Makey - Extrovert Introvert Quilt Top

Kia ora,

This year I am studying part time and for one of my assignments the tutor asked for a personal response to some of the material.

Well, that lead me on rather a journey and one of the things that has come from it is a series of quilts and mini-quilts, or at least they will be if I get them finished on time!

This quilt top is about the extroverts and the introverts and how both are powerful people types, both are beautiful and both are necessary.

The wild colours, which represent me - and many other extroverts all came from my stash, via off-casts of my dear friend Deb. Now that they are all mixed together I feel like I like them much more than I did individually.

What are you making right now?

love you more than a riot of colour xxx

A Finish is Better than a Start... sometimes!

I love starting new projects, LOVE it.

I love ideas and the thrill of starting, planning, strategising.

Finishing... not so much. The end of anything - washing the dishes through to bibliographies is the bit that does me in. Surprisingly, I do actually finish most of my projects - even though the very end part is the toughest for me, there are often threads left hanging!

Quite some time ago I made a couple of quilt tops from vintage sheets. I finished one straight away and the other one has just followed me around for a few years. Recently I sat myself down and took some of Deb's advice - a finished quilt keeps people warm - an unfinished one doesn't!! (She says it more eloquently than that).

I grabbed a lovely vintage woollen blanket my mama bought me and some thread and stitched it in diagonal lines. Bound it with some quilt binding and 'et viola! Done.

Now it sits on my growing quilt pile in the lounge for friends to snuggle under by the fire.

love you more than a vintage quilt xxx

Yeah... I did actually make something!

For someone who's been committed to making something every week for the last few years it's been a lot less making so far this year.

The main reason for this is that we're currently staying with my folks until our lovely tenants move out of our place in May.... It will be 5 months of suitcase living by the time we get into our place, which is a LONG time for a home lover like me.

Recently Deb - one of the most generous people I know - had a clear out and brought it to an evening catch up that Sophie arranged not long after I returned. We all scored big time and I got a pile of fat quarters in my favourite colours (along with a whole lot of other things).

One of the boys had a birthday party to go to and he asked for a Creeper cushion (you've seen enough of those from me so I decided not to post about it). I asked a mum at school who I knew would have a cutting mat and rotary cutter so I could complete the project.... So, I had her stuff for a weekend and the temptation was too great not to play with the fat quarters while the opportunity was there.

Stack and slash I do love you.

Yes only the top is done but without proper sewing space this is as good as it gets at the moment.

Tell me what are you making at the moment?

I have some other plans and a couple of refashions I need to share ... in due course.

love you more than a blue, green and purple combo xxx

Making - Stack and Slash

Some long years ago I learnt the stack and slash method of quilting which is good for a non-perfectionist, impatient crafter like me!

When The Atlas had someone on his team having a baby he asked me if I would make a quilt for them - I do love a good request from The Atlas.

Not knowing what they were having (a person of some gender I assume!) or knowing their personal style I tried to take a middle ground.

I actually just made the top and backed it with our favourite bumpy fabric. I let my boys help me choose the fabrics within guidelines.

They love it (or they lie well!!) which is all you want really when you make something for someone else.

My first official make for 2016 (although it was made in 2015 - full disclosure and all). I'm not sure how much making will happen until we are back in our own digs, probably in April/May.

How's your crafting started? I do have some very good fabric scores already for this year though... more on that another time.

Love you more than a happy recipient xxx

Make My Week - A True Quilt

A lot of what I do could be considered 'dabbling' rather than pure craft. I try a bit of this and that and seldom, if ever, follow the rules.

This quilt is pretty much true of what I said above but I feel like it's a 'true quilt' in terms of the pure origins of quilting. It's made from scraps of love - some stash Cat sent me, some leftovers from the shirt dress I made, some off cuts of other projects, edges from the sashiko (which also features here) - all as an original quilt would have been. Nothing especially bought.

And the 'pattern' isn't a pattern it's just random pieces sewn together to make chunks that can be sewn together.

Finally a 'top' emerged and I found some cheap polar fleece (I know how criminal!) and some calico and basted them together with big red stitches.

Then I hand sewed in large running stitches of cream and blue until the quilt was all wonky and finished.

Instead of finding binding (my blue scrap fabrics are pretty much all gone) I simply turned over the excess of the backing and folded it in on itself. Then I slowly, carefully stitched it down to the front so the front looks bound and the back not.

I love this quilt - I like it's wonky imperfections and its 'grass roots' feel. It's not for everyone, my mama wouldn't like it at all - messy stitching, no precision, random blues jarring against each other, old fabrics everywhere - but that's really a reflection of me (and she likes me a great deal!), a whole lot of random.

