Author Archives: skalabara

april cushion covers – part 1

April is here with typical April weather – sun, rain, wind, storm, thunder. You choose, we had it. Temperatures are like on a carrousel ride, going up and down. Luckily, I didn’t have time to swap my winter and summer clothing; I am still using my winter jackets. But this unpredictable weather gives more time to stick to the sewing machine. Here my makes from the last weekend:

april cushions 3 - skalabara quilts

I have pieced the turquoise cushion cover with fabric rests from the turquoise quilt I am making for my Mum. I have used the scraps to make 9 individual squares, each square cut to 4,5″.

april turquoise cushion 1 - skalabara quilts

The solid color fabric for the sashing is Kona Ash, one of my favourites at the moment. The hue is something between grey and beige, an ideal neutral shade for quilts.

april turquoise cushion detail - skalabara quilts

I have quilted the turquoise cushion cover using the walking foot. With a straight extra wide zigzag stich on my Bernina.

The other two cushion covers are with bright warm hues, all Kona solids. The colors are : Grellow – yellow, Kumquat – orange, Medium Pink, Bright Pink and Cerise – dark red.

april pinkie cushions 1 - skalabara quilts

Both cushion covers have the same stripe blocks, each 5″ square. I have cut from each colour fabric 6 rectangle pieces 1,5″ x 5,5″. The background fabric is Kona Ash.

april pinkie cushions 3 - skalabara quilts

To quilt both cushion covers, I have used the walking foot and straight stitches. One cover has stitches in vertical and horizontal, the other one has stitches on the diagonal.

  • april pinkie cushions detail 1 - skalabara quilts
  • april pinkie cushions detail 2 - skalabara quilt

For the backing, I have selected a colorful pattern fabric from my stash. The cushion cover backing is with an envelope closure and double fabric. Colorful pattern fabric on the exterior and calico from IKEA on the interior.

  • april pinkie cushions backing 2 - skalabara quilts
  • april pinkie cushions backing 1 - skalabara quilts

This was a fun project for a rainy weekend. I have some more cushion covers on my working table that are nearly finished. Stay tuned to my next post with some newly finished projects!

april cushions 5 - skalabara quilts
april turquoise cushion backing - skalabara quilts
april cushions 2 - skalabara quilts

Turquoise cushion cover : 16″ x 16″

2 stripe blocks cushion cover : 14″ x 14″

4 stripe blocks cushion cover : 13″ x 13″

Wadding : Natur Bamboo Blend by Rosello – 50/50 bamboo cotton blend

Quilting thread : Mettler Silk Finish Cotton 50 – color 0412

  • april pinkie cushions 1 - skalabara quilts
  • april pinkie cushions 2 - skalabara quilts
flower small skalabara quilts

barbora

blakely baby quilt

I have been working on a quilt for my Mum, all in turquoise – green – blue hues and I need to make some minor projects in between. This time it is a baby quilt in black – grey – white tones. Pattern is Blakely Quilt by Meghan Buchanan from Then Came June.

blakely quilt 1 - skalabara quilts

The pattern is easy to follow. It perfectly explained all cutting and piecing steps. Meghan has on her website diverse color combinations of her Blakely quilt pattern. I have opted to make the baby one and I have used fabrics from my stash.

blakely quilt 7 - skalabara quilts
blakely quilt 5 - skalabara quilts

For the baby quilt backing, I have used a bedsheet from IKEA with a paisley pattern. The colours mirror exactly all the fabrics used in this quilt.

blakely quilt backing - skalabara quilts
blakely quilt 8 - skalabara quilts

The quilt was a nice weekend project and the strip piecing went quick. The blocks are a good size – 13″ square finished. It was a matter of afternoon sitting at the sewing machine to finish the top.

blakely quilt 6 - skalabara quilts

I have quilted this baby project using the walking foot with a large zigzag stitch. Quilting thread used is Silk Finish Cotton in 40 from Amann Group Mettler in color 0331 light grey. I used to buy these threads in Prague. But because of the pandemic, I cannot travel. But now my Bernina representative is an official retailer of all Mettler threads and I can buy them locally.

