One-off custom quilt

One of the things I really enjoy about working with fabric is the ability to make gifts that are really personalised to the recipients.

My significant other (SO) is a keen online gamer and through that has made friends the world over. When he said a few months ago that he would like to send an Aussie care package to a couple of his gaming friends in the US and asked if I could do something special and unique in fabric as an extra item to include in the package I jumped at the chance.

I know that my SO was initially thinking that I might do something with an applique design using the recipients' gaming logo, and in all honesty it probably would have been a quicker project had I done so, but applique really isn't my thing. I almost certainly could have done the design component for what would have been a multi-piece applique, but I'm just not confident with the actual sewing part  - I can never seem to get the finish of an applique project just right no matter how hard I try. So for this project I just knew I had to do a paper-pieced design.

I'm not sure that my SO had a proper understanding of what I do as far as quilt design and construction before now so it was really nice to have him involved in the design process, seeing it come together and being so supportive and helpful as I worked on this one.

In the end the finished project turned out a bit bigger than either of us had initially thought at 30-inches square for the paper pieced logo panel plus a bit extra added all around, but I think it turned out to be a good size for either a lap quilt or a wall hanging (rod pocket added to back so it can be hung easily) and I'm really happy with the overall look of the finished piece. It's not identical to their logo, but I think its pretty close.

Paper-pieced quilted wall hanging/lap quilt
One-off custom pattern designed by me based on the Liberate Gaming logo 

I hope the recipients enjoy the Aussie package, including the quilt. I'm pretty sure the Tim Tams will be a hit and the Vegemite is sure to be an interesting experience!

Tim Tam assortment

Vegemite on toast
(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegemite)

Extras - Goblin King: Labyrinth Quilt and Stitch Along

Originally intended to be part of the design invitational, this pattern didn't quite get finished in time. But its done now and published on fandominstitches.com so I can share it with you all. Yay!

A huge thank you to the wonderful Jo Minvielle who tested this pattern for me in record time.

Paper pieced Labyrinth Title - Designed by me, tested by Jo Minvielle.

I designed this paper-pieced pattern to complement the quilt layout presented in the Fandom in Stitches Goblin King, a Labyrinth-themed Quilt & Stitch along.

It is an absolute monster of a block, finishing at 60 inches long by almost 15 inches tall. The intention was to create a title block that you could put inside the outer border of the quilt, at either the top of the bottom of the original layout.

If you are planning on using this block in conjunction with the QAL layout, you might want to add extra sashing around it so the spacing between this block and the character blocks doesn't look too uneven. You will also need to adjust (increase) the length of the outer border strips for the finished quilt.

Download the pattern here if you want to give this pattern a go, and don't forget to share pics of your finished work. I love seeing how others interpret my designs - no two ever end up the same.

Don't forget also, that all the patterns from Goblin King: Labyrinth Quilt and Stitch Along are available over at fandominstitches.com.

Until next time.

K

Lest We Forget...

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

Today, on ANZAC Day, I'm taking a moment to pause and recognise all those men and women who are currently serving in our armed forces and those that came before them. 

In honour of the day I've designed a paper-pieced pattern titled "ANZAC: Dawn Service". 

Last minute gift: Naruto Cloud Cushion

I've been feeling less than average over the last few days, I've picked up a yucky bug of some sort. I'm sure it's nothing that rest, fluids and lots of vitamin C won't fix but I've spent a lot of time over the last few days in bed or on the couch feeling congested and sorry for myself.

Naturally I wasn't particularly impressed when the monster, in a panic, mentioned that her best friend's birthday was only a couple of days away, she wanted to give her a gift, but didn't have anything chosen or ready.

I consider the local shopping centre to be a soul-sucking, wallet-draining, evil place at the best of times, so I was definitely not feeling like heading out for a teen shopping trip, especially not a 'wander around for hours until we find the perfect gift' trip. Even on a good day my strategy is to get in and out of that place as fast as I possibly can!

So with a shopping trip out, and time running out that left making something...but it needed to be easy and fast. Something that either I could get done quickly with my limited ability to focus at the moment, or something the monster could make herself. In the end it was a bit of both.

Cushions made as Christmas gifts

I made a couple of cushions as Christmas gifts this year. One cushion in particular my anime-obsessed monster fell in love with - a Naruto Cloud cushion that I was making for my sister-in-law. The monster loved it so much that I ended up making two at once so that she could have her own (it also gave me the chance to try out satin stitch edging vs raw-edge on that particular gift).

