Scrap Vomit redux

Yep, I've done another one as I have a whole box of 2.5" squares.  It I have a small piece of fabric, then if I can get a square out of it, then I do. As a result, I have this shoe box full of little squares.  Perfect for swaps but even better for my own use.

Katy started all of this with Scrap Vomit  and keeps leading me (and a lot of other people) astray. Not that I mind as I usually end up learning something.  Quite often I have to sit on my hands when she proposes another quilt-a-long. because I know I will be cheerfully joining in without thinking things though unless I stop and think about the logisitics!

So here is Scrap Vomit Redux - all 80" and 1600 pieces of it.  There are even two scowly faces from Tula Pink's Nightshade Cameo prints.  There are bits of everything in here from all sorts of manufacturers.

Having learnt from version one, this one was made slightly differently and with more pins. Also the pieces were more evenly cut this time so actual construction was a great deal more accurate and a lot easier than version one.  There are some tiny scraps from cherished fabrics that have come in scrap bags from others. Examples are the teeny bits of From Little Things and the single piece of Sis Boom fabric that was not withheld for other things.

For now, it is sitting in the filing cabinet maturing and awaiting the monies for wadding and backing with several others.

Scrap Vomit 1 - fully finished and gifted

Well, I've finally finished another quilt.  Finished as in ready to use and be snuggled under. Even down to the hand finished binding. Here is my original Scrap Vomit in brown batiks with green, pink and white solids.

This one got a really simple finish because it is meant to be used on the sofa downstairs.  It has a turquoise and pink pieced fleece backing as the flippin' fleece only comes in 60" widths and this finished at 64"!

It has a scarlet binding to add to the wild colour combination making it absolutely unique. One of a kind and it is already loved and used.  In fact it's currently on the sofa awaiting it's owner for a nap.

A little of what I've been up to since July

Well the answer to the post title is actually quite a lot.  While I'm still hung up on the projects I'm really wanting to do due mainly to lack of funds, I'm busy doing little bits and problem solving.  

 I took part in a Fat Quarterly magazine Designer Challenge in August and the results  have been featured on their blog just before the Festival of Quilts.  It was to showcase Nel Whatmore's new range for Free Spirit called Katherine's Wheel.  There is a third project I made that didn't feature on the blog post that was a fabric embellishment piece that is now with Katy of Monkey Do because she loved it from when I started it.  I started because I was bored with my normal stitching and loved the Spiral fabric.  As I have a large amount of 'leftover' specialist threads, I set to to see what could be done.  With the aid of Perle Cotton 5, stranded cotton, rayon, beads and crystals, it actually turned out really well.  I must look out Katy's instagram of the finished piece........

I'm currently finishing the binding on Jo's belated birthday present.  I've mislaid my lovely leather thimble so I've got a very sore finger from pushing the needle. I'm working on another huge Scrap Vomit and it's got 17 of the 25 blocks needed to complete it.  My seaming is getting better, even if my cutting is still erratic.

I've done another Designer Challenge piece for Fat Quarterly but I can't show that yet.  

I've got a ton of planned quilts in my head and none of the right fabric to do them.  The Sis Boom Pickle Dish quilt being case in point. All I can say of that is that I need to get some scrap packs soon to start it.  
There is also a plan to do Jaybird Quilts Chopsticks but I need both the ruler and the pattern!

On the days I've not been sewing, I've been planning and working on ideas for projects,  It's gradually getting easier but I have to work with my depression and some days, nothing goes right.  

That's enough for now but there are some spectacular finishes to come soon, I promise and with photographs!

Fairy Tale Lane finished

 To start at the beginning, I am a self confessed Tula Pink fan. I have bits from most collections but have just collected together 15 half yards of Prince Charming bought from sales across the pond as the powers that be at Coats Crafts never imported it to Europe!

Then I was given the book - Quilts from the House of Tula Pink.  This is full of clever projects and not just quilts.  It's also got some clever advice about selecting your fabrics and showcasing those special prints you struggle to cut because they are so beautiful.

 So here I am with a pile of beautiful fabric in differing print scales and colours.

The pattern I chose from the book was Fairy Tale Lane.

Cutting into the stack proved a lot quicker and easier that I had feared. Even the large scale frog prints (left) managed to be fussy cut to allow the full detail of the print to show.

Once cut I organised each pile on the ironing board as there are nine pieces to each block

I don't know about anyone else but when it comes to selecting pieces for each block, I have to get organised.  This is really hard for me because I am naturally untidy.

I use my sandwich bags to keep all the pieces of each block together and to keep the colour distribution even through the blocks as I tend to fixate on colours when free-piecing. It also eliminated fabric repeat within a block.



