A Quilted Delight

 

 

I quite often see things on Pinterest, which I love and would love to make, but they would not have a purpose.  Sometimes I pin them anyway, hoping that an event or occasion will come up and I can get my craft on!

A few weeks ago I saw this tutorial for a quilted baby book.  I thought the idea was adorable!  It combined a range of skills; quilting, embroidery, appliqué.  Many of which I haven’t completed recently or for a number of years.  I can confidently say that I can do all three.  However, I haven’t done them for a while so this skill set is a bit rusty!

I have a friend back in England, who at the time of this creation, was pregnant but didn’t know if she was having a boy or a girl.  I thought that this would be a lovely gift as it is very neutral!  I was organised when I went shopping for the fabric.  I made a comprehensive list and tried not to overbuy on fabric.  Even though I did this, I still have loads of spare material left over!

The tutorial was clear and easy to follow. I changed my ‘story’ slightly so it just had lift up flaps with animals beneath.  I did need to seek quilting block tutorials as I thought I they would be simple to make but  joining triangles and squares was not as easy as I thought!  My first attempt was horrendous (see below).

 

 

The quilting block tutorials are listed as follows:

– Churn dash

– Sawtooth

– Friendship 

– Bow Tie

All of the quilting tutorials were great for beginners like me!  I now know how to make and cut perfect little triangles.

I decided not to topstitch around the edges of the pages as recommended in the original tutorial.  I did this because I felt that my machine would struggle to get through all the layers.  I just did a topstitch along the open edge that I had tucked in.  I felt that it didn’t stand out too much due to the busy fabric pattern.

My animals are questionable.  I was told that the song is actually called ‘The Farmer WANTS a Wife’.  I realised that I had forgotten the Farmer and his Wife on the front cover when it was too late, so the reader needs to create their own Farmer and Wife in their head.

Despite its little flaws, I love it and hope the recipient loves it too!