Archive of ‘Stitching’ category
Welcome to Pretty Bobbins I Quilt Linky Party. I would love you to link up! This linky party is all about the quilting process, we want to share and learn and grow as quilters. Please make sure to visit three other linkers and add a link to my blog and/or my button to your post (you can find it top right or at the bottom if you’re on a mobile device). Next week is the last Thursday of the month and I’d like to invite you to discuss wadding (also known as batting depending on where you live in the world).
This week I’m talking forgiving, as in which quilting designs are rather forgiving 
I’m also hoping that you’ll be forgiving as I have a full plate this week and haven’t managed to get myself organised to feature someone from last week’s linky. It’s a busy time and my day kind of fell apart when we had some intruders strip our lemon tree this morning. It’s happened once before and to be honest the guys probably are after nothing more than lemons, but it is scary when they won’t leave and it leaves you worried about what might happen. Anyway, the day is nearly over and I’m looking forward to a fresh day tomorrow! 
One of my favourite (and thread hungry!!) techniques to personalize a quilt <3
I’m currently working on a lovely, girly butterfly quilt which I hope to finish tomorrow. It’s actually a repeat of a cot sized quilt I made earlier in the year, but this one is a whopping 2m x 1.9m!! I am quilting the same design but it’s been really interesting to use different materials and see how that changes the look and the feel of the quilt. Last time I used an AMH flannelette for the backing and wool wadding, this time it is all quilting cottons with 100% cotton wadding. Next week I’ll be talking more about wadding and I’d love to hear your thoughts.
You can see the flight paths and how much better they look once the main quilting is completed
I quilted three “paths” for the butterflies to give movement and whilst it looks a bit odd at first, it works quite well once you fill in all the space.
This quilting design is really easy. It’s three shallow arches that are themselves in an arch shape and end in a swirl. The swirl can either touch another ‘cloud’ or not. It’s great for quilting up close to the butterflies (which are attached with fusible web and then quilted in place) without having to worry about direction.
The 100% cotton wadding is much flatter than the wool I used last time but it still gives a nice shape to the lettering.
It is also very forgiving when you think you’re going to get a pucker or fold or bubble in your quilt sandwich. You just leave a gap in your quilting that is part of the design and you avoid messy folds. Perfect!
The back is kona berrylicious and I love the contrasting quilting in grey Aurifil
OK, that’s about the limit of my ability to write coherently this evening LOL I’d love you to link up and support your fellow quilty bloggers by visiting at least 3 other linkers. Also, linking back to my blog will hopefully bring more linkers and more for us to learn. I’m really loving visiting everyone’s blogs each week. I’ve managed to visit everyone each week so far but I haven’t been quite so awesome in replying to comments so if you asked me a question and I haven’t replied, please as again Happy linking and please feel free to link about wadding/batting next week
Welcome to I Quilt linky party at Pretty Bobbins, it’s Thursday (in Nouméa) and time to link up your quilting process. Please link up, visit a few other linkers and grab my button (code at top right or down the bottom if you’re on a mobile device) and link back in your post. Let’s spread the quilty love <3 We had some seriously impressive linkers last week and as I was visiting all of the blogs I started thinking about quilting with confidence as quite a few people mentioned this. Last week a Facebook friend shared a quote that said something like, “don’t compare your middle to someone else’s high point”. It really struck a cord with me (as did the response that we should never compare our middles ).
The online quilting community is great, blogs are great, craftsy and flickr and instagram are great. But every now and then I catch myself comparing my work rather than being inspired. Don’t get me wrong, 95% of the time I am surfing the web I am being inspired but there is a small part of me that every now and then thinks, “I’m not that good.” rather than “I look forward to being that good” or “I’m going to try that”. Of course there are better quilters than me, there always will be! And that’s great, it gives me something to aspire to. But my point is, compare yourself to yourself. To how far you’ve come, to what you achieved during your quilting time today, to the skills that come easily now compared to that first lesson when EVERYTHING was a challenge. (I remember being totally perplexed by how to use a rotary cutter and ruler and cutting all my blocks .5″ wrong!). I used to sometimes feel like blogland was too happy and no one ever said anything real or negative. But I have come to understand that the encouragement that we give each other is far more important than saying, “it would have looked better if you….” or “those really aren’t my colours…” I read every comment I get and whilst I can’t always respond, those comments all build my confidence and that makes me a braver and better quilter. Share the love people!
