BLOG 57

My mother continues to be a cause for concern, having made little medical progress during the past week. However, instead of lying in bed all day, they are at least getting her dressed and into a chair. Being on a similar eye level with the hospital staff and visitors has given her a much healthier perspective on life and there’s still hope in her with talk of ‘…. when I get home….’

This week I have concentrated on my Christmas Flowers arrangement and it has been turned through, pressed and a sleeve attached. However, in a change from my usual procedure, this picture was machine textured before it was bagged and turned through. This has left the backing fabric free from the rest of the quilt and I need to add more texturing. Note to self: Bag and turn through before texturing for a flatter finish!

Christmas flower arrangement

At the Festival of Quilts next month at the NEC, our Quilters’ Guild has a stall to raise funds. There is a theme each year and, understandably, the members are encouraged to make as many sale items as possible. This year the theme is ‘Put ‘em ins’! So we are talking receptacles here and they can be of any shape or form or technique.

I have decided to make some soft boxes, which I recall demonstrating many years ago as a Christmas project. You can imagine them made in Xmas fabric to enhance your place settings, can’t you? Anyway, the one shown below is made in silk by my chum Jennifer and when I said I was going to do them, she kindly sent instructions that she had downloaded from the internet. I found these instructions complex so the method I am about to describe is simple and quick and it could be suitable for young sewers who are able to use a sewing machine. (A project that might interest Veronica!)

EASY SOFT BOX

Jennifer’s soft box

Requirements

9 ½” square of outer fabric

9 ½” square of lining fabric

9 ½” square of cotton batting

Preparation

On the RS of the lining fabric mark a 1” grid. (I used a water-erasable marker)

Method

1 Place the fabrics RS together and pin onto the batting, matching the edges.

Layering

2 Pin a 3” gap along one edge for turning and sew a ¼” seam around the edge.

TIP: Sew a couple of diagonal stitches across each corner to soften them.

Turning through

3 Trim the excess fabric on the corners and turn RS out with the marked grid on the top, batting in the middle and outer fabric on the bottom. Use a blunt tool to ease out the corners and turn and pin the seams at the gap.

TIP: You can hand sew the gap if you prefer or machine sew it with a decorative stitch after the grid had been sewn.

Sewing the grid

4 Quilt along the lines by hand or machine. Start and finish with tiny stitches on the edges. Dab with a damp cloth to remove the water-erasable lines.

TIP: Try decorative stitches for a different effect.

Decorative edging

5 Sew a line of straight or decorative stitches around the outer edge.

Pinning the corners

6 Fold the square in half with the lining on the inside and pin the 3” sewing lines together. Do this on all the corners.

Sewing the lines

7 Sew along the lines to shape the box.

Finishing

8 Flatten and pin the corners so that the point is central with the seams. Hold them in place with a stitch in a matching thread to finish. (This is a job for in front of the TV!)

NOTE: You may have noticed that Jennifer has not sewn through her lining. This is because she used a layer of calico to mark the grid and sewed this first before adding the lining and turning through. It produces a softer finish.

Ah well, from my studio, I can hear the blackbirds ‘pink pinking’, the nuthatch ‘chwiting’ and the skylark ascending in song so it’s time I was in my garden. I hope have a try at the project and enjoy it!