My Great Quilting Expedition

 Time has really got away from me over the past few months.  I have started more projects and finished some, as well.  A pineapple quilt made during the summer, but not quilted until Christmas.   A mini pineapple made during summer. A hand applique project - design by Erin Russek called Home Again. Below is a table topper I created from scraps.  I call it 'Crazy Test Card'. A couple of small improv pieces My favourite quilt of the year.  It started as a few improv blocks from scrap fabric and grew.   I have several projects in varioua states of unfinishedness...was it ever so?

Lockdown continues.  I have managed to applique the first eight small blocks I had prepared for the Home Again BOM.  I have started preparing another three blocks, but may wait until I have all of the last eight patterns before I continue.  I get into a groove when I applique and seem to be more effective working that way. I have cut out the May blocks for the State Fair BOM and will probably start sewing them tomorrow. I had intended to sew them today but got distracted by a small project I started some time ago.  I used Dye-na-flow to paint a piece of cotton.  The inspiration was poppies that I grew from seed in my front garden last summer.  The piece looked very dull indeed, but I thought I would see if I could do something with it.  I do like to finish things I start...even if it takes me a few years.. :) Original painted piece - not very inspiring  After quilting - an improvement, but I didn't really think it through I have b...

I thank God for patchwork and quilting.  It helps to distract me from all the awful news this pandemic is causing.  I started self-isolating two weeks before the lockdown as it was obvious to anyone how this was going, so I haven't been out in over 5 weeks (except to walk the dogs once a day).  We are lucky to have a decent sized garden, so having outside space has been a blessing for us and the dogs. I started and have caught up with the 'State Fair Sampler BOM'.  I'm now waiting for the May blocks. I also started the 'Home Again' BOM.  I purchased the centre medallion pattern and the other sixteen small blocks are free.  I'm having a lot of fun with this.  I haven't done any applique for a while.  I have completed the hand applique around the medallion and have prepared the eight smaller blocks that have been published so far.  The patterns are being published once a week, so I won't need to wait too long for t...

I finished binding this quilt this morning.  I had intended it to be larger, but because I wasn't enjoying making it, I called it a day earlier than intended. I was really excited by the project when I started.  I used some beautiful Caryl Fallert ombre fabrics I have been hoarding and added some Kona Solids.  The pattern blocks were foundation paper pieced.  I expect that most of my problems were caused by not reading the pattern.  I discovered I needed to leave about an inch and a half around the outside of each piece or they could not be sewn together correctly into the block.  When the pieces were trimmed, the backstitching I had done at the start and end of every seam was cut off so when the paper was removed, the stitches at the edges cam loose and had to be resewn.  When I sewed the blocks together the seams were bulky and difficult to press. I pressed the top with starch before sandwiching it, but I clearly didn't iron it well enough, be...

I have made a reasonable start to the year.  I finished piecing my Amish with a Twist quilt.  It is sandwiched and waiting to be quilted.  It is over 100 inches square, so will be a big job.  It is too big to photograph in the bungalow and too wet to hang outside! I took part in the Modern Quilt Guild mini swap.  I had a lovely swap partner, Vickie, from Illinois.  I made a mini from ombre fabrics in my stash and hand dyed some silk to use as extra pops of colour.  The design is one that I adapted from a Quilt Show demo by Alex Anderson.  I think the design would work in a lot of different palettes and different sizes. I received a lovely mini in return.  It is a two-sided quilt.  I still need to take photos. I made the Lavender Fields quilt (pattern by Jacqueline de Jonge) in about a month.  I  spent a lot of time on it...but the weather was SO wet and miserable!  It really helped the time to pass. I used bati...

I have always loved the Hearts and Crosses coverlet in the Quilters' Guild collection and have made two previous quilts with more than a nod to the original.  This time I wanted to make a 'modern' version using the same dimensions as the original.  When I look at the original (on the cover of the pattern), I can see that the maker sometimes changed fabrics part way along a strip.  How 'Improv'! I guess nothing is new. I wanted to use Improv crosses (slash and Insert) rather than the Victorian style ones on the original.  I moved the hearts to the cornerstones.  Their appearance is more subtle than in the original.  I left the sashing plain as the quilt is already very busy.  The eye needs to rest somewhere! So, what do I think of it, so far?  In retrospect, I think that using more pale strips would have been easier on the eye. I am not used to adding random colours to a quilt.  I am a planner and always coordinate the fabrics I put to...

