Many many moons ago, I ordered the Camelot circular quilt block pattern after seeing Nicolette's beautiful blocks. I tried a block but didn't add a seam allowance and machine pieced it not realizing that it was really intended to be a hand sewing project. I didn't like the block and put the pattern away.
Yesterday, Alison inspired me to do some some different hand stitching from my EPP hexies (after I saw this post). It really inspired me to do some hand piecing and so I dug out the pattern and some template plastic and made Block 1 (it looked the easiest).
I feel like I may have conquered inset seams.
Block 1 Camelot quilt
The actual cutting of fabric takes longer than the hand piecing or so it seems, so I think this will be a block or two a month - if I'm lucky!
I want to make this from scraps and my low volume layer cake from Rebecca's recent swap - once they arrive!
...I played with your heart.
Got lost in the game.
Sorry, I`m not a closet Britney fan but I did it again. I managed to turn a planned more muted block into a block with pink and green fabric in it. Gah!!
Perhaps it was Jane Brocket leaving a lovely comment on this post about a quilt inspired by her book The Gentle Art of Quilt-Making but yesterday I felt like I could do anything and felt like doing something different. So I dug out the pattern for the Camelot quilt by Trish Harper - 16 different circular blocks, which I first saw on Nicolette`s blog. Nicolette is talented beyond words and as modest about her ability and lovely to boot. If you have never seen Nicolette`s work, pop over and say `hi`. You won`t regret it. My quilts until now have usually been made with square or rectangular pieces. Not very challenging piecing wise but remember that yesterday I felt like quilting superwoman. So I dug out my Terrain FQs and got cutting.
You know disaster will strike soon when it`s going really well and you start composing your blog post in your head and then cue the needle scratching the record sound. The instructions for the pattern are brief. They assume a prior knowledge of piecing and that`s okay because I kind of have that and they don`t explain how to cast on when you buy a knitting pattern. I pieced the star using my machine not appreciating that this is intended to be a hand quilting project...and this is why.
I had no idea how to attach these four segments to the star without the point puckering. I machine pieced it to begin with and you`ll see that the result was unimpressive to say the least. I looked on youtube - nothing, the flikr group The Camelot Quilters had a little advice but not much and in the end I emailed Nicolette and she was super helpful. Thanks so much Nicolette.
As it turns out, this is a practice block. I don`t like the large floral in this piece at all - it was a total mistake which is just as well as I have learned that the pattern doesn`t include a seam allowance (?!). A lot of the blocks have this V segment in them so I shall have to get practicing if I`m going to attempt to make this quilt...perhaps next time not using one of my favourite lines of fabric.
Thanks for all the comments about the Red City quilt top. In the end, I gave my mum the final word and she said emphatically, `Change It!`, so I did. I used Hadley`s great advice of separating the top two rows, which was genius as unbeknown to her, it was my weakest seam pointwise. I flipped the top two rows round and it looks better I think.
Before
and after (no outdoor shots today as it`s raining cats and dogs)
I have three reject blocks (cut a fraction too small) so I think I`m going to leave it borderless and try and come up with a back so that I can, as Rhonda says,get that baby basted. So that`s it from this corner of the world. Not much `occurring` (written in a Ruth voice) but I have so much to do, I just have to focus. If you don`t know Ruth, here she is singing a bit of Dolly.
Saturday, 30 July 2011
Perhaps it was the heat or a rush of blood to the head but yesterday I was over at uber-talented Nicolette`s blog, Dutch Comfort and read this post about the Camelot quilt by Trish Harper. I thought it was absolutely gorgeous although anything Nicolette does is amazing (check out her lollipop trees, tile quilts, Dear Baby Jane and farmer`s wife blocks on her flikr page). Anyway, I digress. I thought the design was beautiful and to cut a short story even shorter, I ordered it. Far too ambitious of course. I have a couple of pressing things to finish but hey, it`s something to do in the winter months. When it`s cooler. When Zaki is at pre-school. Yes, something to aspire to.
I have just realized that I purchased the pattern from Lizzie Broderie whose candied hexagons quilt was the inspiration behind Lynne`s HAL. Now there`s synchronicity.
