Nanny Sharon's Picnic Quilt

My dear friend and very talented designer Rose published the pattern for Nanny Sharon’s Picnic Quilt back in October. And for a long time I have wanted to make it – I fell in love with the simple beauty of it. Last week I spent a lot of evenings frog stitching on a project I can’t blog (at least not for about a year), and after the frustration I felt I needed to do something I could master well yesterday, so I pulled some fabrics and this is the result:

The centre was done before bedtime last night, and the borders attached tonight. I just love how it turned out! I have used the same fabrics as Rose on the borders and half of the squares in the blocks – Cotton Blossom by Moda – but I only had one charm pack, so I added a pack of Dandelion Girl. The over-all impression of my version is a bit lighter and slightly more yellow and softer than Rose’s, but I’m very happy with it!

The quilting will have to wait a bit – I’m all out of batting at the moment, but more is on the way. I do have a plan for how I want to quilt it, though :o)

The pattern is written so clearly so you really can’t go wrong, and would be wonderful for a beginner quilter, but it is great even for those more experienced – a quick quilt that will be perfect for a present, no matter what fabrics you pick. Have a look at Pauline’s funky version – cool, hum? :o)


Hugs and stitches from
Anne Ida

Dresden Plate by machine

A while back I made Rose a quick picture guide for the way I make Dresden Plate by machine. Today she tested it out, and in about an hour she had two plates ready :o) I figure that someone else might also have interest of this little list of pictures, so I thought I'd share it here:


1. Make a template the size you want your finished section of the plate, and add seam allowance to all four sides.


2. Cut the pieces for the plate.


3a. Fold the piece in half, and stitch accross the top, ¼” from the top.


3b. This is how they look chain pieced.


4. Turn the pieces innside- out, they will look like this.

5. Press them all, and you’ll have something looking like this.

6a. Piece the sections together in pairs, and the pairs into quarter plate sections...

6b. …then into halves

7a. Join the two halves together, and you are ready to press. Press the seams open.

7b. This is what itlooks like from the back.

8. Appliqué to background fabric, and appliqué a small circle to cover the hole in the centre.

FINISHED!!! Have fun!

Hugs and stitches from
Anne Ida

PS! Yes, the block is for my version of Rose's Tender Moments - I have a long way to go yet on that one....

Ready for binding

Wooho! The red and white sampler is ready for binding!! I have been quilting on it for most of the weekend - my shoulders and neck letting me know I went a bit overboard. And looking at it, I think I went a little nuts *lol*



I had originally thought only to stipple the white and do something simple in the border, but some of the red areas in the blocks were so big, I felt they needed some quilting as well. And since this is a sampler, I figured: why not do some sample quilting? Ehhh... so this is where I went a bit overboard - doing a small feather circle, two loopy leaves, three small linked hearts, some feathered hearts, a border stencil and some X's in the blocks + two different stencils in the borders - one linked hearts for the long sides and one cable stencil for the short sides:

And since I was on a roll of trying new "quilty" things, I also tested a Quilting Made Easy block:



It really was easy to do the motif, but I'm not sure how much fun I think it is to pick out the paper after it's done.

The overall look of the quilt is a little "messy", but I enjoyed myself immensely on this, and it will be a fun quilt to look at in the future.

***

I had a break from the quilting last night. Along with some friends and about 7000 locals I enjoyed the outdoors big screen live broadcast of the premiere of Carmen at the Opera. We sat on the Opera house roof, enjoying the perfomance going on inside; the gorgeous music, fresh air, and the sun setting over the harbour. A night to remember!





Hope you have enjoyed your weekend!
Hugs and stitches from
Anne Ida

Scrappy

This afternoon I came across a link on Jeanette's blog, which lead me to this tutorial by Lappeklipp. It looked like a lot of fun, I needed a new purse, so I just had to give it a try! This is my scrappy result - made from twenty two 3" squares and about a FQ with blue roses:

I think it turned out pretty good! She says it is a quick pattern, and she is right - it took me just over 2 hours to make this little bag - it's far from perfect, but I'm quite pleased with my first try! Here's a view from a different angle:

***

Remember the swap blocks I sent off in return for the red and white ones? When I pieced the flying geese units in the "On the Oregon Trail" blocks I did quick corners, and I saved all the cut-offs. For a few weeks now I have used them for leaders and enders, and some days ago they became these:

They are about 5" finished, which is a bit of an odd size for me, but they are quite cute :o) I think they will be used for a cushion for my sofa - I have a couple that really needs a new cover! Just have to figure out a way to set them.

Have a wonderful weekend! My plan is to (hopefully) get the quilting done on the red and white swap quilt - I still have some ways to go so fingers crossed!

Hugs and stitches from
Anne Ida

What I did

Thank you to everyone who gave me an input on what to do on the borders of the red and white swap quilt! Your suggestions got me thinking, but in the end I did something a bit different from my own and your suggestions:

I brought the cornerstones I used between the blocks with me into the corners of the white border, I did a solid red on the edges, and made four extra 6" blocks for the corners. It was fun to do, and so far I like the result. My friend Yvonne has been over, and she helped me layer it, and now it's pin basted and ready for quilting. Not completely decided on what to do, but it looks like it will be an over-all stippling in the white, and then maybe something fun in the borders :o)

Hope you're having a happy Easter!
Hugs and stitches from
Anne Ida

Sashing....

Remember these red and white swap blocks? Ever since I received them I have been pondering how to set them, and haven't really come up with a good plan - so today I decided to go simple! Just add some white sashing and some dark red cornerstones:

Sorry it looks so wrinkled, I know it still needs to be pressed, but my shoulders need a break after all those long seams. And I still haven't the faintest clue to what to do for borders - maybe just a narrow white inner border and a solid red outer border? What would you do?

Hope you have had a creative weekend!

Hugs and stitches from
Anne Ida

Rack

Not much quilty news from me lately. I have pulled out my red and white SBS swap quilt again, and have quilted about three threads over the last week, but that's all.

I have finally gotten a rack to hang some of my quilts on!! Back in September I saw this post on May Kristin's blog. On Tuesday I had a dentist appointment, and since I had some of the day off, my Mum and I went to IKEA and picked up this (towel) rack:

(Ok, they were on sale, so I got two, but have only assembled one). So now, rather than having my quilts folded up in a closet they can hang on display in the living room - happy me!

Have a wonderful and creative weekend!
Hugs and stitches from
Anne Ida