Shabby Chic Quilt, Part 1

You might have noticed I have a thing for blankets. What can I say, I like to be cozy. This past weekend I whipped up the quickest quilt top I’ve ever made. I used 10″ precuts from Connecting Threads (from their Cottage Chic line that came out a few years back).

Loving these pinks and blues together!

I just stitched the squares together straight out of the package. This was quick, but I think it would have been better if I trimmed them myself. As they were they weren’t quite square and you can tell if you look closely.

Stitching in the Stacks

It’s done!

The finished Library Stacks quilt

As I mentioned, this Library Stacks quilt is the largest one I’ve made to date. So large that I couldn’t work on it at my regular sewing desk. No, this puppy needed the kitchen table. Because of this fact I had to put it away for a while until I had a few solid days to work on it (I didn’t want to be hauling everything back and forth for just a few hours of sewing every now and then). This past weekend was the perfect opportunity.

What Would Jane Make?

It’s no secret that I love crafting almost as much as reading. When the two come together it’s a magical thing indeed – craft collections inspired by fiction are one of my favourite things. No other author has made as much as an impression on my craft collection as Jane Austen. Just look at this stack!

Part of my Jane Austen collection

Back of the Stacks

I had big plans for using up scraps and making a complicated pattern on the back of the quilt. But I decided against it because I’m a little obsessed with the focal fabric and wanted to showcase it.

The back of the quilt

Library Stacks

Remember that sewing WIP I mentioned a while back? Well, I’ve finished piecing together the top of the quilt. It’s the Library Stacks quilt kit from Connecting Threads, using their Bookish fabric collection from a few years ago. At roughly 50″x70″ it’s the biggest quilt I’ve made to date!

The Completed Quilt Top

A Different Kind of WIP

Bookish quilt in progress

 

I have five knitting WIPs left. I haven’t even begun to tell you about the sewing WIPs. At the top of my list is this quilt I’m working on using the ‘Library Stacks’ kit from Connecting Threads featuring their Bookish collection. This fabric collection is inspired by libraries and librarians, and it came out just as I finished library school – so of course I had to buy it. I’ve already made a bag out of this fabric collection (another great CT kit), and I’ve got enough fabric for another undecided project after the quilt. Yeah, I really love this fabric!

Meet Jane

I have a confession to make. I name my tools. It makes sense when you think about it. I mean, I spend A LOT of time with some of them, and after a while they start to develop their own personalities.

We’ll start our introductions with Jane. Jane is my sewing machine, a 90th anniversary edition of the Janome 4030 QDC (hence the pretty pink details).

My Janome 4030 QDC