Free to Quilt: Three Off the Frame!

Free to Quilt: Three Off the Frame!: Just a Little Bit of ME Time My quilting sessions  have had to be scheduled  around the cooler times up in my loft this week. Even so ...

Three Off the Frame!

Just a Little Bit of ME Time

My quilting sessions have had to be scheduled around the cooler times up in my loft this week. Even so I have completed three quilts. This is the first one from Janet S, which allowed me to indulge myself with my favourite feather design. Once I get going with this, I just cannot stop until it's done (or I absolutely have to go to bed!).



When Janet collected it she left me another one. She's been as busy as I have!

This beautiful blue quilt was a project she started with Sandy several years ago. Such gorgeous sapphire shades, it is so striking and (as usual) perfectly pieced. Janet asked for quite concentrated all over quilting. I decided on this  feathered swirl pattern, which emulates one of Judi Madsen's designs. I am so  pleased how it looks and I'm getting better at it too. 

At the same time, I received another stunning top from Stasha. 

I continue to be astonished at her ability to produce hand pieced tops like this. There is a lot of blue background which belies the amount of piecing involved, unless you looked at it up close. But I could see how perfectly accurate and smooth it was and it was a dream to work on. 

Stasha asked for a looser flowing design, so I happily scattered flowers and ribbon curls all over it. The multicoloured thread (King Tut Jacob's Ladder) stitched out so prettily against the royal blue.

So Yes! In the twilight hours I found time to make a small project of my own. 

When I made my Hunter's Star quilt, many years ago now, I had 'mopped up' the tiniest of scraps of my favourite fabrics on to phonebook paper strips. These had been stashed away, together with some pretty duck egg blue half square triangle units, just waiting for inspiration to strike.


Now I've made this folded kit bag for all my Apliquick tools. 

It has pockets for the special stabiliser material, template shapes, the rods, scissors and ergonomic tweezers (they were expensive, but I couldn't resist!), milliner's needles and fabric glue pen and refills.



This will have to satisfy me for a while until I have chance to start work on quilting my Treasure Quilt. I want to really take my time over it, but I have a waiting list of tops to be finished first.




Happy Quilting Everyone - Stay safe and keep cheerful!

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www.englishquilter.co.uk

Free to Quilt: New Wave!

Free to Quilt: New Wave!: Dazzling Colours! It has been so colourful up in my loft over the past two weeks. I didn't have time to post pictur...

New Wave!

Dazzling Colours!

It has been so colourful up in my loft over the past two weeks. I didn't have time to post pictures of this vibrant 'Postcard from Sweden' quilt, (made by Val), before moving straight on to the stunning needle turned appliqué quilt above, by Elizabeth (Stasha's friend). 

Such different styles, but both beautifully crafted. I can't choose between them!

Val made hers at the request of a friend, and she bought the fabrics as a kit. Her friend wanted wavy line quilting which was a little out of my comfort zone. But once I got going, I had to agree it really worked!

 Believe it or not, it is a bit harder than it looks. It is difficult to keep the waves random. I used a variegated, pale silvery grey polyester thread- 'Fantastico' by Superior Threads. It looked gorgeous, but gave me a lot of trouble with shredding for some reason.

So pleased I persevered! I have learned a new design.

By contrast Elizabeth's quilt was right up my street.

 Lots of ruler work around the pieced squares, with some soft curves to anchor the appliqué. The green border was laced with curled ribbons. 

I saved the best bit for last. The border was such fun to do, filling in feathers around the pretty hand embroidered vine with flowers. 

Even though I have been so busy in the loft, I've also managed to finish my own hand appliqué on my 'Treasure' quilt.

I might as well share a glimpse of it now, as I won't have time to quilt it for a while - I have just loaded another quilt by Janet S, ready to start tomorrow! 

Now these are MY colours!

Happy Quilting Everyone - Stay safe and keep cheerful!

Thank you for visiting my blog and for leaving your comments. Please share on Facebook, Pinterest  etc.

www.englishquilter.co.uk

Free to Quilt: Learning Curl

Free to Quilt: Learning Curl: Scraps Reborn for Newborn's Quilt These little two inch square scraps have been given a new lease of life  in this I...

Learning Curl

Scraps Reborn for Newborn's Quilt

These little two inch square scraps have been given a new lease of life  in this Irish Chain inspired quilt. It is my second incubator quilt for the King's College Hospital Neonatal Unit. 
A couple of evenings of mindless piecing soon resulted in quite a pile, while I planned the layout.





 Just as with the first incubator quilt, I needed to take into account the flap which covers the hole. I wanted to maintain the continuity of the patchwork. 













As the blocks were put together as a 'nine patch', I used the middle block on the bottom row as the flap. 





Then I only needed to piece the underneath up to the 'hole', where it overlapped. 















Then to quilt it! 
I had seen a video of this curled feather technique. I can't remember who it was by, but she made it look so easy. It actually wasn't! I was just starting to get the hang of it by the time I got to the bottom. It doesn't look quite right close up, but the overall effect is nice. 

A lot more practice is required, I think, but I did at least manage to match up the quilting on the flap.





Now I am taking the opportunity to work on my 'Treasure' quilt before the next two quilt tops arrive this week. It is hand appliqué and it is slow going but very satisfying. Here is a sneak preview.






And I have been awaiting delivery of elastic for my facemasks all day - but it didn't arrive. I've got thirteen to finish off!

Happy Quilting Everyone - Stay safe and keep cheerful!

Thank you for visiting my blog and for leaving your comments. Please share on Facebook, Pinterest  etc.

www.englishquilter.co.uk