The RIGHT way to store kona swatches

by Xanthe Grundy | Mar 31, 2020 | QUILTING & SEWING, WIFE-MADE

The RIGHT way to store kona swatches

Is that post title provocative or what? I mean, did she just say the RIGHT way to store Kona swatches??? How dare she! (Can we please imagine this being said in a James Gaffigan-esque ‘inner voice’? And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, feel free to educate yourself here.)

Bear with me though, and I’ll tell you a little story about pride coming before a fall. Or a drop, in this particular situation…

My work area is right in the heart of our home. It’s right there where all the throbbing, blood-pumping major organ action is, and it’s usually messy and can’t be hidden. And that is the reality of our life at the moment. Currently, I don’t have the privilege of a ‘studio’ where everything has a place and everything can be found in its place. Four kids in a four bedroom home kinda does that. (Although I could probably be better at organising and finding homes for everything to have a place and be put back there… but let’s not ruin a good story with judgy idealism.)

When I first started using Kona swatches I figured I would just leave them in the folder. Because, heck, that’s the way they come, so surely that’s the easiest way to use them, right?

Wrong. I learned very quickly that it is nearly impossible to accurately test samples of fabric against a teeny tiny fabric swatch when said fabric swatch is sitting up against every other colour of the rainbow. Surprising, but true. So that, as I found out, was one WRONG way to store Kona swatches, and it only lasted a very short while.

Then I did some googling to see what I could find on the best way to organise Kona swatches, because why reinvent the wheel? And the main approach that came up was the Kona swatches trimmed to the size of the fabric swatch with its name, and stuck to a magnetic board on the wall.

And while the practical side of me thought, yes, this is a good way to organise these swatches, the ‘home-maker/wannabe-stylist/woman who has more expensive taste than her budget actually allows’ couldn’t bear the thought of having something so practical and not that pretty out for everyone who comes into our house to see.

So I hit a roadblock.

Until one day I was tidying up my rarely used embroidery floss and I realised that, hang on a minute, these little sections look like they could be about the same size as those darned Kona swatches…!!

And I was correct! So one afternoon I sat myself down, and trimmed my Kona colour swatches. Except after about the first thirty I realised that I had accidentally trimmed off some of the names of the colours. Idiot. So then I had to order another Kona swatch, wait for it to arrive and keep going. After about three weeks, I finally finished the project and then spent the next *insert completely ridiculous amount of time here* sorting all the tiny little swatches into colour groups. Greys, black greys, brown greys, yellow greens, teal blues, smokey blues, pinkey purples… you get the drift…

And eventually, I smugly closed the lid on that chapter of my life, as well as a beautifully, colour-organised Kona swatch container and put it away in a drawer in my desk, where I could easily access it when needed.

And then came the day. The day that undid all my hard work. The day that shall be remembered as… ok, ok, tone it down a little Xanthe. Yikes! Then came the day where I grabbed the Kona swatch container out of the drawer and dropped it. Only from a small height, mind you, but enough for my heart to jump into my mouth as I watched through the slightly opaque ‘but not quite opaque enough to shield me from the horror that was occurring before my very eyeballs’ plastic the skinny little Kona swatches jumping around in the space between the compartments and the lid and getting all. mixed. up.

After that happened I couldn’t bring myself to waste time trying to put everything back in colour order. So I pretended I didn’t have Kona swatches anymore. And the ostrich approach worked really well for a while… until I needed to match solids again. And then I knew it was time to sort it out. And accept that this too, was another WRONG way to store Kona swatches.

So what was the RIGHT way to store Kona swatches? I pondered. As I searched Pinterest I was reminded once again of the approach I will briefly outline below. And so, I took a deep breath, swallowed my pride and took off to Officeworks to get the materials to stick my swatches on a magnetic board.

What you need

So, what do you need for the RIGHT way to store Kona swatches? Well, the good thing is you don’t need much. I chose this magnetic self-adhesive tape that you can cut to size. You only need a very small piece to hold a Kona swatch on the whiteboard. I cut mine to about 5mm x the width of the strip.

I originally bought a smaller magnetic whiteboard (600mm x 450mm), because I wanted to keep it as small as possible, but as it turns out, those Kona swatches actually take up a LOT of room. You’ll definitely need one that is about 900mm x 600mm – I bought this one. And I attached it to the wall with 3M adhesive velcro, like this. It’s good stuff. Highly recommend.

