ABC Menagerie baby quilt – a tutorial

July 9, 2022July 13, 2022Leave a comment

Recently I was commissioned to make a baby quilt for a lovely newborn baby boy. As it happened, I had the perfect fabrics on hand to make him this gorgeous ABC quilt.

Front of ABC Menagerie baby quilt

This is a really simple quilt design so I thought I’d share a short tutorial for anyone who’d like to make something similar.

What I used for this quilt:

1 x ABC Menagerie alphabet panel (if you don’t have a panel, then substitute fussy cut 5.5 inch squares)

1 x ABC Menagerie layer cake

0.5 metres fabric for the binding – I used the ABC Menagerie blue spotted fabric

1.5 metres fabric for the backing – I used the ABC Menagerie red circles

1 x crib size wadding or batting

Making the quilt:

I cut out the ABC blocks from the panel, remembering to leave the 1/4 inch seam allowance around each square. There were only 28 squares in the panel so I cut an additional two similar sized squares from the layer cakes to give 30 in total. These extra squares are the multi-animal squares.

For the layout, I chose 30 layer cake squares and laid them out in a 5 x 6 pattern. Then I put the ABC squares on the layer cake squares and moved them around until I was happy with the arrangement. Of course, I took a photo to help me remember what goes where.

Each of the 30 layer cake squares were into four 2.5 inch strips.

The layer cake strips were sewn to the sides of the relevant ABC square and seams pressed away from the ABC square. The layer cake strips were then trimmed in line with the ABC square.

The remaining layer cake strips were sewn to the top and bottom of the ABC square. Again, seams were pressed away from the ABC square.

Finished blocks were trimmed to 9.5 inches.

TOP TIP: To avoid having to match seams when joining the blocks, I alternated whether I added the initial layer cake strips to the sides or top/bottom of the ABC square. You can see the alternating seams between blocks more clearly in the image below.

Detail of ABC Menagerie baby quilt

Blocks were sewn together into rows and then the rows sewn together to make the quilt top.

To ensure I had the required width for the backing, I created a panel made from some of the remaining layer cake squares cut into 5 inch, 4 inch, 3 inch or 2.5 inch widths and then sewn together to the required length. Seams were pressed open on the panel to make it as flat as possible. The backing fabric was cut vertically 15 inches from one selvedge and the panel inserted. Again, these seams were pressed open.

Back of ABC Menagerie baby quilt

The quilt was pin-basted and I used a walking foot to quilt in free-hand wavy lines. These wavy lines are very forgiving and a good choice for new quilters worried about keeping their lines straight. They also provide great texture to the quilt making it cosy and tactile.

Detail of back of ABC Menagerie baby quilt

This quilt is a lovely, bright and happy addition to the little boy’s nursery.

Detail of ABC Menagerie baby quilt

I hope this tutorial has inspired you to make your own simple baby quilt to welcome a new addition to your family or a friend’s family.

Have fun!

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Scandi Bird quilt – finished at last

October 31, 2020Leave a comment

The Scandi Bird quilt is finally finished! It has only been 5 years in the making but the final result is worth it.

Scandi bird patchwork quilt

Each of the birds was first appliquéd onto squares of plain off-white fabric. They weren’t difficult to do, just very time-consuming. Whilst I’ll never say never, I can’t see me rushing to make another appliqué quilt. They are not my zone of genius. Still, it was good to step outside my comfort zone and give it a go.

Initially I was planning to have 41 birds in the final quilt separated by blocks of four fabrics. Given that it was taking me so long to complete the birds I then changed tack to have fewer birds and more co-ordinating fabrics. This meant I had to raid my fabric stash for some additional fabrics since I only had a limited amount of the initial fabrics and what I had would not stretch that far.

Fabrics used in scandi bird quilt

On the left are the fabrics initially selected for the quilt and on the right are the extra fabrics I pulled to add to the quilt.

Smaller squares in coordinating colours were added as a frame around each appliqué bird to form a block before sewing the blocks together.

