Category Archives: stash

working on cushion covers

As I am heading for Prague this Thursday I didn’t want to start a bigger project – like quilting the levitating jewel box quilt or starting the twin levitating jewel box quilt. Instead I decided to work on some cushion covers for the lounge – you can never have enough. One is made with EPP hexies and the other is with hst.

My first EPP hexie project : using an idea of a modern hexie cushion cover on German Bernina site. The explanation is straight forward and I am very happy with the result.

hexie cushion cover 2 - skalabara quilts

At the moment I have just quilted the top, thinking about a design for the back. As I add the zipper closure to the bottom, I piece both sides of the cushion covers with a nice pattern.

hexie cushion cover detail - skalabara quilts

The cushion cover size is 20″ x 20″ and I have used fabrics from my Kaffe Fassett stash box. I always like to work with them, the fabrics are so colourful, cheerful and happy.

hexie cushion cover 1 - skalabara quilts

The background fabric is Kona solid in eggshell, nearly the same colour as the backing. For the back of the cushion cover quilt sandwich I always use BOMULL unbleached fabric from IKEA, perfect price and quality balance.

hexie cushion cover back 1 - skalabara quilts

hexie cushion cover back 2 - skalabara quilts

The second cushion cover I have made was inspired by Saija from Pomada,  pop over to see her beautiful quilts!

hst cushion cover 1 - skalabara quilts

Once more I have used fabrics from my Kaffe Fassett stash box and the Kona solid in eggshell. Finished size is 18″ x 24″, each finished hst unit is 3″.  I want to make the same design for the back side, maybe piece the hst’s a bit larger – like a test size for a possible quilt throw.

hst cushion cover 3 - skalabara quilts

Both cushion covers are quilted using the walking foot in straight lines following the design. I have used Aurifil mako thread 40/2 in light sand, colour 2000.

hst cushion cover 2 - skalabara quilts

And from the back :

hst cushion cover back 1 - skalabara quilts

hst cushion cover back 2 - skalabara quilts

And both cushion cover tops :

hst and hexie cushion cover 1 - skalabara quilts

hst and hexie cushion cover 2 - skalabara quilts

This is all for this time, happy quilting!

barbora  flower small skalabara quilts

 

 

liberty london fabric fat quarters

When I held the first tana lawn cotton fabrics in my hand I knew I wanted more! The fabric is so soft but strong, has wonderful designs and colours. I decided to order more at Alice Caroline – the online shop offers a very good Liberty fabric selection and excellent service.

liberty london fabric fat quarters - skalabara quilts

Since some time I was thinking of making two new quilts for the summer. So the first selection ist done – I have now 33 different Liberty London fabrics in fat or long quarters. The next part was to select a matching background fabric. I want to repeat the pattern on both quilts but just change the background colour.

liberty london fabric fq lemon 210 - skalabara quilts

liberty london fabric fq lemon 210 – skalabara quilts

My first choice is Kona solid in silver for one quilt. For the second quilt I wanted to use Kona solid mustard. But mustard would “eat” the pretty yellow Liberty patterns. Since I have started using Kona solids, I have made a sample chart with fabric colours and names. I picked out of this chart eggshell – it is not white, not yellow, not beige. And it is a same soft shade as the Kona solid in silver and both colors match nicely together.

liberty london fabric fq rachel collection - skalabara quilts

liberty london fabric fq rachel collection – skalabara quilts

liberty london fabric fq violet & rosa classics 40th 942 - skalabara quilts

liberty london fabric fq violet & rosa classics 40th 942 – skalabara quilts

liberty london fabric fq primary classics 40th 940 - skalabara quilts

liberty london fabric fq primary classics 40th 940 – skalabara quilts

 Next time some photos of the quilt top progress! Happy quilting,

barbora flower small skalabara quilts

trip around the world quilt

I have always wanted to make a Trip Around the World quilt. This summer was the right time start with this project. As I am aiming to use my stash that I have bought over the years, I got out my fabrics and started cutting strips of 2,5″ x 16″. My idea was to make 24 blocks, each block is 12″ x 12″ finished size and has 36 squares.

trip around the world quilt - skalabara quilts

A tutorial for Trip Around the World quilt can be found here and here and here – with fabric requirements and colouring page download sheet. Here some quilt inspirations. I have decided to combine the design with an Irish Chain quilt pattern and I have chosen a yellow solid fabric for the diagonal squares of each block.

