Friday, 1 February 2013

What I made in January

I have somewhat reluctantly decided not to do the Journal Quilts project this year as I think I am no longer very good at working to deadlines.  There is nothing to stop me doing journal quilts without the deadlines and the rules of course but I have begun the year by making a quilt top.  I have a collection of batik fabrics in shades of brown and grey which I have built up over a couple of years and it was time to turn them into something.  A new lap quilt for the sitting room I decided so I went back to my cherished copy of Cut Loose Quilts by Jan Mullen and have made a top in the same design as one I did nearly ten years ago.


The top is now complete.


Here is the old one.


I was rather proud of the back of the old one which I made from all the leftovers.  It was a bit of a nightmare getting them to fit together but I have decided to do something similar with this quilt because I have a couple of large lengths of batik in colours and patterns related to the front.


I quilted that one myself.  After machining it all in the ditch I made a couple of stencils of the patterns in the fabric and then hand quilted the motifs in the plain blue blocks.


I am not sure I have the patience to do that again.  It was one of those winter evening jobs in the days when I could just about quilt and see the TV at the same time!  The new one may go to a longarm quilter but first I need to put the back together.  I also plan to make a replacement quilt for the one on my bed as it is beginning to fall to pieces.  I bought some fabrics as a start last year but I have had to put them somewhere out of the cats' reach and now I cannot find them anywhere.  Perhaps that is a signal that I need to do something more creative and challenging first.  I had something pinned up to start me thinking but when the first floods hit the village I took it down and brought it into the house for safety.  I seem to remember that I had decided a bit of printing was needed as the next step so now I have no excuse not to get back to it.

I have not given a link to Jan Mullen's book as it is out of print.  I have used it a number of times because everything is 'rough' cut and you do not have to get all the points to meet which just suits me fine.
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4 comments:

  1. Tiggy Rawling1 February 2013 at 20:16

    I like your 'brown quilt' very much. It is restful to the eye. Keep calm and carry on!

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  2. Living to work - working to live2 February 2013 at 08:32

    I rather like your style. I love traditional quilts but know that I would get bored with one. Jan Mullen's approach is great and the affect really good.

    I am mulling (still) of the JQ challenge. I feel I need something, but am not sure if I can meet the deadlines. From here I am thinking 'Pah' easy peasy, but i failed dismally to meet a deadline for 2 for a quilt show, so one a month?

    I will mull on the way home!

    Also, wondering about Horizons, but I actually don't work so well to a prescribed brief. At the moment my mind is still full of Spanish Garden and Abscission design ideas, plus 'day job' and 'son No 1'.

    I will decide this weekend! There, that's a deadline!

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    Replies
    1. reensstitcher2 February 2013 at 12:53

      Good luck with reaching a decision. I did journal quilts for several years and it was well worth it. Yes, it can be a pressure and my husband hates the words because I tended to stress out thinking of ideas. often the making is quite quick. It is a good way to try out new techniques as well as working to a theme. The same goes for doing a challenge such as Horizons.

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  3. Margaret Cooter17 February 2013 at 11:01

    Loking forward to seeing the back of the new one! Funny how the backs are "so much more interesting" than the fronts ... like with embroidery, where people always turn the piece over to see the back...

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