I got myself organised this week with my seaside quilt so I’ve made pretty good progress. This is the quilt from the book by Kathryn Whittingham, she’s the designer of the gorgeous Cottage Garden quilt which I made last year, as I was finishing that one she kindly sent me the book of the Seaside Quilt. I’ve had lots of family holidays round Whitby and Robin Hoods Bay and this happy quilt reminds me of them.
Three weeks ago I had just finished the middle row…
At the beginning of the week I ‘prepped’ a large embroidered block and all the small ones for this last row. By ‘prep’ I mean choosing the fabrics, stitching the background were needed, cutting out and applying all the bondawebbed applique pieces and choosing suitable embroidery threads for them. I put them all in my plastic workbox and brought it downstairs so I could sew a little when I was having my coffee or preparing tea.
First of all I blanket-stitched round two starfish…
Next I stitched round a little octopus and a seahorse, these were very fiddly to cut out and just as fiddly to stitch, they are cute though! I was glad I had chosen a batik fabric for these as the denser weave means to doesn’t fray as easily as standard quilting cotton when you are stitching so close to the edge. To give you an idea of size, the squares they are on (finished) are 2″! They are set in a blue friendship star…
Next I stitched a couple of shells, a whelk and a periwinkle. One of the prints I’ve been using for this quilt has like ammonite patterns, with a bit of careful positioning it was perfect for the periwinkle. These match the shells on the top row, so they are set in a star block…
Finally I started a big block, this one is called ‘A Rainy Day on the Beach’ Our weather is changeable at the best of times, so most people who spend time on the British coastline will have a rainy day on the beach! This one took quite a bit of embroidering. I started off outlining the umbrella and clothes of the lady and her dog. I changed the pattern slightly to make the dog look like Zach, my little black shadow who died a couple of years ago, he loved being on the beach. I was particularly pleased with the bumbleberries fabric I’d used for the umbrella and the wellies, some of the new range of colours has a bit of a sheen to it, so some of the ‘berries’ are a little shiny, it worked really well for a wet umbrella!
The time-consuming bit was the sea, it’s made by overlapping the blue over the sand with a strip of bondaweb and a wobbly line. Kathryn suggests blanket stitch for the waves which I did, it’s stitched the other way up from usual which works well for the crest of a wave but did seem to give a bit of a hard edge, so after trying it out on the waves further back in the sea, I added lots of french knots for the frothy bits. I like it, I think it works pretty well. I did a few neat French knots at each end of the wave but mainly made ‘frothy’ ones by allowing it to loop more….it was an awful lot of French knots so by the time I got to stitching a few for the sand I just did the minimum needed and the lines of seaweed didn’t get a look in!!
Hopefully over the next three weeks I’ll finish two more beach huts and at least one larger block, I can start putting the blocks together too and this bottom row will be complete.
Hand Quilt Along Links
This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another. If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.
Kathy, Margaret, Deb, Nanette, Sharon, Karrin, and Daisy
I’m also linking up with Kathy’s Quilt for Slow Stitching Sunday, please follow the link for more hand-stitching inspiration.
thecraftycreek 
This is fantastic. I love all the details you put into each square
I have started an 11 week patchwork course – so with current progress I think I will be ready to start mine in 5 years time!
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Thanks Jane, once you’ve cracked half square triangles and flying geese you’ll be fine, the actual blocks are pretty straight forward and there’s only a few of each block so not so many it gets monotonous 🙂
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love this most recent block!
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I have fallen in love with “A rainy day at the beach”. We have two more weeks until our own little black Labrador puppy will be coming to live with us (she is just 6 weeks at the moment) and this little puppy could be her.
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Zach was a cross between a Patterdale (a rough coated terrier) and a spaniel, he looked like a young labrador. He was definitely my dog, followed me everywhere and would defend me to the hilt if he had to 🙂
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How sweet….and tiny the seahorse and octopus are. They look great in those blocks. What a beautiful quilt this is going to be.
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Your rainy day at the beach block made me feel like I was there, watching the waves roll in.
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I am amazed at the amount of sewing you are getting done on this quilt. It is so pretty and the details are lovely. Your fabric choices are just fabulous. Enjoy your stitiching.
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Those french knots were well worth it! Such a sweet block. Everything is so visually pleasing 🙂
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Each block is a stand alone masterpiece! So many wonderful details in your work! Thanks for showing us!
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Hi,
Your Seaside quilt is awesome…love all the pieces you have
worked into this quilt. Have a great day!
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The hand stitching on this quilts adds so much! Good call on the French knots, they are exactly the right touch. You have really moved quickly through this third row, the top will be finished before you know it!
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Such intricate details in every block and some so small – love the rainy day at the beach block and a finish not far ahead. It will look fantastic.
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Gorgeous details, I love the waves. One time when I was doing waves in my crazy quilting I couched some bumpy yarn for the waves and it was quite effective. Congratulations on your progress!
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Just beautiful!
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Your seaside quilt is such a lovely pattern and you seem to be enjoying every stitch!
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A rainy day at the beach is so pretty. Love all the details.
You are making great progress on this wonderful quilt.
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Those little red boots just charmed me! I love seeing all the little details.
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