Monday, February 18, 2013

Marmalade Baby Quilt

I've finished my second quilt! And as it often turns out when you are learning a new skill, this second one is a huge improvement on the first. My corners aligned better, my quilting was neater and I was a lot more confident.


This quilt is for my friend Ella's baby girl who is due this week, so hopefully I won't have long to wait before I can wrap it up and give it to her.

I love the Marmalade range by Bonnie & Camille for Moda, so I bought a charm pack and used that for the feature on the front of the quilt. It has a beautiful feminine feel but it's not babyish so hopefully this little girl will love her quilt for a long time! I wish I could afford to buy the whole range in yardage!

 I felt that the pink and red colours were strong enough without adding more, so I bordered it with a yellow solid that coordinates with the yellow tones in the Marmalade charms.


One thing I need to work on is my quilt photography - it's not easy to get a good shot of a quilt, especially with the harsh sunlight of the Aussie summer - it was SO hot today and the sun was glaringly bright. 


 I backed the quilt with an aqua polka dot that coordinates with the aqua in the Marmalade fabric. I chose a multi coloured polka dot binding but I'm not sure I made the right choice - I think the polka dots are too big for a binding, but it looks OK. I love spots and small prints for binding.

I did a much better job of the quilting on this quilt - I bought a walking foot for my sewing machine and that has made a world of difference.


These photos really don't do the quilt justice - the sun was just so bright!!

The one thing I do need to work on is binding and mitering the corners. A couple of corners worked well and a couple were a bit of a dog's breakfast. I need some lessons!I have no problems with smaller projects but bigger projects are harder to bind.


I am working on some scrappy blocks for a quilt for Anna now, and I'd love to make a nice lap quilt for myself by winter time. I think I'd like to use a pattern next time. Do you use patterns or are you more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants quilter?

22 comments:

  1. It looks great, Ros. I love all Bonnie and Camille fabric. The colours are always gorgeous.

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  2. It is beautiful! Looks like you did really well matching up the seams and quilting. Much more professional than my second quilt! I am definitely more in the fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants category, but patterns and tutorials are so nice and help take away some of the stress of figuring everything out yourself! Can't wait to see your next one!

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  3. love your quilt, and bonnie and camille are my absolute favorite fabric designers, they are the only one's I try and buy just for me. i got 2 quilts right now made from both of their first two lines, and the rest of their lines i have some of, just not sure yet what to make.
    as for the sunlight, i tend to not use my flash, and depending on the day, sometimes pictures are better taken first thing in the morning, or later in the evening towards when the sun starts to go down. (not sure how it works where you are),
    and quilting is fun huh? lots of fun, and it can get addicting. i am so glad i took it on years ago, i just wish i had better luck with clothes. someday :D (for some reason clothes+me=disaster.

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  4. awesome! well done!! I started a scrappy quilt about two years ago...oops still not finished! It will look great when it's done. I've never bought a charm pack - a good idea for a quilt. I am working on Juliette's big bed quilt at the moment(among many other things!):)

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  5. Looks great!! I love that fabric range, and the yellow coordinates beautifully with it. I am sure it will be really appreciated.

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  6. Just beautiful Ros. What a lovely collection of fabrics. Beautiful colours. I think you've got bitten by the quilting bug. My Aunt is a quilter and she follows patterns mostly. Beautiful pieces of artwork. She also loves to just whip up a quilt with scraps, just because she can. I wonder if I will ever get to that.

    Anne xx

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  7. Love your quilt, it looks super! Because I generally have at least 5 different things on the go, I use patterns...makes it easier to keep moving forward. The quilts I create take longer, and yes sometimes sit...quite awhile!!!! lol

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  8. Congrats on your second quilt! Photography is tough for me as well--I live in an apartment (dark) and that also means I don't have a yard. You should go to my blog and check out my first quilt--you'll feel better, I promise. I just plunked it flat on the grass and took a picture. I really like that quilt, and it deserved better! Oh well. :)

    I've only used a pattern once, otherwise I use tutorials for individual blocks and go from there. The thing I love about patterns is the cutting directions! I loathe math, and always do it wrong, so it's nice to know how much fabric I need, and exactly how to cut it.

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    1. Also! I agree with you on Bonnie and Camille! They are so great, huh? I'm finally making myself my own quilt (my first one after a year of quilting!) and I'm using their last two lines, Ruby and Vintage Modern, to make it. I can't wait to have it all finished! Except since I'm in the U.S., I'll probably get it done right in time for summer. :P

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  9. Your quilt is lovely. Well done. I agree that a walking foot takes the killer feelings out of quilting. If only one had been available for my old machine. But my new machine has not only a walking foot but another special quilting foot.
    I have tried using patterns but as I hate being told what to do, I just make it up as I go. I have found Youtube to be a great source for solving quilting issues. I have tried using the jelly roll style and found that to be fantastic. My own fabric choices, my own widths, my own product.
    For the photos, I take mine on the verandah or inside so that the light is good but not too bright.

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  10. It's absolutely gorgeous. I just posted a ltitle quilt I finished too and I agree it is hard to photograph them. I find I usually end up with three good mitred corners and one dodgy one! No idea why! I have never followed a pattern but I usually stick to squares and rectangles because I like the look of them. You have done a beautiful job. Be warned tho..quilting is a bit addictive.

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  11. It looks amazing Ros - I love the colour combinations! I'm a bit of fly by the seat of my pants (make up my own pattern) quilter - but I'd love to make more using patterns (you know, just to mix it up a bit!)I've seen some chevron quilts floating round on Pinterest and would be keen to give one of those a go - better finish my English Paper Piecing hexi quilt first though!

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  12. You've done a super job on this. I, too, am only a beginner at this quilting lark, but I'm learning so much from the internet, and I'm getting better with each project that I do. My daughter doesn't quite understand when I say I've had a really good day because my points all matched up!

    I love the Marmalade range and have just bought a Layer Cake of it, together with a couple of pieces of yardage and plains, to make the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt. Only a small sized one as I don't want to tie up all my time on one quilt when there are so many wonderful designs out there that I want to try.

    Good luck on your quilting journey!

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  13. What a pretty quilt. I just want to snuggle up to it. Well done.

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  14. I found you through Mend and Make New. Just stopping by to say that this quilt is just beautiful, love the colour combinations and the binding looks great to me.

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