trip around the world detail 2 - skalabara quilts

I have used for the first time Aurifil Mako 40/2 quilting thread in Light Sand. Really good quality thread, definitely will be my choice for the future. I have quilted this quilt using the walking foot in straight lines on the diagonal.

trip around the world detail 1 - skalabara quilts

The backing of this Trip Around the World quilt is pieced with three different fabrics : a pattern one that I have bought as backing fabric and two Kona solids from my stash.

trip around the world quilt back - skalabara quilts

This time the choice of binding fabric was easy : I have used all the cut offs from the quilt backing that I have cut in approx 22″ long strips and pieced together interchanging the fabrics.

trip around the world quilt binding - skalabara quilts

One more photo of the folded quilt :

trip around the world folded quilt - skalabara quilts

Quilt details :

quilt size : 48″ x 72″

block size : 12″ x 12″ finished, layout of 4 x 6 blocks = 24 blocks = 864 squares

quilting thread : Aurifil Mako 40/2 colour 2000 Light Sand

wadding : Warm & White by Warm Company / 87,5% cotton – 12,5% polypropylene

 

Thanks for visiting, happy quilting, barbora  flower small skalabara quilts

curved log cabin block and new stash

New stash is always exciting : these fabrics are from my friend Kate. She visited in Las Vegas not only shows, but also a few quilting shops. It is a perfect collection of blenders and patterns in bright hues.

stash 1606 - skalabara quilts

 

The colors come together really nicely and it is a great addition to my stash.

 

new stash = new idea = new project

The other day I was on the internet looking what other fellow quilters are up to and I came across a curved log cabin block. Log cabin is always a versatile block with different quilt layout possibilities. But the curved log cabin block makes a nice optical illusion – it looks more like a circle than a square block. I just had to try this new variant of the classical block. What better could I do with the new fabrics I got!

17 different fabrics + white background + yellow binding later :

curved log cabin 8 1 - skalabara quilts

 

The result is a mini quilt measuring 19″ x 19″ with 4 curved log cabin blocks. This block type is ideal for a QAYG (quilt as you go) pattern, but the block should be larger, lets say at least 24″ square. This size is good for a cushion cover or for a throw. I have a few ladies attending my classes that prefer to work on larger, individual blocks and piece them first together when all blocks are quilted. I am starting to be an expert on QAYG patterns. At the moment I am revising my scribbles and feeding the computer with all the QAYG patterns I have written down in my paper notebook.

curved log cabin 8 3 - skalabara quilts

 

I shall keep this mini quilt, that I have free-motion quilted with a loop pattern, as a sample for patchwork and quilting classes. Over the last few months I have started preparing different patchwork blocks and quilting samples to show to my patchwork and quilting pupils.

For the next block I have pieced, I added one more strip. Piecing four blocks together and adding an outer border makes the block 21″ square.

curved log cabin 10 2 - skalabara quilts

 

Here a detail (trying to take a nice pic on a windy day)

curved log cabin 10 detail - skalabara quilts

 

The block is now larger, but still not big enough for a QAYG pattern. I added one more strip and this brings the block including the outer border to a size of 26″ x 26″; i.e. the quilt size is 78″ x 78″ when making 9 blocks.

curved log cabin QAYG block

 

More details on the curved log cabin QAYG project coming soon!

barbora  flower small skalabara quilts

small fancy forest quilt

When I first saw the Fancy Forest quilt from Elizabeth Hartmann I knew it was the right project for a wall hanging to decorate the spare bedroom. First I got the Hazel Hedgehog pattern and made pillow covers for kids in the family. At the Prague Patchwork Meeting I finally found a fabric collection that was the right one to start with the Fancy Forest quilt. The pattern is written very clearly, it is easy to follow. Precise cutting and precise piecing with a 1/4″ allowance is a must. It was fun work and finally I pieced all the blocks needed for the small version of the pattern. I have added the sashing and the quilt is now prepared for quilting.

fancy forest quilt - skalabara

Here details of the individual blocks :

fancy forest quilt 2 - skalabara

fancy forest quilt 3 - skalabara

fancy forest quilt 4 - skalabara

I wasn’t very precise with cutting and piecing with the upper firefly block and it turned out that it was a 1/4 inch narrower than it was supposed to be. I had to make a new one and changed the colors. I shall make a place mat with this one.

ff frances firefly thread

Now it is time to select a backing, make a sandwich and start quilting! A good project for the next week (or maybe weeks).

You are welcome to leave a comment, I appreciate it! Thanks for stopping by and have a good start into the new week,

barboraflower small skalabara quilts