Monday 6 February 2017

Quilt in Progress: Big Trip

 I have a long (in fact a very looong) 'to make' wish list with a whole lot of quilts on it....the trip around the world shown here is one of them and i have been working on it for quite a while......i love sewing patchwork squares and love how arranging these squares by colour makes a series of expanding diamonds...............this pattern is also sometimes called sunshine and shadows......
 .............here is an earlier picture of the quilt the other way round, like a granny square......
 ..............just a couple of rounds of squares are fussy cut....the flower fussy cut paper pieces shown here are for one of the rounds that you can see below......
 ..............the other is a round of little elephants marching one behind the other...........
 ..............the auditioning of fabrics for each round is both exciting and quite hard to do......striking the right balance between dark and light and colour and pattern takes more thought than i realised......
 ...........i do love the optical effects and am enjoying this work in progress very much while i work on other quilts at the same time (some destined for magazine publication which i will tell you about nearer the time).......
 .................a close up of my big trip quilt..........and below is the vintage printed flour bag i found at treacle market on our recent visit........
 ..............i meant to include a link to treacle market last time so here it is now.....for those who kindly wondered about the name it became known as treacle market after an accident centuries ago when a horse drawn wagon overturned spilling treacle onto the cobbles...............
 .............one more treacle market picture above....love the handwritten labels :).........below is my gorgeous container of tete a tete narcissi in full flower..........
 ...............spring is on its way and i am very glad to see flowers and bulbs appearing indoors and out and on people's blogs too............here is my project in the march issue of crafts beautiful magazine......a happy hoop design of applique flowers and a butterfly to welcome spring........you can read more about crafts beautiful here.......
 .............one more picture of my trip around the world quilt.......a new row is being chosen and i am beginning to turn it into a rectangle now......i might need to order some more fabric very soon ;).....
...............thank you for your visits here dear readers and your lovely comments.........it is always a pleasure to have you drop by and to hear from you..........wishing you a wonderful week ahead with peaceful times and lots of crafty inspirations..............back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

42 comments:

Jacky H said...

Wow what a lovely quilt I love your colours as usual. You must have a lot of patients to fussy cut all those elephant. It's love to see your pots of spring flowers.
Spring is definitely on its way.
Have a lovely week Helen.

marmarel said...

Beautiful quilt en I love the spring-flowers! Here we expect more winter at the and of this week.
Greetings from Marijke

PamKittyMorning said...

Wow that's wonderful! And you're handsewing it! I love how it's turning out!

Jane said...

How clever the patterns are in your lovely quilt Helen...I can imagine how tricky it is to keep the correct balance, I love the little elephants. I did smile re the Treacle Market...how funny! Yes the bulbs are really on their way and so is the extra daylight...hooray!. Have a lovely week xxx

Kate said...

I so enjoyed this 'breath of spring' post. :)

greenrabbitdesigns said...

What a work of art your quilt is Helen...so.so beautiful. I can imagine the fabric choosing dilemma but you are very good at it, I must say!
I really love that flour bag too, so pretty. :)
I'm loving having spring in the house as well and I have some little tete a tete blooming in the garden now too, however it is anything but springlike here today as its blowing a gale and ever so cold.
Have a good week my friend,
V x

Rhona said...

Your quilt is (as always!) amazing. The colours are beautiful, but I can imagine how hard it is to get the colour balance right for each round....not to mention how time consuming it must be!
The tete a tetes are so pretty......ah, the promise of spring!

Mylittlepieceofengland said...

Beautiful quilt and those elephants are so cute. How lovely to see the flowers and think about Spring xx

Lee said...

Hi Helen,Well all I can say ( with mouth open )is." Oh my giddy aunt ".I am in Awe of your talent.This is soooo Beautiful in every way,love the elephants too.I don't know what fussy cut means,do you take little nics out of the fabric ?. I am making a crochet scarf for my friends birthday.She is a very talented artist and sewing,there is nothing she can't do.I thought I would make her a scissor keeper from your book,with the " Giveaway " fabric I was lucky enough to win.Loving the pics of your Treacle Market Buys and the flowers are lovely too.Huggles to all.xx

Evelyne said...

lovely quilt!
The elephants are so cute en I love your spring-flowers!

I do love this almost Spring post!!

Hugs,
Evelyne

Christine B said...

What a beautiful quilt Helen and your fabric choices are just perfect. Looking forward to seeing this one finished! Christine x

Teje said...

Very cute as always, dear Helen! I love patchwork squares and your quilt is growing beautifully! List 'to do' is always so long and I haven't made 'trip around the world' yet and also hoops are on the list.
We had a gorgeus day and that meant cleaning outside. Rain is coming so sewing continues! x Teje

Amy at love made my home said...

Your quilt is already amazing! I love the fussy cut flowers and the adorable little elephants!!

Brenda Pruitt said...

I have always loved that particular quilt pattern!
Brenda

Teresa Kasner said...

