tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80995713867474899732024-03-05T23:37:53.580+11:00cut make trimAshleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534758548055118791noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099571386747489973.post-73777687376943310252010-02-07T20:14:00.002+11:002010-02-07T20:25:46.641+11:00little suburb baby quilt<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/4336427995/" title="little suburb quilt by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2793/4336427995_575a216ebf.jpg" width="409" height="500" alt="little suburb quilt" /></a><br /><br /> As soon as I spotted<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7608459@N02/4117915367/"> this one</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/imagingermonkey/3852874991/">this one</a> on flickr I knew i needed to make something similar, and fortunately my work supplies a nearly constant stream of new babies as recipients... This one is for a friend at work whose baby of unknown gender is due in June... so I'm a little ahead of myself here.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/4336428035/" title="My favourite house by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4062/4336428035_5702375ab0.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="My favourite house" /></a><br /><br />Now that I've finished this one I need to get going on a <a href="http://www.dsquilts.com/fabric_and_patterns.asp?PageID=83">single girl quilt</a> for a close friend whose baby is already 3 months old... its taken us the best part of a year to settle on a pattern, and I've now given up on letting my friend choose the fabrics, and will instead trust my own judgement on what she'll like!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/4336428049/" title="Close up of tree by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4017/4336428049_805075458c.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Close up of tree" /></a>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534758548055118791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099571386747489973.post-64483098854287844972010-01-16T23:05:00.003+11:002010-01-16T23:41:00.982+11:00Green tumbling blocksFinally finished, a quilt i started intending to have it for winter, ready for the last half of summer - of course, as it was for me it kept getting pushed to the end of the list!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/4278089873/" title="Bed by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2744/4278089873_88640c4d61.jpg" width="500" height="363" alt="Bed" /></a><br /><br />Tumbling blocks pattern, although there's not an awful lot of contrast between my light/medium/darks so not sure that the blocks really stand out. Machine pieced (y-seams arent really that bad when you get going, although admittedly are slower than standard piecing), and machine quilted. First quilt quilted with my new walking foot (thanks mum!) Of course now that I have a walking foot I'm horrified I didnt get one sooner, and keep thinking of all the tiny tucks in the quilting on the quilts I made for my grandmas which could have been avoided. Ah well.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/4278089879/" title="Close up by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2797/4278089879_3d2074295a.jpg" width="500" height="335" alt="Close up" /></a><br /><br />I've used many of the same fabrics as my first green quilt, although this one has many more mid-green fabrics, so the overall tone is a little different. Bound in the same Katie Jump Rope print I used to bind the first green quilt. I am now completely converted from bias binding to straight grain binding. The trouble with having a background in garment sewing is it never even occurred to me that binding could be other than bias, until the overwhelming evidence of other quilters convinced me to try it! At least I've mastered the mitred corners, the first quilt has rounded corners because I simply couldnt figure out how to bind the squared corners (clearly I also couldnt figure out how to use the internet at that stage).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/4278089871/" title="Quilts by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4051/4278089871_3e316a4881.jpg" width="500" height="344" alt="Quilts" /></a><br /><br />The last few quilts I've been sewing binding right side first, pressing and pinning and then ditch stitching from the right side. I think this one will be the last one I do this way, I think I'll go back to sewing to wrong side and then edge stitching from the front. While the back will inevitably be imperfect, I wont miss sections the way I am with this method, and I'm over the going back and restitching sections thing. Also I dont mind the line of stitching the edge stitching gives the front. <br /><br />I have at least three quilts planned in my mind, including another quilt for my bed with more of the same green fabrics. Unfortunately I'm waiting on a pattern and some fabrics to arrive in the post before I can begin any of them. (My shoulder is saying its ok with a few weeks off sewing, it hasnt yet forgiven me for quilting this one start to finish in one sitting).