A Long Overdue Blog Post with Another Glam Clam Quilt

Hello there,

Its been a while since I last blogged.  The whole of 2015 was focused on graduating from University and the whole of this year 2016 was juggling work, supervising at the student clinic and building up my private practice in Traditional Chinese medicine, and on top of that, trying to find some balance in life between work and play.  Needless to say, my quilting days has been numbered.  However, I am doing some form of sewing mainly English paper piecing and I am more active on Instagram.  I also hope to blog a bit more in 2017, fingers crossed I would have the time to share some of creative works with you all.

First up, I would love to share this baby quilt that I had made for my niece in 2015.  I was high on curves that year and used the Glam Clam design to the max.

Initially, this quilt was designed based on using a gradient effect but the description by Karen from Pieces of Contentment where she said "[The quilt] made an entire landscape with river, grass, hills, mountains, soft clouds and even a hot air balloon" best sums up this quilt design.

I have used the pattern and template when Latifah Saafir first introduce Glam Clam into the quilting world back in 2015.  She has now made the pattern into an easy to follow instruction booklet and a very cool Glam Clam template.  You can purchase both the template and pattern from the lovely Latifah Saafir Studio.  You can also find this quilt featured in the pattern booklet as variations to using this pattern (proud quilting moment!)

This quilt is mainly featured my all time favourite Briar Rose fabric collection by Heather Ross.  I only had Fat eight of each fabric collection so I had look into my stash to combine other fabric into the quilt.  There are some Nicey Jane, Sweet as Honey, Twice as Nice, and Catnap fabrics mainly sewed at the top of the quilt.

Up close of the fabric you can find lovely illustrations of frogs and bees and if you look closely you can find a grasshopper somewhere in the mix.  This quilt conjures up both whimsical and fun feelings with its bright colours, flowers and animals.

I have used simple grid quilting lines which produced a waffle effect.  This is probably my go to quilting style when I want it to be simple yet modern and I can't figure out how to quilt the end product.

This quilt now lives in London with my lovely niece Rosamund, whom I have been told by the mum that she uses the quilt as a blanket and for play.  That makes me heart swell with happiness when quilts I have made are loved and hugged constantly.

Quilt facts:

Finished size - 40" x 52"

Glam clam template size - 8" template ruler

Quilt top fabric - mixture of Briar Rose fabric collection, Nicey Jane, Sweet as Honey, Twice as Nice, and Catnap fabrics

Backing fabric - Wee Wanderer by Sarah Jane

Batting - 100% cotton 

Thread - 60wt Aurifil 

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed looking at the photos

Jacqueline xx

Cats and Clam Shells

 This is a commissioned quilt that I was really excited to make.  Since stepping out of my comfort zone in sewing curves from the Flowering Snowball Along Quilt, I have wanted to step it up with the confidence I had gained from the sew-along to make a clam shell quilt.

 I fell in love with the clam shell quilt when the 'Glam Clam Quilt' by Latifah Saafir burst into the quilting scene a couple of years back (I think it was a couple of years back).  I was dying to make one however, I was not ready to face the dreaded curves back then.

I was very lucky that I had a friend that wanted a clam shell quilt and she had commissioned me to make one (all about timing they say!).  If you are interested in making a Glam Clam Quilt, you can access a free tutorial here. 

I decided to use the 8" clam shell template as I thought the 12" block might be too big for a baby quilt.  I also think that 8" is a better size as I like small and intimate blocks but a 12" block would look just as amazing!

We decided on Lizzy House Catnap Bundle which in my opinion has the loveliest fabric prints.  I have used mainly the coral, grey, mustard and pink fabric as this was for a baby girl and mixed them up with an assortments of grey fabrics and solid white.

Catnap is a fun and cute fabric bundle with addition of simple geometry prints to compliment the bumdle.  I especially love the mice print that is quirky and funny.  Together with contrasting deep dark chocolate and bright pink super cute cat faces added interesting and playful quality to the quilt.

As for the quilt backing, the client wanted something playful, so we decided on Flamingos which went extreme well with the rest of the colour way and feel of the quilt.

When it came to the quilting process, I was a little unsure on how to proceed.  I knew my domestic sewing machine and I was not up to quilting curves and I only do straight line quilting for now!  So I thought I might try the waffle quilting look and hope that it would compliment the elegant curves.  I am so glad that it turned out great!  The lines are quilted an inch apart.  This generated a lovely texture and a beautiful draping effect to the quilt.

For the binding, I have opted for a simple stripe binding.  The coral matched really well with the rest of the colour way.  It also added a good contrast to the curves.

Quilt facts:

Quilt design: Glam Clam Quilt 8" block by Latifah Saafir

Quilt size: 40" x 52"

Fabric: Catnap Fat Quarter Bundle by Lizzy House, Silver Tarnish Bundle from Westwood Acres Fabric, Kona Solid in White

Backing Fabric: Lula Flamingo in Orange from the Lula Magnolia Range by The Quilted Fish

Binding: Little Coral Clown Stripe by Michael Miller

Batting: 100% Cotton batten

Quilted using Auril Thread

Thank you for stopping by and Happy Quilting!

Jacqueline xx

Sew Along

Flowering Snowball Quilt

I have always wanted to participate in a sew along but I have never had the time due to school and work commitments.  However, I couldn't resist this Flowering Snowball Along organised by the very talented Mary at Molly Flanders Makerie

Sewing curves has been on my 'To learn' list so I thought this would be a great way to conquer my fear of it.  Mary has a great tutorial on it and once I sewed my first curve, I was hooked!  It wasn't as scary as I had imagined it to be.  Following it step by step made it easy so I didn't freaked out about it.  If you have always wanted to try to sew curves and have put it off because you fear it... I encourage you to try this.  This sew along has broaden my quilting technique and style.  Now to find some time to hand quilt this during summer holidays.

After conquering my fear of curves, on my list of 'To make' quilt is a Glam Clam quilt which I can't wait to tackle now that I have gained some confidence in sewing curves.

Thank you for stopping by and have a great weekend ahead.

Jacqueline
xx