Scandi bird quilt block

The coloured squares have been placed in a scrappy arrangement. Many people think that scrappy quilts are easy to do when in fact they take a lot of careful planning. I’ll share some tips on how to create a good scrappy quilt in a later post.

Scandi bird patchwork quilt

At 64 inches square, the quilt brightens up the bedroom and is easily big enough to cover the top of the bed.

Scandi bird patchwork quilt

It is perfect as a throw when reading,

Scandi bird patchwork quilt

Or daydreaming in a sunbeam.

Scandi bird patchwork quilt

Quilts don’t have to live solely inside. They also make fab picnic blankets.

The quilt back features sassy 1950s ladies, carefully pattern-matched as always for a seamless look (I think the recipient secretly likes these ladies better than the quilt front). For the binding I used a bright blue floral that also features on the front of the quilt.

Scandi bird patchwork quilt – detail

Wavy lines were quilted horizontally across the quilt which gives it a lovely, cozy texture. I’m quite proud of the quilting on this quilt as it was done on my domestic sewing machine – the largest quilt I’ve quilted so far.

This quilt went to its forever home in December last year where it is cherished and well-loved.

Like what you see? Remember you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more of my lovely makes.

Blue and white upcycled shirt quilt

July 13, 2019Leave a comment

Blue and white is such a classic combination. It is both fresh and calming with the relaxed feeling of a lazy summer’s day on the beach.

I used blue and white as the starting point for a quilt that would be a gift for my brother. He loves rummaging in charity shops so it seemed appropriate to use pre-loved shirts and create an upcycled quilt for him.

Trawling the local charity shops, I looked for men’s shirts in a variety of patterns. Anything would do – stripes, spots, checks, tone on tone designs – provided the fabric was 100% cotton and the colours were predominately blue and white. I even found a few floral, James May shirt style patterns. Best of all was the little boy’s demin blue shirt covered in dinosaur skeletons! I mean, who doesn’t love a dinosaur?

Stack of blue and white shirts

I wanted to keep the design uncomplicated so as to show off the patterns of the shirt fabrics. A straight forward nine patch block seemed just the ticket. The shirts were cut into 4 1/2 inch squares and sewn randomly together.

Blue and white shirt blocks

Men need encouragement in their lives too, so I embroidered positive affirmations onto some of the plain fabrics and incorporated these into the quilt blocks.

Affirmation blocks

White sashing, 2 inches finished width, was added to separate the blocks and to give it a fresh look.

Blue and white quilt

A swirling design, called Hot Cocoa, was chosen for the long arm quilting. It adds a great texture to the quilt.

Quilt detail showing quilting design

And here is the finished quilt, complete with a dark navy binding to frame the quilt.

Quilt made from upcycled blue and white shirts

At 72 inches square it is a great size to use as a bedspread or to throw over the back of the sofa. I love that it is a classic design with little personal touches that make it unique.

Have you made a quilt from upcycled clothes? I’d love you to share a photo and if not, I’d encourage you to give it a go. So much clothing ends up in landfill and it seems a crime to waste it when it can be re-purposed for a longer life.

Like what you see? Remember you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more of my lovely makes.

Memories of childhood Polaroid patchwork quilt

September 16, 2016September 16, 20161 Comment

Here at last is the quilt that I exhibited at the recent Festival of Quilts held in Birmingham. It is called Memories of Childhood because I felt the little fabric pictures perfectly capture the joy and innocence of being a child.

Memories of childhood Polaroid quilt

With over 80 different fabrics used for the Polaroids, there is so much to discover in this quilt. One hundred Polaroid blocks are featured in the quilt and no picture is repeated. There are birds, wild animals, cats, dogs, insects, boys and girls playing, mythical beasts and much, much more. This “Blast Off” block even glows in the dark!

Polaroid quilt detail

You can see more detail In an earlier post of some of the Polaroids before they were pieced into the quilt.

All the blocks are tilted to give the impression that the Polaroids have been randomly strewn across the quilt.

Polaroid quilt detail

I love these Polaroid blocks. They make a great i-spy quilt for rainy day games. And imagine the stories you could make up with your children using these little blocks as inspiration.

