French General - A Finish

Finally got to finish my French General Quilt, which I gifted to my Mum for her birthday this week.

I loved it so much I was so tempted to covet it for myself!  But I resisted, well, I guess that's an excuse to make another for myself! 

And Mum loves it!

Front

Back

Label

I basted it using the plank method and machine quilted it myself.  The doily label is a vintage doily I bought some time ago and to which I added the embroidered writing myself.

It feels good to have another quilt finished! 

Plank Method, As Opposed To Planking*

I discovered basting a quilt using the plank- method last year when I was making a quilt for the latest addition to Mr HP's side of the Family.

 I love how quick and easy it is and I had this whole cloth* quilt basted in no time and with little back breaking antics.

 Never before have I made a whole cloth quilt and only decided that this one would be because the fabric I have used has been rescued from land fill and is heavy weight curtain fabric, one hundred percent cotton or linen and originally from a decore store samples book. 

 The end result is a bold stylish quilt top that is 1.25 x 1.25m, large enough for a lunch cloth, lap quilt or picnic rug.

The weight is such that it's thick enough to use as a picnic rug but lightweight enough to use as a lap quilt in the warmer months.

Since the samples were free of charge, the only cost has been the backing fabric, which I paid $8 a metre for plus some leftovers from another project. The binding will be leftovers from Youngest Son's 21st birthday quilt.

I'm so in love with it, I haven't decided if I should keep it for myself or gift it.

* Seems I have my info. wrong here...this is not a whole cloth quilt but rather a 'summer quilt'.

*Planking, a brief history

Linking to Freshly Pieced ~ pop over to see what Lee and others have been up to in the quilting world in WIP Wednesday. Click on the button below to take you there. 

Blackbird Singing In The Dead Of Night

Yikes, can you see that?  2011!
The last time I worked on this quilt was around July 2011...that's four years! Four years!

So I've picked it up again. Why? I hear you ask.  For a couple of reasons.
1.  Our regular Wednesday Patchwork and Quilting class is on school holiday break and I don't want to work on my Celtic quilt unassisted. (The truth is, Anne is such a wealth of hints I don't want to miss anything she may have to offer if I continue to work on the quilt top on my own.)

2.  I've lost a project I'm making for my Sister.  Can you believe it?  I've lost a whole bundle of fabrics with which I've promised to make more cushion covers for my Sister! So in my hunt for the elusive project I unearthed the French General quilt top I have avoided for the past four years.

On closer inspection I realised that there is not much to do to finish off the French General so I've added some sashing and a border. 

Layering the quilt and machine quilting will be easy as it's not large, more a single bed topper size. If I'm organised enough I can have it ready for Mum's 82nd birthday in September.

In the meantime, I've made these upbeat drink coasters.

I know...they could also be mug rugs but for some reason I have an aversion to mug rugs, and the person I've made them for is slightly eccentric and I think he probably has an aversion to mug rugs too but I can totally see him using these to place his crystal cut glass scotch whiskey tumbler on.
The graphic fabric is the infill out of a panel of Milvale Quilt Labels.  I fussy cut these very carefully as I didn't have much area to play with.

The binding is a remnant from my Youngest Son's 21st birthday (Yikes again...in 2008!)quilt which I can't show you as that was before my blogging days.

A few weeks ago, feeling excited about the capabilities of my upgraded sewing machine, I practised  applique and free motion quilting on a square of fabric. 

 I'm always loathe to discard anything and the end result was a very scrappy raggy quilt made with some boring fabric.  The end result turned out much nicer than I imagined.

Now, I wonder where I've stashed that fabric?
Have you ever lost a quilting project among your stash?  And did you find it?  Was it where you expected to find it?

Have a happy sewing week.

Machine Applique A Finish And A WIP

Did I tell you?  