Photo used with permission from Marelize @ Stitch by Stitch
This week I am featuring the lovely Marelize from Stitch by Stitch. I think I originally “met” Marelize on Instagram and I just LOVE LOVE LOVE seeing her work. She also quilts on a Bernina and is super amazing at free motion quilting. Seriously, check her out if you love quilting candy! Last week she linked up the most BEAUTIFUL quilt in progress and was talking about how it just wasn’t how she imagined. Marelize, the rest of us can see how stunning that quilt is, your work is divine! The back really shows the detail. AMAZING!
Photo used with permission by Marelize @ Stitch by Stitch
I’m actually in the same head space as Marelize at the moment. I love the quilting I did on my “Dream” mini (below) but it isn’t quite there, it’s not how I imagined it would be. I need to add a bit and I think by attaching the binding next I will be inspired to stitch on those words like I envisaged and decide whether or not to outline the word “dream” or leave it subtle.
As often is the case, the back is the show stealer here…
My other current quandry is the table runner I am making as a thank you/farewell gift for Mr 7′s teacher. (Thank you for all the useful suggestions and kind thoughts yesterday. Apparently he was improved this morning but lost focus this afternoon. That in itself is a HUGE improvement. Funny that my son is stubborn… ) After so much dense SLQ on the Dream mini I just couldn’t do it again even though it was my first thought for the table runner (this girl needs curves!).
Triangle table runner in progress
I LOVED this baby during the piecing and felt oh so clever how I’d used all teal and placed it from dark to light with the bold pink thrown in. I actually really thought this one needed some harsh geometric quilting but I didn’t want to quilt over the triangles. I pondered it for a day and then decided to just jump in.
Stuck in a rut!
I kind of got stuck on the same pattern. Does that ever happen to you? Completely not loving it I gave up the idea of something I would love and decided to throw in some half swirls spewing out into pebbles. I like it a lot more now, but it looks really beachy to me and that wasn’t at all what I was going for…. Ah! I need to think less and have more confidence in giving hand made gifts!! Do you give handmade gifts confidently? It’s that real conundrum, do you give handmade and put in lots of effort and then maybe it ends up at goodwill or in the rubbish… Or is it only me that is lacking in confidence on the handmade gift front? Spill the beans people!
Adding swirls and pebbles for interest
Now it’s your turn. I’d love you to link up below. Please remember that this is a quilting process linky. We all want to hear about your process, we want to learn and be inspired and share your quilty journey <3 Please remember to visit a few other linkers and add my button to your post or sidebar. Happy quilting!!
As the title suggests, I’m just hanging in there. I’ll spare you the grim details of post-packing fallout, suffice to say that Mr 7′s teacher pulled me aside today and told me that he is going to fail his final evaluations because he has mentally shutdown following the packing up of our house. If anyone has any suggestions on motivating, building confidence and managing change when it comes to children… I’m all ears! In the absence of good parenting I have promised Mr 7 the Nintendo DS (game thingy) that he desperately wants if he works hard like he did before last Monday. I have been saying all year that it is too expensive and not possible but I hope the lure of the DS is enough to get him working again. I have informed his teacher of this incentive and asked that she remind him if possible when he is head down refusing to work. Terrible parenting but I’m desperate. It is heartbreaking to watch your child shutdown and risk repeating a year of school because they are not coping with the thought of leaving their friends and the only home they remember. Sorry, I meant to spare you the details…
‘Dream’ mini in progress – made with scraps from Rainbow Plus quilt top. Aprox 15″ x 30″
Usually I keep my works in progress to a minimum. At the moment I’m suffering a lack of clarity when it comes to quilting designs but I’m pushing on and then procrastinating when I feel that the design I’ve gone with is not right. I was thinking the word “dream” in the above mini was too obvious but when I shared it on IG the clever peeps there suggested outlining it in black. I’m still procrastinating…
I use my ‘tri recs’ ruler when piecing triangles :)
I’ve started a table runner for Mr 7′s teacher as a thank you/farewell gift. I loved it during the piecing stage. I’m worried I messed it up whilst quilting. I’ve probably quilted a 1/4 of it but didn’t grab a photo before the light went (and can’t find the charger for my DSLR, sorry for the ipad pics!) so here it is pieced.
