Dense quilting

By

I’ll concede that you’re probably going to get tired of my countdown until our move, but it’s what is taking up all of my brain space right now and the shipping container arrives in less than two weeks!  Of course top priority is to get sewing projects finished…  I may be a master at the art of procrastination…  It seemed very important to tackle some dense quilting today… But let’s ignore that and look at some progress photos ;)

I finally put together a top using my bee blocks from QCA Bee1.  To be honest it was a challenge.  The quilt is for my friend who is very special to me but has a difficult life.  She lives in a shack without electricity or running water and I will be very sad to say goodbye when we leave Nouméa.  I really want to give her something special and I had the idea that bee blocks would be great as they were from a group of Australian women and I thought she would love that idea :)  I had to fix quite a few of the blocks and some of the prints were really not so awesome, it really took the wind out of my sails. The whole experience was a lesson for me.  I’m not sure I’m suited to traditional bees.  I should have said I wanted modern prints (I just assumed which is silly).  If I think about it I generally don’t sew traditional blocks so being part of a traditional bee, whilst fun, isn’t really me.  Anyway, I’m super happy with how it all came together in the end.  I spent hours auditioning fabrics and thinking it over and then I remember there dark grey print with the bright birds on it.  I actually pieced it to get the length that I needed but I liked the look so much that I pieced both sides.  I can’t wait to see how the quilting pulls this baby together.  I’m thinking I might use a fun teal thread :) :)  And just so you know, I am glad that I have been in the bee and I have learnt a lot from it :)  I don’t mean to sound whingy, it was just disappointing to find a block with holes in it and other blocks with seam allowances so small that I had to resew them or there would have been holes after the first wash.  But enough from me, I love it and I know my friend will too :)

It would appear that it is birthday season and I’m therefore on a cushion/pillow making crusade.  First up is a superhero quilted cover for Isaia.

My eldest son turned seven today and whilst his Mummy made gift is a day late I’m sure he is going to love it :)

You could say that I like free motion quilting ;)

The above panel is only 13″ x 16″ so the dense quilting was kinda insane, especially black on black where I had to sort of feel the thread as I couldn’t see it very well.

Super tricky to see and I probably should have changed to the open toe…

 

Next up will be a princess cushion cover, but I’ve only cut the front panel so far, must get cracking!!

I’m linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced :)  Tomorrow I will be talking about thread issues and free motion quilting.  I’d love you to pop back and link up your quilting process <3  If you have any questions you’d like me to (try and) answer please let me know :)

 

i quilt blog button

15 Comments on Dense quilting

  1. Ms Midge
    October 23, 2013 at 10:42 pm (6 months ago)

    The quilt top looks fabulous! And I love jasper’s cushion :)

    Reply
  2. Pat @ Color Me Quilty
    October 23, 2013 at 11:03 pm (6 months ago)

    Love the quilting! Love the quilt too!

    Reply
  3. Lorna McMahon
    October 23, 2013 at 11:37 pm (6 months ago)

    Thanks for sharing your feelings and your honesty. Glad to see you were able to finish the quilt top. It does look lovely. Looking forward to your post on quilting!

    Reply
  4. Anita
    October 24, 2013 at 2:16 am (6 months ago)

    What a lovely quilt top and that quilting is amazing. Very nice.

    Reply
  5. Vera
    October 24, 2013 at 5:41 am (6 months ago)

    Sorry to hear about your bee experience. I appreciate your honesty. Those pillows look lovely!

    Reply
  6. Renee
    October 24, 2013 at 6:49 am (6 months ago)

    What fun little quilting projects to work on! And great gifts for kids too :-)

    Reply
  7. Jenn E from Mellycoddle
    October 24, 2013 at 7:56 am (6 months ago)

    Wow! Love the quilting on the superhero quilt :).

    Reply
  8. Kristy @ Quiet Play
    October 24, 2013 at 10:22 am (6 months ago)

    The Bee quilt has come together nicely – despite the hassles!

    Love your FMQ on the cushions – gorgeous!

    Reply
  9. Sara
    October 24, 2013 at 12:02 pm (6 months ago)

    I was pretty shocked to recieve blocks with holes in them on a couple of different occasions. It’s too bad to have to remake the blocks but the quilt came out nice!

    Reply
  10. DeborahGun
    October 24, 2013 at 12:23 pm (6 months ago)

    the Bee quilt is gorgeous – a really special present for your friend :-)

    Reply
  11. Jeifner
    October 24, 2013 at 6:41 pm (6 months ago)

    Many times it doesn’t matter if you specify that you want “Modern” fabric. I think sometimes you have to make it clear that modern is an aesthetic not just any fabric that can be bought in a store nowadays. I assumed once and got back some blocks that were unusable.

    Reply
    • Jeifner
      October 24, 2013 at 6:43 pm (6 months ago)

      PS that quilt looks fabulous!

      Reply
  12. Yzo
    October 25, 2013 at 4:10 am (6 months ago)

    Love the cushion! As always your quilting is A.Mazing. I had to comment as my son had his tenth birthday yesterday, and he is also a Jasper. Such a great name! And my Jasper also got a quilted gift!

    Reply
  13. Amy @ Cloud CouCou Crafts
    October 25, 2013 at 9:31 am (6 months ago)

    That quilt is sooooo gorgeous…the colours are fab!! And the super hero cushion is going to go down a treat :)

    Reply
  14. Sarah
    October 28, 2013 at 12:43 pm (6 months ago)

    Happy Birthday to Jasper. My son Joe was seven on the 21st! I love the quilt top for your friend. I love the colours and the layout. I think she will think fondly of you every time she uses it. Whereabouts in Australia are you moving to?

    Reply

Leave a Reply