A Small City Sampler Quilt - Finished

Woohoo I have my first quilt finish for 2017.  My #100days100blocks Tula Pink City Sampler quilt of which I gave up on after 45 blocks has been turned into a completed quilt.

Earlier this year I turned the blocks into a quilt top with a gorgeous rich blue shot cotton from Spotlight. Because this quilt is being gifted to Cecily, a family friend who is rather ill, I figured the quilt may get a little more washing,  so opted to use a polyester batting to make it easier for her with its weight when wet and for drying speed.  I used Soft & Bright which is made by the same manufacturers Warm & Natural cotton batting.  I have to admit I was a wee bit apprehensive about using polyester batting after my last experience, but this stuff is fabulous to use.  I backed the quilt with a purple floral vintage cotton sheet - one of her favourite colours.

Some machine quilting was done around the border of the quilt to hold it's shape and around the sampler cross, however I wanted a quilt that was soft, snuggly and lightweight for her, not stiff with lots of quilting, I decided to tie the rest of it after reading this post from kokaquilts.  I used black DMC perle 8  and tied on the corner of each sampler block then at 6" intervals on the blue.  I am delighted with how soft and drapey the quilt has turned out, and how easy it was to tie it.

Binding was made from Amy Butler's Tropi Canna fabric a fortuitous find in my stash , which delights me with it's vibrant colours that pick up so much from the quilt centre.  The quilt finishes at approximately 60" square, so I think just perfect for snuggling under on a day when you don't really want to get off the sofa.

This is now being packaged up and sent to my Mum, so she can deliver it to Cecily.

Works in Progress

A day at home today saw me determined to finish quilting my City Sampler quilt.  After a couple of quick tutorials, the hand tying commenced, I found this rather quick and easy and so much less stressful on my shoulders than machine quilting, subsequently it is now ready for binding.

However, before binding can start, the sewing room needs to be cleaned up, so of course this means you find other WIPs that need finishing:

• Sea glass Sampler quilt - this now needs to be turned into a quilt top.  It won't be a large quilt more of a lap quilt for Miss B.

• Bird Dance - 12 blocks down, 18 to go plus the borders, this is meant to be done by the end of June - not liking my chances here.

• My Tiptoe through the Tulips test block is going to be turned into a medallion quilt, lots of planning to be done first.

• Liberty Bloomsbury Quilt - this is in fact in a usable state, however it still needs the hand quilting to be finished.  Luckily the evenings are getting cooler which makes it a much more pleasant task.

No doubt other new projects will catch my eye, but I am going to try and be good and finish these before starting anything else large.

From the Sewing Room

• Sometimes, we start things because everyone else is, we want to feel that we belong to that group, and to experience the camaraderie that goes with that belonging.  My #100days100blocks  project was like that.   After a wee bit of deliberation, I have decided to stop my participation at 48 blocks. I am not enjoying the project, and I know it is meant to be a no stress thing, but I feel stressed and under pressure if I am not up to date or even a couple of days ahead, which I know is silly.  To me quilting is meant to be a fun, relaxing hobby and it shouldn't make me feel like this.  So rather than continue to invest time in a project that is not really making me happy, I am going to turn these 48 blocks into a quilt and donate it to my local Hospice.  I can't think of a better place for it to go, and of course that means I can start a new project or two that makes me happy.

• I'm a little bit late to the Alison Glass fan club, but after seeing so many of her fabrics used in the Jeweled Kaleidoscope quilts and cushions being made by the pattern testers, I finally succumbed and bought some of her beautiful endpaper design from her Ex Libris collection.

• Another block for the Seaglass sampler quilt - this paper pieced heart from Lilyella is the 10" poetry version of her Love Story Block.

Happy weekending !!

Weekending

It rained. I sewed,

• Keeping up to date with my City Sampler blocks #100days100blocks - have I mentioned that I don't particularly like making HST, unfortunately this section is full of them.  Sigh ....
• Finally made that seashell block  for Miss B's Seaglass sampler quilt - it has only been a month since I wrote about making it.
• Made all 16 blocks for my pattern testing project - now I need to piece them together.

and read and ate chocolate.  Overall a good weekend.