  • blakely quilt detail 2 - skalabara quilts
  • blakely quilt detail 3 - skalabara quilts
  • blakely quilt detail 1 - skalabara quilts

For the quilt binding I have opted to use a yellow shade – Grellow Kona solid. This makes the baby quilt gender neutral.

blakely quilt binding 2 - skalabara quilts
blakely quilt binding 1 - skalabara quilts
blakely quilt 3 - skalabara quilts

Baby quilt size : 41″ x 41″ / Block size : 13″ x 13″

Wadding : Natur Bamboo Blend by Rosello – 50/50 bamboo cotton blend

Quilting thread : Mettler Silk Finish Cotton 40 – color 0331

flower small skalabara quilts

Happy Easter and stay safe!

barbora

baby quilt and matching cushion covers

This week I would like to show you a colourful baby quilt and matching cushion covers. The pattern is Campfire Glow Quilt by Meghan from Then Came June.

21 Q campfire glow 3 - skalabara quilts

I really liked the simplicity of the pattern. A super combination of nine patch blocks and sawtooth star blocks. How come I didn’t get this idea?

21 Q campfire glow 1 - skalabara quilts

The nine patch blocks are strip pieced and are quick to make. As I had some “leftover” blocks, I made two matching cushion covers.

21 CU campfire glow 1 - skalabara quilts

All three pieces were fun to make. Only working with these colours, summer comes into the house! All fabrics are Robert Kaufman from the collection Kona Solids.

21 Q campfire glow 2 - skalabara quilts

I have used the following Kona Solids : Medium Pink with Ash Grey, Bright Pink with Pewter Grey, Kumquat Orange with Grellow Yellow.

21 Q campfire glow backing 3 - skalabara quilts

Backing fabric is a duvet cover from IKEA. Used on both the quilt and cushion covers. The cushion covers have an envelope closure with a double layer of fabric : the flower pattern on top and calico on the interior.

21 Q campfire glow 4 - skalabara quilts
21 CU campfire glow 7 - skalabara quilts

I have quilted all three pieces in straight lines with the walking foot. The cushion covers only in one diagonal direction with dense stitching. And the baby quilt has stitches in both diagonal directions, but is not as dense as the cushion covers.

21 Q campfire glow detail 3 - skalabara quilts
21 Q campfire glow detail 2 - skalabara quilts

For quilting, I have used a stitch length of 4 mm. Quilting thread for the cushion covers is Superior Threads King Tut 40/3 cotton in color 962 – a grey variegated thread. The quilting thread for the baby quilt is my favourite from Amann Group Mettler Silk Finish Cotton in 40 weight and color 0331 light grey.

21 Q campfire glow binding 2 - skalabara quilts

For the binding I have selected the Kona Solid in Bright Pink. It is such a happy and bright color!

21 Q campfire glow binding 1 - skalabara quilts

And here two captures of the quilt sandwich with all the safety pins.

21 Q campfire glow pinning 2 - skalabara quilts
21 Q campfire glow pinning 1 - skalabara quilts

These pieces are going to the dog rescue center where I got Dotti. Also, both the Summer Sampler 2019 and the 2020 went to the rescue center as donations.

  • 21 CU campfire glow 4 - skalabara quilts
  • 21 CU campfire glow 6 - skalabara quilts
  • 21 CU campfire glow 3 - skalabara quilts
21 Q campfire glow 6 - skalabara quilts

Baby quilt size : 54″ x 42″ / Block size : 6 x 6″

Cushion cover size : 18″ x 18″ / Block size : 6″ x 6″

Wadding : Natur Bamboo Blend by Rosello – 50/50 bamboo cotton blend

Quilting thread for baby quilt : Mettler Silk Finish Cotton 40 – color 0331

Quilting thread for cushion covers : Superior King Tut Cotton 40/3 – color 962

flower small skalabara quilts

Happy quilting and stay safe!

barbora

summer sampler 2020 quilt

The next quilt finished : Summer Sampler 2020! After the quilting series Summer Sampler 2019, I have also made the 2020 version. But with some changes. Instead of making only 16 blocks, I have opted for a similar version of the 2019 Summer Sampler and made 20 blocks.

