EPP coat finish

Hi All

In July (winter here) my MiL requested a colourful patchwork jacket, I told her she could have one for Christmas as it would take a while to make, of course I decided to make it using the English Paper Piecing hand piecing method.

The request was for lots of colour and no black or white - well it's definitely colourful, but there is some black and white and I don't think that that hurts at all.

I started this back in September and have been slowly stitching it since then and am really happy with the way it has turned out - bonus, the MiL liked it too!

Lots of pictures to follow showing some of the details

I know the sleeves look short, here in Qld Australia the winters aren't too cold and when I asked how long she wanted the sleeves she indicated elbow length - this was a compromise!

I used the Simplicity 8298 pattern and just ensured that I created sections that were big enough to cut the pieces out of one at a time.

I didn't even consider matching the hexies when cutting the pieces, happily the front looks good with the hexies sitting at the same height, the back doesn't look quite so good, but definitely something to consider next time!

I enjoyed making this and would certainly consider making another - but maybe not with EPP ;)

Thanks for popping by
Vicki

Irregular Patchwork Quilt Finish

Welcome,

I have to start by saying I love this quilt and really wanted to keep it, though it looks like I will just have to make one for myself.

Prepare yourself for lots of photos!

I have considered making a quilt with embroidered sections for a long time to mix my passion for both

I actually started making this in January 2018 for a friend, but as we approached the middle of the year and her birthday I realised it wouldn't be completed and instead made the irregular patchwork cushion as a gift which matches this quilt

The quilt then got put away and resurfaced in January 2019

Working on this quilt the  ramped up as her 50th birthday was in May of this year

A lot of the embroidery was inspired by the fabrics that I was using  but others  represent parts of my friend

This quilt represents
- who she is with worsds such as friend, daughter, sister etc
- her dog with paw prints
- her awesome handbag collection with a selection of bags
- our shared love of visiting prize homes with a little house
- her new home with the postcode

I started by creating 6 blocks and embroidering in all of the white squares in these

I then started creating sections to join the bloacks and to increase the size of the quilt

It was at this stage as her birthday was drawing nearer that I thought I may have bitten off more than I could chew

In the last 6 weeks I had this quilt in my hands at every spare minute and there were a lot of late nights and early mornings

I finished the quilt off with hand quilting to match the cushion I had given her last year

I didn't feel that I could machine quilt it after spending so much time on it, besides, it had to match the cushion she already had!

Each finished small square in the quilt measures 1.5 inches

The quilt finished at 61.5 x 63 inches, the perfect size for snuggling up under

Many hours of work went into this and it would have to be the quilt I am most proud of

I work a little feehand, so I literally drew each pattern straight onto the quilt block with a fabric pen and then embroidered them with colours to match the fabrics

I backed the quilt with a variety of fabrics from the same fabric line as the fabric used on the front

I bound it with a simple baby pink binding

And of course I finished it with a hand stitched label - these are actually on the front of the quilt

I am glsd to say that my friend loved it and it was only 2 weeks late for her birthday!

Thanks for popping by
Vicki

Baby Half Square Triangle Diamond Quilt - A Finished Quilt

Welcome

A friend asked me to make a quilt for a baby shower that she was going to for a baby boy. I had free reign, but didn't want to make a quilt that was too baby-ish.

I chose to work with half square triangles and chose shades of blue, teal and green pairing a light with a dark fabric.

I also chose some fabrics that I thought a boy would like, this includes, lady bugs, scooters, fox and a boy riding a paper airplane.

Each square finishes at 4 x 4 inches which makes this quilt 54 inch square - a little bigger than planned, but I'm happy with it.

I quilted it with straight lines, triangles within the 'dark' triangles and a square spiral in the centre.

Start to finish in 2 and a half weeks - the quickest for me so far!

Hubby hand delivered the quilt for me and I'm glad to say that it was well received - always a relief!

Quilt stats:
- 12 rows x 12 rows of half square trinangle blocks

- 144 x 4.5 inch finished blocks

- 54 x 54 inch finished quilt

Thanks for popping by
Vicki

Mine & Yours pillowcases - a finished project

My mum and dad have just had their birthdays & I just had to sew them something. 

Yours - Mine Pillowcases

Now, I've been down the quilt path before. I sent mum an EPP hexagon quilt as a gift from Australia to England. Due to the value I put on the customs form (for insurance purposes I didn't simply put the value of the fabrics as it had hours and hours of hand work in it) this meant that they had to pay additional taxes at the other end.  So, a lesson learned, don't send them quilts!

