The Little Mushroom Cap: A Quilting Blog

In Quilt

Make It Right Challenge Sneak Peek

May 12, 2013 6 Comments

Hi!

Have you heard the about challenge? (update: challenge was in June 2013)

If you haven’t, visit here and here to learn more about it.

I love AGF fabrics. They stands for their tagline “Feel the difference”. And I do feel it.

The first time I bought AGF fabrics were the Pure Elements Bundle. The solids have no selvedge but I keep petting it and I love the silky feel of it. The next bundle I bought was Indie. Then I saw the tagline on the selvedge and I said to myself, ” I know, I feel it”. LOL

The silky feel of AGF fabrics is suitable for making garments and I was surprise how it is also so suitable for quilting too. However, I do find Pure Elements do get crinkly fast and they need a bit of spray during ironing to remove those creases. Once quilted, it’s fine. Besides, the crinkles are what you want in quilt don’t you?

Anyway, I have decided to enter this challenge. Firstly I love challenges as it pushes me out of my boundary and it lets me find and improve my skills. Secondly, I love Angela Walters. I love her modern quilting. This panel was meant for quilting and I am definitely having fun with it!

I have a little sneak peek of what I am making for the challenge.

Fabrics I am using :-

From Pure Elements:

Cozumel Blue

Dark Citron

Mirage Blue

Ash

Moonstone

And of course the Right Angle Panel

After all panels for my project were cut out, I still have some small leftovers. Keeping to the rules of the challenge, I am using all of the small scraps on the left in improv piecing for the backing with Pure Elements as the background. I am throwing the right side scraps. I guess that is about 1-5% of the whole fabric.

I had so much fun thinking my way through this! I got really excited throughout planning and sewing these. So geeky aren’t I? LOL

All panels ready to be quilted :

Threads I am using:

50Wt Cotton Mako Aurifil in 2021, 2605,5015, 5005 and 2600

If you want to stock up on Aurifil threads, there’s a great deal now at Fat Quarter Shop as their Notion Of the Month.

The start of the Free Motion Madness

Can you guess what I am making? Take a guess..

Of course, my guide book to quilting has to be beside me while I am planning all this.

I am getting this done by this week hopefully and have the photos sent to AGF. I am unsure whether we are allowed to do a blogpost prior to June 6th, but I’ll be doing a full blogpost on the finished project for sure later to that.

Well, I hope you will join in voting on the 7th June! Vote for me if you like my project!

Till then,

XOXO

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In Custom FMQ Sampler Quilt Along

About A Quilt Sampler QAL #9 : Piecing Block 4

May 10, 2013 4 Comments

Hi!

Welcome back to About A Quilt Sampler QAL. If this is your first time here, you can read more on this QAL by clicking here.

If you miss previous post you can always go back to all the post by clicking the button on my blog sidebar or below:

We are already on our fourth block with this QAL. The fourth block of this QAL is the leaf block.

It is a fairly simple nine patch having 4 pieces of half-square triangles , a block for the stem and others are just plain 4.5″ square pieces.

Here is how you should cut your fabrics.

From the solid, cut one 4 1/2″ square, two 2 7/8″ squares and two of 4 7/8″ squares
From the printed green fabric, cut four of 4 1/2″ squares and two of 4 7/8″ squares

Please note that I use 4 different type of green fabrics, you may stick to one or two. I just love the scrappy look.

For the stem block, take the 2 7/8″ solid piece and align it to one corner of one of the 4 1/2″ green square.

Sew along the diagonal. If you need to mark it first with a ruler and a pen, please be happy to do so.

Press seam and do the other corner.

As for the Half Square triangle pieces, take the solid piece and the green piece from the 4 7/8″ squares and piece them together by sewing two lines which are 1/4″ apart from the middle diagonal line. Again, if you need to mark the middle diagonal lines so that you can accurately sew the 1/4″ line on its side, please do so. Cut through this middle line and press the seam to one side or open.

Arrange the patch as so that you will now can piece all of them together row by row into the leaf block

Trim your block to 12.5″ and sandwich it. Will be quilting it soon.

Have fun!

Till next time,

Regards

XOXO

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In Completed Projects

Modern Placemat + Lets Get Acquainted

April 29, 2013 18 Comments

Hi!

I sometime can’t believe that month passes so quickly that I feel like I missed it. Where has the days gone?

I need to catch up on BOM and my bee blocks and swap to send out….

