2 baby blankets and a few blocks

Again I’ve been busy not only with work but completing quilt.  Two lovely ladies I know were having babies – one was having twins and both were having their first babies.  What do you give them….well a baby quilt of course.  The problem with giving a baby quilt is that you feel you have to give each child a quilt which can be challenging and time consuming.  I made a decision that I would make my baby blanket as double sided blankets – one side for  a girl and the other side for a boy.  Thus I have made a family  baby blanket.  I originally brought this quilt called Through The Looking Glass Little P Quilt patterns by It’s So Emma.  When finished it measured 38.5″ x 42.5″ which I think is a good size for a baby blanket.   I’ve done one quilt with pastel colours and the other done in bright colours.  I love the fact that you can get a range of fabric which can be used for either a boy or girl and you can use it in one quilt.  The range I used for the bottom one was Celebration which has a girl and boy range.

I have also been trying to complete Berries and Bluebirds by Gail Pan.  I’m not very happy with my leaves or my berries.  I intend to unpick the berries and redo them so they look more rounder.  But it is slowly coming together.  I did find doing the ric rac challenging but do like the way it to

Oh and my sewing machine did come back and was fully repair and working well.  I have attached a walking foot to it and I did not know what I would do without it.  I plan to do some machine quilting having just got some chalk and templates to decorate some of my quilts.  I didn’t know that you needed to quilt through the fabrics to stop the layers moving.  I guess I learn from mistakes and through looking at how to do things differently.

Well it’s going to be another hot day with our temperatures here in Australia being up to 41°C and I have to wait a few weeks to get the fan fixed on my car.  I hope it is cooler where you are.

Been busy and sewing machine trouble

Well I have been busy. I have been trying to finish off my scrappy quilt. I found that placing the pieces out and taking a photo of them helped to remind me how it was set out.

While sewing it together, I found that I really needed to buy a walking foot.  I looked everywhere for a singer walking foot and eventually I got a walking foot for my singer sewing machine off ebay.

I have also been busy making other quilts.  I have attended a couple of classes making quilts at Whatever Whereever.  I learnt how to make hexagons and turn them into stars and how to applique jugs.  I enjoyed doing these.

I have also discovered that a friend was having a baby.  What’s a quilter to do…you guessed it make a baby’s quilt, but what color when you don’t know the sex of the baby.  Thankfully, I discovered a range called Celebrations which came in boy and girl colors.  So the challenge was on…do I make 2 quilt or one.  I found the pattern called “Through the looking glass” by Sarah Price and brought 2 kits – one boy one and one girl one.  I cut them out and sewed them up and decided to sandwich them both together.  I discovered that by starching the tops they sat nicely.  What I do is use a lot of starch, allow to dry then iron and the tops look great.

I used three pieces of wooden curtain rods and rolled each of my pieces up with them and slowly pinned them together.  Once done, I trialled my new walking foot.  Was a bit of a challenge getting the walking foot onto the sewing machine but the effort was worth it.  I commenced sewing with a fancy stitch,  almost finished and got new bobbin  in then my sewing machine decided to tell me C4 error.  I am trying to fix it but I’m not getting there fast.

 

Now I have to try and fix it or send it away.  And I was so close to finishing this baby quilt…