FAL2015 Second Quarter

These lists make very boring reading, I'm afraid, but they do provide a much needed incentive to get things done.
I managed 5 out of my 9 projects listed last quarter, so not too bad, all things considered. I therefore have 4 quilts to carry forward to this second quarter. These are:

1)HST quilt

 

All the blocks are made ( though not trimmed!), so still a fair bit of work to be done.

 

2)Trajectory Quilt

 



Still waiting for a few blocks to be sent to me, then I can finish this one.

3)Graces Quilt

 

Just need to quilt and bind this one, so no excuses for why it's not finished

 

4)Wonky stars quilt

 

 

Again, just need to quilt and bind it.

 

5) Wonky Log Cabin 1

 





Just need to quilt and bind it ( can you see a theme developing here!)

5) Wonky Log Cabin 2
This is the bee block for STQB for April, so should have all the blocks in the next few weeks to get on with this one.

 

6) Boy quilt from FQR retreat 2014

 

These were blocks made in the FQR retreat, that I have to do something with. I have been waiting for some solids to go with these blocks, and they have now arrived.

 

 

8)Recession Quilt

 

These blocks are bee blocks for Together@do.good stitches for this month, so I should be able to get this quilt done this quarter

 





9)Geese all round
I'm still waiting for some of these blocks to come in, but hope to get it done this quarter.

 

10)Carlton's Quilt

I'm planning to make an eye spy economy block quilt for Carlton.

 

 

I think this is more than enough for one quarter.

 

Linking with Adrianne

 



UK Mini Swap 2015

Just a quick post because I have finished my UK mini swap quilt ( taking place on IG). This is my first ever mini swap, so I'm a bit nervous. I have reservations about mini quilts, though now I've made one I can see how useful it is for trying out new things without committing to a full quilt. And certainly, my sewing room could do with a bit of decoration.
Anyway here it is:

 

And the back:

 

 

I nearly forgot to put in the corner triangles on the back, so it could be hung on a wall without damaging the quilt, but remembered in time!.

 

The design is not my own, it is a complete copy of a beautiful quilt ( called Portal) by a South African quilt artist called Susan Wessels. I haven't been able to find out much about her, except she makes exceptional quilts. I drew it out on paper ( I don't have the computer skills or package to do it any other way!) and then worked out how to paper piece it in sections. It seemed to work very well. I will be very sad to part with it because I absolutely love it. I just hope my partner does too. I spent hours agonising over a suitable design and pinning loads of alternatives, until I saw this one.

It is quilted quite simply with straight lines using Presencia 50/3 in a mid-grey.

This will also be my final first quarter finish in FAL 2015.

My original list for this quarter is here:http://therunninghar.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/fal-first-quarter-2015.html

 



Scrappy Log Cabin Quilt - Ta Da!

It's been a funny old week. Last Monday, I had 3 dental implants fitted. My teeth are the product of post war dentistry (where dentists were rewarded for doing things to your teeth) and as a consequence I have had 4 teeth removed in the past. I decided now I'm a lady of leisure to have the implants ( after some research) and duly went along. I declined the sedation offered ( I am an anaesthetist ! and think sedation, which is very tricky even in trained hands, should be avoided if at all possible) but then again, I am also very stoical and knew it wouldn't upset me like it does some people. Everything went to plan and it only took an hour. I was put on a course of antibiotics as is usual after having foreign bodies drilled into your bones. I had  underestimated how under the weather I would feel for some time afterwards. My mouth is really very sore and as both sides of my mouth are involved ,eating is difficult and painful. The antibiotics have also reeked havoc- I won't go into detail as that would be tmi! It's left me feeling a bit low, which is not like me.
Anyway, I have forced myself to finish my scrappy log cabin quilt, which I had never planned to do but as is often the case with these things, is now a firm favourite. I joined in the #scrappylogcabinqal on IG and then had to see it to fruition.

 

It's raining outside, so I can't get any sunny pictures sadly! This photo does not truly convey the lovely colours. I bound it with Kona Midnight again ( like my blue chequers quilt) because it matches the back so perfectly and I had used some Kona Midnight in the log cabins but I added two small flashes of colour as well.

 

 

 The design evolved organically again. I made 20 log cabin blocks which exhausted my supply of longer scrappy strips. Fortunately, I had a smallish piece of the Kona Robins egg which I was able to use for the border. However, I didn't quite have enough to go all the way round, hence the coloured blocks in the border at each end to make up the deficit. The back is more of the Lizzie House constellations.

 

I quilted it with an overall pattern called Greek Key, again using freehand free  motion quilting, not a pantograph. This gives a slightly more graphic look which I like.

I had never intended to make this quilt, but it has turned into one of my favourites. I'm going to be sad to send it off to Siblings Together!

 

Quilt Stats

 

Size: 58 x 71 inches

Top made up of scrappy log cabins

Back : Lizzie House constellations

Binding: Kona Midnight

Wadding : Hobbs 80/20

Quilted ( top and bottom threads) with So Fine 50 wt in light grey ( 408)

 

Linking with Scraptastic Tuesday

 

 



Blue Triangle Quilt

I started this quilt some time ago, so I'm very glad to have finished it. It is also on my list for the first quarter FAL 2015  with Adrianne .I was inspired by this quilt by Lady Harvatine. However, I soon got bored and hence the quilt is quite small, though very suitable as a baby quilt. This is just as well as it's destined for the grandson of my friend Liz!

