Patches of Destruxion

I have completed the February block of my Tula Palooza sampler quilt. This is part of an Instagram sewalong. This month we had to use the Seeing Double pattern by Then Came June  . The pattern gives options for baby, throw and Queen sized quilts. None of which really fit my plan of doing a single block. The basic block from the pattern is a 16-patch on point. I didn't think that would sit right with my other block. So I worked out a way to adapt it for my wishes, using two blocks. Here's my fabric pull. It took a couple of attempts to work out something where I was happy with the dark-to-light gradient effect. Following the pattern, I pieced short strips. To stop it becoming too big, I reduced the strip width to 3 inches. I then cut them into units and pieced them into two blocks. Yes, I know one of the blocks is a bit wonky in the middle. That decided for me which block I would need to slice up. Because hiding my wonky sewing is my quilti...

Hello everyone! Decided to make a foray into the world of upcycling / transformation challenges. And convert some little trousers into a skirt for my daughter. From this... ...to this! I used a pair of trousers that my younger son has now grown out of. They are size 2-3 years. Thorough wear by both my sons means they had a hole in the knee. I started by chopping the legs off, just above the hole. I figured this would make the resulting skirt roughly knee length. I then unpicked the crotch. I selected a contrast fabric to stitch into the the triangles created by unpicking. After measuring, I went for 5 inch squares, but I really wish I had cut them bigger, as there was only just enough to hand stitch them on.  There was also a little more difference in size between the front and back than I anticipated. Pinned... ...and sewn. Finally, I stitched some bias binding round the bottom to act as a neat hem and cover up any messiness. I hand ...

Hello everybody! When I posted recently about my orphan block box , I came across this block and mused it could make a good Valentine's cushion. I realised I had everything in my stash that I needed to do this, including a cushion insert. It only needed a one-inch border to fit the insert. So, while watching the Great British Sewing Bee, I added the border and backing, and here it is! One finished appliqué heart cushion in time for Valentine's Day! This is actually my second finish for the year. The first, which I also finished yesterday, was the mini quilt I made for the log cabin swap. I will post about that after it has been received by its intended recipient. I thought this would be a good place to tell the tale of another Valentine's cushion. It was 2004, and I was living up a Pyrenean mountain in Navarre, Spain. Which was very pretty, but isolated. Me being me, I had still located my nearest Local Quilt Shop (next to the tourist inf...

The fussycuttingsewalong has kicked off with a bang this year! Lots of new people have joined us over on IG. It's good fun so far. This year is all about diamonds. The January theme has been Living Coral, which is the Pantone Colour of the Year. I had far more coral fabric than I thought in my stash, which meant I could do more than one block in some weeks and experiment a little. Here are all my January blocks. As you can see there's enough for a hexie flower. I have a working idea for how to put these together into a quilt, but it makes a pretty massive quilt, so I am hoping my brain prunes it down to something more sensible over the next few months. Week 1 was focussed on whole motifs in the inner diamonds. I did two blocks. I love the coral trombones fabric it was so soft to work with. I think of this block as being like a fanfare, announcing the new shape. The second block begged me to be made as soon as I put my template down on the fabric over the flow...