Tag Archive for 'my first quilt'

DOUBLE WEDDING RING UPDATE

Published on July 21, 2009 in patchwork, stitchery and the workroom. 11 Comments Tags: double wedding ring quilt, hand quilting, my first quilt, neptune, tula pink.

I took a look today and realized that I never posted my finished quilt top and quilt back for my Double Wedding Ring Quilt. I’m not sure how that happened. I love looking at this quilt, the colour combination still delights me. For the backing I used the submarine print from Tula Pink’s Neptune collection and then scrapped together the leftovers from the border and the rings.

It’s amazing how quilting projects can stretch out in time. When I started making this double wedding ring quilt, I thought I’d be done in no time. What on earth was I thinking? I was able to put the entire thing together and get it basted during the four week class. I was undecided about the quilting though. I machine quilted around the blocks and then debated if I should continue on the machine or try to hand quilt. I couldn’t decide, so I took a ‘break’ from the project instead.

In the meantime, I’ve been working on hand quilting my queen-sized quilt. Slowly. I am getting better, at least. My stitches are not perfect or even, but at least they are shorter. I’ve been experimenting with using the small little inbetween needles and I’m now using the smallest ones – size 12. In the beginning I did not understand the purpose of these teeny tiny needles, but now I’ve seen the difference in stitch length it can make.

The other night, I decided to figure out just how far along I was. When I realized that I was only about a third of the way done, I was slightly crushed. At this rate, it’s going to be a quite some time before i take my last stitch on this quilt.

Soooo.. I’m switching gears and bringing out my Double Wedding Ring quilt. When I took a look at it over the weekend, I realized that I could quite possibly hand quilt this in a relatively short time. (compared to a queen-sized) So, I’m going to do my very best to finish this quilt soon. (using my typical loose definition of ‘soon’)

PATCHWORK PILLOWCASES

Published on March 21, 2009 in local, patchwork, scraps and stitchery. 5 Comments Tags: Dwell, La Merceria, my first quilt, patchwork, pillowcases.

I’m doing well with my goal of working on more ‘house-related’ projects. I just finished these simple patchwork pillowcases. The patchwork strip is an off-cut from the queen sized quilt that I’m currently hand quilting. Since it will likely be quite a while since I actually finish the quilt, I thought a few pillowcases might motivate me to move faster. I can’t wait to get the finished and washed quilt on the bed! I can’t even imagine how satisfying that will feel.

The pillowcases are very simply done, with an envelope pillow-style opening at the back. I just copied the pillow cases from our new Dwell bedding. (bought at the cutest little shop – La Merceria). I’m planning on doing a duvet cover next but I just figured out that it will require about eleven metres of fabric. So, I’m going to need to do a bit of planning.

I’ve also got a couple window treatments in progress and I’ll post those once they are complete. With the nice weather approaching I’m trying to focus on doing these home projects before I get the itch to start making dresses again.

PREPARING TO HAND QUILT

Published on November 20, 2008 in patchwork, stitchery, the workroom and tools. 5 Comments Tags: hand quilting, my first quilt, q-snap frame, thread heaven, Valdani.

I have finally assembled all my ingredients for hand quilting. My thread arrived the other day – it’s a Valdani Hand Dyed Variegated cotton thread. The colour is called Silver Foam. I really love variegated threads. Why just have one thread colour, when you could have thread colour that changes as you sew? It’s way more fun.

Johanna recommended Thread Heaven which is a thread conditioner and protectant. Besides reducing hand fatigue and preventing tangling and fraying, it is acid free and perfect for machine or hand sewing. I have always used beeswax for coating thread and apparently this can have negative effects on both the thread and the piece you’re working on. Thread Heaven sounds dreamy and apparently is awesome for bookbinding, beading and embroidery too. I’ll report back with my review, but I’ve got it in the shop if you’re wanting to try it out yourself!

I’m also trying out a Q-Snap frame (17″ x 17″) for the first time. It’s a square frame that is really easy to assemble and won’t give you hoop wrinkles. I really like the square shape, especially since I’m hand quilting straight lines. I’ve also got a leather thimble, but may need to get a metal one instead. As for needles, I plan on trying the little short ‘in-betweens’ and regular needles and see what feels good to me. Considering how much time this part of the project is going to take me, surely I’m going to form some clear opinions to share with you shortly. I’ll take any hand quilting tips that you might want to share with me. I have no idea what I’m doing!

I just noticed that this my 101st post. What?! Wow, that kinda snuck up on me.

QUILT BASTING

Published on October 28, 2008 in patchwork and the workroom. 6 Comments Tags: basting, johanna masko, my first quilt, quilt sunday.

This weekend was Quilt Sunday and I had a mission to get my Queen-sized quilt basted. Of course, I enlisted the help of the workroom’s quilt master, Johanna. How lucky am I to have a quilt master to call upon in times like these?