And turns out, it doesn’t look all that bad. So I’m now calling this the RIGHT way to store Kona swatches.

I’d still prefer it to be in an ‘art studio/office’ set-up, rather than in my kitchen/dining room, but needs must. One day, when I’m rich and have an ‘art studio’ 😉

But I still can’t bring myself to spend the time putting everything back in colour order. For now, this will do.

You know, unless I find myself with very little social interaction and nothing to do except laundry because some weird apocalyptic pandemic scenario is playing out across the whole entire world and we’re all quarantined to our houses. But, I mean, yeah right, as if that’s ever going to happ……………..

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Why done really is better than perfect

by Xanthe Grundy | Feb 27, 2020 | LIFE, WIFE-MADE

Why done really is better than perfect

Done is better than perfect – I used to hate that saying so. It offended me, in the same way packet cake mix offends me. The thought that someone could actually think packet cake mix was an acceptable substitute for a homemade ‘from scratch’ cake. And that someone could settle for ‘done’ when it could be ‘perfect’…? Why would anyone be happy with settling? HOW could anyone accept THAT?

In my last post I talked about the goals I have for this year, and how I was a good girl and actually spent some time planning for the year ahead. Getting a plan together for what I’d IDEALLY like to get done with Wife-made this year. That post was just two weeks ago, folks. Isn’t it funny (NOT haha funny) how much can change in just two short weeks? I’m still learning, after 8 years, that nothing is ever IDEAL when you have kids (let alone four of them!).

I’m now coming to the end of three weeks of sickness in my household. That’s four kids and one husband sick. At the same time. Across weekends and through all three weeks of weekdays. That’s a lot of days of ‘sick’ when you’re the only viable human in the house. And it hasn’t just been a snotty nose, man-flu kind of sick. It’s been glandular fever levels of sick – fevers and shaking, extreme lethargy, vomits, tonsils the size of golf balls… Like I said, lots of sick.

All the while, I’ve had these darn self-imposed business deadlines looming over me, because for once I tried to be organised and plan ahead, and also because I’m trying very hard to make this thing I do actually be a business and not just a ‘hobby’. I have swung on the pendulum of emotions all the way from “I can do this! I’ll just stay up later and catch up! Ain’t nothing gonna break my stride!” to “I can’t do this, my life is so hard, why is it so easy for everyone else, what about meeeeeee, it isn’t fair, I’ve had enough…”. Will somebody please call the WAAAAAAAAAAmbulance?!

When week three of sick arrived I pretty much just stood at the door and waved good-bye to my plans. So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu. Adieu, adieu, to that deadline and that deadline and that deadline. (If you’re imagining me singing this while wearing some kind of traditional Austrian outfit made from old curtains, we will be fast friends.) By then reality had come home to roost – 1 person against 5 sick people and a hand-made business is never gonna win a fight.

In saying that, I haven’t completely given up. Not at all. Every spare moment I have had I have been working, and my days have gone somewhat like this. Administer paracetamol. Sew something. Work on my website. Administer ibuprofen. Post on social media. Wipe a bottom. Work on a pattern. Feed a child. Pick up a paintbrush. Check a temperature. Order materials online. And so on and so forth.

It’s only taken me eight years of child rearing, but I’m starting to come to peace with the fact that for now, in the season I’m in, I’m just not going to be able to provide my children with the level of mothering I feel they deserve AND achieve all the business goals I have. Because kids and life like to throw curveballs. (So, it’s out with the kids! Haha! Juuuuuust kidding.) I’ve come to the conclusion that done is better than perfect.

No, instead I’m beginning to see that perfection is over-rated, and to be honest, completely unattainable. My idea of perfection wasn’t ever ACTUALLY perfect anyway, it just ticked the right number of boxes that MY brain deemed ‘acceptable enough’. I have a saying I like to use from time to time. “You don’t become a better mother the more kids you have, your standards just drop significantly”. And without reading too much into it, I think it’s true. I’ve realised, perhaps not just with more kids, but maybe also with age and experience, that there are actually more important things than perfection. And when you realise it’s just your own construct of perfection it’s even easier to let it go, let it go……. (what’s with all the singing?!) because the only person holding you to it, is you!