<br /><br />Oh and I should say - I LOVE it, I'm really happy with how it turned out. It feels right, it feels like me. Although I think the first green quilt with all its flaws may still be my favourite :)Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534758548055118791noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099571386747489973.post-48161342731571000352010-01-07T21:11:00.002+11:002010-01-07T21:21:25.195+11:00Another grandma quiltThis quilt was a gift for one of my grandmas for christmas. Made primarily from a kit, with some additional borders added and some pillow shams created to make it into a double bed quilt.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/4252963139/" title="PB220017 by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2732/4252963139_7847a2a8c1.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="PB220017" /></a>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534758548055118791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099571386747489973.post-77319173647406271122009-12-23T19:40:00.003+11:002009-12-23T19:44:18.315+11:00baby quilt<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-i9UXmz7I0fQNFbS8bpDijexMw-70tsiJO73FFDhCpVChWoXD5DCeVgzsuEL6u0PZfyUW-fMfE26rwC-Su-eNWnt-C_BZOHIuyvQKAguK8ofB6lZ8fjknJUAPT0H_lmUZsMqqwb2GjFA/s1600-h/P1010015.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-i9UXmz7I0fQNFbS8bpDijexMw-70tsiJO73FFDhCpVChWoXD5DCeVgzsuEL6u0PZfyUW-fMfE26rwC-Su-eNWnt-C_BZOHIuyvQKAguK8ofB6lZ8fjknJUAPT0H_lmUZsMqqwb2GjFA/s400/P1010015.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418349707383409058" /></a><br />I made this little quilt for a little baby born quite prem a few months ago. She's now home and doing well. Quilt was made from a charm pack of 30's floral prints (Aunt Grace I think they're called?) and the rest was a white ikea sheet with a yellow and white stripe I had on hand from a baby quilt i made a year ago forming the binding. I used pellon instead of quilt batting for the first time to make it particularly light and soft, so it can be used as wrap as well as a quilt.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534758548055118791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099571386747489973.post-77063504184877625392009-10-17T22:26:00.002+11:002009-10-17T22:29:31.968+11:00on the shelfplaying along with <a href="http://meetmeatmikes.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-place-yours.html">pip</a>...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/4018438407/" title="On the shelf by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2567/4018438407_9999410d66.jpg" width="500" height="396" alt="On the shelf" /></a><br /><br />on my shelf: orange popular penguins - how i heart thee<br />and turtle toys from woolies... i love turtles. actually all of my shelves have turtles but these are my current faves.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534758548055118791noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099571386747489973.post-46789812290888591052009-09-13T22:04:00.002+10:002009-09-13T22:21:33.803+10:00new baglast weeks project: new bag<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/3914782607/" title="new bag by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2661/3914782607_c215d05d7e.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="new bag" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/3914786195/" title="new bag by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3495/3914786195_77fde66273.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="new bag" /></a><br /><br />i've completely lost interest in making my green quilt... hoping if i take a break i'll get my enthusiasm back...Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534758548055118791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099571386747489973.post-43353856546463640442009-08-18T19:27:00.010+10:002009-08-18T19:50:52.447+10:00exciting!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSnxizmh7KVUegkBpCAo8GLB1Q9lXbGheYvvyiypYPnhGmd-Hp_z1PNNf-45bqgMDpd80oWQAI7aYrwKS2768g0L8I1ed3IEM8oG6D93dCI2TOsGGtoPkDfnStJySBPxV_pwdYrKQDtXc/s1600-h/DS04NewDay.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 290px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSnxizmh7KVUegkBpCAo8GLB1Q9lXbGheYvvyiypYPnhGmd-Hp_z1PNNf-45bqgMDpd80oWQAI7aYrwKS2768g0L8I1ed3IEM8oG6D93dCI2TOsGGtoPkDfnStJySBPxV_pwdYrKQDtXc/s400/DS04NewDay.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371237047872693954" /></a><br /><br /><br />today I discovered that *finally* new fabrics are coming out from Denyse Schmidt. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWtvW54-1mA0OWfxrjxosA6BlSh6Js9JKs_skk9HTEO5ub4-Xp3YeAt9ILGMwlymCnYoI-j2_umuFVYonu4hWdxbn4Tf_PAArmpSPcupl862jmVlU6satESSOJPYurkv8d0OV_gju2A-0/s1600-h/DS03NewDay.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 290px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWtvW54-1mA0OWfxrjxosA6BlSh6Js9JKs_skk9HTEO5ub4-Xp3YeAt9ILGMwlymCnYoI-j2_umuFVYonu4hWdxbn4Tf_PAArmpSPcupl862jmVlU6satESSOJPYurkv8d0OV_gju2A-0/s320/DS03NewDay.