quilted cushion cover for alice

Feb12

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

matching cushion covers to atmosphere quilt

Oct23

It has been some time since I have finished the Atmosphere Quilt, a pattern by Lee A. Heinrich. But only now I have made 2 matching cushion covers to the quilt. As this quilt is a gift for a good friend, I thought some extra cushion covers would be nice.

matching cushion covers to atmosphere quilt - skalabara quilts

I had so many half-square triangles left over from piecing the Atmosphere Quilt top. I had them all in a box and this box I have had many times in my hands to through the tiny pieces away. But somehow I always resisted and left the box content for further use.

The block pattern Broken Dishes is on the lower cushion cover. The pattern on the top cushion cover happened as a mistake. I rotated one unit when piecing the half-square triangles. And I liked the pattern, so I used it to make the other cushion cover.

The half-square triangle blocks are 2″ x 2″ finished, i.e. each half-square triangle unit is 1″ x 1″ finished. I have added borders to make the cushion covers 20″ x 20″.

Quilted in diagonal lines with the walking foot, stitch length 3,75 mm. Quilting thread is Aurifil Mako 40/2, color 2600 Dove.

To match the quilt, I have finished the cushion covers with the same binding fabric that I have used on the quilt.

This time I have opted for an envelope closure instead of adding a zipper. I have lined the backing fabric with calico for strength.

Fabrics used : Kona solid in Silver, Bella solid in Mustard and Etchings Slate.

Happy quilting!

barbora flower small skalabara quilts

finished – radiate quilt

Sep18

Summer of quilt finishes : yes, I have one quilt less from my to-do-list. Radiate quilt, that I have started way back in February, is now all done. This post is about work in progress.

radiate quilt backing 5 - skalabara quilts

For this quilt I have used different solids from my stock, mostly Kona fabrics. Background is in white and the accent color is a deep warm purple.

I quilted this top with the walking foot, following the block seams with a straight stich. I am not a friend of dense over all quilting, so I am happy with the result. Stitch in the ditch isn’t my favourite technique. Here I need more sewing practice to “bury” the stitches in the seam.

radiate quilt detail 7 - skalabara quilts

radiate quilt detail 5 - skalabara quilts

radiate quilt detail 3 - skalabara quilts

radiate quilt detail 1 - skalabara quilts

I have used for the backing the rest of the black and white duvet cover from IKEA with butterflies and beetles.

radiate quilt backing 2 - skalabara quilts

radiate quilt backing 3 - skalabara quilts

A few more shots of the quilt. The late afternoon sun had the right brightness to show the beauty and the colours of this quilt.

The binding is in a mustard shade, the same solid that is also in the blocks.

radiate quilt binding 2 - skalabara quilts

radiate quilt detail 2 - skalabara quilts

radiate quilt detail 6 - skalabara quilts

Quilt size : 54″ x 74″

Wadding : 80% – 20% cotton – polyester Bosal Acadia in Autumn

Quilting thread : Mettler Quilting 40 – color 4 Natural

Stay tuned to more quilt finishings, happy quilting

barbora flower small skalabara quilts

placemats for andrea

May7

During the corona lockdown times, I have more time for sewing and quilting. Andrea asked. If I could make her a set of placemats. Something geometrical, maybe triangles. And in her her favourite colours : blues, pinks, purples and turquoise.

placemats 5 - skalabara quilts

I have seen this pattern some time ago on Craftsy/Bluprint, and saved this project for later. The pattern is by Jess Toye and the name is Thirty-Two Carat Paper-Piecing Pattern. I loved the design, and this is the right pattern for Andrea’s placemats.

placemats 1 - skalabara quilts

placemats 2 - skalabara quilts

Jesse has written the pattern instructions very well. In the pattern she explains both cutting and paper-piecing steps. Jesse has also included in the pdf file a few project ideas with this paper-pieced block. From placemats to a king size quilt and with different color options. Thanks to my fabric on stock, I could choose the (hopefully) right colours for Andrea.

placemats 3 - skalabara quilts

placemats 4 - skalabara quilts

Quilted with the walking foot in straight lines, 1/2″ apart. I have used quilting cotton thread King Tut 40/3 from Superior Threads, variegated color 939

placemats detail 4 - skalabara quilts

placemats detail 1 - skalabara quilts

Binding is Kona Solid in Bright Pink. To attach the binding I have used Mettler cotton quilting thread 40, color 959.

placemats detail 2 - skalabara quilts

placemats detail 3 - skalabara quilts

The backing fabric is once more Bomull calico from IKEA, 100% unbleached cotton.

placemats quilting 1 - skalabara quilts

placemats 9 - skalabara quilts

placemats 8 - skalabara quilts

placemats 3 - skalabara quilts

Placemat size : 12″ x 18″ / paper-pieced unit size : 3″ x 9″

Thanks for visiting, keep safe and carry on sewing

barbora

neutrals with a colour touch

Aug4

Since we have changed the couch upholstery fabric from burgundy to a neutral beige/grey shade, I have made some new cushion covers for the lounge. Up to now I have hardly worked with neutrals (because I think they are boring). But maybe now was the right time for some change.

I wasn’t sure about the neutral colours, but I was lucky to find some beautiful Bella Solids in Flax and Etching Slates in my local store.

cushion cover hourglass 2x 1 - skalabara quilts

cushion cover hourglass 2x 2 - skalabara quilts

These two shades were the base for the cushion covers. As I made the hourglass blocks, I thought that I should add some colours to them. Only neutral colors didn’t feel right. So I got out my Kona Cotton Collection fabrics and started to look for some eye-catching colours.

cushion cover hourglass 1 - skalabara quilts

cushion cover hourglass 3 - skalabara quilts

I made two cushion cover designs – one entirely with hourglass blocks and the other with adding borders to the hourglass blocks in the center. Quilted and sewn them together to make two cushion covers that are quilted on both sides.

cushion cover hourglass 4 - skalabara quilts