A Project Linus Day.

Whilst browsing the internet and looking at quilt shops, I found the site of Bramble Patch in Northants, UK.  It seemed like a really interesting shop, but is about 1 hour 45 minutes drive from me, so not really feasible to visit just for a browse!  However, I saw they also do Project Linus sewing days about every two months and I attended one of them today.  What fun!  At least 20 ladies all cutting and sewing quilts to be given to vulnerable or ill children.  I made a set of 15 off-set log cabin blocks (pictured) and cut an additional 15 blocks from scraps that someone else will sew up later.

Whilst I was there I also had to do a little shopping!  More black/white prints to add to my stash, some dotty prints and some shirting material to go with the Civil War nickels that are part of my stash busting challenge.  Also found some King Tut quilting thread, which I've wanted to try but hadn't previously seen any to buy other than online - choosing colours in person is so much nicer :)

I so wish that either I was closer to this shop (although that could get expensive!) or that a group more local to me ran these sort of days.

I Spy a Swirl Finished.

I decided I wanted the easy life!!  I did an all over loop-d-loop and threw in a few butterflies for added interest - I think I counted 12 in total - and although they are subtle I hope the recipient will get a thrill from finding them! 

Thanks again to PattiLou for the wonderful tutorial that started this quilt :)

(I promise the quilt is not as wonky as this picture makes it look ... something odd happens when I hang them on my design wall and try and get a photo!)

I've also taken a piccie of the fun print I used on the backing of this quilt - it was by Makower from several years ago and perfect for an animal themed quilt.  I think I bought it in a sale and it has patiently waited in my stash for the right place to use it :)

What's next?

I've two projects that need quilting and I'm trying to decide which one gets basted and started tomorrow.

First there's Flimsey 6 which now has borders added.  I haven't decided which quilt design to use on this yet, but it is smaller than the other quilt and it would mean I finished 6 of my Stash Busting Challenge tops by the end of the month.

Then there's the I Spy Swirl quilt.  I've now determined that this will go to Project Linus, so I've been able to add the borders.  As it used a lot of bug type fabrics in the borders I'm going to do a loop-d-loop pattern, but incorporate some butterfly shapes into the quilting, like Mary shows here. 

Decisions, decisions ... I guess I'll make my final choice in the morning when I decide if I want a challenge or the easy life :)

SBChallenge - Flimsey 1 Finished.

Here's Flimsey 1 all bound and finished.  I had a small hiccup on the binding, but it's all sorted now!  I had precut the binding strips from one of the navy fabrics when I did all the cutting.  When I came to applying it I was 3" short and no scraps that I could find - eeeek!  But I managed to find a mottled navy in my scrap box that matched in really well and looking at it hanging on the design wall now, even I'm having difficulty spotting the join - whew :)

I never showed a picture of my mum's blue/cream quilt made from the Nickel Nine pattern by Dorothy Young.  I gave it to mum a couple of weeks ago and then realised I didn't take a photo, so when visiting her earlier today, I rectified that! 

I keep a folder containing pictures of all the quilts I've made, plus details of patterns used, where they went, snippets of fabrics used, etc.  Love being able to see a record of quilts I've created :)

SBChallenge - Flimsey 1 quilting ...

Do you remember Flimsey 1?  Poor thing has been waiting since the beginning of July to be finished.  Well, I had planned to pluck up the courage to try some feather quilting on this one, but I just kept putting it off!  Then I spent some time rewatching the Pajama Quilter Reloaded DVD which I got not long before the problems I had with my back last year, so I never got a chance to really explore it.  I decided to try the Wonky Feathers pattern - did a practice sample, then gritted my teeth and went for it!!

Through doing it I realised that it looks nicest if you get a good curly hook to start with and make sure your feather shapes have curve in them - it is easy to 'mop' up spaces with them because they are 'wonky'!  On the quilt I got more variety of direction than on the sample above.  It may not be pefect, but boy was it fun to do and I'm so pleased with the results :)

SBChallenge - Flimsey 5 Finished.

Flimsey 5 is done and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.  It is from Bonnie Hunter's pattern Bricks & Stepping Stones.  This is going to a resident at a local nursing home.  The lady receiving it uses a wheelchair that is like a huge blue armchair, hence the use of blues in this quilt.  Hope she likes it :)

I've also made progress on Flimsey 6.  The centre blocks are done and I love how using the assorted squares makes the background more interesting.  Now it needs the borders ...

(PS:  There was a lack of natural light for this picture so the colours are 'off'.  Will try and do better next time.)

SBChallenge - Flimsey 6 begins ...

I've managed to make contact with a local Project Linus coordinator and have committed to give two quilts in September.  The clown fabric is a definite candidate for this, along with the selection of 'squares' of fabric I inherited for donation quilts.  I use the term 'square' in the loosest sense as they really aren't actually square at all!

After lots of playing in EQ6 I decided that the clown fabric would work best as the backing of the quilt and I'd use the squares to make some friendship star blocks and a border.  I'm adding the blue and yellow shirts and some white tone-on-tone from my stash to make it work :)

SBChallenge - Flimsey 5 quilting ...

Flimsey 5 is now quilted.  I chose a Robison-Anton rayon thread in variegated blue to quilt this one.  It's a finer thread than the cotton I normally use and there seemed to be plenty left on the spool.  Half way through the quilting I realised there was NOT enough thread left to finish.  There aren't many shops locally that sell threads, but the market does have a haberdashery stall, so off I went to see what they had to offer.

 They didn't stock the same brand, but they did have a Mettler poly sheen multi that was similar.  I've now finished the quilting and only someone who knew there was a difference is likely to notice it - whew!  You can see the fabric I used for the backing in this photo too - a great find in the local charity shop where I volunteer :)

SBChallenge - Flimsey 5 ...

With lots of sewing over the weekend, this morning I was able to finish sewing the next batch of challenge fabrics into a Flimsey.  This is Bonnie Hunter's pattern "Bricks and Stepping Stones".  I've made it once before and it is fantastic for using assorted mid-tone fabrics and using the strongly contrasting 4 patches to make a great quilt :)

The fabrics I pulled from my stash challenge were all busted by this top, in fact it was a close-run thing getting enough pieces from a couple that were only FQs!