Siblings Together - a quilt and its story

When Lynne@LilysQuilts put out a tentative call for quilty contributions to Siblings Together it was a no-brainer for me.
  
I’m so so lucky.  I can’t imagine what it would have been like to have been separated from my half-brother, AJ, when I was growing up.  He was 16 years older than me.  He was my hero.  He played the trombone.   He was wickedly funny and at times extremely mean.  He could do requests on comb and paper.  He died in July 2010 and he is the reason I started sewing again.  It seemed only right to make a quilt to celebrate siblingdom.

Coincidentally, I had started a quilt on New Year’s Eve 2010/2011 which I named my Quilt of Good Intentions (a self-fulfilling prophecy, as it got consigned to the WIP box round about Feb 2011!) 



Well, I was determined to come good with the intentions, and so the blocks got a revamp and my Siblings Quilt is the result.





For fabric nerds, the main solids are Kona Charcoal and Chartreuse, piecing was mainly from my stash & Cheater Friday fabric by MelanieSullivan@TexasFreckles found here on Spoonflower … **Edited to add: Spoonflower also sponsored our quilt labels, I got mine from the super organised  Laura@NeedlesPins&BakingTins. 




So, that’s the story of this quilt, and now, with label attached, QOGI is ready to be sent on to its new owner. My brother never got to cuddle his quilt so I just love that I now have a connection with another ‘sibling’ somewhere.  Quilts, just like siblings, need to share memories.  



I know that the quilty community is very generous and I know that many of you give to your own favourite causes, but just in case you're after a little something to do there are other opportunities to get you into giving action here at the 100 quilts for kids blog hop over at SwimBikeQuilt.

.... or you could just go revel in all the wonderfully generous siblings together quilty linky loveliness over at Lily'sQuilts 

Bloggers Quilt Festival 2012 - Go Go Good Intentions!

Hello there if you’ve come over from the Bloggers Quilt Festival over at amyscreativeside

The LinkyPage is just an amazing encyclopaedia of quilty bloggy brilliance!  You should like, totes bookmark it.  I just keep staring at the thumbnails and drooling!

If you tuned in for my 2nd Quarter Finish-along post you’ll know that one of my WIPs harks back to New Year’s Eve 2010 - my Quilt of Good Intentions.  I was spurred on by the Siblings Together charity quilt drive that Lynne started, to get it out again and make it live up to its name!


Yup.  That first picture was taken a whole, shameful, year and a half ago! 

Once I rescued the blocks - I’d used a terrible polycotton mix for the grey sashing so I replaced it with Kona Charcoal – I joined and sashed them a little bit more!  But that still left me with a problem … Unless there are some teeny tiny fairy siblings in need of quilts, this needed a bit more work before it could be finished up to join the other Siblings Together quilts …

So I improv pieced using some pale buttery smooth chartreuse cotton (from my local dressmaking fabric shop) and more of the Kona Charcoal.

Here’s the finished top …




3 new things I tried for this quilt:


1. BEDLINEN:

I’ve backed (and self-bound) it with a lovely print that I think works really well.  It’s half of a duvet cover in the softest cotton from BHS of all places.  I’m really impressed with the thread count on some of their bedding.  It’s an Ikaat type print and the green is a good match in tone.  I’ve used good quality old sheeting before, but never off the shelf new … It was a good experience.  You just have to get in there and give it a feel.  5* experience, but make sure you get to touch before you buy!



2. SPRAY BASTING:

I used 505 – bought for me at the Bletchley Park Quilt show, by my lovely friend Barbara way back in February but available from cottonpatch !  Using this product was an absolutely fantastic experience.  I just sewed all round the outer edge to secure and then I could just roll it up and park it until I needed it - still perfectly ‘basted’.  You really don’t have to use very much of this stuff, so it’s easy to be neat and not get it all over the floor (unlike starch LOL!)  5* experience.  I can see a gazillion uses for this stuff …







3. POLYESTER BATTING:

As this quilt is for a kid/teenager I figured, quick to wash and dry was quite important.  Also, the quality of this Dream Puff is divine.  The name is perfect.  It is so so light but so so cosy.  This is not yer crunchy plastic batting of yesteryear.  Oh no.  Tis luxurious.  So, definite 5* fan here too.  I bought  a crib size, which is 48” x 60” – perfect for laps.




I’ve hand quilted with bright perle cottons … yippee!  It wasn’t as easy to use a Sashiko needle (my usual weapon of choice) but a long Chenille needle did the job beautifully.  You need that extra sharpness to get through the fibres, soft and fluffy as they are.  Then it’s a dream under the needle. 


In fact I really enjoyed the quilting.  I did about 9 hours on the trot yesterday watching a box set of cheesy US cop show The Mentalist – it’s not quality TV, no.  But it is Quiltity – you can look down and miss loads without having to rewind, know what I mean!? Easy listening TV … bliss.


