Project Finished :: Black & Silver Jelly Roll Race Quilt

I have a finish - ta-da!!  But with Storm Ciara raging outside I have only been able to take photos inside - when I did just go out I could hardly open the back door!

It's been a long time since I have had a finish post so forgive me my excitement.  This is an old WIP that was on my Projects to Finish list and it's my first finish for Finish Along Q1.

I posted a brief history of this one earlier in the year - click here.

I used wool wadding in a quilt for the first time.  I played around with wool as a second layer when I was quilting my Dream Big samples for the workshop I ran in November last year, but I have never used it as the only wadding for a quilt.  I have to say that it quilted up beautifully and has given a puffiness to the quilt that I don't see with cotton.  The hope is that it will also be warmer and if my daughter is correct there's supposed to be a lot of freezing weather coming our way this month!

It feels wonderful to get to cross something of my list and, even better, I think it's already been claimed for a bed! 

QUILT STATS

Measurements: 49" x 64"

Fabric: Stof Jelly Roll plus various similar fabric from stash

Wadding: Wool

Backing: Makower xtra wide with Linea Texture

Quilted on: Handi Quilter Amara with Pro-Stitcher

Quilting Design: More Square Drama from Wasatch Quilting

Thread: Glide Cool Grey 3 (40wt) on top and Decobob Dove Grey (80wt)

Needle:  Size 18 Groz Bekert

Started: circa April 2017

Finished: 09 February 2020

2019 Finish Along :: Finish No 1

Oh it feels good to get my first project ticket of my 2019FAL list - a charity quilt for Project Linus.

The jelly roll of fabric was donated quite a while ago and I thought it would be ideal to try piecing on the frame.

This was the first time I have tried this technique and I used the Square Feet from Handi Quilter.  It was brilliant - so quick and easy and very satisfying!

Since moving my machine, I have a lot more space around the back and so I thought I would try pantographs again.  Basically you have a pattern at the back of the machine which you trace with a laser light.  These are called Edge 2 Edge designs.

This is a new one for me and it called Bellflower by Keryn Emmerson.  It stitched out beautifully and gave such great texture.

I have to say that I really enjoyed doing this and, although FMQ is my first love, I would definitely quilt more using pantographs and will shortly be adding it to the services I offer my customers.

The only thing I didn't think about when I decided to quilt it this way, was that you would be able to see the horizontal lines, from piecing on the frame, on the back of the quilt.  

In future that would certainly determine what patterns I would quilt on a quilt that had been pieced this way, but there are still plenty of designs that would work.

Here's hoping for another finish before too long!

Building Community :: UKQU post on Instagram

I recently wrote a piece for the new UK Quilters United website about Instagram - if you fancy a read then head over here.

Of course I couldn't visit this somewhat ignored blog without leaving a few pictures behind, so here goes.  These items were made as part of the #sendalittleloveswap2018 organised by @madaboutbags over on IG.

This was also an item on my 2018FAL Q1 list - although the colours changed somewhat when I came to make it!!

It is also the only finish from that list so far this quarter!

I loved improv piecing the low volume background for the hearts to sit on.

And because crochet is my second love the extra was crocheted heart bunting.

I do have some other finishes soooo close.  In fact I think there may be another Week of Finishes quite soon!

TGIFF :: Rainbow Star Mini Quilt

Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday!!

Hello and welcome if you have popped over for the TGIFF linky party.  This is my first time hosting such a thing so be gentle!

Hello and welcome if you are a regular reader!!  Don't know what TGIFF is?  I have added a button to my side bar and if you click on it you will be taken through to the explanation.

Today I have a recent finish to share with you that I am so excited about ....

In February 2016 I took part in a Rainbow Mini Quilt swap, read more about that here, and it was the first time I really did not want to send my quilt to my partner!  From the day I sent it I wanted to make myself one.  When I got EQ7 in January I decided to design the quilt for practice and then make it ... .for MYSELF!

The squares were cut at 1 1/2" - I have to say I really like that size to work with ....