First four blocks complete and ready for inspection

Here's the stripy sashing that forms the lane of the title.  The original uses Dandelion print in cream so i swapped it out for cream Klona and red Klona for the lines

There's miles of this sashing - literally

Once made and when assembling the quilt, it became apparent that 1) My 0.25" seam are more than a bit iffy. 2) I am useless at reading instructions!

The end result was that the suggested quantity for the sashing wasn't enough.  Not like slightly not enough - miles of not enough. Luckily, I had enough fabric and stripes lying around to make up one more long strip and one side street.

So if you make this quilt - check your seam allowances! The instructions are good, it pieces together really quickly and you could personalise this quilt in so many ways.

So here is the finished Fairy Tale Lane and I love it.

Siblings Together quilts.

I am not the worlds fastest quilter, I can be slapdash but I love to make things,  Especially quilts. I have a drawer full of tops, all of which I love.

Then along came Lynn of Lily's Quilts and Fat Quarterly fame seeking quilts and quilters to make quilts for a charity called Siblings Together based in London who among other things run camps for siblings separated  while in the social care and foster system to enable them to re-establish bonds and spend time together.

I know a lot of people who have gone through the social care system through no fault of their own and often been housed apart from brothers and sisters. It can be a traumatic experience for everyone but most of all for the children themselves.  So this for me is a very necessary project.

I had already made one top that I immediately volunteered.  I'd made this one, just as a quick top from a pile of fabric that my fabric fairies sent to me in February. A mix of Anna Maria Horner, Dear Stella, Bari J, Art Gallery, Amy Butler, Echino and even a smidge of Lizzie House, it is a really teenage girly quilt.

Then a parcel arrived from America from Thomas Knauer (love him dearly) containing a FQB each of Pear Tree and Flock, his first two collections for Andover.

Flock yelled at me for a gender neutral quilt and with a combination of pinwheels and simple HST's, this quilt arrived.  I had to cull out the pinks as that would have sent any small boy running for the hills.  Two of the FQ's with judicious cutting made it into the final quilt!

I'm still petting the Pear Tree bundle - it is just so gorgeous.  Simple, elegant and understated.  Lovely designs in all of the collections and he is simply a lovely man.

I also applied for some more fabric as I'm a little short on it at the  moment.  Katy from Monkey Do sent me down a pile of Swoon by Melissa Averinos for Andover and an FQB of Meet me at Sunset by Dear Stella.  MMaS is still being petted and awaiting solids before it gets transformed.  I'd already done a quilt with Swoon and luckily the bulk of what was sent was the same teal colour as my leftovers. I pulled the pinks out and teamed the teal with Klona Candy Blue for an extravaganza of Flying Geese. Unfortunately, I've run out of blue solid and can't get anymore for a couple more weeks!

I think I've got enough wadding but I am frantically trying to find a source of inexpensive backing that I can afford from my ESA allowance. Then I have to simply label them, quilt and post off ready to be united with a child at camp next month.

I'm off to work out what to make with 7.5 yards of Tula Pink Prince Charming......

Finished: Scrap Vomit aka Technicolour Yawn

Well, thanks to Lynne at Lily's Quilts for the Klona Pomegranate, I have a second finish in two days.

Scrap Vomit is finally done.  I'm still in two minds about this top mainly because I hate brown so much.  At least with this, it's not a solid colour but a batik so it's a little less, well, brown but you get my drift.

As I am photographing this my adopted daughter turns up with her dog (Vicky as pictured) and quietly says 'I like that'  I just about die of shock as she loves blue not brown and pink!

So my SV may well have a home once it gets finished.  Eventually......

It's another quilt where it pays not to look too closely - the most brilliant part is that all the pieces went together brilliantly even it the millimetre perfect seams aren't there.  The batiks do a brilliant job of hiding this even pretty close to.

There's a whole album of them on Flickr called The Scrap Vomit Appreciation Society and I now need to post my finished one up there.

Missed it Monday - Plume by Tula Pink

The aim of these postings are to document the fabric collections I have missed out on in recent years.

The first up has to be Plume by Tula Pink for Moda.  All images are from TulaPink.com

I love all Tula's fabrics.  I fell in love with Neptune and managed to get a jelly roll and a layer cake and made a quilt top.  I also have a little lap quilt from Hushabye.  I really did manage to miss out on Flutterby, Full Moon Forest and Nest completely.  I have two tiny bits of Nest and some odd bits of Hushabye but nothing of note.

Plume was another I missed out on and it's really annoyed me ever since.  I loved the swans

I truly loved the key tree

Then there are the birds

And the feathers!

I adore Tula's fabric collections and this was her last one for Moda before her move to Free Spirit.  You can see elements of her next collection Parisville in some of the prints in Plume.  In particular the Swans remind me of the hair in Parisville.

There is always a hidden something in Tula's prints; mice bees, owls etc so her fabrics  are always so much more detailed than you first realise. Go on dive in - she is amazing!