Free to Quilt: Hanging Garden

Free to Quilt: Hanging Garden: Out Of The Blue! I love how my quilting best buddies have started to actually design their tops with me in mind! This beautifully pieced top...

Hanging Garden

Out Of The Blue!

I love how my quilting best buddies have started to actually design their tops with me in mind!

This beautifully pieced top, which Val was commissioned to make for her friend Lesley as a baby quilt, is a great example. Val knows that I like plenty of blank space to get creative in, so she added extra deep borders top and bottom. No surprises - there were feathers!

An unusual fabric choice for a baby quilt, it was a jelly roll by Robert Kaufmann, and some of the prints were very reminiscent of Liberty. But they went together so well in this rather sophisticated layout called 'Hanging Garden'.

Other aspects of the quilting were inspired by the actual piecing. It is such a pleasure to take it off the frame and see how it looks from the back. We chose a strong turquoise which showed up the quilting really well. I hope baby appreciates all our efforts!

Then, out of the blue, I had a call from a nice lady called Marion, whom I'd never met. A member of Amwell Quilters (a group I visited a year or so back) had given her my details. She had a disappearing nine patch that she was making to donate to a charity called Quilts 4 Care Leavers. This is a worthy cause that I also plan to donate to soon. 

She had got as far as layering it and had kind of run out of steam - so could I finish it for her? Of course I was happy to. 

Unfortunately, she had already spray basted it with adhesive, which is not what you want for quilting on a frame. So I had to ease the wadding out and press the top and backing again before loading it all up. Sticky Ironing board!!

 

At first I thought I would quilt it with bubbles to pick up the circles in the print. But somehow it was so bright and colourful, it just came out flowery - Go with the flow!!!!!!! 

And pretty from the back too!

Last little piece .....

As our carefully planned programme for Studio Quilters went out the window this year, because of lockdown, I thought I should start my planned scrap project off with the group now, albeit a bit late.

Here is the result of many an evening of mindless piecing, mopping up all my little scraps into tiny half square triangle units and scrap strips.

I have given out sections of a 'strippy' scrap quilt to everyone, to be assembled as a group effort and longarm quilted by me (long distance) next year. I hope that the finished quilt can be donated to the Quilts for Care Leavers too.

Happy Quilting Everyone - Stay safe and keep cheerful! 

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