Free to Quilt: My Treasure Quilt

Friday 5 June 2020

My Treasure Quilt

True Colours

At last I've made time to finish off this project for myself!

It all started off about 15 months ago with an evening of playing with tiny inch-wide scraps of my most treasured fabric. They got put to one side for a while, but from time to time I added to them until they grew into log cabin blocks.

The project kept getting pushed further and further down my To Do list, while I got on with jobs for other friends and quicker projects of my own. But in the back of my mind, I planned how to take it forward.

I knew I wanted lots of open space to quilt in and also that I wanted to use my Apliquick tools for some ambitious appliqué.

This is a much slower way of doing it than the usual fusible method. All these pieces had to to be hand sewn on to the top, which took days and days.

But it was well worth the effort, though, as it really stands up from the surface. The bias strip vine was machine stitched on.

When it came to the quilting, I wanted to take my time over it and go for maximum texture.

I used two layers of wool wadding for the fullest loft. I don't know how well it will wash, so I will have to keep it pristine! I also tried out the 'Microquilter' 100 weight thread I bought at FOQ, so that I could do more intense quilting without too much thread build up.

The first bobbin wound okay, for some reason, but after that I had terrible problems with it slipping out of the tension discs. In the end, I just pinched it through my finger and thumb! But I had no issues with it in the machine.

Once I got going, it was just days of self-indulgent freemotion quilting.

It is so much better to have used some of these treasured fabrics in a quilt that I can stroke and enjoy, than hiding them away in a basket and I am very pleased with it.