Broken Star Quilt Started

Hi, as promised yesterday I'm going to show you the very early stages of my new Broken Star quilt for my friend Cheryl.
As previously mentioned I had free reign with the colours so it took me a little while to decide fully on which colours I would use. This may have been due to the fact that my first Broken Star quilt top was very bold and bright. In fact I called it "Fire Star" but didn't finish the quilt as I was not happy with the quality of sewing. I had started it at the beginning of my "quilting life" and had not as yet discovered Freezer Paper as a backing. The paper I had used had a bit of a sheen to the surface like magazine pages. Here are three photos of that first unfinished quilt top.....



And now the new quilt colours which may seem a bit dull compared to the colours in the above one but they are brighter in real life. The turquoise is a great fabric, nice and fresh and bright, followed by a beautiful lilac/pale purple fabric. The next fabric is a rich purple and I think sits very well between the paler purple and the bright sunshine yellow. Here's how it came out in a photo......



To test my colours I always use my trusty little "peeper"!! Have you discovered how useful a door peeper is in quilting yet? You can buy them for a couple of pounds in most hardware stores. Here's the one I use. I attached a piece of string to it so I can keep it round my neck and not lose it while I'm playing with colours!!



Try this little gadget. It really works. Just have a look at your quilt or selected colours through the peeper. It's always best to have your coloured pieces already cut so you are actually looking at a test piece instead of just pieces of coloured fabric. You'll soon know if there are any glaring "no-no's" in your quilt.

Please tell me what you think of the new colours for the Broken Star quilt. Have you used this combination of colours before and how do you feel it worked in your project? And I'd be delighted to know if there are more door peepers out there being used in quilting rooms rather than in doors!!!

Until next time, which should be soon, thanks for dropping by. Please let me know you've been here and follow so I can visit and follow you too.

Kate

My First Comissioned Quilt....Yay!!!

I have to say I'm quite excited that someone is trusting me enough with a pile of fabric and some wadding to make them a quilt they will treasure!! The person who has asked me to make the quilt is a very dear young ( MUCH younger than me!!) woman with a growing family. Her name is Cheryl. She says she doesn't mind what colour or pattern it is, so I have free reign!! Dangerous!!
No, seriously, I am SO looking forward to making this quilt and I've already been auditioning some purple and yellow fabrics to make a "Farmer's Wife" quilt. That's the plan at the moment!Here are some of the fabrics I've pulled from my stash........


And here are some blocks I may use. The border will be a rich, dark purple and nice bright, rich yellow, which I'm hoping will give the quilt a bit of "ZING"!!



My other project is going to be decorative cushion covers and I recently found the perfect companion fabric to go with some lovely fabric I bought about 10 years ago. That particular fabric is the mustard and red pattern fabric for which I found a red and tan stripe fabric. The colours have not come out as bright and true to their original colours so as you look just think "mustard and rich red"!! It's hard to explain what I have in mind so please keep watching this space for my progress. Here are the fabrics and ribbon.....



And finally for today a couple of pictures from our little garden which my husband tends with much love.......


Himalayan Poppy. A lovely little flower which has survived strong winds and rain here this summer.


This darling little flower is actually a wild orchid. We didn't pinch it from the roadside!!! We can only presume a bird "passed" a seed while it was feeding in our garden. Aren't birds delightful! They sing out of one end and "sling" out of the other end!!!


This gorgeous pink poppy only came out yesterday so I thought I'd get a photo while it was still reasonably fresh. We've had red, pink and salmon pink poppies this year so far, thanks to hubby!


Last, but by no means least, the unstoppable snow in summer plant.
I like the contrast of the snow white against the green foliage.

Well, that's all my news for today. Thanks for stopping by. Please follow so I can follow your blog too and see what inspiration we can share. Back soon.

Cushion Covers

Hi just showing you a couple of things I've been doing in the last week or so between other quilty things and waiting for my op.
The cushions are for my sister's suite. There are 4 cushions in the set. She's really pleased with them. The fabric was originally a pair of curtains from a charity shop and I bought them knowing what I was going to make them into. Here they are......



That's Brodie Bassett posing alongside and making sure the cushions don't fall over. He's a great help!!!

And these little guys are going to be a large quilted cushion cover for my husband who has arthritis of the spine and needs something quite large and soft at his back while he watches TV..................



I have plenty other projects in the pipeline so come back soon or follow to see what's doing over here in Sleepy Hollow.
Thanks for visiting. Please let me know you called by leaving a comment.

Blue and White Snowball Quilt Top Finished!!

I'm delighted to say I have finished the top of my blue and white snowball quilt. I have enjoyed every second of this English Paper Pieced quilt and am looking forward to hand quilting it. English Paper Piecing and hand quilting are definitely my favourite ways of creating a quilt. So here's a pic of the quilt for you.....



I cropped quite closely on the photo to spare you the sight of my husband's little legs below the quilt. He very good-humouredly held the quilt up for me, even though he was watching something "important" on the telly!!

I will be using a simple quilting pattern on it and will keep you up to date with my (slow) progress! But come back soon for my other postings. Thanks for calling by today. If you're not yet following, please do so I can follow your blog as well.

My First Attempt at Variable Star Block

Hi again.
I've been busy these last couple of days trying to master the Variable Star block. For some this will be a block you could do with your eyes shut, but for me it was a great learning experience. It also MADE me use the sewing machine!
So here they are........







And now I'm off for a nice cup of tea and a couple of Digestive biscuits!! That's my reward!!! LOL