Aprox 15″ by 60″
The other main piece I am working on is a custom order, a Butterfly quilt based on a cot sized one I made a few weeks back. My wadding arrived today so I hope to baste it tonight (although crying into my wine is more tempting!).
Butterfly quilt in progress aprox 2m x 1.9m
I’m using fusible adhesive and raw edged appliqué and I love all the pink on the grey. Quilts like this make having a large stash a lot of fun. My customer had a great time going through all of the pinks and putting together her picks
I’m linking up to Work in Progress Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. I’d love you to pop back tomorrow and link up to my Quilting Process linky <3
First up, thank you for all the kind words and support on my post yesterday. You reminded me once again that when I put myself out there I get it back ten fold. Thank you xx Today has been chaotic (I got all ready for my first walk post packing and discovered that my shoes and hat have been packed!) but I will start to respond to comments tomorrow <3
Greek Cross Cushion by Aoife of thREDhead
A big thank you also to everyone who linked up last week! I finally got around to visiting everyone’s blogs last night I hope everyone linking up is showing some of the love and visiting other linkers, we all love comments and traffic This week I am featuring the talented Aoife, I LOVE her blog name, thREDhead. Seriously girl, how long did it take you to come up with such a great name?! I thought about mine forever and I still question it LOL Make sure you pop by Aoife’s blog, last week she shared her Greek Cross cushion which is absolutely stunning in bold solids with some AWESOME quilting to boot. Aoife pointed out how dense quilting dramatically shrinks your quilt and she used this as a clever design feature and densely quilted half of her cushion back (photo below). Aoife, you may have completely inspired my current work in progress Thank you xx
Greek Cross Cushion (back) by Aoife of thREDhead
My post yesterday probably left you thinking that I’m somewhat introspective at the moment. Yep, it kind of happens when you go through the moving process and touch every item that you own. Left with an empty house I put up our advent calendar that I made two Christmases ago. My idea was to make a Christmas tradition/symbol that was portable as we are often in transit during December. I had very little quilting experience (and confidence!) when I made this wall hanging. The wadding is synthetic felt, the white fabric is a super high threadcount sheet (NOT fun to quilt through!) and I did all the blanket stitching and binding by hand. Yep, I have grown a lot since I made this baby!
Quilted Advent Calendar with felt decorations
Growth is good. I love the quilts I make now (I love my early quilts too). I’d never use synthetic felt as wadding now (never say never!!) LOL I rarely mark my quilts anymore and for this quilt I even marked all of those straight lines in chalk. I didn’t even own a walking foot so I dragged that sucker through my old Husqvarna. Yep, I don’t do any of those things anymore, but I love this wall hanging and so does my family. If I hadn’t jumped in and made that wall hanging and lots of other projects, I wouldn’t have ended up where I am now. Marking quilting lines gave me the confidence to quilt. Quilting gave me the confidence to not mark lines. Not marking lines gave me the space to get creative and play.
my current quilt in progress 12″ x 27″
I would love to hear about how you’ve grown as a quilter. How did you build your confidence? Do you still have your early projects? Did you have lessons and learn methods or did you just jump in and give it a go? As much as I am a perfectionist, I don’t think there is really a right or wrong when it comes to quilting. Sure, you might not feel every piece is “show worthy” but we learn from each piece we make and that is invaluable. My Blessings quilt (below) was a major turning point in my quilting journey <3
I have also become a better photographer since then but I gave this quilt away so I can’t photograph it again. You can see the quilting better from the back (where I learnt that sometimes whole cloth is better)
Blessing Quilt back (I thought a pieced back was fun, but in hindsight it took away from the quilting.)
How is your quilting journey progressing? I’d love you to link up below. I ask that you visit at least two other linkers and link to me in your post and/or add my button to your sidebar/post. You can find the button html code near the top right of my blog or, at the bottom if you’re on a mobile device. Remember that this linky is all about quilting process, I’d love to hear all about your process!
