Spring has sprung! My first tulip is out and flowering. And about time, too. Seriously, I’m still sending my daughter off to school in a winter coat and scarf and it’s April! This is not acceptable. Thank God I was able to spend a month in Australia because if I hadn’t, this extended cold would be the end of me.
I love the little bulbs that appear in my garden every year. I have the standard tulips and daffodils, plus a bunch of hyacinths forest bulbs and something new seems to appear every year. My peonies are coming and I hope I get more than one bloom this year. I made the mistake of splitting the plant and transplanting half of it, not knowing that it takes two years for a peonie to bloom again!
I made this table centrepiece at a workshop at my local flower boutique. I say boutique because this place is a-mazing. The flowers are just starting to pop out, and I’m enjoying watching it change each day.
Spring has also seen me start a LOT of new craft projects. I have another knitting project in the pipeline, plus the WIP that I showed you last week is just about ready to reveal (along with a pattern), and then there’s this! In between it all, I made a quilt!
It’s a Jelly Roll Race Quilt, one of the easiest and fastest quilts out there, but I wanted something simple to sink my teeth into in case I had bitten off way more than I could chew.
I made the top myself at home on my machine following this tutorial and then had a session with the Quilt Guru in my local craft group where she showed me how to sandwich it and then assemble it, all in a single evening!
I’m so impressed with the end result! The last bit of quilting I did for myself was when I was still at school – I designed and pieced together my own cushion top. Plus I’ve been an assistant to my Gran while she’s been making her own fabulous quilts all of my life, but that has all been by hand. I’ve never done any quilting on a sewing machine!
There are a few little imperfections here and there – we won’t examine my straight stitching skills too closely – but overall it’s beautiful. My daughter loves it, and I’m planning on putting it on her bed as a throw. It’s not quite large enough for a bedspread for her, but perhaps my next one will be.
But, wow. It’s an expensive hobby! I bought the 40 strip Jelly Roll while in Australia for about $55 AUD, then I had to buy the edging fabric and the backing fabric. Not to mention the wadding and thread. And then there are the tools you need – cutters, rulers, cutting board and the sewing machine itself. So, I’m not in a rush to become a quilter, that’s for sure!
The Jelly Roll I used is called Printemps 3 Sisters, and it’s by Moda Fabrics. You can find Jelly Rolls at fabric stores everywhere, or online. Or of course you could make your own (I won’t be)! Aren’t the colours divine?
Can you quilt? What are your favourite styles and where do you get your fabrics?
MissNeriss 
This is a beautiful quilt! Welcome to the world of quilting! WRT cost, one thing I do is look for coupons to the bigger quilt stores and look on line for sales at the big sites. I am in the US, so our stores/websites are likely not in AUS, but you could do a bit of research and check with other quilting friends to find deals. I use Retailmenot.com for coupons, as well as online coupons from Joann fabrics. I save my big coupons (when they are out – like the 50% off ones) for bigger purchases, like a whole roll of batting, or a large cut of a basic black, white or gray fabric. Online retailers often have sales on precuts, just keep looking until something you like goes on sale!
Thanks for the tips! I actually live in the Netherlands, so the selection is even smaller! Australia usually has some pretty good options as quilting is massively popular (who knew!), but even though there are a LOT of quilters here, nothing seems to be discounted very often – it’s a matter of finding that one retailer who is cheaper than all the rest it seems. Thankfully all the cities are close together so it’s easy to get to them.
I wish we had a Joann’s! I wish there was any sort of craft superstore, but there’s really nothing like that here *sob*.
Maybe that would be a new business opportunity for someone, to open up a JoAnn’s Fabric store! The Netherlands is such a beautiful country. We visited last year and are aching to go back again! When I come back, maybe I can bring you a stash of some on sale basics!
I love spring, I think it is my favourite time of year. Your quilt is lovely. It may be expensive but quality lasts. You may just have made yourself an heirloom there.
I hadn’t thought of it like that, you’re right!