Basting is the crucial step before proceeding to quilting all the layers of a quilt together. Basting a huge quilt is no easy task and my quilt was even larger than the workroom’s largest cutting table. We positioned the quilt back face up and with the sides edges on the table and the ends hanging off. The sides were taped down with masking tape to hold the backing taut. A large piece of cotton batting was laid on top and carefully smoothed out. The quilt top was layered next with the face up and then we started pinning. Curved basting pins are the best to use for this and we used a LOT of them. Over 950 curved basting pins placed approximately every four inches. The edges were thread basted, as a final step. Basting is important because it keeps the three layers (quilt top, batting, quilt back) from shifting as you do your quilting. I’m planning on hand quilting this mammoth quilt. I’m just going to be doing vertical lines of stitching, evenly spaced. Sounds easy enough. I have no idea how long that part will take me, but I’ll be reporting on my progress.

I have a couple fun projects on the go that are keeping me busy (busier than usual), but I’ll be done them soon and of course sharing them with you.

NOTES: I realize that not everyone out there is into quilting, so some of this talk can be confusing. Here are a few brief definitions if you’re trying to follow along:

PATCHWORK or PIECED WORK: Sewing together pieces of fabric into a larger design.

BASTING: Sewing with long loose stitches to hold material together. When basting a quilt, this is the step once you have all three layers of your quilt ready to put together. Basting can be done with thread, curved basting pins or a combination of both.

QUILTING: Sewing through two or more layers of material to attach them together, after you have basted them. This can be done on a sewing machine, longarm quilting system or by hand. The quilting can be done in a pattern or follow the patchwork lines.

THE QUILT BACK

Published on October 7, 2008 in colour, patchwork, scraps, stitchery and the workroom. 12 Comments Tags: my first quilt.

I’m so so pleased with how this pieced quilt back turned out. Not to mention impressed with how quickly I was able to sew it up. As you can see, it only vaguely resembles my initial schematic.

My goal was to use up scrap pieces of fabric from the quilt front, from other projects and from ends of bolts from the workroom. I also really wanted to include a few fabrics that I had collected over the years. The turquoise leaves on cream was an ebay purchase a couple years ago that I hoped would go into my first quilt. The dark grey Lecien fabric along the bottom was the only fabric that I got in quantity specifically for the back.

Using the schematic as my guide, I worked in sections, starting with the top right yellow block. Within each section I often had to piece several different fabrics together to make up the correct dimension that i needed. Mostly I let the fabric dictate where it would go. There was a definite feeling of synchronicity, as I laid the fabrics on the floor according to their size and colour.

Once I put together a section, I worked on the adjacent section and then attached the two sections together. I made a couple ‘mistakes’ by attaching sections before I meant to which lead to a different configuration. I also rotated one section ninety degrees because the fabric patches seemed to be too lined up in the centre of the quilt. I kept running halfway up the stairs to look at how it was coming together from above. The aerial view was very helpful. I would also go all the way upstairs for a minute and return to see how it looked as I was descending and the quilt was ‘revealed’. Ridiculous, I know, but do you know what I mean?

One of my favourite details is the mini patchwork stripe the runs across the bottom. This is made up of all my scrap cut offs from the quilt front blocks. I sewed the little pieced strips together into two very long strips which I trimmed and sewed to each other. I plan on doing a couple sets of pillow cases, also using this detail.

I guess this means I now have to baste this massive thing together. Oh geez. I’m going to hand quilt the entire thing, so it might be a while before you see it again in its entirety. Just know that I’ll be sitting in front of the tv over the fall happily stitching away.

QUILT BACK SCHEMATIC

Published on October 3, 2008 in patchwork, stitchery and the workroom. 5 Comments Tags: grey, my first quilt, quilt math, quilt sunday.

Quilt Sunday definitely got my engines revved for figuring out the back of my queen sized quilt. I had a vague idea of something ‘piecy’, using yellow as an accent to greys and grey blues. I drew a sketch and thought I would just be spontaneous and not calculate anything. When I took out my pile of fabrics to get going, I was overwhelmed and afraid.

Jacqueline has been planning her quilts on the computer and the thought of having some actual measurements to go by seemed very reassuring (and practical). I opened up Photoshop and created a file that was the size of my quilt (90″ x 108″). Then I started making boxes and shading them with the colour tones I’ve been thinking of. Once I was happy with the look, I checked to see what the final size of each box was and ‘voila’! some simple quilt math was accomplished without injury.

You’ll notice that the design is very loosely based on a log cabin block. I really love the look of the log cabin and one day I hope to do a whole log cabin quilt. One day very far away from now.

I’m going to try not to fret too much more about the details, the fabrics or the design and just whip it up as quickly as possible. I think there’s something to be said for being spontaneous in quilting. Though that might seem impossible when working on a project of such magnitude and time.