PS: The Scout, Miss B and Mr J were on a  3 day Scout hike, so I wasn't  ignoring them.

Weekending

My new favourite block.

Rachel hard at work basting her applique down

Some of Deb's sampler blocks for her quilt

Mel's wip - a  paper pieced donkey for a swap she is in.

Sewing

• I bought myself a new cutting mat so had to try it out.  Gosh it is amazing the difference it makes.  The result another couple of blocks for my #100days100 blocks project - I am a little ahead, but I know I have a busy week, so this way I don't have to stress out over not keeping up

Reading

• Eve of a Hundred Midnights - it is non fiction, but a very easy and interesting read so far, and I am sure it will be sad.

Sewing Day

• another day of catching up with my friends, good food, interesting projects, and even a good trip home today

Hope you have all had a wonderful weekend.  

Making, Pondering, Noticing

Making

• marmalade
• another block for my Sea Glass Beach Sampler quilt
• more blocks for my #100days100blocks quilt  - these are my favourite recent makes.

Pondering a few projects for next year

• a Rebel Quilt - thinking Mr J would like this in shades of blue
• my Anna Maria Horner irish chain quilt
• quilting and binding the city sampler quilt - not sure if I will keep this or donate it to our local hospice - I may even have enough blocks for two smaller quilts.
• making curtains for the ranch slider doors/windows in the house
• recovering my dining chairs with coffee sacks, could be scratchy on bare legs in summer, though they may soften with use.

Noticing

• that my latest NZ House & Garden magazine co-ordinates beautifully with my Liberty Bloomsbury

Is anyone else thinking about projects for next year?

Weekending

Loving // This fabulous pile of inspirational books from the library
Eating //Sour Cream and Chive potato chips.
Drinking //Water  - trying to up my intake again, though it is easier now it is a little warmer
Feeling // Inspired by the beautiful weather, but lacking the motivation to get out there and do something
Making // more 6.5" blocks for my City Sampler quilt - 25 done so far, only 75 to go.
Thinking //about making marmalade with these orange limes I have been gifted. They are sour!!
Dreaming //About renovating my living areas.

Linking up to Here & Now at Say Little Hen

Scenes from my Week

From the sofa

• the hand quilting continues on my Liberty Bloomsbury quilt, this is only worked on in the evenings, but I am surprised with how much I have done so far.   I am  lovinge how the back looks too.

From the sewing room

• some more blocks for the sea glass sampler quilt.  I came across this sea shell block the other day and  have decided to make it too - I couldn't really not for this quilt.
• the first 9 blocks for my City Sampler - surprisingly they don't look too bad together.

From the garden

• remember that bare garden here that I had to plant - well finally the weather has been fine and warm, so the first plants are in and mulched. Only the lime tree and manuka plants were new, all the rest have been transplanted or broken up from other areas of my garden.  Now they need to grow and then I can plant some smaller flowering plants for more colour.

One more day till the weekend. I want to do some yummy baking and a few more City Sampler blocks, what have you got planned for yours?

Weekending - #100Days100Blocks

I need a new WIP, like I need a hole in the head, yet I have decided to try and complete the #100Days100Blocks quilt along currently being hosted by GnomeAngel and friends.  Using the Tula Pink City Sampler book, which I have had for about three years, we make one block a day until we have completed the 100 blocks.  It started on 17 August and will finish on 24 November. Of  course I have had to catch up on blocks 1-5, so there has been a mammoth sewing effort this weekend. As I have not officially registered on the Instagram based quilt along, I will be updating my blocks here and on my Flickr page.

I think the hardest thing is picking the fabrics/colour palette for each block.  As I do not have a huge stash of Tula Pink fabrics, I have decicded to go with the Freespirit Designers as my starting point, most of their designers that I like - Amy Butler, Tula Pink, Anna Maria Horner, Denyse Schmidt and Joel Dewberry have colour palettes that work beautifully together.    So hopefully my quilt blocks will have some sort of cohesion to them when I have finished.  Very hard to see at this point.  I am trying to use fabrics /scraps already in my stash.

4 down, 96 to go.  I suspect that there may be a sewing binge every few of days to catch up.