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371235333899716482" /></a><br />Flea Market Fancy and Katie Jump Rope (her last two ranges) are my all time favourite fabric collections, but the new <a href="http://freespiritfabric.com/core-pages/gallery.php?gal_id=260&sw_id=3341">Hope Valley</a> range are promising to be amazing! <br /><br /><br />meanwhile a poor quality photo of my current WIP - green tumbling blocks, for my bed. Current dilemma - what quilting design to use and do i experiment with hand quilting? free motion quilting? or stick with machining straight lines... would love to hand quilt but suspect it may never get finished if i go for that...<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5WXzssolJcsUUZArAoYs4rg7TYljcXwRre-yjeyyYMX_4RjJ2pd8ayM80D7Ug5f3_-Qfg7vNrBDHLlbzOc_6nc1NC2DEjhe-upQZEHIYiLmVwADuI4CSiVkIfDMityWDwgKl4iGXKbM/s1600-h/DS06NewDay.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 290px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5WXzssolJcsUUZArAoYs4rg7TYljcXwRre-yjeyyYMX_4RjJ2pd8ayM80D7Ug5f3_-Qfg7vNrBDHLlbzOc_6nc1NC2DEjhe-upQZEHIYiLmVwADuI4CSiVkIfDMityWDwgKl4iGXKbM/s320/DS06NewDay.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371235063618116642" /></a><br /><br />Unfortunately looks like a few more months til its available, but that just gives me more time to plan what I want to make - definitely loving this bluey greeny grey colourway. And thinking that given whats happened with flea market fancy (going out of print and becoming so hard to find) maybe i'll decide its a necessary investment to just buy a metre of each of them for the stash?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSq8RktWq9XoOrWHhyphenhyphenBaM5_UnsvjLQVnrvmvQyMPftKn8U-W48eJXwqxFgIpc8aQvwGUNU0T_k2RD0bu9U4hT4apqTP4e1rYSyMXFuhiPJ6F7WIwmCG8poG9VlNAUi5mD7_h12bupKtFI/s1600-h/DS01NewDay.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 290px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSq8RktWq9XoOrWHhyphenhyphenBaM5_UnsvjLQVnrvmvQyMPftKn8U-W48eJXwqxFgIpc8aQvwGUNU0T_k2RD0bu9U4hT4apqTP4e1rYSyMXFuhiPJ6F7WIwmCG8poG9VlNAUi5mD7_h12bupKtFI/s400/DS01NewDay.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371235574857601010" /></a><br /><br />This is what I'm working on at the moment - green tumbling blocks for my bed. Big question is - if I start hand quilting it, will i ever finish it????<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBEO-4jzdSCzCvynAxyVKrBROQThIwh5-SxCu9s3fVv5trLimbO-zc-AVcgW6c6YbdqGPyBGjr7pgB3F_Ok2hHiY3c98wnlNyuhA2_7i9NoI4oJY8Q_j82UeHeK4LbdFQDkeKAyDpRGvU/s1600-h/P8150004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBEO-4jzdSCzCvynAxyVKrBROQThIwh5-SxCu9s3fVv5trLimbO-zc-AVcgW6c6YbdqGPyBGjr7pgB3F_Ok2hHiY3c98wnlNyuhA2_7i9NoI4oJY8Q_j82UeHeK4LbdFQDkeKAyDpRGvU/s400/P8150004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371238248490936818" /></a>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534758548055118791noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099571386747489973.post-36411854552036264132009-07-25T23:21:00.002+10:002009-07-25T23:33:40.463+10:00Sunday stashIts not quite Sunday yet, but I did some stash building today at the Melbourne Quilt Fair...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/3755011378/" title="Stash building by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3504/3755011378_52692414ce.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Stash building" /></a><br /><br />Some more Denyse Schmidt, because I can't resist and I seem to have a growing obsession with yellow.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/3754208423/" title="Retro goodness by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2615/3754208423_d3aa86248f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Retro goodness" /></a><br /><br />and some cute retro prints because, well, they were $3.50 a fat quarter and they were cute...? <br /><br />Find of the day was a green fabric by the yard perfect for my green quilt I've been about to start for the last 4 months...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/3754213167/" title="The last green by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2564/3754213167_d26325ebb8.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="The last green" /></a><br /><br />and at $8 a metre I was a happy chappy :)<br /><br />Also bought some rulers, fabric pencil leads, extra fabric for another project thats underway and some fabric for a planned christmas present (organisation plus!)... in the space of a few short hours I managed to dispose of more money than I had planned, but came way with lots of goodies.<br /><br />And when checking out the quilts on display, I was reminded of how much I love the tumbling blocks pattern. So after 4 moths of procrastinating starting my green quilt, I completely revised my planned pattern, and came home and have cut all the diamonds to make the fabrics into a tumbling blocks quilt! After making the quilts for my grandmothers I feel ok about the idea of machine piecing diamonds, which I used to think was just too hard. Tomorrow when I start the actual piecing I may live to regret my changed pattern, but here's hoping it will all come together with out too much stress.