Akatsuki robes - Inspiration for the Naruto Cloud cushion.

The monster's friend is just as anime obsessed as she is, and seeing as I already had a pattern template for the cloud component it seemed like it might just fit the bill. With a decision made it was a simple matter of getting the monster to cut out the pattern components and then me putting it all together in a simple envelope cushion cover.

I was hoping to be able to use only stuff from my stash for this one (still in not wanting to leave the house mode) but I've been using a lot of black quilting cotton lately so didn't have quite enough, and I needed a cushion insert... so off to spotlight we went.

The monster chose a black flannel rather than quilting cotton for the actual cushion cover fabric. A great choice as it is a nice deep black, and feels suitably soft and cuddly. But boy is it a pain to sew with - fluff everywhere and the fabric sticking to itself rather than sliding making lining up seams and adjusting things painful but we got there in the end.

Naruto Cloud Cushion

Envelope closure on back of cushion

All up it took just over an hour to put this together, from cutting out the applique pattern template, top-stitching the cloud in both red and white right through to assembling the envelope cushion cover.

I didn't get a chance to run the cushion cover through the wash as I normally would, so I've packed up a colour catcher sheet and instructions with the cushion and the recipient can use that whenever they wash the cover themselves.

I sure hope the monster's friend likes the gift and gets lots of use from it.

And now I'm heading back to bed.

K

More fandom patterns: Tributes

I'm not sure I'll ever get used to seeing my work being posted or sewn by others - I know I design the patterns, or stitch things up and put them out there for that express purpose, but even so it still makes me do a pleasant double-take every time it happens.

Even receiving pics of my patterns being put together by the wonderful people that volunteer to test them surprises me and makes me super happy (and I know that those pics are coming!).

With the death of John Hurt a few days ago, it was sort of inevitable that my embroidered version of the "War Doctor" made a reappearance but I still wasn't prepared for the pic to show up in my social media again.

John Hurt: The War Doctor
by Karen McGuigan
10" Embroidery

Today it's the Fandom In Stitches 2016 tribute post - remembering some of the icons that we lost last year. Originally planned to be a Carrie Fisher and George Michael tribute, it got extended to be a more general 2016 tribute. There are some amazing patterns in there paying tribute to not just Fisher and Michael, but also Prince, David Bowie, Anton Yelchin, and Alan Rickman.

In the mix are three of my patterns:

Best of George Michael
In Memory of George Michael
by Karen McGuigan and tested by Anita Lynn
15" paper pieced with embroidered details
Inspired by Album Cover "Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best Of George Michael"

Leia with Blaster
In Memory of Carrie Fisher
1956-2016
by Karen McGuigan tested by Sue Garcia
10" paper pieced
Inspired by a Star Wars promo pic.

Carrie Fisher's Prozac Urn
In Memory of Carrie Fisher
1956-2016
by Karen McGuigan
5" paper pieced & embroidered
Inspired by the antique ceramic Prozac pill that was used as an urn for her ashes -
it was one of Carrie Fisher's prized possessions in life.

All of the patterns above are available on fandominstitches.com or over on My Patterns page.

Create

I know it's already mid-March, but I haven't posted to the blog yet this year so this is my token New Years post.

If you've been following along my ramblings for a while you'll know that I have an aversion to new years resolutions. My theory is that if you want or need to make a change in your life you shouldn't wait for some arbitrary date; plan it and do it, .

So while I didn't make any new year resolutions, I have decided to take on a single word as my 'theme' for the year.  As you can probably tell from the title of this post and the image at the top , the word I have chosen is....

CREATE

The idea is that this single word will help to give a focus to my decision-making and actions for the year ahead, and it can be applied in all areas of my life whether that be at work, at home, with my family and friends, and of course in my crafty adventures. Hopefully all this creating will also feed into the blog a little bit too.

Speaking of crafty adventures... I've discovered (become a bit obsessed with) paper piecing as a sewing/quilting technique and have been going a bit nuts with it.

My sewing machine now has a nifty quilted cover with the word CREATE paper pieced into the front panel as a constant reminder of my theme word.

Create sewing machine cover

The paper piecing obsession has led to some really geeky fandom sewing over the last couple of months and even extended as far as starting to design my own patterns. So I'll leave you with a deluge of pics of paper pieced quilt blocks I've made so far.

My first ever completed paper pieced block - the TARDIS
I'm tempted to pull it apart to try and get that light sitting properly,
but on the other hand it serves as a reminder of how far I've come in such a short time

Darth Vader

Storm Trooper

R2-D2

BB8