Productive week

I think this is the most productive week I've had in quilting - ever as far as I recall. Two finishes, both of which had been tops hanging around for quite a while. I think it helps when I know where they're destined to go - to foster children, through a friend made at our quilting show back in May this year.

This string quilt was fun to put together several months ago and I enjoyed stipple quilting it today. Even though the strips are quite short (around 3½" long) its fun to see all the different fabrics that I've used over time. It took a while to put together, but I'm sure someone will find enjoyment in it and its better than just hanging around here. I'm sure I'll be on to another one before long - I can't bear to throw away even very small scraps.

Even though it's only a smallish quilt (43½" by 57½") by the time I got more than half way through I wanted to do something a little different, so I ended up doing some swirls in the blue squares

The backing is just a simple tree pattern which I think is quite cute. 

So that marks the end of my productive week, a beginning with one quilt here and now ending with this one as well. In addition to balloons and strings here that makes 3 quilts to pass over next week which makes me smile. 

It could be a little while before I have some more to complete, but I'm happy with those for now and I'm sure some child will be before long too. 

Quilt Stats:

Size: 43½" x 57½"

Wadding: Cotton/polyester blend

Thread: Embroidery variegated for top; Rasant for bobbin.  

Until next time,

Lynn

Shorter list

I'm working through my UFOs and have another finish to celebrate! This has been a top that I've had around for a while - well, sometime this year I think. Its a child's quilt with some scraps that I had left over from a previous quilt.

I realised it's been a while since I did just a simple stipple over a quilt and I really enjoyed doing this one. It also helped that I managed to do it all in one day - can't remember when I last did that either. Its a small quilt, but no matter, a finish is a finish!

I like the backing too with its soft green like a fossil fern and some left over blocks. Its so great to use up all the fabric, as I've done here putting a strip of the border on the back as well. 

My count now is half a dozen, though there could be one or two I've tucked away somewhere and forgotten about. Anyway, on to the next one, another stipple I think I enjoyed this one so much. With any luck I may have chance before the week's out. 

Quilt Stats:

Size: 46" x 49"

Batting: Cotton/polyester blend

Thread: Top variegated embroidery cotton; bobbin, Rasant. 

Until next time, 

Lynn

Squares and Bow Ties

Having made one bow-tie quilt (Bow-tie with Baptist Fan quilted pattern)and enjoyed using up my scraps and the fun variety of colours it produces, I thought I'd give another one a go, using a different layout this time.

The final cream border is not too visible here, but I'm looking forward to quilting it and putting some ribbon candy in there. We've got very heavy rain here today as well as thunder and lightening so I'm not going to get anything other than indoor shots today. 

Here's a slightly closer up (or enlarges when you click on it anyway):

One thing I hadn't quite realised until I began to put some of the ties together, is that the background beige/brown is a directional pattern. When I first looked at it I thought I'd determined that it wasn't, but clearly it is. I think there's enough other colour going on though that it's not a big distraction/detraction from the whole. 

I'm also working on some 2 1/2" squares. These are good to just hand sew together at night - though when I see a few blocks coming together I just have to get on the machine and move it along a bit more too! 

I'm going to put that teal coloured sashing and a small (about 2") cornerstone in as I go along too. Again, a great way to use up some scraps and a fun bright quilt results. These are always fun to make and since my stash doesn't seem to shrink, no matter how much I use it, I could be doing things like this for quite a while!

Until next time,

Lynn

Procrastination Over

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has some WIPs languishing because we came to an impasse of some sort - sometimes its lack of the right fabric, other times its because we have lost the enthusiasm that we began the project with and sometimes its some other form of indecision or procrastination.

Well making a list always helps me and so finding recently that my list was approaching double figures, I took myself in hand. That meant completing a couple of projects that I'd been happily working on and handing them off to the recipient.

But I knew/know there are about 3 that are just languishing. There is very little to do on them but I became 'stuck'. Today I decided - never mind about stuck, just choose something and bind that quilt! This is one that I began sometime..........ago. It was a quilt as you go method, which was OK, but not a favourite of mine. I enjoyed the quilting on it:

But see how I ended up with that orange binding to complement/bring out the orange in the windmill centres? Well I had tried at least 3 maybe 4 oranges, I tried green, I tried blue, I tried blue with a stripe of orange in the centre. This was all over several months. I took it to a friend's place (where we tried the blue with a stripe of orange in the centre) all to no avail. I would bring it home, lay it out again and think 'Nah!'. 

Today enough of the procrastination, since the quilt is destined for a local group that provides quilts for foster children or their carers, this quilt could be in use! So orange binding on and it's done, hurrah!

And really, once its on - am I still concerned about whether it's the best match/contrast I could have used, well maybe just a little but once it's gone from my home it's on to the next thing. So I'm pleased  

it's done.

Quilt Stats:

Size: 49" x 66"
Wadding: Cotton/polyester
Thread: Rasant

Even better, when I looked at my list again (having now crossed 3 things off since the end of last week) I realised there are really only 6 things on it since two others were just ideas in my head and I haven't even begun yet, so they're not WIPs (yet)!

