Thursday 23 August 2007

Now that's out of the way !!




This was the quilt that distracted me - lol ! Blogging can seriously affect your quilting plans. I had no intention of making any mile a minute blocks but the lure was too great ! I have no control whatsoever !



Still it's done and a lot brighter than anything I've done before. Never knew I had so many brights in my scrap box. And you know what - it's actually a FREE quilt. Obviously all the blocks were made out of scraps. And the wadding was all odd sized bits left over from other quilts ( another reason why I like Quilt-as-you-go ). I also used some fabrics I'd fell out of love with on the back. Would have probably never used them really. And the red I used for the sashings and bindings was given to me by a friend whose Mother-in-law had passed away. It's a nice size quilt - ideal for Patrick to snuggle under in the car.



I don't think I've ever made a quilt before without a border and I did think about doing one. But actually I like it without and besides I didn't have enough long pieces of wadding to use. I could have bought some but that's not in keeping with this quilt as it's a FREE quilt - lol !



Here is the back of the quilt. We have a fabric warehouse about 20 mins drive away and they have a small amount of quilt fabrics. Sometimes they are slight seconds but they are VERY cheap and that's where I buy most of my backing fabrics. I think all of these came from there. They sometimes have great bargains on good quality stuff too and when I need cheering up I go and have a rummage there. They also sell curtain, dressmaking fabrics, wool, cross stitch stuff and loads of other odds and ends. My whole family hate the place with a vengeance - lol ! In fact when the kids were younger and were being naughty I used to threaten to take them there for a nice trip. HA - that soon made them behave :-)



I also had a little spend the other day. I bought these yummy fabrics -



They are half yard pieces and cost me £20 ( approx $40 ) but I love them and am dying to see which other fabrics from my stash they play nicely with. I have fell in love with a quilt made by Mereth. It's the feathered crosses one she made a short while ago. I have had a go at drafting the pattern and can feel it calling my name. I will make a sample block in scraps first to see if my calculations are right before I cut into these beauties.



I have also ordered a couple of books from Amazon USA. Our Amazon did not carry them. I have a wait of about 3-4 weeks for them to arrive. I will now try and forget what I've ordered so I have a nice surprise when they get here - I know -sooo sad.



On a personal note my dd Jess got her GCSE results today and I'm very proud to say she passed every one ( 11 in all ) with excellent grades. Good on you Jess !!!



30 comments:

Colleen said...

I LOVE how your quilt turned out. It is so fun and cheery! And to think it is FREE is even more fun. You did that very quickly, too. Thanks for posting the finished product. It's great to see it all put together. I laughed out loud when you mentioned threatening your children you would take them to the fabric store. I did the same thing!!! I've really got to try that mile a minute.

Unknown said...

Congratulations to you (for a beautiful finished free quilt) and to your daughter for her GCSE. Take care.

Unknown said...

That's a lovely bright quilt, Andrea, and free, the best part. Love your new fabrics, but just about fell over at the price, pretty similar to Aussie prices, but I haven't paid those in nearly 4 years. Congrats on dd's grades.

swooze said...

Love the quilt. You did a fabulous job!

Belvie said...

Andrea, the quilt is lovely and the best part is you didn't buy anything to make it...just used what you had on hand.

My kids never liked going to a fabric store either. They got their pants dusted a few times for acting like little monsters while we were there. Now that they are in their 20's, they laugh about the trips there.

Congrats to your DD on passing GCSE!

Chookyblue...... said...

very nice quilt and love the fabrics you brought.......

Joyce said...

Your quilt is great. And is there any thing better than a free quilt!

loulee said...

Congratulations to your DD, well done.

I love your quilt and the new fabbys.

meggie said...

Your finished quilt is great!
I really laughed when you said you used to threaten the kids with that shop!
Congratulations for your daughter!

Floss said...

Your quilt looks fantastic, so bright and cheerful. The quilt as you go is such a good way to get a quilt done quickly and the back always looks good too.

