A new baby

No ... I'm not pregnant!

But my niece was ... until last week ... when she gave birth to the most delicious little daughter called India. She is a very special baby who will be more loved than most people I know. But of course, that might be my bias talking.

My niece asked for yellows, greys and neutrals. But I couldn't resist a splash of red!

And of course, the baby's name on the back (or the "other front") of the quilt.

All fabrics from my stash, including the scrappy yellow binding.

Already much loved by it's new recipient. Here's some more pics .... just because.

Welcome baby India. We love you to the moon and back. 

Andi xxx

Finished quilt top

A slightly grainy Instagram shot taken with my iphone. But I love it!!

The back of the quilt will have the baby's name on it so I'll have to wait until s/he is born before I can finish this one off. Just a few weeks to go!

Happy stitching to you.

Andi xx

Breaking the drought (and also a little tutorial)

After a 3 week drought, I was very excited to get back to my Tuesday night 'Stitch and Bitch' class at Amitie.

It was lovely to see my very patient and talented teacher Judy again.

She has taught me so very much.

Numerous other happy patchers and quilters came along tonight.

(Note the empty champagne flutes).

And I got started on a new project for my mum's birthday coming up in December.

I used a technique that I learned watching the (online) Quilt Show. This technique was described in the show that you can watch for free. (I hope the episode hasn't changed).

In any case, I thought I'd show you how I do this gorgeous block.

It is a 'Flying Geese' block made (incredibly) with

only 1 seam!

Check this out .....

First, you cut your pieces.

I'll give the dimensions for a finished block that is 3 inches x 6 inches.

You need two 3.5 inch squares that will make the corners of the block. And you need to cut a rectangle 3.5 inches x 6.5 inches, which will make the central triangle of the block.

These ...

will eventually become these....

Here's how ...

Take the rectangle piece and fold it in half with the right side on the OUTSIDE.

Then make a sandwich with this folded rectangle as the 'filling', and 2 of the squares as the 'bread'. The 2 squares should have their right sides facing INTO the sandwich.

You will notice that the folded rectangle is the same width as the squares but 1/4 inch shorter. Place the fold of the rectangle at the end with the 1/4 inch gap (see above).

Then, with the sandwich in this same position, sew a 1/4 inch seam down the right hand side of the sandwich. (Once you get used to this process, you can chain piece lots of blocks in one go).

That's all the sewing. Amazing!!!

The magic happens with the ironing.

First, with the fold of the rectangle at the top of the block, iron out the right hand square.

Then, grab the bottom left hand corner of the folded rectangle and bring it over to the right hand side to make a folded triangle.

Iron this down ....

and voila!!!

You now have a block that can be joined together in any number of ways. Here's how I have joined mine ...

I'll show you how the whole quilt will come together once I've done a bit more work on it.

In the meantime, time for me to get to bed.

Sleep well and happy quilting!

Andi :-)