Hello and welcome to ‘Blogger’s Quilt Festival’ and ‘Nero’s Post and Patch’! For my second entry to this fantastic quilt show, I like to show the baby quilt ‘Baby Stars’. You can see my other entry ‘Happy Days’ HERE.
When my dear friend was going to be a grandmother, I wanted to make a quilt for the baby. I had made some stars and had an idea to use them and add some squares which I had wanted to make for a long time. We didn’t know if the baby is a boy or a girl … mother likes bright colours … so I picked oranges, greens, turquoise, white … and made the ‘Baby Stars’ 1. When I knew that it is a boy, I added green binding. For a girl it would have been orange.
This pattern showed up loved and favoured, so I decided to make a second quilt and pattern for it. This time I wanted to use less colours so I chose greens and blues.
QUILT DETAILS:
Name: ‘Baby Stars’
Size: 34″ x 41″
Quilting: hand quilted by me
Pattern: by me
Category: Baby Quilts
With this same pattern I have made also baby quilt for a girl, but using only squares. I like that also very much – with all the oranges, pinks and reds. Have a look HERE ‘Baby Squares’.
Thank you for stopping by! Now continue your tour to see amazing quilts, beautiful blogs and meet wonderful, talented people!
Special thanks to sweet Amy, who has done incredible job organizing this event! This festival takes palce every spring and autumn and I’m happy to join it already 5th time! If you like to see my earlier entries, they are here: ‘Nero’s Garden’, ‘Orange Stones’, ‘My Dream Quilt’ and ‘Butterflies’.
Sunny wishes from all my team and have a great weekend!
BLOGGER’S QUILT FESTIVAL – SPRING 2013 and ‘HAPPY DAYS’!
Hello and welcome to ‘Blogger’s Quilt Festival’ and ’Nero’s Post and Patch’! This is our 5th entry to this fantastic quilt show! Till now my pets have represented my quilts but today I thought to do it by myself.
Beginning of this quilt … I had a Kona solids bundle and thought to celebrate my birthday with that … without planning more, I cut them all half and cut the equal amount white triangles … sew them together …
… then it was difficult … how to choose how to organize them … when I tried the order I used for the quilt, I knew immidiately that was the one …
When I was watching that happy quilt top, a song came to my mind: ‘Happy Days’! HERE is the link to that famous song ‘Happy Days’! It is so fun to see that old tv serial and listen that music! In fact I don’t listen very much music; I concentrate better when it’s quiet. So how I find names for my quilts from songs? No I’m working with a small paper pieced quilt named: ‘Summer Wine’!
Quilting was difficult. I quilt almost always by hand because I enjoy that and because my simple sewing machine is not suitable for quilting. With this quilt I wanted to try and experience the machine quilting. For my own use it’s okey, but I couldn’t give this quilt away – anyway I couldn’t give it away! Those quilted lines on the white backing remind me of ski trails and my home country Finland. Now I have lived 20 years in Crete and I enjoy taking photos with beautiful backgrounds and amazing colours – bright blue sky and turquoise sea!
QUILT DETAILS:
Name: ‘Happy Days’
Size: 33″ x 40″
Fabrics: Kona Cotton, Bright Palette (Charm Square)
This quilt could be a baby quilt or a lap quilt, but I made it wall hanging so that my every day is Happy Day!
I have always helpers, this time it’s Hanna. Meet all our team: Nero (writer/model), Hanna (secretary/model), Nelli (sewing assistant/inspector) and Teje (sewer/quilter).
Hi! Thought to show you what happens on my ‘design wall’ today …
As you see, my design wall is outside, so I can’t really design on it but only show …
Yesterday when driving back home I was listening Finnish version of my favourite song thinking that I would like to make a quilt and name it ‘Summerwine’ just realizing that I am making it already …
You can listen the original song HERE - here they play the Finnish version very often on the radio and it’s really good, too. In my imagination, summer wine is … sweet, light, fruity …
With my Forest QAL blocks I had to pick small temporary ’design wall’ because I have to see them. It was an other thing to photograph it in my tiny ’sewing studio’ where is barely space for me not to speak about any design walls. But before I show you, I need to warn you that I’m not at all sure about my latest decision. I started with browns and you know that I’m not at all brown (don’t get even nice tan). Then engouraged by you, I started again with more ‘my colours’ … I don’t know if I shall use this poor deer or if I’ll start once again with other colours …
It doesn’t look like a deer – more like a barking dog or a cow in sircus. But at the end, it’s only fabric, I can use it or not. It’s not the easiest thing to make a new one … like to see a little bit …
All the pieces for the head are ready for trimming. Have a look behind the scenes … there are amazing small pieces and in many places so many seams together … eye and nose had the smallest parts …
Luckily till now I haven’t made mistakes (if we don’t count the colour choises) but with this I have had few times difficulties with the thickness when there are so many seams and seam allowances together. I tried to take a photo to show you; here are about 7-8 levels fabrics!
