my first quilt in 2014

Feb4

The almond trees have started to show their pretty white flowers. This means that spring is not far away. We can still have some cold nights in February, but the sun rays are getting stronger even in the morning hours.

So – I have finished my very first quilt in 2014 and it is called “Picnic with Bella”! This one is staying at home and is for my hubby Helmut for his everyday siesta on the sofa. I am planning to make a few matching pillow covers with the fabric rests.

The fabric I have used is from the “Bella” collection by Lotta Jansdotter for Windham Fabrics. It came out at least a year ago, but I never had time to make a quilt. I have made another quilt with an earlier collection by Lotta Jansdotter : Abstract Dreams. I like her fabric designs and her color choice – modern, bright and fresh. There is a new collection arriving soon “Mormor” – you check it here at Hawthorne Threads.

A few weeks ago I have received a parcel from the UK from Cottonpatch with a new (for me) wadding type : Quilters Dream Cotton in Select. This is a mid loft thickness and it was wonderful to quilt. It is not too thick, but very soft and smooth. I think this will be my favorite wadding (or batting?) for my future quilts.

Quilt size : 54″ x 84″ / 137 x 213 cm – Finished block size : 6″ x 6″, one block with 4 half-square triangle units and the other block with log cabin units with mitered corners.

Free-motion quilted with meanders using Gütermann Sulky machine quilting thread in light grey, #1328.

I was so happy to find the fabric for the binding in my local shop Kate’s Craft and Quilting – a yellowish-green from Moda Fabrics that matches exactly with the Bella colors.

This all for the moment, thanks for stopping and looking forward to read your cheerful comments! Have a great week, Barbora

quilting is on hold

Jan12

Since my last post I have pieced units and blocks for my new quilt. I was happy with the progress, but suddenly a change of priorities occurred. My Xmas present came with a delay (and I am not so sure if it is a Xmas gift or not) : a brand new apple computer! So first I have to stuff it with all my files, get used to the new programs and only then I can start my piecing and quilting routine. Here a small preview of the blocks : #1 is all pieced and #2 is at the moment on hold.

And a self-portrait with the dog :

Have a nice week and “see” you soon, Barbora

pillow covers and fmq

Dec3

The last few weeks were very quiet – both sewing wise as well as blogging wise. Even though I have received new fabrics, I didn’t really do a lot. I was preparing some patterns especially for lady-pupils that come to my open classes, taking in account all their quilt design wishes. Nevertheless I made these 2 pillow covers with the Swoon block pattern:

I have used all the rests from swoon blocks I have found and pieced another 3 pillow covers. All pieces are free motion quilted with meanders. Practice is the best teacher!

Pinwheels and broken dishes blocks in orange.

Thanks for visiting and till next time, happy quilting, Barbora

a new stash and this time from organic cotton

Oct31

Over the weekend I did some online “window” shopping for new stash. I was looking for fabric shops, preferably in Europe, that also stock organic cotton. I don’t know how, but I finally found Eclectic Maker in the UK. They have a range of fabrics from Birch Organic Fabrics and Cloud9 Fabrics. Plus many others. Anyway, I got a pack from Cloud9 – In the Forrest by Steffie Brocoli. Ordered on Saturday and received today per mail, perfectly packed and the fat quarters were nicely folded into neat squares. Very professional. So maybe you, my readers, have a spare minute to check the Eclectic Maker !

And not only they have a nice website, but they also stock Kaffe Fassett fabrics – my favorite designer at the moment. So I couldn’t resist and got these two pieces in red and rust.

In 2 days time I am on my way to Mum. Hopefully the weather is not too cold in Prague. We had some rain and thunderstorms here on Tuesday, the temperature dropped significantly and I had to get out some sweaters with long sleeves.

Thanks for stopping, happy Halloween

Barbora

butterfly, thread and fmq

Oct27

There was no spectacular sunrise this morning to take photos, but instead I found a butterfly on the street. He looked like that he is having a rest. But he wasn’t – what I found was just a colorful dead body of a butterfly.

As I am going to Prague this Saturday I was finishing my last pieces that I want to take with me. I made more Christmas Tree Blocks – original design by Christen from Love By Hand. Each block is on its own and makes a nice table decoration or a wall hanging. I have used (as before) Kaffe Fassett fabric designs. Once I had made the quilt sandwich I realized that I do not have any of my “neutral” thicker quilting thread. But I had the exact hue in Aurifil Mako 50/2 as I have pieced the blocks with this thread. I just wasn’t sure if I can take it also for quilting. After some research on the web ( a nicer expression for google ) about threads I decided to stick with this lighter weight thread also for free-motion quilting. According to the motto : learning by doing. Over the years I found out that there are no strict rules in quilting. Each quilter can find its own way, own technique that they prefer, threads that they love. I have also done some experimenting with threads and I always go back to Aurifil Mako 50/2 for piecing and Sulky from Gutermann for quilting.