The back of the quilt is just as lovely, featuring this fabulous print of scooter boys and girls by Aneela Hoey. It has been carefully pattern matched for a seamless finish and the red and white binding (also by Aneela Hoey) frames the quilt beautifully.

Memories of childhood Polaroid quilt back

At 61 x 62 inches (155 X 157 cm) it is the perfect size for picnics, cuddling on the sofa, a cape, a den, a bed or thrown over a chair.

The quilt is made from high quality 100% cotton quilting fabrics, wadding and thread and has been professionally long-arm quilted (the pattern is called cool beans) to make it sturdy and durable. Warm and snuggly, this is one of my favourite quilts. Definitely one to be played with now and a treasured heirloom for the future. I’ll be listing it for sale via my Folksy shop very soon.

Like what you see? Remember you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more of my lovely makes.

Regent Street lawn quilt

July 14, 20162 Comments

Often simple is best.

Start with a couple of charm packs (I used Moda’s Regent Street lawn) and two metres of a solid fabric (I used Bella Solid in off-white).

Regent Street lawn quilt materials

Cut the solid into 124 individual 5 inch squares. Sew the charm squares and solid squares together randomly into 16 rows with 13 squares in each row. Then sew the rows together.

Regent Street lawn quilt

As you can’t always find a fence tall enough I had to photograph the finished quilt hanging sideways. The quilt is 72 inches by 58 inches which is easily big enough for a single bed or as a large throw for the sofa.

Here is a close up showing the backing and detail of the quilt.

Regent Street lawn charm pack quilt detail

Regent Street lawn quilt detail

The lawn fabric is beautifully soft and silky giving the quilt a luxurious feel. And the long arm quilting in Curlz adds a lovely texture.

This quilt design is based on the Lazy Daisy pattern by Jeni Baker. It is a easy, simple pattern that is perfect for beginners.

Like what you see? Remember you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more lovely makes.

A country cottage style quilt

April 29, 2016Leave a comment

Fabric designs featuring large roses and pretty, soft colours make the perfect choice for a country cottage style quilt. This is a quilt I made some time ago using Tanya Whelan’s Petal collection (sadly no longer available).

Quilt made in Tanya Whelan Petal fabric

The colours appear sun bleached and summery whilst the overblown roses are reminiscent of warm afternoons relaxing in a country garden.

For the piecing, I chose an upscale version of a pattern appropriately named “square in a box”. There are lots of variations of this pattern however I kept it simple with a large centre square framed in either a spotted or checked fabric. The layout I chose alternates between blocks framed in spotted or gingham fabrics. Initially I alternated the two rose designs too however I quickly changed that to a random placement of the centre roses. Symmetrical layouts really are not for me.

Roses quilting on shabby chic/country cottage style quilt

Roses quilting detail on Tanya Whelan petal quilt

The quilt was long arm quilted using a dense pattern of open roses. It is a little difficult to see in this photo however I think you can make out one of the roses in the gingham square.

Pieced backing on shabby chic/country cottage style quilt

Pieced backing on Tanya Whelan petal quilt

In keeping with the country style of the fabrics, I made a pieced backing for this quilt featuring the large roses and two smaller rose designs not used on the front. The pink gingham fabric makes a charming binding to finish.

This quilt has been washed to achieve that lovely vintage crinkly appearance and is made from 100% cotton fabrics, thread and wadding. It will be on display at my Bucks Open Studio event in June. I’d love to see you if you are able to visit.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing details of more of my quilts that will be on display in June. Remember you can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. I look forward to seeing you there.

Polaroid blocks

March 31, 2016March 31, 20163 Comments

Polaroid blocks are my latest obsession. I love how you can use them to highlight the tiny details that might otherwise be overlooked in a busy print. Take this pirate fabric as a case in point. Did you notice the pirate shark, complete with eye patch and wicked teeth, in the main fabric?