When I started my first foundation piecing, I was wondering is it really supposed to be like this … cutting all the small pieces of paper etc. I had seen great tutorials but not exactly how to cut the papers and how they look trimmed before you continue to sew them together. I thought to show you – perhaps you are thinking the same. It’s also important to follow the instructions in which order to connect the pieces. Other wise you may have problems to match the seams or with seam allowances.
This is my 3rd block for Forest QAL. I hope to make several more and then start to design my quilt with them. I have some ideas but usually they change during the process, so more about that later.
Sorry about this bad photo, but this was only way to show them all at the moment. Outside was too windy. When/if I finish the deer, I’ll show him well as the woodpecker and fox. Is it any better if you try to imagine that he has antlers?
Now I go to make antlers and we’ll see if I’m fine=happy or not after finishing them. Later in the evening I shall sit with my ‘Summer wine’ and watch a fun tv-game where participate singers and actors. They have one week to learn a well known song and imitate the original performance. They are often so amazing and so much alike! Every week there is a winner and the money from the tele-voting goes to a charity. Today there are old Eurovision songs. Perhaps you have the same show?
I leave you with this cute scene and sound of ‘Summer wine’. I should find a way how to quilt this. By hand of course. Do you see the circles? I would love to hear your ideas for the quilting!
Thank you for visiting and writing lovely, happy, funny, cheerful, sweet comments!!!
Hi friends!!! How I thought that I don’t have any use for drawstring bags? I do have, I need a project bag for my crochet squares and I could use it for hundreds of other things!
Just watching those happy colours makes me happy! And cups, mugs and cans – I’m a little bit grazy for them! I used to buy a mug from every travel and trip.
As usually, my four-legged friends didn’t leave me to go out alone. Today we were a lot inside, because it was raining most of the day! I feel bad for the tourists who have been waiting so much to spend their holidays in the sunshine. For us and the nature the rain was important because there will be months without any rain.
I made for my bag white lining – I like to use white for lining, because then it’s easy to see what there is in the bag.
I sew the outside piece and the lining to pouches. Then put the lining inside the bag, turned the seam allowance on the edges and sew them together. Then I sew other stitching line next to make the channel for the string/ribbon.
I wanted to make the string/ribbon from cotton fabric but that doesn’t work well. The ribbon is better to be a little bit slippery so that it moves easily. I was lucky to find two big wooden beads from my stash for the ribbon.
If you like to make a drawstring bag without lining, Chase from ’1/4 inch mark’ has made a great tutorial using a French seam.
I’m so behind with my Forest QAL blocks! Today finally I started to make the moose – I like to think it’s Finnish reindeer. Perhaps I would have done it much quicker, if I just had fabrics … I don’t have forest colours at all! Can you imagine my turquoises, greens, oranges on a reindeer?
These are not exactly the fabrics I’m using … but more about this an other time. I think I should go to continue … hb is watching sports with friends so I can concentrate well for my foundation piecing. I miss energy and motivation, but I want to make these because I know it’s going to be a great (?) something.
Thousands of thanks for your most sweet comments on my last posts! I blushed reading your sweet words about my photo … if you just saw me wearing ‘always the same jean and t-shirt’ without make up …
I wish you the most wonderful weekend and I hope that our sunshine travelled to you! Sew a lot, dig in the garden or just relax reading or chating with your friends! Hugs and Kisses!
Hello dear friends! I hope you are all fine and having a great spring! We have had already really hot weather. This weekend we had Easter here in Greece and still today it’s a holiday. So it has been really long weekend. Many days I have been waiting to show you how I sew those little octagons and squares.
I started this project to have something to sew where ever I am and when I may have only short time during the busy summer. But as you see it has been quicker than I expected and soon I start to quilt it!
Mostly I have been sewing outside with Nero and Hanna. Often having our coffee brake at the same time. You may guess that Nero is dreaming to get piece of my bun!
First I started to baste octagons with papers I had printed from HERE.
I saw someone somewhere using paper clips and they work for me. Perhaps not the quickest way, but with them it’s really easy to make the basting stitches. And making paper piecing, we are in no hurry! You can baste by passing your thread through the paper or only the fabric. I feel it’s easier if it’s through the paper.
Then I cut small squares using a little template made with hard paper. With this template I also fold all the edges and I don’t baste them with papers.
Then it was time to start to sew them together as blocks of nine octagons – adding small white squares between.
Because I haven’t had time to make a quilt with granny squares, I thought I could try to make these to remind crochet granny squares.
After making these blocks, it was time to put them in order and start to sew them together.
It’s easy to sew octagons together but with the little squares you need to be patient.
You can see the lines on folded edges and they help you to sew the squares on a right place. Then just turn your work so that you can sew the next side.
This may feel first very complicated and it’s is a little bit, but you get used to it, as I did.