Maybe I was busy with other things too..I love the weather now, so i spend my time mostly outside doing the gardening and I also learned a lot about baking.

Cinnamon rolls

Black Forest Trifle

One of the weekend I spent a night finishing up one of the thing that has been on the UFO pile. One of them was the modern placemat. I didn’t quite like the top I made. However, once it was quilted, I think I am pretty happy with it.

The modern placemat is one of the project in Quilting Modern which I bought many months ago and this was a project that I started not long after I got the book.then it was piled on the UFO pile for quite sometimes…thankfully it got finished and can now be used.

If you are here from Kirsten blog, Let’s Get Acquainted Bloghop, I would like to say Welcome!

I love to hear from you, so feel free to leave a comment and browse around.

This blog is turning One year soon and I am planning to have a giveaway! Maybe some delicious bundle of fabrics. Be sure not to miss the chance!

Till then

XOXO

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In Custom FMQ Sampler Quilt Along

About A Quilt Sampler QAL #8 : Quilting Block 3

April 22, 2013 2 Comments

Hi!

We are already on our third block for About A Quilt Sampler QAL.

Today I am sharing how I quilted mine.

I planned the flow of the free motion roughly on paper. The allover echoed leaves filled the plain triangles and a simple fan filling the four patches. As for the centre four patch, I decided to fill the plain patches with back and forth free motion lines.

Again, same with other blocks, I travel from one point to another through the ditch and through the outside of the block. You can see this squiggly travel lines outside the block from the back view. It’s okay, these lines will later be covered when we piece the sashings at the end.

I hope you have fun quilting this block! Feel free to share on flickr too. Till then, see you on the construction of the fourth block!

XOXO

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In Completed Projects

Covert Robin 2013

April 21, 2013 10 Comments

Hi

Sharing with you today, the gift sent and received for the Covert Robin hosted by Rachael at Imagine Gnats.

BTW I love the logo!

I sent over a table runner in spring colours. Bouquet of pink flowers and bright green with a touch of swirly quilting. I sent mine to Erin.

I received from Buffie this lovely placemat and hotpad. So lovely in autumn Colours too. It has been a wonderful autumn so far here in Canberra, and I am loving this placemat so much! Thank you Buffie.

Thank you for all the host too for handling such a wonderful swap!

XOXO

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In Bag Sewing

Made a new bag

April 13, 2013 35 Comments

Hi!

I hope you are all having a lovely start to a good weekend!

I did. With a little sewing love.

This is the first project I made from the book Liberty Love. I thought I would have started on the Marcelle Medallion quilt that has been popping over around blogland — which you may want to pop over and see some of the amazingly beautiful Marcelle medallion quilt here by Svetlana@Sotak Handmade and Rita@RedPepperQuilt here and sweet one by Cindy@Hyacinth Quilt Design here.

As much as I wanted to start making this quilt, I didn’t. I still have three quilts to quilt so I don’t dare to start another top!

I love a quick finished. It boost your motivation to find more time on the sewing machine. I need that. I need to find time to get quilting all the three quilt tops here, here and my Happy Go Lucky from simplify Book.

Anyway,

I have to say I love the finish of this “All Zipped Up bag”. However, it is quite large to my liking. Remember I made the Emmaline Bag sometimes ago. I didn’t use it much and gave it to my mother.

But maybe I’ll use this for some occassion where I need to put a lot of things in the bag. I love how casual it looks too with the fabric choices.

Well, I am off to more sewing! I have few other quick little things to sew before getting my mood to quilting. I’ll soon share with you what I had sewn for Covert Robin and what I received!

Till then,

Have a lovely relaxed weekend!

XOXO

Linking Up to Le Challenge and Sew book Inspired

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In Custom FMQ Sampler Quilt Along

About A Quilt Sampler QAL #7 : Piecing Block 3

April 8, 2013 8 Comments

Hi!

I am back here with the third block for About A Quilt Sampler QAL.

Here is the third block as planned:

From the background fabric (here is white) ; cut 4 pieces 4 3/4″ square & 2 1/2″ x 15″ strip

For all the four patches, you will need 2 1/2″ x 10″ strips from three of the fabric and 2 1/2″ x 5″ strips for one of the fabric which will be the centre four patch.

For the sharp hidden star points, you will need two pieces of each of green and red with the size 2 5/8″ x 5 1/4″.

For the hidden star points, take the 2 5/8″ x 5 1/4″ pieces and stack the four pieces as shown, and cut diagonally. The two pairs have an opposite diagonal cut.

