I’m Swooning Over My Swoon Quilt

This quilt has been in the pipe line for a very long time.

Camille Roskelly released the Swoon Quilt pattern back in May 2011.  It kind of went viral, along with the various Bonnie and Camille fabric ranges.  I really liked it all and wanted to jump on the bandwagon.

Fast foward to January 2015.  I participated in a fat quarter swap and the fabrics I requested were, not surprisingly, Bonnie and Camille, with the Swoon Quilt in mind.  I received a variety from different ranges, but they all went well together.  I just had to add a couple more to make up numbers.

There were quite a few designs that were striped or directional and I didn’t want those fabrics to look broken up or going in different directions, so I tweaked the block pattern to suit the fabrics.  It turned out well.

Then, it all sat and waited.  I couldn’t decide what fabric to use for the background.  Procrastination at its finest.  Eventually, I found the one I used.  Not a solid white or grey, but with a nice low volume pattern.

I finally made a start in December 2021.  Then, I made blocks on and off during 2022, finally completing the quilt top in January 2023.  I even worked on it at Scrub Stitchin’ in 2022.  You can read about the progress here, here, here and here.  

While piecing the blocks, I had stitched extra half square triangles.  After the top was completed I even started to use those offcuts to start a Leader and Ender project.  Sadly, it hasn’t really progressed from this state.  I will get back to it one day.

Originally, I had considered using the Quilt as You Go method to construct the quilt.  However, after purchasing Monique I changed my plans and intended to quilt it “once I was good enough”.  Another that remained in the “To Be Quilted Queue”.

Now that I am comfortable using Elly May, it was time to finally finish this quilt.  The question was what design to use?  Having looked at lots of Swoon Quilts on line there ares some stunning custom quilted versions using rulers and free motion.  Very, very nice, but not going to happen on this one.  I just want to finally get this quilt finished and be able to put it on our bed. There were versions with swirls, florals and feathers, but none of them really grabbed me.  If not being custom quilted, I felt it needed movement, but the blocks need to be the stars of the show, not the quilting.  

Therefore, once again, I chose to use the Baptist Fan design, which creates a nice texture, with curves to counteract the straight lines, without dominating the quilt.  I’m really happy with how it turned out.  

I used yet another wideback that was sitting in my stash.  I’m really getting through them at the moment. This one worked well with it.

It is a rather large quilt and too big for my resident quilt holder upperer to manage, so I recruited a couple of ladies at my stitching group.

This is a nice fresh quilt to have on our bed in the warmer months.  It will get used straight away.

QUILT INFORMATION

Measurements - 80" high x 80" wide

Pattern - Swoon by Camille Roskelly.  

Fabrics - Bonnie and Camille from Fat Quarter Swap 2015

Quilting Design - Baptist Fan

Batting - Bamboo/Cotton

Backing - Wideback from Spotlight in stash

Thread - Glide - 10000 White

January Wrap Up

I can’t believe that we are already at the end of January.  At the rate we are going, it will be 2024 before we know it.

So how did I go with my goals for January?  Firstly to my stitching goals.

ONE MONTHLY GOAL

My goal was to have my Swoon quilt top completed, ready to add to the “To be Quilted Pile”.  

Tick.

RAINBOW SCRAP CHALLENGE

I completed my black and white blocks and started on some split nine patches.  I had considered working on a third project, but it didn’t happen.  I think I will stick with just the two, as there are so many other things I want to work on.

DONATION PROJECT

My plan was to make the little Winnie the Pooh quilt.

Another tick.

USE MONIQUE

The little donation quilt ended up being my first completed project using Monique.

HAND STITCHING

I wanted to make some more progress on my kitten cross stitch, which I did.  I can only work on it for short times as it is so hard to seen the light colours on the fabric.  I’ve finished most of the top left quadrant, so am looking forward to moving onto the next section.

I also ended up stitching all the butterfly antennae on my 2022 RSC quilt.

KNITTING OR CROCHET

I finished my socks.

UFO/WIP

Swoon was to fit the bill, but in the end my appliquéd butterflies also fell into this category.

FINISHED PROJECTS

My socks and the baby quilt both fit into this catergory.  

LEADER AND ENDER

Not a lot to show here, but there are lots of HST tidied up and some have been stitched together.  This will be a slow progress project.  Every little bit helps.

15 MINUTES A DAY

I managed to keep this up for every day except one.  So 30 out of 31.  I would have liked it to be 31 out of 31, but I’m still pleased with what I did.

On the non stitching front…….

READ A BOOK

Two were read.

TRY A NEW RECIPE

Two were tried.  One not so good, but the blueberry crumble was excellent.

HAVE A FUN DAY OUT

We ended up having two.

Narrabeen.

Sofala.

WALK

I have been walking most mornings before the day gets hot.  I have missed some days, but a good start.

MOTORCYCLING AND CARAVANNING

We knew that we wouldn’t get away in the van this month and motorcycling didn’t happen, partly because Mick did his back in and was not able to ride for a while, and we don’t tend to like riding in the heat.  Hopefully, later in the year we will do some.

In summary, I didn’t think I had done a great deal, but there is a bit there to show for it.  Mind you, being retired certainly helps.

I’m now looking forward to my plans for next month.

What I’ve Been Up To

It’s been a rather leisurely start to the New Year, but I still have achieved a little in the sewing room.  At least 15 minutes has been spent each day, although some days it was only just 15 minutes.

