12 quilts in 2019

I have decided to set myself a challenge to use up some of  my copious stash of quilting fabric and make 12 quilt tops this year.  Then I intend to do a 'free-motion machine quilting' class and learn how to do it properly before I set about quilting them.

I used to go to quilt shows and fabric sales and buy lots of stuff!  The fabric has been languishing in my stash for up to 10 years, so it is definitely time to do something with it.  Some of my purchases have been kits to make a quilt, and some have been odd fat quarters that I have liked.  For example, here's a picture I took of some fat quarter bundles I bought at a quilt show in 2012.  I used the Christmas fat quarters for Christmas bunting as gits for my friends a few years ago, but I still had the blue, pink and white fabrics!

The blue and pink fabric have become baby quilt tops.  I love these 2 quilts!  I found the triangle pattern online and it was so easy, I completed it in an afternoon.  I love that the large triangles make it look so modern despite the prints being a little old-fashioned.  I bought the sashing fabric sometime later to go with this set of fat quarters.  I have enough to do the backing too.  The blue one is a windmill pattern, again found online (Pinterest has been my friend here!).  The dotty fabric used as sashing was bought separately.

 

This next quilt is the first one I made this year, and it was during sewing this that I decided to challenge myself to at least 1 quilt per month.  I bought this kit at a class I went to at a local quilt shop.  The owner held the classes in her own home, and it was a lovely atmosphere.  She has sadly closed down now.  I made this 'disappearing 9-patch' quilt in the class, and bought this fabric to make another one exactly the same.  (Not sure why I wanted another one exactly the same but heho!)    I have to say that I am not in love with this one.  I don't really like the orange 'background'.  The patterned fabric has little cartoony dogs on it, which was why I was attracted to it.  It is by Basic Grey, and I had a charm pack (precut 5 inch squares).  I still have enough of the border print to do the backing.

Another quilt that I had wanted to make for a few years is made with some of my vintage embroidered linens.  I collected some vintage embroidered tablecloths sourced from eBay and local charity shops.  I sold some of the perfect linens on my Etsy shop, but kept back anything with holes or stains.  I managed to cut out some pretty embroideries to use in my quilt.  A friend had answered an advert for some vintage cotton lawn scraps, which she shared with me, and I also used up a few ditsy prints of my own.  Originally I was going to sew the blocks together without sashing in between, but decided to use up the scraps of linen.  I am really pleased with the final quilt, it is so pretty!  I bought a green ditsy flowery duvet cover from a charity shop that I will use for the backing.  So pleased to have made this quilt almost entirely from second- hand fabrics.

I am now working on a 'wonky star' quilt using some gorgeous plaids.  This pattern comes from a really old quilting magazine, Popular Patchwork, February 2003.  Each block is hand sewn, but I expect that I will machine sew the blocks together.  I am about half way through making the blocks at the moment, but may make the quilt bigger.  I have loads of plaid fabric!