Edinburgh Quilt Festival

It was a fantastic day. For starters, I could browse through hundreds of fat quarters, half meters and yards of gorgeous fabrics. And then, when my shopping fever calmed down I was admiring beautiful quilts entered into competition.
Do not ask me which one won in what category, I have no idea. I just admired the ones that I loved and I hope you will admire them too (please excuse the photos quality but it was inside and the lightning wasn't good).
After stitching so many rainbows and colourful quilts this beauty in '50 shades of grey' got my instant attention. Stunning work.

These two are the same design but different colourways, the difference is huge, I had to look twice to notice that they are the same! I love the 9-patch border, it is soo effective.

I think it is pretty obvious why this one  got on my list, the coulours are awesome. Spring itself couldn't choose better ones. But look at the quilting, especially in the middle, it is beautiful.

I am on my knees, look at the little squares! They are 1 inch squares! And there is so many of them... How skillful, experienced and brave the maker must be!

And more shades of grey. I am not a fan of batiks but this one almost made me buy some :)

Ha, I can find a rainbow anywhere, and this stunning piece was easy to spot. Beautiful wall-hanging!

And now my favourites, quilts that are pictures.These two are a set and show the same seaside view in two different seasons. Look at the grasses! these are threads  of the frayed fabric, what a brilliant idea. And the metallic thread to quilt the sea... brilliant.

Miniature quilts. Do I have to say more? The brave people who make log cabin, flying geese, nine patch and more in a fraction of the normal size? (I was trying to figure it out and I think it is like 1/144 but I could be wrong)

They are maybe, maybe big enough to be a mug rug...

You know what will you get when you mix all the colours of the rainbow? White! And this beauty in white and cream with so many intricate details is amazing. Every block is different, buttons, shells, beads plus every fabric-prettifying technique you can imagine... you could hold a year course of textile art based on this piece.

Now, the set of two. Imagine you are on a walk in the woods. What would you see if you look down?

And above?

Brilliant, isn't it?

And finally something to remind me that quilts are about quilting, and quilting is not just to hold the layers together:

So inspiring... Thank you to all quilters who achieve this level of skill and let others be inspired by their work.

Babushka notebook covers

Another two notebook covers - this time it was much quicker, less painful (I am getting used to sewing with pins...) but still so much fun!

This lovely babushka fabric was asking to be cut in horizontal stripes. I found four solid colours that really bring up the cheerful tones:

 but I decided to go with two colour schemes: sweet - with pink and orange,

 and cool - with green and blue.

Next I am thinking yellow and green... or maybe just red... Any ideas?
Size A5, £9.

Bird of a feather notebook cover

The moment I saw this birdie fabric I was in love.

I was trying to resist temptation but it was futile. When it finally arrived in post I pushed everything else aside, and I knew I won't be able to focus before I change it into... into...Ha! Notebook cover!

Few hours of cutting, pinning,sewing, colour matching and ironing it was done.

It was such a fun to make, these birds were tweeting and singing to me all the way :D
And I am really pleased with the result. I think it looks good from every angle.

Well, may be the first but it definitely won't be the last cover I'll make. I have a whole line of them already planned, and off course I am happy to take any custom orders.

Size B5, £10.

Forever summer - baby quilt

Making this quilt was a bit like making a magic potion, adding carefully all the ingredients to make a bit of summer:
Orange - for warmth...
Yellow - for brightness...
Pink - for cuteness...
Blue - for balance...
Flowers...
And a bit of green - just to set it off...

This quilt is a square measuring approx 27 inches/70 cm. It's a 'baby' size, suitable for cot, pram, for swaddling or to use as a playmat.
Made with a 100% cotton and the best polyester batting so it can be machine washed and tumble dried again and again.

Quilted "in the ditch" - the lines of stitching are barely visible on the top but they form nice and simple pattern on the bottom.

To add coziness the bottom layer is made with cream brushed cotton (flannelette) which is softer and warmer to the touch then standard cotton fabric.

The edges are bind with a double layer of cotton for strength and carefully finished by hand.

The price is £35 plus P&P. If interested please PM me on FB www.facebook.com/stitchingarainbow or email me at stitchingarainbow@gmail.com.

Spinning a rainbow - baby quilt

I was thinking about keeping this one for myself as a wall-hanging... But I cannot be that selfish :)

This quilt is a baby quilt suitable for cot, pram, swaddling and to use as a play-mat. It's square, side measures approx. 27 inches/70 cm. Made with a 100% cotton with the best polyester batting, it can be machine washed and tumble-dried again and again.

Bright and bold rainbow pinwheels are spinning together with a wavy lines of quilting.

The bottom layer is made of a cream brushed cotton so it is warm and gentle for the baby's skin.

The edge is bind with the double layer of cotton for strength and carefully hand finished.

The price is £50 plus P&P. If interested, please PM me on FB www.facebook.com/stitchingarainbow or e-mail me at stitchingarainbow@gmail.com.

Contact me

Well, if you like what you see on my blog and you are thinking of ordering a quilt yourself you can contact me via e-mail:

stitchingarainbow@gmail.com

or send me a message on facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/stitchingarainbow

When you tell me what you want: size, colours, motifs, special fabrics, pictures - you can be as specific or as general you like, I will come up with 3 designs (with prices) for you to choose from. And then you decide if you want to order.
It will take 3-6 weeks depending on size and fabric availability to complete the order.

It's red with cats and dogs

This post is about making a quilt for a 10 year old boy who really knows what he likes and what he wants. First, it has to be red. Second, it has to be funny. Third, it has to be warm.
It took me months to gather all the fabrics. I decided to go red, black and white. The cats fabric was first, it got approved as funny enough. Then it was the one with scottie dogs: black, red and white and we live in Scotland... approved.

And then it got tougher. I did not realize that all this lovely black and white and red fabrics have floral motives, or hearts, or floral motifs. And they appeared to be black and white but in fact were black and  off-white, grrr...
I searched high and low, all the time checking with my boy if he likes what I've found:
Football? Sure.
Dots? Well, ok.
Zebra? Yeah.
Blah blah blah? Great!
Stripes? Ok.
Numbers? Smiley faces? Yeah!
And finally I had all the fabrics I needed. I decided to use rather small 2 inch squares with 4 inch squares in the middle to make this quilt busy, funny and energetic.

There was a lot of hand quilting which I think turned out really nice

 and as usual hand sewing the binding for nice and strong finish.

On the back after consulting with my boy I've used brushed cotton and it really made the quilt warmer and cosier. If you look closely you could see the quilting pattern, well, if in doubt use red and you can go wrong with my boy.

And here it is, used and loved every day since it was finished... no, wait. The quilt was actually used before it was finished, my boy would ask in the evening if there is a needle in it and if it wasn't he'd sleep underneath it, raw edges and all.

All in all - approved.