Saturday, January 22, 2022

Binding a UFO and a Valentine's Day Quilt top


Back in October 2020, I took a class with Mary Elizabeth Kinch.  She loves to make big quilts with small pieces, but this class was for a small sampler quilt of four blocks with a border and sashing.  The pattern is called "Summerhill Quilt". I had it all pieced, including the borders within a couple of weeks of the class. I used colourful solid scraps from my scrap bin and some Essex Linen to make this quilt.  Several months ago, I pin basted the quilt and then it sat.  I looked at it often, trying to figure out how I was going to quilt it--Overall texture OR custom quilted with my walking foot.  This week, I finally decided on custom quilting with my walking foot.  This is the first block that I quilted. Each square is 1". 

I worked on it for several hours every day this week and today, I finished the quilting!  I will show close ups of the rest of the blocks when I reveal the whole quilt next week. I used Aurifil 28 wt turquoise thread for the quilting. This picture shows the centre of the quilt. 


When the quilting was done, I trimmed it and tried various colours for the sashing--turquoise, three shades of green and magenta.  In the end, magenta was chosen.  I started hand sewing the binding tonight and will continue working on it tomorrow for my Slow Sunday Stitching. 


When I was not quilting, I managed to get all of my bonus HST's trimmed.  Now, they are waiting on my ironing board to be pressed.  They are 1.5" square and will finish at 1" in the quilt.  Once they are pressed, I will play with a layout on my design wall.  




 A "squirrel" ran through my sewing room this week when I saw a free heart quilt pattern by Modern Handcraft called "Big Love" on Instagram.  I have had these fabrics in my stash for years and had not been able to find the perfect project for them until now. I scaled the pattern down to make a wall hanging. 



The plan is to quilt this one over the next few days and hang it up for the month of February for Valentine's Day. I will be piecing the back with fabric from my stash. 

My husband and I went for a hike at a local conservation area on Thursday afternoon.  It was cold but there was no wind and the sun was shining!  Perfect day for a walk in the woods!





Finn wants you to know he is keeping an eye on things!


I will link up with Kathy in the morning.  

11 comments:

  1. I like your heart quilt. The colours are gorgeous. How big is it?

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  2. The quilt top spoke to you over time on how it wanted to be quilted. Excellent choice! The heavier-weight thread is perfect. It’s simple, and is subtle accent. Winter walks with no wind on cold days can be beautiful especially in a wooded area.

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  3. I like that thread you used - do you use the same in your bobbin? Winter Walks if you have the right clothes is good!

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  4. That heart quilt is wonderful. I love the fabrics. I like your quilting on the Summerhill Quilt. I am hoping to convince my husband to go for a walk today. He is very averse to the cold and our high is only going to be in the 20s. Brrr.

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  5. That heart quilt is in my colors! Great projects you are working on. Finn is his usual adorable self! Hope you have a great week!

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  6. Oh wow, your Summerhill quilt is beyond exquisite, Gail! All those tiny little squares of gorgeous hues look fabulous set in the border fabric. They just scream loveliness. Lovely quilting, too. I cannot wait to see it in all its splendour next week. How adorable is your little heart pretty. 'Tis perfect for Valentine's Day. How beautiful your walk in the woods looks. The perfect day! LOVE the canopy of the trees looking up to the blue, blue sky.

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  7. Beautiful projects at your house, Gail! I love the solids in your Summerhill quilt with that pretty background. The heart quilt is really neat, too! Those winter days with bright blue sky and sun are the best for getting out for a walk.

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  8. Fabulous quilts that you are working on. Love the heart quilt. Stay warm and cozy. Happy quilting.

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  9. Summerhill quilt is beautiful, love the colorful blocks surrounded by the dark gray fabric, you made a wonderful quilting, too.
    The heart block is perfect for a Valentine's wallhanging. Pretty outdoor pictures, Gail. Finn is so cute, I bet you miss him.

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  10. Such a pretty squirrel! And I'm so happy that you are making a treasure from those baby HST blocks!

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