Modern Maples.....

Way back in October my sister commissioned me to make a birthday quilt for her friend. I suggested the Modern Maples pattern which is a free pattern that has been floating around for some time. The recipient lives in the Adelaide Hills which is the city's home to autumnal foliage....even when it's not Autumn. (It was actually Spring time when she received her quilt in late October!)

I loved making this quilt. The blocks are really straight forward and is a great way to feature individual fabrics in a large-sh way. I chose to make my maple leaves traditionally autumnal so I got to use quite a few fabrics that were languishing in the cupboard because they don't usually go with my other fabric pulls. But together in this quilt....they were awesome.

The back features the last of my Ikea bird fabric in the brown. In fact, it was several long strip pieces that I jigsawed together in Kona Snow frames. My photos don't show this but it merged together really well.

If you'd like to make this quilt you can find the free download here!

Linking up to Crazy Mom's Finish it up Friday....even if I did finish it a few Friday's ago!

Strips from the scrap bag....

I've often said how I don't throw away any of my fabric off-cuts. These are stored ...ahem...hoarded...in various storage systems around my sewing space. I have zip-lock bags of triangles from bindings and selvages. Bigger pieces are 'filed' in other receptacles. But my best bits are the strips that get cut from backing sides or rectangles left over from cutting out blocks. These are all filed in my strip scrap bag which is one of those study studded plastic bags that you get when you buy a set of sheets.

The strip scrap bag has been bursting at the seams for some time now and needed a little urgent attention. So with one of my client's baby due date drawing closer, I thought I'd merge the two situations to my quilt making advantage. I love a small baby quilt finish. It delivers such satisfaction.

Ready made strips are ideal for scrappy log cabins. Very little preparation aside from straightening an edge or two...unless you're purposefully going for wonky....! I chose a range of centre squares of varying sizes and rainbow colours to start me off and worked out from there. I was aiming for 12 blocks around 14" right from the start, so it was a really simple process of chain piecing each one. I had the whole cot sized top done in  a day.

The binding is a Sarah Fielke black and white from Spotlight that I had in the cupboard...I've cut the selvedge...for storage of course...so can't remember the name but Mondiali rings a bell. The back is a piece of Ikea's Cecilia bird fabric in green that my sister gave me recently. (But not shown.)

All in all...something lovely from seemingly not much at all! A cot sized quilt (41" x 54") that was gifted today and received with overwhelming delight. Yay!

I'm linking up to Crazy Mom's Finish it up Friday.