First time mending a quilt

 

I mend a quilt! This is the first time for me. I watched a lot of quilt mending videos and I particularly love the visible mending one. This quilt was on my son's bed and last week  I took it out for washing when I noticed there's a small tear.  

After inspecting it for a little while, I then re-attached the border first, where the stitches came off using a slip stitch. I took a video below while I was working on it. 

I used a yellow dyed fabric from my scrap bins. I tried searching for the same fabric but could not find it. And it was a pretty humid day, so I did not want to waste my energy looking for a small scrap piece. 

The tear was only on the top of the quilt. So while mending it, I did not sew all the way through the backing. Now I am thinking, maybe I should? What is your opinion? 

After washing it, I noticed there are a few places where the stitched came off, so I will mend those in the next week. This was a quilt made from quilt bee blocks, some blocks are sewn with longer stitch lengths. I suppose that's why the seam easily breaks. 

I am pretty happy with the result, though! At least for now it will do. If you watch the video, please let me know what you think and what I should keep in mind while mending a quilt. 

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And I have some exciting news! As I wrote a couple of months back regarding my fabric shop, I am happy to announce that I am back! I have been taking stocks of what I have and have been busy creating exciting one-of-a-kind fabric bundles. Also, I am able to find a few resources so that I can provide a more competitive price and better service. So more pretty Indian fabrics are coming to the store soon! 

For international orders, shipping on ETSY is only via FedEx at the moment. I offer flat rate shipping for now. 

Here are a few that are already in the stores: 

ETSY | WEBSITE

 

ETSY | WEBSITE

ETSY | WEBSITE

Check all the collection of fabric bundles in my ETSY and WEBSITE

Cutting fabrics and making bundles always boost my sewing mojo. I have a couple of projects in mind, some Kawandi projects and also 2 hand quilting projects. I think I will make a couple of videos as I am working on it. I started this one but I think I will re-do the quilting. Maybe doing Kantha style. Let's see. 

That's all for today. Thank you for stopping by! 

Happy Sewing!

Elvira

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Hand quilted scrappy mug rug

Making hand quilted mug rug video

I made this teal mug rug a couple of weeks ago. Still use the green and teal scraps from my scrap buckets and I cut them into my fave square 2.5" x 2.5". The size is rather biggish - the finished size is 7.5" x 11.5". I think it will be great as a mug rug or mat for smaller tables, side tables, etc

This scrappy mug rug is very easy to make. All you need is assorted  2.5" scraps and you are good to go. And if you prefer you can always machine quilt it but I love to hand quilt it in the kawandi style. That is quilting from the outside edge first and moving inwards in a circular way. The effect on the reverse side (if using solid backing) is just beautiful. Plus with hand quilting, the quilt always turns out softer. 

 I made many small quilts that I quilted this way and here's one that I recently did. I keep a bunch of ready-to-quilt small items near my computer table and I can easily pick them up and quilt away as I am catching up on the Kdrama or Cdrama!  

Rectangle Coaster Set 

For the scrappy mug rug, I used Indian mul mul fabrics for the patchwork and poplin cotton for the back. I added a thin fleece batting, sometimes I used cotton batting too. I made placemats in the same color hues earlier.

Placemat set of 2

Don't you love the effect of this big stitch quilting style on the back? This can easily become a reversible mug rug! 

If you've been thinking to start learning about hand quilting, you may want to start with this kind of big stitch quilting and you don't have to start with a big quilt! I wrote and uploaded the video about what needle I used and the process in THIS POST

That's all for today, thank you for stopping by!

Happy Sewing!

Elvira

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Scrappy Table Runner

     

Scrappy Table Runner

Finally another finished quilt! Nothing fancy, just a simple 25-patch table runner. It's been on my mind for a couple of weeks to make a simple scrappy quilt in blue. I pull out a couple of blue fabrics and came one with this table runner. 

I only used 1 jellyroll strip from each blue fabric to make this 14" x 38" table runner. Practically we only need 5 jellyrolls for the main patchwork, 4 jellyrolls for the background, and half a yard for the backing. Now I know what to do with the leftover jellyrolls! 

Blue fabric bundle

Blue Quilted Table Runner

On the back, I have this pretty blue and white floral Kota cotton fabric. This print is my fave. I had one in green and I made it into a tunic. Ha! 

On my center table 

And here's the green runner. I used the leftover from the jellyrolls  race quilt I made two years ago. I love the combination of green and teal in this one. The size is just perfect for a center table to maybe the foyer table. 

I have a couple of Kawandi quilts to finish and also more scrappy quilts in my WIP bucket! And of course wallets and other stuff. 

Nowadays I really enjoy making shorts videos and uploading them on Youtube. Shorts videos are easier because I can edit them on my phone. Although I enjoy making longer videos, it needs more planning and of course editing. For now, I just do what I can and when I can, at my own pace. 

Thank you for stopping by! 

Happy Sewing

Elvira

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Finish Quilts - Finally!

