Boo!
Just had to get that surprise moment out of the way nice and early. Are you all settled back down now? I hope so. Maybe a nice cup of tea (or brandy – I won’t judge) at hand? Okay. Let’s get this over with… Over Christmas I totally went dark side (I blame The Force Awakens, y’all!) and left the safe harbour of garment sewing and dipped my toe into the quilting world… I know, I know. Past Amanda said there was no way that these gentle gorilla paws would ever stitch a quilt. Bah! She obviously hadn’t been seduced by the wonder of a black and white baby Gramanda (grandma + amanda = gramanda) quilt.
This is the black and white modern baby quilt by Simple Simon and Co. Try and say that one fast five times! I thought this pattern was tops but let’s real talk: I know nada about quilts. What I do know are things I like – geometrics and monochrome. And after spying some of Qvilted’s amazing work in #bpSewvember I found my gateway quilting drug. Based on her suggestion I decided to give this project a whirl. Thanks, Yara! Also, if you haven’t checked her stuff out before, do so now – it is awesome!
Now, this pattern is meant for tiny peeps. Which is great if you are a selfless sewasaurus. But this lady is most surely not, so I view this as my Gramanda lap rug for knitting on the couch with the dogs whilst binge watching Sens8 or Agent Carter. I (wisely) decided to go with something small to start with, as I had no idea if this quilt thing would be my bag. Also because I am crazy competitive and wanted to make sure I could finish this thing. You know, the normal reasons for wanting to make something.
Construction wise, this bad boy was pretty sweet and everything went together surprisingly easily. Using my technical quilting terms here *cough* I stitched all the rectangles together to make strips, sewed the strips together, pinned layers, stitched like a boss, bound stuff and drank oodles of gin. All vital quilting skills! It was surprisingly meditative and utilised lots of mad garment sewing skills, which made the whole thing pretty chilled. I was also super lucky to have badass quiltinatrix Michelle on speed dial for any hiccups and moral support. It pays to have friends you can bribe with prosecco 😉
There were two crazy challenges though. Brace yourselves – things are about to get technical…. Who knew cutting a misshapen rectangle into a neat rectangle would be so hard?! Trying to square up the quilt top was a nightmare and I feel like Miss Slater, my Year One teacher, should have failed my use of ruler and scissor skills. Ugh. Also, quilting lots and lots of straight lines and not making them look Drunk Face McGee is super hard. In the end I gave up and decided it was my “personal interpretation” of a straight line… It was that or hide from the quilt for ages… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What I liked about this pattern:
- How super quick it was. This sucker is sized for a baby cot so it is tiny. All hail the speed of making itty-bitty things!
- The easy to follow tutorial. Because this was a lady who likes to follow instructions.
- The fabulous design. The urge to make a big one of these is pretty high. It’s so cool!
What I would change for next time:
- Go with the fluoro green bias binding I made but was too chicken to use. Bawk!
- Make a big one for a proper couch snuggling blanket.
The Deets:
Pattern: Black and white modern baby quilt by Simple Simon and Co
Fabric: Robert Kaufman Kona white x 1.25m and Kona black x .5m, Riley Blake stripes x .5m, Cosmo Textile cross fabric x 1m
Notions: 40wt Aurfil thread for quilting, Gutterman poly cotton for piecing, Matilda’s Own bleached cotton batting x 1m
Overall, I am super happy with how this turned out and looking forward to things cooling down a little to get my Gramanda on. Until then, it’s time to rock this in a most grown up manner possible…
Quilt tunics are so hot right now, right?!
That is so cool!
Hey this is fantastic! I was ogling it on IG when you posted. Lord knows I don’t have the patience for quilting ATM but if I was I’d be totally copying oops I mean, be inspired by the designs of Lindsay Stead who makes the most gorgeous simple modern quilts.
Love it! The black and white is so cool! I have NEVER quilted but this sort of makes me want to “dip the toe” so to speak. I think small is the way to go….
Hello Amanda
I just love your side of +Quilt . I made one in the Schades Black , dark Blue , Blue , light Blue and White , the pluses is White the whole way down . I gave to my boy Sebastian for Christmas .
Pernille from Denmark
Your quilt looks flawless! So tidily stitched. I want to quilt more, to justify all the scrap-hoarding I’ve been doing. Some of the more minimal designs I’ve been seeing are awe-inspiring.
You go, Gramanda!
THAT LAST PICTURE. DRESSDRESSDRESS!!!
(had a lot of coffee this morning)
This is flipping brilliant!!! 🙂
Its so nice! Black & white unbeatably stylish
This is gorgeous!! Your quilting looks perfect!
So glad you did this right, with gin.
Always happy to be speed dial. You rock!
I thought I’d commented back when I first read your post but apparently it was just one of those comments you draft in your head and neglect to commit to writing – sorry! Anyway…
I am not a quilter and I doubt I’ll ever be one BUT if I ever were to get the urge, I would want to make THIS quilt! I absolutely love it – it’s super stylish and I would love to have it on my lap :). When you say it was super quick, so you , mean quick like “whip up a dress” quick? or quick for a quilt? (Just in case…)
This quilt is rad!! There’s something sort of weird and wonderful about quilting… the whole chop things up and put them back together again is madcap, when you think about it. I also have no idea how to quilt straight lines… I had major problems with that, and squaring off a quilt is… well, I don’t think my finished quilts have ever been perfectly straight! What can you do?? Keep quilting without caring about perfection, methinks! 😉
As ever Amanda, you crack me up – Gramanda Quilt, awesome! And what a fantastic quilt! I’ve spotted your progress posts on IG but don’t think I’ve seen the full beauty of its finished self. It’s gorgeous, bloody well done for tackling such a scary (to me) project!
Oh wow this is just so gorgeous!! I love the geometric pattern and the simplicity of it. I just made my first baby quilt but now I really want to have a go at this pattern, maybe in chambray/denims and white, and for myself this time!
I love this so much!! I’ve been itching to do more quilting this year and I love the plus sign patterns I’ve seen around. The black and white is especially chic!
Um how did I miss this? I am in love with the monochrome. I too have dipped to the dark side when I was pregnant with my kidlets. I blame the hormones!!! Your quilt however shits all over mine. It is freaking incredible!
Absolutely love this! I made my first quilt about a year ago…I’ve now made 6! :O They are good for when you’re sick of fitting muslins and want something 2D to sew! I’m a big fan of ‘natural’ straight lines too. Love your work!