Wednesday 14 May 2014

Wool patchwork baby blanket

I really should have been finishing up one of my existing WIPs, or possibly starting a quilt for Maria's birthday which is approaching alarmingly quickly, but instead I've been playing with wool the last couple of days.

When I tidied up my fabric recently, I was matching up colours as I went along, thinking about future quilts to make. And this little bundle of wool was part of that.


The patterned piece is a scarf, there are a couple of jumpers and a couple of blankets.

I decided to just put together some different, simple blocks and work it out as I went along.








I was recently trying to help a friend work out a design for a quilt with a particular number of fat quarters, and it was a bit of an eye opener how precise and planned it had to be in order to make sure she didn't run out of fabric. I find it's so much easier to be free and improvise when working with recycled fabric rather than uniformly sized fat quarters.

Once I had my blocks, it was quite straightforward to add strips here and there to get them into 3 rows:


And then sew them together:


This one is not very big; baby blanket size, just right for one of my little helpers to hold it up for me!.


The scarf no longer looks at all like a scarf. I really love the colors in it, and the wools are all beautifully soft.


And I think I've got the perfect, old curtain to chop up for the back!

I'm linking up with WIP WednesdayLets Bee Social, Needle and Thread and Freemotion by the River today. Lots of lovely quilts to go and browse through. See you tomorrow,

Sally.

15 comments:

  1. This looks so wonderfully soft and warm!

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  2. Love it! It looks so cozy.

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  3. What a great idea for old wool sweaters and scarves. Something more to keep my eye on at second hand stores. :)

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  4. Very cool idea! Looks very soft.

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  5. I've not seen this before. Do you quilt the layers? Wool and I don't get along so I don't use/wear it but it's such a good idea for using old things.

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  6. I need a baby now so I can have it!

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  7. I love this, Sally! I am with you, improv is so much more fun!

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  8. Love it, so tactile looking and cosy.also got to sati adore those chairs I. Your last post. So cool!

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  9. Improvised quilting works! Look at your gorgeous results!!! One of the things that drew me to your blog in the first place was your willingness to improvise and let Muse have her way. For me, that precise quilting just is not fun at all. But improvised quilting is a blast!!! Love this quilt!!!

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  10. Beautifully done! The colors look so good together and it looks so cuddly!

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  11. That does look like a soft and cozy quilt top, Sally. I totally agree. Working and improvising make sewing sew much fun!

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  12. This is such an incredible idea and it's beautiful, too. I'm using an old wool sweater to make a pillow cover but I never thought of using one to make a quilt. You have such a wonderful imagination.

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  13. Love it! That looks so cozy. Great job!

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  14. I love how this turned out!!! Beautiful!!! The idea of using scraps of wool for a quilt is perfect...I've used old sweaters for lots of things, but I never thought of using them for a quilt. Mmmm...now my wheels are turning. :)

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  15. Sooo beautiful, this quilt is amazing!! I love how you use wool! If you don't mind me asking what kind of seam allowance do you use? Looks gorgeous :)

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