Sunday 21 May 2017

Tamarack Jacket in Navy Linen and Nani Iro

I made a quilted jacket!  Specifically, the Tamarack Jacket by Grainline Studio.


The exterior is a beautiful medium weight linen from The Fabric Store (pretty sure it's this one).


I used wool batting - the Quilter's Dream kind because it's lovely and doesn't smell like sheep.  It's getting pretty cold here now so the wool should keep me snuggly and warm.


On the outside this jacket is very "I am a serious person walking a dog".  On the inside it's much more "I'm a free spirit who makes her own clothes".  That dreamy fabric is Nani Iro that I bought in Melbourne with Erin last year.  It's pretty much impossible to find in this colourway, but the print is Komorebi if you want to try.


I could definitely fit more layers under this jacket.


I made a (US) size 4 based on my measurements.  This is a size smaller than I expected to make, but it's definitely the right size for me (even though I used relatively lofty batting).  I lengthened the body of the jacket by 1.5", and the sleeves by 1".  I would lengthen them even more if I made this again - I just really didn't have enough of the lining fabric to do so this time.


I finished the binding on the front of the jacket and at the back hem by hand.  The rest is all machine stitched, and I bound all the internal seams as well, for a really tidy finish.


Thank goodness for sewing friends.  Erin made this jacket at the same time as me (actually she decided to make it and I was like "me too!").  She made two practice pockets and walked me through the making of these welt pockets which were a bit intimidating for a first timer.  In the end they were totally fine - use both the pattern instructions and the sew-along for best results.


I cut four versions of the "upper pocket"piece so that I could have the right side of fabric both inside the pocket and visible on the inside of the jacket.


I didn't have quite enough of the Komorebi print so I used a different Nani Iro print for the inside of the pockets.  I squeezed the lining out of about 1.5m of Nani Iro which is definitely less than the recommended amount.  Don't try this at home kids.


The quilting is Aurifil 28 weight thread.  I guess I thought that if I was going to make a quilted jacket, I wanted to see the quilting.  I used a medium blue on the outside and a medium grey on the inside.


Yeah these photos are just gratuitous now.


Oh it's the inside of the pocket again.


If it wasn't for the fact that this limey green makes me look like a corpse, I would be tempted to wear this jacket inside out.


Just embracing my inner dork and the Wellington wind.

Sunday 5 March 2017

Arohanui Quilts - still seeking donations

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated to the Arohanui Quilts project (you can read my previous post about this here).


I have already collected enough blocks for about 7 quilts, which is amazing.  I've also been given pre-made binding for many more, for which I'm very grateful - it cuts down the time it takes to pull together a complete quilt substantially.  In fact, I think I have so much binding now that I probably don't need any more at this time.  

The two quilts in this post are the ones I have already assembled from  the blocks sent in by lovely kind internet friends, and collected from the generous members of Capital Quilters.  However, I reckon there are still orphan blocks floating around out there that would just love to find their way into a quilt for a child in need.


If you would like to contribute, send me an email or a direct message on Instagram, and I'll send you my address for posting. If you want to share your blocks on Instagram, use the tag #arohanuiquilts and I'll be able to track them down.  I have two sets of instructions - this one with a very basic QAYG block design, or this one with a more complex QAYG design.  Of course, you can use your orphan blocks or any other QAYG design you like - all the information is in the instructions.

Finally, if you don't have time before 1 April 2017, or you're in a location that makes sending blocks to New Zealand prohibitively expensive, please consider contributing QAYG blocks to Alison's Soy Amado Quilts project. You can find all the information here.

Tuesday 31 January 2017

A Quilter's Pantry Block for the Honey Pot Bee

Welcome Honey Pot Bee members! I'm excited to be one of your queens for the month of January. Big thanks to Molli Sparkles for organising a fab bee - make sure you check out all the posts here.

Put those novelty fabrics to use to make jars of yummy treats, sewing notions, or surprises that you would only find in a quilter’s pantry!


IMG_8442.JPG


Fabric

For this block, you need:
- a fun novelty print to make your jar
- a light solid or tone on tone fabric for the background
- a dark solid or tone on tone fabric for the lid and the shelf


Cutting instructions
Novelty print: 
1 x 5 ½” by 6 ½” rectangle
Background fabric: 
2 x 1 ½” squares of background fabric
2 x 7 ¼” by 2 ½” strips of background fabric
1 x 2 ½” by 9 ½” strip of background fabric
Dark fabric:
1 x 5 ½” by 1 ¼” strip of dark fabric for the lid
1 x 2” by 9 ½” strip of dark fabric for the shelf


Assembly


Draw a line on the WRONG SIDE of the 1 ½ ” squares of background fabric.  Place the squares right sides together with two top corners of the novelty fabric rectangle and stitch on the line.  Trim away the excess fabric ¼” away from your stitching line and press the corners out.


quilter's pantry diagram 1.png

Add the 5 ½” by 1 ¼” strip of dark grey fabric to the top of the block, and press.  Add a 7 ¼” by 2 ½” strip of background fabric to each side and press.  Add a 2 ½” by 9 ½” strip of background fabric to the top, and a 2” by 9 ½” strip of dark grey to the bottom.  Press for the final time.  The block should finish at 9 ½” by 10 ¾”.


quilter's pantry diagram 2.png

Saturday 28 January 2017

Arohanui Quilts

Hello lovely readers! Many of you will be familiar with the Soy Amado Quilts project that Alison from Little Island Quilting has been running since 2014 (she's up to over 100 quilts made and donated to kids in Mexico and South Africa). At the end of last year I quilted up a bunch of blocks from one of my earliest quilt projects and sent them off to Alison.

Some of the blocks I sent to Alison

I decided that I want to do some good locally as well. I run the block of the month programme for my local guild, Capital Quilters, and for the first two months of 2017, instead of the usual format, I'm asking members to make QAYG blocks and donate them so that I can assemble them into quilts for Kiwi kids. I am planning to donate the completed quilts through the Aotearoa Quilters Cosy Kiwi Kids programme - at the moment they are providing quilts to families with children in Kaikoura and earthquake affected areas.

I thought that some other Kiwi quilters might like to contribute blocks as well - they're really fun to make, you can use up batting scraps, and you'll feel good! It's also a heck of a lot cheaper to send blocks within New Zealand than from New Zealand to Guernsey!


At the moment I'm looking to have all blocks with me by the end of March 2017, so that I can assemble all the quilts and send them off before winter. I'll let you know if I change my mind and decide to run an ongoing project like Alison though.


If you would like to contribute, you can download my instructions by clicking here. Send me an email or a direct message on Instagram, and I'll send you my address for posting. If you want to share your blocks on Instagram, use the tag #arohanuiquilts and I'll be able to track them down.

Finally, if you don't have time in the first two months of the year, or you're in a location that makes sending blocks to New Zealand prohibitively expensive, please consider contributing QAYG blocks to Alison's Soy Amado Quilts project. You can find all the information here.

Thank you!

Monday 16 January 2017

Leadlights

Just popping this image up here so I can link to the mosaic contest that Rachel at Stitched In Color is hosting at the moment (here).


It's very hard for me to resist choosing fabrics, even if I'm only doing so virtually! These ones are from The Loopy Ewe.  Coincidentally, there is a fabric shop near Wellington called the Krazy Cow - the people who named these two shops must have been on the same wavelength!