From now on I’m accepting done. And I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s actually better than perfect. Because holding myself to a unattainable level of perfection or accomplishment or achievement or whatever you want to call it, just isn’t healthy. Maybe one day when all my kids are at school and I’ve got a set time each day to pour into my business THEN I’ll be able to up my standards and expect more of myself, but for now, the standard is ‘done’. Because our sanity is more important. So if it means I’m just scraping over the line, at least I’m getting over the line! If my own deadlines aren’t met on time, but it’s done just a bit late, or perhaps not at all for now, well, in the season I’m in today, that’s A.O.K.

And that’s all I’ve been doing these last few weeks. The floors haven’t been cleaned for two weeks, but since we don’t eat off them I’m not too bothered. All the washing is going into the dryer instead of on the line because otherwise it won’t get hung up at all. My husband is making the bed. Oh wait. That doesn’t count cos he does that everyday haha! I DID clean the showers which felt like a HUGE achievement! And even though I’m posting this blog post on a Thursday, when all the research says Tuesday is better, and it’s not a tutorial or anything exciting like that which would be more appealing to my followers, and there’s no pretty picture to punctuate the text… I’m just going to do it and be happy with it. If I can make it to the end of the week with four happy and reasonably healthy kids, then I consider it a job WELL DONE. Not even just done! That’s a ten out of ten! I win the gold medal!

But I have to say, while the standards I’ve held myself to have definitely dropped, I will NEVER EVER EVER come around to packet cake mix 😉

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My goals for 2020

by Xanthe Grundy | Feb 11, 2020 | WIFE-MADE

My goals for 2020

Let me tell you my goals for 2020. But let’s start at the beginning.

2020 commenced with a bang, don’t you think? I mean, it’s only February (ONLY February? What am I saying?? It’s ALREADY February! Gah!) and it feels like we’ve lived through another year already. SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED. It’s not fair that we should be tired at the start of the year, is it?? But that seems to be how it is – at least for me.

I have to admit, I didn’t welcome the New Year with open arms. It was more like fear and trepidation. Because, to be honest, last year was a tough one. And then the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020 kind of just blurred together in a raucous mess of school holidays and 6 kids to look after and keeping them occupied and managing the struggle of no school routine (that’s my struggle I’m referring to there!) and people visiting and cooking food constantly… And then we had the pleasure of adding into that the stress of family issues and health issues and financial pressures.

So when you can’t see an end to something, it’s hard to get excited about another year of it, you know?

My church has an annual fast at the beginning of the year which I have found to be immensely helpful in preparing myself for the year ahead. And as much as I DO NOT LIKE (is hate too strong a word?) fasting (I don’t care if it’s medical or spiritual – fasting is the pits – and if you ask my husband he’ll tell you exactly how much I don’t like fasting haha!) I do find it SO helpful to quiet the noise around me, gather myself for the year ahead and know where me and my family are heading.

I also set time aside late last year to do a business plan for Wife-made and think about my goals for 2020. I used this one by Fiona Killackey of My Daily Business Coach. I found the approach used by Fiona in this workbook to be enormously beneficial and *thankfully* lacking the fluff and awkwardness that makes me cringe in a lot of the planning approaches I’ve come across. In fact, I probably need to read over it every month to make sure I’m staying on track with my goals. Suffice to say, I HIGHLY recommend this planner. If you’re needing direction, invest in this one. I’ll be going back to it next year as well.

So what are my goals for 2020 and where am I heading this year? Well, I can tell you a bit about where Wife-made is heading, that’s for sure!

Wife-made Goals for 2020

Paper patterns

If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen me post about my new pattern layout that I contracted Bec from We Have Colour to design for me. Here’s a couple pics from my Strudel pattern if you don’t know what I’m talking about…

One of my goals for 2020 is to get all my patterns reformatted for paper printing so that I can start stocking them in brick and mortar stores around the world. Imagine! Little ol’ me sending patterns in quilting shops all over the world! How good would that be?!

Unfortunately I also need to rework some of my older patterns because I’ve learned A LOT about pattern writing since releasing my first pattern and I want to make sure I’m 100% happy with all of my patterns before committing them to paper. So it will take time and in amongst releasing new patterns and making samples, time is something I sorely lack. Never mind, there’s no point in getting worked up about things I can’t control. First and foremost I’m a stay-at-home Mum to four beautiful kids who need me more than ever now and I’m learning to accept what each day holds, or probably more accurately, accept what it DOESN’T hold.

