Julie Rutter-1
Playful Pinwheels Quilt

I’m really pleased to be able to share my Playful Pinwheels Quilt which features in Love Patchwork and Quilting Magazine Issue 36 – out today!  I’d had a quilt along the lines of the eventual design in mind for quite some time but it took a bit of jiggling around to get the final layout.  All the fabrics on the quilt top are from Art Gallery Fabrics, mostly from Happy Home by Caroline Hulse.  I very quickly settled on this fabric line for the quilt, I love the very summery colours in Happy Home which give a bright and happy feel but aren’t too loud or overwhelming. Art Gallery Fabrics uses a particularly high thread count and fine weave in their fabric and the result is a very soft and smooth cotton.  It is beautiful to work with (I can’t wait to get this quilt home again!).

The finished Playful Pinwheels Quilt is 87 1/2 inches square…..I love the 1/2 inch measure in such a big quilt (it fits a king size bed) but if pieced accurately it really should end up that size!  Its pretty straightforward although I was fairly careful about print and pattern placement especially for 5 focus blocks and so piecing with them in mind required a bit of concentration.  Otherwise there’s a lot of sewing together off-white strips involved!

Do let me know if you ever make one, I’d really love to know!

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travel sewing mat
folded mat ready for travel

I’m delighted to be able to share the Travel Sewing Mat which I designed for Love Patchwork and Quilting Issue 35.  Once again that feels like such a long time ago (I sent it off in February).  But I do remember the amount of puzzling that went into getting the details just as I wanted them.  I had in mind some specific features so that it would work well as a travel sewing mat but I also wanted it to work as an everyday one too.  The first pincushion was a lovely size, if it had been stand-alone but looked enormous alongside the mat.  And I couldn’t quite work out how to make the pincushion and thread-catcher work with a fold-up mat until I came up with the plan of slotting the pincushion into the thread-catcher – it is so fun when the design starts falling into place (and a relief too given that I want to get it exactly right for the magazine!).

If you fancy making your own you’ll need to hunt down a copy of Love Patchwork and Quilting Magazine Issue 35.  It’s a little fiddly in parts but not too difficult – and will take much less time than a quilt does!  Thank you to all the lovely folk at LPQ – I love the opportunity they give me to play around with fabric and thoroughly enjoy the challenge of coming up with something that is hopefully worth being featured in their beautiful magazine. It really is a huge pleasure.

What about Me Made May 2016?  Well, I have reviewed my wardrobe and existing handmade clothes and have a pretty good mental plan of where to go next but I really would like to share it all here……..I’m just struggling with time a little at the moment.  I have quite a lot going on behind the scenes with some very exciting plans for keeping myself busy once Katie starts school in August.  But it isn’t entirely down to that – the garden is calling, cooking good family food is an ever present desire, not to mention walking the dog and looking after my wee rascals (the human ones!) and, as ever, I’m always very good at getting excited about new ideas and fresh approaches and find it much harder to follow all the way through to the end!  Do you do that too?

clipped corners lpq 34 imageHi, I hope you’re enjoying a lovely holiday Monday (I guess this only applies to UK people- sorry to those of you who’re having a ‘normal’ Monday!).  We’re still experiencing incredibly cold and changeable weather.  This morning we set off for a family walk in cold but sunny weather to be met half-way round with biting wind and driving rain and sleet.  Still, we all had a great time and any cobwebs are well and truly washed off and blown away.  We ‘warmed’ up afterwards with ice cream……..apart from me who has far more sense and had a chocolate brownie and coffee!

Anyhow, I just wanted to pop in and share a quilt that I made back in January and which is in this month’s Love Patchwork and Quilting Magazine (Issue 34).  It always seems strange to work so hard on a quilt or project and not be able to share anything about it until months later – but it doesn’t stop the thrill of opening the magazine and seeing my work photographed so beautifully and my name in print!

If you fancy an easy and dramatic quilt then this is for you…….it takes a while but is worth the effort, especially to show off bold colours like those in the Alison Glass fabric I used.

Details::

Fabric: Alison Glass, Fat Quarter Bundles of Handcrafted 2 and Sunprint 2015 Ink

and, Robert Kaufman, Essex Yarn Dyed Linen in Charcoal

Dimensions: Finished quilt measures 90in square (it’s a big one!)

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girl charlee jersey tophandmade jersey topplantain tshirt jersey and liberty liberty elbow patches liberty collar jersey knit plantain t-shirt

Here’s my latest top, the Plantain T-shirt by Deer and Doe.  I thought you might like a break from holiday photos (and I really couldn’t wait to share the top as I’m very pleased with it)!  I have been on a bit of a hunt for a knit top in a shape that really works for me.  I tried the Brigitte Top by Tessuti recently and, while I’m fairly happy with the results (and will share it also as I learnt a big lesson while sewing the top), it wasn’t really what I have been looking for……I guess what I want is a long-sleeve fairly close fitting top which will work under cardigans, under some of my me-made woven fabric tops and on it’s own too.