I love your quilt that you're working on.. I enjoy seeing it evolve and get bigger. I also enjoyed seeing your big tubs of narcissus.. they are so sweet! And yes.. I'm looking forward to Spring when my lilacs bloom.. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Lorrie said...

Your quilt is a perfection of colour, Helen. The fussy cut round is really effective. We were sort of thinking about spring here, but today we're in a winter wonderland, with school canceled, so I'm spending a lovely quiet day at home (and sewing).

Anonymous said...

Hi Helen such a lovely post,i enjoyed my visit,thankyou.

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...

Beautiful work, Helen
The hoop is very a neat wall hanging to think about. Changing it out with the seasons or what fancies, will be easy. I have an large empty wall space I've been having difficulty filling, a hoop may be the solution.

bj said...

I'm not a quilter but my mother was..she was so good at it...I don't believe she had the color talent you have, tho...I have no idea what "fussy cut" is.
I do love your patchwork quilt..the squares are so so tiny...4"..? I made just a plain patch using 5" and nearly pulled my hair out before I got it all together. I've never made a small one, or a wall hanging..just queen and I need to make a LARGE block patch for my King bed...I see them in catalogs and they are so expensive...

play said...

I love your quilt! What pattern or book are you using to make it?

Cindy said...

What a beautiful quilt! I have never tried that pattern before, probably for the reasons you stated! Keep us updated as you work on it please:)

KC'sCourt! said...

What a gorgeous quilt.

Julie xxxxxxxxxx

Jenny of Elefantz said...

Helen, your quilt is glorious!! I'm more than a little inspired to have a go at a trip around the world.

angelasweby said...

What a lovely quilt, Helen. Every time I see one of your quilts I get so inspired to delve into my huge stash of fabrics but it soon wears off and I go back to my cross stitching...haha! I can but dream though, and owning a homemade quilt is a very tempting incentive so please keep showing us your gorgeous quilts, they brighten my day.
I love hearing about treacle market and seeing what you bought. I love the photo with the steps, pots and pretty primula/primrose? Spring bulbs are so full of promise. Your container of tete a tete is so pretty.
Thanks for another lovely post.

Elizabethd said...

Such a pretty arrangement of colours in your quilt.

Gabri millecrocette said...

Beautiful quilt and sring flowers,lot of kisses

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

What a beautiful quilt, Helen...I love the pattern and the fabrics you've chosen!
It's fun to see photos of primroses and narcissus...spring can't be far away!

flowers on my table said...

Hello Helen, I can see that this quilt has been a little more trying than others, but well worth the effort. Your choice of fabrics is always so pleasing. I love the story about the Treacle Market, it's funny how these names stick, but really charming too. Always an abundance of growing things and flowers in your corner, which makes it so pleasant to visit! Have a happy day, love Linda xx

Jen Kershner said...

That quilt is pure loveliness and I cannot even imagine being able to make something like that!

Art and Sand said...

I have no specific plans today, I have a bunch of quilt squares cut out and it's raining. I think you have just inspired me to do some sewing.

Simone said...

Your quilt is stunning Helen. You have so much patience. x

cristina said...

This is a hard work, Helen! wow... awesome...
I love your new quilt and I love your spring! how beatiful looks your home!
I hope you've a nice week too, my dear helen.
Thanks for sharing all these beautiful momments ...
a big hug from Catalonia!

Jennifer Hays said...

Around the World is one of my favorite quilt designs! I made a small lap quilt like that a few years ago and it was really fun. I loved seeing your daffodils and spring preparations. I hope you're having a good week, Helen.

Elderberry-Rob said...

This is another lovely quilt, the colour combinations are refreshing and work really well but must have taken a lot of thought to get it right. Treacle Market looks very interesting, I googled it after your last post. Would love to go there some day. We have catkins bobbing away behind the fence and I spotted the odd snowdrop on my scenic drive to work yesterday - signs that Spring is not far away.

Thimbleanna said...

Your work is beautiful, as always! I love your gorgeous trip around the world. I need to get mine out and get back to work on it. I think I'm on the last 6 or 8 rounds, but of course, they're the most time-consuming rounds because they're so big. Happy almost spring!!

mynestofyarnandbuttons said...

Helen, you are such an inspiration! xoxoRobin

Unknown said...

Your scrappy trip quilt is beautiful I can't wait to see it done.

Unknown said...

Your scrappy trip quilt is beautiful I can't wait to see it done.

Pat's Patch said...

Your trip around the world quilt is stunning. Such a great deal of thought and planning and hard work has really paid off the result is beautiful XOX

Anonymous said...

dear helen
i am interested in sewing the sampler you showed 'kind hearts are gardens' i wonder if you could tell me where i might find this pattern. thank you so much annie x

brissie23@hotmail.co.uk

Os olhares da Gracinha! said...

Uma arte primorosa!!!
Bom domingo!

http://asarteiricesdagracinha.blogspot.pt

Linda said...

Thank you for such a sweet tutorial - all this time later, I've found it and love the end result. I appreciate the time you spent sharing your skills.

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