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Grover's Quilt - the start

The first quilting fabrics I bought were the sage green polka-dot for sashing the lap quilt I made, using the present from Duyvken and a fabric kit loaded with primary colours and children's pictures in that retro feel. That kit has sat next to the machine since then. I've known I was going to use it for a quilt for Grover but I just didn't know how I was going to put it together. 

Anyway, after making my brain melt last week working out the maths of it all, here are the initial 10 blocks!

 

I think I'm going to use a basic black for sashing and the back. I also have a group of the images above in 4x4 inch boxes so will do a panel incorporating them along the back as well. 

Onward!

A wedding quilt

OH MAN, have I been BUSTING to tell you all about this one.

Our friends E & D were married in February and I had decided to make them a quilt to mark the occasion. Oh sure, it's a few months late but hey, I actually delivered!

Choosing colours was a synch when E mentioned that red and blue together were her favourite colours - red as in a ruby red and blue as in a clear cornflowery blue.

There was a mild hiccup in proceedings as mis-judged my seam allowance on the small four-patch block, giving them 3/8inch instead of 1/4inch. So, the middle square of the bigger blocks had to be reduced and then the strips around them adjusted too. Oy. Anyway, I got there in the end and added an extra border to make-up for the slightly smaller size.

Pink Cat

I made this on Christmas night for my niece. Because of the sleep deprivation on Boxing Day I totally forgot to take a photo of her backside, on which I attempted my first ever hand stitched embroidery. I did a fancy E for her name.

I initially called her Pink Cat because I'm nothing if not original but Jasper rejected that and called her Colourful Cat.

 
The googly eyes were a bit of an experiment and someone (RicRac maybe?) gave the tip of using tooth-threader to really hold them in place. They're stitched on but then I used some threader and tied them off on the back.

How good is my blanket stitching these days! (Especially considering I was doing it at around 1am on Boxing Day...

Her belly is this gorgeous fabric (maybe a Prints Charming?) that I just adore - it's all oranges and yellows and greens with fairies and love hearts. I fussy cut this bit to get the gorgeous fairy on her tummy as well as some love hearts.

At first I thought it was a dud gift as another relative had given her this life-like cat which purrs and meows and probably makes breakfast but then I discovered she has been taking her to bed every night and well, I'm just tickled pink.

Here's the dress

The dress

Holy crap people. I was sewing along on a merry dream of unicorns and rainbows until I got the the sleeves.

Oh sure, I did a placket. A PLACKET!
Apparently very tricky and fiddly but something I found relatively straightforward and not so fiddly at all.

Oh sure, I unpicked the whole goddamn thing because my bosom needs two darts not one and a hell of a lot 'deeper' than what the pattern said.

But sleeves. SLEEVES are a BITCH.

I've just finished one. Again.
Yeah. I finished it the other day and then realised there was a whole CUFF section I had completely forgotten to attach.
Holy crap one hundred times over.

Now I know why I chose a floral. It hides so so so many sins.

Pictures tomorrow. As tomorrow is my birthday and GOD DAMN IT I am wearing this god forsaken dress on my birthday IF IT KILLS ME.

Oh, it's Simplicity 2885 and I'm making the dress on the top row, second one in from the left.

Felix's quilt - FINISHED!

OK, so I've learnt my lesson about being slap-dash and not measuring on this one. Whoooo boy was there some sweating and swearing yesterday when I realised I hadn't trimmed it well enough and had to unpick the entire binding. Anyway, I am pleased with the result and Felix LOVES it.