Remember this quilt? Well, it's been 12years! Twelve! You've read correctly. 12. I've finally had it quilted and I couldn't be happier. It's my first quilt and it's finally finished. I still don't particularly like it, but I LOVE it because I made it! I'm so proud of my accomplishment and it's wonderful to remember all the techniques, tricks and mistakes I learned along the way. I will always treasure this quilt. How about this for a great Sew-Along! Suzy Quilts is hosting the fabulous Modern Fans Sew Along and I simply couldn't resist! There are video's, tutorial's, a Facebook and Instagram group and loads of other great information to make this Sew Along super easy and very achievable. And it's paced to suit the slowest of sewers. I chose the Day Dreaming colour way for my Modern Fans and there are plenty more to choose from on Suzy's blog. I'm into solids at the moment, and I would have loved to complete the quilt in just this way, but I really need to bust my stash! Scroll down for my fabric selection and a few pictures of my blocks so far. It's not too late to join this Sew Along, check out the other colour ways and get inspired! My First Round of Blocks Come back soon for updates and beautiful colourful photos! Get in touch if you have any questions, Julie. This (New Zealand) winter, I have participated in the Summer Sampler 2018—the popular block-of-the-week quilt-along hosted by Katie Blakesley (Swim Bike Quilt), Faith Jones (Fresh Lemons Quilts) and Lee Heinrich (Freshly Pieced)! The series started on May 14, and has just recently come to a close. In true form, I'm a little behind!! This Summer Sampler takes you on a summer adventure, with a new block each week inspired by travel and far-flung places! It was fun to remember places I've visited in the past and a few I love to visit. As usual, I am inspired by the designers and their interpretations of image into quilt block. Details about the quilt-a-long can be found here. It's not too late to make this quilt and there are previous years quilts to choose from as well! The finished quilt measures around 80" x 80". A few of my Summer Sampler 2018 Blocks
Free motion quilting - I've got to give it a try right?! Well.... I'm not that great at it. I know practice makes perfect, but I was not making anything perfect - at all. I discovered my walking foot and I much prefer this technique. This was a mini quilt from Westwood Acres Mini Quilt Monthly Club. It was a great way to learn and practice y-seams - I think I nailed it! And if you want to give free motion quilting a go then this is a great little quilt to use. Every month there is a notion included with the fabric and pattern. This particular month here was a fabric pen - a light fading one. I'm so slow at completing my projects, they sit in the sewing machine for days, often weeks, that I had to use a washable marking pen instead.
Our Once Worn Fabrics are, unfortunately, few and far between at the moment. Simply because - life is busy with three small boys! I struggle to find the balance between work, enjoying my kids and sewing my own projects. I'm part way through curating two Once Worn Fabric bundle's. One is our traditional 5inch wide roll and another is a bundle of fat quarters. I've got a few scraps and I couldn't resist making a Feather's Quilt to show off these scraps. Again, I'm torn between work and play! Play won! I love this quilt, I use it every day for our one year old baby. It's over his knees in the pram (it's coming into winter here) it's draped over him during nap time, it's used to play peek-a-boo during playtime. My older boys love it too, "It's beautiful" declared our 3.5yr old. And I agree! I love how the stripes are so well suited to this pattern and I love the pop of yellow throughout. The Feather's Pattern is from Anna Maria Horner's Feather Bed Quilt Pattern. It's a free pattern, I do hope the link works! I had limited fabric scraps and I wanted to make a mini for pub's, so I simply created four 'feathers' and aligned them facing opposite directions. Anna provides instructions for strip piecing the fabrics. I, however, paper pieced them. The pattern pieces have handy lines on them which made lining up my stripes super easy. I pieced my binding using scraps as well. I used Amy Sinibaldi's Manuscript fabric from her Paperie range for my backing which I think suit's it well, I do like how my minimalist quilting works against the Manuscript fabric. If you're after some Manuscript fabric we have some, but it's not in our store. Send us an email and we'll make sure you get some! - at a fair price of course! Feather's Mini Quilt Stats: Quilt measures: 35.5in x 26in Feather's Fabric's: Once Worn Fabric's by Sublime Baby Background: Natural linen scraps bought for another project. Backing: Amy Sinibaldi's Paperie Fabric in Manuscript Batting: Organic Bamboo Block 12: checker board
The Splendid Sampler is a year long 100 block ‘Epic Adventure’ of quilt making, say Pat and Jane, who embarked on this worldwide Quilt-a-Long. It consists of 100 spectacular 6” finished quilt blocks. There will be different techniques used, like pieced, applique, embroidery, English paper piecing and paper piecing. There will be 2 blocks released each week, with 2 holiday breaks for Christmas Day and New Year’s day. Sounds pretty epic!
There are so many great sew-a-long's going at the moment, and it's great way to join others as you work your way through a quilt, or just a few blocks. There are some great techniques to be learnt in the Splendid Sampler, which really appeals to me. The block pictured above is Block 12: Checker Board. I used some Once Worn fabrics for this block and also did another block (below) using Paperie by Amy Sinibaldi for Art Gallery Fabrics (available in our shop). I've wanted for so long to say "I just used a few scraps of Paperie I had lying around to whip up this block". And now I can with this gorgeous little Checker Board block!