Until next time,

Lynn

Log Medallion

When I saw a Medallion log cabin by Tanya , I knew that I wanted to give it a try. Its a great way to use up scraps (especially if you have left over jelly rolls or 2 1/2" strips) and the blocks come together quite quickly. The cream/background colour you choose strips are narrower (1and half inches).

So here's my effort:

The weather hasn't been too good here so this is first of all an indoor shot, demonstrating that I couldn't fit it all in! Its a single bed size. What's visible here though is the fun border quilting I did (thanks to Joanne). I made my own template (using templastic) and drew on the half circles first of all on the bottom half of the border, then overlapped them from the top half - creating those lovely diamonds where the half circles cross one another. And I did all of the quilting using a walking foot. Normally I would use my free-motion darning foot, but a walking foot does give a very even stitch length which I was happy with here on the cream border. Maybe I'll get brave sometime and use a coloured thread but at present I stick with cream on cream.

With the remainder of the blocks, I wanted the colours to speak for themselves, so thought a simple diagonal line would work just fine.

This is another for my mother-in-law who has an event later in the year where her group has country people gather together ( I think it's a Weightwatchers group but mostly social for her) and they have a raffle. I hope it raises some worthwhile funds for them for their hall hire etc.  Anyway as a result, she chose and paid for some wide backing fabric (thank you!) that has worked well with the two quilts (see previous post Friendship Stars) that I've done for her. Here's the backing a kind of pale turquoise colour. 

Quilt Stats

Size: 58" x 70"

Wadding: Cotton/polyester blend

Thread: Rasant Cream and Pale Grey both top and bobbin. 

Its a very satisfying feeling to know that it's done! Now on to that increasing WIPs list. 

Until next time,

Lynn

Relaxing quilting

In the Down Under part of the world it is technically Winter - though as we've spent a week and a half in our favourite beach side place, the weather has been remarkably like this:

So I haven't spent all the days inside quilting, that I thought I may have done.
Having said that, I have managed to complete two quilts, the first for my mother-in-law.

I had fun piecing this last time I came down to our holiday spot. Then I looked at the navy diamonds and figured out how I was going to quilt those. I wasn't quite sure about the white frames of the friendship stars though. I drew on some loopy shapes rather like a treble clef, but decided they looked too fussy. Then I decided to go with a simple curve that echoed what I'd done in the navy. I didn't realise until I'd begun quilting, that once I'd done 4 of the white sections they formed a circle around the navy - fortunate I thought. The curves also give the stars some movement, rather like wind turbines, which is fine by me.
Here's the backing side of the quilt a simple pale turquoise that seems to fit quite well.
Since I use my domestic machine, it's so lovely to have my sewing table that drops my machine down into a bit of a well so that the machine is flush with the top of the table. Then I put another table in front of that so that the quilt can spread out. That way I just do a little rolling in the throat space, but have plenty of space in front of me to take the weight of the quilt.

Quilt stats:

Size: 55" x 68"

Wadding: Cotton/poly blend

Thread: Rasant on top; Superior on backing.

The second quilt was an easy half square triangle of eye spy fabrics combined with strong primary colours of yellow, red and blue. Since the mother to be (the intended recipient of the quilt) has a small boy around eighteen months, I thought he would enjoy playing a game of matching the triangles, while his younger sibling lays on the quilt - well at least that's the hope! 

Having done quite a bit of custom quilting on the previous quilt, I was very happy to just set my walking foot to a curved stitch and do the lines on this one. 

It shows up quite well on the backing which is just a soft fleece.

Quilt stats:

Size: 45" square
Wadding: Cotton/poly blend
Thread: Rasant

Its very satisfying to complete a couple of projects. Now onto the next one and to solve the 'how shall I quilt this one?' question. 

Until next time,

Lynn

Connecting love

I often find that when I begin a quilt I don't necessarily know who it might be for. Instead, as I continue to create it, a person comes to mind for whom the quilt seems appropriate.
I don't often name quilts either, but I thought this one needed a name. I have a friend who has been a minister (now retired) and was a great source of support, resource and voice of experience to many other ministers. So when I thought this quilt might be for him and his wife, it seemed fitting that I did most of the quilt on the 'cross' that appeared when the blocks were joined. He has connected with so many people across Australia and beyond, that the connecting shapes seemed appropriate too. But cross connections doesn't seem like a great name for a quilt. And I think its really concern or love for others that is at the heart of this man's ministry. His wife has final stages of cancer, and so 'Connecting Love' also seemed appropriate on that score.

I managed to get a shot of the quilt just as the light was dimming. You need to get a close up to see the quilting. I did have fun doing various things in the cross sections. 

The back tends to look as though its puckering, but I think that's more the way its draped over the balcony. It seems to sit nice and flat when its horizontal. 

So just binding and label to add tonight and then I hope to mail it off tomorrow. 

Quilt Stats:

Size: 52½" x 62½"

Wadding: Cotton/poly blend

Thread: Rasant 

Until next time,

Lynn