Hubblebird's Quilt Blog

The last time I posted I was determined to finish blocks for the scrap quilt. But I got squirrelled! I have always admired Audrey’s (from Quilty Folk) Autumnal Tulips quilt and reading her blog about starting a new one reminded me of this. I went back to the original post Here  in 2020 and noticed that at the time she had offered a PDF download of the templates to make the block. Obviously I am well past the time date of that offer, but inspired by my (ahem throat clearing noise here) newly acquired template making skills, I wondered if I could make my own templates and make a version of the block myself? In short, making scrap quilt blocks fled into the distance for the weekend as Audrey has lit a fire in the belly to try more appliqué. So I made templates. And I made a sample block.  I wanted to use the muted tone of fabrics that Audrey favours to make up my sample.  They are old fabrics.  Some are from a jelly roll bundle that I bought to make a quilt when I firs...

Bramble Blooms Pt 2 Update Yippee! I’ve finished the centrepiece for the  Audrey’s  QAL …. and I’m so happy to have got this far.  I have a renewed admiration for all those skilled needleturn appliqué experts out there as I found my first foray into this appliqué technique enormously difficult. I’ve learned a lot along the way, and I’ve improved both with stitching and placement of the appliqué pieces. The red flower, last to be sewn, is definitely the best. My first attempt at the pointy flower pot didn’t go well. The long, slim, valley at the bottom of the pointy ‘leaves’ proved impossible to appliqué.  The fabric (not the best quality) frayed terribly and I finally gave up.   Instead, I redrew my template with curves, and I found sewing these to be much more manageable.  I’m quite pleased with how the funky looking pots turned out.  They match the funky looking flowers! Tackling the mistake for the middle flower came last. In the end I decided that ...

Bramble Blooms Pt 2 …. Update This has truly been a journey. I am very thankful to Audrey for starting me on it as I am learning a lot. I have a question too, so if anyone cares to try and answer that would be great. Thank you to other students who are commenting on my progress because it is very encouraging. Unfortunately I can’t respond on Google for some reason and will have to wait until I see my son in a couple of weeks to help sort out whatever the problem is. I’m loving everyone else’s designs and ideas! So, here is a pic of progress so far. I think you can immediately tell that I’m improving with each flower. The middle one was the first, then came the flower to the left, and I’ve sewn one petal for the flower on the right. A close look at the blue petals will reveal a hare in four of the petals. I think there is a pheasant in one of the other petals (because I didn’t have five hares that I could fussy cut).  Hares and pheasants would definitely feature in a bramble patch! ...

Bramble Blooms Pt 2 Update After watching many hours of YouTube vids and tutorials, I finally made the templates for my Droopy Flower and stitched down the first flower.  Sadly, I just didn’t like it. I still didn’t like my background and the stitching on my appliqué was terrible.  I went back to square one.  First I had to tackle the eyesight issue. I mean, how many pairs of specs does it take to needle turn appliqué?  I also had to accept that I simply can’t sew at night. It has to be in daylight seated with my back to the window.  The cheap plastic 3x specs I keep in my handbag for when I go grocery shopping and have to read those pesky food labels without a magnifying glass won out.  Next I resurrected one of the discarded backgrounds. I like the buttery colours and fabrics much more than the my original pieced background. And I finally found something in an old quilt mag to help me to square it up properly. Then, having watched all those needleturn app...

Bramble Blooms Pt 2 Since my last post, when I actually managed to prepare the centrepiece for the Quilty Folk QAL , I have been stuck, if not entangled, in what to do next. Convinced that my lack of creativity for the blooms in the centre was because my centrepiece was boring, I made two more centrepieces and discarded both, as they still didn’t get the creative juices flowing.   And, right from the start I have grappled with the title of Bramble Blooms, which to me conjures up an English country scene with thickets of brambles, blackberries, wildflowers, rabbits, blackbirds and the green green grass of home.  One idea was lilies on a lake - what the heck has that got to do with brambles I asked myself.  Another was to feature Australian inspired flowers - the warratah and banksia spring to mind, and are still lurking there. Obviously I was taking the title too literally, because as a glance at the links for the QAL will show, other quilters are using their interpre...

I finally finished my  prints on solids quilt , which I am very happy with. At the time I was making it, I planned to hand quilt it and my local quilt shop recommended using 100% bamboo batting. In the end I could not get my quilt stitches to look as nice as I wanted, so I gave up and straight line quilted it with my walking foot instead. However, I found the bamboo batting very messy to deal with and I was constantly sneezing. I also find it rather cold - it seems to wick body heat away - has anyone else experienced this? I won’t be using 100% bamboo batting ever again.  I quilted this in a cross-hatch diagonal with my walking foot. I love the brown and orange backing which I found as a remnant at my local quilt shop. I’ve decided to join Audrey’s - Quilty Folk - slow quilt along.  I have admired her work for many years and this is a chance to learn how to be a lot more creative with my quilts. Applique will be a first for me.  Hand quilting is an almost first - ev...

Some time last year I came across an old blog that had a knitting pattern for hexagons. I made a knitted throw for a friend and really enjoyed making the hexies. Ever since then I've had an idea swirling around in my head for how to make a throw for myself, but with hexie flowers, rather than random placing of hexies. I've made a start ... unfortunately it's keeping me away from what I should be doing.  I'm stonewalled by the stone roses at the moment, but knitting hexies is a great way to relax at the end of a hard day at work. I'm using rather cheap acryllic yarn from the same supplier.  But I'm finding that the white yarn which I have chosen to use as the centre of the 'flowers' is not as thick as the same yarn, same supplier, in saturated colours.  I wonder if anyone knows why this is so?  It doesn't matter too much for this project, but it's something that is making me wonder.  I will be embroidering knitted french knots in the centre of ea...

Welcome 2023! I heralded the New Year by logging in to Kate's Last Homely House YouTube feed.   I've been following Kate's lovely YouTube posts for some time, and signed up to be notified of her New Year's Eve chat.  I enjoyed it, but was a bit disappointed to find that (differently from last year) she pre-recorded clips rather than participating live.  It was understandable given that, sadly, she lost her father a few weeks before and naturally that contributed to a bit of down time.  If you haven't heard about Kate before, please check her out.  She is wonderfully warm and friendly and her YouTube posts are very entertaining.  I often have them playing in the background while I am sewing.   One of the best things about Kate's posts is that she consistently refrains from introducing her politics to her audience which means that I enjoy her chats all the more.  It's an oasis of peace and tranquility - which is what I want more and more o...