I love my little portable design wall - it makes me able to visualise how the finished quilt will look ....

When putting the stars together I really liked how these three looked as a block, and especially on point ....

And then onto the quilting part.  Usually this takes a lot of thought and more often than not I end up loading a quilt on the frame without really knowing what I am going to do.  Not this one - I knew exactly because I had done it before ....

I love it as much today as I did the one I made 15 months ago ....

It's a finish that adds another tick to my 2017 FAL Q2 list - hooray!

And because I knew a deadline would help me to get it finished I entered it into the Miniature/Doll quilt category at Quilts UK, Malvern in May.  I was delighted to come 2nd in this category!!!!

Quilt Stats

Finished dimensions:  15" x 15"

Fabric:  patterned prints from stash and Kona White

Wadding:  Warm and White

Threads:  Magnifico in white

Quilting:  handguided longarm quilting incorporating feathers and matchstick quilting along with straight line rulerwork on a Handi Quilter Avante

It's little but it sure packs a lot of texture in!!

I would love to see some of your recent finishes, so if you do have something you would like to share please do link up below.  Getting a finish is great but celebrating that finish with others is wonderful.  Thank you if you do link up and please try to get over to see some of the other peoples' finishes - we all love visitors and comments don't we?

Art with Fabric Blog Hop :: A Study in Triangles

I was delighted to be accepted into this round of the Art with Fabric blog hop, especially as I had to pull out last time.  Thank you very much to Alida, at Tweety Loves Quilting, who hosts this event and has inspired me into making my first 'art quilt' ... although truth be told it does look remarkably like a modern quilt!!  The theme this round was 'Women'.

Back in March when perusing my IG feed I saw this image from Jenny at Papper, Sax, Sten and immediately needed to know more about the artist that had inspired her.  Enter Kels O'Sullivan, an Australian artitst whose work I was taken with immediately.

In her own words:

Kels O’Sullivan is an emerging artist with a background in design and illustration. Living and working at Encounter Bay, SA, her natural coastal surroundings of the Fleurieu Peninsula are a constant source of inspiration. Influenced by the discipline of modernism, pattern & textile design of the mid century, her work is a diverse and constant evolution. Symbolising relationships with everyday forms, expressing emotion, reflecting experiences and surroundings through the use geometry, colour, pattern, line and repetition. She is especially interested in the beauty of the abstracted form and enjoys deconstructing shapes to create beautiful, balanced and emotive compositions.

Aside from her fine art pursuits, Kels is an award-winning illustrator and graphic designer and is co-partner, at Influx Creative.

I had been having ideas and looking into women artists, although the inspiration piece could have been about women and not necessarily by them, but I was drawn to the beautiful clean, geometric lines of Kels' work and even had the right colour fabric on my shelf to get to work.

I stayed true to Kels' pattern on the top four rows but decided to make it bigger and added on an extra 2 rows.

I pressed all my seams open on the quilt for the first time and it gives a lovely flat finish, although I did notice when quilting that I could catch a glimpse of the stitches.

Now my initial idea for quilting was to replicate the printing Kels had done and change the colour of certain triangles with dense matchstick quilting in a different colour.  However the best laid plans and all that .... my machine is in need of a new part form the States which was not going to arrive in time.  I did some test pieces and realised that I wouldn't be happy with the results at the moment so I had to think of a another plan ....

I wanted to continue the lovely clean lines and decided on straight line ruler work ....

but I also wanted to incorporate some circles in the piece like there are in the original ....

 I had thought I would use a facing for the edges but once it was quilted I realised I may lose some of the triangle points by using that method, so a straight forward double edge binding was attached.

Quilt Stats

Finished dimensions: 36" x 12"

Fabric: Kona cotton in cerise, gum drop, parchment and snow

Wadding: Warm and White

Threads: Glide Cream (20001), Coffee (27504), Mulberry (40528) and Iris (40249)

Quilting: longarm quilted with straight line and circle ruler work and circular freehand feathers on a Handi Quilter Avante

This quilt will be hanging at Quilts UK in Malvern from tomorrow until Sunday, where I entered it in the Small Wallhanging category.