Thanks for linking up xxx
Yay for Thursday! That means it’s almost Friday And it’s time to link up your quilting process, woohoo! Last week I opened up a conversation about threads and invited you to join me this week to talk about thread issues. If you have any tips, tricks or “WARNING! Don’t go there” advice I’d love to hear it! I’m going to talk all about my quilting threads and related tips and tricks. Of course you are welcome to join the party even if you aren’t discussing thread issues, just make sure you post contains some discussion of your quilting process <3
Last week you blew my mind when 30 quilters linked up!!!! I’m feeling the love here I’ve also been receiving lots of emails asking for advice on quilting issues or how to get started. I certainly don’t feel like an expert, I’m just head over heals in love with quilting <3 But thank you and please keep those questions coming, I try to answer people directly but I will also use some of these as themes for my I Quilt posts If I don’t get back to you please don’t hesitate to ask me again. We are in the midst of packing up for an international move and I have many competing priorities at the moment and some things fall through the cracks…
Last week Jo linked up a fantastic post on using stencils. Seriously, that girl has quilting T.A.L.E.N.T! If you haven’t had a chance to pop by her blog please do. I may be a little biased as we discovered that we own the same machine (Bernina 440QE) but I am in awe of her work! Her post last week was all about using quilting stencils which is something that I have absolutely no experience with and found really fascinating. Pop by and check it out when you have some time I hope to feature a quilter each week and I’d love it if you could pop by and say hi to support them and learn from their posts <3
So last week I shared my dirty secret of thread tension issues in my son’s Rainbow I Spy Quilt. I can live with it but that quilt would come under some scrutiny at a Quilty show and tell I’m sure This week I’m going to give you some of my tips on how to avoid thread issues. Sure, the obvious tip is practice and get better LOL But no one wants to have the first dozen quilts they make sporting thread issues
For perspective the sashing is 1″ wide here
The first large amount of free motion quilting I did was on my middle child’s quilt (you can read about it here). I don’t remember really thinking about the quilting too much but I went with stippling and I remember finding Elizabeth Hartman’s blog very useful. I followed her tips for quilting direction and I kept my stippling at about the size she recommends. I don’t think I’ve stippled since, but when I have a good hard look at that quilt there are no thread issues. So I vote one for stippling as a good introductory design for newby quilters to avoid thread issues. I find anything with sharp turns, points or corners can create little knots of thread and stippling pretty much avoids that
If you squint you can see the micro-stippling around the cupcakes. To give perspective the cupcakes are about 1.25″ tall
Micro quilting is something that I am a bit enamored of at the moment and as much as I love it I would advise that you get a little practice under your belt before you set your heart on it. It isn’t tricky (it does require a LOT of concentration) and it does give a fantastic look, but I find that changing directions so frequently can cause thread issues. The key is to keep your movements smooth, that can be tricky when your neck is spasming and your eyes are crossed because you changed directions every 1/4″! It’s totally possible, don’t be scared off, just keep you’re fabric moving smoothly
I’ve mentioned before that I really believe in using the best equipment that you can. My first quilting gloves (above) were bought from a quilt shop. They wouldn’t let me try them on or touch them (for hygiene reasons) and I must say I wondered for about six months why everyone loves quilting gloves. Ah, my gloves were not so awesome… So I purchased some machingers (I read some quilting guru saying they are the bees knees so I did what I was told and bought some online) and they ROCK!
Why do machingers gloves rock? They are really elasticy so they fit nicely on your hands and they breath well. The grip is on both sides of the fingertips – kind of like they were dipped in grippy stuff) which is better than it sounds. Be honest, how often do you pick up your gloves and put them on the wrong hand? With machingers it doesn’t matter because they’re double sided, which is great for someone as absent minded as me. (And just so you know I’m not affiliated with machingers in anyway and I paid for my own gloves, but if they wanted to come to the party….)
There’s lots of talk about needles and I know some people SWEAR by applique needles or embroidery needles. I exclusively use Schmetz brand quilting needles. They’re good for piecing too (I know because I’m absent minded and forget to change needles other than when I change weights of fabric) and for some reason I really like the little green spot of paint on them (I don’t think it actually does anything). Clever marketing Schmetz (And again, no affiliation, I pay my way but I’ll always tell you what I love and what works for me.)
