Simply Retro: Dapper Aiden Quilt

I have had this Retro Rocket Rascals Astronauts from Michael Miller for a few years now and I thought this is a great project to use up this cute fabric.

Making this quilt hasn't been exactly smooth. There are a few hiccups along the way as what I had original imagined in my head didn't quite work out in reality. One I made a few block I realised white solid isn't going to work and I had to dash to the shop and get something to match the intended fabric without stealing the light away from those cute astronauts. Contrast of the fabric also played an important role as essentially this is one of those quilt you only use as few as 2 fabrics. I ended up with multi-colored-small-dotted design in white. 

As it is a directional print slicing this fabric and sewing the blocks required a bit more planning but otherwise I am happy with the end result. The quilting is simple organic straight line, however I use a few different color thread alternating throughout the quilt.

When I first glance through the book this was my favourite design. Now it's going to a nice home waiting for a baby boy to arrive! Counting down the days now...

Simply Retro: Vintage

This is my second quilt from Camille Roskelley's book Simply Retro. It's the biggest block I have tried so far, measures 19 3/4 inches square. It has the potential to showcase large prints but I have decided to try the low volume approach. I have been doing lots of bright colored, children's quilt and this is a nice change for me. Something for adult, something pink, which is a color I do usually work with.

My challenge for this quilt is the quilting. This time I know exactly what I want, which is all-over large scallop pattern. I tried the clover pencil but it's too hard to see the lines so I had to come up with another idea as I want to quilt them perfectly (meaning consistently and with straight stitching). 

I thought I will recycle my self-adhesive vinyl that I used to wrap up text book as a template and stick them directly on the fabric as a guide. It sounded brilliant in my head except it didn't stick well on fabric! I had to pin it down and it was still fiddly, but I am happy with the end result --- and that is all that matters!