This was my first foray into using blue and green, a theme I currently seem to be obsessed with. It is also my first  solids only quilt ( well except for the backing and the binding). I'm really hoping to make some more solids only quilts in the future.
The back was made up from scraps.

 

The Moda green dottie was left over from Eleri's quilt and the Riley Blake zigzag was a freebie from Fat Quarter Shop. I should explain: I ordered 2 yards of this extra wide backing and in error they sent me half a yard instead of the 2 yards I had ordered so I got to keep it ( and they sent me the original order, which I will use for another quilt)

By chance I had some Michael Miller clown stripe in aqua and white which was a perfect match to use for the binding.

 

 

I quilted it with straight lines about a quarter inch apart. This is far from perfect and I did learn some lessons. Firstly, the blocks are biased edged and therefore stretch a little. I also think in future I shouldn't try to 'lock 'the stitches when they need finishing in the middle of a block, but should finish them off by hand sewing. With quilting this dense, the quilt is a little stiff, despite using a fairly thin wadding. Maybe it will soften up with washing. I'm just glad to have finished it.

 

 

 

 



 



Quilt Stats

 

Size: 38 x 49 inches

 

Front made with Kona solids in Blues and green

Back made with Moda green dottie and Riley Blake zigzag

Wadding : scrap from stash

 Binding: Michael Miller clown stripe in aqua and white

 Quilted with Presencia 60/3 in white

 

 My original list for this quarter is here: http://therunninghar.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/fal-first-quarter-2015.html
 

Linking up with Fal 2015



Blue Chequers - Ta Da!

I'm on a roll at the moment ( long may it last!), so I have another finish to reveal. I made this quilt with 4 patch squares that I had left over from my blue medallion. I made them to be the final border on Blue Medallion but didn't like it in the end. So, they've been recycled:

 

 

 

The backing I had also bought for Blue Medallion and it is a good match for the front. I wasn't wide enough, so rather than attempting a pattern match I put in a strip of Baby blue Kona.

I decided to quilt it with a simple swirl in each square. I've never used a pantograph or a groovy board, preferring to do the quilting 'freehand', so you can see how inconsistent I am!

 

 

I'm trying to increase my repertoire of quilting stitches, and this was a new one for me.

 

I used Kona Midnight for the binding except for one small piece of Robin's egg at the bottom, coinciding with the pale stripe on the back.

 

 



The Kona Midnight is a perfect match with the Lizzie House constellations backing fabric:

 

Quilt Stats

 

Size : 46  x 55.5 inches ( it's shrunk a little in the wash)

Front : 2 inch finished squares of a variety of Kona blue and green solids

Back: Lizzie House constellations with a strip of Kona Baby Blue

Binding : Kona Midnight and a small piece of Kona Robin's egg

Wadding: Left over piece of Quilters Dream Orient

Quilted with Superior Threads Fantastico 5006 which is a variegated blue and green on the top, Bottom Line #622 grey on the back.

 

I'm going to donate this quilt ( hopefully one of many ) to Siblings Together.

 

This is also another finish ( my third!!!) for first quarter of FAL 2015 with Adrianne and I'm also going to link with Scraptastic Tuesday.

 

It's my birthday today ( I won't reveal my age as I can't believe it myself). Mr Hare and I are going to London this afternoon, to take our lovely children out for a birthday meal, then we ( not the children ) are off to Le Trois Vallees for a skiing holiday.

 

My original list for this quarter is here: http://therunninghar.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/fal-first-quarter-2015.html

 





 



 



 

Eleri's Quilt -Ta Da

Two posts in one day, wonders will never cease! Again just a quick post with my second finish for the first quarter FAL 2015 with Adrianne. I had promised my SIL that I would make a quilt for my niece what seems like eons ago. I had a few false starts ( the dreaded quilting bee where my beautiful quilting fabric disappeared into the aether never to return!)
So, it was time to rectify the problem. I wanted something relatively quick, but that would also look pretty, so this quilt was born:

 

I seem to be going through a blue/green quilt phase at the moment! However, my excuse is that these are the colours Eleri wanted.

 

 

I quilted it very simply with my favourite wavy lines and added a navy and white stripe binding.

 

 

Unfortunately, I only had half a yard of this so had to add a small section of navy blue. The back is a lovely spotty green that I bought for this ages ago.

 

 

I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

 

 

Quilt Stats:

Size 70 inches x 78 inches after washing

 

Crosses from various blue/ green fabrics in my stash. Background 'squares' in mainly Kona solids again from my stash. Background fabric Kona white.

 

Backing fabric- Moda extra wide Dotty  in green

 

Binding- Michael Miller pirate stripe in Navy and a small piece of Kona Navy

 

Wadding - Quilters Dream Orient

 

 Pieced and top quilting using Presencia 60 in white, bottom quilting with So fine white

 

Linking with FAL 2015 ( my original list for this quarter is here: http://therunninghar.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/fal-first-quarter-2015.html)

 











Scraptastic Tuesday( on Sunday)

Just a quick post to link up with Nicky and Leanne for Scraptastic Tuesday. I have continued to add to my HST pile, which I'm doing as leaders and enders. This is a slow but steady WIP.

 

I also used up some of my blue scraps to start the #scrappylogcabinquiltalong on IG but have only managed 6 blocks:

 

 

I don't have enough long scraps to do any more of these, so I'll add some scrappy borders, and I'll have another Siblings Together quilt. There is a good post  by Mary over on Lily's Quilts and again here by Maria about this very worthy charity. Mary has put out a call for Home Sweet Home blocks, a variation of a nine patch, so I made a few from scraps:

 

That's all my scraps for this week!