Beach Finds - Holiday Memories Mini Quilt

You have a whole week left so it's not too late to enter the Holiday Memories Mini Quilt (or bag or cushion) competition hosted by Fiona at Celtic Stitches - such a great idea for a competition because there are so many ways different people can take inspiration and run with it which makes looking at entries such fun.  The quilts and cushions linked up already are fantastic.

  

The memory which inspired my entry was one of the best days of our summer holiday.  We spent a lovely day on the beach with three generations of family in Bute (posted here).

My nephew helped me pebble hunt.

I thought I'd make a mini quilt of our finds, using brown, grey and off-white Oakshott scraps left over from a current rather larger WIP  because, as you can see, I'm a bit obsessed with the loveliness of pebbles which always make their way home with us...

The grainy Oakshott is perfect for the texture of the pebbles which are all pieced, except the one with a circle on it which is reverse applique using the Bondaweb method I used for a cushion.  They are appliqued to the background (Klona white  - I tried different sandy coloured fabrics but the effect was a bit sludgy and I love the crispness of Klona).  It seemed right to pebble quilt round them - not very competently as it's the first time I've used a proper FM foot - including some wavy lines to represent the ripples you get from trickles through sand.

I sneaked in one tiny clamshell for the hell of it.

I bound it with scraps of the same fabric but left parts of the binding white to let the trickles flow across the quilt unimpeded.

Disasters (luckily minor) with this quilt were failing to remember that Warm and Natural batting has a good side (in the wrong light you can see the little cotton seeds or whatever they are, through the white) and stabbing myself really hard with the needle when putting on the binding  - luckily the bloodstains are on the back!

Stats:
Oakshott, from the Lipari and Minerals ranges, and Klona cotton
Warm and Natural batting
Scrappy binding
Gutermann threads
Pebble and wavy line quilting
23 x 23 inches

Please visit and even enter the competition at Celtic Thistle Stitches!

WIP Wednesday

I am catching up on WIPs, and determined to get this one done.

This is the stripey stones quilt I started way back when and is so far made entirely of Oakshott cottons.   As you can see from the wrinkles most of it has spent summer in a box.

I am not sure about what colour to do the remaining pebbles.  I had in my mind a perfect blue-grey but have not been able to find a suitable shot cotton - if anyone knows of one I would be very grateful to hear of it.   I did find a Kaffe Fassett one, but it is rather too fine compared to the Oakshott, so I may have to stick to the existing colours.

New Leaf

I'm not very good at signing up for things because it takes me ages to think about a project and then to get on with it, but I couldn't resist the Textile ATC Swap at VeryBerryHandmade, partly it's such lovely idea, and partly because these Artists Trading Cards are so small at 2.5 x 3.5 inches that it seemed a manageable commitment.

Small doesn't mean fast at all!  It took me the whole afternoon yesterday to make this, but it was so much fun.

I'm now totally hooked and as I'm not sure whether my secret partner would like it I'm going to try and make another couple.  Incidentally, the theme of the swap is Something New - so this is a new leaf, possibly as in "turning over a new leaf" and getting my creative finger out.  You can see progress of all the really lovely ATCs in the flickr group.

By the way, if you are looking for something to sign up to without any commitment and accompanying guilt what about the Me Me Me Bee which Moira Kettle Boiler is running - read more about it here.  Inspired!  No deadline, no-one to make for but yourself - I can cope with that, but only after I have finished the pay-it-forward gifts I owe.

I ♥ Liberty and Bluejeans

With the last quilt (which I thought of as Sea and Sand but is now christened Hot Chocolate and Marshmallows, thanks to Moira) out of the way I've had a bit of time for another project.

I like the texture and colour of blue denim and finding different ways of recycling old jeans (earlier attempts here) and I love the contrast of tough and delicate fabrics, so I thought I would make a jeans and Liberty cushion cover using reverse applique to showcase favourite scraps.  This is part of the grand plan to try and learn something new with each make.

It took a disastrous first attempt, and a lot of night time pondering but I made this.  I'm so happy with it!

There are some picture-heavy details below if you would like to find out more.