All quiet on the sewing front

Things have been quiet on the blog as there has not been much sewing going on. It seems that my sewing get-up-and-go has got up and gone. Even though I’ve not felt like sewing, I was missing not sewing, so last weekend I decided that it was time to dust off the sewing machine and sew something.

First to do was to make a belt loop for my husband’s jeans. This loop has been missing since the jeans were bought and was a fairly quick job once I had bleached the denim to the same shade. As my machine didn’t like sewing through all the layers, I had to find ways to get the same effect but sewing through fewer layers of fabric. In the end, a combination of machine and hand sewing resulted in a passable replacement.

Next was to start some selfish sewing for me. I’ve had two French General layer cakes (Chateau Rouge and Rounneries Deux) in my stash for over a year. Some of the fabrics I used earlier in the year to make my Mommy Poppins bag, but the rest were being saved for a quilt for me.  If  fabrics that I'd admired for so long couldn't get me sewing again, then nothing would. After putting to one side any solid or cream layers, I set about picking 21 red and 21 light layers and pairing them up to make “bordered square” blocks (on checking in my Barbara Brackman Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns, I discovered that these are called "Blocks in a Box").

 

All the blocks were made in time for Monday’s LiverpoolSewing Club and I spent the entire evening trying to come up with the perfect “random” layout.  After seeing the photo of the final version from Monday, I’ve spotted a few blocks that I think need moving.

 

I’m wondering about using the solid layers to add a border and then there is the backing to consider. Part of me wants to do a “proper” quilt with wadding and using the cream layers in a pieced backing and part of me wants to do a quick quilt with just a fleece backing. Hopefully the sewing momentum will continue and you won't have too long to wait to find out what I decided to do.