You’re probably sick of me telling you how much I love Aurifil, but I really do. I do think quality thread makes a HUGE difference. I actually prefer to use my spools on a spool stand (I originally bought it for the large cones that I use but it’s fine for any sized spool). I think it improves tension and I rarely use my machine spool stands anymore. I just raise the small spools so that the metal pin is inside the spool and there is no chance of the thread catching on it.
Speaking of spools, don’t forget your bobbins! One of the best sewing and quilting tips I can give you is to wind your bobbins on the SLOWEST SPEED possible (I made that big in case you’re skim reading – DON’T MISS THIS TIP). When you wind your bobbin on the slowest speed possible it winds looser so your bobbin will feel a tad springy or spongey or squishey. Try it and I promise you it will change your life (OK, don’t hold me to that, it will not change your life but it will enhance your sewing and quilting experience). Loose bobbins reduce tension issues (let’s see how much dirty spam I get from that sentence LOL). If you are getting lots of birds nests at the back of your fabric this may help (it helped me)
Another helpful tip is to support your quilt and make your quilting setup as ergonomic as possible. I was lucky enough to find a sewing cabinet second hand and I quilt with my machine dropped down into the cabinet and an ironing board behind for support. The weight of your quilt can play all sorts of havoc by causing you to accidentally move your quilt or giving your fabric a kind of pulled look because of the pressure that was on the fabric as you were quilting.
Do you remember that last week I talked about using different colours for top and bottom threads? Since my crazy go at using a stark white top thread and dark grey in the bobbin I have avoided huge contrast and it’s helped. I’ve added the numbers of the thread to the photo above for reference, but really this is just to give you an idea of different coloured threads that I have used together successfully in the top and bottom threads (they are lined up in pairs as I have used them). All are 50wt Aurifil threads.
quilted 241 tote
Another option is to use really busy fabric to hide your quilting booboos (did you know that we use the word booboo in French for when we hurt ourselves a little? I think that’s a funny linguistic crossover!). The above photo is of my 241 tote where I’ve used Architextures and it really hides the details of my quilting. I was actually just going for textures and colours that I liked, but it can be useful to use a busy print on the back of a quilt so you aren’t so worried about your booboos showing
Single Aunt mini
I love to let my stitching show, even if it is just a slightly different hue but it does mean you need to not worry about your booboos or be confident that you won’t make any biggies I suggest you try some quilting designs that have nice smooth curves to them like the design above, it’s repetitive but the lines are intentionally wobbly so if you go off them it isn’t really noticeable.
My current wip, I’ve used threads that both blend in and contrast for a fun effect.
So now it’s your turn! Link up your post, please remember that this linky is about quilting process Visit two or three other linkers and add my linky button to your post or sidebar (you can find the html code in the top left side bar or right at the bottom of the page if you’re on a mobile device). Yay for quilting and yay for Thursday! I’m ready to end the week!!
Hello! Welcome to I Quilt, a weekly linky party all about the process of quilting. 23 awesome crafty peeps linked up last week, yay! I’m going to give a shoutout each week to someone from the previous week Lindsey from Inspiring Creations linked up last week and shared her GORGEOUS sunnyside pinwheel quilt. Her first quilt! It’s beautiful, pop by and check it out if you haven’t yet <3 Lindsey made the great point that she considered diagonal lines but really wanted her piecing to shine so stitched in the ditch. As much as I love quilting the heck out of everything in reach, Lindsey is spot on, the piecing is really important in determining the quilting design and ditch stitching is a great way of letting the piecing tell the story I haven’t stitched in the ditch since my first quilt as I find I’m too impatient to be super accurate Well done Lindsey, your quilt is beautiful! Thanks for sharing
Speaking of letting the piecing speak to you this is my current work in progress. I have an idea for quilting but I’m not sure. This was entirely pieced using scraps most of which came from my Primary Plus Quilt but a few from my scrap stash. I’m thinking I might stick with the colours of each area or using a thread which blends in with all the scraps such as Aurifil 2000 (a golden colour). I’m trying to decide between some stark SLQ and really intense FMQ. So rather undecided really
I shared a progress pic of this mini on Instagram and a few friends commented on how tidy the back is. First up I will admit that I am pedantic when it comes to my own work. In all honesty though, I really think that a tidy back helps with quilting. I trim all loose threads, press my seams open (to reduce bulk and improve accuracy) and press the heck out of my top. I’ve never used starch and I’ve heard that spray basting is not great for free motion quilting. Do you have any things that you do to improve your quilting?
