Quilt number 10 - Rail fence baby quilt

This quilt was done in a bit of a rush...as per normal you could be forgiven for thinking..but I had a lovely new nephew born on boxing day and although I knew he was coming I wouldn't allow myself to start until I had finished off quilt number 9. So I had to pick an easy pattern for quick piecing. I went on the Ipad application Blockfab to find an idea for a simple one and thought I would try the rail fence pattern again, this time without the borders to avoid the mistake I did with quilt number 3.

I am really pleased with the way my fabric stash has built up as I was able to make this quilt from start to finish with only fabrics from my stash, which was handy as I had done enough shopping in the run up to Christmas.  In addition as it was only a cot sized quilt I had some spare wadding left over from a previous project.

I made the strips 2 inches wide and stitched the strips together in 3's before cutting into squares. I followed the simple rule of the safari print in the middle with a pattern on top and a plain on the bottom, apart from one row.

I also added a couple of plain squares so I could personalise it by adding his name in chain stitch (clearly my handwriting and stitching are both appalling as I was frustrated it didn't turn out better).

I tried randomly arranging the squares but in the ended followed a diagonal order to them as it saved any weird matching.

For a change I used the safari pattern fabric which is mini safari by timeless treasures for the backing as well, mainly as I think with hindsight I should have made the strips a bit wider as the pattern was lost somewhat on the front.

I didn't do a small border on this one as I wanted to keep the size smaller so just did the one border. The quilting

was a freehand meander, still not a completely flat back but better than normal. I didn't do it too tight as I wanted the quilt to have some movement as it was only small.

As it is being given to a family with a newborn I did warn them about not using it as a bedcover until their child is 1, quilts are not very breathable.

Drawstring bag

I made this bag in approximately 2 hours, the pattern I was following was really easy. It was lined and had box corners which I think gave it a smarter finish compared to most drawstring bags. My son picked the car fabric as the bag has been made to keep his inhalers in, it all came from my stash, you will recognise it from quilt number 8 that I made.

The pattern I used was from this blog: http://www.incolororder.com/2011/10/lined-drawstring-bag-tutorial.html the instructions were so clear with no ambiguity at all. I made it to the sizes given but having done it once think it would be easy to resize. I also added interfacing to the outer main fabric just to give it some structure.  I used ribbons for the drawstring but think it would look nicer if I used the  fabric and made some.

Christmas Stocking - Ugandan style

I had the pleasure of visiting my friend in Uganda in October and loved the fabrics that they had. The only issue was that you had to buy them in 3 metre units as this was the standard to make up a dress so I expect I will be making lots of things in the future with the fabrics (of which I bought 4 different types and my friend gave me her left over fabric).  However she did request that I make her a Christmas stocking, which of course I was happy to oblige.  As per normal this project was rushed on account of needing to get it posted to another friend to take out.

I cut out the main fabric first and then applied some fusable webbing to it to make it stiffer. Next was the applique and ribbon detail. I used cookie cutter applique with the african fabric onto a plan fabric that was already in my stash. I also added a small ribbon in order for it to be hung up.

I had to trim the seams to get it to lie flat (even then it was not as neat as some of my other ones)  for the finishing touch I made her initial letter for her out of a different fabric, one that is special as the cushions at a lodge we stayed at were the same.

Quilt number 9 - Quilt as you go

This quilt is the one I made as a replacement to the one I accidentally made with the swazstickers, I was needing to get it done quickly so I kept the pattern simple and used the quilt as you go technique to make the blocks before joining them together.

 I also did a couple of panels of applique to make it more fun and personalise it for the child.

I kept this quilt as a modern style in soft colours, knowing the parents I thought this would be more to their taste than the original colour scheme I went for.

 The main pattern fabrics came from John Lewis, who have recently extended their quiting range at my local store - just watch out for the labeling, the other day I saw some gorgeous elephant print fabric that would have been great on a baby quilt that was hand wash only, seriously - who has time to hand wash baby quilts.

Kept the blocking and binding simple too. I did try for the first time to machine stitch the binding on both sides so I could get it done quicker. Unfortunately this ended up looking a bit messy and I probably shouldn't have tried to so it so fast on my first attempt.