A Date for Your Diary

It's that time of year when I get out my Christmas quilts for a few weeks and the photo shows my favourite - a panel given to me in a Secret Santa gift some time ago. It was fun to quilt and I really love it. Do you have a favourite Christmas quilt? Like Janet I've made one or two Christmas gifts and will still be working on one or two more this weekend! Here's a little bag I made yesterday from a pattern in a fabulous book: 'A Passion for Patchwork' by Lise Bergene

Now for something to look forward to in 2013 - our next sit and sew day! It will be on Saturday February 16th  at Clifford Village Hall, Clifford near Wetherby. I'll be posting more details in the New Year but our theme for this meeting will be quilting, both with the walking foot and free motion quilting. So put the date in your diary and in the meantime you might want to browse some of the quilt photos I've added to our YMQG Pinterest boards  and my Free Motion Quilting board. This Flickr photostream  shows lots of lovely walking foot quilting designs from the '31 Days of Walking Foot Quilting' I mentioned in a previous post.

Have a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Hazel

Christmas Gift making.

This is the time of the year when we like to make gifts for family and friends. I always over estimate how much time I will have available for this activity but I do have some completed items to show.

I used some of my Alexander Henry fabrics to make bookcovers for my two sons.

The one on the left is simple applique - broderie perse, if you are posh or just fussy cutting motifs from patchwork fabric for the rest of us!

The one on the right is a single piece of fabric which I have free machine quilted around the skulls - fun to do and very quick. This has given each skull a nice raised appearance.

 Here is a photo to show both sides of the applique bookcover.

 I also have two great nieces whom I try to make hand made gifts for. Their Mum is very appreciative so that really helps! I studied a lot of tutorials on apron making and came up with my own simple version. Each is made from a fat quarter. The applique pockets will help them remember which one belongs to them. I used this great 'wordy' fabric which is so educational! The neck straps contain elastic so they will be nice and comfy.

My simple squares quilt is still 'in progress'. The top is finished and the next job is to make the pieced back. Rob is now home from Uni so I can't always work on it, although he does spend long periods sleeping!!

Wishing you all a Pieceful Christmas and New Year!

Janet x

Simple Squares - Progress!

I have started work on the quilt of the previous post which I have decided to call 'Simple Squares'. Due to the dull weather conditions and limited daylight hours all photos are taken in my extension room where there is the most natural light so you will be seeing more of my new blue Ikea sofa! The design wall in the sewing room is just no good for photos at this time of year.

I will give directions of how I am making this quilt, just in case you feel inspired to join me!

I decided to use twenty 10 inch squares - these can actually be cut from 5 fat quarters - as long as they are metric FQs (20 x 22 inches).

I then cut fifteen strips of 10 x 3 inches and joined the squares and strips as shown in the photo below. This produced five rows, each containing four squares.

I then cut four strips 3 x 46 inches to join the five rows together as shown in the photo below.

This has produced a quilt top of 46 x 58 inches.

I will add borders next, probably of 5 or 6 inches, also in the plain grey.

The layout of squares is not random, can you see the pattern? The vertical rows are all set in the same order, just starting at different points in the sequence.

Hope you are finding time for quilting at this busy time of the year?

Janet x