Speaking of tips and tricks, I wanted to introduce a theme for the next Thursday I would LOVE it if you could talk about thread issues. It’s very easy in blogland to select which photos you share and hide any little mistakes. This week I’m going to share some photos of my work that you may not have seen before
You may remember the Rainbow I Spy quilt I made a while ago for my eldest son. I really wanted the quilt to be truly double sided so in addition to the top you see above I pieced a rainbow back with scraps and a grey solid (Bella Steel from memory). I then decided to quilt pebbles in white thread in the white sashing and use grey thread in the bobbin. Alarm bells are ringing right about now.
Rainbow I Spy quilt back
For some reason lots (all? most? or maybe just me…) of quilters have issues when using significantly different coloured top and bottom thread. Seriously, the quilting was a right pain. I persisted but I was messing with the tension constantly (I normally rarely have to adjust tension on my Bernina 440). In the end I found some solace by dropping the top tension to zero, using a spool stand and (strangely) missing the last loop when threading my machine (so not running the thread through the little metal loop just above the needle). Pebbles probably made it worse with all of the tight turns as I didn’t have as many issues with the straight line quilting (SLQ) in the borders.
The pebbled area here is about 2″ wide to give you some perspective :)
If you look closely at the above photo you will see the threads popping through. After a wash and some wear the thread issue isn’t an issue. The quilt is loved and NO ONE is ever going to look at it as closely or as critically as I will look at my own quilts (tell me I’m not the only one who does that LOL). I did learn a good lesson from this though, now when I use different coloured threads in the bobbin and spool I make sure they are not as dramatically different as dark grey and stark white. I also quilt more smoothly now than I did at that point which I also think helps reduce thread issues.
When I made my daughter’s Princess Quilt I used a range of different threads colours from white to soft mauve and with each thread change I used a different colour in the bobbin. For example, White on top, soft pink in the bobbin. Soft pink on top, soft mauve in the bobbin. Pink on top, dark pink in the bobbin. Et voila! No thread peaking through, no tension issues, no constant stressing and fiddling. Lesson learnt
I would love to hear if you have any tips on thread. I exclusively use Aurifil thread as I believe it’s the best (and I pay for it out of my own pocket – no sponsorship or paid reviews here). It is super fine so the bobbin goes further (win!), the colours are beautiful (win!) and my machine feels smoother when I FMQ. Win, win and win
Some stash favourites including Aurifil thread and kona solids <3
Do you have a favourite thread? How do you prevent thread issues? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experience, I’ve aired my dirty laundry, maybe you can share yours too There’s no requirement to link up a post on thread issues but if you feel like it, that’s the theme for the next week. I’ll be talking about quilting designs that I find particularly easy and troublesome when it comes to thread showing through.
Blessings Quilt in progress – an all time favourite <3
Please remember to visit at least two other blogs and to please write about your quilting process. As much as we all love finished projects, this linky is about process. Your linked up post will be most helpful to everyone else if you talk about your quilting in some way, even if you’re discussing an old finished project, a current work in progress, quilting sketches, that kind of thing Please feel free to link finished projects, or any type of quilting project, just include some of your process so we can learn I also ask that you add a button to your post or sidebar. You can find the html in my left hand side bar or right down the bottom of the page if you’re on a mobile device.