Then I sew three blocks together …
I sew with the same thread as long as I can. If I can’t continue some where but I have still thread enough, I make few stitches to secure the corner and then I lead the thread under the seam allowance to the next corner. There I make also first few secure stitches and then continue sewing. Look next photos … first I put the needle in the seam allowance …
Then I take the needle with thread out in the corner where I want to continue. Look where the scissors show …
Now I can sew the other two edges of the little white square.
Now I’m sewing more white squares between the rows so I can sew the rows together.
This is quite fun pattern and I would love to make bigger quilt like this but with sewing machine. For my next EPP project I think I use hexagons or even squares.
I have made a separate page for Paper Piecing - you find it up on my blog. There are lots of useful and helpful inspiring links for paper piecing – for English paper piecing as well as for Foundation Piesing.
When Nero lifted his head from the table, this was what I saw behind of him … Nelli had went for a walk to the pool and looked from there what we are doing …
I had some strange ‘problems’ with writing my posts and that’s why I’m behind of my schedule (which I don’t really have). I have finished the second quilt with hb’s shirts and hope to show it to you soon.
Weather has cooled a little bit and there should be some cloudy days, so then I have to be busy in the garden.
You remember that 17th of May starts the Blogger’s Quilt Festival - have you decided what quilt to show? And in June Jennifer from ‘Ellison Lane Quilts’ is having a Mini Quilt party, where I hope to have something to enter. Maybe I have finished this octagon mini-table-quilt. This year you can enter also pillows.
Thank you for visiting and reading my blog! I hope I inspired you to make (more) English paper piecing and to sew by hand! I think it’s very good way to enjoy sewing in summer, when we like to be outside and perhaps go for trips, holidays etc.
Thank you for your lovely comments! I have missed you while this un-planned short brake. Hope to see and hear from you soon again! Have a wonderful time!
TEJE
PS. I like to see your photo on your blog so today when I ‘had’ to put make up to go out with friends, I did my best to take a new, decent photo for you … I’m happy with the background …
Hi! Good week to everyone! Sunday was wonderful, relaxing day! I spent most of it outside with the ‘Swings’ quilt. Monday I was busy working in ‘Maherida’ and here we are already in Tuesday evening. Yesterday I found something special from my mail box so this became a Moomin post!
Sunday I started to quilt and today I have almost finished the quilting and hope to make soon the binding.
On sunday, after the breakfast I emptied the outside table and lied there first the backing fabric and tighted it with clips. Then add the wadding and the quilt top … with help of tea spoon I catched the safety pins …
… and then started to stitch!
This quilt has been a small nightmere … corners don’t match, I sew blocks two ways, fabrics were just enough … and I thought this is a piece of cake. But I do like this pattern (or as it should be)!
When I sit on our patio I see the landing air planes. They don’t make much noise so they don’t bother us and I love to imagine the stories behind the people who are coming … remembering often how I was once there coming to Crete for the first time …
Who knows if it was exactly this plane, where one little girl with red hair, was sitting and waiting to meet me …
She is Miss Myy and she came from far away Finland! She is very persistent as we Finnish women (I was told) and if she doesn’t like you, she may bite your ankle! I’m happy to say that she is not a tourist but is going to stay with me and remind me to be persistent!
Little Miss Myy came from Mia’s shop and she brought with her something really really sweet … Moomin pouch and Moomin keyring/bag charm! They have so lovely sky blue colour!
I have wanted long time something from Mia and something with Moomins and now I have = happy happy!!! Many of my blog friends know already Mia who is from Finland! But if you don’t, have a visit to her blog ‘Handmade by Mia’ which is wonderful mix of her beautiful, mostly felted crafts and little stories around her life in Finland! Mia is selling her sweet and unique cratfs all over the world till far away Japan!
There are also Moomins inside in yellow! Thank you Mia, I’m so happy to have these and this little Miss Myy is going to be my engouraging company every day! You didn’t know that when I was a little girl, I hade long and very red hair like Miss Myy’s!
Miss Myy was super cute surprise as well as the Snoopy letter! Do you write ‘normal’ hand written letters? I don’t but I should – it’s really fantastic to find a letter in your mail box … and especially with so beautiful paper! As I’m looking this photo, I got funny thought … it’s like Miss Myy is standing on a quilt with pillow! I guess I let her sleep first nights in a strange country on her own Moomin matress and hug her Moomin pillow!
If you like to read more about Moomins and Tove Jansson – lady who created Moomins, here are some links:
And in the daytime she can fancy my violas, while I’m working in the garden. Violas are one of my favourite flowers! There is always also someone else watching me in the garden …
Nelli enjoyes wathcing what happens and what we are doing around. She used to be very scared but now she is always some where near taking care of everything what happens in her garden!
I wish you Happy First of May and hope you have wonderful spring weather for this celebration! We are here getting ready for the Easter which is this weekend. I guess we’ll celebrate and have fun with few friends! Thank you for stopping by and thank you for your always sweet comments!