Foster creativity

Another goal is to start proactively fostering my creativity. The last couple of weekends I have set time aside to do something other than pattern writing and quilting. It has been wonderful for my creative brain and I feel like I’ve made some exciting leaps that I have yearned for for so long. There’s definitely something to be said for creative inertia. When it gets it’s claws into you it can be hard to break. My only advice is, do the thing that you don’t want to do. You won’t regret it. But I also know how hard it is to do it, especially when you’re sleep deprived and looking after a family. So, no pressure. Do it when you can 😉

In just a couple of hours one Saturday afternoon I made this wool blanket collage that is now hanging on the wall in Rosie’s room. I’d been thinking about it for a while, and I finally had an afternoon free and absolutely no excuses, so I got out my scraps, some glue and a piece of watercolour paper and I started cutting.

And below is what came of it! I can’t wait to explore this more. I have some ideas that I’m hoping to play around with this week – maybe even this afternoon if I can get this post finished and my email newsletter done…

The Saturday just gone was a very rainy day and not one for leaving the house, so we felt completely at ease with letting the kids watch TV for hours and spend the day doing whatever we wanted. Sometimes you just need that, don’t you think?

Another creative pursuit I’ve been wanting to foster is painting, so I used the opportunity to get out my gouache paints and start playing. At the end of the day, in amongst putting load after load of washing in the dryer, feeding hungry humans etc I managed to finish it!

This is the first painting I’ve completed that I really love. I feel like I have actually managed to express my personal creative style through the medium of painting for the first time ever in this piece. It’s a hard feeling to explain and I don’t think there’s anything else I can say to describe it, other than feeling like I’ve reached the summit of a little mountain in a mountain range I’ve been climbing for ages. It’s not the big peak in the mountain range, but it’s a peak nonetheless and should be celebrated as such, if you ask me!

Be consistent

I think all my goals for 2020 come under the banner of being more consistent overall. To show up more and be more consistent with everything I’m doing. That means consistent blogging, consistent monthly email newsletters, consistent social media posts, consistent work, consistent creative practice, consistent consistent consistent!

The thing about having small children is that consistency is very difficult to achieve. When you are at the beck and call of a RUTHLESS and COMPLETELY UNREASONABLE newborn or toddler (because, let’s be real, that’s what they are! Have you ever tried to reason with a one year old? Yes. Did you win? No.) you have very little control over what you can do with your time. And the reality is… consistency is unreality. There is nothing consistent about little babies. Well, not mine anyway!

Thankfully it is starting to ease for me now with my youngest being 2.5 (so for those of you out there in the throes of little kid life, have hope! It does end!) and I am actually able to start to put in place ways of being more consistent, while still accommodating the inconsistencies of life (I realise how contradictory that sentence sounds.).

What are your goals for 2020? Are you a ‘word of the year’ type? Or a staunch follower of plans and lists and ticking boxes? How do you manage your year? So much has changed for me in how I get things done over the last ten years. Having kids tends to do that, wouldn’t you say? 😉

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How to make a tassel for the Strudel quilt wall hanging

by Xanthe Grundy | Feb 4, 2020 | QUILTING & SEWING, WIFE-MADE

How to make a tassel for the Strudel quilt wall hanging

by Astrid Bordush

When I saw the first draft of Xanthe’s Strudel quilt pattern, before even cutting my pieces, I knew I needed a wall hanging with a tassel! I don’t know how to explain it… I’m not normally drawn to tassels – they make me think of old and heavy velvet curtains, which I would normally only appreciate in an old theater and not so much in my own home – but I find it just adds that perfect little twist, making it a gorgeous and unique wall hanging. So here’s my tutorial for how to make a tassel for the Strudel quilt wall hanging.

Download the Strudel Quilt pattern today!

For members of the EU, for VAT collection purposes you can purchase the downloadable Strudel Quilt pattern in my Etsy shop.

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Never made a tassel before? Neither had I, but believe me, it is sooo easy!

How to make a tassel

Materials:

Perle cotton thread, or similar
A completed wall hanging that comes to a point, like the Strudel quilt

In general, I would say a thinner thread makes for a more elegant tassel, a thicker thread gives you a more rustic look. For my tassel I used DMC size 5 perle embroidery cotton. I like the subtle sheen and I find it goes perfectly with the hardwood dowel and the cotton string I used to hang the quilt. And, most importantly, it almost perfectly matches the colour of my binding!

Step 1: Decide how large you want the tassel to be. Cut a piece of cardboard to size or simply find something within your reach that has similar or slightly larger dimensions – you can always trim it later. I used a 2.5” wide acrylic ruler and that worked out just perfect.

