My Great Quilting Expedition

Sometimes it is fun to play.  I bought a  lovely pattern called Garden Pond Pillow by  Katrina Hadjimichael.  It is so pretty.  I fell in love with it! I wanted to make a 24" mini quilt, rather than a pillow, so made some extra stars.  I used a stack and whack method rather than fussy cutting.  I'm too mean with my fabric to fussy cut.  There is no waste with stack and whack. I used the top part of a clamshell template for cutting the scallops.  The fabric is Moda Morris Holiday Metallic. I used English Paper Piecing to create the stars.  I hand appliqued the stars and scallops to the plain, white background.  I am disappointed with my FMQ.  I wish I hadn't added the random feathers in the corners.  I think it is too much.  Too late now.  I can only hope I learn from my mistakes. 

I saw the Chimney Sparrows block some time ago and wanted to make a wall hanging using it.  The piecing is tricky. I felt I wanted a quick, trial project, so instead of piecing each block, I painted each block with Jacquard Lumiere fabric paint.  I then pieced the blocks together on point.  I sandwiched with 2 layers of Hobbs polester and white cotton backing.  The really fun part of the project was the quilting.  I love thinking about how to show off the blocks to their best advantage.  Any excuse to quilt feathers! :)  I probably should have used my rulers to quilt this, but decided to 'wing' it and just  FMQ by eye. I still need to add a binding...

The last few weeks have been extremely busy and I have found little time to sew.  Our house is sold subject to contract and there is so much to do as we are downsizing - 21 years worth of 'stuff' to part with.  I have managed to finish piecing Pythagoras' Lute and am presently quilting it.  The photo below was taken before it had been sandwiched. I have signed up for the UKQU Winter Mini Swap.  It will be my third mini swap with UKQU.  I have 4 different plan possibilties based on my swap partner's likes and dislikes.  I am presently making small samples before I make a final decision.  I always have to question my motives.  I want to make something my swap partner will love...but I also want to challenge myself by making something I haven't tried before. 

I wanted to try to make my first One Block Wonder quilt.  I had some lovely Jinny Beyer border fabric that had been sitting in my stash for a long time.  I knew that as much as I loved the fabric I would never use it because I didn't have any fabric in my stash that worked with it. So, I bought a book and watched some videos and started piecing my hexagons.  When I put them together Irealised I had made a big mistake.  Regardless of how I moved the hexis around, it was too much and giving me a headache. What to do?  I can't bear wasting fabric - especially lovely fabric.  I wondered if I could break up the hexis with a second fabric.  I decided to go with black and try to make a medallion quilt out of it.  It was fun trying to reverse engineer the dimensions of the quilt so that the hexis would fit. Anyway, the result is below.  No longer a 'one block wonder', but now more 'stack n whack'. I am now working on a second attempt at a OB...

I have made a few miniature swap quilts for various swaps over the last few months, but not posted photos.  It is so much fun to play with designing small projects. I made two for The Quilt Show International Miniature Quilt Exchange.  I made the blue one first and then decided the colours weren't right for my swap partner, so made the second one in pumpkin. Again, I made two miniatures for the Spring UKQU Miniature Quilt swap.  I wasn't sure about the one with rings, so sent off the ombre one based on the Fibonacci series to my swap partner. I turned the edges on all of the spirals and circles.  I can only assume my applique is improving as those spirals were a challenge!  I love working with ombre fabrics.  They seem to just add that bit extra to a quilt. I love the idea of swaps and the design process.  The only issue is the constant worry my swap partner will be disappointed...hence I end up making two every time!

I finished making Bally Birds last week, but I have yet to get a decent photo of it.  The photos below seem to have a bit of a green cast.  It was a lot of fun to make and I am happy with the result.  It was a great opportunity to improve my broderie perse and hand applique.  If we ever get a decent day - not too sunny or not too dark - I'll take some better photos.