Pieced Brain

All about quilting, knitting, crochet, embroidery, free tutorials, quilting and crafting book reviews.

quilt ideas

Sunbonnet Sue

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What do you think I wonder about as I lay awake in the middle of the night? Yeah... my next quilt project. I love Sunbonnet Sue and am planning a wall hanging based on three books I have. I will likely use applique instead of redwork embroidery. I wonder what it would look like if I mixed ideas of two separate books - one about boys and one about girls! Here are the books which are inspiring me: Sunbonnet Sue and Scottie at Play, by Suzanne Zaruba Cirillo and The Ultimate Sunbonnet Sue … [Read more...] about Sunbonnet Sue

Showcasing inspiration fabrics

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If you have a fabric you really love but do not want to use it in a complicated pattern where its beauty may be overshadowed by other fabrics, or its motif cut into small pieces, try the pattern I used on the quilt pictured here. Simple rectangles surrounded by alternating borders, with the inspiration fabric used as border also. I wasted a bit of fabric when I was fussy cutting the borders as I wanted to show the beautiful teal leaves. I did not heavily quilt it, resulting in a much softer lap … [Read more...] about Showcasing inspiration fabrics

Cat on quilt

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As I watch Jamie, my oldest cat, sleeping and totally oblivious to the sound of my fingers on the keyboard, I imagine if someday I can portray her in one of my art quilts. She is no ordinary cat to me, although she has no particularly distinctive features. In the meantime, here is one of the cats I made a little while ago, which must be adorning a special home right now... The quilt on which he is sitting is from the book "The Best of Black Mountain Quilts" by Teri Christopherson (I found … [Read more...] about Cat on quilt

Two-sided flannel quilt

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Finally, my flannel quilt is finished! Since it was a present for ME, I decided to make it a two-sided quilt, so I got 2 for 1... A complete departure from my normal designs, I chose bricks on one side using the Woolies, and plain square blocks with sashing for the back, with a more girly feel to it. It is so warm and cozy! In order to make it even more comfortable, I only quilted straight lines using a decorative stitch and varigated thread. I should probably grab a book and head for the couch … [Read more...] about Two-sided flannel quilt

Self-binding quilt

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My flannel quilt is almost done. As I was trying to figure out which fabric to use for the binding, I decided to try something different: self-binding. This is a quick way to finish the quilt, most commonly used when the edge of the quilt has an irregular shape. I prefer the traditional binding, but since I want to finish this quilt quickly, and it is for my own use... Here is how I did it: Baste backing to batting using large stitches. I basted all around the quilt, as well as across the … [Read more...] about Self-binding quilt