Anyway, I’ve been scrabbling to get to the finish line in time with this one, and although there are still a couple of patches of hand quilting left to do, it’s bound and 99% finished.  It will take me an hour to finish, but with the light not so great in my basement, I thought I’d take a pic of it 99% finished on the line, now rather than wait until dark and have a crappy pic.



Of course it’s uber windy out there today!  I’ll try for better pics tomorrow and edit em in …
It has been so many different quilts, this quilt.  A serious 2 year slow burn project.  I thought about it constantly, but chickened out of doing anything for a long time … Siblings Together was the kick up the bum I needed. 

I am happy that it’s about to embark on the next part of its journey… and hope you don’t mind that it’s not quite festival finished !

Now get on back to the Quilt Festival - 521 quilts and counting!!!

2nd Quarter Finish-Along – the list

So, I’m just sneaking in under the tape here to play along over at Rhonda’s for the Finish-Along – but work is just full on - I’ve been invigilating this weekend – first practical ICT paper – it was ok and my students didn’t look too stressed, so I feel a lot less nauseous than I did this morning!

Anyway, back to the sewing - Last quarter I didn’t do too badly – but I think one of my ‘finishes’ didn’t count because it’s not quilted or bound – just a flimsy – so I’m dragging it back into detention for this quarter!

The guilty party? 


My ginormous Swoon-Along quilt – I only have a border to go and then it’s ready to baste.  I’m waiting on pay day for the quilt backing though … it’s been so wet this month that Linen Man hasn’t been out at the market … come on April, get the showers out of your system!


Next up is a quilt top that is so nearly ready it’s pathetic! Having cut into my beloved Echino stash and sewn the blocks for Jeni@InColorOrder’s giant vintage star quilt I just lost interest. It was supposed to be a wedding present, but I just didn’t think it suited the couple at all, so I shelved it … I have another idea for them now, which will have to wait until I have some real time in the summer. It’s going to be difficult! natch.



Anyway, I’m sure I can make this one look lovely, somehow … I may have to chop it up a lot … or not … gah!  It’s the appalling waste of my fave fabric that makes me want to weep! This is my first real big time FAIL in terms of matching fabric to a quilt pattern! What was I thinking?  Don’t get me wrong, I think the pattern is wonderful.  I just think I chose the wrong fabrics!



My final choice for the hall of WIP shame is my Quilt of Good Intentions, which I started on New Year’s Eve 2010. I know.  I’d entirely forgotten about it, and only found the blocks when I was clearing and spring cleaning in the Easter hols -  So much for good intentions LOL!

It’s been through many many hours of slicing and stitching and seam ripping and so on … but now I have some good blocks to set forth from …

Long story short the dark grey strips you can see now, were originally a really slippery polycotton that I thought I’d be able to get away with, but really really couldn’t – so I’ve spent some time this week repairing it with Kona Coal.  Much better.  But a right royal bloody pain!




I think it will look great and that really matters, because I’m going to make this one up for Lynne’s Siblings Together quilt drive.  It seems entirely fitting that what started out as a Good Intention two years ago should actually provide some pleasure for someone else, dontcha think? 

So, better go get sewing!  And, if you have any suggestions about what to do with the Echino mess, I’d be most grateful … Hadley, I know there’s pale poo brown linen in it, but it is really yummy in real life … promise!

Quilting Quandary

 
First off, let me apologise for the appalling quality of photos on my blog at the moment, but I’m down to using my phone, as my camera has decided that it’s a toaster.
 


Been away from the blog, cos I’ve been busy, see*
*in Jimmy Cagney voice
 


I’ve finished the main blocks for my Quilt of Good Intentions, but I veered away from the limited green/grey palette pretty damn quickly and decided to throw in a little more colour.  
 
As I’m intending to have it on my bed I was concerned that I might get bored with the green/grey thing once my crush on it diminishes.  After all, I am pretty fickle and nearly all colours look fab with grey! And I have this little panel (bottom right) from trois miettes at Spoonflower that I’ve been dying to use!
 
 


More importantly perhaps, the point of this quilt is for it to act as a kick start to my inspiration for the year. I thought a touch of paintboxery might be in order.  One day I’ll make a proper one, but this might just spur me on.
 
But here’s the quandary … white or grey?  These were my initial thoughts:

 

I think the white looks pretty fab and very grown up, but then the grey makes it pop more.  (I envisage the  grey version would be as large as the white, with squares of solid colour in the sashing, but I only had the width of fabric to lay the blocks out.) 

 

I've thought about not putting the central panel in if I went with the grey - I could have it on the back with some stacked paintbox coins - that way I get two quilts for one!  … what do you think?
 



My thoughts are to use two layers of batting and hand quilt each side separately with embroidery thread and then whack em together and do some wide straight stitch quilting. 
I’m afraid it’s all Mrs Singer can cope with, so free motion will have to wait until Damiel has his foot pedal replaced, before I embark on that little intention.  