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534758548055118791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099571386747489973.post-83604590549801257682009-07-24T21:57:00.002+10:002009-07-24T22:02:15.806+10:00I made thisThought I'd play along with this one from <a href="http://meetmeatmikes.blogspot.com/2009/07/free-things-friday-win-our-book.html">Meet Me at Mikes</a>... so... I made this last weekend:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/3733965386/" title="P7190009 by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2612/3733965386_a0f2529fd8.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P7190009" /></a><br /><br />owl embroidered in chain stitch on to white drill and backed in white minky.<br /><br />I've just finished the embroidery for a grey elephant and a green turtle... i'm liking making these!Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534758548055118791noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099571386747489973.post-5124344118305424702009-07-24T21:22:00.003+10:002009-07-24T21:57:00.009+10:00Quilts for grandmasBoth my grandmothers turn 90 next month, and I've made them both quilts for their birthdays. My photos are terrible I'm afraid, but hopefully will get better ones of them in their new homes soon.<br /><br />This one for Grandma Nancy - a single bed quilt:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/3726652780/" title="P6280001 by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2580/3726652780_b472d2c8ef.jpg" width="474" height="500" alt="P6280001" /></a><br /><br />and this one (still not bound, getting around to that any minute now) for Grandma Rita - a lap quilt about 130cm squared<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/3726650196/" title="P7160005 by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2599/3726650196_d1bf095d15.jpg" width="411" height="500" alt="P7160005" /></a><br /><br /><br />Hopefully they'll like them, and they'll coordinate with the rooms they're intended for... <br /><br />Both patterns are from a Japanese book of star based quilt patterns (no name for you as i have zero Japanese translation skills, but here's what it looks like)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/3752188812/" title="P7240003 by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3519/3752188812_dd5a14cc75_m.jpg" width="206" height="240" alt="P7240003" /></a>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534758548055118791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099571386747489973.post-29409114559576746822009-03-29T22:39:00.004+11:002009-03-29T22:53:48.640+11:00the blue beast<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh06-dVVMog4JPJNtFeEza2iTCKlV_Cu1wdPb7q-x-4T6UxKdksuaKbRIHA68FgcGrk_Hx25DarvR_57d2BqlBRGoDd2-znAHob3iDOuVCnsjBFLWHwsl2rdZ4lUM4An8pEfbMInqEUENo/s1600-h/P1010009.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh06-dVVMog4JPJNtFeEza2iTCKlV_Cu1wdPb7q-x-4T6UxKdksuaKbRIHA68FgcGrk_Hx25DarvR_57d2BqlBRGoDd2-znAHob3iDOuVCnsjBFLWHwsl2rdZ4lUM4An8pEfbMInqEUENo/s400/P1010009.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318575957574871474" /></a><br /><br />well i have finally finished this quilt, a gift for one of my closest friends, which has taken over my house on and off for about 9 months now. Its been a bit of a struggle, partly because its roughly king size and partly because I decided not long after I'd started piecing the front that i didnt like the pattern I'd chosen. Grrrr. <br /><br />Anyway, although I'm still not overly loving the front, I'm happy with the back, and figure that can be the new front, if its intended recipient feels the same way. And I am really happy with the quilting pattern I chose. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIOJjpXcX91CeucQjPIQpXLFoYy_azVVvC1oqiBUgtOm6KmtAUvhUHv8fxabj7E_ZtoUV7MObOYYSiUZkwhlqHW8QvyTKBjBv_8TGKbaFw2MRKQmsgTN1Df8A1cCp1mqBtOschIifjcuA/s1600-h/P1010011.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 344px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIOJjpXcX91CeucQjPIQpXLFoYy_azVVvC1oqiBUgtOm6KmtAUvhUHv8fxabj7E_ZtoUV7MObOYYSiUZkwhlqHW8QvyTKBjBv_8TGKbaFw2MRKQmsgTN1Df8A1cCp1mqBtOschIifjcuA/s400/P1010011.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318575972477876658" /></a><br /><br />And now I can start on all the other projects I've had on hold for a while now. Next major project is another green quilt for me, this time for my bed.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534758548055118791noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099571386747489973.post-6407865997826736812009-03-05T13:13:00.002+11:002009-03-05T13:31:04.093+11:00creamy yellow baby quilt<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTAKpxvXQdUjI1azw-5ECWT1ee90a7OrV2-uXNTNJnNGCBOoX1yRrM8-7q_tsAmNbDMySx1CjEsyngQTeDDjN5rHB_lEnoXL0xz6LVaZDoGjSJU43SSGkU5YeQC3uIJOfMZAzlMtgz30/s1600-h/PC140003.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 383px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTAKpxvXQdUjI1azw-5ECWT1ee90a7OrV2-uXNTNJnNGCBOoX1yRrM8-7q_tsAmNbDMySx1CjEsyngQTeDDjN5rHB_lEnoXL0xz6LVaZDoGjSJU43SSGkU5YeQC3uIJOfMZAzlMtgz30/s400/PC140003.