Now it’s your turn to link up and talk about your quilting process I’ve been having so much fun visiting new blogs, I hope you’re enjoying the quilty party too <3
Things have been a little quiet around here as I procrastinate on my hand stitching. You know I LOVE Mr 6′s rainbow I Spy quilt but I don’t love hand stitching. Well, sometimes I do, but not right now. I’m probably a quarter of the way through the hand stitching and I haven’t done any for about 5 days. Tonight I will try to do some…
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If I was completely juvenile I would say something like, “Apparently bubbles
come out of Dinosaur Butts”. In actual fact I am partway through stitching “Butterfly”
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With the children on school holidays (although two of them are in Summer camp in the mornings) I am spending less time than usual sewing. I’m not really into New Year Resolutions but I decided that I want to sew one thing a month for our new home, possibly two. We will move in just over 12 months and I’m starting with cushion covers. This reflects the INSANELY uncomfortable sofa we currently have. I’m dreaming of a new house with lots of quilted cushions, can’t you just picture it? I can only give you a sneak peak of this WiP as it is for an upcoming blog hop, you’ll have to pop back on the 28th of January to see this project finished It might be a cushion cover
I think there are a few other WiPs floating around but at this moment the other one I can think of is the first project of the Curves Class that I am taking over at Stitched in Color. I’m so excited about this class, we’re starting with scalloped bunting which is nice and easy and Miss 2 has already claimed this WiP
In addition to a (very) little sewing the kids and I had fun today with the hose. First we used the water from the blow up pool to clean the car, then I cleaned the pool, patched a hole from the flying trampoline (we had Category 1 winds a couple of weeks ago from ex-cyclone Freda and our trampoline traveled a fair way around the yard including over the pool.) and refilled it. We’re all ready for a play date tomorrow afternoon, hopefully the patch holds and I get a few minutes sewing in before then!
I’m linking up with Work In Progress Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.
I don’t think it’s possible that anyone who has visited my blog before wouldn’t have seen the Rainbow I Spy Quilt that I’m making for Mr 6 in some form of progress.
I am getting really excited about this quilt. I’m not going to worry about peaking in January, rather I’m going to see this quilt as a sign of a good year of quilting ahead
Over the last few days I finished the free motion quilting. More recently I have been auditioning binding. Gosh, that is a headache! At this point the quilt works equally well with either side showing and Mr 6 loves the rainbow back as much as the I Spy front. I am having a heck of a time working out what to use for binding that works well on both sides. Feel free to make suggestions Here are some current options…
Today I started hand stitching. The lovely Fiona suggested this idea, can you see where I’m going?
After a super-hectic morning I made a bit of progress this afternoon. I do find the pace of hand-stitching frustrating at times so I documented my progress for encouragement LOL
You may have noticed that I have a bit of a love affair with Aurifil threads (no sponsorship, just genuine love. Although I wouldn’t say no!). I especially bought some Aurifil 12 weight verigated thread for this project. Previously I have used Perlé 8 which I enjoy and find washes well (much better than 6 strand DMC floss in my experience). I am looking forward to seeing how this heavier weight Aurifil wears. It is lovely to stitch with. I read somewhere a while ago that there is a specific direction that you should thread Perlé 8, if you run your fingers along the thread (first in one direction and then the other), you can feel the difference. I would love to know if this is the same for Aurifil 12 weight. It does feel smoother in one direction so I am going with what feels right. Please let me know if you’ve heard of this and if I’m totally off track or not
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| My hand stitching essentials
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At this rate I’m hoping to finish the hand stitching in the next few days and if I can make a decision on the binding (!!!) it should be finished over the weekend. Fingers crossed for some good weather. I can’t wait to photograph this baby and share it!
Have you got a major work in progress? Do you find selecting binding to be simple or easy? Any tips? I’m thinking I need to think about binding from the beginning of the project and not just at the end!
I am linking up with WiP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.
Today I found myself in thread heaven. A true sewing/quilting addict, when I made my first quilt sale recently I instantly spent the money on thread LOL I may have mentioned previously that I like Aurifil thread A lot. I’m slowly building my collection and this week my 13 new spools arrived! Yeehaw! This morning I got all matchy-matchy, totally got lost in the moment and just had to take a photo
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| Appreciation gifts for teacher aides and cantine ladies at our school using this tutorial. |
Can you imagine how excited I’m going to be when I actually use them for the project they are intended for? I even ordered 20 new bobbins so that I can really have fun
Now I just need to work on my storage system…
