So, I have REALLY wanted to make a bed-size quilt (full-to queen-size, to fit my own bed, to be specific). I love throw quilts and decorative quilts just as much as the next person, but I feel compelled to make a quilt suitable for long-term, everyday use. I waited patiently for my recent trip to Purl Patchwork, where I bought fabrics to make said quilt (of course, I ran out five days later and had to race to the computer, palms sweating, etc etc in order to buy more–because Purl is the ONLY US retailer that carries this one fabric I was obsessed with–but anyway). Then I made a mock-up log cabin block, to make sure I was fully committed to the project, and this was the result:
I. LOVE. it. The block measures about 17″ square, and I plan to make 30 of them (I got to 24 before I ran out of fabric). The fabrics are:
The two house/ town fabrics are Lucy’s Farm by Liberty (of course, I had to…y’all know how I feel about Liberty prints). The pink dots are a Lecien fabric, and the cherry blossom print is Olympus Soleil (in my second order, I bought enough to make pillows, and effectively bankrupted myself).
There’s also Denyse Schmidt Hope Valley, the Princess and Frog gauze by Kokka, and something from the Retro Garden collection by Kokka. I used a variety of KF shot cottons (my favorite solid). Despite the relative success of this project so far, it was not a good week for me for sewing. I tried to make a shirt this week using this awesome Cynthia Rowley pattern:
Winmil had run out of the cotton I wanted, so I hopped on the bad idea train and picked up a silk charmeuse…and I’ve never sewed with silk before, and it’s been years since I made a garment (and it was an evening gown…don’t ask me why). The voice of Wendy Mullin (of Sew U fame) was echoing in my head: in her recent book on dresses, she explains that even very experienced garment sewers avoid this fabric like the plague.
I carried on and I got the shell completed…I even got so far as completing the gathers, but the binding just. wouldn’t. iron. I thought, “I’m a quilter, I can make a decent binding in no time.” But it was a no-go, and I had to put it away for another time, when I have more experience (plus, the fabric was only $5). I’m actually going to try again, this time with cotton. Usually, this would really get me down, but I desperately want to learn to make my own clothes, so I will persevere!!
Happy quilting, sewing, garment-making, etc…and good luck to those participating in the Ravelympics!
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