Laurie Ann said...

Wow, I can't believe how fast you whipped that out! It is fantastic! I am dying to make some MAM blocks but my houseguests are still here for a few more days. I'll miss them, but I am itching to sew!!

Tracey @ozcountryquiltingmum said...

You are a very naughty girl!
Do youwant to know why?
I have about 4 things that really must be finished today in the sewing room and NOW I am going to have to work on my plaid mile a minute blocks and it is all because of how darned gorgeous yours looks!
I hope you are now feeling suitably bad about that!!lol Tracey

Tracey @ozcountryquiltingmum said...

ps, my kids run from any mention of our local fabric chainstore...as does their father, and well done to your girl! Tracey

Unknown said...

Finished the mile a minute, wow, how fast do you sew? Congratulations both on your quilt and your daughter´s GCSE. Those fabrics are just beautiful.

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh it is so wonderful! I have got to start mine! I love how yours turned out! And the backing/quilt as you go idea was such a great idea!

You really gave me a laugh with the threat to the kids to go to the fabric store if they were bad - Hmmm, I have to try that! Might even work on my DH!

~Bren~ said...

Your quilt is FANTASTIC!! I am in awe of the method you used. It looks hard.

mereth said...

I love the finished quilt, perfect and bright for the car. You certainly seemed to get that done in a hurry.
I laughed at the fabrics, two of them are ones I used in the twin quilts I just made, so of course I like them! Love the blue fabric too, it should all look great together.
Congrats on the results,I can remember how anxious it can be waiting for them to come out.

Unknown said...

Well done Jess - my Sarah got a B in Maths and an A in Science which she's taken a year early - our big push comes next year. Who'd be 16 again - not me for all the tea in China that's for sure :o)

Rose Johnston said...

Its just looks fantastic!!! Its such a bright and cheery quilt....and it was free!!!! gotta love that!!! Well done!!

corry said...

Your mile a minute quilt looks beautiful! And so quickly made!

Patacake said...

Lovely blog. Where in Wales are you ? and where's the fabric warehouse ? I'm in Cardiff.

Helen in the UK said...

Congrats on finishing your mile a minute block quilt - love it! It is amazing to think that this quilt is all from stash and mostly from scraps that some would throw away!!!
Congrats to your daughter for her exam results too - quite an achievement :)

Teresa said...

Lovely quilt! And finished so quickly, I cant beleieve just how quickly you completed it!

Congratulations to your daughter too!

Teresa ( another Welsh quilter!)

Yvonne said...

Aren't "free" quilts the best. It's very nice...I love how colorful it. I can't wait to see what you do with those new gorgeous fabrics.

Congratulations to DD!

Unknown said...

The back of this quilt is great! You know, I don't think that I have ever thought of a stash quilt as being a "free quilt." I love the thought, and it makes perfect sense.

Doodlebug Gail said...

Wow - between you and Fiona you sure have produced some very very pretty quilts from your scraps. I dare not even think about making one ..... there are too many patterns with fabric in little piles around my sewing room (and in the cupboard) for the moment.

A package from Amazon ..... don't forget to share the contents when it arrives.

Quilting Pirate said...

yah for another done quilt!! It turned out wonderful!!

Oooo yummy fabrics...I'm actually almost done my top with "in the pink" fabrics (the first 3 in your pile) you have! You are going to have fun with those!

JanJ said...

Oh, it's a beautiful quilt! I think I am going to have to try some of those mile a minute blocks. You sure finished it quickly. I think it will be an excellent "keep in the car" quilt.
Congrats on your DD's grades!

katepang said...

Just catching up with your blog - love the mile a minute, I must try it! and the sock... and the tipsy cat...

Patti said...

Your mile-a-minute top is wonderful! I can't believe how many quilters in blogland have accessed my tutorial and been smitten with the mile-a-minute bug. I'm so glad that little post of mine gave you such a pleasant time and such a beautiful quilt top!