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309521791204128786" /></a><br />A few weeks before Christmas my friend Asha and I were sitting in a cafe on a Saturday afternoon discussing all the presents we hadn't yet organised for Christmas, when we remembered one of Asha's oldest friends was having her baby shower just a few days after Christmas as well. While discussing Asha's present plans, I mentioned it would be nice to make her a baby quilt. Suddenly inspired we decided we would race our way across town to Amitie and buy the fabric for such a quilt...<br />We made it to Amitie at 3.50, conscious of there 4 o'clock close. We'd planned in the car, a simple patchwork quilt, all in yellows, perhaps alternating white with yellow. We grabbed down the various fabrics we liked, collecting up about 9 different yellows with a spots, stripes and checks theme. We found a white with a very small yellow dot to be the alternating fabric, and I did some of the wildest calculations I'd done in a while (no graph paper scale drawings to assist) and we were out by closing time. For two usually indecisive people it was quite a feat.<br /><br />We headed straight home, and I got Asha set up on cutting out while I chain pieced pairs of squares. Asha pressed them and we had them laid out on the floor by dinner time.<br /><br />where they sat for the next two weeks.<br />With me leaping over them every time I went in the kitchen.<br /><br />The plan had been for this to be a joint project, but with Asha's workload reaching its usual pre-Christmas out of control levels, it wasn't going to happen before the baby shower. Until I went into Christmas melt down mode, became completely obsessed with the idea that *everything* had to be done before Christmas, and decided to finish as a surprise for ash... the fact that she wanted to be part of making it was lost to my crazed mind, and i sewed obsessively until it was done. <br /><br />I really liked the quilting, which I'd seen somewhere on flickr - a few rows in each direction offset to one corner of each square.<br /><br />Apparently it went over well at the baby shower and its little owner is hopefully now making good use of it.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534758548055118791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099571386747489973.post-52889640691712609922008-09-28T16:39:00.002+10:002008-09-28T17:01:29.172+10:00noughts and croseses / hugs and kisses baby quiltSo after weeks of procrastinating, I finally sat myself down and got this quilt finished yesterday. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/2894148672/" title="Baby quilt by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3034/2894148672_1da237c8be.jpg" width="430" height="500" alt="Baby quilt" /></a><br /><br />The pattern is derived from <a href="http://happythings.typepad.com/happythings/2007/07/scrap-x-quilt--.html">this one</a>. The fabrics were cheapies I found at spotlight, the x's are actually pieced together from a fabric of "running eighths" - eight strips of different coordinating prints printed running down one fabric. I realised part way in I had bought no where near enough of that fabric, and of course when I went back for more, it was gone. So I decided an adaptation was needed, and decided to make it into a noughts and crosses quilt.<br /><br />There are a few things I'm not super happy about with this quilt - the sewing is not my finest work; I chose a poly batting rather than the cotton I've been using and its not so great. I also didn't prewash the fabrics, knowing they would shrink but wanting to see how the shrinked effect looked... right now, i'm not such a fan, although I can see it would be good in the right context. Also I wont be using cheap fabrics again in a hurry, the quality is definitely not the same.<br /><br />Having said all that, it was always intended to be a bit of a practice quilt, and it gave me an opportunity to try different things and so now I have some more ideas about which way I like doing things best. And the best part was that the binding is absolutely the best binding i've done, and gave me a chance to practice my mitred corners.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/2894148706/" title="Baby quilt reverse by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3042/2894148706_d9b929da66.jpg" width="500" height="321" alt="Baby quilt reverse" /></a><br /><br />Next project is a big one - a queen size quilt for one of my bestest friends who is currently living in London. It took me ages to decide what I wanted to make for her, as she's not keen on lots of colour or bold pattern, but after lots of research I came up with a idea I think will work... I have the fabrics, I have even prewashed them. Its the first time I've prewashed, but I definitely dont want the shrinked look for this one, and as the fabrics are from a number of different places I really didnt want to risk them shrinking at different rates. So now for lots of cutting, lots of sewing, lots of basting, lots of quilting. Somehow its all looking a bit daunting at the moment!Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534758548055118791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099571386747489973.post-78999135724336811242008-09-14T21:49:00.004+10:002008-09-17T19:51:10.433+10:00Weekend creationsOn Friday night I came across<a href="http://craftcitymelbourne.blogspot.com/"> this</a> post on Craft City Melbourne, about Amitie, a fabric shop in Bentleigh. Now since I moved to Melbourne I've struggled to find any local fabric shops stocking fabrics I actually like, and so have been doing most of my shopping online. Something about the photo of their front window made me think that this one might be worth the drive to visit.