The past few days I've been busy spring cleaning (and it's not done yet!). The weather is pretty peculiar this year. We had chilly weather throughout February and turned pretty dry and hot in March. And it's pretty dusty too. I usually start packing winter clothes and duvet around April, but this time I am doing it early. Yesterday,  all duvet is washed and kept away today. 

 I have two quilts that came back from Tina at the Square Inch. The first one is the ground cover quilt top that I did 2 years ago. The top was quite big but Tina suggested making it bigger if it's meant for my elder son, who is 6.1' tall. After a few chats over WhatsApp, we agreed on this green border and black and white bear for backing! I used mostly scrap from wallets and bags, and I am glad I did. I still have lots of scraps that I don't have the heart to throw it away. When I look at this quilt, I can't help remembering what stuff I made with those fabrics. 

I really love the emerald green fabric that Tina suggested. It really framed the patchwork well. For the backing, I chose the bear print fabric and love it!! 

The second quilt is the Jellyroll race quilt in Batik. I think I finished the quilt top back in 2019 when I was doing this quilt. The JR was a gift from my BFF mbak Belly when we first met in Jakarta years ago. At the time, I just started learning about patchwork and quilts. I finally decided to make another Jellyroll race quilt with it. Once I did the top, I was still undecided on what to put for the border and backing. This part usually takes me so long to decide. And when I sent it to SQI and had a discussion with Tina, we decided to use Indian batik for borders and backing. The Square Inch has good collections for Indian Batik. Definitely, 2 heads are better than one, right? 

The quilts are washed and now in use. I may need to make another one for my son when he goes to college, but still undecided what pattern to use. I took out one batik JR and also Indian fabrics in the shade of blue. Let's see which one will I finally make first! Just waiting for the idea to strike. 

Blue Fabrics 

What are you planning next? Do let me know in the comment below. 

Thank you for stopping by and Happy Sewing!!

Elvira

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Wallets, Quilts and Bias Binding Tutorial

In the past few days, I've been busy making a few wallet and placemats orders. I got a couple of passport wallet orders in the past two months. I think now that travel around the globe is eased, many people started to travel again.

This time, the zip around small passport holder seems quite popular and as usual, whenever I make for an order, I cut one extra to add to my shop. Because I am working solo and nowadays hardly have time to sew, this way I can add a couple of new designs in a month. Also, I will always have projects that are ready to sew. Although sometimes it takes days to finish and sometimes I can finish 2 wallets in a day. Well, as long as I can sew, I am a happy girl! 

Ah, I also recorded the video tutorial for this small passport wallet - which hopefully I can finish editing and put up on YouTube this week. 

I often got questions regarding bias binding. For beginners or someone who never makes or use bias binding, it can be a daunting task. There are a few ways to make a bias binding but this traditional method is my fave because the binding always turns out perfect. 

In this video, I made DIY bias binding using FAT 8 fabric (9" x 22"). The rule of thumb is, you must make sure the fabric grains (warp and weft) are straight. That way you will get nice and crisp bias tape. 

Please check the video below. I hope the video is clear enough. If you have any questions, you can contact me or leave a comment below. 

Here are more fabric wallets recently done and a couple of them are on their way to the new home. I love making this classic bifold wallet.  My first wallet was this bifold wallet and even after washing it several times, it is still in a good shape. The interfacing and padding did make the wallet sturdy and did not lose its shape. 

GET THE PATTERN HERE

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And here's the medium scrappy placemats I recently finish and sent out. I hope they will be received well. As a maker and seller, nothing more rewarding than a happy customer! 

I kind of love these medium-size placemats and I have a couple more to finish hand sewing the binding before I put them up in the shop. 

I also experimented with different quilting lines on my Industrial machine. I tried doing FMQ after watching a couple of  YouTube videos where people do freehand machine embroidery using a similar machine as mine. Well, guess what? I worked! I will try in my next project and hopefully can share a few tips with you all. Stay tuned! 

Scrappy Placemats

FMQ Trial 

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On the 16th, my SIL and I went to a wedding in a village nearby. It was great fun for both of us. And of course, I love watching how the folks are having a great time at the party. In the village, a wedding party can last a couple of days (2-3 days) from morning to midnight. People from all around the village and nearby village will keep streaming in, sitting and chatting. I love to see the young girls dressing up to the latest Bollywood trend. 

And of course, I enjoyed the ride through different small towns and villages. Since the harvest season is just over, most of the fields are dry now. But it was a  lovely day! 

The bride and the bridesmaids 

Henna -  a must in every wedding! 

We also went to the market last week. We went saree shopping for one of our helper's daughter's wedding next month. Of course, I wore a double mask even a lot of people are not wearing masks now since the state government announced that all pandemics restrictions are lifted off. 

I really enjoyed looking at those colorful sarees. Even though I don't wear colorful clothes myself, looking at those bright colors, makes me happy! And no, I did not buy for myself, I only went to my regular fabric shop to get denim material. I suppose to go look for Mekhla (Assamese dress) border for my kawandi project but it was getting late, so maybe next time! 

 

That's all for today. I hope you enjoy reading my blog. Thank you for stopping by and please leave a comment or two.

Until next time,

Elvira

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