THE QUILT TOP

Published on September 24, 2008 in patchwork, stitchery, textiles and the workroom. 7 Comments Tags: claire, field guided, my first quilt, quilt sunday.

Something very exciting seems to be happening out there, I can feel it in the air … people are wanting to quilt. As a ‘quilt shop’ owner, this is especially exciting. Mostly because from my vantage point I can witness the birth of these creations from the first selections of fabric. Then weeks, months later I get to see the amazing finished results.

I am far from being a quilter myself. I have yet to complete one quilt. Perhaps this seems a bit crazy to you, but when I was planning the workroom, I was planning a place where I could teach you the things that I know and where you would teach me the things that you know. I have known for a long time that quilting was something that I wanted to learn and I hoped it was something that you wanted to learn too.

Claire has been talking about starting her next quilt. Her blue and white quilt was a joy to watch come together. Anabela is planning her first quilt as a wedding gift and picking out fabrics and a pattern. Quilt Sunday is coming up this weekend and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s work in progress and new projects.

With all this, I suddenly realized that I actually finished my queen-sized quilt top during the summer, but forgot about it! I pulled it out this morning, ironed it and took some photographs. I love the way it turned out. It’s so fun to see how all the blocks that I spent so long agonizing over came together. Now that quilting season seems to be starting up, I’m going to get going on doing a simple pieced back. I’d like to spend the winter hand quilting this while I watch Gossip Girl. (and I’d like to start working on another quilt, of course.)

THE BLOCK

Published on June 27, 2008 in patchwork, stitchery and textiles. 3 Comments Tags: block, breakfast, cross stitch, fabric, key lime pie, lecien, lorelei, my first quilt, my folklore, purl soho.

Trimmed Quilt Block, originally uploaded by the workroom.

My quilt top is now completely pieced together. I can hardly believe it. Since this is my first quilt, I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself to make it absolutely perfect. This personal pressure definitely accounts for the fact that it took me 5+ years to collect all the ‘right’ fabrics for it.

You’ve already met Lorelei (the centre piece blue floral), now you can meet all the other fabrics. The fabrics that started it all and set the tone for the colour palette are the first three from right to left. These fabrics were designed by my dear friend Angela for a bedding line that didn’t end up going into production. I snatched up all the sheet samples after the market show was over. The fabrics are yarn dyed, meaning that the yarns were dyed beforehand and then woven together. That stripe is not printed, it’s woven. Even the two solids have multiple coloured threads woven in which really adds another dimension. Besides being designed by a close friend, this fabric doesn’t exist anywhere else, except for in this quilt. How cool is that?

The dark brown fabric was a purchase from the legendary Purl Soho. It’s hard to see, but there is a very subtle cross stitch print with the alphabet going through it.

The last fabric is from the My Folklore collection by Lecien. I found this fabric in the very first order I received for the shop. It was last summer when the boxes of fabric arrived at my house. (I hadn’t even secured a space yet) I couldn’t resist opening up the packages and checking out the fabrics I had chosen. It was even better than Christmas. When I saw that brown floral on blue, I ran to my room and got out my bag of collected quilt fabrics. Yes! This was the final fabric I had been waiting for.

Stay tuned for a look at all the blocks together.

p.s. I had key lime pie for breakfast today. I thought somebody should know that.

MEET "LORELEI"

Published on June 24, 2008 in i heart, patchwork and textiles. 9 Comments Tags: Denyse Schmidt, ebay, fabric, lorelei, my first quilt, NYC, selvedge, Takashimaya, Tom Tom Club.

‘Lorelei’, originally uploaded by the workroom.

This is Lorelei. She is the centre piece fabric in an epic Queen-sized quilt that has been ‘in the works’ for over five years. It is also my first quilt. Now that I’ve got my own quilt and fabric shop, I think it’s time to push this project back to the front of the line.

I first took notice of quilting years and years ago at ICFF in NYC when I saw Denyse Schmidt’s quilts for the very first time. It was one of those moments when a whole new world opens up before you and swallows you whole. I started collecting fabrics for a quilt that is inspired by a couture quilt that Denyse did for the amazing store Takashimaya made from vintage Kimonos. I collected fabrics for this quilt until last summer when I finally found the last fabric to complete the collection… for the quilt top. I’ll fill you in on the quilt back fabrics later on.

Lorelei is a vintage cotton print that I bought off of ebay. Everything about it is perfect. The name, which also happens to be the name of one of my favourite songs by the Tom Tom Club. -love!- The typewriter font notes on the selvedge, which also read “Never Misbehaves”. -love!- The colours and the off-set printing of that sweet floral. -love!-

I’ll be introducing you to all the other fabrics of this quilt in the next little while. I hope you love fabric as much as I do.