Sewing a patchwork quilt, a guide with plenty of pictures
From a finished log cabin top to a bound quilt: adding the borders, pinning the layers, quilting in one direction and a double fold binding with mitred corners.
Blog
Stories & guides
The patchwork room. My Etsy shop and the first sale to the USA
A quilt sold from my Etsy shop to the USA, the very land of quilting, where some 900 makers sell patchwork on Etsy alone.
The patchwork room. A drum bag for a handmade drum
A kaleidoscope patchwork pattern in green, 3 m of folded fabric strip for a single colour ring, and the new tools that made the job easier.
The patchwork room. New instrument bags
The next instrument bags are finished, this time with foam padding and a cotton lining. Very soft and warm, and winter is already knocking at the door.
The bird house. Today's egg box
This year's egg box holds white and light brown hatchery eggs alongside the coloured ones, and Marans eggs for the first time. Plus a cross that lays pale blue eggs when it should not.
The patchwork room. On inspiration and deadlines.
Why silence on the blog does not mean a forgotten commission, and what is coming between November 2014 and February 2015.
School holidays in the studio
The grandchildren came for the holiday week, so we made a big shared daily timetable and taped it to the door. To my astonishment, it worked.
Visiting Vastseliina
Our patchwork group visited the Vastseliina craft workshop to see a second quilting frame, a Husqvarna, and came away full of ideas.
The patchwork room. Dream animal quilts for little ones.
A new series of children's quilts named "Dream animals": a cat, a dog, a horse and an owl. Plus an explanation of straight quilting and free motion quilting.
The patchwork room. The new week's work
A peek into the patchwork room and a couple of hints about what is coming in October: ten more kannel bags, and a small creative block over how to combine the padding, the lining, the corded binding and the zip.
The patchwork room. 12 beanbags, 12 chairs of good thoughts
Twelve 100 litre beanbags for a primary school quiet room, each carrying a pair of positive words and a creature to match: a wise owl, a busy bee, a nimble monkey.
New seat covers for an old car
My son restored an old Russian car and ordered seat covers exactly like the originals. A hundred eyelets later it turned out they were not needed at all.
The patchwork room. Pencil cases for a nursery.
Forty pencil cases in linen, denim and cotton, all different, and for once a big job finished ahead of time.
The patchwork room. Pencil cases and diary covers
Linen and denim cases with lace, ribbons, buttons and appliques, padded so they protect what is inside. Every one different, no two alike.
The bird house. Young cockerels
Three young cockerels were offered in the autumn and all found new homes. Lavender Araucana and Copper Black Marans crosses, so birds of the olive green egg.
The patchwork room. The first 10 bags of kannel bag model 2 are finished.
Half a year of designing, trials and unpicking, and model 2 is here: waterproof outer fabric, a stiff inner reinforcement, corded binding and a one off ornament on every cover.
Patchwork world at the Leisi Patchwork House.
Our patchwork group visited the Leisi Patchwork House on Saaremaa to try out a quilting frame, one of only three in Estonia, and to see the Electric Quilt program.
The bird house. This year's feathered flock
A two year old who opens the gate and carries the hens back in by hand, hatchery chicks alongside my own, and the first small brown eggs at 20 weeks.
The patchwork room. Children's aprons, duty aprons for nursery.
A larger batch of children's aprons is finished. White lace and a rosette for the girls, a bow tie for the boys, and no more trouble getting boys to be on duty.
The patchwork room. Mending a saddle pad.
A broken saddle pad from the corner of the cupboard got new binding and a few quilted flowers to cover the worn patches. The patchwork machine gave up on the last flower.
The flower garden. Roses, lilies and daisies.
A few lovely blooms from today. The summer has been endlessly dry and the flowers look a little sad in places, and yet they are wonderful.
The patchwork room. A photo session with the quilts.
I knew my product photographs were dull in places. Encouraged by the pictures taken with Mathias and Carolin, I made brighter ones of the quilts in the Etsy shop.
The patchwork room. A photo session with Mathias
A two hour photo session with the children's wall hangings that have been waiting on the shelf since winter. The little man would not leave the wall for a moment.
The patchwork room. Together with my granddaughter.
An abandoned denim skirt became a cuddle cushion: lace between the machine embroideries, and a button design a five year old placed herself, one button at a time.
Song festival 2014. The touch of time, the time of touch.
This year's song festival was wonderful. I sang with the Raudtee Culture Society mixed choir; 22 thousand singers under the arch and 70 to 80 thousand people in front of us.
Song festival 2014. TuleTulemine in Suurupi and our flame quilt.
The festival flame came to Harku parish by bicycle relay, and the Suurupi event was the high point. Pictures of the performers, the surroundings and our flame quilt.
The patchwork room. A few more sewing projects with my granddaughter.
Long leggings and short ones, cut to a pattern taken from her own favourites. And two Virgos arguing about which way round the pins should lie in the pot.
The patchwork room. Crafting with my granddaughter, fabric brooches.
Carolin taught me how they made fabric brooches at nursery. Layers of fabric flowers, a button on top and a safety pin at the back, all with double sided tape.
The flower garden. A few spring pictures.
The flower garden blog has gone unattended for years; craft and poultry have taken me over. Here are some pictures of the June flowers: the first irises, the last tulips and my flowering rockery.
The patchwork room. Crafting with my granddaughter.
She wanted to sew something herself. A quilt is too big a job for a child, so we made a skirt instead: eight panels, a soft elastic waist and white lace at the hem.
The bird house. Today's chicks.
The finest specimens among the layers of green, dark brown and pale blue eggs. Three years of work, and they will start laying in 5 or 6 months.
The patchwork room. The craft project and competition "Textile and button"
A craft project and monthly competition run through a Facebook group: the themes, the rules, how entries are judged and how businesses can support it.
The patchwork room. The TuleTulemine wall hanging, a labour of love led by the women of Meretule.
A shared craft project for the song and dance festival: a patchwork wall hanging of the Suurupi lower lighthouse, where everyone could add their own finger cord at the festival.
The patchwork room. Kannel bags for a nursery
Ten small kannel bags for one nursery, and the moment I realised the front and back pieces of all twelve were facing the same way. So 12 bags became 24.
The patchwork room. My patchwork room grows and develops.
From sewing on the living room floor in 2009 to more than half of the upper floor in 2014. Pictures of the studio, before and now.
The bird house. Do you have young hens coming into lay for sale?
Why I do not sell young hens coming into lay in the spring, and why I do not raise chicks in the winter.