21 summer sampler 2020 1 - skalabara quilts

The layout is 4 x 5 blocks with sashing and corner stones. All blocks are 12″ finished and sewn with different patchwork techniques. Like foundation paper piecing, sewing curves or half-square triangles. This time an easy piecing quilt along with some fabulous blocks designs.

21 summer sampler 2020 4 - skalabara quilts

I have added two inch wide strips between the blocks. The corner stone units with square in square block – are also two inches finished size. For the interior squares I have used all solids as in the quilt, mostly Kona solids.

Backing is a bedding sheet from IKEA with a paisley pattern in white/grey/black colors.

summer sampler 2020 backing - skalabara quilts

I have quilted the Summer Sampler 2020 with a wavy stich pattern using the walking foot quilting. Quilting thread is from Aurifil – Mako 40/2 – color 2600 Dove.

  • 21 summer sampler 2020 detail 4 - skalabara quilts
  • 21 summer sampler 2020 detail 3 - skalabara quilts
  • 21 summer sampler 2020 detail 2 - skalabara quilts
  • 21 summer sampler 2020 detail 6 - skalabara quilts
  • 21 summer sampler 2020 backing 3 - skalabara quilts
  • 21 summer sampler 2020 detail 5 - skalabara quilts

For the binding I have used all solid fabrics in the quilt, changing color shade all 20″.

summer sampler 2019
21 summer sampler 2020 2 - skalabara quilts
21 summer sampler 2020 3 - skalabara quilts

Summer Sampler 2020 Quilt size :  58″ x 72″ / Block size : 12″ x 12″

Wadding : Natur Bamboo Blend by Rosello – 50/50 bamboo cotton blend

Quilting thread : Aurifil Mako NE 40/2 – color 2600 Dove

flower small skalabara quilts

Happy quilting and have a good time until next blog post !

barbora

quilted cushion cover for alice

My friend Alice asked me a few weeks ago, if I could make here a quilted cushion cover for her favorite armchair at home. She liked the quilted cushion covers I have made for our lounge sofa. So the cushion design was a straightforward decision.

21 CU for alice side 1-2 - skalabara quilts

I have opted to use Kona solids in Dove and Pewter for the basic hourglass blocks. Alice also wanted some bright colors added to the neutral shades. For this I have used fabric from my stock in a burgundy, fuchsia, pink, orange and yellow shades.

21 CU for alice side 2-2 - skalabara quilts

Alice can use the cushion cover can on both sides. One side has only hourglass blocks – finished size of a unit is 3″ square. The other side has the smaller hourglass blocks – finished size is 2,5″ square. To this I have added a 0,5” wide border in burgundy, before finishing the cushion cover with the light grey fabric.

21 CU for alice side 1 detail - skalabara quilts

Quilted with my new favourite thread from Amman Mettler Silk Finish in cotton 40, color 0331. I have used the walking foot and stitch length 4,0 for straight quilting in diagonal. The meeting point of both sides.

21 CU for alice 2 sides - skalabara quilts

I have added a zipper to the bottom of the cushion cover.

21 CU for alice zipper 2 - skalabara quilts

Cushion cover size : 15″ x 15″

21 CU for alice side 1-1 - skalabara quilts

And the last photo is with Dotti, our new doggie.

21 CU for alice with dotti - skalabara quilts

Happy quilting, enjoy life and stay safe!

barbora flower small skalabara quilts