My doctor required me to have my own oxygen concentrator. I didn't expect it to be so big! I don't use it often, so thought it would be good to keep it covered. I took it as an opportunity to make a new quilt project.
I was raring to finish my t-shirt memory quilt at that time, so wanted to quickly finish the cover for my huge appliance. I used my favorite rainbow colored fabric and just cut it in squares for easy piecing. My measurement for the size was wrong, so I just added a black strip to make the cover a bit bigger.
Like the food processor cover I made, I decided to add pockets. In case of emergency it would be useful to have the components of the O2 concentrator accessible. It took me less than two weeks working on this project off and on. My favorite part was quilting. The difficult part was getting the measurements right and binding the whole project together. It got quite heavy.
Here's a tutorial video on how I made it:
Rainbow fabric, cut into squares
black fabric for the base and binding
backing fabric
wadding
thread
lots of pins and clips
Pattern:
A vinta is a traditional outrigger boat in the Philippines. They are made by people in the Sulu Archipelago, Zamboanga peninsula, and southern Mindanao. A vinta is usually made with colorful sails. I took the photo below in Mindanao.
I've always been drawn to the sea because my ancestors were involved in maritime work and traveled the world to reach the Philippines. I was inspired to make the vinta designed hand quilted throw pillow from a photo by Mohd Sarj (more about it here).
Here's a step-by-step video on how I made it -
The materials I used:
various pink printed fabric
white with tiny prints fabric
dark brown fabric for the base of the vinta
plain pink fabric for binding
wadding
backing fabric
fabric for the back part of the pillow
thread and needle
lots of pins and clips
Pattern:
It took me three years to finally finish my t-shirt memory quilt blanket. It started when I cleared out my closet and I couldn't let go of the shirts because I love each and every one of them. They held 15 years of happy memories. Good thing I did some research before I started working on it because there's no second chances on the material I used.
Here's a step by step video on how I made it:
old shirts
border fabric (I used the same fabric for the binding)
accent fabric (4 colors)
wadding
backing fabric (I used flannel)
thread
lots of pins, safety pins and clips
Step 1: Determine first the size of the blanket you want to make. Then draw how you want it to look, best to include the size of each piece to help you know how many tshirts you need and how much fabric you need.
Step 2: Cut the shirts. I used a 12.5" x 12.5" square ruler to make my life easier. Then iron on fusible interfacing. This will make the shirt stable.
Step 3: Cut the binding.
Step 4: Sew the vertical bindings by row.
Step 5: Prepare the accent pieces.
Step 6: Piece together the horizontal border by row. Then add to the bottom of each row. Remove the excess interfacing.
Step 7: Add the horizontal border by row. You can opt to quilt the border at this point. Then piece each row together.
Step 8: Add the side borders.
Step 9: Sandwich the quilt.
Step 10: I decided to just quilt the accents to stabilize the blanket.
Step 11: Make your binding.
Step 12: Bind the edges.
The past few months have been very busy because we moved countries and we moved to a new home! You can just imagine how crazy it's been! The first project I had to make was curtains! Our windows and sliding doors required customized curtains. I figured that it shouldn't be as hard as quilting. Here's the tutorial:
Step 1. Got help from my boys to measure the windows and sliding doors. Then I shopped for fabric on Lazada. I was happy to find out that there were many options on fabric. I got pink linen like polyester fabric (normally used for suits). It cost PhP100 per yard.
Step 2. Measure and cut! Working with linen is a bit difficult though, so get help when needed.
Step 3. Ironing the border will make it faster for you to sew. I folded 3 centimeters from all the edges and double folder it to keep the border clean.
Step 4. Sew all sides.
Step 5. Fold 15 centimeters from the top.
Step 6. Sew it.
Step 7. Mark 6 to 7 centimeters from the top. Pin it and check if the rod would fit.
Step 8. Sew it. Annnddd you're done!
I wanted to learn quilt short-cuts. I previously made a cheese pinwheel quilt blanket for my Mom by hand. It took me almost 2 years to finish it. While scrolling through Pinterest I found some recommendations on quilt short-cuts. As a beginner quilter my mind was blown and I immediately started planning the project.
I have been eyeing a blender quilt fabric at Spotlight for awhile. I thought it would be perfect for the project. I also wanted to make gifts so instead of making a full blanket I made 4 lap quilts. I worked on this learning project on and off for two months and was surprised how easy and fast it is to make a pinwheel quilt blanket. Here's the video of how I put together the pinwheel lap quilt -
*Watch previous videos too: Make 8 half squares at a time & Easy Pinwheel Quilt
I've also been practicing using my sewing machine more. I hand quilted two of the four blankets and I used the sewing machine for the other two. If you look closely the binding isn't perfect because I used the sewing machine. That's something I need more practice on. Well, I'm writing a nice note for my friends to give them a heads up it's not a perfect quilt! Haha.
