myrtBquilting

I continue to be inspired by the endless possibilities in HST arrangements that result in beautiful designs. Again influenced by what I see on Pinterest and with enough blocks left over from a couple of previous quilts, I constructed this brightly coloured baby quilt. I also had some flannel pieces from other quilts that worked perfectly on the back of this one, making for a soft and cuddly quilt. It measures 39″ x 39″. The batting is 100% washable wool. Hand guided free motion quilting in an open design allows the texture and definition to show. There is a hanging sleeve on the back. And pre-washing gives it that lovely crinkly look!
I may gift this quilt, but at the moment it is available for $100; shipping is extra.

Last week I did a demo of Beth Helfter’s (of EvePaige Quilt Designs) Accordion Sewn HSTs™ for our Guild so I started one of the patterns from her book OOMPAH! for a display item.  I finished quilting it and machine stitching the binding last night and tonight I finished the hand stitching of the binding.  Yay!  Managed to get it done before Christmas!

If you haven’t tried her method of constructing HSTs you should; it’s the easiest ever!  Click on the link above to view her YouTube videos.

Last night I put the final stitches in the hand bound binding of my latest quilt; yay!  I don’t often hand bind a quilt any more but this one is a gift and I still think hand bound looks best.
As most of my quilting friends and family know, I am addicted to Half Square Triangles (HSTs); there are so many beautiful ways in which to arrange them for many striking effects.  And once I mastered Beth Helfter’s wonderfully easy Accordion Sewn HSTs™ method of constructing them, I was totally hooked.
And shall we talk about the dark hole that is Pinterest?  Oh my, just query ‘HST quilts’ in Pinterest and see what appears!  That’s where the inspiration came from for my latest quilt.
This beautiful ombre fabric came from Rosie’s Calico Cupboard in San Diego, purchased 6-7 years ago during one of our winter retreats to the south.  The background fabric as well as the flannel backing came from our own local quilt shop – Crazy Quilt Cottage – which sadly is closing.  When I ran short of the background fabric, one of my quilty friends happened to have just enough left in her stash and donated it to me so I could finish.  Aren’t quilty friends the best?!!  And it pays to shop local :)  The batting is, of course, Hobbs washable wool.  I was introduced to that when I made my first bed size quilt and loved it so much I’ve never looked back.  I purchased an entire bolt and have been slowly working my way through it.  I love the loft and the definition it gives one’s quilting.  I’ve quilted many Community Quilts for our Guild in which we use 80/20 batting and I’ve used a few other kinds but love the wool most of all.  I used Glide threads in the needle and magna-glide in the bobbin.  Glide thread is wonderful!  The quilting is all hand guided, free motion on my HQ Sweet Sixteen with rulers used in the colour fabric.  I love my Sweet Sixteen!
The quilt measures 66″ x 94.5″.  It will soon be gifted.

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Once summer slowly comes to an end I get eager to leave the gardening season behind and get on with quilting season again.  Non-quilters may not be familiar with that season, but for some quilters it may encompass the entire calendar year.

For me, it starts about mid September.  Our Guild gets back into the swing at the beginning of September and one of the highlights of the month is the annual HAW (Hands Across the Water) event hosted by one of the Guilds located either on the Sunshine Coast or North Island.  This year the Sunshine Coast Quilters’ Guild hosted it in Sechelt and a large contingent of our Guild attended.  There were many door prizes and I was lucky enough to win a selection of native art printed pre-cut flannel blocks.  I immediately got to work & made them into a cuddly rag quilt & had it ready for the Show & Tell at our next meeting.  I donated it to a pre-school managed by the daughter of one of our Guild members.  How nice to work with the pre-cut blocks and not have to spend hours cutting them after they’re stitched together.

Once in the swing of things again, I picked up another of the Guild’s sandwiched Community Quilts and had some free motion quilting fun using some of my rulers and templates.

2019/10 – flannel rag blanket

2019/10 – 44.5″ x 39″ panel

2019/10 – close-up of some of the stitching