<br /><br />So Saturday afternoon having done the necessary cleaning and grocery shopping and finding myself with a couple of hours to spare before I was due at a friends place for an evening of mass production sewing, I grabbed my street directory and headed off to Amitie.<br /><br />Now as mentioned in my previous post I have a bit of an obsession going on with all things Denyse Schmidt. I've been eyeing off her latest range <a href="http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=403">"County Fair"</a> which is a heavier "home dec" weight fabric. I'll been contemplating on Friday buying some of the fabrics online in order to make a new handbag, but had been unable to decide on whether the fabrics I was looking at would look right in real life and so had discarded the idea.<br /><br />So when I walked in the door of Amitie, (having first noticed that the quilt in the window featured fabrics from the Katie Jump Rope collection) and found the entire collection of County fair stacked by the door way, I could barely contain my excitement.<br /><br />Amitie is a gorgeous shop, an awesome range of fabrics without a hint of country or the an overwhelming array of shabby chic that seems to feature in most patchwork fabric shops. I wondered around for a while feeling a little overwhelmed and generally trying to resist the urge to come up with any new projects before I complete the ones currently on the go.<br /><br />In the end I bought pieces of three of the county fair fabrics to make a bag, although without a pattern in mind.<br /><br />I worked out the pattern this morning, and after a quick trip to Spotlight for some extra bits and pieces, I made this bag:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/2864383449/" title="New handbag by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3284/2864383449_8d76466908.jpg" width="490" height="500" alt="New handbag" /></a><br /><br />I'm really happy with how it came together, and I'm particularly glad that I took the time to get a few things right - like adding an extra layer of denim inside the top panel to make it stronger. Tomorrow morning will be its test to see if it can hold all my usual handbag contents plus my lunch, apple, water bottle and book. I think it will manage fine, and I can stop carrying two pages to work each day!<br /><br />I'd bought a new pair of ($12 Kmart) sunglasses yesterday and had decided that I would make a sunglasses case out of the left over fabric to match my new bag. In then end I made it out of the third of the three fabrics I'd bought, which I ended up not needing in the bag. That came together so quickly and easily that I tipped out the contents of my handbag to see what else I could make to go in my handbag. A small pencil case was next to hold the pacer, pen, eraser and mini ruler I carry so I can draw quilt patterns in my notebook. That done, I decided my notebook needed a cover with some pockets to hold some of the other loose bits of paper I carry around.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/2864383443/" title="Handbag, notebook cover, pencil case, sunglasses case by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3136/2864383443_7e01d69dd4.jpg" width="500" height="381" alt="Handbag, notebook cover, pencil case, sunglasses case" /></a><br /><br />The notebook cover is the only one I'm not overly happy with. I'd been using this thin stripe fabric as lining and really liked the way it looked with the fabrics, and thought it would make cute binding, but somehow its ended up looking a bit old fashioned. Still, its functional and I finally made myself take the time to actually figure out how to mitre binding corners, so it was a good sampler for that if nothing else!Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534758548055118791noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099571386747489973.post-22046454681947414582008-09-12T19:07:00.006+10:002008-09-17T19:53:33.051+10:00quilt for claudiaSo in the process of making my first quilt I discovered a lot of very exciting things... most of them are denyse schmidt. First I found her <a href="http://www.freespiritfabric.com/core-pages/gallery.php?gal_id=114">katie jump rope fabrics</a>. I bought a couple of the green ones to use in my first quilt and when they arrived i fell in love with the quality of the fabrics combined with the vibrant patterns.<br /><br />The fabric led me to Denyse Schmidt's quilts, in particular this one: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9gY4erX81ib84zpB9fUy5iH9cxGmZ1YWkrtexkXIxZQ7Vx5yp89isHWqBpyCcs4V2Ug6qBFs_Kc302kr9yUQYlY46n9x9ntL76uRVOqvcpA3P0uwS84E4SEpzyqdm-TkFIoDAJhEjggo/s1600-h/bigzig.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9gY4erX81ib84zpB9fUy5iH9cxGmZ1YWkrtexkXIxZQ7Vx5yp89isHWqBpyCcs4V2Ug6qBFs_Kc302kr9yUQYlY46n9x9ntL76uRVOqvcpA3P0uwS84E4SEpzyqdm-TkFIoDAJhEjggo/s320/bigzig.