I am making slow progress on my sock, only doing a bit while watching the cricket and while joining in briefly with a  Chookshed Zoom get together.  I am now up to knitting the heel flap and have to have another look at the YouTube tutorial again before proceeding. I was attempting to have the stripes match, but ended up being one stripe out.  There are only two of the dark grey stripes in the cuff of the other one.  I could have started again fairly early on, but couldn’t be bothered.  They will not be seen all that much anyway.

My black and white RSC blocks have now been stitched into four patches.  The four patch blocks probably won’t be stitched together like this, rather they will have a mix of colours in the centre when joined into a large block.

Shock, horror…….I have my Swoon quilt top together.  I’m glad to have that ticked off the list.  However, I will now prepare the binding to keep with it, which will mean I can put the left over background fabric into stash to use elsewhere.  The top will be put in the “To be Quilted Queue” for when I am game to quilt it with Monique.  Being 80 inches square, that may be a while.  No matter, the pattern and fabrics have been sitting, waiting patiently, since early 2015, so a little longer won’t be an issue.

In the garden, we picked our first little tomato at the start of the month. Now that the plant is netted against the blackbirds we are getting a couple each day.

We have oodles of zucchini coming along, providing plenty for us and the neighbours.  The large one hid and ended up growing under the garden edging, hence the marks.  We have been having zucchini and corn fritters, zucchini on the barbie and zucchini slice.  More slice will be made tomorrow, which is stocking the freezer for when they have finished.

We are also now picking plenty of beans, once again stocking the freezer.  

It looks like we won’t be getting any raspberries this year, unlike the massive harvests we have had the last couple of years.  The plants were very matted after last year’s harvest, so Mick removed them all and replanted some.  They have come up, but not done anything much. We expect things will be back to normal next year.

I took this photo the other morning.  I thought the light made this part of the garden rather pretty.

On a more mundane side of things, I have been cleaning and decluttering our home office.  It had become a dumping ground and I therefore rarely even went in there.  After much sorting and chucking it looks much better. Not perfect, but manageable.  Now the challenge will be to keep things up to date and tidy. The recycle bin is rather heavy this week.

Finally, I have been getting up early most mornings and going for a walk.  Surprisingly, we have had a couple of foggy mornings.  I even joined in a Chookshed Zoom get together while walking one morning.  Something different.

The weather continues to be a little crazy.  It is storm season and we have had a couple of storms, yielding half an inch each time, which has been welcome for the garden.

We have had a few days into the low 30s C, but on Thursday the temperature only reached 19 degrees C.  That’s not summer weather.  The next couple of days are forecast to be back into the low 30s C, so a bit more summery.

I will be linking up to So Scrappy for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, Life in Stitches for 15 minutes a day and Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal (at the end of the month).

Now to see what I can get done next week.

My January Goals

Having set out my big picture goals for 2023, it is time to get down to the nitty gritty of my goals for January.

Firstly, to my stitching goals.

ONE MONTHLY GOAL

Happily, Patty from Elm Street Quilts is hosting OMG once again.  I really enjoy this link up, as it keeps me motivated and accountable.  Accountability is a great motivator for me.

After a bit of thinking, I've decided that my goal will be to add the sashings to my Swoon Quilt.  Not a large goal, but I have a bit on this month, so it should be achievable.

RAINBOW SCRAP CHALLENGE

Angela from So Scrappy is also continuing to host RSC.  Isn't the logo fun this year. I have a couple of projects that are at the block stage, but will not be playing with them yet.  

The colour this month is dark and bright blue.  I made some HST last year and now need to turn them into blocks for a quilt.  I have four of these four patches to stitch.  

I want to make one, if not two other projects.  I think I have decided on what blocks to make, but it isn't set in stone as yet.  I have pulled these fabrics from my scrap tub.  Many of my scraps are more like crumbs, so I hope to be able to use some smaller pieces in one of the blocks.  I will have to pull some other fabrics as well.  Watch this space.

UFO/WIP

I think that Swoon fits the bill.

DONATION PROJECT

I have picked one of my cut out cot quilts to stitch up.  It should be fairly simple.

LEADER AND ENDER

As a result of piecing Swoon I have loads of bonus HST.  They will be used in a Leader and Ender project.  I have started pressing some open, but still have to trim them before stitching.  It will be a quilt using all Bonnie and Camille fabrics.

KNITTING OR CROCHET

I've made a little start on my second sock.  It should well and truly be finished this month.

ONE FINISH A MONTH

My socks should fit this bill.  Maybe more, who knows.

USE MONIQUE

Fingers crossed, I will quilt the donation cot quilt.  This will be my first quilt.

HAND STITCHING

Hopefully, I will make a little progress on my kitten cross stitch.

15 MINUTES A DAY

I'm enjoying this challenge and intend to continue.

I have just discovered that Kate from Life in Stitches actually has a weekly link party.  I think I will try to play along.  Once again.........accountability.

Now for the non-stitching goals.

1.    Read a book

2.    Try a new recipe

3.    Have a fun day out - nothing planned yet, but something will crop up.

4.    Have a motorcycle ride - now the weather is hot, not likely to happen, but you never know.

5.    Use the caravan - not going to happen.

6.     Walk - this is a new goal and something I need to do.  I have made a start.  Now to keep it up.

As I say each time, that little lot should keep me amused.