Lemon Tree Tales

Pinwheel Quilt Progress

Well it's been slow going but here's the pinwheel quilt top that I've sewn so far. The only pieces missing are the background blocks surrounding it. Unfortunately I didn't calculate sizes when I was planning on the piecing. Each of the finished squares measures 2" so I still need to add at least 2 or 3 columns and 4 rows if I want it to be big enough to fit the doll bed that I've painted. Of course I could always opt to just add 1 more column and 2 rows and just add quite a few borders to it. These little pinwheels take a lot of work .. cut the large square, sub-cut it, sew, cut to 2 1/5" square then sew them into rows and columns. I'll think about it but I'll probably end up just doing the additional pinwheel blocks that are needed for it to look right. And it looks like I should really take this outside in the morning to take pictures of it to get the accurate purples ... it looks much prettier than these colors in real life.

DQS11: Beautiful quilt from Sew Vivid

The postman was very kind to me yesterday and brought me a package that had travelled from a land far, far away. So far away that they're experiencing winter with snowflakes! Yes, my gorgeous DQS11 quilt from Viv of Sew Vivid in New Zealand had arrived. I had admired the colors and the large polka dots when I saw her making this on her flickr photostream. So I had a very big smile on my face when I opened the package. Plus she sent me two postcards of the beautiful scenery of New Zealand (which I'd love to visit one day) and the most lovely turquoise metallic thread and floss. I'm very lucky. Thank you so much Viv!!

Look, doesn't it look right at home on the turquoise doll bed that I'm working on for Miss L?

 

Rachel insists that both the bed and quilt belong to her. Seeing as she's making herself right at home I may have a hard time convincing her that the bed at least has to go away. (She's a cloth doll that I made from a Patti Culea pattern many, many years ago.)

 

I think the hot pink binding is perfect .. it adds just the right punch to frame this lovely quilt. The colors and prints are just right. AND, Viv says that this is her first time hand-quilting too! You wouldn't know that at all if Viv hadn't spilled the beans - the soft grey and aqua threads are wonderful. I love it and will soon add it to my wall of doll quilts in the hallway. Once again, thank you Viv!!

Cathedral Windows Pincushion

The cathedral windows sample piece transformed into a pincushion with the addition of a few pieces of fabric and stuffing.

How to hang a mini quilt

Mini quilts aren't very heavy and generally don't need a lot of support to hang on a wall. If you're looking for an alternative to a quilt sleeve or quilt corner triangles and dowels, then a hoop and a thumbtack is another option. Calamity Kim told me how she likes to hang up her quilts by sewing on a soda can tab. I've done this in the past but I wanted a fancier look for my lastest doll quilt. The answer is a little hoop with macrame knots on it to match the quilt back. Thumbtacks or small nails in the wall are all that is then needed to hang your mini quilt on the wall.

Supplies are simple - DMC embroidery floss and size 13mm hoops or jump rings. I couldn't find them the other day so I used hoop earrings instead:

Cut a piece of floss about 25" or so then separate it into 3 strands. Keep a 4-5" tail and start knotting around the hoop:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continue knotting around the hoop until you've reached the beginning knot. Keep the tails long and use them to sew the loop onto your quilt back.

When you use matching embroidery floss it makes a very nice unobtrusive hanger.

DQS11: Cathedral Windows Quilt is Finished

I finished the cathedral windows quilt for my swap partner in the DQS11 flickr swap. It's amazing how heavy this little quilt is for being only 10 1/2" square. Turns out that it took just a little over 1/2 yard of fabric!

My favorite blocks are the brown and hot pink ones ... they remind me of raspberry chocolates and add a bit of a nice accent to all that orange.

I still needed a label so I took a cue from the broderie perse quilt label that Marisa of Quilt Otaku made and used a piece of lemon fabric and some DMC floss. It's an interesting technique that I'll try again. This hasn't been mailed out yet and we're supposed to keep our swap partner a secret, so the name has been photoshopped. I can't wait to find out what she thinks about it.

A few things that I've learned about sewing cathedral window blocks:

• Use lots of Mary Ellen's Best Press to keep the fabric nice and crisp
• Spend the time to iron your blocks well - it's worth it in the end
• Clover's Black Gold Needles size 10 Applique/Sharps work like a dream for hand sewing!
• Solid fabrics work better than prints for the blocks
• Ladder stitch gives a nicer finish than whip-stitching the blocks together
• Sew a 4 block sample first - later you can make it into a pincushion

Lynne Edward's book, Cathedral Windows Quilts, has great ideas for variations. I used one called the Secret Garden for my accent blocks. Yes it's more hand sewing, but it adds a fantastic punch to your quilt.

Pinwheel Quilt Pieces

I'm still working on the DQS11 cathedral windows quilt (it's almost finished) but I found that I needed to take a break and work on something else for a bit. Yesterday I cut out pieces for a pinwheel quilt to go with Miss L's turquoise doll bed. I wanted some accents so I added two different purple batiks plus a Kaffe Fassett green/turq/purple stripe. Now I just have to decide on a border fabric. I'm leaning towards either a solid navy blue or a navy blue batik. I didn't want to move the pieces, but the lighting in the dining room isn't great. That's a purple pinwheel not a cranberry one. Once the top is sewn I'll take another picture outside and see if that shows the colors better.

 

DQS11: Center Progress

More progress has been completed on the mini cathedral windows quilt for DQS11. Now it's on to the next step ... the borders and corner blocks.