A Quilt for Sophia

Some of you may remember me starting to knit a baby cardigan back in February (see here) The project was prompted by one of my best friends announcing her second pregnancy. The cardigan is, surprise surprise still incomplete and the news at the end of June that the baby born to my friend is a gorgeous little girl didn't give me the required impetus to complete the job.

I wanted to make something really special for Sophia and had also started a new crochet blanket, but when I learned that I was going to meet Sophia sooner rather than later (the family live a few hours away from us) I knew that the crochet blanket wouldn't be ready in time.

After toying with the notion of sewing up a little dress, I shelved that idea for the future and decided to make a quilt. I have made quilts for babies in the past, but not 'properly', with bound edges.

After tackling those on the teddy bear sleeping bags I thought I could probably manage to reproduce the effect on a larger quilt.

I decided to make the quilt with a a selection of the lovely Aneela Hoey prints I have been stashing and had also used on teddy sleeping bags.

I didn't want to attempt anything too complicated patchwork-wise and spent some time doodling a few simple designs on paper before designing a layout I though would work well. I then had to work out a cutting diagram so that I would know which pieces to sew together in which order. I also devised a list of the various cuts needed.

The sewing itself was done in a bit of a frenzy over the weekend so I didn't really take any pictures during the process, I was just really enjoying the sewing. The piecing came together relatively simply, not much swearing required and then I chose to quilt using the 'stitch in the ditch' method, which is where you simply sew through all three layers (quilt top, batting/wadding and quilt back) following the lines of the patchwork.

In an ideal world, the quilt would be more quilted but I was worried about ruining what I had already done. I believe it is possible to send quilts off to clever people with specialised machines to achieve a traditional quilted finish so I might think about that for another time.

When I bound the sleeping bags, I cheated by using bought bias tape. I really wanted to use a contrasting edge on this quilt and did make my own binding, which I'm really pleased with. The only thing I wish I'd had more time for was the actual sewing of the binding itself. Ideally, it should have been hand stitched at the back but I knew that it would take me hours and I just didn't have the time.

(Also, while camping last week I managed to cut the end of my right index finger on some glass and it's still pretty sore so hand sewing would have been painful in more ways than one!)

The back of the quilt isn't the prettiest, but it is my first and I know it will stand up to lots of washing. I think machine-binding would get neater with practise.

Well, this morning I got to meet Sophia, now four weeks and two days old. She is very beautiful and was good enough to let me get some pictures of her on the quilt, so here she is.

While I am sewing, I do like to listen to music and often get fixated on a particular album. In my younger years (!) I think I was the wrong age to appreciate Kate Bush, but I have made a recent discovery of her and it was the album Hounds of Love that I had on repeat while making the quilt. For this reason, Sophia's quilt will actually be remembered by me as the 'Kate Bush Quilt'.

This week the house is a bit upside-down as we are doing more renovating and decorating, so the beautiful dining-cum-sewing room is out of action and there won't be many makes happening for a while, just my usual knitting and crochet but I'll keep you informed of any finished makes!

We're also hoping to do some more of this

And some more of this

 

But we'll see what the weather decides.

Thanks for reading,

Beth x

This Week in the Nest

Finally the littlest Magpie has recovered from all his mishaps and we had a great time yesterday celebrating his birthday. As you can see, cake decorating is not one of my talents, although I can confirm that it tasted delicious and was speedily devoured by the clan.

Another little one in the family is having her birthday next week. so today I have been stitching up a teddy bear sleeping bag (designed by Florence), like the one I made one for her sister in February. This time I used another Annela Hoey fabric, from her new range 'A Walk in the Woods'. I love this fabric, and treated myself to a very restrained three half-metres from Alice at Backstitch.

Since writing the last post about my blanket, I have added another half-dozen or so rows, including my rainbow section. Work on this has got to slow down now though so you won't be seeing it again for a while.

This new granny square has taken the place of the blanket. the idea is to turn it into a cushion, along with the two other fronts already made, as these can be sold at Larmer Tree. This way I get my crocheting fix without the guilt that I am not making stuff to sell. Perfect!

I know I mentioned that I went to Ikea a few weeks ago, but I didn't show you any pictures of the fabric I bought. Ikea fabric really is great value for money, especially from the children's department. These fabrics work out at £2 per metre and they are really popular with my customers.

  The idea is to turn these into more drawstring wash bags like the ones below.

I have also been busily cutting out felt shapes to turn into brooches. At last year's craft fairs I sold pretty much every one I made, the bird design in particular was a big hit so I am planning on sewing lots of these to take with me to the festival. I'm not sure that the photo does the colours justice, but please can I have your thoughts on the colour combinations?

Well, I had better be off to feed the family. I'm hoping to go to Stitch and Bitch tonight as it seems like it's been ages since I went to a knitting group and I'm really missing it. Pop back next week for some finished brooches and that look around the craft room I've been promising!

Thanks for stopping by,
Beth x

A New Bed for an Old Friend

I would like to introduce you all to a very old and dear friend of mine. His name is Stripey and he has been with me for more than thirty years. I can still remember being with my Mum when she bought him for me and as you can see, he has been very well loved.

When I originally ordered the Three Bears Sleeping Bag pattern from Florence, I had thought I wanted to make the sleeping bags as gifts for some little girls I know. Having started on the pattern though, the perfectionist in me realised that my first attempt wouldn't be quite up to scratch. Inspiration struck, and I thought of Stripey, squirrelled away somewhere in the deepest darkest recessess of my teenage daughter's bedroom.

Having been an early recipient of my developing sewing skills, I knew that Stripey wouldn't mind at all if his new sleeping bag had a couple of minor imperfections.

Over the years I have done quite a few patch-up jobs, none very skillfully, but somehow I don't want to rectify the mistakes now.

 I managed to make the sleeping bag over a couple of evenings and I think it turned out ok.

It was my first time quilting properly, and ideally I should have used a walking foot to eliminate any puckering of the material but unfortunately it didn't seem to work properly so I ended up using an ordinary zig-zag foot.

The line that goes through the yellow pear is the one done with the walking foot. The stitches are uneven and really tiny. So tiny that I really couldn't face ripping them out!

The pattern was really simple to follow, your hand is held through every step. I cheated slightly by using bought bias binding for the trim, but next time I think I will try making my own; Florence offers great instructions on how to do this.

To get the quilting lines even, I found a good tip online about using electrical tape. I only had masking tape to hand, but it worked perfectly.

Also now, thanks to Florence, I can tell you that the stitch I showed you in Bad Seam, Good Seam is actually called Ladder Stitch. Thank you Florence!

I think Stripey looks very cosy in his new sleeping bag, infinitely preferable to his previous lodgings. He will now be living in the dining room with me and all the stitchery!

Thanks for stopping by,

Beth x