Super Scrappy

 Making a block each month means sooner or later you almost get a quilt top!

 

This is the Cloudy Day Quilt Sampler and I've used my scrap bags for the blocks, odds and ends for the sashing... and a few lengths of stash to fill out the gaps.

Just one more block and 3 more nine patches, and I can start piecing all these sections together.  It is super scrappy, and this encouraged me to just go full on for the background... it's quite a mixture.  Some of the low volume prints have quite full on prints - some of them I don't really like... so its a good opportunity to use them.

 

Is it necessarily the most beautiful version of the quilt I could ever make?  No.  Although that wasn't really my intention in making it.  Of course, I hoped it would look nice... and I think it does look nice - but it's not precious... it can get dirty and be well used without feeling like it's a masterpiece that could get ruined.  I think these scrappy utility type quilts are important in their usefulness... even if it just becomes a dog or picnic quilt.

Just a little skirt - The Allegro!

 It might just be a little skirt but I'm ridiculously proud of it!

Complete with naff photos!

I used a grey shot cotton for the waist band and pocket lining.  It looks very smart although the fraying aspect was a consideration which encouraged me to try using the binding to cover the seams.  Because I didn't have the right width elastic, I sewed a seam though the middle of the waistband and threaded two lots of narrower elastic through each channel.

Watching other makers has encouraged me to stretch my basic skills... basic skills don't have to be boring... some lovely yellow pre made binding looks super fab on the inside and helps to keep everything tidy.  These pockets are the perfect depth.

I just did a very simple folded and top stitched hem.

Which turned out nice on both sides... I did use a measuring gadget to attempt to get some consistency to the measurements.

I also decided to topstitch along the side seams...

This slightly overexposed photo shows the stitching better.

So on the whole I am very pleased with the finished garment.  Woohoo!  It's about time.  Now that this one is off my to do list I can concentrate on all the other projects that have been calling me...

Gifted... the double nine patch scrap baby quilt

 My July one monthly goal was to quilt and bind my double nine patch quilt.  I didn't quite get all the binding finished before getting a cold/flu in the last couple of week's of July and it has only been this week that the last side got hand sewn down.  AND the quilt has now been gifted to a wee baby!!

June saw this 2018 rainbow scrap challenge get basted... and then July was quilting month.  I really like how the relatively simple quilting turned out.

I don't seem to have any photos of the binding, but i used the same newspaper print that was used as the cornerstones in the sashing.  Yay... a quilt FINISH!!

A roundup of the final days of July

Ok, so I never quite met my One Monthly Goal... I'm sitting just over halfway on hand stitching down the binding on my double nine patch baby quilt and while that is a bit frustrating (so close and yet so far) I am happy to have chosen a goal that stretched my expectations because I'd probably still be quilting it if I hadn't.



My last few July goals were to baste Nadia's Bursting Star quilt... which meant piecing a backing.  I had picked up this pineapple print on a great special, well before even starting the quilt.  I just bought the quantity on the pattern but silly me, I added an extra border on two sides, which meant that my backing fabric was exactly the same width as the top.  

Creative piecing to the rescue with some of the left over charm squares.

This was where I discovered I was out of batting... so my goal of getting this basted became unstuck relatively quickly.

Next up was to piece four more blocks of Sweet Escape. Yes!!

And finally to "sew" the Allegro skirt.  Well, I finally stuck together my pdf pages and got the pieces cut out.

I decided to use these planning pages...

The skirt is from the floral cord and the pocket and waistband lining is from the grey cotton.

I have bought quite a variety of both fabrics and patterns, but have struggled to get any kind of cohesive outfit ideas together.  Finally I found something that would go with this rust knit fabric.  I had bought this with the intention of trialling the Blackwood cardigan so fingers crossed that the skirt turns out OK.