Showing posts with label quilt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quilt. Show all posts

Monday, 22 September 2014

Creating a Handmade Childhood: Patchwork Baby Quilt


The first baby project to be completed! It's a crib 'quilt'. Technically it's not a quilt because I didn't quilt it. It's a good feeling to create something for the little sprout, it's as if we are building a welcome for her.

The pattern is from Joann Fabrics. I will warn you that the instructions are a bit vague so if you're new to quilting, it may be difficult to follow. I used a natural grey linen to incorporate the zakka aesthetic I want for the nursery. I will be using the same linen for throw pillows and other accents which I hope will give the nursery some feeling of unity while allowing for me to play around with prints and patterns.

The fabric came from all over the place, Etsy or Fabric.com are good places to find some that may either be similar or indeed the same. The design of multicolored Spirographs is from Ikea. Once the quilt was assembled, I backed it with a type of quilting batting that doesn't need to be covered, you can get it here. It's beautifully soft and makes for a lightweight quilt.



Monday, 15 September 2014

Making Peace with my Sewing Machine

Ugh Monday. I know. But, I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was pretty fun as I finally got to work on a project for the baby, a quilt. I have to admit that I have been dragging my feet a little on this one because I have a love-hate relationship with my sewing machine. For years I was convinced that it had screwy tension, when really it was user error. You see the blessed thing is old and was passed to me after going through various owners. The model isn't made anymore and I didn't have a manual. Turns out I have been threading it all wrong, how did I find out? I checked online. Now it works like a dream!

So off I went sewing patches and amazing myself at how little time it took - I admit I have hand-sewn a lot of projects because, well, I was afraid of the sewing machine. It was wonderful to have a fall chill in the air, listening to the young kids next door play their drums and think about my mum and all the sewing tricks she taught me. My first driving and sewing lesson came together when she explained that using the pedal on the sewing machine is like using a gas pedal.  Sewing for me is more than making things, it connects me with my mum and my life growing up in the UK. Maybe one day I will teach my own little sprout. Hopefully I will have some pictures of the quilt soon as I want to finish next weekend and move on to the next thing for the nursery.