Tuesday 15 January 2019

Delving into the World of Quilting!

Hello friends

This year I am trying new things, the brush lettering,
inky stuff and also quilting.
Let's just say housework has been permanently put on hold! 

I am totally new to quilting so I was very interested when
Hayley West on Hochanda was launching her quilting panels.
Cut and Quilt Blocks.
I watched the show and the demos and thought - that's not scary,
I think I can do this so I placed an order.

There are three options of designs/colours, I went with the naturals bird design 
featuring feathers, flowers and little birds nests - very nice.

Each panel arrives printed onto cotton along with very clear instructions.
This is the Windmill Block.
You cut out each piece - I did discover here that you obviously need good scissors
and new glasses! (On my to-do list).


Following the instructions you make squares of the triangles.


Every seam is stitched with a 1/4" seam. 
I'm using my trusty very old Elna sewing machine and this is where I slightly 
went wrong, I assumed the first little marker on my metal plate was 1/4"
but it is slightly more so the end result is that my block will be slightly smaller.
Not a problem as long as I am consistent with all my blocks!


At this point you can see that my points are not quite aligned 
and the right seam is a little out but I
happy with a first effort and, at the end of the day,
this is for me and a sort of chart of where I started
(and hope to improve!) 


Attaching the side pieces - now you can see that I'm out as the first piece
should fit but snip snip - all sorted! 


My first finished Windmill Block.


I did make two purchases for my new hobby and they have been invaluable.
A little travel iron (bargain on Amazon, they had a lightening sale that day).
A silicone heat mat for the iron (eBay) and 
the owl folder thingy which is an ironing pad, opens up to be a cutting mat.
That was from Amazon and a little more expensive so thankful for 
my Christmas vouchers.


There are three block designs available at the moment,
More designs on their way so I had better keep up!

So nothing to do with die cutting but a little insight into my
busy little creative world at the moment.
I can feel the pull towards looking at super new sewing machines
but resisting right now.

For all you professional quilters out there I hope this didn't
hurt your eyes too much :) 

Take care friends.



16 comments:

jdunkley said...

That looks good Christine. I must dig my sewing machine out after the move! I've got placemats to make.

lydia jordan said...

Morning Christine,
It's good to do different things. Enjoy your quilting.
Lydia
X

margaret driscoll said...

Good Morning Christine
Nice to try something new but the problem is it takes over, hope you manage to make a Quilt!
Take care
Love Marg

Littlelamb said...

Love the look of this Christine. Haven’t tried quilting..........yet. The kit looks very good and I did see Hayley demonstrating it.

Teresa Doyle said...

Good for you Christine. I am a quilter but the part I enjoy (and am best at!) is the actual quilting part. My preference is the hand sewing once it is in the frames vs. putting the tops together however, I have enough fabric to make MANY tops. LOL Watch out, it is addictive too!
Enjoy!

hazel young said...

Lovely to see your new hobbies. Lovely block and new skills under your belt xx Hazel

christi said...

good luck with your quilting adventures. if I get one more hobby, i'll have to move to a bigger house. have a wonderful day!

Chris said...

You are a clever girl Christine, where do you find the time 🙂 It does look lovely and very professional.
Chris xx

Jean Eve said...

Good luck with the quilting Christine.Blow the housework,enjoy your creations.Good luck & cheers Jean xx

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Christine!! I watched Hayley's show and thought her idea brilliant for new sewers and you have proved it. A decent pair of fabric scissors is a must though if funds can stretch. I bought one of these ironing cone cutting pads last year and it's great to have at your side as the pressing is quite important when doing your blocks. You mentioned the H word something I'm getting less and less familiar with I must confess but then it's only me and no pets so perhaps a little easier. Anyway I look forward to following your sewing journey xx

Patricia Howarth said...

Hi Christine, Wow !! well done you !! Your block looks brilliant. I started quilting last year and made a large log cabin quilt (my first ever quilt, and I was so very proud of myself), I have already cut out my next one, I am doing a rail-fence quilt, but Birthdays and Christmas etc have got in my way. Before I started my first 'go' at quilting I bought an online course from a lady in USA, and I found it invaluable, she walked me step-by-step through my first log cabin quilt and gave a free rail-fence quilt tutorial included, she also gave great tips with mitering the corners with the binding too. I can't wait to get back into my quilting, but I have Birthdays for next month to do and I also want to start scrapbooking with my Anna Griffin papers, I didn't want to cut into them because I loved them so much, so decided that if I scrapbooked with them, then I could 'keep' them hahaha, I'm also going to use my Graphic 45 papers in the same way, the only bug-bear is there are not enough hours in the day, and I can't do anything in the evening as my eyes are not good. Carry on and enjoy !!
Lots of love from Patricia xx

Unknown said...

Well done Christine on your quilting it looks great. Today I finished a quilted cushion cover for one of my 15 grandchildren for his birthday next week. It is my aim for them all to have one for their birthdays this year. Hope I succeed. Thanks Ann

nattyboots said...

Wow , well done you .
One thing I have never tried Christine is quilting , so will be keeping a close eye on your progress to see if I think I maybe have a chance at it as I am totally useless with a needle and sewing machine , not to mention width ,inches etc .
Love n hugs to your Mum xxx
Take care
Elaine H x

karenlotty said...

It’s brilliant Christine This is something I want to try but never have the courage I’d like to do paper piecing too

mim said...

Hi Christine,

Wonderful it's looking neat to me.

I still have my raffle ticket from last month did i miss it? xxx

Pat S Witney said...

Hi Christine
That looks good. I’m into Groovi at the moment so don’t use my Dies or stamps. Not to sure I could manage quilting.

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