Thursday, October 11, 2012

working on...

I started putting together a new small quilt sample for display at Bear Patch.  We have had a couple of samples of similar quilts that use a raw-edge applique technique that have been well-loved by our customers.  This is another version, called the Vintage Circle Quilt from Yoyomama.  I picked these 10 fabrics for the baby quilt--

This design requires cutting pieces from a template shape.  I wished for a nice acrylic template that I could have used for rotary cutting, but alas, there is none.  So I traced the shape onto some regular template plastic (shown in the bottom right of the picture below) and did it the old-fashioned way.  I laid the template on the wrong side of my fabric and drew around it with a pen.  I used a Frixion pen, so in case there was any ink left after cutting, it would disappear with ironing.  With a good sharp scissor, I was able to cut 4 at a time.  I needed 100, and it really didn't take so long.  I caught up on a recorded Young and Restless episode--I started watching that show back in 1973 in the dorm, and have stayed in touch ever since!  I can get through the 1 hour episode in about 40 minutes with my finger on the fast forward button.


Those little triangle-ish shapes get arranged something like this on a solid background--

 I'll be working on this at a November retreat, so will show you results then.
I have also been making some progress on a bunch of blocks started last winter, shown below on my design wall in their current state.

They are going to look something like this--


Even though I am using all batik fabrics, and the pattern picture is all civil war reproduction fabrics, they share a strong resemblance.  I still have a bunch of little 4" blocks and filler strips left to do.  Some of them are all cut and bagged.


I find it helps to do a cutting session and then a sewing session, rather than mix the process.  These blocks have a lot of little pieces, and I am labeling them according to block number and placement.  I am up to #22!

Speaking of batiks, I posted a nice video about the making of batiks over on the Bear Patch Blog.  Hop over there and take a look!

3 comments:

Brita said...

I just love your projects from the last couple of posts! This baby quilt is adorable and I think the fabrics are really cute. And your batik quilt looks great. I'll be excited to watch their progress. Wish I had more reading time because a Picoult novel sounds really nice right now.

Pam said...

Maybe after I get this little quilt done we should make one for Ian together? You could help me pick fabric, that's the fun part!

Brita said...

Yes!