Now the summer is a distant memory, I have been able to make some progress with my quilting and patchwork.  As always, I have several projects on the go. I started a log cabin quilt at a workshop about a month ago.  I had a kit that had sat waiting for a couple of years.  The workshop seemed a good opportunity to start it.  Over 1700 pieces of fabric later, the top is finished.  Not sure when I will get around to quilting it, as I still need to cut 200 more squares to piece the backing. I have finally quilted the Di Ford Hall quilt 'Rochester'.  I just need to hand sew the back of the binding...then, I will take a photo. I finished free motion quilting a Hoffman digital panel.  I just followed the edges and veins in the leaves. I still need to hand sew the binding on the little butterfly quilt.  I used some South African Shwe Shwe fabrics.  I tried grafitti quilting for the first time.  Next time, I need to have greater diff...

I have the binding on my large Tulips and Hearts quilt.  I still need to hand sew binding to the back - 300 inches, so will probably save that task for next week when Hawkinge Patchwork group starts up again after the summer break. I find myself being pulled more towards modern quilting and improv quilting.  I'm not sure why,  but I think it might be to do with the white space.  When I first came across the modern quilt movement I was unmoved.  Initially, it seemed to only use a very limited palette of colours such as blue, beige, orange, black and grey and retro patterned fabric. Maybe that was a misconception on my part.  More recently it seems to have become a much broader church with every colour represented and a real mixture of solid and patterned fabrics. I think I am happiest when I allow myself the freedom of working with freedom and without pressure or expectation. Yesterday, I used a photo my husband took at Stonehenge last year as the ...

Making progress with my design.  It is the first large quilty I've designed in a long time.  I took the photo a couple of days ago.  Since then, I've hand appliqued the corner hearts, sandwiched and stabilised the quilt top.  I started FMQ the centre medallion, but wasn't happy...so am now in the process of unpicking!  The quilt will finish 76 inches square.

I recently took part in the UKQU Mini Swap.  It is a three way swap.   I have done several in the past and enjoyed the experience.  I always make two minis based on a sheet of my swap partner's likes and dislikes and then send the one I think she would like best. Both of this year's efforts were foundation paper pieced and finished at just under 20 inches. The first mini was based on traditional New York Beauty  blocks but with a modern interpretation.  I really enjoyed thinking about the free motion quilting to sew in the white space. The second mini was a much smaller version of Peggy Martin's Summer in Provence quilt.  I think the original was 36 inches square. Both were fun to make.  I added a little bling to both with some heat set crystals. It was difficult yo decide which to send, but in the end I sent the NYB. I received a lovely Improv mini from my swap partner.  I love Improv quilts, circles,  log cabins and bold c...

I have finished Maling Road 1 year and 5 days after starting it at a workshop with Di Ford Hall.  I mostly used her fabrics but changed some of the colours and used a few fabrics from my stash. I really enjoyed the hand applique.  Because I used wash away applique paper and glue, I washed the top on a delicate cycle in my washing machine before sandwiching and quilting.  The laundering is very important, as the paper and glue make the appliques stiff.  Washing the top leaves them lovely and soft. Maling Road is a very 'busy' quilt, so I kept the quilting simple - echoing and a small stipple  around the appliques.  Most of the rest of the quilt was quilted with my walking foot.

Below I copied and pasted my 2018 Plans.  Where did the year go? I think it would  be fair to say that 2018 was a quilting disaster.  We decided to put the house on the market.  We found a buyer the first day (last June), but are still waiting in a chain.  Here we are on the 2nd January, 2019, and we still don't know if the sale will go through or if the chain will collapse.  It is impossible to plan anything...and all the hassle can be overwhelming! ...Oh, and I am waiting for surgery on both feet! Enough excuses. 2018 Plans WIPs and UFOs carried forward TQS 2017 BOM - HALF COMPLETED - sewing machine -Have finished the beauty block border this year. Passacaglia quilt - NO PROGRESS - hand work - No progress 2015 Quiltmania Mystery Quilt - NO PROGRESS - hand work - Still no progress. Hexi wallhanging - NO PROGRESS - hand work - No progress Phoebe quilt - NO PROGRESS - mix No progress Rambling Ways - TWO BLOCKS DONE - hand work No progres...