So despite a couple of sore tonsils, I`ve been mildly productive this week.
Sit down. Prepare yourself. I`ve finished hand-quilting Z`s quilt and so it just needs to be bound now. It was hand-pieced. It was hand-quilted. It will be machine bound.
I`ve alluded to quilting quandaries and these have all related to the quilt commissioned by my very good friend Deborah. It has already become a well traveled quilt. The fabric and batting traveled with me to England during my recent visit to my mum`s where the front was pieced, a 9 inch border added and the backing assembled. All was going smoothly.
I then attempted to baste the beast in my mum`s dining room where Zaki and his myriad toy cars and dinosaurs had taken up residence. My mum has a lovely home in a Victorian printer`s cottage. It is not roomy. It was difficult to baste with only a few inches between the quilt and the wall. With hands full of hair strands I gave up, put it all back into my suitcase and brought it home with me. Back home and unhappy with the backing I disassembled it and created a strippy patchwork back with random sized strips from the same fabric as the front as per Deborah`s brief.
Great I thought. Aren`t I clever? I`ve made a quilt with a pieced front and back. Falling asleep happy that night I awoke suddenly. ..eyes wide open. How on earth was I going to quilt it? If I followed the shapes of the pieces on the flag, it would look like a dog`s dinner on the strippy reverse. Perhaps a herringbone type design following the strips on the reverse - but they are different widths. My machine and I can`t free motion quilt yet. The dog was going to have a good fill.
I`m a great believer in not panicking. That all will come right in the end. I just had to wait. A sign would be sent. I waited.
On Tuesday, I was in Google reader and a post by Rachel at Stitched in Color appeared. She was posting about a lovely beach blanket she had made rather more quickly than she had expected. That`s because she had tied the quilt. It looked great. What a perfect solution to myproblem dilemma challenge I thought. I can tie the quilt and nothing will detract from the pattern. So with no local quilt shop, I will order the perle cotton or yarn and have my mum send it over. Living in Morocco there are no quick fixes here but as they would say, `Alhamdullillah` (thank God).
Linking up with Our Creative Spaces - hop over there and see what other much more talented people have been up to! Happy Thursday - it`s nearly the weekend.
*Thank you to all of you who commented on my Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap post. I would love to send you a postcard by way of thank you so if you would like that email me your details and I will post one to you in early July.*
Sit down. Prepare yourself. I`ve finished hand-quilting Z`s quilt and so it just needs to be bound now. It was hand-pieced. It was hand-quilted. It will be machine bound.
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| Z`s quilt |
I then attempted to baste the beast in my mum`s dining room where Zaki and his myriad toy cars and dinosaurs had taken up residence. My mum has a lovely home in a Victorian printer`s cottage. It is not roomy. It was difficult to baste with only a few inches between the quilt and the wall. With hands full of hair strands I gave up, put it all back into my suitcase and brought it home with me. Back home and unhappy with the backing I disassembled it and created a strippy patchwork back with random sized strips from the same fabric as the front as per Deborah`s brief.
Great I thought. Aren`t I clever? I`ve made a quilt with a pieced front and back. Falling asleep happy that night I awoke suddenly. ..eyes wide open. How on earth was I going to quilt it? If I followed the shapes of the pieces on the flag, it would look like a dog`s dinner on the strippy reverse. Perhaps a herringbone type design following the strips on the reverse - but they are different widths. My machine and I can`t free motion quilt yet. The dog was going to have a good fill.
I`m a great believer in not panicking. That all will come right in the end. I just had to wait. A sign would be sent. I waited.
On Tuesday, I was in Google reader and a post by Rachel at Stitched in Color appeared. She was posting about a lovely beach blanket she had made rather more quickly than she had expected. That`s because she had tied the quilt. It looked great. What a perfect solution to my
Linking up with Our Creative Spaces - hop over there and see what other much more talented people have been up to! Happy Thursday - it`s nearly the weekend.
*Thank you to all of you who commented on my Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap post. I would love to send you a postcard by way of thank you so if you would like that email me your details and I will post one to you in early July.*
10 comments:
You might want to have a go at free motion quilting Annabella - it's actually much easier than you would think if you go for stippling or something simple like that. Good luck!
Incredible!!! So very impressive, you work is. I'm in awe. Also, LOVE your summer photo for your Wednesday post...very pretty scene.
Thanks for popping by this week. Hope to see you again real soon. I love having your company.
A River To Cross is my Thursday post.
Z's quilt is simply beautiful, I should quilt more but there are too many temptations, other crafts to try, you could never stop experimenting new techniques (just need time).
I love this blog, I will visit soon. I was surprised to see that you are from Devon, I visited so many times this area since I had business connections in Newton Abbot!
Love Z's quilt. Can't wait to see it in its full spread out wondrefulness. And great that you have a solution to the Union Jack quilt. Stress levels just fall as soon as you figured it out?
The quilt looks gorgeous! Hand stitched...Wow..you are amazing! Beautiful work :)
Zaki's quilt is perfect. I cannot believe you hand pieced the entire thing. Your quilting is beautiful, too. As far as Deborah's quilt, I've seen the quilt top and it is beautiful. There is no way you can ruin it by quilting. They are both lovely!
absolutely stunning!!!
Well. I'm in awe. I can barely stitch a loose button!
Awesome looking quilt! Glad you found a solution - I love that you were thinking sewing in the middle of the night! That happens to me sometimes too if I am excited about making something!! Thanks for following me - I am interested to read your blog too! Suz
Don't you just love it when divine inspiration visits in your head and leaves a solution just like magic?! :))
Such beautiful work Annabella! I'm always in awe of anyone who has the patience to sit and hand sew things like this, and you've done it so very neatly.
Thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving your lovely comment. I've got more fringing in different colours, waiting in the wings for other market aprons too! :))
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