Quilt Big Blog Tour

Welcome to my stop on the Quilt Big Blog Tour! Quilt Big is the latest book written by Jemima Flendt of Tied With A Ribbon  and published by The Quilting Company.  This is Jemima’s second book and is all about making bigger sized blocks for faster quilt finishes.  With over 20 different projects and beginner friendly instructions and guidance this book is perfect gift for quilters or those wanting to start quilting.

Jemima shows you how to use single block patterns to create big and bold quilts.  The upsized scale of the blocks are also a perfect way to showcase your favourite prints without having to sacrifice any of their details.

I chose the Home Treasure quilt to make for the tour as well as to use my favourite print from Heather Ross’ Kinder collection.  The print features rosy apples which I paired with some solids!

I made the quilt in an afternoon and spent the next few weeks hand quilting it using Aurifil thread in 12wt.

I backed the quilt with a Heather Ross lawn print and because of its soft light feel has been used every night this summer.

As the projects come together so quickly I also made the Indian Star block from Jemima’s book. I used the latest Blueberry Park prints from Karen Lewis and the stripes from Amy Sinibaldi’s Les Petits fabric collection.

The block is a 24 inch square so its perfect for a mini quilt (as suggested in Jemima’s book however I made it into a supersized cushion, perfect for leaning up against in a cozy sunny spot or relaxing on the floor with a great book.

Make sure you pop over to Jemima’s blog to see a few sneak peaks of projects from her book.  Meanwhile tomorrow Nadra from Ellis and Higgs is showcasing her super sweet project on the Quilt Big Blog Tour and then the tour keeps going for the next 3 weeks!

28th Jan          Jemima Flendt at www.blog.tiedwitharibbon.com

29th Jan          Melissa LeRay at  www.ohhowsweet.com

31st Jan           Nadra Ridgeway at www.ellisandhiggs.com

1st Feb            Alyce Blyth at  www.blossomheartquilts.com

4th Feb            Lauren Wright at  www.mollyandmama.com.au

5th Feb            Aurifil Thread at  auribuzz.wordpress.com

6th Feb            Amanda Castor at  www.materialgirlquilts.wordpress.com

7th Feb            Samantha Dorn at www.aquapaisleystudio.com/blog

8th Feb            Sharon Burgess at www.lilabellelanecreations.com

11th Feb          Peta Peace at www.shequiltsalot.com

12th Feb          Elea Lutz at   www.elealutzdesign.com

13th Feb          Shannon Fraser at www.shannonfraserdesigns.ca

14th Feb          Saija Kiiskinen at www.saijaelina.blogspot.com

15th Feb          Sedef Imer at  www.downgrapevinelane.com

18th Feb          Kate Basti at www.quiltwithkate.com

19th Feb          Minki Kim at  minkikim.com

20th Feb          Ayda Algin at www.cafenohut.com

21st Feb          Elizabeth Chappell  at www.quilterscandybox.com

Happy Sewing

Ange

Marsupials and Monotremes Fabric Blog Tour

I am very excited to be the first blogger on the blog tour for  Amanda Brandl’s latest collection with Kennard and Kennard, Marsupials and Monotremes.  This is the second time I’m working with Amanda’s sweet fabric designs, previously I was lucky enough to work with her Bush Gum Blossom collection.

I chose a few of the floral prints to use for my blog tour projects, I loved how they featured Australian native trees in beautiful non traditional colour ways.

For my first project I made a scallop trivet using the pattern from Sedef Imer’s latest book Zakka Home.  I paired Amanda’s gorgeous Grevillea on Aqua design and Gum Leaf Shake in Pink and Aqua with a dark cream spotted fabric and hand quilted the trivet using Aurifil thread in 12 weight, with a little ribbon detail for the centre.

My second project I really wanted the bold scarlet print of the Grevillea on Red to be celebrated so I paired it with a linen and then added hand quilting using Aurifil Thread in complimentary red, blue and cream tones.

 

I didn’t use a pattern for my pot holder but simply cut out two rectangles ( 4 1/2 x 8 inches) in the linen and Grevillea on Red print then stitched the long edges together. I hand quilted a piece of insulated batting (8 x 8 inches) to the wrong side of the pot holder and then cut another piece of Amanda’s print in 8 x 8 inches for the back.  I used a plate to draw round the corners and cut the excess fabric away to give me curved edges.  I then made a quilt sandwich by putting right sides of fabric together and stitched them together using a 1/4 inch seam (leaving a gap to turn the pot holder out).  I then hand stitched the gap closed and added a ribbon and wooden button.  A really simple gift idea and perfect way to showcase the work of a talented young Australian designer!

Marsupials and Monotremes is a celebration of Australian animals and flora using Amanda’s signature aesthetic of combining beautiful colours and sweet illustrations.

I love that Amanda manages to capture the Australian landscape in a way that can be used for so many projects, from patchwork to clothes to whole quilts, and you will get to see great examples of these and many more during the Blog Tour over the next few weeks.

Tomorrow Kylie from Wombat and Poss is on and I can’t wait to see how Amanda’s designs have inspired her.  To see the entire schedule of the tour pop over to Amanda’s blog page.  You can also find out full details of stockists for the Marsupials and Monotremes collection on Amanda’s webpage and on the Kennard and Kennard webpage.

Happy Sewing!

Ange