I think this may be the one.  What do you think?  I wonder if it is a little tight across the shoulders?  Apart from that one query I really do love it – helped, most definitely, by the lovely striped jersey and the Liberty neckline and elbow patches!

I had a good hunt around before deciding to try the Plantain tshirt (which is, incidentally, a free pattern) and the one aspect I wasn’t sure about was the neckline.  The pattern neckline looked too low for me, but otherwsie the shape looked good, so I thought I’d have a go at adjusting the pattern.

plantain tshirt neck adjustment

deer and doe plantain cutting out

I thought you might like to know how I did it – but although it worked for me I can’t promise it is a fool-proof method! Once I had the Plantain pattern taped together (it is a digital download) I compared it with my traced pattern-piece for the Scout Tee…..the Plantain is much lower.  To adjust it I aligned the shoulders of the two pattern pieces and copied the Scout neckline onto the Plantain.  My photo shows the new neckline in pencil, I have moved the Scout pattern down so that you can see the new neckline with the Plantain’s printed line showing faintly underneath – quite an adjustment isn’t it?

Having seen this wonderful combination of Liberty neckline with striped jersey I couldn’t resist trying for myself.  I was wary about whether I could get it to work – the woven Liberty obviously doesn’t have the stretch that the recommended jersey neckline would have.  I decided to start with cutting the Liberty, on the bias, at the length in the Plantain pattern – which would have been too long if I was using jersey because my adjustment had made the neckline much shorter.

plantain checking in mirror woven fabric neckline tutorial

To play safe I sewed the neckline on first with quite a long straight stitch and then tried it on (hopefully sinewy neck and large hand aren’t too scary!)…..it looked pretty okay, I thought, and with the side seams pinned outside-in the overall shape seemed good too.  Next step was to sew the Liberty on properly with my machine’s overlocker stitch, closely following the straight-stitch line.  Then I cropped the excess Liberty inside the neckline and finally finished with a straight stitch to hold the seam in place.

I used the same Liberty for the elbow patches.  And the result is a top I’m very happy with and which I’m sure will get lots of use.

Let me know if you have any questions or if any of the above needs clarifying. How are things with you?  We have had a lovely spell of relatively warm and dry weather – I got three loads of washing dried on the line today.  A small thing really but it makes me very happy!

Details::

Pattern:: Plantain T-shirt, modified with a) neckline from Scout Tee, b) woven fabric Liberty bias binding neckline and c) longer sleeves (around 3cm)

Fabric:: Knit jersey from Girl Charlee -this is a light to mid weight fabric with a really nice drape

Size:: 40, a little bigger than I would normally make but my printer wouldn’t cooperate and was printing off-scale slightly on the small side…….the resulting pattern pieces are pretty spot-on I think except for the shoulder query

Sewing::  I used my walking foot (I think I would have found the fabric tricky otherwise as it is very drapey) and chose the interlock stitch on my sewing machine.  I didn’t hem the bottom or sleeves….I like the unfinished look this gives

Flower Power quilt by Julie Rutter for Love Patchwork & Quilting issue 22 I’m belatedly popping in here to share with you my Flower Power Quilt which featured in Love Patchwork and Quilting Issue 22.  It is by far the biggest quilt I have ever made* and I have to confess scared me rigid in case I couldn’t quilt it successfully.  But, despite my worries, it did work, phew!  There’s a coordinating cushion too which was a much simpler task.  I used an interfacing method to make the circular flowers and orange peel leaf shapes and straight-forward bondaweb for the stems – it is simple to make and just becomes a little tricky because of the sheer size……….it could very easily be scaled down to something more manageable!

* Flower Power is now draped over our extra big Ikea King Size bed………it is such a treat** to finally have a quilt made by me on our bed

** although it won’t be left on the bed tonight as it is warm** at last, woohoo!

***we had a brief but dramatic thunderstorm this afternoon which had a rather devastating effect on Islay – she came off the school bus in floods of tears, verging on hysterics, because of the lightning and thunder.  We don’t really get electric storms here in Scotland and I don’t think she has experienced one before.  Poor girl.

 

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Photo from Love Patchwork and Quilting

I was so delighted to have another design featured in Love Patchwork and Quilting.  The Full Of Beans play set is a quick make and the storage bucket could be used for lots of things (now that it is back with me the bucket is being used for knitting projects – and the number bean bags will be gifted this weekend to one of Katie’s wee friends).  The joy of seeing my design beautifully photographed and featured in such a great magazine is hard to describe…..I don’t think I’ll ever get over the fun of opening the issue and hunting for my project!

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It seems like such a long time since I popped in here, and there’s lots to catch up on, but first I wanted to share my Liberty bunny comforter – This Little Rabbit – who featured in the latest issue of Love Patchwork and Quilting (Issue 20).  I do wish I had little baby of my own to give her to!

