Sunday, March 4, 2012

Stained QAL started!

It's been a lovely, relaxing weekend here in Cork. Hitting 2 major work deadlines on Friday, and getting my Solids Swap items finished on Friday night meant that I had a huge sense of mental relaxation all weekend. With nothing major planned, the weekend involved a lot of lounging around in my pjs, having fun with the kids, falling asleep on the sofa in the afternoon, reading the newspapers, cooking proper roast dinners, baking and - of course - a little bit of quilting. Oh yes - and a lovely night out with the girls involving lots of chat over some Pinot Grigio. Sounds great doesn't it? That's because it was.


Finally, weeks after I should have, I finally managed to cut my pieces today for Sarah's Stained QAL. The cutting was pretty complicated for this one, and Sarah did a super guide for it. I am using a FE bundle of Little Apples fabric, as this is a quilt for a new baby girl, and my friend who asked me to make it is about as allergic to pastel pink for girls as I am.

Stained QAL

I decided, after spending some time looking at the instructions, that I wasn't going to worry about the direction of the fabric. Quilts get used in all sorts of different ways and can be looked at from lots of angles. I  don't really like them to be all in the one direction, so I just jumped in with the cutting. I also knew that the cutting wasn't going to be terribly economical on this one, as this fabric is crying out for fussy cutting on a lot of the designs, so if I did the directional cutting, it would have used a mountain of fabric!


I took Sarah's advice and piled all my bits into some zip lock bags, ending up with a very satisfying little pile. I went through a whole notebook of post-its, labelling each piece!   It took quite a while, but I managed to keep myself and the kids entertained with lots of loud music and a bag full of playdough (them, not me!)  By the end of it my whole kitchen floor and all their clothes were covered in little bits of playdough (the price you pay for some quiet time!) but its done now, apart from the sashing.



Then I went off to do some trial layouts and see what I thought.

Love :-)



These blocks are going to be great. I think, when I am piecing them, I will probably mix and match around the pieces between the block (there are 3-5 of each block type) to get a better colour distribution in some of the blocks, but that will be easy. I also have plenty of fabric left so if I'm not happy with the balance I can cut some extra to correct it.



The last decision I need to make is the sashing colour. White and Ash are out, as they are already in use in the feature fabrics. I had a look at the other colours appearing in the prints and we're talking a pale pink, or a bright yellow. Neither of which I would be terribly keen on. But as I played around with the blocks this afternoon, I thought that some Kona Coal would work nicely. What do you think? Too dark for a baby girl? Do you have any other suggestions? I'd love to hear them.



After all that cutting, I felt like some chocolate. So we ransacked the cupboards and found the ingredients for brownies. Always a hit in this house, and a guaranteed half hour of fun measuring and stirring and - most importantly - licking the spoon. The kids were in heaven. They are cooling now and I will be taking myself off to test them shortly.


I'll leave you with the soundtrack to the weekend - this song has been playing on the iPod and has been sung constantly by the kids for the last few days (with air guitar action by D!) As they told me - its rocking!

19 comments:

Annabella said...

Sounds like you have masses of fun and laughter in your house, and on your girls` night as well no doubt! I don`t know about the sashing. Orange?

Sheila said...

Sounds like a perfect weekend - look forward to seeing your Apples quilt.
Not sure about your sashing, I stuck to colours within my charm pack for my Apple Pips quilt.

Leanne said...

Love the music! I am going to quilt my Across the Sea QAL quilt this afternoon, maybe some music is in order. I think charcoal is perfect for most every quilt it seems, but I am a bit biased.

CRAFTY WOMBLE said...

Wow great weekend, I have been home alone with my toddler all week, but did get a nice 2 hour break yesterday when a friend came over and we did some stitching :) I unlike you was desparately trying to finish something but can put said toddler to bed soon and then collapse for the evening as it is finally done; then my other half is back tomorrow.

Sabrina said...

Love that line of fabric...it is on my wishlist. I think the Coal would be adorable with the line. It isn't too dark for a girl since the main colors are nice and bright, it will make them pop more. Can't wait to see the finished project!

Katy Cameron said...

Well done for battling the cutting! I was originally going to use a LA layer cake but deviated at the last minute... As for the sashing, I think the coal would be fine :o)

Mrs Flying Blind... said...

Fun fun fun!
Have you put a bit of bright yellow under it to see how that looks, as there are touches in the prints. Maybe even small dots, rather than a solid?

Sarah said...

sounds like so much fun! Especially licking the spoon... Really, really going to love your stained ;-) I know you werent too keen, but so love the olive... maybe that for sashing?

Anonymous said...

Hmm...coal would go, and as has been said, would make the colors pop. The question is more if it is right for a little girl-- and you know the girl & family. I'd lay out a couple blocks on top of a piece and see what it looks like. You could also audition some kona cyan or caribbean (or whatever is the darker version of the turquoise fabric.) Keep us posted!

Cherie said...

Loving the little apples fabric!!
Hmmm sashing is always a tough choice. If the quilt is going to be fairly large then maybe coal would work. Even for a baby girl. When she gets older she may not like girly colours so the darker colour choice may be perfect for her =D Try a few shades and see what you prefer

Judith, Belfast said...

Those fabrics are looking fab in the Stained design. Jxo

Marg said...

A great weekend. Love the fabric and it's going to look fabulous in the quilt. Have no idea on the sashing, sorry!
Love love love that song!

felicity said...

I am a huge fan of Kona Coal so I say yay!

jeifner said...

The coal is dark, but babies supposedly have a hard time even seeing pastels. So a high value quilt would be great. The little girl would be able to keep the quilt forever without it being too childlike. If the parents like it, I'd go for it.

tusen said...

Yay for your lovely weekend :) Licking the spoon is the best, of course.
I think the charcoal would make the colours pop. Alternatively maybe you could use coal, which is lighter than charcoal but darker than ash?

Amy said...

I worked on the Stained QAL over the weekend! And there might have been some brownie making/ spoon licking too. Must be popular things to do in one's time off. :)

I think coal would be fine for sashing.

Lucy | Charm About You said...

Sounds like a completely perfect weekend to me!! The Stained quilt is going to look fab!

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

Sounds like a lovely weekend! Love your fabric choice for the QAL - how about a small dot or stripe for the sashing?

Canadian Abroad said...

Great weekend! I have yet to cut my Stained quilt pieces. Making myself clear the deck of all the other things I have to do first. Discipline is not something I am generally good at. I think the little apples fabric is perfect for Sarah's QAL though!