Early this year I started taking patchwork and quilting classes from Anne Sommerlad.  Judy Tyrrell took over the Post Office Patchwork in Glenbrook late last year and I placed my name on the class list hoping to get a spot in a class, any class; so I could get together with other like minded people as soon as possible.

I consider myself very lucky to be tutored by such a talented teacher and designer. 

My first assignment was to learn how to machine applique ... but a saga unfolded as soon as I started classes.  My sewing machine, which I purchase around seven years ago has caused me lots of angst and I was hoping Anne would perform a miracle and show me what a purring beast it could be.  But alas, this was not to be and I was urged to return it to the retailer from whence I purchased it.

When I returned it to the shop, I was told that my model of sewing machine had been issued with a tension 'upgrade'.  "So", I said, "there's been a problem with this model then?" I asked, "Oh no, not a problem, just an upgrade."  Came the reply.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I got the 'upgrade' under warranty and also got the sewing machine serviced and now this wonderful appliance is purring away like a kitten.

I have created some gorgeous Anne Sommerlad designs.  What do you think?

 Above is my first assignment, quickly followed by the second (shown below) to reinforce my newly learnt skill.

This is the centrepiece of Anne's Celtic Throw design which she converted to a king single bed quilt for me.  I have chosen my own colour scheme which will be revealed as the quilt progresses.

Above is a close up of the detail.
I'm over the moon with the results!

Once more, the above cushion design is Anne Sommerlad's.  Isn't it just exquisite?
I have used Anne's design unchanged but chose my own colours using mostly fabrics I had in my stash.  It was a little bundle of fabric remnants I purchase some time ago at some fair or other.

The seat cushions are made from a polka dot and marbled fabrics I purchased from Post Office Patchwork.

I'm now inspired to replace our now tatty cushions with some newly made colour co-ordinated covers to replace them.

I'm linking up with

Guess How Much I Love You

Finally...my GHMILY quilt is ready for gifting!

I love this idea of using a vintage doily as a label.  I'm quite happy with how it turned out.  I bought a pair of the doilies years ago with the intention of using them as I have for this quilt but until now the opportunity hadn't presented itself.

Baby Charlotte is a month old now so Mr HP and I thought we really should make an effort and visit the new addition and her family.

So after a spot of Christmas shopping we visited the happy family.  After two little boys, the entire family is in love with the new princess.  She is Mr HP's sister's sixth grandchild and the first grand daughter.  Need I say more?

 

A Place

There is A Place called the World Wide Web.

It can be good and it can be evil both at the same time.
On the good side...it is a great source of information for the DIYer and today, I learnt how to baste a quilt using the plank method.

No back breaking, finger pricking experience this time, but it still took me a good two hours to baste this cot quilt. Hopefully next time will be a bit faster as I now know what the process entails. (I must admit I watched two videos over and over again before proceeding.)

And, to keep you updated...baby Charlotte was born on the 7th...so I'm a tad behind...

Tardiness Results in Post Out of Synch

I haven't been very good with my blog posts lately.  Life just seems to get busier and busier.
My sister  visited us in May, for her sixtieth birthday celebrations. She lives two and a half thousand kilometres away in sunny Queensland.  She spent four weeks with us , sharing herself  between her siblings.
We celebrated by having a Sound of Music themed party.  My sister, always the family clown, had a couple of changes of outfits...her first was, Liesl sixty years on, yes, that's right, sixty years on and the other was Maria as a nun.   Here is "Sister Maria" receiving the quilt that I made her. She loved it and she was so surprised to see what I had done with her blocks.  She couldn't wait to get it home.

And here she is as Liesl sixty years on.

Other Sound of Music cast members to attend included Whiskers on Kittens, Me (a name I call myself), lots of boys in lederhosen costumes, Baroness Elsa Schrader, and Maria as a novice.

Since then, I've tackled my next quilt project for Mr HP's niece's third baby.

G is for giraffe, and...girl.

Here it is ready for pinning.

And here is the backing.

