Pink Cats finished

This quilt has been 'almost' done for a while. It took me about 5 weeks to tidy up all of the loose threads and get the binding on. Getting a good photo is always a challenge and the wind wasn't being very cooperative yesterday afternoon either.

I designed the blocks around the cat prints and took my cue from the prints to choose a selection of pinks including fuchsia, baby pink, and coral. I like the mix and particularly like the coral to prevent it from all getting too pinky-purple.

I tried to keep the quilting fairly simple and like the end result even though some of the lines are a bit wonky. I kept saying to myself that I would go back and 'fix' a few of the mishaps, but you know, life is too short for that!

I did the back-to-front binding and machine stitched it using a black and white thread and a blanket stitch. Usually I hand stitch it to the back, but sometimes I am lazy and do it by machine. I don't have strong feelings either way.

Now that this one is done, there's not much on my radar. I've convinced my mother to send me a very old UFO that she started about 35-40 years ago - I'm keen to modernize it and mix the vintage fabrics with some new ones.

Linking up with Adrienne at On The Windy Side for Q3 of the 2015 Finish-Along.

Arctic Hare finished cushion

I have (just about) finished my Arctic Hare cushion. There are a few things to tidy up like threads and some basting and one little mistake that needs fixing. I'm happy with the finished product and Toffee has given it the dog seal of approval.

I decided to try making my own piping to go around the edge. I made bias strips with a piece of old yellow fabric (c. 1988). I thought I had some cording that was specifically for piping which would have given a better result, but I made do with some cord that I've had for ages purchased for some project long forgotten. The cord worked okay, but given the size of the cushion I probably would have preferred beefier piping.

I do not have a purpose-built cording foot so I used a zipper foot. This worked fine, so I won't be rushing out to get a special foot for this job any time soon. Making the piping was pretty easy, but putting it all together was tricky, especially with all of the layers (I counted 12 layers of fabric and 3 layers of batting when crossing the overlapped backing that was bound on the edge). Both of my machines coped fine with the layers, I just think that when a 1/4 inch seam is taller than it is wide, there's a bit of slippage. In hindsight, a 1/2 inch seam would have been a good idea.

The back is made using the same grey fabric as the narrow border on the front. I did some wavy cross-hatched quilting using the walking foot just to hold the layers together and give it some texture. The overlapped edges are bound in a blue stripe that I used on the front as well. This whole project was an exercise in making-do. I did buy an inner (a bit too puffy, I think); everything else was hanging around my studio.

This is the first of my finishes for this quarter's 2015 finish-along - and a month before the deadline!

Green folly - another finish

I can't believe that I have finished two quilts this month. It seems like so long since I've actually accomplished anything.

This one has been years in the making. It has been packed away a number of times and brought back out when I'm in the right mood. And now it's done, kind of sad really since it's been with me for 4 years. In fact, my first post about this project was on July 16, 2011.

The quilt started out as a handful of 'bonus triangles' trimmed off of a Block Lotto block and turned into a massive project comprising 3,200 triangles. I used every shade of green imaginable from scraps and purchased fat quarters. There's a bit of grey in there too to cut down on the green-ness and a mix of white and cream too (who says you can't mix white and cream).

The finished quilt is about 76 inches square. I used a wool blend batting which is lightweight but is really warm and slightly puffy. This is a heavy quilt, even though the quilting is not very dense. All of those little triangles have seams and I figure that almost doubles the weight of the top compared to a similar sized quilt with less piecing.

The back is pieced from necessity - I did not have enough of any one thing to use for the backing. I refuse to go buy 'good' fabric for this purpose, so I found what I could and made it work. I admit I am quite fond of the back and the quilted feathers forming the squares look good on the plain background.

I'm linking up to Adrienne's 2015 finish along - I managed to finish 2/3 of my proposed finishes. I admit that I have barely touched the third one in the past 3 months. It will be top of the list for the next quarter.

Q2 Finish Along - list of hopefuls

Adrianne at On the Windy Side is hosting the 2015 Finish Along. I didn't manage to get involved in Q1 (and I didn't manage to finish anything, so just as well). I have had a few lingering projects that I need to get moving on and a newish project that seems to have stalled.

My goals for Q2 are:

1. Green/white triangles - currently on the Swiftquilter frame and about 2/3 quilted. Seems like it should be easy to get done, but it's been in progress for a long time and on the frame since mid-February.
   
   
   
2. Sunrise - still need to complete the corner units, piece the front, and get it quilted. I won the small half sun blocks on Block Lotto in June. I'd like this one to be done before a year has passed.
   
   
   
3. Pink Cats - started just a month ago, I'd love to get this one finished but suspect that just getting the 25 blocks pieced is a more realistic goal.