When I started quilting again a few years ago I realized I didn't really know how to finish my projects. I realized my Mom took care of finishing my projects when I was younger.
When I restarted the hobby a few years ago, I made a small pouch. It was a messy affair, but I eventually got the hang of sandwiching and adding the binding. I originally manually made the binding. This took a lot of time. I tried buying ready-made binding, but it's so expensive. I eventually discovered the bias tape maker tool and that helped immensely. You can watch how to make binding here.
So how does one go about finishing a quilt? Here's a video tutorial I made -
If you have any questions or comments, please write them down below. Happy Stitching!
I have friends who have been curious about how to quilt so I thought I'd make a video. I went back to the time when my Mom taught me how to quilt using basic sewing materials. One of her cousins had a garment export business and she'd give Mom the scraps. That's what we used when we started quilting.
Anyway, I'm rambling, here's a short video of how to quilt :)
I'm honestly clueless about designer fabric. I just got wind of it from quilting groups when they mention the name of fabric collections they use. Honestly, I'm still clueless haha. Probably because in my side of the world (in Southeast Asia), quilting isn't really a thing. Most of the quilting news I read about are Western. I've started following some influencers on IG and discovered Mister Domestic a few months ago.
I super love Matthew's energy. I also just discovered his YouTube channel where he shares some project tutorials. From his posts I came across his fabric designs. I wanted to get some. I couldn't get it from Spotlight or other local online stores. I finally found some via Amazon. It was the "Catch & Release" bundle. Here's my "unboxing video" --
I plan to use this for my summer quilt project next year. I'm planning to make a set of sea-related quilts to pay homage to the beach family trips we used to do when I was growing up. It's gonna be fun!
I have a pinwheel quilt I started a few years ago. It's not yet finished! Haha. I lost steam while making it and now I'm trying to figure out how to finish it. Before diving back into it I decided to research on an easier way to make pinwheel quilts.
To force me to learn the technique I decided to make a lap quilt. I originally designed it to be half-squares in four colors, but decided last minute to make pinwheels. The first step was to make a gazillion half-squares. I worked on it for a few days (how to here). And this week I started sewing them up to become pinwheels.
Here's how I've been making them quickly -
I made a gazillion half-squares. I'll probably be able to make four lap quilts out of this project. I'll post soon how I'll put the whole project together!
I was starting to have pain in my arms and back from using a makeshift table for my sewing machine. The table was too high so I would sew at an odd angle. I've been using my sewing machine lately since I realized it allows me to finish my quilt projects faster.
I've been eyeing the Semco Sewing Table at Spotlight for a couple of months now. I was not sure if my Brother sewing machine would fit. It took awhile for Spotlight to respond to my inquiry so I decided to research on my own. It looked like my sewing machine would fit so I ordered one. I got lucky also because Spotlight had a huge sale!
Here's my unboxing video -
I've been using it now for over a week. I told myself I should have gotten it sooner. Getting a proper table made me enjoy using my sewing machine more. I noticed also I've improved a lot in making straighter stitches (true!). I'm so glad I got a proper sewing table now. I also like the fact that it's easy to fold and store when I'm not using it.
One thing I'm trying to figure out is whether I should have an acrylic cover made to cover the hole around the sewing machine. I could have one customized, but it's expensive. I'm thinking I'll just use a chipboard for now. So far the hole doesn't bother me while I'm sewing.
I hope the table will last!
I have just recently discovered the terms 4aat and 8aat after going through a quilt terms article. I got curious and researched more about 4aat and 8aat since I'm working on making multiple lap quilt blankets.
So aat means at a time. 4aat means making four half squares at a time, while 8aat means making eight half squares at a time. It wasn't easy to find tutorials via Pinterest so I put myself to work to try the trick. I decided to make a video so I don't forget how to make it.
Here's how to make 8 half-squares at a time -
I just made this based on using 12.5" x 12.5" square fabric. It makes approximately a 6" x 6" square which is what I have set for the lap quilt blanket I'm making. I'll share soon how I complete the project. For now I hope the tutorial helps you with your project.
I started this project two years ago as a wedding gift for friends. I got my inspiration when I saw the Harry Potter fabric at Spotlight. I felt it would look nice as a blanket. I made several designs before I settled on a simple one since it's meant as a wedding gift. I just added mustard and maroon highlights as a salute to Gryffindor colors.
It took me two years to finish the project. I made the highlights by hand in-flight. This means parts of the quilt traveled across Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Australia and the US. Some aunties fawned over me when they saw me sewing in-flight. Haha. I finally completed the project during lockdown. Now I need to figure out how to send this to Canada.
Here's how I made the Harry Potter Quilt blanket:
Harry Potter fabric
beige fabric
maroon fabric
mustard yellow fabric
quilting thread
sewing thread
backing fabric
a gazillion pins for sandwiching
Free template available here.
