Wednesday 3 September 2014

Bubbles - A Work in Progress

Hi all, happy Wednesday! First two days on the job have gone well. I have a LOT to learn, but the group is great and they are easing me in nicely. Phew! Shall we talk a little quilting then?

Have you heard about the Mystery Fat Quarter Event at Fabric Spark? Until September 14th, you can get a free fat quarter with the purchase of the equivalent of a yard (or 4 fat quarters, 2 1/2 yards, etc.). The Fabric Spark gang will pick the fat quarter to work well with your purchase. Fun! Aren't you curious to see what they'd pick? More details are on the Fabric Spark site.

I'm working on a quilt for a friend's baby, who was also born on the same day as my nephew. When we first began talking quilts and my friend told me the room colours (orange-red, celery and charcoal grey furniture), this quilt by Janet McWorkman immediately came to mind. Wanting to offer her more ideas though, I pinned a number of great baby quilts to a board on Pinterest to show her and get an idea of what style she'd like. She immediately zeroed in on the one I had imagined too. Love it when that happens!

I couldn't find a pattern so I thought I decided to try to figure it out and design something similar. I showed you this palette last week.


I laid out the greys and creamy white (Kona Snow) in the approximate proportions I was looking for. Then I cut out 5 different sizes of circles on freezer paper and filled the white area until I was pleased with the layout. (The photos are off - late night designing and all)


Then I started adding the colours, pressing the freezer paper to the fabric and adding a seam allowance to turn the edges under later.


All the colours are in place, but I find the Celery colour is a little lost. 


Better. May play around with this some more.


I had originally planned on doing the circles as turned edge appliqué, topstitched down by machine. Or maybe zigzag stitch around the circles. I could do raw edge appliqué, but it is a baby quilt that will see a lot of washing. I could also fuse them down and satin stitch around the edges. I'm still mulling the next step so please feel to jump in if you have an opinion!

10 comments:

  1. What a fun design. I like how this will be a quilt that can grow with the baby. I'm noticing that when your celery isn't sitting next to the other green like the spot on the far right that it doesn't get as lost. Would swapping its position with the smaller red circles help you out? My guess is that once you start to applique and everything gets a cleaner edge, the celery will stand out a bit more too.

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  2. Is celery the light green? Looks good in there. You can also use interfacing method for no raw edge appliqué which is easy and quick :)

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  3. Super colours MR - can`t wait to see it up close. I`d do edge turn and then topstitch. it is a strong and makes a cleaner look.

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  4. so cute! Great job.
    I am not a big fan of raw edge, so would probably edge turn and top stitch. I have seen the interfacing circle method , but have never tried it. You are right, it needs to be secure to stand up to all that washing!

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  5. If you do decide to fuse, use Misty Fuse - it doesn’t change the hand at all. I have a long fusing history and Misty Fuse would be my first choice on this type of project. Having said that, I just fused an shape on a lap quilt I am making and as with works in progress, I see now I will be adding a second layer of fusing in one area. I am already regretting grabbing the WonderUnder (which I also use a lot) because now there will be stiffness.

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  6. What a fun baby quilt! Love the greys with those rich colors. I honestly think any of those applique techniques would work, I've raw edge appliqued on a baby quilt before...haven't heard any negative reports from the mom about it yet.

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  7. This is going to look great! I love those pops of colour against the greys! I you are using freezer paper or fusible for making the circles it will be difficult to turn the edges and keep the smooth circle shape, and would then recommend satin stitching the raw edges. I like Vera's suggestion for making the circles. This is a quick and easy way to make turned edge circles with smooth edges and then topstitching or zig-zagging them on would be a piece of cake. And the circles would be soft not stiff as with fusible.

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  8. I think my post got eaten whe I tried to sign in, so don't mind me if I double post.
    I love the color placement idea from the first reply.

    As for the finish, it really depends on the look you want. I wouldn't worry about it getting 'used'. If you do turn or stirch the edge, it'll have a clean look, a bit like this:
    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152985627945001&l=a934e1f30f

    If you go with raw edge, it'l just give it a completely different look. I bought the quilt listed below when my youngest was born. In the picture it was washed a couple of times, so you can start to see the fray. He is now 3 1/2 and it has been washed a LOT as it follows him everywhere. Now the edges are all frayed, but it's help up great and just looks really cozy. (just be aware that there will be thread to cut for a little while at first evey time it's washed. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152316260130001&l=f485495cc4

    H

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  9. I'm all for raw edge applique for ease, but I know what you mean about the washing! I'm going to have to do a QS like this for my neighbour :( not looking forward to it!!!

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