Tilkunviilaaja®

Greetings from my quilt studio (also called "the sewing table")! This is an unusually detailed description of how one of my zipper bags - the one called Opera / Ooppera came to life. A couple of weeks ago, I was going out to an evening do and noticed – again – that neither of my two trusted small purses went well with what I was wearing. I picked up one of my zipper bags, which was an ok choice. However, I felt that I should have a more unicoloured one. Already on the next day, I went through my smaller scraps and from one container, picked up the smallest ones. I made two stacks, one for deeper, another for lighter shades of red/pink. Then I cut a few shop receipts narrower and used them as guides to sew long-ish, scrappy rectangular pieces. My original idea was to build a bag with one darker side and one lighter side. Because I found two precious, long-saved pieces of Tula Pink fabrics, I ended up having a combination of darker and lighter pieces on both side pie...

Today’s post concentrates on turquoise colour in quilts. You will get a tip or two on what to watch out for and many examples of how to use the turquoise colour successfully. The name "turquoise" for the semi-precious stone and its colour comes from the French word "turquois," which means "Turkish". This refers to the stone’s trading origins. (Source: https://www.thefactsite.com/turquoise-facts/ ) Turquoise has an element of both blue and green, and thus it is a close relative to them both. The colour is often associated with inventiveness and creativity. What to beware when using turquoise? To many of us, turquoise brings tropical waters to mind. A bright turquoise together with other bright colours may make the quilt surface resemble a Hawaiian shirt. (Though this may be the quilter’s goal of course.) I planned to create a stunningly beautiful zipper pouch from a combination of turquoise and a lovely red, but the result stunned me in a different...

This latest project of mine began with a tempting charm pack and no real plan, but a lot of hope! Here’s how my Kaffe Fassett squares quilt project started – and where it is now. Fabric bundles have always tempted me because they save me a lot of selecting and buying time. When I go to a fabric shop, it is easier to pick up a bundle of fat quarters, for example, than it is to pull the fabric I would like, then have the salesperson make the cuts. A bundle will also relieve me of the decision on how much to buy. Bundles are great that way, too! I’ve rarely bought charm packs or layer cakes though, and when I have, I’ve struggled to use them. I haven’t wanted to cut them up, nor have I figured how to use them whole. Until the recent purchase of a Kaffe Fassett charm pack. I came up with an idea of sorts for using the squares as they are, in scrappy blocks. And because all my fabrics and scraps are prewashed (because the not prewashed fabrics irritate my skin), I gave the squares a ...

Last autumn, I decided to make two different projects that would feature hundreds of 2,5-inch squares. The first one has already been quilted, and I should only label, trim, and bind it. In this post, I’ll tell you more about the second one. Both projects launched in September 2025. For this one, I made a test block of 16 squares and one half of the needed X block: That is how far this project progressed until the end of December. The first project was almost done and I needed to review the situation. I had quite a few 16-blocks left over: And I also wanted to make more, using a different design. The blocks in the other project always had four same-hued squares running from corner to corner. In the new project, I wanted the 16-patches to be more random. As soon as I had a few complete blocks done, I made a small composition on the floor – just to see how the blocks might look together: Soon, I had a few more blocks, and wanted to set up a “mini quilt” with the intended design....

When you know the importance of value contrast in a quilt, the next step is to think about colours and colour contrast. In this post, I share my thoughts on orange as a colour in quilts. I’ll share tips on what to watch out for and on how to consciously use the orange colour for effect. In colour psychology, orange represents friendliness, excitement, and creativity. It can spark people into action. You have probably noticed that the ”buy” and ”subscribe” buttons on websites are orange – and it is exactly because orange is more likely to make you click. What to beware when using orange in a quilt? Orange is a high-visibility colour, and it attracts attention. Orange and blue are colour opposites: a pure orange (a product of red and yellow) and pure blue have no common colour base. A vivid orange and blue will be likely to give a glaring effect when placed next to each other. On a quilt surface, placing yellows or reds next to oranges will not necessarily create value contras...