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245075087475369778" /></a><br /><br />I loved the simple bold design, it made me really start to reassess my concept of how a quilt could look. I also loved the simplicity of making zigzags out of half square triangles, and spent a lot of time drawing up patterns in a graph paper notebook.<br /><br />Meanwhile I fell in love with these fabrics and desperately wanted to make something with them:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVmURLeh9Pvh7-ILHfQ6FPS9yc-tQQaq2LsR_QFOw9P-W59jMw5GNSTiJebO_GxlVYz5GeBf01mgFtAqiczfRG8kB0exZUxrD_YjVLkCcG_f-vGinL90YcD4F2EaZWTTbf3ATxuu9ndo/s1600-h/basketweave.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVmURLeh9Pvh7-ILHfQ6FPS9yc-tQQaq2LsR_QFOw9P-W59jMw5GNSTiJebO_GxlVYz5GeBf01mgFtAqiczfRG8kB0exZUxrD_YjVLkCcG_f-vGinL90YcD4F2EaZWTTbf3ATxuu9ndo/s200/basketweave.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245077926728782802" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpIwVnRyiJhuvNAHKr0avZSJVCsIbEJX5rGGFqH9OB0BNrkyiL3DXodtIt183GTs0fB-I8LOMurK0Y7EVcWYsNBAtxL624aA6B1MO7JFQdyT-jFsnlFuC5x895xercIoMzH5XYIo2shD4/s1600-h/brown+floral.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpIwVnRyiJhuvNAHKr0avZSJVCsIbEJX5rGGFqH9OB0BNrkyiL3DXodtIt183GTs0fB-I8LOMurK0Y7EVcWYsNBAtxL624aA6B1MO7JFQdyT-jFsnlFuC5x895xercIoMzH5XYIo2shD4/s200/brown+floral.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245077931951544898" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9lp2x8zPhJyhqSmcNLsGm4F0tJxi06XTmu9ex__CDjzRA_4BdJ5dKr0TXfEDaNgr_Tik7OdN0IrZ0KXBT3ojMkzQJPeKif742nWfiPOnJ6LvBLddKehX3qaSAao94qN-G8uncEY2ql4/s1600-h/cloissione.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9lp2x8zPhJyhqSmcNLsGm4F0tJxi06XTmu9ex__CDjzRA_4BdJ5dKr0TXfEDaNgr_Tik7OdN0IrZ0KXBT3ojMkzQJPeKif742nWfiPOnJ6LvBLddKehX3qaSAao94qN-G8uncEY2ql4/s200/cloissione.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245077936276277938" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4zLihXhC7KdU0IZVdgXoeqMnB4KZqbgeZ1luqN0yvLeElAoMcgugLlRxq89drbbFI-WDB6Y-aw-CTlq5Y8kH1l-WtXab1MR9fUiisA9Nc12mMTwjvKPIp2tF1dSQNKWgM68AnkxVrJA/s1600-h/geometric.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4zLihXhC7KdU0IZVdgXoeqMnB4KZqbgeZ1luqN0yvLeElAoMcgugLlRxq89drbbFI-WDB6Y-aw-CTlq5Y8kH1l-WtXab1MR9fUiisA9Nc12mMTwjvKPIp2tF1dSQNKWgM68AnkxVrJA/s200/geometric.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245077933212545090" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcD9kvVc8y1y1dL8e9WPOzQXGJsiHFYyEo1zNR1RqdBei3T6l_G8sgucv-A6kqirwSMzW6s8HnSc4KtrPougnOdtD0T3di9mSyp8cwNL0Xwq6Hh6D0FT49lGaoxIWtmQGDPjZfoWzrQlM/s1600-h/red+floral.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcD9kvVc8y1y1dL8e9WPOzQXGJsiHFYyEo1zNR1RqdBei3T6l_G8sgucv-A6kqirwSMzW6s8HnSc4KtrPougnOdtD0T3di9mSyp8cwNL0Xwq6Hh6D0FT49lGaoxIWtmQGDPjZfoWzrQlM/s200/red+floral.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245077939432125746" /></a><br /><br />The colours reminded me of my friend claudia, who i always associate with browns and reds and oranges. I started thinking about her and how homesick she gets sometimes. She lives in Canada at the moment, but works in tourism and so tends to move around a lot, and consequently has lived for some years without a permanent home, I can remember her telling me once about how she wanted to feel more settled, that she was tired of never having house things because they werent easy to pack up and take when she moved. And I realised how perfect a present a quilt would be for her - reasonably practical, reasonably light (i'm talking small blanket size, not large bed size). And I knew that she would love having something I'd made, and felt that I could pick her taste well enough to make the right thing.<br /><br />And so I made her this quilt:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/2864383459/" title="Zigzag quilt for Claudia by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3092/2864383459_e9e2634d59.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Zigzag quilt for Claudia" /></a><br /><br />I really need to work out how to take better photos of my quilts, this is the best i could do.<br /><br />Claudia's coming to see me in a few weeks time, and I'm so excited to be able to give it to her in person. Hopefully she'll have room in her bag to get it back, if not I'll post it and it can chase her back to Canada. And then she and I will both be able to sit on our couches and watch tv or do jigsaw puzzles on different sides of the world but both with our quilts wrapped around us.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/2864383481/" title="Zigzag quilt for claudia by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3260/2864383481_4a854a1231.jpg" width="397" height="500" alt="Zigzag quilt for claudia" /></a>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534758548055118791noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099571386747489973.post-89521168319630180562008-08-30T15:48:00.005+10:002008-09-17T19:57:32.281+10:00back in business quilt<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/2864383503/" title="My green quilt by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3271/2864383503_f06b68dbc5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="My green quilt" /></a><br />This is my "back in business" quilt, so called because its the first substantial thing I've made in about 4 years, and the thing that got me excited about sewing again.