Finally finished!

I have finally finished the first of the quilted bed throws. The other is almost identical - just a different colour backing.  I always find the binding bit tricky, and can never be bothered to stitch by hand, so it can be a battle on the machine when you get to the corners. 

So here's the finished article. You can just see the colour of the feature wall behind, which is why the Country Yard fabric was perfect!! On to the next one - and I think I may need some cushion covers too!!

Take care,

Cxxx

Basting is boring!!

Today, I finally got around to basting my quilts. And, as the title of the post says, I find is boring and sooooo time consuming!! 

I decided to go with cotton sheets for the bottom layers, rather than the fleece. The quilts feel like they will be so much lighter as a result. I still intend to bind the edges of the fleece, so that they can be used for extra warmth in the winter! First step was ironing everything - I hate ironing - and it just took soooo long. But, preparation is everything!!

I then laid out the sheet and put the wadding on the top, pinning it in place around the edges. 

Next, I laid the quilt top over this, and again, pinned around the edge, and cut off the excess around the edges.

But, having had issues with the pins when I first started machine quilting larger pieces, last year I invested in a Micro Stitch "gun". This is one of the best little pieces of kit I have bought in a while, as I can sew the quilt without getting stuck by pins.  

So the last stage of basting was to micro stitch the layers together, smoothing it all out as best I could, while removing all the pins. So I now have both quilts ready for sewing!

Next stage is the stitching. I like this to an extent - it just depends how bulky it gets on the machine!! We'll see how we go!! 

Take care,

Cxxx

Quilt Tops at the ready!!

After a stressful day at work yesterday, I resolved to do no work today - just stuff for me. And of course that always has to involve crafting. And all my preparation for the quilts has paid off today!!

So, the strips I shared last time have been sewn together with long strips of sashing, and voila!! Two bed throw quilt toppers. Have to say, though, that I put on on the bed and it's come up a little smaller than I had planned - and that's before any quilting which will cause is to shrink a little more! But.... it will do the job of co-ordinating with our feature wall, AND protect the quilt when Molly comes up for a cuddle when we're chilling out!!

The next job is to baste these to the wadding and backing. I have chosen some plain fleece fabric as the backing, as we have always had fleece blankets on the bed to protect them before. I may regret it when I start quilting as it will be a little thick and bulky to move through the machine!! I may have second thoughts and just back it with more sheeting, and edge the fleece to use separately!! Decisions, decisions.....

Take care,

Cxxxx

Quilt Progress!!

It's been a busy half term, but I managed to find some time to do a bit more work on my quilts. So, now I have 10 strips (5 per quilt) ready to sew together for the quilt tops.

And this is where it all gets very big and unwieldy - and I wish I had tried to learn how to quilt as you go!! Ah well. Watch this space!!

Cxxx

Blocks and Sashing!

Have had a little time to finish prepping all the bits for my bed throw quilts. The sewn Crafter's Companion Country Yard strips have been cut into the large blocks, and the sashing cut from a flat bed sheet to make sure it co-ordinates with the bedding.

Love my True Cut Rulers for cutting the blocks, but have a pretty naff rotary cutter at the moment. I broke my True Cut one ages ago, and was in desperate need so had to buy my current one out of necessity. But think it might be time to invest in a new one.

Next step will be to assemble to quilt tops. Can't decide whether to do one at a time, or both together. Mmmmm - things to ponder.

Cxxx