Quilts and more quilts!!

l picked up 2 quilts from my machine quilter last week. They have been lying on the floor in my lounge so l can enjoy the wonderful quilting that Karen has done. These are the 2nd and 3rd quilts that Karen has quilted for me. You can see more images over on Karen's blog. Her photo's do the quilt's more justice than mine. l am so pleased to have found her. l saw and admired her quilt at a quilt show that won a ribbon  several years ago, and then stumbled on her blog a few months ago, and recognised the quilt. And the rest is history. Now l need to get the binding on them.

This first one is a snail trail, and l used mostly repro fabrics. l made the centre of this  quilt after taking a class with a favorite teacher of mine many years ago, and it languished in the To Be Finished pile for several years. l finally found a fabric for the outer border that l liked and am so glad it's DONE.

And yes, l know there are a few blocks turned the wrong way!! l just can't help myself!! That's my excuse, and l'm sticking to it! Look at the stunning quilting that Karen has done.

This is a particularly special quilt. It's a wedding signature quilt l made for my Nephew and his new wife. l drew some squares on fabric that l took to the wedding and handed them around to all the guests on the wedding day, and then collected at the end of the day.  l then used those signature squares to make this memory quilt.

Here you can see some of the well wishes.  This couple are now expecting their

 first child, so it  looks like a cot quilt is on the agenda.

Again Karen has done an amazing job.

Remember those charm squares that came in the mail with the pincushion? Well, they became this mini quilt over the weekend. Its so cute. And perfect for autumn decorating, though we are in spring here.

l taught a class last year on half square triangles and the patterns you can make with

 them. So, of course l needed some samples to show. These were just tops, and then l decided on the weekend to get them finished. A great little collection to spread around the house.

Some l used the same shirting through out.

And some l mixed it up.

This one is my favorite.

And of course, barn raising is an all time fav setting of mine.

After l sewed the bindings on, they went in the wash and then the dryer,

 to give them that lovely vintage look.

l have a long term project coming up in the near future, so l am trying to clear the

 decks of a few WIP's. l would call the weekend a success.

Thanks for visiting.

Linda.

l think l will leave it to the professionals!!

l took a machine quilting class yesterday. Not to learn to quilt the  big quilts, just the mini ones that are hardly worth taking to a professional quilter. The ones l love making as gifts.

We started the day with simple shapes, to build our confidence with free motion quilting, and try and get some degree of stitch regularity . Its looked easy till we had to control driving that fabric under the needle without the help of the feed dogs or the presser foot..

Then we had to trace this flower pattern on our fabric and follow the continuous line to the end. Thought that would be easy till l had trouble staying on the lines. Got lost a few times.  l called it poetic licence!!

Here is the back of the work which  looks better than the front, almost passable as a cushion for my  mother who has cataracts. She will  be happy to see it!!!!

After lunch, we moved on to making pebbles,  those perfect ones,  bottom left, are the teachers sample.

 Then we tried Mctavishing, lots of artistic freedom here,

Some gum leaves, and even a few gum nuts,

Then, of course, a bunch of banana's.

  

All in all, l enjoyed the day, and became a little closer and a lot more comfortable with my sewing machine. By the end of the day l was able to do the work below. NOT!!!!

This stunning quilting was done by Karen, over at Quilts On Basting's.  l just picked it up on Saturday on our way home from Castlemaine. Its heading off to Sydney by the end of the week. As its a magazine project, l can't show you any more than this till its published. Sorry!!  Go over and read her story about quilting this quilt. And hope this never happens to you.

Don't worry Karen,  l doubt l will ever be competition to your wonderful work.

But l feel confident enough to tackle those small quilts in a big pile in the corner, which in the past l would just use straight stitching on. Mind you, l need lots of practice first.

Thanks for visiting,

Linda.