I've just completed my latest quilt, this has taken me about a year on and off.

I'm calling it the 'charming curtains' patchwork quilt because hubby bought me a charm pack of fabric for December 2009 as a christmas present , Moda "Aviary" ( a charm pack is 42 squares of fabric 5" in size).

That was the starting point, I always wanted to make a quilt as I bought a quilt pattern as well, but some of the pieces were just 1" inch and 2" inch size and I knew I would get fed up making small pieces so I decided it would all be 5" inch squares.

I didn't want to or could afford to buy any more fabric so I've recycled four pairs of curtains and two duvet covers as the colours of the fabric are similar to the quilt pattern, pinks, blues, creams and greens.

The size of the quilt was originally 15 squares by 15 squares

(approx 63" by 63" size) and after sewing the squares together which took about three weeks, at this point I got fed up and it was put away until about three weeks ago, I decided I was going to finish it.

I decided the backing fabric was going to be some curtains I've had since 1991, so I cut the fabric to size, there was also a matching duvet cover as well, so I cut that up for squares for the front of the quilt.

Instead of wadding for the quilt, I'm being eco friendly and I'm using a thin wool blanket which is just stuck in the blanket box and never gets used....

and I was going to make a start on the binding but Kitt cat had other ideas! 

So I've been quilting around all the applique hearts (this yellow fabric is left over from making my Mum's apron a few christmas's ago)

Then I made a start on hand-quilting, I was hoping to machine quilt but because of the weight of the blanket, the quilt was just too heavy to work with so I've laid out the quilt on my large ironing board and decided I would hand quilt every nine squares...

I made a start on the binding, the fabric on the left is what I already had and the fabric on the right is what I bought the other week and I think they go quite well together!

the hand stitching on the back of the binding...at this point I have stitched binding on just over two edges and two corners which I've managed to do very neatly too, I had to practice a few times though!

Altogether over the year, it's taken nearly six weeks to make,the quilt is not perfect, it's lumpy and wrinkly in places, it won't win any craft shows and probably not good enough to sell but I'm pleased with it because I've made a quilt that is going to be used and loved and because it's made from fabrics I already had, it's got lots of memories in it too! 

COT QUILT & BUMPER SET

Kites and clouds appliqué cot quilt and bumper set, made for my son's 1st Birthday.

2009 - AUTUMN RAG QUILT - Wool fabrics

I made this rag quilt for myself by repurposing some clothes. The check fabric was a jacket (it was a lovely jacket except I looked like Rupert the bear!) and the plain brown fabric was a skirt which no longer fitted. I bought the green wool fabric and leaf print fabric new and decided to make a quilt rather than the clothes just stuck hanging in the wardrobe!

RAG QUILT - garden theme

"As I found it difficult to know what to buy my Mum for christmas, I thought I would make another rag quilt as a christmas present.

It was originally a quilt kit but it looked too complicated to make and had been stuck in the cupboard for two years, so rather than waste the fabric, I made this quilt for my Mum who loves gardening, so the garden print fabrics were just perfect. It took me about six weeks to make.

Purple Rag Quilt - December 2011

I've just completed the latest rag quilt - 'Purple Hearts & Flowers'. This has taken me three months to complete and was made for a 21st birthday present.

I've used 200 5" squares in total, each square is quilted with either a heart or flower design, using a mixture of hand and machine quilting.

The label and matching binding are both hand stitched. The quilt is made from cotton fabrics, using a mixture of new fabrics and also recycling two pairs of curtains and a duvet cover.