A double pinwheel quilt in LP&Q issue 19

Love Patchwork and Quilting issue 19 is out and features again an array of stunning quilts and amongst them my latest quilt.

It a made using one of my favourite quilts patterns, the double pinwheel.

 I like to think it is a double pinwheel pattern with a little twist in that I used  gingham to sash it and of a contrasting solid for the inner pinwheel.

This is a fun pattern and the blocks are suitably big so that this quilt is whipped up in no time.

I combined prints and solids from the same colour families.

And added a black/white dotted binding for even more impact. 

The backing fabric, a print from the Kona Modern Quilt collection, was kindly supplied by the wonderful people of the Eternal Maker.

So if you fancy a quilt that screams "Summer isn't that far now" then go and grab yourself issue 19 that is out today. The magazine has again lots of great projects for every level.

Negative Space - in abundance

 Love Patchwork & Quilting issue 18 is available.

 And with that my third quilt in the all-solids trilogy.

Unlike the previously two (here and here)  this quilt uses a more sedate colour pallet and lots and lots of negative space that I was deliriously happy to quilt.

The purple stripes reflect a basket weave pattern where they intersect.

Although it may look complicated, it is actually a very easy quilt to piece and because of the large amount gives you much space to quilt to your heart's content.

I quilted with about 5 different thread colours ranging from off-white to many shades of purple including a variegated thread and the result is a wonderful diverse yet supple quilting pattern.

Read all about the pattern and the quilting technique in the new magazine. The fabric for this quilt was sponsored by the lovely Tina from Tikki Patchwork in Kew.

Red and White projects

I thought I share a few more of my own photos of the red and white quilt projects with you that I made for issue of 16 of Love Patchwork & Quilting. They feel so christmassy and are just right for now.

The front in all its glory. The continuous circle starts in the middle of this square quilt.

And I couldn't just put on a normal back but had to make something pieced too and as so soften I am tempted to say I like the back even better than the front.

The binding is white and red and adds a little fun to it all.

I also have new labels I now sew into the binding. These are stitched and have writing on both sides.

I love how it folds and drapes.

And a little sausage roll to finish up.

Logcabin variations in Love Patchwok & Quilting issue 16

For issue 16 of Love Patchwork & Quilting I made three red and white projects; a courthouse step quilt, a half log-cabin cushion and a mini log-cabin pincushion.

The log-cabin quilt block is a wonderful pattern with almost infinite possibilities and the projects I have made are only a few examples. Red and white together are always spectacular because of the crisp contrast. I quilted in red and white thread in a continuous circle.

The cushion features a half log cabin block and is also quilted with two different thread colours and finally a pin cushion is the most popular log-cabin variation.

Other projects in this issue that I have caught my eye are Lynn's striking hexagon quilt that features the front page.

I just love that she uses a really dark colour for sashing - blacks or almost blacks are not used enough in quilting. And another red and white project with a Scandinavian feel to it from Jo Avery which is just define and would work so well together with my quilt.

Winter Carnival is here

Issue 15 of Love Patchwork & Quilting signals the start of a series of three solids only quilts made by me. The first one is a Kaleidoscope quilt for which I used the new Kona Cotton colours and plenty of older ones.

The quilt is paper pieced and suitable for beginners and is a great opportunity to use your fabric scraps.

Those new Kona Colours are wonderful and I had a lot of fun pairing them with other contrasting colours to produce a real carnival of colours.

This quilt features about 80 different colours of which most are bright and a few more sedate that make the riotous ones pop out even more.
 

I quilted in my customary continuous circle quilting technique that I have sewn a lot again lately. It really is a never ending love affaire.

Next week I will show you a few more quilts from other designers (I don't have a copy of the mag yet as I managed to let my own subscription run out....great, isn't it)

Only 11 more Sundays until

...Christmas. Yes I know this is not what anybody wants  to hear including me ! But it's a fact and I have had to think about it much earlier than most of you for my latest quilt I created for Love Patchwork & Quilting. It is strictly speaking not a Christmas quilt but a Winter quilt that with its red, greens, pinks and greys will brighten up any dreary winter's day.

 The background colour for the trees is a light grey which makes all the other colours stand out really well. Issue 14 is out now for subscribers and out next week in the shops.

My contribution to the magazine is a quilt that is paper pieced and a cushion. The paper piecing is really easy and it is most suitable for any paper piecing novice !

 The fabric for this wonderful quilt was sponsored by the Village Haberdashery in West Hampstead.

The length we go to

The length we quilters go to find the right fabric or thread can be...well...long. Or is this just me ?

I am working on a quilt for LP&Q for the solids series I announced a while back and decided on a very particular thread for the quilt I am working on at the moment .

When it comes to choosing the right thread for my quilts two things are important to me; the quality and the colour. What isn't so important is the brand, although given that I only use top quality thread, the brands I use for piecing are somewhat limited to Gueterman, Aurifil and Superior.

My preferred quilting thread thickness ranges from 40w to 28w and is only driven by colour (and availability). If for example I want to quilt in a steal grey, it matters little to my if I use Gueterman Sulky in 30w or a similar colour in the 28w from Aurifil. They are both equally good although the Aurifil is better value for money and I am lucky that Tina at Tikki stocks both.

But sometimes I venture out of the normal range of colours I tend to use and go for a variegated thread. Mostly I use Gueterman Sulky then but on occasion something with a bit more punch is required. And then I need (yes need) Valdani hand deyed thread.

