Filmstrip Cafe Open For Business

So, I didn't lie about having two finishes on my QUIPs list!


I've been busy binding my Filmstrip Cafe quilt - loving this quilt was enough motivation for me!
I was too lazy to clip it up to my quilt display, so I tried taking a picture of this quilt on my bed - it was difficult! Here's the best you're going to get ;)


The quilting on this puppy is straight, all of it. I did lines 1/4" from the seam on the brown sashing, then about 1" in on the printed fabrics because the 8x8" squares seemed too big to leave unquilted.


A few more parallel lines on the border...


... and quilting in the ditch for the stripy part of the quilt.


I like the picture above because the blue-brown fabric is my favourite in this quilt (and it's not even from the Bistro line of fabrics ;) I think it's tranquility...
I'm proud to say that I did an excellent job on the quilting in the ditch. I hardly ever slipped up and crossed the seam, phew!


I really enjoyed working with the binding fabric - it was a bargain purchase in a general fabric store last year and it handled really well - it ironed flat, the sewing threw it went smoothly and it felt amazingly cool and smooth.

This quilt has been done for about a week, and I've just been staring at it. I think it will migrate to my couch soon to get some usage ;)

Film Cafe Top - In Love

Here's another quilt I love these days!


The top for the filmstrip quilt using Moda's Bistro line (mostly) is done. I'm not supercreative with this name: Filmstrip Cafe (there are coffee cups on some of the prints that I didn't use in this quilt). It feels like I'm going to a special kind of cafe when I look at the quilt though - and for some reason my brain thinks "French" when I think of the quilt. Probably because I associate both Bistros and Cafes with Paris/France :)

Guess it needs some ironing ;)

As I commented back to some of you already, I'm still madly in love with this line of fabrics. So a day after I completed the top, I draped it over the bookshelves next to my bed so I can gaze at it on either side of sleep :) Sigh. It'll probably stay there still I have a chance to buy the necessary batting. I have a fabric for the back in mind already; it'll be non-pieced and one of the pretty fabrics I've been holding back on other quilts.

Filmstrip Cafe

Ah handquilting, progress is truly slow doing that, especially in summer, when a hot quilt on my lap is not my favourite way of passing the time...

So I finally gave in and started a new project, well, technically I finished an old one (the Mossy Monkey Mechanic, pictures soon!), and I'm 90% done piecing the top for the filmstrip quilt recently featured at the Moda Bake Shop. I like a lot of their project, but have never realized one of their ideas so quickly!

Here are pictures of my pieces laid out - again, pics of the completed top coming soon!


Most of the prints in this quilt are Moda Bistro. I bought the fabrics 2 years ago at a little shop in New Brunswick. I loved the prints so much in the store that I bought them despite being over 15$/m - I usually abstain from such expensive fabrics, but couldn't help myself. I ended up buying a quarter yard of 9 or so prints. I added in a fat quarter of Moda Tranquility that I picked up in Kingston, Ontario (it's the center square in the bottom row). I love remembering exactly where I bought fabrics...

All these fabrics are very special to me, some of my treasure fabrics - that's whey they were still patiently sitting on my shelf. I was waiting for a pattern like this one - not just big squares, but enough of them to really showcase the prints.

I matched everything to the dark brown sashing (instead of the black from the pattern) and am quite pleased with the overall impression. I have a quarter yard of Bistro fabric left, in red with coffee cups. I thought about adding it in the mix, but it was too much "zing" for my taste :) I might used it for the backing, if I piece that...

I modified the pattern slightly, using solid 4.5" strips for the outside instead of pairs of 2.5" precut strips. Also, I only separated the center from the top and bottom film strips with 2.5" sashing, not 4.5". I thought it looks more balanaced that way.

Anway, it's been extremely satisfying working on such a quick project. I checked the pattern out on Thursday, cut everything by Friday and have most of the top together today (Saturday).

Tomorrow is a quilting bee meeting - I have a lot of hanging sleeves to sew on those quilts I want to put in the quilt show of my quilt guild in September. Lot's to do, with a deadline - exactly what I don't like :) I may have to downsize my contribution to the show!

Oh, and I'm done with going on vacation for now, though I've had a lovely time over the past 5 weeks, with only 9 working days - life could be so beautiful... :)