If you're looking for a sew-a-long to join here are some links to a few that I know about that are happening at the moment:
The Splendid Sampler by Jane Davidson and Pat Sloan. Farmer's Wife 1930's Quilt-A-Long by Kerry at Very Kerry Berry. I'm doing this quilt-a-long and I'm waaaay behind. But that's ok, at least I'll have a wealth of information available when I come to complete my various blocks. These tutorials are great!! Modern Sampler Quilt-A-Long with Salty Oat. I love this quilt, have the pattern and will make it one day... Crossroads Quilt-A-Long with the Fat Quarter Shop. You can purchase this quilt-a-long as a kit, that's easy! Beguiling is a mystery Quilt Along at Cora's Quilts. Looks interesting, but I'm not a fan of not knowing where I'm headed. Bloom Sew Along with Lori Holt of Bee in My Bonnet uses Lori's own Calico Days fabric to make a vibrant appliqué and sewn quilt. Some sew-a-longs that are still available and worth checking out are: My Small World Quilt-A-Long started in September 2015 with Kerry at Very Kerry Berry along with a number of guest bloggers. I'm also working on this quilt. It's a great work of art and I'm making it mine - My Small World. Vintage Block Quilt Along by Charise Creates. I love Charise's work, really pretty and modern, her piecing is faultless! There are some great techniques to be learnt from this sew-a-long too. Anna Blouse Sew Along also by Charise Creates. This gorgeous blouse is worth checking out if you're not into quilting. Here's a website that aim to collate quilt-a-longs, block of the months and link parties in one place... QuiltAlong.net
If you know of any other Quit-A-Long's happening at the moment let us know! We'd love to take a look, join in and enjoy the sewing fun. Isn't the internet amazing!
We're so excited to have finally received our Paperie Range of fabrics by Amy Sinibaldi for Art Gallery Fabrics. They are pure sweetness and light and we can't wait to start making!! If you need some inspiration, here are some links to projects using this beautiful fabric. And to buy a bundle of Paperie click here. We ship from New Zealand, so all you kiwi's will get it real quick! Instagram #paperiefabrics Instagram #paperieblogtour Nana Company - Amy Sinibaldi's Blog Art Gallery Fabrics Paperie LookBook Sublime Baby's Shop image source: tofugu Is washi tape still "in"? I think so. I think it's gorgeous stuff, however I've never actually bought any! I've gone to buy it. Put it in an online cart, picked a range from pretty to contemporary, edgy to cute. But when it comes to the crunch, I've never known exactly what I'd do with it. So I just couldn't justify buying it. So I've done a little research, and here are just a few ways - and there are oh so many ways - that I would consider using washi tape. image sources: left to right, top to bottom: inkandwink; housebeautiful; factorydirectcraft; conbotasdeagua; omiyage; designsponge; marthastewart; babble; lejardindejuliette So how can using washi tape inspire us with our quilting? I found a few ideas below. Great inspiration and a reminder to look around everywhere for inspiration for both fabric design as well as quilting design. From left to right:
This doll's quilt by Amy Sinibaldi was a re-do. She made a few changed to the original quilt which included the washi tape corners. I think adding the corners has brought the whole quilt into a washi tape theme. Jo Avery from myBearpaw was truely inspired to make this quilt after seeing an image of fabric swatches taped to a wall using washi tape. Andy from A Bright Corner makes her own pattern "Hello Washi" even more washi-like with her choice of fabrics in this baby sized version of the quilt. We're travelling to see family this Christmas. We've already organised Christmas presents, but I wanted to take something handmade as a gift for my sister-in-law. Perhaps call it a thank-you-for-having-us gift. I've been wanting to make something from Anna Graham's book Handmade Style so I decided to make the Rainbow Clutch (seen here using her own fabric line). I find it so hard to choose designs and fabric for other people. So I went with a modern selection of Bonnie and Camille fabrics for the paper pieced front pocket. They offer a bit of everything. The main purse fabric is a cheap and cheerful light cotton denim. The pattern was easy to follow and I didn't have to unpick anything! There's really not much else to say, it's a well written pattern. My kind of pattern! I did paper piece my front pocket in a completely different way as described in Anna's pattern though. I also found myself changing top and bobbin threads quite a bit, but it was worth it to use the dark and light fabrics together. I wanted the interior of the pocket to seem like a bit of a surprise, so I kept it light and playful with a Cloud 9 voile called Escapade by Avril Loretta's Let's Have a Party collection. I decided to make some fabric bracelets for my nieces as well, this pattern is also from Handmade Style. They were super easy to make. I didn't have enough time to source proper bracelet closures, but I think I might, so that I can make a few more. They are an easy gift to make, but again - how do I choose the fabrics for someone else to wear?!!
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About Sublime FabricSublime Fabric is the dream of a busy Mum. To design, make and sell beautiful fabric and objects. A busy Mum of three children, Julie doesn't get much time to work on the dream, but she does make a few beautiful objects along the way... Archives
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