Tuesday 29 April 2014

Quilts for the boys; not one, but two!

I had such a busy weekend. We travelled from our home in Cardiff to Manchester for my friend Sue's 60th birthday bash and lunch with my parents on Sunday to celebrate their 61st wedding anniversary. Sue really loved her Miss Winkle scarf.

On the way up North we stopped off in Eccleshall, Staffordshire and visited The Corner Patch. It's a lovely compact shop with a well curated collection of quilting fabrics and notions downstairs with a light workroom upstairs for classes. The owner Jane was away at the British Quilt and Stitch Village at Uttoxeter Racecourse but Tracy helped me with a few fabric choices, a jellyroll of Moda Chance of Flowers, some Kona Ash and extra yardage of one of the Chance of Flowers prints. They have a great selection of classes and I signed up for a machine quilting course in June with Chris Franses. I've got to take the plunge and start quilting my own quilts soon!

I've got a couple of quilt tops to show. Firstly, Sam's quilt now has a border and is waiting to be quilted. I am so pleased with the fabric choice for this. It is just the thing for a growing boy with boats, birds and fish but not babyish in any way.


My second quilt top is for my 2 year old grandson Hugo who lives in the Lake District. Again I wanted to choose something that could be used for a few years. The jelly roll I chose is Road 15 by Moda. There are roads, houses and maps with toning low value prints in azure, acid green, black, red and beige. I chose a pattern called "Key to my Heart" which I downloaded from the Etsy shop called sweetjane. It's a simple pattern but shows off the fabrics well.


I decided to go with an Ikea fabric, Britten Nummer in black and white. It has a graphic print and what's more, it's really cheap at £3 per metre. The quality is OK, not the best but certainly good enough at this price for a quilt backing. It's also 150cm wide.
I've just got to choose a border fabric and binding. I think I'd like to go with a small black and white spot for the binding to tie in the back and front and possibly Kona Ash for the border.

My next project is for 3 year old Vivi(enne), Hugo's sister. I have been following the Triangle QAL run by The Sassy Quilter. It is too late to join the QAL but I thought it might be good to push myself and try a new piecing technique after doing the jellyroll quilts. Have a look at the finished quilts, they are inspirational!

The Sunnyside range by Kate Spain for Moda really appealed to me.  I've cut some of the 6" triangles from a layer cake after starching twice. I'm hoping to avoid stretching the fabrics so will handle them carefully too. The plain fabrics are Kona Azure, Bluebell and Cactus. I am shamelessly copying Paula's (The Sassy Quilter) own choice of fabrics as I loved them so much. There is a real 50's vibe to them.


The photo above was taken outside in bright sun so the colours look a bit washed out. Sorry about that.



I already have the backing fabric in my stash and I have been looking for a project to use it in. It is
 Annali Scribble lines in white on light grey. It is quite silvery and looks well with the top fabrics.


So that's it for my quilt projects for the moment. I'll be linking this in tomorrow with Lee of Freshly Pieced Modern Quilts




 I'm off to meet up with my quilting friends tomorrow for lunch. Should be fun!

Have a good week.


Catherine




12 comments:

  1. I'm new to WIP wednesday but love what you have done. I have two young boys and have loved making quilts for them that are not too childish and will take them beyond the toddler years which yours do perfectly.

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  2. Love both of your tops! The colors and block design are a fantastic match! Well done!

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  3. great Boy tops and the numbers by Ikea always work :)

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  4. Fab fabric and design choice for Sams quilt and I havent seen Hugos design before, unusual but so striking made up.
    Hmm £3 a metre at Ikea.............must go visit the store lol

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  5. Sam's quilt is nothing short of awesome! Well, both quilts are awesome, Sam's would be my fav :) Good luck with the triangles! With starch the starching you did, you should do just fine :)

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  6. Great quilts - so fresh and fun! And just love that Sunnyside fabric, too! I want some...

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  7. Congratulations to your parents on their anniversary :-) And i love the quilts you have made for the boys - definitely not ones that they will grow out of, and definitely nice and boyish!

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  8. Good choice of quilts that the boys will be happy to use for a long time. We like the choice of backing fabrics they really suit the quilts. It is always more difficult in choosing fabrics for quilts for boys - well done good choices. Happy quilting

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  9. Love your boy quilts, they will be much used I am sure. The IKEA backing fabric was a steal, I have always been put off buying fabric in IKEA because of the need to cut it yourself but at that price I think I could overcome my scruples :)

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  10. Love the quilt tops! The triangle wasn't so bad to put together, I just had to be a little careful. I like how mine turned out.
    Your grandchildren are so lucky!
    Lin

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  11. Perfect choices for the boy quilts. Guys are harder to sew for I think because there are so many "pretty" fabrics that I'm drawn to instead.

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  12. Love Ikea Nummer for backing fabric and I've a layer cake of Sunnsyside I've been dipping in and out lately, beautiful fabrics. Will make a really lovely triangle quilt!

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