Step 2: Wrap your thread around your cardboard, or whatever you’re using, until your coil is as thick as you would like your tassel to be (with my pearl cotton that was about sixty times), then cut the ends. Take a 10” long piece of thread, feed it through the coil you just created and tie a tight knot.

Step 3: Carefully slip the tassel off the wrapping device and fold it at that spot so that the knot is now at the top of the tassel. Take a second 10“ long piece of thread and wrap it twice around the entire tassel, about ¼” to ½” below the tip. Try to create a somewhat spherical shape at the top of your tassel and tie another tight knot.

Step 4: Cut the thread loops open at the bottom and trim the ends to the desired length if necessary.

Step 5: Now you just need to attach your beautiful new tassel to your quilt. Thread one of the two strings at the top of your tassel through a sharp embroidery needle and poke it through the binding of your quilt, front to back, about 1/8” from the edge, and tie a knot in the back. Trim the ends and voilà, you’re done!

Now that your wall hanging is finished, you will want to hang it. There are several ways to do that. I have a detailed tutorial on my blog for a rustic look with fabric loops, a wooden dowel and a string, like shown at the beginning of this post – head over to Apples & Beavers for a detailed tutorial!

Once your new wall hanging is up, grab yourself a piece of delicious apple strudel and enjoy – both strudels! What do you think about the tassel addition? Tell me in the comments if you’ll be adding one to your Strudel quilt wall hanging!

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Guest Blogger

Astrid Bordush

Astrid is the creative behind Apples & Beavers, and has been an avid crafter since childhood. Astrid is passionate about sewing, but quilting is the particular craft she leans on to recharge her busy-Mum batteries.

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How to bind 120 degree angles

by Xanthe Grundy | Jan 21, 2020 | QUILTING & SEWING, WIFE-MADE

How to bind 120 degree angles

by Astrid Bordush

Once you’ve finished piecing and quilting your Strudel quilt you may find yourself looking at the beautiful flag shape wondering how to bind 120 degree angles. Sure, you could just wing it and go for the quick and dirty approach… Or you could just follow this simple tutorial and have perfectly mitred corners! I know what I’d be choosing (particularly since I’ve done all the hard work for you!).

And let me tell you something: this tutorial will make you a master binder for ALL kinds of angles! Just keep in mind to line up your binding strip with the next edge of your quilt when creating the first fold – and you will have a perfectly mitred corner, not just for 120 degree angles but for ANY obtuse angle.

To be honest, I haven’t encountered any other obtuse angles in my quilting adventures so far, and I’m guessing that sticking to somewhat traditional quilt blocks and layouts I won’t come across any completely random shapes, but I can’t help it, my background in engineering just makes me appreciate the broad validity of this concept. So please excuse my bragging… 😝

Download the Strudel Quilt pattern today!

For members of the EU, for VAT collection purposes you can purchase the downloadable Strudel Quilt pattern in my Etsy shop.

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But enough talking, let’s start!

How to bind 120 degree angles

Materials:

A unbound, quilted project with obtuse angled corners, like the Strudel quilt
prepared double-fold binding to fit the size of your chosen project
matching thread in sewing machine
matching thread and needle for finishing the binding

Step 1: Whether you’re machine or hand-binding your quilt, just start like you always start – pick one of the sides of your quilt and start attaching your binding strip (I usually start somewhere in the middle, leaving about 10 inches of binding hanging to be joined later). As soon as you are about four inches away from your first 120 degree corner, stop.

Step 2: Fold your binding to the right, so that the edge of the binding and the next edge of your quilt form a straight line (see dashed line in picture below).

Step 3: Depending on the colours of your fabrics and your light conditions, a good finger press might be all you need to create a sufficiently visible crease.

Step 4: But if you want to play it safe, feel free to use a temporary marker to enhance the visibility of the crease you just created.

Step 5: Now, continue stitching until you get to that line, then stop with your needle down and lift your presser foot up.

Step 6: Pivot your Strudel quilt clock-wise around your needle, lower your presser foot again and finish sewing your seam on the line you just created towards the corner of your quilt, two to three stitches, depending on your stitch length. Back-stitch and cut your thread.

Step 7: Your seam should now look like this:

Step 8: To continue, refold your binding on the previously created crease, then fold it back along the next edge of your quilt – the two folds should meet at the corner of your quilt – and secure it with a pin.