Do go and check out some of the other participants this week:

Monday 15 May2017
Andrée: http://quiltinglearningcombo.blogspot.com 
LeeAnna: http://lapaylor.blogspot.com/
Luke: http://www.lukehaynes.com/
Joan: http://www.moosestashquilting.blogspot.com

Tuesday 16 May 2017
Marian: http://www.seamstobesew.com
Sharon: http://www.yellowcatquiltdesigns.com
Adele: http://adelemogavero.com/
Judy: http://judywarner.com/

Wednesday 17 May 2017 
Abigail: http://www.cutandalter.blogspot.co.uk - YOU ARE HERE!!

Bea: http://www.beaquilter.com/
Janeen: http://quiltartdesigns.blogspot.com/
Alida: http://tweloquilting.blogspot.com/  

Thursday 18 May 2017
Renee: http://www.quiltsofafeather.com/
Kat: http://www.katknapcrafts.blogspot.com
Jennifer: http://www.inquiringquilter.com/
Carol: http://www.quiltedfabricart.com

Friday 19 May 2017
 Alida: http://tweloquilting.blogspot.com/
Shannon: http://imworkingonaproject.blogspot.com/
Chris: http://chrissquiltinguniverse.blogspot.com/
Anita: http://quiltlovefordomesticfelicity.blogspot.com 

This is also a finish on my 2017FAL List.

I am also linking up today to Let's Bee Social hosted by Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts.

A week of finishes (again!) :: Day 5 :: Confetti Swan Quilt

So having stated on Tuesday that I don't usually like what I come away with from workshops, see the post here if you fancy, this I do like.  In fact I like it very much!!

On the last weekend of January I took a workshop with a local quilt club member who was showing us how to confetti quilt, I blogged about it here where you can see progress shots.  It sat at that precarious stage for over a week before I realised I had to get quilting!  I placed a sheet of Solvy over the swan which was to ensure all the little bits didn't get snagged in the foot.

I free motion quilted the swan on my domestic machine which was certainly a learning curve.  I have not done much more than straight line quilting on my DSM and so it was good to learn a new technique and one I felt I improved at from the beginning of the swan to the end.  At that stage I trimmed the Solvy around the edges and put her aside whilst I decided how to quilt the background.

I then decided that I wanted to quilt the background on my longarm machine and it was easy to load it up on the frame even thought there was already quilting done.  I have got to the stage where loading a quilt is second nature to me and for that I am really thankful because it makes things go much quicker and smoother.

The sky got a swirly pattern across it ....

and the water got waves!!  I was really happy with how this quilting turned out and the texture it gave the water.

She then needed to get wet - as a swan does!  The Solvy dissolved easily and then I rinsed it with the shower hose.  Having never done this before I think I may have been a little heavy handed.  There is considerable fraying on the pieces which in one way adds to the feather texture but also makes it look a little bit messy!

I had thought I was going to do a facing for the edges but then I decided to try something new and learn how to do a two coloured binding, with the change of colour at a specific point.  The seam ripper was used a couple of times but third time lucky the binding colour change matched up with the quilt colour change.  It did involve more stopping and starting and joining than a one colour binding but I definitely think it was worth the extra effort and time.

Would you like to see the swan's backside?  Well here it is.  I like it.  I didn't change the bobbin colour when I changed the top thread for the different shades of feathers on the front and now I wish I had because I think it's quite a beautiful piece from the back.

And for any of you who are still here - ta da!!!!  In all her glory and a rare moment of decent weather to get outside.  Initially I didn't know whether this technique was for me, but I do love the result and have some New Zealand birds in my head that would look fantastic created with this technique.  Watch this space to see if they take flight!

This wasn't an item on my 2017 FAL Q1 list - gasp - it feels so good to start and finish a project within a month.

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.