Tilkunviilaaja®

A square is a great shape in quilts. I’m may seem to be stating something obvious because the majority of quilt blocks are square, but this is not the single reason for the square’s greatness. Squares and other straight-edged shapes are easy to handle. In contrast, sewing a flat surface out of curvy shapes is difficult, and thus a great way to show off your sewing skill. One will never be admired for one’s ability to sew squares together! Because quilting is not a competition sport for me, I don’t mind taking things easy. One of the things I love about squares is that when you sew a piece, press and trim it into an exact square, it will be easy to sew together with a similar one and create a flat surface. It takes a bit more time and accurate trimming, but no elite expertise. Just look at these un-pressed, un-trimmed nine-patch pieces and imagine how hard it would be to sew them together like they are here, and avoid the seams turning willy-nilly! Same-sized squares are inter...

I wonder how many want to read tips about using ugly colours and fabrics in quilting. But oh well, perhaps you are here because you are curious. If you are here. An ugly colour is any colour that you don’t like. The reason may be anything, really. I don’t like mustard yellow because it reminds me so much of the 1970s classrooms, rife with the odour of sweat. And there is a particular green that I find exceptionally ugly. Though my principle is to use fabrics that please me, I did challenge myself once in 2020 to sew something using mustard-yellow fabric. The result: Catlandia / Kissalandia quilted zipper pouch: What to watch out for when using ugly colours and fabrics? Though you may feel that you need to use the ugly-coloured or otherwise unpleasant-looking fabrics in your stash – or feel that you have to challenge yourself like that – don’t overdo it. It’s so much more fun to handle attractive, likeable fabrics. Why force yourself spend time with colours that you don’t much li...

This quilt project saw its first public appearance in June, when I shared what was on my sewing table just then. It’s fascinating that I’d written this when I only had ten blocks ready: “My vision is to sew the nine-patch blocks together somewhat at random – only creating pools of colour that flow across the quilt surface.” – When you see the picture of the finished quilt top, you can see if I achieved that vision! In my July greetings from the sewing table, I was completely taken by this project. This is what I said: “I've been working my way through my many containers of leftover fabric pieces (they hold resource pieces, not scraps) and pulling out everything that's large enough to yield at least one 2" square. Quite often I find pieces large enough for me to cut three squares but not four. Why is that? It’s so inconvenient because I need two sets of four squares for each block.” In that post, I described the process of making these blocks and shared several p...

My quilt studio has been unusually quiet since mid-August. First, I spent a relaxing summer vacation at a cottage/villa by a small lake, then had a short mini-break in a hotel, and then my first working week included a lot of activity and a few long days. The first quilting project by the lake was a hand-sewing one. I made hexagons out of scraps using the English paper piecing method and cardboard shapes that I've made many years ago. Though most hexies don't have a specific role yet, some are already attached together into small pieces that I’ll later use as details on my zipper bags. Here’s one example: Of course many of the hexies will become the end pieces for the zippers in pouches that I make for my Open series. Second quilting project. Back at home, when I finally had the energy and opportunity, I worked tenaciously to finish all the nine-patch blocks that I still needed for the quilt surface. I cut squares, sewed nine-patches and pressed. Here are the last 16 bl...