Aren't these lambs just so cute?

It is a rather simple quilt, and I'm counting on getting cute appeal from the fabric itself.

Cheating I know, but what inspired me to keep this quilt uncomplicated is the expectant mother, who I know will allow her baby to use this quilt however she wishes.

You see, this Mum already has twin girls, and almost five years ago I also made the twins quilts. The two quilts made for them were almost identical, and I know that both girls love their quilts and treat them as security blankets.

You know, this, I think, is the highest complement for a quilt maker.

I like to see my quilts being enjoyed.

Oh, and by the way, baby number three is due 8th June, so I better get cracking...

Linking up to 

Almost Finished

A quilt isn't quite finished until it is labelled right?

So, I'm still contemplating what I should have on the label.  But other than that, my Sister's quilt is ready to gift for her sixtieth birthday.  Her birthday is next week but I think I can stretch this out until the party which is the week after. I like to embroider most of my labels so it will take a bit of extra time.  

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy seeing the unlabelled but otherwise finished quilt.  

My apologies for the yellow tinge to some of the photos,  I took them at night. 

This frill neck lizard is finished off in 3D. 

Kookaburra

Sturt's Desert Pea

Waratah Flower

My sister made the appliqued/machine embroidered blocks many years ago.  She gave them to me when I took up patchwork and quilting and I've hung onto them for some years now.  I hope she likes what I've done with them! 

I did some free motion quilting in the floral blocks and the rest was quilted in the ditch. 

Linking to 

Vintage Quilt With A Smidge Of French General...

Or...I Wish I Had A Quilter's Table.

I'm writing this post in between snatches of pinning my quilt layers in readiness for machine quilting.  

Pinning quilt layers must have to be the worst part of making a patchwork quilt!  

Do you agree?  

I can understand why sending a quilt off to a 

long-arm quilter could be so tempting. 

But apart from that, I think this quilt has been my most magical quilt of all so far.  I have been 'planning' it as I go along. Maybe that's a bit of an oxymoron. I don't have a pattern for it and the original squares given to me by my Sister were not identical in size posing a few challenges. 

There is a little story behind this quilt.  My Sister gave me six squares of blue cotton fabric masterfully embroidered and, or appliqued by sewing machine.  

One of the squares has been hand appliqued. (Sturt Desert Pea)

Some of the machined applique is layered and cut to produce a finished image using up to three prints of cotton fabric. (Sun Burst).

These were part of sewing class my Sister attended and she felt she had no use for them so passed them on to me.

At first the only way I could imagine to re-use them was as cushion covers but that is too obvious and I don't really like too obvious.

Shortly after I thought I'd make a quilt with them but life took over and even though I'd purchased a selection of fabrics to add to the squares the project was set aside for many years.

Until this year...

It's my little Sister's sixtieth year this year and I have decided to make the quilt using her blocks and gift to her for her birthday.

I hope she likes it!

The reason I would LOVE a quilter's table is because stretching and pinning a quilt is back-breaking when it's done on the floor!

I purchased my batting about a month ago. (Yes, life got in the way ... again!)

At that point my quilt hadn't quite come together yet...I was still contemplating blocks/sashing/borders but since I was at the quilting supply shop and I didn't know when I'd be back I purchased two metres of batting for this quilt. 

As you can see from the photograph above...it was perfect!!!!! Couldn't believe it.

And here is the quilt top.

Some of the fabrics are scrappy, some are stash busters, and some were purchased just for the quilt. Of course all were very carefully selected to complement the 70s-80s prints my Sister has used in the Australiana themed squares.  At the top right is a frill necked lizard and its frill is actually 3D.

Isn't she clever?

Oh...and the French General?  The four cornerstones were made from a fat quarter I found in my stash.  The colour is perfect. 

Now must get back to my pinning!

I'm linking to

Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday with Lee

Quite coincidentally Lee is having a vintage quilt revival at her blog spot...