Top 5 Wall Mural ideas

In amongst all the specialist appointments for Nicholas and the general daily grind, our new Latitude 37 house has been slowly being built. At lockup stage, things are starting to get exciting, and so I am casting my mind to some interior design despite having a 2,500 word essay due in a weeks time.

We have wall in our back room dining space and I would love to do something dramatic but not too loud on it. Beside the wall will sit the dining table, adjacent to the white kitchen which will have a red glass splash back.

1. Australian Design

Excited was how I felt when I came across Lara Cameron's Birch Mural from The wallpaper company

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I would probably aim for a more neutral colour like this one or dark grey birches on a white background.

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2. Forest Image

Another possibility is some wilderness linking the outside with the inside. Pickawall have some lovely vibrant pictures in their collection.

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This image would look spectacular, but I am not sure it would suit the space.

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I love this Birch wall mural by Walls need love.

3. Monochromatic image

Or something monochromatic like this from photowall.

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4. Cityscape

I am not sure I would go for Manhattan, probably something closer to home like Berlin or Glasgow.

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5. Vintage

Even though this image has a watermark over it, you can see Luna Park

or some Vintage New York made by Digitex in the UK.

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So what do you think? 

Have you had an experiences with Wall Murals.

Thirty Six Officers Quilt Top Tutorial

Another idea taken from the mathematics fact book (of which I should really find the actual name so that I can link to it), is the "Thirty-Six Officers Problem". My last one was the Penrose Tile post.

Wikipedia states:

"The thirty-six officers problem is a mathematical puzzle proposed by Leonhard Euler in 1782.

The problem asks if it is possible to arrange 6 regiments consisting of 6 officers each of different ranks in a 6 × 6 square so that no rank or regiment will be repeated in any row or column. Such an arrangement would form a Graeco-Latin square."

Can't you see how this would be an ideal pattern for a quilt? 
I just love the mathematics of quilting!

So I started playing around with the idea as a basis for a larger project. In the original problem, you would have 6 squares of each colour displayed in a way that looks random, but isn't really.

Using a jelly Roll, you would need 15 inches (plus slack) for each colour for a block finish size of 12 inches x 12 inches (plus 1/2 inch each side seam allowance).

Nine blocks would make a good cot quilt, 35 squares a good single bed, 80 a good double or queen size, then add sashing and surrounds.

Using a Charm Pack you would need 6 squares (5 inches x 5 inches) for each colour for finished block of 27 inches x 27 inches + seam. 36 charm pieces are needed for the entire pattern (most charm packs are 42 squares worth, with two squares the same).  So buying a few packs of the same design would work wonderfully.

Using a layer cake, you would need 6 squares at (10 inches x 10 inches) for each colour. Each block would be 57 inches plus seam allowance.

It would look quite effective as an Autumn Colour Scheme.

And equally as nice as a monochromatic version.

Assembling the blocks:

What type of patchworker are you? If you are precise I would sew this quilt row by row. If not, sew four squares together to make a small block, measure and trim. Then sew another 4 together, and so on.  

But if you are not a quilter, this pattern could work equally well as a crochet blanket.

If you end up making one of these quilts based on these ideas, please leave a comment and let me know!

Enjoy!

Margaret  

Some time for me

Another crafty friend has organised a craft day today. What a lovely day for it. It has been ages since I have had a few hours of uninterrupted sewing time just for me. So what is on the to-do list?

Believe it or not, I have the final blocks for Tori's Paintbox Quilt to finish and then I have to lay it out and decide where the colours will be positioned. Best done in a room full of other crafters!

I've been chipping away at this project and it has probably taken far too long, but I am happy with the block choices and every few weeks I would come across another great monochromatic fabric that I wanted to include in her quilt.

I also have a great idea for some scrappy patchy monogrammed pillows for her bed from some gorgeous Jelly's that have been sitting for far too long on my shelf.

I have no expectations of achieving anything except sewing and chatting.

My Creative Space ...

I've finally managed to find the time to pin my Monochromatic Quilt to the backing fabric. So now it is all set to go, I just have to decide how to quilt it. So many options! I need to find the time to finish the last tutorial on the "night and day" block that is in the Sampler.

For more craft pursuits, check out Kootoyoo's blog

Kaos also has a giveaway, "I heart Patchwork" the book .. so enter! yes!

Patchwork Heaven

I needed to get some backing fabric for my Monochromatic Quilt this afternoon so I ventured out with Nicholas strapped to the front of me to GJ's in East Brunswick. I couldn't resist taking a few snaps of the wall of quilting fabric.

Their "Patchwork Room" was previously upstairs with their glitter and dance range on the bottom floor. Unless you were "in the know" you probably didn't realise that they had an extensive patchwork range upstairs. Now you can see it from the street.

The downstairs space is choc full of yummy patchwork fabrics, including lots of alternative prints.

Their Japanese corner now works better than it did, you can see all the prints without walking around a fixture.

And there is a table of pre-cuts when you walk in the door .. tempting you ...

Upstairs they are hoping to set up a space where they can either run lessons or have craft groups come in and sew. Very exciting!

Check out their new web site and subscribe to their mailing list to find out about sales and specials. They also have a frequent shopper program, just don't do what I do and forget to bring the card.

Dear Jane Quilt

Green Fairy Quilts linked to this, and I have fallen in love with the idea of this quilt ...