<br /><br />The idea for this one came about when I was in the process of looking to buy a new house (or, more specifically, flat), and I was day dreaming about the interior design of the potential new property. I decided I needed a lying on the couch watching tv quilt to go with my new living room. Having more than a slight green addiction the colour was readily determined. I've always liked the idea of basic square patches in random fabrics, so I didn't initially put too much thought in the pattern. Originally I envisaged lots of vintage fabrics with a totally random placement, however that didn't quite eventuate.<br /><br />I started shopping for fabrics with very little thought to how much of each fabric I would need. The majority of the fabrics I found on etsy, with a few from Spotlight and a couple from a quilting store in Geelong. <br /><br />Once I'd started purchasing fabrics I started to give more thought to how I was going achieve that often unattainable "random" look on the front, and also what I was going to use for the back. One of my biggest concerns on starting the project was an intense fear of not being able to quilt the finished project, given the time I'd had away from the machine, and the fact that I'd never machine quilted anything large scale.<br /><br />I decided early on to use an adaptation of a "quilt as you go" method my mum had used a few years before when making her queen size quilt. Hers had been a log cabin pattern which with each strip pieced direct on to the batting and backing. I knew that wouldn't work for my quilt, but decided to create the quilt in 9 fully quilted strips which would then be pieced back together and the seams bound . Each strip would be three patches wide by 21 patches long. <br /><br />At this point I realised that I hadn't bought enough of my fabrics to create the nine long strips i would need for backing, and so decided on a pieced back, with each strip consisting of 9 large squares.<br /><br />Looking at the fabrics I'd collected I had lots of small pieces (quarter or half yards) and only two fabrics in any sort of quantity (a couple of yards of each). Fortunately one of these two was one of the darkest fabrics I had and the other one of the lightest. After giving it lots of thought (and very nerdily creating an excel spreadsheet image of the quilt) I decided that instead of a totally random placement of fabrics, I'd use a pattern of dark / random / light / random, creating diagonal visual lines of the dark and the light.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30636173@N08/2864383489/" title="My green quilt (reverse by cutmaketrim, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/2864383489_28717e94b5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="My green quilt (reverse" /></a><br /><br />I cut the fabrics (having worked out exactly how many of each fabric i needed, because again, I am a maths nerd when it comes down to it) and then stacked them up in the dark / random / light / random order. I then pieced them into groups of three, as I wanted to lay them all out before joining the full strips.<br /><br />Once I had my mini strips of three I cleared the lounge room floor, and laid out the pieces, rearranging to achieve a "randomness" i was happy with. Actually it look me so long to lay them all out my back was killing by the end of it, and the last few rows include more repeats than I had allowed for the rest of the quilt, but I assured myself that no one but me would ever know...<br /><br />The mini strips became long strips, and three long strips made a fully pieced panel. The pieced panels were basted to cotton quilt batting (which I had prewashed even though my patience didnt extend to prewashing the fabrics) and a backing strip of nine large squares. I quilted each strip with a very simple design of diagonal lines, intersecting the corners of the patches, with the line on each strip going in alternating directions to create a herringbone look on the finished quilt.<br /><br />The quilted panels were then sewn together a piece of folded bias binding attached to the seam and then handsewn down to create a flat binding or sashing encasing the seams.<br /><br />I then bound the edges of the quilt with bias binding, this is the most poorly executed aspect of the quilt, the binding kept roping and I was far too eager to finish to consider unpicking and redoing . Fortunately its something that doesn't bother me, although I'll have to keep mum from looking to closely.<br /><br />I haven't yet washed this quilt, as I'm slightly afraid of what i'm going to have done mixing all those fabrics with out prewashing... however I'm gaining confidence having looked at photos of more and more post washed quilts online that if anything the shrinking and puckering will just enhance the quilt...<br /><br />And so thats the back in business quilt, which appears to be the beginning of a new obsession. Its so exciting to be obsessed again!Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534758548055118791noreply@blogger.com1