Step 9: Starting at the pinned corner, continue to sew on your binding strip along that next edge until you get to the next corner.

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Step 10: Repeat the previously described steps for the remaining two 120 degree corners, then finish attaching your binding as usual until you have completed the entire round.

Before stitching the binding down on the back of your quilt, I suggest gently pressing it towards the seam you just created. This way it will be much easier to fold it over evenly.

Step 11: Now finish the binding with your preferred method, by machine or by hand. For a wall hanging I personally would not want to see that extra seam in the front that’s typical for machine binding, so I suggest hand-stitching the back of your binding. You can do a less noticeable whip or ladder stitch, but since I’m currently finishing all my quilting projects with a chunky hand stitch, this is what the pictures will show.

How to bind 120 degree angles AND finish with perfectly mitred corners!

Again, attach your binding along one of the edges of your quilt, until you get close to a 120-degree corner, about half an inch away or so, then stop.

Step 12: Fold the next side of your binding over, creating a neat mitered corner and pin it in position.

Step 13: Then, continue your seam until you approach the next corner. Repeat the described procedure until your binding is completed.

Turn your quilt over and admire your perfectly mitered corners! Thanks for following this tutorial on how to bind 120 degree angles. Let me know your thoughts and comments below!

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Strudel quilt release and tips!

by Xanthe Grundy | Jan 9, 2020 | WIFE-MADE

Strudel quilt release and tips!

And just like that, the STRUDEL QUILT is LIVE! Yay! Hurrah! Hooray! Cheers! Mazel tov! Oo-pah! Congratulations, I made it!

Since it’s taken me so long to finally get to this stage (if you’ve been following along with me on social media you’ll know how long…), let’s get right to it!

Strudel Quilt – 1 pattern, 12 options… and even more!

Strudel is a fun and fast design that showcases the beauty of 60° angles! The quilt pattern offers a range of project sizes including runner, wall hanging, throw and twin sizes, as well as instructions for two different colour combinations – in total that’s twelve different project combinations in one pattern! Say whaaaat?!

The size flexibility of the Strudel pattern is one element that I really love about it, and is why I made the ‘and even more’ comment in the heading above. In the photo below you can see the different sized runners – two on the wall and one under the plant. Whether it’s a runner, wall hanging, throw or twin sized project you can easily adapt the pattern to your specific requirements by adding or removing blocks from the length of the quilt. This is particularly useful for the runner and wall hanging options! For a table length runner, add as many blocks as necessary to make it the perfect length for your table, or if you just want a little trivet for under a plant remove as many as you want to a minimum of three triangles on either side.

Download the Strudel Quilt pattern today!

For members of the EU, for VAT collection purposes you can purchase the downloadable Strudel Quilt pattern in my Etsy shop.

Wife-made Shop

Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Bias Cuts?

Answer: Not you, if you’re sewing a Strudel!

If the thought of dealing with bias-cut edges usually sends you running wildly with your hands in the air from any pattern that smells even slightly like it might involve sewing with them, then be warned, this pattern obviously does include bias cuts. But you probably already guessed that from the fact that it includes triangles and 60° angles, right?

HOWEVER, the way I designed Strudel MINIMISES the impact of the bias on quilt construction, which, in my opinion, makes this kind of angled design much more approachable for the bias-wary creative. Even though I have labelled it as an intermediate level pattern I would happily encourage confident beginners to give it a shot. Just be sure to use lots of spray starch and follow the instructions carefully.

To help you on your way (regardless of whether you’re a quilting newbie or a seasoned quilting fanatic) the Strudel pattern provides clear cutting instructions and diagrams to help you prep your fabric and piece your quilt in the most efficient way possible.

Tips for quilting the Strudel quilt

Because this design does have bias cut seams it is important to take care when making the quilt sandwich not to stretch the quilt top out of its original shape. The bias seams will give a little more than straight seams and you may end up with a wonky quilt top if you are too aggressive when pulling the quilt top taut through the quilt sandwich making process. If this happens to you, don’t despair! I don’t always have a perfectly squared up quilt at the end, even when I’m working with straight cut seams! More and more I’m learning that perfection isn’t a sign of success. Just enjoy the process, and chalk up your wonky edges to practice and learning!

When it comes to the actual quilting process, I have a particular appreciation for 1.5″ straight line grid-style machine quilting at the moment, which I used on the Carolyn Friedlander CF Strudel quilt on the cover of the pattern. I feel like grid quilting is a nice option for Strudel because it brings a balance to the quilt when combined with the 60° angles, and I will definitely do that again.

