Now …

The top is done eth …

And I included her (secret) name.

Because it’s always fun to find something hidden.

Especially if you’re five years old :)

And so today.

Make the back.

Sandwich the batting.

Find some thick orange thread.

And quilt away.

–

The top is done eth …

Well it’s all in place except for one or two final touches which I will do later.

Also it’s without its border, but, apart from that, the top is definitely, almost, just has to be sewn together, done eth.

Be sure to shield your eyes.

It’s blinding!

So, with sunglasses on, I peeled all the paper from the back of the Wonder Under and ironed the pieces in place. I then also pinned the ironed pieces to the backing fabric as I’ve found from previous experience that the Wonder Under isn’t that stickable under heavy use.

Usually I’m making blocks, one at a time, and the Wonder Under is fine, but I know that this quilt is all over the place with no particular rhyme nor reason, so I decided to pin the pieces also as a double back up plan. As and when I get around to sew each flower, I’ll take the pins out and re iron . Once that particular flower is completed I’ll move on to the next one.

Or so the plan goes.

I quickly remembered (once I began to sew) that I’d forgotten how painful those tiny white headed pins can be when you try to maneuver the fabric through the sewing machine, so, amidst pain and blood, I had to have a quick rethink.

I decided to baste the flowers to the backing fabric and remove all those pesky pins.

Now I’m ready to begin to sew.

Tomorrow …

–

The line up – revealed.

But first.

Today’s cup of tea.

Well, one of them. I’m usually a four cup a day girl.

So,

Here are the five great, Hope’s Quilt, bonanza flowers that have made the final cut.

Except maybe this green one.

Which might need a little something more.

See, compared to the others, it’s a little too green.

Then I got a little distressed with the state of the fabric stash. Because it was everywhere. So I took a break to clean up a bit.

I know, shocking.

Then I had to hide away in the studio because the a/c man was coming, and so I made a few pairs of earrings instead while P dealt with the man.

But not to fear.

Tomorrow I will be back on task.

–

So if you promise not to tell anyone …

I cheat when it comes to making my quilts.

BUT,

Really, what’s cheating anyway? It’s not like I’m taking an exam or anything.

My problem is, I’ve too many quilt designs inside of me, and not enough years in my life to get them all out.

I’ve made loads the conventional way, and now I just need to move on.

So, saying that, here’s day two of the great,

Hope’s Quilt Bonanza.

Tricks an’ all.

If you want to have a go, you’re welcome to take my drawings, or draw your own. You can either do it the cheat way, or the conventional way. Whatever’s good for you.

(E you should make one for Zara. You know you want to … )

–

First, get your cup of tea.

This cup would be perfect, but I don’t have one :(

So I’ll just have to resort to using old faithful.

Don’t leave your cup on your cutting board for too long, if at all, as the heat from the tea will warp it.

–

Here are some of the fabrics that I’ve chosen.

Washed and ironed.

And, this is where the cheating begins …

Get out some Wonder Under, or something similar, just so long as the fusible web stuff is thin and has paper on one side.

Draw out each shape of your design onto the paper side of the wonder under. This will make a reverse of your original design, so you’ll have to compensate for that if you don’t want this.

Make sure you leave the shapes longer for those parts of the design that fit under other parts.

And,

Iron the shapes onto their chosen fabric.

And cut them out.

Then reassemble the pieces of your design to check out if you like it.

No peeling away of the paper backing today :(

I did buy one brand of paper back adhesive web stuff once that you could peel the paper from almost immediately, but the brand I have now has to cool completely.

I usually get too impatient and try to pull it off anyway, but the fusible web bit doesn’t want to stick to the fabric and keeps coming away and bunching up. This time I’m just giving in and waiting a whole night for it to do its magic.

It’s the only sensible thing to do.

So in the meantime, I continue to cut and pin together shapes to see how they’re working for me.

I keep thinking to myself that for this quilt I’ll just cut everything out first, but I know I won’t be able to stop myself from stitching them as I go along.

It’s all way too exciting.

Although I’m not sure how I want to handle attaching the shapes to the background fabric yet.

That will have to wait for now.

What can’t wait, however, is the fact that these flowers need more red friends as the blue and yellow ones are getting a little  carried away with themselves.

I’m not a hundred percent on the background fabric yet. I did buy some off whites, but they’re not quite doing it for me. You can just see that little bit in the corner.

I’m thinking I might just need to break down and get white.

But that’s it for today.

Only three done. Five hundred and sixty-three to go …

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