More Fusion Quilting♡

Hello lovely lovelies, lovely friends♡ A lovely Sunday morning, welcome to my little place♡ Goodness me, how can it be Sunday again?? Another week has sped by. Another week with me working on my fusion squares. All the blanket stitching by hand is done and every square has crochet skipping around the edges. All the squares are finished! Yippee Yi Yay!

One side, gorgeous Tilda, vintage inspired pastel fabrics♡

And the other side of my pretties, floralicious florals in every shade under the sun.

I fashioned thirty six 9" squares and will make the quilt by assembling six rows of six squares. A lovely square, queen size, bed topper or indeed a comfy lap quilt. 

And so, the crocheting of each pretty square to the other, begins. Now, to play a bit and decide upon which method joining the squares is pleasing to my eye. I'm thinking the 'join as you go' method which I always use when joining granny squares, might work. A couple of weeks ago I was playing with wool and hook and came up with something rather spiffy when joining these squares, but do you think I can remember?? Of course not! Sometimes my muddly mind is a worry. So, it looks like 'JAYG' it is. It looks like my sunny Sunday is sorted. 

May you enjoy many delightful moments doing something you love when Sunday comes a-knocking on your door♡ As for me, down here at the bottom of the world, I'm going to enjoy my sunny Sunday happily crocheting pretty squares one to the other. Punctuated of course, with many a cup of tea poured from my teapot being warmed under a woolly, pansy tea cosy♡ You, are most welcome too, to share a cuppa or two with me♡ Especially those, whose felonious leader rolled out the red carpet for a war criminal.......and you're feeling fatigued. Goodness...what next??!! We'd have so much to chat and commiserate about. You must be weary with it all. Though, perhaps we might need something a little stronger than tea. =) Have a lovely day, lovely lovelies♡♡ 

Until the next time............

Linking up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching

Frédérique's Quilting, Patchwork and Applique

Now.....About The Fusion Quilt .....

Hello lovely lovelies, lovely friends♡ Here I am again on this sunny Sunday morning to talk about the fusion quilt I've been fashioning. Some more happy, fusion squares dancing with gorgeous colours and patterns have been finished.

Last week a couple of lovelies had a few queries as to how a fusion quilt is fashioned. I did smile at Julie's comment that each square looked like a "fancy schmancy pot holder". =) I must say, Julie, I would have to agree with you♡

A fusion quilt is basically making quilted squares and crocheting each square together, which in essence is fusing sewing and crochet together.

Each square consists of a fabric square for the top and another fabric square for the backing. As my quilt is made of quilting cotton for both the front and backing, there is a square of batting in the middle of the two finished squares. I have seen fusion quilts fashioned with a fabric square for the top and a fleecy fabric for the backing. In this case there would be no need for batting.

The batting and the two fabric squares with right sides together, are machine stitched together leaving a gap to enable turning out to the right side. 

The sides are then trimmed and neatened  and the corners clipped giving a neater and more defined corner when the square is turned right side out.

Or......the quicker, more efficient, but fuglier photo......method. =)

Push out the corners with whatever implement you use and then press with an iron. Quilting is done at this point. I machine quilted diagonally from corner to corner.  I then mark 1/4" in from the edge and draw a line around the square. Some lovelies, machine stitch all the way around as a guide for the blanket stitch. I don't as I prefer to only have the blanket stitch skipping all the way round. Then blanket stitch is sewn around the square at 1/4" intervals. Blanket stitch is needed to have something to work the crochet stitches into. 

When all the crochet edging around each square is finished the squares are then joined together either by crochet or hand stitching, forming the quilt. I love that each square is a complete component crocheted together to form a completed quilt. Hopefully, the joining of all my pretty squares isn't too far away.

What I'm loving about this fusion quilt is the completely different aesthetic of the front and back. On the front, vintage inspired, muted colour palettes of Tilda, and on the back, bright and cheery florals. I love that it is two quilts in one. I love too, that this quilt has been fashioned from what's in my stash. It's a good project for using leftover batting, too. It's certainly turning out to be a fabulous 'user-upper' of my fabric stash.

