Project Quilting final challenge

"Hurrah for Spring" was the last theme challenge for Project Quilting.  I hope you have been following along and viewing all the entries, as there have been some really great projects finished.  It is always fun to see how we progress through the weeks....like watching Project Runway.  I view it as a way to "find my voice" and "make it work".....ala Tim Gunn.
  Spring is always a welcomed time....new growth and returning favorites in the garden.  I have 3 different Clematis vines in shades of purple scattered around the yard and they became my inspiration for When Clematis Bloom.  

 I stuck with my original fabric choices after all. Since  I needed a sample for the quilting class I will be teaching soon,  I left the center plain for lots of machine quilting.

I also like offset layouts---part of my voice---so the vines  are similar around the center, but not mirror image in the way they curve.  I kept it simple  and did not try to over design this one.                                                                  

When Clematis Bloom

  Then the fun began with the machine quilting.  I filled the center area with stacks of teardrops of all sizes.  They create wonderful texture when you allow them to grow out in different directions.

  A little bit of pebbling was used to fill in in some areas that were just too tight for a teardrop.  Then I moved to the border print area.  My original idea was to quilt in leaves, but I noticed the swirl in the print and decided to use that instead.  So lots of swirls along the edges.
    Flickr Group for Project Quilting.   It has been a great season.  Thanks, Kim, for setting this up.

A Welcome detour

  I am up to 30 of the string blocks.   Along the way---between colored blocks---I used white, beige, and cream strings  to cover  some smaller pieces of the foundation.   I figured they would be a good background for a small piece.   Then my package arrived from Connecting Threads with the wire stand table top display! Time for a detour......

    I decided on a pineapple for the applique.  I know this doesn't look like much, but it is how I began.  Using the gold, to orange and some brown strings, I did a wonky style braid.  I began with a small almost square piece at the top and added a string to one side and then to the other----until I had a large enough hunk of wonkiness to work with.

Pineapple fused onto string background 

   I had a pattern from a magazine article---it looked more like an egg to me--- that I used for the pineapple.  This I  traced onto fusible interfacing.  This technique is one that Eleanor Burns uses----
    Draw pattern onto the smooth (non-fusible side) of the interfacing.   Place fusible (bumpy side) side down on the right side of fabric and pin together.  Stitch on the drawn line of the fusible...all the way around.  Trim the excess fabric and interfacing away--close to the seam line.  Then slit the interfacing in the center and turn fabric right side out.  Use a dull or round end of chop stick ( or other "poker")  to smooth the seam line edge.  Be careful not to poke through the interfacing.  I do a lot of "finger pressing" here to make it work.  Once it is flattened / smooth / shaped, then the applique can be fused onto the background for stitching.

 Fused  leaves added

   I like this technique for larger applique pieces, or when I want the applique to appear raised and not flat.  I chose to use it here because of all the bias edges created by the braid technique.   A buttonhole stitch was used around all the applique.   For the top knot of leaves, I just fused them in the normal way and then stitched them too.












  Finished size was a consideration....so only 2 sides got a border.  The pineapple was not perfectly centered, so I just used that as a reason for the 2 sided border.

  No swirls!  I quilted teardrops  for the background.   I like the feathered effect they create.    In the border I did parallel straight lines.










  I added a narrow tube sleeve at the top and Welcome is done.
    Finished size is 12 1/2 inches by 14 inches.



  Our local guild has a quilt show this weekend....so today  I am baking some pumpkin bread for the hostess break room.  Then maybe a few more string blocks....happy stitching.

FMQ in tiles

  This month's Free Motion Quilting Challenge   by  Angela Walters is great.  It produces a very different effect for background quilting, giving the look of overlapping tiles.  Each tile has a filled with  stitching.   I did two different ones, swirls and stacked teardrops.  Why limit yourself to one when 2 or more will do.
   You begin in one corner creating a tile and filling it in, and then move to the side and repeat.  I did draw my lines as I got to a new section to box in.  And you need to think about where you are stitching, so that you can end up back at the beginning.  I learned that on the second tile when I ended up in the wrong spot.  Oh, well, that is what practice is for.  I just picked another spot and tried again.

 In the center I used what I call stacked teardrops.  A single teardrop shape or paisley is the basis and then you simply do a larger one around the first back to where you began.  If needed I add a third one to fill in or travel to another area.







   This technique creates instant texture and looks wonderful on tonal type fabrics.  I like the
"old world "   feeling that the overlapping tiles give.
  My practice piece is about 9" by 12".....when trimmed and bound, it is going to be a great snack mat.
  Many thanks to Angela for a great lesson.
Happy stitching.   

March FMQ Challenge

     Anyone practicing  free motion quilting for the challenge?   This month is really basic and good review.....meandering, loops, swirls.   Figuring out where to do what type of quilting is usually the biggest challenge.  Guess that is why a notebook of ideas is suggested this month.

   I pulled all those loose pages I had saved with quilting motifs from magazines and such and put them in one notebook. I was amazed at the number I have saved.   Now I have a great reference source.   So part one done.