It is another intention to finally use some white this year, which is why I’m thinking the white would be good.  Just not very practical!  The white I have is the most amazing heavy white linen that I picked up at a market for only £1.50 a metre - and it’s 2.5 metres wide!  It would be bliss on a bed.
 
Two hours later: I’m sulking a bit now as Mrs Singer has lost all sense of tension … sheesh, all I did was clean the discs.  How ungrateful can you get!?
 
3 hrs later: fixed it but not looking too consistent … grrr …
 
24hrs later: Back at work today - new students names to remember …  forgetting how to teach … being nerdy with computers … ah the joy of skool!
 
Anyway, please let me know which you think would work better, the white? or the grey?  Panel on the front?  Panel on the back? I’d really appreciate your advice.

As I’ve been making this up as I go along, I wondered if you’d like a tutorial when it’s all over?  Good idea?  Bad idea?

Good Intentions

I’ve had it with the whole New Year’s Resolution thang.  No more, all that inevitable self hatred and disappointment a few weeks minutes into the year.


I start this year with a much kinder list of Good Intentions and a Quilt for me, to help reinforce them.


So, here they are … in no particular order

	Let go   Of course I’m not going to forget all the people who I’ve lost in the last year, but I am going to try to focus on remembering their vitality, not their demise. Grieving must end.  Mourning can continue awhile.
	Read more … and I don’t mean blogs!  I’ve found it very difficult to focus on a whole book this year.  I used to get through a book a week.   Time to buck up.
	Learn More From free motion quilting to writing new training courses via a bit of embroidery and painting.  It’s time to learn and hone and share. Pop over to Kellie @ 74 Lime Lane to participate even more by joining the Creative Collective ... (button on side bar -->)
	Procrastinate Less We all know it’s much less painful just to get on with the boring stuff.  I’m going to make this a mission.
	Nurture Nature I actually started blogging a couple of years ago to document my wonderful little front garden and all the veggies and fruit I grew, but this year, when my brother got ill, it all went tits up.  This year will be a bumper crop.
	Persevere Need I say more?!
	Commune Be it on or offline, I need to participate more and spectate less.
	Frown less, Laugh more (once the ribs have healed a bit!)

And here’s a sneak peek at a couple of blocks from my Quilt of Good Intentions:

Fresh and zingy and very loosely based on a Yellow Brick Road pattern … In fact, I'm intentionally being unintentional!  yum!

So, what is your No.1 Good Intention for the coming year?  Do share …

1.1.11 Pedal to the Metal

Happy 2011 chaps!  I trust you had a suitably riotous time/civilised sip of champagne/nice cuppa tea and a biscuit* 
*delete where applicable 

I had a quite extraordinary New Year’s Eve.

I did a little socialising earlier in the day, but as my year had been far from meriting reflection, I decided to bow out of any mad revelry this year.  

So, I cooked a fab roast lamb, parsnip and red cabbage supper (bliss of lunh today too!) popped some fizz (Lynne over at Lily’s Quilts says her Dad calls it Fizziotherapy!)  and then settled into a relaxing time cutting & sewing a quilt for me. spent a couple of hours with a screwdriver and an increasing feeling of desperation.

10.00 pm - Damiel my beloved Novum flipped out on me - pedal to the metal with NO FOOT ON THE PEDAL!  Yup, the treadle finally gave way (after c. 62 years of action, granted) and was just stuck on GO.




Sheesh!  I’m telling you, it was scary.  He’s noisy at the best of times, being entirely metal, but this was wild!  So, I unplugged him, unscrewed the treadle, farted about a bit, put it back together and … 

11.00 pm … still stuck on GO. When the lights started to flicker in my sitting room I thought “Uh-oh … what if I were about to blow the whole street out?”  Not a good move for neighbourly love on New Year’s Eve, you’ll agree. It was like a quilter’s version of the movie Speed.

Well, I tell you, I was buggered if I was going to see in 2011 with no bloomin sewing machine, so I hauled Mrs Singer (she’s a bit of a mumsy 1970s affair) in from the hall, where she was just two steps away from being freecycled - some months ago the presser foot lever just fell out and I was quoted silly money to mend her, hence the acquisition of Damiel in the first place.



Determined not to be beaten, I took the whole front gubbins off and eventually found a little lost screw …

11.30 pm … fingers, machine and face smeared in machine grease I finally worked it out!  I refitted the lever! 
 Yay!

11.55 pm I tuned into the radio, ready to hear Big Ben chiming in the New Year.  I threaded her up.  She spluttered into action a tad grumpily but sewed like a dream!  (It might well be the dream of a slightly deranged menopausal woman, but hey, she’s a lot quieter than the boy racer) …

Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong!

 

Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong!

Happy New Year!

The moral of this tale:   Never give up on old friends - sometimes they come back into your life when you least expect it and fill your day with joy!

Mrs S and I are going to settle down with a nice cuppa celebrate with some Fizziotherapy and get re-acquainted while I sew my Quilt of Good Intentions.