Pirate shark Polaroid block

Polaroid blocks were all the rage a few years back and I think it is time they made a comeback. I know that all the fussy cutting makes them greedy of fabric but I don’t care. There are just so many adorable fabric designs that are crying out to be made as Polaroids. Who could resist the cute little images from these Dashwood Studio prints? (Oops! Error alert – the pigeon fabric is part of the VeloCity collection from P&B Textiles. This is what happens when you chop off selvages).

Polaroid quilt blocks in fabrics by Dashwood Studio and P&B Textiles designs

Polaroid blocks in fabrics by Dashwood Studio and P&B Textiles

And I adore these quirky illustrations from favourites by Heather Ross.

Polaroid blocks in Far Far Away and Tiger Lily fabrics

Polaroid blocks in Heather Ross fabrics

Aneela Hoey is another great designer whose images are perfect for Polaroid blocks.

Polaroid blocks in Aneela Hoey fabrics

Then there are these fab ones by new(er) kids on the block, Cotton and Steel.

Polaroid quilt blocks in Cotton and Steel designs

Polaroid blocks in Cotton and Steel fabrics

And if you really want to overdose on cuteness, you”ll love these sweet little images by Australian designer Natalie Lymer.

Polaroid blocks in fabric by Natalie Lymer

Polaroid blocks in Cinderberry Stitches

I love all these blocks however my absolute favourite from my latest batch of Polaroids is this little one. A crow peeking in the branches from the Yoyogi Park collection by Heather Moore.

Yoyogi Park Polaroid block

Ok, I think that’s enough cuteness for one day. I’m back to the cutting board as I have another 80 blocks to trim up.

If you’re inspired to make your own Polaroid blocks, then this tutorial by Capitola Quilter is a great one to use to get you started.

Milk churn patchwork quilt

March 24, 2016March 24, 20163 Comments

What do you give someone when you want something that says “you’re special”, something that says “thank you”, something that says “I love you”? For me, the answer is usually always a handmade quilt (sometimes it is cake but that is another story).

Earlier this year, it was my privilege to make a custom order quilt for a couple who have a jersey cow stud. When I showed my client a fun quilt pattern featuring rows of milk churns (remember those?) we knew we’d found the perfect design. I mean, dairy farmers and milk churns, what could be more appropriate?

Milk churn patchwork quilt

The fabric collection is Milk Cow Kitchen by Mary Jane Butters for Moda. Nostalgic, a bit kitsch, the collection features tiny jersey cows, vintage cars, kitchen utensils, milk bottle tops and my personal favourite, lots of moos!!. There is even a recipe for strawberry jam.

Milk churn patchwork quilt detail

To make the quilt I used this free pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop. I did change the pattern slightly by adding an extra column of milk churns to make it wider and I changed how I added the sashing. The milk churn lids were made as larger strips that are then cut down making it much quicker and easier to put together than it first looks.

Milk churn patchwork quilt detail

The finished quilt was professionally long-arm quilted with an overall pattern called Cloud Nine.

Milk Cow Kitchen patchwork quilt backing

Milk churn patchwork quilt backing

And for the backing, I chose this green Lulu fabric from the Up Parasol range by Heather Bailey. It is one that I wish I had been able to buy more of as it really is the most lovely light olive green.

The 100% cotton wadding in the quilt makes it irresistibly soft and warm and gives the quilt a beautiful drape. At 70 inches by 64 inches, it is a very versatile size and perfect for a bed or a sofa.

Today I received the good news that Royal Mail and Australia Post did their bit and delivered the quilt safe and sound to its new home. And I’m very pleased to say that it was a very welcome present that will be much loved for many years to come. A special gift for a lovely couple.

Checkerboard quilt – a work in progress

March 10, 20162 Comments

Strangely I seem to have a number of half-finished quilts cluttering up my workroom. I’m not sure how this happened. Best not to dwell on the how and instead focus on getting them completed.

With this in mind, over the past week I have been working on a checkerboard quilt top that had been languishing on my dining room table for (many) months. I had decided to use a jelly roll for the patterned sections and then very quickly wished that I hadn’t. Don’t get me wrong. I love using jelly rolls. Sadly this one seemed to have more than its fair share of strips not cut on the grain and many were slightly wider than 2 1/2 inches. After a bit of judicious cutting, thankfully this wasn’t too much of a problem.

