Harry Potter The Throwback Quilt

I spotted on my friend Yvonne's blog  (Quilting Jet Girl) that today is the first Thursday in the month, Throwback Thursday. I think my husband would prefer Throwout Thursday, but more about that later. I thought this would be fun to join in with but so far I have forgotten most months.

And so I present Harry Potter - The Quilt.

My bestie from schooldays is Liz. Some of you may remember Liz and I wrote many book reviews last year, that has fallen rather by the wayside this year, though we are both still reading and swapping books. Liz has two girls, the eldest of whom loved Harry Potter in his first incarnation, as did my own three children. So, in 2001 I thought it would be fun to make Miss A a Harry Potter Quilt for Christmas.

I have no idea what dimensions the quilt is, you have to remember this was a long time ago, in the best tradition of fairy tales. I didn't even take a photo. It is however child sized, the right size for a 9 year old girl. It sat on top of the a single, or as our American friends say, a "twin bed". It covered the flat bit of the bed, no overhang.

The individual squares were appliqued. I drew out the shape on greaseproof paper then traced on to the fabric. This was then bonda webbed onto the background square. I seem to remember mostly machine satin stitching around the raw edges. I would do it differently now, probably hand needle turn applique. In fact some of the squares are needle turned,  though I just thought of it as turning under and sewing down. The only picture I didn't create myself was the wizard block, which was cut from a wizard print fabric. By no coincidence, its the one I like/liked the least.

I thought my favourite block was the cauldron with the embroidered steam. But, on reflection I am pleased with the candle sticks .... and the unicorn ..... and the serpent ....
Then all the squares were simply stitched around the centre block, which was sized to fit the outside blocks.

 Miss A kindly sent me a photo last year, so I would have a photo of it. She still uses it in their holiday home. What better compliment is that. My daughter always said it was one of her favourite quilts and I made it for her friend!!

And Throwout Thursday? Today is a lovely day. A day for changing the seized up padlocks on the side gates.

"Don't throw them out."  You hear the anguish in my voice.
"You don't need them" he sez .... "I am putting them in the recycling bin"
"Noooooooooooooooo" I cry, "I don't ask for much in life.... I neeeed those."

Yes. I won the Battle of the Padlocks round 2. Round 2 was a repeat of last year's round 1 Battle.
Round 3 will be when I paint them and hang then on the fence. Five of us plus one fiancée and one girlfriend. That's seven padlocks. Only three more to go.

Helen x
linking up with Throwback Thursday and A Quarter Inch From the Edge Blogspot