The king size sheet for use as the backing has arrived and been laundered. It was just as well that I washed the sheet as expected the cololur did run a little. Unfortunately there were a few other garments already in the washing machine when I set it off – hence we now have a few pale blue garments that were previously white! Whilst my husband was out this morning I layered up the quilt top with its 80/20 cotton/polyester wadding and the backing sheet. I used a temporary spray adhesive whilst laying out the 3 fabrics on the sitting room floor. The carpet is a good foundation for using the safety pins for “basting” the layers together. Whilst this method of stretching a quilt top is not really to be recommended it works for me – although once I have had knee replacement surgery I do not foresee being able to repeat the exercise on my next large project. Once I return from hospital I shall set up the machine for quilting and work a simple trellis design on the quilt before adding the final binding.

The Quilt “Sandwich” ready for quilting.

As part of a “team” project at Sprat & Winkle Quilters we have been making “Round Robins”. Each member chose a theme based on Houses, they could be Lighthouses, Dog Houses, Bird Houses – infact anything that could be considered a “dwelling”. I chose Beach Huts and today I finished the wallhanging which is approximately 90 cms square. Each block made by members of my team is highly individual and reflects the style and character of the maker. A charming reminder of the delightful ladies with whom I share a passion for patchwork!

At last, I have finished piecing the top of the magic squares quilt that was inspired by our bathroom flooring. The quilt top now measures 67″ square which is a little larger than I originally planned – it has been like Topsy – she just grew! I already have a large piece of 80/20 cotton/polyester wadding (batting for USA readers) and have ordered a Pale Blue King size flat sheet which I will use for the backing.

So now whilst I wait for the delivery I have made up a co-ordinating cushion. I have used some of the dark blue sashing fabric to make piping and the reverse of the cushion cover is calico with zip closure. I made the cover 18″ square but the only new pad I could find is 20″ so the cover is well-stuffed!

I have been stitching away with the quilt featured in my last post but it is taking some time. There are 200 strips of sashing and 100 cornerstones to be cut and stitched so that 81 blocks can be assembled to form the main part of the quilt, before adding the borders, quilting the whole and then the binding to finish.

By way of “light relief” I changed threads and needles today to make a couple of “crazy patchwork” items for a friend. The little scissors case is an old friend – I have lost count of how many I have made and the cosmetics zip-top bag is also a quick and simple project. I hope that my friend will be pleased with them.     Front view

Reverse view       

Cosmetics Purse

I know that I am supposed to be making the Hunstanton print cotton into a dress – but I got sidetracked. For a long time now I have been looking at the flooring of our bathroom and thinking that it is an ideal pattern for patchwork. Last year whilst on holiday in Cornwall I visited Butterfly Quilters in Kilkhampton and invested heavily in the purchase of lots of Blue-toned fabrics with a view to making up a quilt inspired by the bathroom floor! Well I have finally made a start. The basic design is of 3″ squares bordered with 1″ strips of striped fabric to make a 5″ square which is then joined to another 5″ square using the “magic” technique to produce a 6+1/4″ pieced block.  As the resulting block has 4 triangles at the outside, all with bias edges I have found it best to “tame” the blocks by using straight grain sashing and cornerstones. I have made up the 81 blocks, cut 200 pieces of sashing and 100 cornerstones so now just the time-consuming task of piecing all together before adding 2 borders which will complete the top of the quilt.

auditioning the completed blocks before adding sashing & cornerstones.