Turning a square into a rectangle

Now this BOM programme is free (for the moment) so i am definitely not complaining, but a square kids quilt is just not that practical.  Creating more blocks just wasn't an option with the layout of the animals and the people and the colours... so making some border adjustments was going to be necessary.

The instructions have a narrow white border then a wider coloured border right the way round... so still a square.  I figured just adding a wider strip top and bottom would solve all my problems... but no! 

Then I thought adding a pieced border then adding a wider strip top and bottom would solve all my problems... but that was also a no!  Although I loved how all these nine patches looked.

Sometimes borders just do not behave!

Thinking it was my fabric choices... I went emergency shopping and added some alternatives...

This was my original choice for binding but it was just looking weird with everything so I put it to the side for further contemplation.

Hmmm these actually all worked colourwise but there just was something not right.

That old problem of making a border look like it was supposed to be there.  Mocking up plain borders on the sides and then the pieced border top and bottom then adding a plain border all separated by white sashing makes it look like it is supposed to be.

And that odd looking binding worked really well for the side borders...

And I really liked this blue dotted fabric for the top and bottom  borders as it tones down the pink overload but still has so many of the featured colours.

I am still sewing but it looks like a pink binding with black and white peeper will be the way to go.

And these two fabrics will feature on the back.  The floral was on sale for $10/m which will help to make up for the $30/m for the blue spot.  Sometimes the pricing at Spotlight leaves a lot to be desired.

Plans for December

In an ideal world... I would be wrapping up all my projects and showing off all my amazing makes.  But in the grand scheme of life that is just not happening.

I decided to join in the sew along with Temecula Quilt Co (see link on my sidebar as the pattern is free on their latest blog posts) to make their Tiny Tree quilt.  Complete with tiny pieced blocks...

Block 1 Friendship Star:

I decided to ferret through the small scrap containers and just work with what I found.  So far so good!

Now to check out block 2... Broken Dishes.

Progress progress progress!!!

Progress in the shed has just kept building throughout November, and it's been a good few weeks for ticking off tasks.  And sticking those stickers on!

I wanted to get the left hand panel of Nadia's quilt fully sewn, before starting on the right hand side (which is not quite as wide as the left).  It is quite a different process making this quilt which is almost entirely half square triangles and sewn in rows.  Each few more units sewn get added to the wall...

Yes!... onto the second side...

This side is going heaps faster...

Also on my list was finishing the FMQ on my "Theres a square in there" blocks.

After much swirling and circling... I achieved my goal and currently this is all folded back up waiting for enough free time to tackle the (enormous) background areas.

I even had a chance to piece a backing for Dylan's quilt!  It started with the left over length of the yellow print... and I found the colourful floral which has very similar colours to the quilt top.  Add in a few extra half yards of fabrics I've had for ages but they are never the right colour and a bit of a brick pattern and it is "just" big enough and they go together so well!  I have managed to keep all the lengths of fabric running in the same direction which must be a good thing.

The applique rocket block is one Dylan "helped" me to make in one of our crafting adventures when the kids were small.  Nadia's project was turned into a cushion and Dylan's one was set aside for later... then lost for several years and then set aside once more.  Not my greatest parenting moment 😕.  However, he is very pleased 🙌 it has reappeared onto his quilt although he won't be able to see it!

My last key goal was to get the My little piggy quilt top sew together after finishing the blanket stitch.  Level achieved!!  I have now started sewing 9 patch blocks to add as a border and think it will look really cute once I have finished all those seams!  Although I am seriously considering my sanity levels! 

So that's me for the last couple of weeks... what have you been up to?

Hawthorn quilt... for Dylan. A finished top.

Last weekend my daughter organised a bunch of friends to come stay the night... with adventures planned for Saturday.  Nothing like a deadline to get a quilt top sewn together quick smart!  Because Dylan's quilt was laid out on the floor... in the sleep out... which was where the girls were going to camp out!