Rather than cut out individual 2 1/2 by 2 1/2 inch squares, I used this strip piecing tutorial by Red Pepper Quilts. I selected 33 strips from my jelly roll, cut them in half on the fold line and then attached a 2 1/2 inch wide strip of plain fabric to the long side. Although not really necessary, I cut the jelly roll strips in half to reduce any potential problems if the strips were wonky. I really needed only 32 jelly roll strips for the quilt. The extra one was to allow for any cutting errors (sad to say, there was one) and also ensured I had plenty of options when putting the quilt top together so that similar/same patterns weren’t right next to each other. The sewn strips were then cut down to 10 1/2 inches long and then sewn to another pair of sewn strips. Although these strips were slightly shorter than the 11 inches recommended in the tutorial there was more than enough fabric available when cross-cutting the strips.

Checkerboard quilt strips

I worked on a quarter of the quilt at a time as I don’t have a large enough space in which to layout the full quilt design. Making up blocks of 16 squares each as per the tutorial made it much easier to nest the seams together and the reverse stayed very neat and tidy too.

Checkerboard quilt blocks

My quilt top is now complete and ready for quilting.

Checkerboard quilt top

I love the colours in this one. They are so soft and pretty. And the white squares make it look lovely and fresh. Here is a close-up so you can see all that prettiness in detail.

Checkerboard quilt top detail

It reminds me of meadow flowers strewn across a white sheet and I don’t even mind the greys in this one. Now I just need to choose the backing fabric and the quilting pattern. Decisions, decisions.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, I used an Ambleside jellyroll by Moda – a very pretty, country cottage collection of rose, daisy, gingham and lace designs – and Bella Solid in Off White for the plain squares.

Back with more soon.

When it rains, look for rainbows

October 2, 2015October 2, 2015Leave a comment

Is there anyone who doesn’t love rainbows? They are so beautiful; a symbol of hope and a promise of better things to come.

Rainbow over rooftops

The beautiful colours of Fancy by Lily Ashbury simply lent themselves to a rainbow quilt. Even the press information about this collection described it as being like “rays of sunshine on a cloudy day” and “gorgeous, lush, and drenched with colour”.

The collection was missing a purple so I hunted though my fabrics to find something suitable. This was harder than it might seem as purple, particularly a dark reddish purple, is not a common colour in quilting fabrics (they seem to tend toward lavender and bluish purples). Thankfully I found two.

Purple fabrics

The sharks tooth is a fabulous match as the pattern mimics others in the Fancy collection. The second had little birds on it. At first, I wasn’t sure if this would really work with the other fabrics. But then I remembered that in the song, “happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow” so it was obviously meant to be.

The spectrum of colours made a coin quilt design an obvious choice for me. I had so much fun making my last off-set coin quilt, I decided to use this as the basis for my rainbow quilt. For this quilt, I used a jelly roll and simply removed any duplicate fabric strips. The fabrics were used in the same order they were presented in the jelly roll and the same design was used across a row in each of the five columns. A Flurry spot (Dashwood studios) in light teal was the perfect choice for the background.

I had no dilemmas about what to use for the backing fabric. It just had to be unicorns. I mean, what else would you expect to find behind a rainbow? Visitors to my Bucks Open Studios event were asked to help me choose which unicorn fabric to use.

Unicorn fabric from Far Far Away collection

Unicorn fabric by Heather Ross

It was an even split between the green and the purple colour ways of this lovely whimsical design by Heather Ross from her Far Far Away collection.

In the end, the decision was taken out of my hands as I could only source enough of the green colour way to complete the backing. Either one would have worked however the green is a beautiful, soothing colour that is the perfect counterfoil for the riot of colours on the front.

The lovely, swirly Curlz (it’s my favourite) was used as the quilting design and a glorious sunshine yellow from the Linen Cupboard collection was chosen for the binding.