  Now for the practice.  I decided to finish up the tissue box owls and experiment with different quilting.

Meandering....stippling is the very dense version.  Meandering  reminds me of arms, legs and noses!  This is what I generally use when I quilt a watercolor quilt, where the quilting is probably never going to be noticed because of all the floral prints.   On the WC quilts I do it medium to large style, very open and not dense.  When washed, this pattern has the look of a soft old-fashioned quilt.   Dense meandering or stippling will make the quilt flat....like a pancake, but it is great to make appliques stand out or those feathers from last month.

Loops....I like doing the curling loops.  This pattern reminds me of a lasso and the way it twists and curls back on itself.  When nothing else seems to interest me, I do lots of loops.   Or sometimes the loops are like a lot of "L" shape letters just strung together with meandering.   One great benefit of this pattern is that it can work in a good bit of  fullness---ahem, that's really excess fabric---especially in a border.






Swirls.....use them anywhere!   Open swirls in a larger style are my favorite pattern.  A great all over pattern that seems to soften and blend the entire quilt.   But I also find myself doing smaller, closer ones to create texture in open areas.

Packed tear drops.....create a really neat texture.  I just threw this one in because I like the look it creates.   Then I whipped out to the border and finished the whole thing off with the vines and leaves from January.
  Check out the other progress at SewCalGal blog for the free motion challenge.
  My design wall  is empty!  How did that happen?  Time to cut fabric and get something going.  I think I am going to work on another Bonnie Hunter pattern, the variation of her star struck.
Happy stitching.

Hiding

   Family weekend  was fun, even if we were inside due to the wet weather.  I  remember playing hide and seek, when we were small.  So the young ones entertained themselves with a game for a while.   We might not have found Remy, if it were not for that foot.....
He is just the perfect size to slip under the quilts on the quilt ladder.



 



I wasn't able to decide on which of the Pat Sloan patterns to use for the sewing machine cover.....so I used parts of my favorite two.

Of course, I could not resist the cardinals.  This pair had to be on one side.   I love the patterns....big pieces for a change.  Not those half inch bits that get lost before I can fuse them.  Second good thing is a full size layout  that is included.

Here's a better photo of the quilting.
 I mixed up the quilting stitches by using close swirls and stacked teardrops on this side.











The other half of the cover is done with the pair of purple cone flowers.  I used mainly meandering loops---have to get back in practice---and a few leaves thrown in.  

The cover is really just a rectangle with straps ( hook and loop tape)  on  the side  to hold it in place.  With that high bar thread guide, I had to figure out a way to avoid it, and this works fine.  And I get two "views" this way.
Happy stitching.

Snowy Day

It started snowing late yesterday while we were loading Deana's cabinet into the van.  We awoke to bright sunshine and 5 inches on the ground. We won't attempt to go to Charlotte afterall.  For South Caroline that much snow means everything shuts down.  At least it wasn't all ice.  It  will be a good day to stay in and stay warm and sew some more.

I finished up  the binding on Scrappy Mountains last night.  I was really happy with the quilting on this one.  I used the Isacord thread that I picked up in Asheville on it.  Not once did the thread break or fray on this!!!  I will be using Isacord for free motion quilting from now on.  Here's a close up view of the quilting.  The feather effect is done with the stacked  teardrop.  For the border I used the same feathers and a large "mitosis" pattern in the corner.

I worked on the pastel signature quilt top for our guild President too this week.  It went together so quickly.  I was a little worried when I first started it because of all the pastel fabrics.  I was afraid it would be very washed out and  boring.  Wrong!   It is delightful and fresh.  I will get it pressed today and add an inner border strip of the medium tones that are leftover.  I have 4 fat quarters of very light batiks that were donated that I think I will use as the outer border.   That combination should make the center area float...I hope. 

Quilting for PodBeLu bags

What are PodBeLu bags?  Knitting project bags that my daughter designs and makes.  Deana started knitting about 3 years ago and it took off from there.  She is a natural at almost anything she touches.  She has a funky design sense and loves retro prints and also very graphic prints.  So when she wanted to make a couple small bags for socks she was knitting, I opened my big mouth and and said I would quilt the fabric for her.  So here are a couple of photos of the bags.  She sells them through her favorite knitting shop, Baskets of Yarn in Charlotte.  They will be at the large Southern Christmas Show beginning this weekend. 

Quilting the fabric for the bags has been a great way to improve my machine quilting and gave me a chance to develop a couple of motifs that I use a lot in my quilts.  The stacked teardrops that fan out and create a feather effect has become a favorite of mine.  It is what I used on the quilt "The World is a Garden" and won Best Machine Quilted in our guild show.  I discovered 365 days of free motion quilting blog a few weeks ago.  Leah has created amazing designs and I can't wait to try a few out on the next batch of fabric for the PodBeLu bags. 

The one fabric quilt is up on the design wall, and I am ready to begin the piecing.  I am afraid it will be tedious and take forever.  So to keep me motivated to get the piecing done, I started auditioning fabrics for a french braid quilt!  Piece on one and plan for another....will see how it goes.