Thursday 31 January 2013

London, baby!

Hi everyone :) A big hello to any of my regulars, plus anyone popping by from Finish It Up Friday, TGIFF or the Small Blog Meet - wow, that's a lot of link-ups for one post!

Anyway, today I'm going to show you 'London, baby!', a table-topper I made for my mum. Back at the start of 2012 my LQS was preparing for the jubilee with a Great Britain-themed window display. One of the fabrics was the map print in Cool Brittania, which I thought was a fun idea but then thought nothing more of it. Until a sudden thought popped into my mind - I wonder if Primrose Hill is on there? You see, my mum loves London and she and my dad got engaged on Primrose Hill. Much searching of the internet yielded no conclusive results but I eventually managed to get back to the shop and found that yep, it was there!


So, I knew I would be making something for my mum! Problem was, what to make. After a bit of umming and ahhing I settled on a mini quilt, to be used as a table topper. Picking out fabrics to go with the London ones was good fun. I only realised afterwards that I had been subconsciously replicating the colour scheme of the Bliss fabric line. Woops!


Fabrics chosen, I made plans for the pattern. I had been drooling over Ashley's string quilt for quite some time, so strings it was:


When I came to actually use the map fabric I encountered a problem. Obviously the fabric had to have repeats and joins where the real London doesn't match up. Unfortunately I don't know London at all, so didn't have a clue where they were! Cue a lot of time poring over Google maps and trying to work out how to cut pieces big enough for the pattern without any geographical issues. It took a while, and I made a few mistakes along the way, but I got there!


Taking the paper off the back of the blocks was not fun. I wonder if the tracing paper I used was a bit too strong? Next time I'll try baking paper. Since the seams were not impressed with my tugging while getting the paper off, I decided to use fusible wadding to stabilise them, instead of normal batting. Should help it last!

Check out the pink carpets in our new flat!

Piecing done, I ironed the top and back onto the fusible wadding. And yes, that is a cupboard door I'm using as an ironing board. The flat was still a little chaotic, and it was the right size!


Some simple straight-line quilting around the squares and a little embroidered heart finished this project off nicely.

My first use of perl cotton! Loving it so far.

The backing. Love this print! Check out the gerkin :)

So despite the craziness of a house move, getting ready for Christmas and, of course, holding down a full-time job, this quilt was finished in time for mum's birthday. And here it is in its new home!




That's all for now! See you soon :)

28 comments:

  1. A sweet finish and so much love and thought put into it - I'm sure your mum loves it very much!

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  2. what a lovely gift - I just love the little embroidered touches

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  3. This is a gorgeous gift! Beautiful fabrics and sweet embroidery :)

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  4. Love the London-themed fabric - is this from your local shop? Nice touch for Primrose Hill.

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  5. Oooh, these fabrics are gorgeous. Thanks for the inspiration, I do need to make more placemats and table runners. (I found you through Lily's Quilts)

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  6. What a lovely thoughtful gift. And so beautifully made.

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  7. Super cute! My best friend has just moved back to Australia after being in London for 15 years.....and she's been living in Primrose Hill for the past 5!

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  8. Love the London theme! Your embroidery heart is so cute, simple, and lovingly to the point! I wish I could learn to embroidery like that, much more practice for me. I wanted to let you know as well that this past week I released a Union Jack block pattern on my blog if you were interested in grabbing it. Might make some good use for future needs! :-) www.mollisparkles.com

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  9. What a good use for this lovely novelty fabric.

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  10. What a great backing fabric to use for your quilt- totally suits th e theme!

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  11. Well done, it turned out beautifully, i bet your mum will cherish it. I have some London fabrics too but I haven't made a plan for them yet... :o) I came via Lily's Quilts.

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  12. Emma, it's gorgous. I bet your Mom is thrilled. I also like that you'll always be reminded of the time period when you made it; and the little heart is the perfect personal touch.

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  13. Wow! amazing. It's beautiful. that took a lot of figuring out . . . skill practice. We went to London a few years ago, and I've always had it in the back of my mind to make a soldier sampler of some sort, but I haven't seen any patterns . . . that's where the nice thought gets lost.

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  14. That is really really cool! What a wonderful amount of effort and love has gone into it and I love the story about Primrose Hill - so special to your family. Great job!

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  15. I'm sure she loves it, it's wonderful. I found you at Lilly's and I'm following you now

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  16. very cute - love the fabric :-)

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  17. What a great table topper! I love it and the story behind it :) Visiting from the Small Blog Meet!

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  18. So darling! Love all those London fabrics -- I have the map one too, and it's definitely a favorite!

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  19. Fabulous! And what dedication to make sure your map was accurate. I'm impressed! :o)

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  20. Cute project and who can't resist a little bit of Bliss. I know I can't.

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  21. What a lovely, personal gift for you mum!

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  22. Ah what a lovely table top! So much work has gone into it, and it's beautiful. I love perle cotton too, I love the modern finish it gives while being such a traditional method.

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  23. Great mini-quilt! I think I might try that block, it's great! Loving the London theme too!

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  24. What a lovely idea - it looks fab :). Popping over from the Small Blog Meet - great to find you

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  25. Oh, I love those fabrics, it turned out great. :) I'm a new follower.. popped over from Lily's Quilts.

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  26. What a wonderful gift for your Mum. Love your fabrics and it looks great. Visiting through Small Blog Meet :)

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