I managed to get all the blocks sewn by Thursday, and the three rows sewn into rows by Friday.  That was okay to move temporarily while the sleepover occurred... then Saturday and Sunday was finishing up the between rows sashing and getting it all sewn together into a finished top.

What really appeals to me about this quilt is that there is 6 colours.  Limited to my stash... I needed to be a bit creative.  None of my navy fabrics were large enough for the fabric requirements... these two prints were technically enough... but adding the solid navy just took the whole scheme up another level.

I was surprised how well this aqua solid matched the feature fabric.  Is it the same?  Probably not identical under forensic examination but certainly close enough for this quilter.

And you can see how these fabrics just worked with the overall scheme. 

Again... there wasn't enough stash of either of these greys but together they are so similar that they are almost interchangeable.  I decided to keep the same fabrics in the same blocks however.

And it all coming together.  In the end I treated the orange print, the feature graphic print and the fish print as one fabric grouping - "the accent pops".  The other categories were the light greys, the aqua solid, the navy's, the yellow print and the mid grey solid for the background.  Full disclosure, I did need to piece off cuts of the fat quarters used to make some of the units.

I love these large blocks - 24" and the modern setting and fabric placements.  However I am also keen to play with both the size (a half scale would make a cute baby quilt with 12" blocks) and have a play with a mixed low volume background and maybe some scrappy rainbow blocks.  Lots to play with and individualise.

I am currently auditioning possible backing fabric mixes... and wishing I kept a larger stock of wide backs in my stash (but also recognising that they would never be the right colour or size 😆)

Meanwhile I am moving onto the next item on my list!

What' s on the board... Miss Ford?

A new month means a new list of goals.

The first four are the most important.

1. Getting the blocks quilted on this There's a Square in there quilt:

2. 3 blocks to blanket stitch on This Little Piggy then sew the blocks together ready for borders:

3. Sew up the last 6 rows on Nadias Bursting Star quilt to complete the left hand panel:

4. Finish up the rest of the blocks for Dylan's Hawthorn Quilt and sew together with sashing.

Of course, I have a lot more written down on my list but I'm never sure whether I'll get to those things or not.  We'll have to wait and see 😆

Labour Weekend Progress

This weekend I am officially the mother of a 16 year old!  How has this happened?

Luckily some crafting has also been happening.... in an effort to de-stress and keep those grey hairs at bay 😂

Today I finished putting together the last 3 applique blocks for This Little Piggy.  There is still blanket stitch to do... but such good progress!

I also finally decided to just DO IT!  And started the FMQ on the There's A Square In There quilt... which has been basted and waiting patiently for inspiration for months!

I am using rulers to outline the cream background sections of the blocks and then filling them with a mixture of swirl and pebble quilting... depending on the size of the space.

It's been a while since I really did any FMQ and it shows!  Trying to track over the top of previous stitching lines was a bit hit and miss but I do need to approach this as finished is better rather than perfectly unfinished.

I have quilted the first 4 blocks... and have an idea for the background/sashing between blocks but will come back to that once the blocks are finished.

Striking while the irons hot

Sometimes an idea just grows and snowballs and overrides all other plans.

Dylan's quilt started with three little fat quarters that i bought a few years ago.  The multicolor print is from a 2016 collection.  They sat project less but together on the shelf.

The instructions for this quilt has 6 fabrics in various quantities... although none of them seemed to be fat quarters.

Undeterred I added more and more stash fabric... building on the colours from the multicolour print and expanding the range to bridge the gaps between differences in quantities.

Some block arrangements just set off the fabrics perfectly.

The neutrals play nicely with the mix of different sized prints and depth of colour.

Although I got to the stage where I just didn't have enough fabric to stick to the diagram... so I winged it with some multicolor blocks... and ended up switching a couple of blocks around to make things balanced but it is looking great.  I also had to sew together some offcuts to make units big enough.

The last fabric addition was this teal fish fabric... the occasional orange fish means it just makes sense with the solid jade and the orange dot.

So now it is just pedal to the metal...

Meanwhile Nadias quilt is slowly growing...