New House Quilt

Now that everything has calmed down somewhat in the Matching Pegs household, I have brought my computer back into the lounge room, and out of the cold unheated bedroom – back to blogging!

20090818-stringquilt

Here is a look at my current work in progress – a string quilt I am calling “The New House Quilt”.  I am hoping that I will have it finished by the 20th of October, when we move into the new house.  My string quilt is inspired by the delicious looking quilts that Ashley from Film in the Fridge makes.  You can see Ashley’s tutorial for making your own one here.

Just after we signed the papers to sell (but before the builder and pest man had checked out the house for the owner-to-be) I actually escaped for the weekend to our Guild’s anual retreat (that’s the North of the Yarra Quilters Guild).  This was the project I started while I was there.

20090818-notyqretreat

The retreat was sewers heaven – sew all weekend, and only stop to eat or sleep.

20090818-fabricstrips

To cut the strips for this quilt, I spent about 5-6 hours cutting at the communal cutting table, but the excellent, like-minded company made the hours pass quite quickly.  My strips were all cut to 2″, 1.5″, and 1″.  I chose to make my blocks 10.5″, so they will finish up as 10″ blocks.

20090818-papersquare

The idea of this quilt is to use up scraps, but to use one constant fabric across the centre of each block – here you can see I have chosen a green, (that my friends know dominates my wardrobe).  It is actually a foundation pieced block – but there is not a lot of precision involved – you just have to make sure you are covering the paper as you sew.

20090818-uncutblock

I have not even been using pins.

20090818-cutblock

What amazes me is how much better the block looks when you cut off the extra edges

20090818-stringquiltsquare

I initially thought I would make the quilt 5 x 6 blocks, but the strips are going much further than I thought, so I will make it at least 6 x 6 – and depending on how much the stack has dwindled (or not), I may even make it 8 x 8.  It has become clear as I have made it, that the blocks look best in groupings of 4’s, with no extras on the side.  I will keep you all up to date with my progress.

Thank you for all the house love.  Once we are over the various minor ills that have beset the family (including me – I’m off to bed), I will get a chance to catch up on comment replies.

What are you making at the moment?

5 thoughts on “New House Quilt

  1. Great minds think alike!

    My string quilt is in a basket weave layout. 4″ blocks, with the widest string being 1.5 ” and the narrowest being around .75″.

    Fiddly as all get out. But it looks fantastic, as does yours.

  2. Your quilt looks fantastic claire! Lovely rich and warm colours. I’ve seen quite a few of these now around blogland, and really love how they look – I hope I’ll be able to make one oneday! I have no sewing going on at the moment but am halfway through knitting another pair of socks!
    Rachel x

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