I’ve had the idea of making a bunny comforter at the back of my mind for several years now but it wasn’t until the lovely Jenny commissioned her for the magazine that I thought to pair the flannel, which I’d always intended to use, with Liberty.  She’s a perfect project to showcase the gorgeous small scale prints which Liberty does so well and to play with their lovely fabric without breaking the bank – and, of course, Liberty Tana Lawn is the softest of cotton fabrics.  Combined with squishy flannel she’s very lovely to hold and cuddle.  I’m pretty sure she’d be equally lovely as a ‘he’! I’d love to know if you do make a bunny comforter of your own – whether it is of the boy or girl variety!

I do hope you had a lovely time at Easter and have been able to enjoy this glorious weather…….I’m so enjoying seeing some sunshine and feeling that the ground is warming up ready for new growth but is it causing me some anxiety – I don’t know how to split my limited free time between gardening and sewing……any solutions?!  Admittedly I can do a lot of my garden plans with Katie but, just occasionally, it is more relaxing to enjoy it without endless questions and with a little more efficiency!

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little house doorstop
Little house doorstop – image from The Village Haberdashery

I am delighted to have a quick and easy little house door stop tutorial over on The Village Haberdashery’s blog – The Daily Stitch.  I was surprised at how taken my children were with the door stop…..it really seemed to tickle their fancy.  It is a lovely wee project and I think would be a great house warming gift – you could have lots of fun personalising the house.  If you make one please do let me know, I’d love to see it!

 

forest-poppy-apron-in-love-patchwork-and-quilting
Forest Poppy patchwork apron
cafe-apron-and-tea-towels-in-love-patchwork-and-quilting
In Love Patchwork and Quilting!

Thank you so much for your very kind comments lately.  It was lovely to know that you had found my new site, to read your healing wishes for Islay and that you liked the apron and tea towels.   I am still very giddy with excitement, and can’t quite believe, that my sewing has been featured in a magazine.  I had the shock of my life when Jenny, the lovely editor of Love Patchwork and Quilting, emailed me and asked if I’d be interested.  She’s very lucky that I restrained myself and didn’t bite her arm off!  Can you forgive me for sharing a couple more photos, these will be the last I promise?!  I have a spare copy of the magazine here, would anyone be interested in it?  I’ll happily post anywhere.  As I said before, it is a great magazine and the one that I have been enjoying the most recently (alongside Quilt Now, which is a new magazine edited by Katy, and looks to be going from strength to strength).

I’m delighted to say that Islay’s arm is doing all that it should be.  She had a check-up yesterday and the bones are still sitting exactly as they should be.  She isn’t allowed out to play for a long time, probably about 12 weeks – her poor wee face fell completely when this was reinforced yesterday.  But since I found her at the top of our climbing frame, within 24 hours of being wheeled out of theatre (you can imagine the fright she gave me), I really think it is a very good idea.  She will get through a lot of books in three months if she can’t let off steam outside.  Hopefully, once the cast is off, we can try to swim regularly.  Not so easy up here as we need to drive half an hour to the nearest pool, but it will be worth it to keep her busy!

I’m afraid I can’t share any photos of this weekend’s sewing but I have some interesting links to share::

Lily and Charlie would love one, or two, of these

If you love fabric and creativity, or even if not, I’d urge you to read this.  I’m afraid that I was in complete ignorance until yesterday.  I will be far more aware, and careful, when fabric buying in the future.  I was pointed to the post from Kerry’s blog.

Kerry also links to this article which is equally fascinating.

Do you like lists? I do, I have them dotted all around the place and have yet to find a system which I’m happy with.  I think this may well be worth a try.

 

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A quick pop in to say ‘hi’ and to let you know that I have a tutorial for making a Cosy Kid Cowl  (using knit fabrics) over on Annie’s (The Village Haberdashery) The Daily Stitch blog.  This is just about the easiest knit fabric project ever and is very rewarding……….for only a little time and effort you can make one small person very happy (for evidence just take a look at Annie’s Harvey, at the top of the tutorial, and my Katie, at the bottom!).

Annie and I are cooking up a little giveaway too………..watch this space!

I do hope that you are all well.  We’re in house selling limbo at the moment.  Nothing much happening, maybe it will pick up after Easter (she says hopefully!).  John and I are off to Inverness tomorrow.  He’s doing some work stuff and we’ll also look at a few houses, and visit another primary school, to try and make a final decision about which area, and school catchment, we’d like to live in.  We really don’t want to move the kids, school-wise, more than once so feel we need to decide where we’re going to be and then commit to it – so even if we start off renting we’ll have to keep our eyes blinkered so we don’t run the risk of falling in love with a house in another area.  There’s so many decisions to make and it all feels a little difficult when we don’t have much control of the timsecale.  Well, except for the fact that John starts in less than 2 weeks time!  And that we’d really like to have the kids up there for the start of the school year in August.

See you soon for giveaway time.  Wishing you all the best and thanks so much for sticking with me and my sporadic blogging!