It reminds me of course that God can take a whole lot of random and turn out a masterpiece.

I'm interested does this spin your wheels or make you quiver in your rotary cutter, healing mat, clean craft space?? I'm okay with it not being for everyone - for me it's one of the nicest quilts I've made.

Joining in with perfectionists, triers, messy, perfect, cheap and expensive crafters over here:

love you more than a worn to perfection handmade object xxx

May My Week - Stop Collaborate and Listen

or so the song goes!

This is my Monday project - Bounce left behind his red 'spotty dotty' baby blanket in NZ when we moved and he has been pining for it. So I said we could make him something with spotty dotty on it (textured minky type fabric) it is on the back of his new blankie.

I chose the blues and greens. Not because they are his favourite (pink and purple currently are) but because I hope they will grow with him through different colour phases (and they are my favourites!). I don't mind that his favourite colours are pink and purple but I suspect they will change over time and as he grows up he may have strong thoughts about pink and purple so we went for something more neutral.

I bought the fabrics about a month ago and showed them to him with the promise of 'in the school holidays'.

I pinned this triangle quilt and used the triangle size as my template but we used 8 colours and I cut 16 of each which makes ours bigger and more varied.

I cut out the triangles in stacks of 4 fabric types and Bounce separated them out. Then he and I worked on the layout together - I love how happy this made him. Then I sewed and he brought me each new triangle at a time so we kept the order right.

He chose the buttons (it's just a top and bottom so not technically a quilt) and I sewed them in various places to hold it together. As always the back and front aren't quite the same size, there is some bagging!

pointing out the buttons I like

He loves it though and we've all snuggled under it for holiday reading. I love the feeling of collaborating together on a project and I think this is a pretty good make for someone as inaccurate as me.

"It's reversible mama." You can just see the hint of the green 'spotty dotty' fabric around his wee face.

Joining in with many more accurate crafters here

love you more than cow buttons and spotty dotty fabric xxx

Make My Week - Finally

I started this top forever-ago square after square of cutting

then I finished it a while ago

about 2 months ago I stitched the words on

a month ago I sewed the top to the bottom (another sheet) with an old wool blanket in between.

and finally I have sewed on the binding which I hand stitched done in front of  a couple of midsomer murders!

The text comes from a Bible verse I find both challenging and inspiring. I have a long way to go on these but I would consider my life a success if I could live them, really live them.

Micah 6:8

8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.

(emphasis added by me)

For other creative lovelies pop over here:

Love you more than an enormous project out of the sewing room for good xxx

Make My Week - Quilt??

It would appear that studying makes me extremely interested in crafting. On Saturday I whipped up this 'quilt' (which it isn't really because it has no middle layer and it isn't quilted - but who's judging?) as well as a set of matching cushion covers for the boys Christmas presents.... and some things for my advent swap partner.

Isn't strange how these things suddenly happen when the highlighter and pens are waiting?

This is the first quilt I've made where I have bought all the fabrics intentionally for the project. It started with the fish which are made of flannelette. If they had have been cotton it would have been a dress instead but I'm not sure even I could feel comfortable in a summer dress made of flannelette. :o)

Then I added in the orange corduroy for extra texture. On the back is one of those minky type fabrics so the whole thing is a textural delight. I can't wait to snuggle up on the couch under this on a cold winters night - in about 8 months!!!

What makes you get urgently crafty? It's not like I don't have other proper Christmas projects to do but I just had to do this one and because it was so thoughtless to throw together it suited my brain space (or lack thereof!) rather well.

Pop over and see what the wonderful Leonie and other crafters have been up to:

Love you more than a flannelette sheet in winter xxx

Make My Week - Crafting Humility

Often I make things that aren't perfect, in fact I usually joke I wouldn't need to make the intentional mistake in a quilt (as the Amish do, because only God is perfect), because it's unlikely I'll ever achieve perfection.

I made this baby quilt - and it just wouldn't do anything I wanted it too. Everything felt wrong about it. The back shifted off while I was quilting.... on it went. I abandoned it several times during the process in frustration.

And then when it was complete I felt a whisper that I needed to give it away to someone who is in fact very clever and crafty.... and I struggled with that, a lot. Because this person knows how to sew and the imperfections are SO obvious.....

In the end I swallowed (gagged) on my pride and sent it anyway.

Because sometimes I need to reveal the imperfect in me and not just the stuff I'm impressed with.

This is a journey I'm on.... praying a prayer to become more humble turns out to be a difficult prayer when it starts to be answered. You don't become humble with out a little humiliation along the way it would seem.


Love you more than a graciously received, imperfect gift. xx