My preferred finish is usually some sort of combination of machine quilting and hand quilting, and this is particularly effective for the wall hanging, as you can see in the photo below. Hand quilting adds amazing texture to a quilt that you just don’t get with machine quilting, not to the same level anyway IMO.

The added machine quilting is a bit like a safety net for me – it acts as permanent basting so I know nothing’s going to move around after I’ve finished off the hand quilting, and also adds a bit of extra strength to the quilt. I feel like a quilt with this combination is more likely to survive a lot of lovin’, but maybe that’s just my anxiety about all my hard work being destroyed talking there? If it’s a wall hanging or runner, you don’t really need to do the machine quilting as well, but it’s up to you!

If you like the idea of using a mixture of machine and hand quilting I recommend ‘stitch in the ditch’ for the machine quilting because it leaves you with a basically clean canvas on which to start your hand quilted design.

Below is a diagram of the approach I used, which removes the need for burying threads (which is the absolute pits, if you ask me ;). Just lock your stitch (backstitch) at the start and end of each row, just on the edge of the quilt where it will be covered by the binding.

How to choose fabric for your Strudel quilt

As I mentioned early on, the Strudel quilt is a fast quilt top to stitch together, which is due to what I have called its ‘maxi-pieces’. The throw and twin sizes use long strips of fabric that are 8″ wide, which happens to be perfect for those BIG and BOLD prints that smaller quilt designs don’t do justice to.

In the pink and orange Strudel quilt above, I used an Alexander Henry floral that I’d had stashed away for years. I originally bought it because it reminded me of vintage sheets but the problem was that none of the quilts I was making were right for the design. Too much of the floral pattern would have been chopped up and the beautiful design wouldn’t have actually been visible. But Strudel allows those big prints to sing! (NOTE: If you’re reading this, and you know you have a few yards of that fabric stashed away that you’d happily part with for the right price, let me know as I have had people asking about this print!)

If you’re looking for some big, modern prints, check out Nerida Hansen Print & Textile for a range of local and international designers who do big and bold beautifully (like local Gold Coast designer, Ellie Whittaker!). Nerida also now stocks an organic quilting fabric range and it is luscious.

I think this Holli Zollinger fabric would be PERFECT for a Strudel throw or twin sized quilt. I’d use the top left floral for the triangles, top middle for the foreground and top right for the background, a matching soft pink solid for the binding so it blends in and then the tigers for the backing. RAAAAWWWWWR!

Strudel quilt pattern inspiration – Holli Zollinger fabric

I guess the thing about quilts is that they tell different stories, depending on what fabric you use. To me, the large motif of the throw and twin sized quilts means it really lends itself to big and bold. But when you size down to the runner and wall hanging it’s a whole different ball game! I made the most of the opportunity to use a selection of prints from Carolyn Friedlander‘s Collection CF range, as well as some Essex linen in Oyster, which matches the collection perfectly. I have to admit, I really have a soft spot for the small yellow runner – it will be going on the wall in my work area, for sure.

Strudel Quilt Pattern Testers

I really want to highlight the important and very much appreciated role my pattern testers played in bringing this pattern to life. You can check out their beautiful creations on Instagram by searching #strudelquilt and I’ve also included a gallery below, with their Instagram handles.

While the initial idea and work for Strudel was mine, I feel it really came into its own with the input of my testers. Sometimes when you wrestle with something it can be easy to just give up in order to get it out of your sight, but I knew that just wouldn’t have been good enough. Having someone egging you on, telling you its missing something and offering you their opinion is exactly what is needed to get you over the line at times. So, THANK YOU, my dear pattern testers!

Astrid – @applesandbeavers

Emily – @emilyacrang

Kathleen – @kathleenmihailou

Astrid – @applesandbeavers

Mahalia – @mahalia_rose

Emily – @emilyacrang

Well, we made it! But I have to be honest – for a while there I did wonder if this pattern would ever see the light of day… The whole process took A LOT longer than I had anticipated. But I’ve come to learn that as a stay-at-home-mum-of-four with a husband who travels a lot for work, I really need to set aside my expectations and go with the flow of life. Because life is much more enjoyable and manageable for everyone involved (me AND the rest of the family) when you don’t go through it grumpy and annoyed because your expectations aren’t being met. *wink wink*

Hello! I'm Xanthe...

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