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The detail in both the patchwork and quilting is breathtaking.

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I can imagine that this quilt would be a long term project and definately a labour of love.

via That Quilt

I love the rainbow version, however, I can imagine it in either a monochromatic palette or white/grey/black palette.

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You can buy the book here and here is the blog with instructions (But if you love it, buy the book and support your fellow crafter!).

Monochromatic Sampler: Block Eight

I've had this entry sitting in my drafts folder for a few weeks now, just waiting the finishing touches. I am anxious to get this quilt and the blogging associated with it finished as young Nicholas is becoming more and more aware of what is going on around him.

The construction of the Pinwheel block uses a similar technique to the Diamonds block. Create a square and rotate it by putting triangle sides on it.

Create the Pinwheel

Cut:

• Two squares 3 1/2 inches square in White
• Two squares 3 1/2 inches square in Black

Pin both squares together and rule a line from opposite corners of the squares.
Use this line as a guide to run a stitch down the squares either side of the line. Seam allowance 1/4 inch.

Cut down the centre of the stitching and then open and press with your iron. You should have four squares ready to go!

From each square, you should get two blades on your pinwheel. Sew blocks together carefully making sure that you line up your seams.

If your seams match up correctly, you should have a nicely lined up pinwheel measuring 6 inches squared.

Cut:

• Two squares measuring 4 1/2 inches square in White

Cut the squares in half and attach two to the sides of the pinwheel. Trim and then attach the last two triangles.

You should have a nice sexy pinwheel ready for a border! Trim your pinwheel border leaving at least 1/4 inch between the edge of the pinwheel and the outside of your square. My finished square finished at 8 3/4 inches squared.

Cut a 2 1/2 inch width strip and attach a border to your pinwheel.

Voila, another finished block!

I haven't given much thought yet as to how I might quilt this piece, any ideas? I'd love to try freehand quilting like Kellie does, but I am not that confident!

Are you making these blocks as well? Add your pictures to the Flickr group.

Monochromatic Sampler: Block Seven Tutorial

You could probably do this block in a variety of ways. Unfortunately I think I chose the most wasteful way! If you have ideas, please post a comment on this blog entry!

Cut

• 4 blocks of 3 1/2 inch squares in black
• 5 blocks of 3 1/2 inch squares in white

Creating the centre block

Take your squares and create three rows of patches.

Press your seams, then line up your seams and construct the centre diamond shape.

You should have a centre block that looks something like this.

Rotating the centre block into Diamonds

What I wanted to do is turn the blocks 45 degree.

Cut two squares measuring xxx and cut them so that you have four triangles. We are going to use these to rotate our block.

Sew them onto each side of your block making sure that they are in the middle. There is a bit of slack with the size of the triangles so that you can trim them down later.

Once the additional triangles are sewn on, trim the edges to make another square using 1/2 an inch allowance between the edge of the black squares (see the diagram).

The trimmed down square should be nice and neat.

Border around the Diamonds

Cut a strip of 2 1/2 inches by the width of the fabric in White.

Once the sides are sewn onto on your diamonds, press and trim.

Voila, another block done, two more to go!

Are you making these blocks as well? Add your pictures to the Flickr group.

Modern Quilt Guild Monochromatic Challenge

I was excited when Scarlett from Craft Gossip emailed me to tell me that the Modern Quilt Guild is running a Monochromatic Challenge .. *giggles*

Unfortunately this competition is only open to US Residents, but I am chuffed that my tutorials are timely for at least someone out there!

Monochromatic Sampler: Block Six Tutorial

The technique used for this block could very well be used for a black star on white fabric block. Although the original design has three starts on white, when I was putting this block together I felt like I wanted a bit of Konstant Kaos in the quilt.

I wanted to play around with a different applique technique this time. I've done raw edges and reverse applique, this one uses Freeze Paper.

Cut our fabric:

• 10 1/2 inch by 10 1/2 inch square in Black
  
• One star in colour of choice
  

To get the star shape I used a Wingding in MS Word and enlarged it to 650 font size (re-adjusted the font style to outline) then printed it out.

Applique Shape

Cut some Freeze paper the size of your star or stars. We are going to use the Freeze paper to fold over and press the edges of the star so that there are as little raw edges as possible.

Another quilter at the Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild showed me this technique. She used it for hexing and used a clover mini iron press to press her hexes rather than baste her them before hand sewing them together. I want to try this with the Penrose Tiles Quilt. This does mean that you have to cut freeze paper in hex shapes, but I am sure that there is a paper punch out there somewhere that does it!

Cut your freeze paper star and start to gently press the edges over with no steam. Upto you whether you trim down the corners or fold them over. For this one, I trimmed the corners out so that it wouldn't b so bulky as an applique.

The result should be an applique with nice crisp lines.

Carefully remove the star from the Freeze paper, it should hold it's shape for long enough to sew it onto your fabric.

A bit of fray lock can be used on any raw edges, alternatively, you could have folded those edges over.

Attaching the applique

I used a strip of double sided interfacing around the perimeter of the star to lock the pressed edges in place. Alternatively, you could have cut out a star from double sided interfacing.

Remove the paper backing of the double sided interfacing and press in place onto your backing fabric.

Around the edges I used the blanket stitch on my sewing machine, but you could just as easily zig zag or straight stitch.

How are you going with the tutorials? I would really love some feedback on whether the instructions are clear and concise.