Fold the 4 3/4″ square background fabric in half and crease the fold just so slightly at the top.

Cut diagonally from the bottom corner to the mark as shown below:

Now you have the complete cut pieces for the star points.

Piece the points to the background fabric by aligning the point fabric to the equilateral triangle as so that the 1/4″ seam would meet at the diagonal edge

Do the same for the other half of the point and all of the other 3 blocks

Trim the little block to 4 1/2″ square

As for the four patches, sew the strips right side together on one of the long side. Make sure you pair them with the right one as you want it in the patches.

Cut the strips into 10 pieces of 2 1/2″ strips as shown below

Pieces the 2 1/2″ strips into 5 four patches and arrange them for the 9 patch block. Sew them all in rows and piece the rows to complete your block.

Trim the block to 12.5″ block.

Have fun! I have to say this is my favourite block so far..

I hope you like it too. Share on flickr if you made one!

XOXO

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In Quilt

Scrappy Trip Along Quilt Top & Zakka 2.0 Sew Along

April 4, 2013 16 Comments

Hi,

Probably I am a bit on the slow train here with my scrappy trip along quilt, but guess what, the HUGE queen size quilt top is finally done! Tottaly scrappy and even some yucky fabrics in there, but I love the messy look of it.

I have found the perfect vintage bed-sheet as the backing and will be off to batting the quilt this weekend.

I must say, the time where I procrastinate most on this quilt was ironing each block, which were many blocks. 56 blocks all of them. Huh. But I manage.

The quilt top itself is heavy. I could feel it dragging of my sewing machine as I piece the few last seams together. Photo shoot was even harder, I don’t really know how to snap a good photo of such gigantic quilt in a small yard or my cute little house.

But I think it was all worth it. Can’t wait to snuggle under this this winter, so I better get myself to quilt it soon! Yes, I am challenging myself to quilt a queen size quilt under my domestic machine. Yikes.. But I am particularly sure, I will be doing an allover quilting – i find it easier than lines. Will see how that goes!

Someone is playing hide and seek while I snap this photo.

Can you spot him?

By the way, I am totally joining in Zakka 2.0 with Debbie and Lindsey and so many others!

Can’t wait. I love Ayumi’s designs and I am pretty sure I will love her book and making every single project from that.

Come and join in too..It’ll be fun.

Till then,

XOXO

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In Quilt

February and March BOM update

March 28, 2013 10 Comments

Hi!

I am catching up with my February and March BOM and QAL. My previous block for January is in this blogpost. I missed posting one for February, so this blogpost is for February and March.

I am still with Aurifil BOM

Here is my February block. I love how this block turns out.

However, I found out that it turns out to be half inch smaller than other blocks…. sigh…..this block was probably one of the most difficult block that I have made. So, I am not really into making another one of this.

Then comes March Block by Jeni Baker. One of my favourite blogger in this quilty blogland.

I love the simplicity of the block.

I am also still with my 6″ Lucky Star BOM

Here is my February Block with my January’s next to Aurifil BOM’s

Then here are all three of the lucky stars…

I joined Simply Solid Bee For Fallow Group of Australasian. Here is blocks for Kirsten:

Currently trying to keep up with Baby Jane blocks and finishing my scrappy-tripalong quilt.

XOXO

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In Custom FMQ Sampler Quilt Along

About A Quilt Sampler QAL #6 : Quilting Block 2

March 27, 2013 8 Comments

Hi,

I am getting back on track, and hopefully by April I will be on track and on time with this About A Quilt Sampler QAL post.

If you are new here, and want to know more about this QAL and join in, click the button below or the one one my sidebar. It will always bring you to all the post related to this QAL.

Today I am sharing with you ideas on how to quilt your second block.

Same as the first block, I would really recommend you to practice doodling your quilting design. You can download a pdf file with the outline of this second block here.

I did some practice and tried different designs. It is also helpful to practice your travelling lines using this method, try not to pick up your pen and travel from one point to another via the ditch or the outside of the block.

For my block, I first make an echo line inside the cards. For all straight lines, I usually mark them with water soluble pen first (using a ruler) as I find it more precise to quilt on this markings. Otherwise, you can go “organic” and a little wonkies won’t hurt I guess.

Here is my block from the backside. This side shows more of the quilting design as it is on a plain fabric. As you can see, I do a lot of travelling on the ditch and outside of the block.

I hope you will have fun quilting yours. Share them on the flickr group. I would love to see your version!

Till then

XOXO

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