Diamond Ring Quilt for DUDQS3

Here is my finished quilt for The Down Under Doll Quilt Swap 3 which was made for Lorraine.  Lorraine was pretty easy going, she likes colour but her favourites are orange and green.  Initially I had a hard time coming up with a colour palette using both of those colours. The beauty of swaps are that they force you to use colours that you wouldn't normally use and sometimes the process has you feeling really uncomfortable but I was so relieved when I came up with a combo that would please my partner and that I was happy with too.

The design inspiration came from this quilt by Green Bee Designs that was photographed at Quilt Market earlier this year.  The design had stuck in my head and I wanted to challenge myself and work out the pattern.  The diamond wedges are paper pieced and then the wedges are put together as a drunkards path.  The inner circle was really hard to sew since it was so small and it didn't come out very well.  I ended up adding a circle applique over the top using this tutorial from Amy which finished it off really nicely.  Lorena kindly invited me over for coffee and a quick lesson in hand applique - knowing how to do it properly makes all the difference.

When it came to the quilting I always knew I was going to base it on this design by LR Stitched which has been a favourite ever since I saw it.  I have never quilted so densely before and it gives the design another dimension.

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Quilt Stats:

Finished quilt measures: 19" x 19"

Special techniques used:  foundation paper piecing, hand applique, quilting concentric circles

Quilted by: Me

At last!

At last! #DUDQS3, a photo by A Labour of Love on Flickr.

My doll/mini quilt for The Down Under Doll Quilt Swap 3 is finally coming together. Not without a lot of angst!

Field Study by Anna Maria Horner

I have been a good girl all year and have not bought much fabric.  I have even destashed twice!!  I waited patiently for the reveal of Anna Maria Horner's latest range at Fall Quilt Market and it didn't disappoint.  I have been waiting patiently for Field Study to hit the stores and then I splurged and bought a full FQ set from Pink Castle Fabrics in a 20% off sale.  The doorbell rang early this morning, it doesn't happen often and it was the Postie with some happy mail!

The only disappointing thing is that I am so busy for the next couple of days that I am not going to be able to rip open that plastic and have a proper fondle.  I need to savour that moment for when I have a clear head and some time to sit and drool.  And then it will probably go into a bag with the Good Folks that I'm hoarding until I have the current WIPs out of the way.  I'm thinking a bed quilt if I can be brave enough to tackle a project that large.

Fun boy trousers

Dodgy iPhone photo

Mr 5 has taken a bit of interest in sewing lately.  In the last school holidays he helped me make this Babushka Superhero, and then a couple of weeks ago he announced that he wanted to make pants (trousers for my UK readers).  Trawling through my stash I didn't really have any boy fabric large enough so I headed to the local Spotty and bought some wide wale corduroy for both boys ($9.99m).  I also picked up the robot poplin since it was a great match for the pale grey cord.

Click for a larger view

Making clothes for my children has been on my to-do-list so it was great to get the nudge to finally give it a go. Also, I happened across this tutorial about a week earlier so I was fairly confident.  It wasn't until I was actually cutting the cord for the first pair of pants that I had a bad thought - I forgot to prewash!  It's the one thing I love about quilting, one less step to worry about but I knew that there would be some shrinkage.  Unfortunately, I didn't take into account the cord would shrink quite a bit so the applique knee patches have gone all wrinkly, not to mention that the 2" hem had to be let down completely (I ended up turning it up 3/8" and zig zagging the hem in place).  At least they fit in length and they're fine for a 5yr old to kick around in.  

Lesson learnt, I made sure I prewashed my cord for the second pair for Mr 4.  These ones came out pretty well.  I don't have an interlocker so I had to make do with zig zagged seams.  I'll have a go at French seams one of these days as the unprofessional seams bother me a bit (but not enough to want to buy an overlocker).

BTW Mr 5 supervised the cutting process and then went on a hike with his Dad and came back to finished pants.  That's OK, I'm still nervous letting him sew on the machine since he keeps dragging the fabric instead of just steadying it.

Down Under Doll Quilt Swap 3

Have you made a mini quilt?  I haven't yet so I decided to sign up for the latest round of the Down Under Doll Quilt swap on Flickr.  I put together this inspiration mosaic for my partner.

1. , 2. Sewing Circle Pillow, 3. flickr.com/photos/74067014@N00/6915982978/, 4. wildflower garden quilt: block #2, 5. Spring 2012 Market Brochure_1, 6. DS Quilts Mini, 7. Quilt top finished... now on to the back!, 8. good folks value quilt, 9. FBLiQS, 10. layout - almost all the blocks together, 11.flickr.com/photos/74067014@N00/7410561650/, 12. friends! :D, 13. Butterflies - done, 14. Granny Square Quilt top, 15. New bag!, 16. Cherry Creamsicle, 17. PTS7 in progress!, 18. such a star., 19.DSC_0906, 20. Equalizer Quilt - Habitat Challenge

The partner I've been assigned has different colour taste to me, so I always find that challenging (especially as I don't have a lot of lovely fabric in her colours). Maybe because I don't have the right fabric, I'm finding it really hard to find inspiration and settle on a design. I've got a little time up my sleeve, they don't need to be posted until early October.

Have you ever put your hand up for something and then struggled to execute?