Friday, August 16, 2019

The First Cut Is The ... Hardest

Hi everyone!  Today, I'd like to tell you about a project that no, I didn't start 100 years ago like some of the others, but I did get the featured fabrics quite a while ago!

In exchange for making her a bag (either this one or this one ... my memory is failing me!), my friend Trace sent me some glorious fabrics from Australia!  I love them -- I mean REALLY love them.  And I get afraid to cut into fabrics I love that much.  Is that odd?  I wanted the perfect quilt pattern to show off the beautiful prints and just couldn't find it.

Enter Pinterest.  I started seeing a few things I really liked, then was able to redesign a pattern into one I thought would be perfect!  I took the first step:

IMG_0034TheFirstCutIsTheHardest

As I wrote on Instagram, "Cover me, I'm going in!" I was about to cut. Truly the hardest part - cutting into that awesome fabric!

I love map fabric anyway, but teamed up with cool vintage cars is over the top! Oh, hey, look!!!

IMG_0083Melbourne

That's where Trace lives! Can you see her?!?

My pattern called for careful color placement and lots of flippy squares!

IMG_0051LotsOfFlippySquares

I was pretty far along in the process when I realized I should have sewn two seams 1/2 an inch apart on the squares so I'd have extra half-square triangles. I decided to remedy that by piecing those leftover triangles together:

IMG_0056MagsLeftoverHSTs

Waste not, etc.

To get my fabs exactly where I wanted them, for the look I wanted, I started in the center and worked my way out.

IMG_0053StartInTheCenter

The project grew swiftly!

IMG_0058WorkingLayout

I mean, seriously. Once I was willing to cut into the fabric, it was all a breeze from there!

IMG_0119PiecingDone

I love the layout! I quilted with King Tut Sands of Time - a simple wavy grid. I didn't want to detract from the fabs or the design:

IMG_0132ReadyForBinding

Quilting wavy lines is one of my happy places, I've decided. It pleases me.

Next up, piece the binding together:

IMG_0133BindingCut

And stitch that on!

IMG_0154AustralianFloorTilesBinding

Here's a look at the finished quilt:

IMG_0158AustralianFloorTilesDone

And here it is, hanging in its place of honor in my Studio:

IMG_0255AustralianFloorTiles

It hangs directly across from my Bernina! I've called it Australian Floor Tiles - hopefully, you can see why!

Many, many thanks to Trace for the awesome fabs! I do have a plan for the others and for the leftovers from this project - that will be implemented soon!

And thank you for reading!
KZK

3 comments:

  1. I totally understand your fear and have a few of those fabrics in my stash too. The quilt turned out great and really shows off the fabric.

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  2. I'm pretty sure I sent you these in return for the Super Shopper - which I still have and love, by the way. This turned out awesome! So pleased you finally used them.

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