Sharon Keightley Quilts - Quilty Ramblings

New Book! Autumn Bouquet

March 20, 2019

I can finally tell you all what has been keeping me so quiet !........ Iv'e been working really hard on projects for a book. I am so happy to show you the cover of my new book (Autumn Bouquet) coming out in August this year. Its been such a wonderful experience, something I have always wanted to do. It is filled with a great selection of projects with a range of small and large quilts, with applique techniques explained in detail. I will be so proud to place this book on my shelf along with all the other quilt books I own.

Sorting fabrics with Benny the Bengal .

March 11, 2019 2 Comments

Last week we had a scheduled power cut for our area, meaning I could not do any quilting on the Roses quilt. This was the perfect time to pull my fabrics out and sort through them, folding them nicely and organizing them into colour baskets. I have been meaning to resort them for a while now. This was a great way to get reacquainted with my fabrics, finding all those precious fabrics that just make my heart race. Giving me ideas for my next project, another journey! Benny decided that would be fun and he loves to help, I think he secretly wants to be a quilter too.

Quilting the Roses Quilt

March 04, 2019 1 Comment

I am now starting to quilt the Roses quilt. I am really enjoying quilting this one, today I am stitching in the ditch around all the applique parts to make them stand out. I am using a very fine 100 weight polyester thread. A selection of Wonderfil invisifil and Superior Micro quilter. I am using a selection of colours to match the colour of each applique shape.

Making a plan

January 09, 2019 1 Comment

This morning I find myself with too many quilts in progress at one time! They are all at a stage that they can be worked on and I love them all !

The first one is the BOM 2018 which I have almost finished the quilting, I only have the very last border to finish. If you missed this last year, you can find the full pattern for this quilt here.

Reflections on 2018 and the Winterwood Quilt

December 29, 2018 2 Comments

These are just a few of the things that I got up to in 2018. There is more to come but I am not able to tell you just yet. I will keep you all posted when I am able to spill the beans. Lot's of secret sewing has been going on.

New patterns are coming along, so in the New Year there will be some surprises.

The Full version of the Winterwood Pattern is now available as a full pattern containing everything you need to complete the whole quilt. The Winterwood quilt pattern can be found here containing 71 pages. This is one of my favorite quilts, I loved every minute of making this beautiful quilt. Sometimes everything seems to go along so smoothly when designing and making a quilt, this quilt was one of those times.

Zig-Zag borders

November 14, 2018 6 Comments

It's been such a long time since I posted, I am going to start today off with a post about the Zig-Zag border I am making for my Roses quilt.

There are many ways to make a Zig-Zag border, I have chosen to use half square triangles.

Here's how it works.

I cut 2 1/2 inch strips from a dark print and a light print then matched the light and dark print fabrics with right sides facing. I used a half square triangle ruler to cut out the pieces. Taking them to the sewing machine and sewing them together with a 1/4 inch seam. I like this method, it's fast and requires very little trimming.

Working on the Roses Quilt again!

August 31, 2018

The Roses quilt is coming along nicely, I have been squeezing in time over the weekend to stitch the applique Roses onto the third border and I can see the quilt starting to take shape. Today I hope to have the third border stitched in place and start prepping the fourth border of Roses. This will complete the center of the quilt. From there I have a vague idea of what will come next, I am hoping it will come clearer to me as I progress.

Creating interesting backgrounds for applique

August 07, 2018 2 Comments

This morning I am sewing the border fabrics together for the top and bottom borders of the Roses quilt. I have selected and range of tone on tone prints some light and some with a little bit of colour to give a bit of interest. I love to mix up the fabrics, using a large selection. Something I find helpful when piecing the strips is to pin at least the end of the seam so the fabrics don't shift while you are sewing and end up with one end longer than the other.

Early morning thoughts and Roses Quilt progress

August 02, 2018 3 Comments

I am not in a hurry to get to the finish line with this quilt, I love the whole process, every step and stitch. This week has had me finding the perfect fabric for the birds, I have used a window to get the perfect area of the fabric to make the birds look their best. Trying many different fabrics, I now have more birds than I need and some to set aside for another quilt. This is usually the case in many of my applique quilts, so I have a little pile of orphan pieces waiting for the perfect quilt to be stitched into.

Today's Quilter Magazine and Vintage Nine Patch Quilt Pattern

July 25, 2018

It's been a great mail day today! I have received my copy of the Today's Quilter Magazine (issue 38) with my Vintage Nine Patch quilt pattern inside. What a treat it is to see all the lovely pictures they have taken of my quilt.

Time Out !

July 19, 2018 5 Comments

I have had some time out from the blog......and all other social media. Taking a break from cyber space while I work hard on some secret squirrel projects. I can't wait to show you all the things I have been up to, but unfortunately you will have to wait a while.

However I am getting excited about getting back to some of the projects I have had to put on hold. I will be making some class samples which will be fun, I have several classes booked for later this year. I am looking forward to getting out and about, and sharing with you all.

Block of the month 2018 block four

June 05, 2018 3 Comments

I have made a lot of progress on my blocks for the BOM 2018 quilt. Making all four corner applique blocks. I now have all the blocks done, ready to sew the quilt top together. I see some of you have progressed with getting your blocks together, and the quilts are looking fabulous. Its so nice to see all the progress made so far, loving all the different fabrics used, they all look great.