I have used Valdani once before on my Comet quilt and love the boldness of the colour distribution on the variegated spools. Valdani isn't that easy to come by in the UK and whilst I managed to get the above two I used for the Comet quilt fairly easily from Germany, this time around it was quite a challenge to get the red/white M41 I chose for my new quilt (there is a hint somewhere there as to the colour of the quilt).

My first google search let me to Germany but I had to find out that the shop I previously bought didn't stock them anymore. My next stops were a variety of shops all over the place that all wanted to sell me M41 in 8w or similar. 
Then I found an on-line shop in Norway whose website was only in Norwegian but had a picture of my thread ! Yes I punched a fist in the air. Using google translator I managed to find out that the shop wasn't yet set up properly but because they had the thread on their web page I anyway sent a mail to the owner asking for help.
Not wanting to wait for an answer I googled a bit more and found ecrater but they only had the required colour in the required strength "on hold". Still I sent a mail because you never know but got a negative answer back. Then I found DS9 but their shipping costs were a little extravagant. Meanwhile a few days had past and as I am on a deadline got a little desperate.
So I went onto the Valadni web page itself, set-up an account, ordered the thread for what seemed a reasonable shipping fees only to find out after a few days  that payment processes were being revamped and the charge would have been huge. Admittedly Dana made every effort to get the thread to me for the best price she could get and even asked the plant in Romania to send them to me directly.
Whilst this conversation was going on I received a response from the lady in Norway who sadly had to tell me that she did not have the thread in stock (deep breath at this point)  but that maybe her friend who is also Norwegian but lives in Bosten may have (sitting up a little straighter again). 2 hours later, the lovely Ase who is from netquilter and who turns out to be the Valdani distributor in the US had put one spool in the post for me for a very reasonable fee and best of all it arrived on my door step within 3 days. 

I sure I got a few more grey hair over this but am happy to report that I have the thread in my hands !!

Has any of you gone through crazy length to get a particular thread or fabric ?

LP&Q flash give-away

Love Patchwork & Quilting the fabulous quilting magazine for which I make regular contributions and that now has reached its10th edition kindly sends me a copy of each edition in which I have a quilt or other crafty contribution. I also have a subscription and that is good news for you because I have 3 editions double that I happily give away to three blog readers.

I have issue 7, 8 and 10 to give away and each is packed with fantastic projects.

Issue 7 had my heart shaped  Liberty changing-mat and amongst other great project a beautiful voile log-cabin quilt by Laura Jan Taylor and really cute Baby booties by Ali Burdon that I may have to make for my niece !

Issue 8 had another Liberty project from me, this time a sewing on-the-go zippered bag and needlebook and the most luxurious plus cushions from Susan Standen and very cute Hot Dogs by Jo Carter.

And the most recent edition No 10 has my Windmill quilt pattern and the coolest of cool tape recorder cushion by Julianna Gasiorowska and a very elegant Oakshott quilt by Lynn Goldsworthy.

So if any of you want to get to know the magazine then please leave me a comment below.

Rules of engagement:

• giveway open to all earthlings and aliens alike
• giveway finishes on Wednesday this week
• if you already have one of the featured edition than please let me know in the comment
• you can otherwise NOT choose which one I will sent
• you MUST make sure you have an e-mail address as I will not follow up on no-repy-bloggers

Scrappy Windmills quilt

Issue No 10 of Love Patchwork & Quilting is jam packed with fantastic projects.
One of which is my Windmill quilt that I made a few months back. I can't tell you how much I love this quilt. I used some of my most treasured fabrics and it's a real stash buster as you can use as much as 168 fabrics (if you are so inclined....)

I even found a fabric with the writing 'Windmill' on it......how good is that!

 It's a paper pieced quilt with a detailed how-to tutorial in the magazine.

The mag is again full of great project and two of my favouirtes are  from Lynn who has created a stunning quilt with Oakshot fabric.

 and  from Julianna Gassiorowska  who has created his tape recorder Pillow that is just fabulous and a fun project to make.

Liberty sewing pouch and needlebook

Issue 8 of Love Patchwork & Quilting that came out last months (sorry I am a bit late with this post) features the third and last Liberty project of the series.

The first of the projects was the shopping bags for Mum and daughter in issue 6, the second the changing mat with baby blanket that were featured in issue 7 and are a personal favourite and for this last issue I made a pouch and needlebook for sewing-on-the-go.

I wanted to do something again with other materials in contrast to the delicate flower designs from Liberty and chose for this project not only linen but also leather that I had from an old pair of suede leather trousers my sister once upon the time in the 90th wore....

That leather looks a lot better on the pouch than it does worn ! Just don't tell her.

The magazine features again a host of great craters including Lynne Goldsworthy with her popular Union Jack cushion and Susan Standen with a beautiful matchstick quilted plus cushion.

So go and get the issue whilst it is still available as the next one is more or less out in the next 10 days.

Liberty changing mat and blanket

You know I love making my foldable changing mats and when LP&Q asked me to make a Liberties inspired series of makes I couldn't wait to suggest a changing mat with matching blanket.

So in issue 7 that came out last week you can find out how to make both of them !

I wanted to make a duo that could be used for both girls and boys and you know how much I dislike gender polarisation by way of colour. Yes the quilt has a lot of blue but also a lot of girly flowers which I think is a creat combo.

I used a very soft denim as background colour and made a sweet heart from Liberty scraps.

And this is of course how it looks folded and ready to slip in the handbag, buggy, car ..... always ready for that emergency nappy change. 

 The baby blanket is simply made fromLiberty squares backed with a gorgeous navy super soft flannel.

 And here again folded and ready for a snuggle.