Growing a quilt

I’ve returned to my triangles.

I’ve finally cut them all out and started laying them out on my design floor.

When I finished I was in love.

It’s so lovely that I started stitching them together immediately.

Quilted, bound, finished

This week I’ve worked quickly to finish this quilt.

It’s all bound and ready…

just in time to give to Harry as he begins his final undergraduate vet rotations.

I hope it keeps him warm and helps him study for his final exams.

Short timelines

As always I’m in a hurry and a flurry.

The fabric that arrived last week has been cut and stitched into blocks.

Those blocks have been stitched into rows.

Those rows were stitched into a quilt top.

The whole thing has been quilted…

and approved by the quality controller.

Onto the binding.

Oops!

I have managed to break five sewing machine needles in one week. All I did was sew over a pin and… crack, another one gone. I have always pinned through my seams perpendicular to the direction that I’m sewing. Generally my machine needle would just push the pin aside, but my new machine is a little more sensitive about pins.

My very clever friend Julie told me that I needed to buy Clover super fine quilting pins.

These little beauties are much thinner than regular pins and very, very sharp. They ease right into the seams and best of all…

I manage to stitch right across them, machine needle intact.

Thanks Julie. You’re a pin whisperer.

Tartan

Some lovely new fabric arrived via mail.

I’ve already drawn up a new design and have my rotary cutter at the ready.

It’ll be a busy few days ahead.

Shoo fly

After stitching tiny squares…

and tiny triangles…

into shoo fly blocks…

over many, many nights, tonight I have just two rows to add to finish the all of the piecing.

That doesn’t sound like much to do at all. However, pinning all those seams slows me down.