Bits and pieces

Yesterday, I learnt that a little simple cutting will transform this (9 straightforward squares) .......into this (fuuunnnkkkyy!). And this is just one variation.
And yes, I've started on ANOTHER quilt. This one is for a colleague's little girl. She loves bright, cheerful colours and so I hope she will appreciate this quilt :-)) I've also decided to sew some funky patchy reusable grocery bags for colleagues for Christmas. This method is a wonderful way to use up scraps of fabric.

For those interested in trying out this method (or just to explore patchwork), Quilts & Calicoes has charm packs all cut up already. Ira also has classes for the curious :-)

Now, it hasn't been just all about quilts around here. After several auditions, I've finally chosen the darling monkey's birthday dress fabrics and pattern:

That's the Oliver + S Jump Rope dress and I plan to sew up View B (not shown) which is more like a simple shirt-dress. The fabric is just right for a trip to the zoo :-))The zebra stripes are for the trimming -- I plan to use just a bit of it and perhaps add some red buttons. The darling monkey has approved of the choices and sewing should begin shortly!

A prezzie for the in-laws (work in progress)

The Christmas present sewing has begun and the first is near completion! I can't believe that it took just two evenings to cut and piece the front of the Japanese Cranes quilt for the in-laws. Here's a yucky pic of it:
And here are some shots of the details:This quilt is from a kit which I bought from Quilts & Calicoes (Tanglin Mall). They also have it in a gold/red colourway, but my in-laws really like purple and this will look nice in their lavender and Oriental-theme bedroom.

Yesterday, I got some backing fabric and the batting. So what's left is the actual quilting! This time, I'm going to do some simple machine quilting because it's a whole lot faster than hand-quilting ... hahahha!

Roll the credits, please ...!

It is DONE!
My first adventure into the world of quilting and getting stabbed with an itty bitty needle while hand-quilting is officially OVER. Mission Accomplished!

I'll post pics as soon as I can find that thingie which connect the camera to the computer (it has gone walkabout, the slacker).

The binding was a dream to sew on and I'm so pleased to have learnt the "secret" to good mitred corners (patience and some simple precision sewing).The little monkey, however, isn't as enamoured of her new quilt as mommy is. She says it's "not soft"!!!!!! She has promised to like it "tomorrow," though, so we'll see. LOL!Oh, and I've begun the Japanese cranes quilt for the in-laws. (She's NUTS, I hear you say ... hahahhaha!)

The finishing line

(I'll update this post with pics later)

What I thought would take just a little time, expanded across several weeks .... BUT .... the finishing line is finally in sight! 99% of the hand-quilting is done on the monkey's fairy quilt and I've started machine-quilting the borders. On Saturday, the binding goes on (hopefully) and then, ta da!

(this pic above shows some hand-quilting, including the a hand-quilted outline of a butterfly which wasn't a part of the print but which I included cos I thought it looked cute).

My poor darling monkey has been patiently waiting for her quilt to be finished. She wants to play "house" with it. Hahahahhaha!

Speaking of the monkey, she had her first hair-cut last Friday! Now my baby looks like a little girl and I'm happy and sad at the same time. I'm such a sentimental momma. I get it from MY mom, who was there at the hair-dresser, video-taping the whole event. Hahahhahahahha!

Still ....

Just a quick, picture-less post to say:

1. I'm STILL quilting the fairy quilt. Oh boy, this hand quilting thing sure is taking up a lot of time; but there is something oddly and immensely satisfying about pushing needle through fabric. That said, though, I'm NEVER hand-quilting again. Or at least I'm NOT going to do it again in the near future. Sewing machines were invented for a reason. LOL!!!

2. I'm still enjoying drafting. In addition to the skirt, I drafted a simple top and have just about finished sewing it up. In the works is another skirt which I will draft as time permits.

Will take a few photos soon and show them to you :-))

The opposite of instant gratification

I've always been curious about quilting and as mentioned a few posts ago, decided to take some lessons to find out more. And boy do I have a new-found respect for people who quilt! These works of art take TIME and precision.

Here is where I'm at for the little monkey's fairy quilt:All the pieces have been sewn together (you can't really see the different pieces in the pic above as that shows mainly the central panel. I'm such an awesome photographer ... NOT! Hahahha!). The batting and backing are in place as well and what you see is everything basted together/

Here's a pic of the "quilt sandwich". I don't know what the actual name is, but it reminds me of a sandwich, with all the layers: top, batting, backing:
Here you can see the fabric I chose for the backing (along with the basting stitches). It's sooooo pink. It's a good thing the monkey loves pink, because there is a ton of pink in this quilt :-)
At the next lesson, I'm going to learn to actually quilt the quilt, which is a little like embroidery, I suppose, especially since I'll be doing hand-quilting and not machine quilting. You can quilt patterns, geometric shapes or outline details in the quilt.

Can't wait to complete this project! The monkey can't keep her grubby hands off it. Hahahahahaha!