Mine Pillowcase

I did want to make them something, so I opted for pillowcases. My dad, like most, enjoys his 'dad's jokes' so this mine and yours pair seemed perfect, I can see the conversation now!

Dad's Joke!!

I tried using the porthole method for the lettering but ended up in a big mess so I opted for this simple reverse applique instead.

Yours Pillowcase close up

Each pillowcase has been densely quilted using over 800m of thread and taking many hours to complete.  

Quilting close up on Yours Pillowcase

I have used a number of free motion quilting motifs in them and each has a heart quilted into it ♡, can you see them?

Quilting close up on Mine Pillowcase

As usual I backed the quilted front with muslin and constructed the pillowcases with French seams - nothing left exposed.

Close up of seams INSIDE the pillowcase

And each is finished with one of my new labels.

Label on Pillowcase

I love these. They look so simple, and yet the texture up close is amazing and I'm sure that they will soften with each wash.

Mine & Yours pillowcases

These are now at home with my mum and dad - Happy Birthday to you both ♡

Thank you for popping by,
Vicki

Christmas Pillowcases

Hello and Welcome

For Christmas I made pillowcases for some friends.  I would quite happily have kept these for myself had I not made them specially for these lovely ladies.

Each pillowcase is very different and I used some new-to-me techniques, and I love how they turned out!

Beware, this is going to be a long post ... I want to share as much as possible of these pillowcases.

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Dream Low Volume Patchwork Pillowcase

Dream Low Volume Patchwork Pillowcase

The first is a simple patchwork with some embroidery.  This was chosen for M as she already has a gorgeous handmade quilt on her bed and I didn't want to try and coordinate and have it clash. 

To make the patchwork as low volume as possible, it's quite likely I committed a quilting crime - I actually used the reverse (wrong) side of the majority of fabrics.

Dream Low Volume Patchwork Pillowcase

I kept the quilting and embroidery as simple as possible so enable the pillowcase to work with the gorgeous quilt that M made rather than compete with it.  The quilting is a simple cross hatch working diagonally through the 2 inch finished squares.

I love how this turned out.  I've wanted to create a low volume quilt for my bed but wasn't happy with the fabrics I was pulling - now I know how great it can look I will definitely be putting it back on my to do list!

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Triple Porthole Dragonfly Pillowcase

Triple Porthole Dragonfly Pillowcase

The second pillowcase for B was chosen because I knew that another friend is making a quilt made of predominantly purples with some teal, having not seen the fabrics I wanted to make choices that would coordinate.  I also know that she loves dragonflies, so this fabric was a no brainer.

Porthole close up

Porthole 2 Close up

The pillowcase was inspired by this gorgeous quilt by Lu Summers, I followed the basic tutorial that can be found here. I absolutely love how this turned out and will definitely see a quilt using this technique in my future.

I echo quilted around the circles with my walking foot, I love the texture this gives.

Triple Porthole zip detail

I added a zip to this one rather than the usual flap closure as I envisage B leaving this out during the day on her sofa and I wanted it to look like a cushion too!

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Teal Impracticality Pillowcase

Teal Impracticality Pillowcase

I love how this pillowcase for J turned out.  I used the impracticality tecqnique outlined by Angela Walters here.  This is the first time I have done anything remotely improvisational and I loved the process, though it did use a LOT of fabric.

Teal Impracticality Pillowcase - quilting detail

The texture from this technique is amazing, especially towards the centre where the pieces are all very small.

Teal Impracticality Pillowcase - quilting detail

 I free motion quilted this pillowcase.  I began by doing pebbles (circles) in some of the triangular rings in matching threads leaving some unquilted to add to the amazing texture.

Teal Impracticality Pillowcase - quilting detail

Once I got to the larger 'open' area I quilted spirals and pebbles. In the green band I quilted a loop-de-loop. I love this, the colours are amazing and the texture, believe me you need to touch it to believe it!

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I finished these pillowcases Tuesday morning, just in time for lunch with these lovely ladies, I'm glad to say that they liked their gifts ... and their gift to me - sewing supplies, so you'll be seeing pin cushions and a bag in the near future!

I have linked this to Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday and
 

Thank you for popping by,
Vicki