Brocade braid across the table

I seem to be falling in love with the stunning effect of brocade. Although a not so easy fabric to work with, fraying ends, pulling weaves, the end result more than makes up for the arduous journey of piecing it all together!

Post my work with the churn dash cushion covers, i decided to make a table runner with brocade. The pattern i chose was the braided herringbone. A lovely pattern indeed. I first saw this pattern first hand on a quilt when Manju a fellow DQ had come to Bombay. She used this pattern as a border for her Bargello quilt. Thank you Manju! You in a way introduced me to the braided herringbone :) 

So the journey began with a whole lot of excitement! I first gathered all the brocade fabrics i had, cut them into 3.5 inches strips and went sew, sew sew!! You know, unlike the other patters i've done so far, i realized that with this i could actually 'feel' that i was progressing!! Then came the ironing the top part. Was very scared if i'd burn it. Played safe, really safe. Low temperature, lot's of water in the iron, and gradually increased the temperature.............just why was i so nervous!!!

I also ironed on press canvas to the backing fabric which is plain 'kora' cloth. This has given the table runner a little stiffness. Used my regular batting.

This is  a closer view

Didn't know how to quilt it without spoiling the look of the strips - you know the quilting turning out to be like a sore to the eye!! Decided to go with the safest option - along the seams! 

Blue and golden churn dashes

While surfing and learning about quilting (which is an everyday affair !), i decided to learn about the different blocks. That's when i first saw the churn dash block and read about its history. Do read it in the link. It's fascinating! 

I like the simple design. There's something about it which i find very appealing. So i just had to try it out. I first made a table runner a few months back (will post pictures soon). Recently i decided to use the block for cushion covers. The fabric i used was brocade. Had this blue and gold brocade and when i decided to combine it with a golden fabric, it looked so royal!!! 

I just had to quilt them. Something seemed amiss without the quilting. The back is an overlap of the same fabrics, with a velcro strip for fastening. 

Was pretty pleased with the end products............

I made two cushion covers, both complementing each other. That way they are similar yet not identical.

This is how the back looks

This is a picture of the two cushion covers together - don't they complement each other just right? 

Owl Mitten

While going through the many many sites on quilting, i have come across some fascinating oven mitts and pot pinchers. i love the kitchen and spend hours in it. Making oven mitts with a twist has always been on my to do list. 

i decided to try my hand at making an 'owl' oven mitt. Since i had no tutorial, just a picture in mind, i used my regular oven mitt as a sample for the size. i cut out a basic template on paper of how my owl would look and used that as a guide to cut out the individual templates for the various body parts. 

i then proceeded with cutting the fabrics and the sponge for the batting. i used two layers of the sponge sheet just so that it would be more heat resistant. Even the fabric was double layered. Here are a few pictures of the WIP for the front of the mitt.

i simply machine stitched straight along the length to quilt. The eyes and the beak were appliquéd and then blanket stitched. The wings were machine stitched and then blanket stitched.

These are few pictures of the WIP of the back of the mitt

And...this is how the mitt finally looked...........

Things i would  do differently

• i would make the thumb insertion pocket a little lower down. this mitt just covers the wrist. Personally i prefer mitts which go up at least 2 inches above the wrist (extra protection from burns) 
• i would round off the mitt a little more in the lower part. i find it too broad.

i want to make more mitts, there are endless possibilities in terms of design and i think they'd make wonderful give aways.