The back is as lovely, if not lovelier, with all the floralicious florals♡

I'm aiming to have enough squares for a quilt that will rest atop a queen size bed. A very roomy lap quilt, if you will. =) Perhaps, in the not too distant future I will begin the crocheting of each pretty square together to form the quilt. I'm rather excited about that.

Enjoy your Sunday, lovely lovelies♡ 'Tis time for an early morning cuppa here and time for a little Slow Sunday Stitching. 'Tis time to relax and enjoy some quiet moments.....calm moments; and with crochet hook and wool, let my fingers dance merrily around some more pretty squares♡

Until the next time........

Colour My Wintry World With Flowers♡

Hello lovely lovelies♡ A lovely Sunday welcome to you♡ It has been a dreary, wintry kinda week here. But I don't care as there have been splashes of sunshine in the form of pretty winter flowers, new Tilda fabrics and a few more hexie flowers flourishing on my Flower Meadow quilt.

'Tis amazing how flowers put a sparkle into my day, especially a cold winter's day. My garden is bereft of flowers, but my beautiful friend, Trish, has gorgeous proteas blossoming in her garden at the moment, so when she asked me if I wanted a bunch or two, I of course said a resounding YES! These flowers would put a smile in any ho-hum kinda day.

The two proteas are Special Pink Ice (Special neriifolio x Susanna) and Protea repens - Sugar Bush. Although many consider proteas native to Australia, they actually hale from South Africa, but share many of the growing requirements of our Australian natives, so they thrive really well here and are very popular. Both flowers are stunning and will look fabulous in a vase for a very long time.....and the flowers are huge. Just gorgeous!

I purchased some new Tilda fabrics this week. Have you seen the new Tilda collection?? There are three collections, called Bloomsville, Garden Vista and a blender collection....Abloom. Apparently the Bloomsville and Garden Vista designs are inspired by old chinoiseries and a sweet motif found on a vase from a factory  that closed in the 1960's. The fabrics are blooming in colours of  Fern, Sky, Blue, Iris, Cornflower, Corn, Turquoise, Dijon, Prussian, Pine, Lagoon......all dancing in bright, summery hues. I particularly love the blender fabrics called 'Abloom'. They are quite simply gorgeous. Tone Finnanger has done it again. Goodness, she is a clever designer. I am slowly replenishing my floral fabrics as I have gone through quite a lot this past year, so these gorgeous fabrics will be a welcome addition to my stash. 

With the baby quilt now finished, and as I dream up some more pretties for my wee poppet I picked up my  Flower Meadow quilt again. This week I have been preparing more flower hexies and stitching these pretties to the quilt. I have been evening-up the sides with the green fabric as I go. As it is Sunday, I have enjoyed a lovely afternoon slow hand stitching my Flower Meadow in The Fernery, for, surprisingly enough, after a woeful morning Old Man Sun decided to cast little bursts of happy sunbeams over my little place.  All these flower hexies are a vision of summery loveliness sustaining me through these dismal winter months. 

Of late, when Sunday rolls around I  think "what can I write about"?? How can I sprinkle a little beauty into the 'world'?? But a few flowers, a few new fabrics and a little hand stitching of a pretty quilt and there you go, a new post in which to wax lyrical about colouring my wintry world with flowers. Why should all you lovelies who are deeply immersed in the joy of spring/summer have all the fun. =)  The world is a much better place with a few flowers, a few new pretty fabrics; and definitely a little hand stitching of a pretty quilt; don't you think?? Thank you once again for visiting my little place where, this week, I have been colouring my little place with the beauty of flowers. Flowers gifted by a beautiful friend♡ Flowers flourishing on gorgeous fabrics; and flowers blooming on my Flower Meadow quilt♡ Have a lovely day, lovely lovelies♡ May your day be coloured with splashes of beauty♡

Until the next time........

Linking this week to Kathy's, Slow Sunday Stitching and Frédérique's, Quilting, Patchwork & Applique