Urban Zoology Charm Quilt Top

Happy Monday!  Did you return to your normal routines today?  I did.  I have to say it was worse thinking about it on Sunday night than it actually was this morning.  It was nice to be out of the house and trying to remember what I was doing before Christmas mania kicked in.

Over the Christmas holiday I finished three small child quilt tops that I'll show you today and tomorrow.  They were all partially started in October and November with the idea that I would try to include them in the shop stall at Christmas markets, but I just did not finish them in time.  So, they sat in my sewing room as a pile of blocks that needed to be sewn into rows and then together.  Low hanging fruit for my Christmas break.

First up, I used an Urban Zoology charm pack from the shop (which has now sold out) mixed with Kona solids to make a charm quilt.  I split the charms in half (to 2.5x5 inch rectangles), framed them in Kona white, lime, red or peacock and then squared the blocks to 6 inches on all sides.  

The entire quilt is surrounded in Kona navy.  I have to say I am not convinced that border should stay on.  I was pretty happy with the unisex brightness of the quilt before I added the border, but after it looks quite dark and male-ish.  We'll see.

As usual, my glamorous photographic assistant was with Sunday while I snapped a few photos.  It is rough taking pictures this time of year - it is always sideways raining, windy and dark.  Sunday it was just overcast and slightly breezy, so you'll see most tops are not straight on the line, but it is the best I could do given the time of year.

 

Poor Molly hasn't been dry in weeks with our crazy weather.  She has been swimming in the floods a good bit, which makes her happy.  The bad thing is the garden is totally saturated, so even when she just goes out for a trot around the yard she's soaked.  Can you see the puddle that formed under me while I took photos of this top?  Crazy!  I was actually sinking the longer I stood still!

Thank goodness for awesome, waterproof boots, huh?

Trying something new...

I have a quilt in mind that I would like to make.  Sure, there are several other quilts that I should be finishing for the FAL or even cutting as I have the pattern and fabric purchased.  Oh, no.  This is one of those quilts that has just occupied my brain for the past week and I need to get stuck in.

In all honestly, this quilt has been bouncing around in my head for well over a year.  Two maybe?  It's just recently, though, that that voice in my head went from a rumbling "that would be nice" to "how will I go about this?".

This quilt will be all appliqué.  I nearly just heard you all shout WHAT!?!?  Yes, appliqué.  As you know, I wasn't exactly blown away with appliqué when making Cúchulainn, but that was mostly because of the mind numbing satin stitch  Here I want use a raw edge appliqué.  Problem is, I've never done that before.

So, I made a little mug rug mock up of a portion of the quilt...

It's Galway so we always have a little rain out there.  We have a little airport too, so you couldn't leave that out....

And a little bird, a snail and happy trees.  

All in all it went reasonably well for a first try.  I really need to practice, but I think I can get there.  The things that are really bothering me about the mug rug are things that will disappear as the idea is scaled up.

Here's where I need your help.  Could you guys tell me: 

1. When you do raw edge appliqué, do you use a fusible or interfacing?  I mean, do you use a double sided Steam a Seam and just weld it all together or do you use the single sided interfacing type fusible that you might use to stiffen a purse?  I like the softer flexibility of the interfacing in a final project, but the Steam a Seam would be great to hold everything in one place. Do you hold the interfaced piece down with glue?

2. How do you stitch down each piece?  I went with FMQ using invisible thread.  I'll use a matching cotton in the final quilt, but for simplicity here I went invisible.  Anyway, I used a FMQ through the center of each object to echo quilt the edges.  Now, I know folks use a stitch like numbers 35-39 below.  What do you use?  

Thank you all so much for your help.  If there are any good tutes out there, please do point me in the right direction.  I can use all the help (and practice) I can get :)

Cúchulainn Is Slowly Moving On

I have shown sneaky peeks of Cúchulainn in the past, but have not shown you the entire quilt top before.  Want to see my little sea dog?  

He's been the focus of my last two days and will be my buddy for the night.  

Cúchulainn is part of a quilt instalment made by the Irish Patchwork Society (Western Branch) for the International Quilt Festival of Ireland.  There will be 20 quilts total with 10 looking like this, or 10 facing the other direction.  They're all (hopefully) perfectly aligned, so one will knot into the other when all in a row, or when displayed in a square interacting both horizontally or vertically.  It was quite an intricate design!

Anyway, Cúchulainn is made fully with batiks never my first choice, but the committee chose them and they look good together.  They were secured with bondaweb and I'm spending my time now securing Cúchulainn with a satin stitch around each and ever little piece.  I needed to use the batting as a stabilizer, so that's what you see floating behind the quilt top.  That's taking FOREVER and a football stadium of thread.  I'm nearly there...just missing a small bit on the right swirl that will be finished tonight.  

Before the Easter holiday is out, this beast will have his back on and will be quilted.  Eva, of Pippablue, drew on my quilting lines last night to make life easier for me...so now I just have to follow her path.  Easy peasy...right!?!?  

You know, in many ways this would never have been my first choice of a quilt to make.  The batiks, the theme, the appliqué, the size.  However, I wanted to try something new, to contribute to our local community, to grow my skills a bit more.  In the end, I am absolutely glad to have taken this project on...but will be just as happy to see it end :)

Caroline's All Heart Appeal for Cancer Research UK

If you are looking for the Goodie Swap Sign Up post, click here.

My friend Caroline, from The Contented Quilter, is creating a quilt or two to raise money for Cancer Research UK.  I wanted to contribute, so I made two heart blocks for her creations.  This is my first time trying applique, so be kind.  I have a lot to learn, but it was an OK start. 

I wanted to embellish a bit, as you don't often get that chance.  So, I did a bit of embroidery.  In this heart, I filled in the center of each flower with a little yellow french knot and stitched around the edge with a running stitch.  It is a little hard to see, but it is there.  Honest.

Here I just used little french knots in white floss along the edge of the heart.  I liked this one best, I think.

It only takes 10-15 minutes for a block and they give you the freedom to create anything you'd like.  It's a great way to spend half an hour, for a great cause.  I hope you join in too! Here, in Caroline's words, are the details: 

I'm aiming to raise money for Cancer Research UK by selling raffle tickets for a quilt I will make with donated hearts. At the moment I am still at the 'heart' gathering stage - I need as many blocks as possible of 8" squares of red or pink fabric with a heart/hearts sewn into the centre. The hearts can be any size, any shape (just heart-like), embroidered, appliqued or pieced I really don't mind . I'm hoping to make more than one quilt to raffle off as a prize. There is no time limit but I would like to have made a quilt by September. More info on my blog thecontentedquilter.blogspot.com.

yours gratefully
Caroline xxx