Showing posts with label handmade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label handmade. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Making the Hourglass Quilt

Beginning the process... and bringing out fabrics to choose between for the darks and lights

some of the darks

on to the lights... I use the same triangle template to mark both lights and darks. 

 every light has been matched to a dark
...pictorial sequence follows...



 I love using the treadle sewing machine... she is a 1936 Singer and uses a class 15 bobbin .



2 lights and 2 darks combine to make a 5" block. if you were doing one for yourself, you can make them any size you want, depending on the design of the quilt you wish to create.

always pressing the seams to the dark side... pressing the seams at each stage of the process makes it very pleasant to work with the blocks and keeps everything lying flat.

arranging the blocks so there is always a dark touching a light

seamed several lengths of wild bright cotton print for the back, pinned it into the frames, added a layer of batting and then the top was smoothed over and pinned in place

after the blocks were sewn together I felt a dark colour border  all around the outside would frame it in nicely... now it's in the frames and a couple rolls have been done.  it's so pretty, if I do say so myself... the colours just danced in the sunshine

 this quilt is being tied with embroidery floss at each corner ... I make 2 passes thru the fabric and then make a double knot and trim the thread to 3/4"

 my funky quilt stands.. they come apart for easy storage

 almost done tying 

measured and cut out 4" wide fabric strips for the binding... then sewn together, seams pressed and the entire length pressed in half lengthwise

 sewing the binding all around the edge of the quilt. 

 after this I trimmed the excess fabric away and folded the binding to the back and hand hemmed it 


Hourglass Quilt   all Finished... soft, cozy, cheery and bright....  and I love it!!


Saturday, March 17, 2018

the process of making a pieced patchwork quilt

...also called a scrap quilt...
Designing and planning in my sketchbook

using all scrap materials that have accumulated over time








lots of pressing all the way along





laying out for colour placement... lots of shifting and moving around of the little blocks

... during the making of the quilt top we were renovating and rebuilding this little old house .. by the time I finished quilting it, we had finished laying the hardwood floors (that was back breaking work that we don't want to do again none too soon)







 the back was pieced

 the batt 

the top ... sandwich is complete... 3 layers... now into the frames

Quilting in progress

 rolled up so it doesn't take up so much room.



end of the first 200 m. spool of quilting thread


unwound and removing from frames

 binding has been cut, sewn into a very long strip, pressed in half and is being sewn onto the quilt



trimming the excess


 hand stitching the binding to the back

just wanted to see what it looked like in the winter light

back

The End ..
 or maybe just the Beginning... 
of enjoying a functional handmade beautiful object.

created at our little old homestead by Gwen Buchanan... with much Love

xo