to the left, although it was less well defined on the left hand side. There was also a reversed "shadow" rainbow above; something I had never seen before! Unfortunately it had faded before I could take a photo.

 I'm linking this to: 

  

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Stay safe and healthy

Happy sewing

Marly.

 

               

Rainbow Bow Ties is finished.

             


Click on the buttons above for my posts about these projected finishes.

My third finish for the 2019 Q4 Finish A-Long is Rainbow Bow Ties, my Rainbow Scrap Challenge for 2019. This is also my OMG goal for January 2020.

At something like the eleventh hour I finished sewing the binding down. I spread quilting the swirls over the previous two days. I used the design "swirls" from the book, "Stitching Pathways" by Wendy Sheppard. I found her technique of stitching a short distance and stopping to decide where to go next a real help and an eye-opener: "Why didn't I think of doing that?" instead of just letting the machine run on into increasingly  more hopeless places. This became a relaxed and interesting experience.

Close up of swirls; some more swirly than others, but we're getting there!

The idea for this quilt came from "Make Modern" magazine in 2018.

Fabric from stash, with some new neutral additions

Wadding 100 % cotton

Thread for piecing Aurifil 50 wt assorted colours

Thread for quilting Aurifil 50 wt colour 5011 (light khaki) 

I'm linking to

       

                                    

Click on the buttons to visit the link ups.

Happy sewing

Marly.

RSC 2019 Bow-ties is a finished top!

For the Rainbow Scrap Challenge Angela gives a colour and participants all over the world make blocks in that colour from their scraps. This year there is also a sampler; some of the block instructions being given by Angela, and some by participants themselves, resulting in a different tiny block each week.

This year I decided not to make the sampler, but to make bow-tie blocks inspired by a quilt published last year in "Make Modern" issue 22. I was particularly struck by the effect achieved by this layout.

This will be a lap quilt or possibly a baby quilt as it measures 48" by 54".

Here are some detailed photos.

Each coloured fabric occurs only once, but I had to repeat some of the neutrals.

Double Dutch Bee mates: can you spot some of the fabric from the uglies table in here? There are at least two!

I'm linking to

and 

Click on the buttons to see more rainbow scraps. 

Happy sewing

Marly

Rainbow Bow-ties

My project for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, hosted by Angela at Soscrappy, this year has been bow-ties. I read yesterday that the colours for October are black, grey, and brown, so I decided to call it a day (or perhaps that should be year) and have started putting the quilt together.

webbing in progress

the last two columns waiting their turn

I first sewed all the blocks in column 2 to those in column 1. Then I added the blocks in column 3, and so on. On the table are all the blocks up to and including column 7 joined with vertical seams.

On the design wall are columns 8 and 9, here still waiting for the last two blocks but otherwise ready to be added to the rows on the table.

The next step will be to sew the horizontal seams which should go easily as the blocks are already attached to one another.

Ha,ha, look what I just found:

The last three blocks in each of the last two rows have somehow got twisted! Unpicking in progress! I hadn't noticed until I got to that point with the next column. One block I can understand, but six!

I'm joining:

                                      

Click the buttons to see more patchwork.

Happy sewing 

Marly

Mini Wonders table runner.

              

My Mini Wonders Table Runner is finished and in use on the dining table. This is my first finish for the 2019 Q2 Finish Along list, and was also my one monthly goal for May.

The pattern is by Sheila Christensen and was published in instalments in six issues of "Make Modern". This design looks as if it might be EPP, but in fact it's ordinary piecing; all the pieces are cut from strips using a 60 degree ruler. The strips are either 1.5" or 2.5".

I quilted the border sections and the white pieces in the large hexagons with the walking foot and the setting triangles free motion.

 Fabric

The coloured hexagons are made using two fabrics in each of six colours. I used Alison Glass fabrics from various series.
The borders are white and three shades of grey.
For the binding I cut 2" strips of several of the fabrics used in the table runner,
The backing is "Basicgrey compositions" from Moda (the second word may be something else - it is so faint)
I both pieced and quilted with Aurifil 50wt. colour 2600, dove grey.

I'm linking this week to:

    
Click on the buttons above to view more new quilts.

I'm linking to "One Monthly Goal" at Elm Street Quilts,

and to 2019 Finish Along at Studio sew of course at the end of June.
Then you'll be able to view other people's progress by clicking on these links.

Happy sewing

Marly.

RSC 2019 half way mark!

As the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, organised by Angela, runs from January to October the end of May marks the half-way point. Despite starting more than 2 months into the year I've pretty well caught up, though I will probably make more red and yellow units.

rainbow bow ties

The units finish at 6" square, so the photo represents a 36" x 42" quilt. This is not the final layout; there are still five months and five colours to go. I haven't repeated any of the coloured fabrics, but I have repeated neutrals; despite buying more neutral FQs and having more choice, repetition seems to be inevitable.

I'm linking up to:

     

Click on the buttons to visit the parties; 

especially the RSC sampler blocks are very pretty. 

Happy sewing

Marly.

Mini wonders table runner is a top!

I have had a subscription to "Make Modern" for about 18 months, and find so many things I'd like to make (and also a few I wouldn't touch with a bargepole - but that's always the way of things!) between its "covers" (being digital it doesn't have covers!) but this is only the second pattern I've followed.

 
Mini Wonders, written by Sheila Christensen, was a BOM from issue 19 to issue 24. It uses two different prints in each colour, along with one white and three different shades of grey. The pattern is built up of 60 degree triangles and all the pieces are cut with a 60 degree ruler, from strips either 1.5" or 2.5" wide. The top measures 1.24m x 0.5m ( 48.75" x 19.5") All the fabric I used is by Alison Glass, from several series.

English Paper Piecing or Foundation Piecing would have been easier, but would, in my hands, have taken a lot longer, or used a lot more fabric. This was a challenge, and I'm happy to say that my cutting and piecing are both more accurate than I thought beforehand. I accidentally changed the positions of the greys around in the borders, but with so many bias seams in this piece: so be it.

The next task for this piece is to make the other side, as I want a double sided table runner. This won't be completely finished any time soon!

My goal for the month was to move this along, and I have certainly reached that goal, and done more than I had expected.

I'm linking now to

Click on the button above to see what other quilty projects are on the go.

Towards the end of the month I shall be linking to

Click the button after 25 April to see more goals reached this month,

and to

for more finishes ( I hope finished tops qualify).

Happy sewing

Marly.