Thursday 30 January 2020

It's Been a Long Time

It has been a long time coming this postage stamp quilt. In fact some decent weather to photograph it has been a long time coming too. It was my new years resolution to finish it in 2019 and it is now complete and completely gorgeous.


The topper was finished in October but I just didn't seem to get around to buying a sheet and batting to complete it. Anyway, I did in the end, and here it is.





Some burning questions you may need answering:-

The quilt is for a single bed size

It has 1400 little squares that are cut at 5cm and sewn with a 0.5cm seam allowance


It is hand quilted with embroidery threads and running stitches.



The backing is a new flat sheet from Dunelm.

Some squares are fussy cut to reveal a picture and others are cut to squeeze the last out of a tiny piece of fabric. There are houses, birds, dogs, fungi, butterflies and flowers.



It has a name plate called 'All the little bits of you' 2020

It is for my god daughter for her 18th Birthday (she is 14 in April!) Oh yes, ahead of schedule.


The fabric is from everywhere. Take a look, some might be from you: Christina, Linda, Shirley, Helen and many others. Thank you to you all. The key to this quilt is not quantity but variety. Each block has 64 squares so you need as many different fabrics as possible in each block. Some, not all, have 64 different ones in! 



You can only really achieve this by sharing fabrics or buying scrap packs. There are many  pieces from Christina at Colourful life. We did a fabric swap and sent each other some tiny scraps in the post. This meant that most of the orange/mustard/ocre tones which would have been missing from my quilt were represented and lifted the other colours significantly.

The other key to making this quilt is to be as free as you can allow yourself to be. There is no planning, no procrastinating you just sew tiny squares together with gay abandon. I had one rule and that was that two fabrics could not sit next to each other - and then I spotted one when it was finished!


I used an extra wide binding from frumble which was left over from another quilt so all in all I bought the wadding and a flat sheet. I also had a gift voucher given to me when I left a job in December and I bought this little stab thingy called a micro stitch. It fires out tiny plastic ties (like you get on new socks but much smaller) It is perfect for quilters to hold your layers together when you hand quilt. Then you snip them out and put them in the plastic recycling.


Hope you like it. If you want to check out Christina's version click here to see more riotous colour.

Jo xxxx

14 comments:

  1. It's wonderful!! How much love to cut and stitch together 1400 little pieces! I love how you've stitched it together. Best, Jane x

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  2. Love it! That binding pulls it all together!

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  3. It's fantastic, beautifully done and amazing with so many fabulous fabrics. I have been enjoying seeing Christina's as well.

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  4. I am in love with your quilt Jo, it is so joyful and happy but oh so relaxed. Your quilt lines are standing out marvellously, I really like the bold stitching. I spotted some of my fabrics, my eyes were magically drawn to them. It must be the homing instinct or something like it. Isn't it os so wonderful how we share materials and a little bit of each of us lives in our quilts? That gun thingy sounds intriguing, It sure beats the curved safety pins, which make my old hands hurt. Thanks for the links my friend. Christina xx

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    1. Thanks Christina, my favourite one you sent me was a pink fabric with little doodled wreaths on. I don't normally buy pink so it was a great addition. xxx

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  5. It’s so gorgeous! The fabrics look lovely together.

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  6. It's so beautiful. And completed just in time! 😉

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  7. Amazing! There is just much going on and how organised you are having a present ready so far in advance. x

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  8. It is a real delight the stunning array of fabrics are a joy. So nice to share with others bloggers giving you much more of a variety. It is a feast for the eyes and an amazing gift.

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  9. Wow!! Your quilt is fabulous! Love all the joyful colourful scraps...happy to have contributed some to it too!! XXX

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  10. You outdid yourself, Jo, even by your high standards. This quilt is gorgeous. 1400 little squares. Big sigh.
    Amalia
    xo

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  11. It has been a joy to watch the birth of this beautiful blanket, Jo! Thanks so much for sharing your process which inspires me to dare to make creative efforts as well! xx

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  12. Oh Jo it's AMAZING! I'm clapping. It's beautiful, a proper heirloom patchwork quilt. So beautiful.

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