Everybody Wants to Rules the World

My quilt is finished and I've called it "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", after a favourite song by Tears for Fears. Click here for a trip down memory lane - or to hear something new.

The colours and stars in this quilt remind me of flags; the Union Jack from the UK, the Star-Spangled banner from the USA, and our own New Zealand Ensign. 

The USA and NZ both held elections last year, and the UK left the European Union, so "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" seems appropriate at this time.   

I machine quilted this quilt with both red and white Aurifil.  I didn't want white stitching showing on the red stars, and I didn't want red stitching showing on the centre blocks.  So I used both colours and I quilted alternating cross hatch patterns.  

This quilt is made from Willyne Hammerstein's Bont en Blauw pattern in Millefiori Quilts 4.  I hand pieced my quilt and used templates from www.paperpieces.com.  The also sell paper pieces for this quilt if you prefer to English Paper Piece.  There are only two shapes in the whole quilt.  The interest is generated by the use of colour.  

You can read my earlier posts on this quilt here:

Something new 19 Feb 2021

Lost in Translation 26 Feb 2021

I started this quilt in November, but as you can see from the top photo, it's not very big.  I made it as a sample so I could experiment with the pattern.  It could be a wall hanging, or a cot quilt.    

Finished size: 25" x 30"     64cm x 75cm

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  What have you been up to this week?  Feel free to link up a recent blog post below:

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Lost in Translation

 Apologies to all the Dutch quilters out there.

"Bont en Blauw" does not mean "Black and Blue", but rather multicoloured, which sounds so much nicer.  Google translate put me wrong on that one! But a number of you messaged me to let me know, so thank you.  

As my quilt is only going to be three colours (red, white and blue), I'm going to have to think of another name anyway.  

Some of you asked for more details about this sweet quilt.  I'm hand piecing it using the method shown in my hand piecing videos here.    But, there are also English Paper Piecing papers available from www.paperpieces.com

I always buy hollow templates now, because I can draw the cutting line AND the stitching line for hand piecing.  I've always used 1/4" seam allowance for hand piecing and EPP.  I find that that's enough, and I think 3/8" would leave too much bulk on the back when the pieces are small. 

Photos from Millefiori Quilts 4 for Bont en Blauw:

I love how Willyne Hammerstein designs interesting borders for her quilts.  Many of us finish the centre of a quilt, and then we think it needs a border, so we find a complementary fabric and put long strips around the edges to finish it off.  Easy.  But, Willyne has created the illusion of a border by continuing the piecing but changing the colour placement.  Clever!!

That's my plan too, even though my rows aren't all sewn together yet.  

In other exciting news - all three of my entries into the Great New Zealand Quilt Show at Rotorua were accepted!! 

And, I finished my Lime challenge ahead of schedule, so I've started a second Lime mini quilt.  The Lime quilts will be unveiled at the Rotorua show too.  

I'm going to Rotorua for the show. It's a good excuse for another little holiday, and a good way to meet up with other quilters from around NZ.  Will I see you there? 

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  What have you been up to this week? Feel free to link up a recent blog post below.  

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Something new!

Yes, finally I have something new to report.  

I've made a start on a pattern from Willyne Hammerstein's Millefiori Quilts Book 4.  

The pattern is called "Bont en Blauw", which translates to English as "Black and Blue" - which is a bit unfortunate because that brings up disturbing images in most peoples minds.  So I'm going to come up with a different name for my happy little quilt.   

There are only 2 shapes in the pattern, but there are lots of opportunities to play with colour and pattern.  

When I want to plan a quilt, I just use a pen and maths paper.  I can't be bothered learning another software package like EQ8 - my brain is full.   

I had a piece of Cotton + Steel fabric that I knew would be good for fussy cutting, so I cut as many pieces as I could from it.  The quilt will be small because I only had about a metre of the feature fabric.  

I'm hand piecing this quilt and I'm enjoying working with different shapes and colours.  I love seeing it grow. 

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  What have you been up to this week? Feel free to link up a recent blog post below. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter