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Finished: the quilted Rumba shoulder bag (Quilt studio diary)

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In my previous post less than a week ago, I introduced a surprise project – and now the project is finished! I wanted to see if I could create as nice a zippered bag as I’d done a few years ago. Here are the two bags side by side: Sliver/Lastu on the left and the new Rumba shoulder bag on the right – you decide how they compare. For me, they look surprisingly similar on these sides, and are equal in charm. Before I share more photos of the finished Rumba bag, here are a few in-progress shots. First, one surface piece when quilted: And the other piece after quilting: Although I have many other go-to quilting patterns, easy enough to do and suitable for smaller surfaces that I quilt on my domestic sewing machine, I decided to use the same pattern that I used on the Sliver bag. I got the idea for this quilting pattern of intersecting arcs from my long-time IG friend Alfhild @alborve and it has become my favourite. Where the two arcs intersect, a crosshatch patte...
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A surprise quilting project (Quilt studio diary)

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Since I was in my teens, I’ve been careful to stop every envious thought that enters my mind before they take up residence. Over the years, this has become an automatic reaction, with one exception. The one exception is my former quilting self. It is surprising how often I look at a pleasing item that I have made and secretly wish I could make something like that. Maybe confessing to this makes me seem deranged, but that is how my thoughts work sometimes. Sorry! This week’s surprise project started like that because I’ve been envying the Sliver/Lastu zipper bag lately. Long-time readers may remember seeing my original Sliver/Lastu zipper bag from year 2020. Some weeks ago, I came across it and set it to hang on a doorknob while I figured out what to do about the bag (to keep or gift or try to sell). I’ve been seeing the bag several times every day since then because that door is across the upstairs landing. And I’ve been so envious of my previous success! See if you...
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3 beginner quilting mistakes I made on my first quilt (and how you can avoid them)

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Are you planning to make your first quilt – or perhaps dream of making one? Go for it, but please don’t make the three mistakes that I made! When I decided to sew my first proper-sized quilt in the mid-1990s, I made three big mistakes - but I was able to finish the quilt: Be smarter than I was and learn from my early experiences! Mistake 1: Cutting with scissors. In the mid-1990's, quilting became visible in the sewing magazines that I subscribed to. I fell in love with the modern, colourful look and decided to make a quilt for our new bedroom. But because I wasn’t sure if quilting was going to be a lasting thing for me, I also decided NOT to buy any special tools. They were expensive, and I already had the cost of fabric to consider. And anyway, what was the use of investing in tools that I might only use for one project? So, what did I end up doing? I’d selected a relatively quick pattern based on strips. Meaning, it would have been a quick make if I’d had pr...
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Splendid colour tips for quilting: Green colour in quilts

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This post is one of my Splendid colour tips series, where I share information to help you choose fabrics and colours for your quilts with more confidence. Today’s quilt colour is green, and I’ll be sharing the following: My thoughts and helpful tips about using green colour in quilts What to watch out for, and ways to use green effectively in quilting Practical examples from my own quilts and quilted items Green represents wealth, health, calm, and nature. It is the easiest colour for a human eye to process, and it is believed to have a relaxing effect on us. Green is the second most popular favourite colour for both women and men. Therefore, it is a great choice for a quilt or quilted item that should attract both sexes. An interesting piece of information related to the colour green is related to a Namibian tribe whose language has a single word for both green and blue. And it seems that consequently, it takes them a long time to identify a more bluish green square ou...
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Quilt projects on my sewing table in June (Quilt studio diary)

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Welcome to my quilt studio! Today, I’ll share two quilting projects that I’ve recently been working on in my sewing space. Project 1: X blocks into a quilt top First, here are almost all the X blocks that I needed for my latest quilt project. See the clips that hold them together? I got a box full of number and letter clips from my friend Soile for my birthday, to use for tagging blocks. There is one of each number from zero to ten, and then alphabets. That’s why I had to be a little creative when using the clips to mark how many blocks there were in each stack. L3 is obviously 13. That was easy enough, but when I’d made all the blocks I needed, I really had to stretch my creativity! Z0 = ten; LT = eleven; I4 = 14, and the upside down J together with 5 make fifteen. I got the idea for these blocks when sewing different X blocks for the “Swiftly Flew the Long-eared Herald” quilt. It took me a couple of tries to get the measurements right (I can see this from the pho...
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