Well it all started when i was invited to join the "UK QUILTERS" on a forum on RAVELRY...and well what a Revelation...i thought it was just me that muddled along through life enjoying what i do without worrying what anybody else thought.....
Christmas my quilts were greatly ans thankfully received by members of my family,so i thought i would make one for myself...and then at my nieces 18th birthday party i was asked if i would like to take part in a craft fair at East Anglian Museum of Life,in stowmarket...i was very flattered.but i had no quilts in stock so i knew it was time to make a start......i started buying and storing material...and now my stash is massive,and i know exactly what i am going to do...i have got 5 in stock so far...and am devoting 3 hours per day to it at the moment.....With my hand crank machine called alfie,i am averaging a quilt a week...i know i could go faster with my electric sewing machine but i also know that it runs away with me,and then i go all wonky and get upset with myself...at least with alfie i don't get upset because i can control her.....
So i was asked to have a go at a "jelly roll" quilt and well i hadn't realised that you got so much for your money...i bought a jelly roll by moda and although it cost me £25.00 i can make two quilts out of it..which means i can double or even triple my profits.......
But this was a right revelation!!!all the material is pre-cut...its 44"long and 2.5" wide which for me is the perfect size for quilting,i usually go skinny on my cuts or massive and make a humongous patch...but the jelly roll keeps me in check and i can manage to make something beautiful without making a total hash of things........
I spent a week making patches and sorting out the backing and followed a pattern for the front from a book i managed to pick up cheap...but i had to finagle it around to make me happy...somehow there wasn't enough going on in the pattern to make my brain work......so i added a chequerboard pattern at the top and bottom,its all blues,greens and white....i like it don't get me wrong but green is one of my cursed colours....i don't know why but i just don't seem to get it right when i use lilac or green......then again maybe its just me.
But anyway i digress.....(stay on topic dammit!!!),it took me a week to make the strips,and then it was time to play around with the patches,it was the first time i had ever made a quilt diagonally...i had to start on the top left patch and work across and down......it was nice to have something that made me think....i managed to find a piece of scrap batting that i could use(i had it floating about in the bottom of my sewing box...)and got on and quilted it very gently.....i started in the middle and worked outwards,i decided to stitch it in the ditch...which means you stitch the batting and the backing fabric through the seam's already created by the patch...
the back actually looks really good and then i realised that i had managed to use a darker cotton on the bottom than i had on the top...but it looked alright...and then after i had finished,i laid it onto my sofa and took photo's of it...and then it happened there was this little voice"mum......can i have that one????"tomas my youngest had got it into his head that he could have this one as another bedspread...but like i said to him"what are you going to do with two???" he explained that he wanted to keep one downstairs on the sofa and one on his bed,then he could cuddle up with one in the evening and have one to sleep with on his bed...he's a bit quilt mad at the moment,everyone i make he wants to have so i guess if he likes them then everybody else will!!!
The funny thing is that this week i put a quilt online on my e-bay page to see if anybody else would like them...and well i got a bid on the day before the auction ended and although i didn't make a lot on it i made a profit on the material and batting,i was just pleased that it sold,and pleased how much somebody wanted it...so i mailed it today,its going to italy of all places,and i hope the buyer likes it,and will use it as much as possible.....
the one i am making right now is a bit odd and looks like an optical illusion quilt at the minute,but i am enjoying it very much and can't wait to show you what it looks like when its finished...so here's the last one i made that my little un wants......
please excuse the addition of daisy in my picture..don't know what happened there.....
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