Here you can see what I am making at the moment, and you can see the design process, also how the patchwork quilts are made. I hope you enjoy the diary style of this page.
10th May 2010
Kaaren has asked me to make a quilt for Catalina. This is to have a hanging sleeve on the back so it can be a wall hanging too. There will be a panda, sea turtles, dolphins and an owl in the design and Catalina would also like some trees and flowers. I thought about it for quite a long time and here is the design.
The dolphins and turtles will swim in the sea and the penguins will stand on the ice. There will be a jungle for the panda and maybe a monkey and at the top will be a house, trees, flowers and an owl. Things may change as the quilt grows!
Here are the fabrics I am starting with including some of Catalina's baby clothes.
First of all I am starting with the sea for the dolphins. This is a strip the width of the quilt and is made of lots of sea style fabrics.
Now the deep sea layers have been stitched together and paper dolphin and a turtle pinned on to see how they look. A 'coastal' layer is added with penguins and room for other ideas in the next few days.The penguins' ice is made from Catalina's little blue flowery dress. The next 'jungle' area is started for the panda and maybe a parrot to inhabit.
Now the jungle background is finished and ready for the panda. At the top of the quilt will be some things that Catalina loves, an owl, a cat and trees and flowers. I have added a house to the centre. I love the way in folk art design things don't always have to be in scale, so the owl can be as big as a house!
Here are the flowers with a butterfly and a bee.
Now dolphins and turtles swim in the ocean.
One panda looked a bit lonely so I have given him a friend. There are parrots, butterflies, tree frogs and monkeys in the jungle too.
Seals swim off shore with golden fish and a tiny boat sets sail on a stormy sea.
Not shown are the polar bears which are next to the penguins. My ecologist husband is a bit miffed about this, he says they should be at the opposite ends of the globe! Next the three layers of the top, the wadding and the backing fabric are layered together and pinned before the quilting stitching is begun.
Here the quilting stitches are being added, waves for the dolphins and leaves for the pandas.....
Finally the edges are bound and a label is added to the back which says 'To Catalina with love from mummy and Daddy'. a hanging channel has been attached to the top at the back so this quilt can be hung on a wall. The finished size is 54.5 x 42 inches.
Here is the finished quilt. The little cat from her t shirt is at the top above the house and a row of pandas and stars from her other treasured outgrown clothes are on the bottom.
20th June 2010
Karen has asked me to make two single bed size memory quilts for her sons Joe and Theo. She has sent me lots of their outgrown clothes to use, so these quilts will be a rainbow of colours. Here is a picture of the clothes.
There are lots of strong patterns and I'm not sure who will get the Jedi warrior. First everything is cut up, seams, buttons and zips are removed and the pieces are ironed flat.
The pieces are sorted into similar sizes.
Then using a rotary cutter all the pieces have the edges straightened and the corners squared to make it easier to sew them together.
Here are all the pieces cut with straight edges and sorted into sizes ready to be sewn together. Next I had fun sharing everything into two piles of fabric, one for each quilt, trying to divide the pictures fairly, but there is only one
Jedi sword....
Now all the pieces have been sewn together. Next the layers of the top, the wadding and the backing fabric are layered together and pinned with safety pins to stop them slipping.
The quilting stitches are done by sewing machine and this is an opportunity to add more pattern. Joe has just decided he would like a penguin and a panda added to the quilt and this will be done at the end.
When the quilting is finished, the edges of the quilt are bound with the blue football material and Joe's name and birth date are added to the bottom of the quilt. Here you can see a piece of a favourite blanket and the backing fabric which is red and blue.
Penguins chat to each other with their babies sitting on their feet and a panda eats his bamboo in a corner watched by Spiderman.
Here is the finished quilt hanging from the washing line in a wild corner of my garden.At the top is the Aston Martin logo as this is Joe's favourite car.
In the next few days I will be completing Theo's quilt in the same way.
10th August 2010
Inbetween stripping the wallpaper off in the dining room and going to a wedding in Scotland, I have now finished Theo's quilt too. Made in the same way as Joe's it includes his Mr Men pyjamas and lots of Thomas the Tank Engine t shirts. Theo also wanted some animals added, so there are two Orca whales, a brown bear and two elephants with flappy ears.
Here is the finished quilt for Theo.
21st August 2010
Pam has asked me to make a quilt for her friend's new baby. His name is Jacob and she has asked for a farmyard quilt in a large cot size. Things have been really busy here with a total makeover of our dining room involving Mr Jackson the plasterer and a great deal of painting. As a result, the quilt is made but I didn't take so many photos as it was coming along. But here is the finished quilt with Jacob's name and birthday on the bottom.
26th August 2010
Louise is expecting a new niece or nephew in October and as the family live in Brighton she would like a quilt with a seaside theme. My own daughter lives in Brighton, so whilst visiting I took lots of photos to give me some ideas. Here you can see the photos and a beach hut postcard which suggested some shapes to start with.
Here is the design for the quilt. Louise may still think of more things to add and I would quite like an octopus although I'm not sure one has ever been seen on Brighton beach!
In the next few days I will make the 'top'of the quilt and you will be able to see it grow here.