Mariner's Compass

It's finished.....

The Mariner's Compass was quilted on a Happy Jack quilting frame with my domestic sewing machine. I am using a pantograph edge to edge all over pattern to quilt this bad boy....

Happy quilting until next time
Anne

Is it a "Kaleidoscope quilt" or "One Block Wonder" quilt

I've decided to make a Kaleidoscope or my version of a One Block Wonder Quilt.

The challenge is to limit this quilt to "just one piece of fabric". I am using a large busy pattern piece of fabric it looks like something Picasso would paint, its very busy and has lots of what I need. This fabric needs to have the right mix of colours, the right number of colours, and enough change in the values and hues to add interest.

It was easy to work out the repeat of the fabric, aligning and pinning the pattern repeats together, stacking the fabrics exactly on top of each other six times and cutting the fabric strips, then cutting out six diamond shapes, making sure to keep these diamond units together until they are hand sewn together to create the Kaleidoscope effect.

The kaleidoscope star block when formed will have many patterns emerging from the fabric and what I love the most is everyone of these stars are different, I love this method as you don't know what you are getting until they are all sewn together, It's a total mystery.....

Each kaleidoscope star is unique. By using this technique for cutting material I've started looking at busy your face big print fabrics with lots of colour in a whole new way. Even if other quilter choose the same fabric, no two kaleidoscopes will be alike.

I only need to make approximately 127 Kaleidoscope stars, this should keep me busy until I come to assembling the quilt.

Happy quilting, until next time.

Anne

Basting - Insanity Quilt

A couple of years ago I found two videos on YouTube posted by Sharon Schamber that demonstrated how to baste a large quilt using two boards on a table and a herringbone basting stitch. This method definitely beats crawling around the floor on my hand and knees...

The quilt “sandwich” consists of the backing fabric, batting (I am using Warm & Natural Cotton Batting), and the quilt top. First, I cut the backing and batting 4″ longer and wider than the quilt top. Then I basted the layers together, using thread and the herringbone stitch (which will be removed during the quilting process). The main challenge was to keep all the layers flat, without them shifting or wrinkling.

Before I started loading the boards I starched the hell out of my backing fabric and the quilt top. Then the blue backing fabric was smoothed out on top of the tables so that it was very flat with the wrong side facing up,(I did the same process to the quilt top except the right side was facing up), I then used painter’s tape, to tape the top edge of the backing fabric to the board, then I carefully rolled the backing fabric onto one board and the quilt top onto the other board. Making sure I keep the fabrics square.

I arrange the batting on top of the backing, patting it smooth as I went. I was very careful not to tug or twist the batting between the two boards. Then I centre the quilt top rolled onto the second board, right side up, on top of the batting and backing. I unrolled about a half metre from both boards, checking to make sure that both the backing and batting extend 4" past the quilt top on all sides. Starting at the bottom, using the herringbone stitch I basted the three layers together with a needle and thread. The herringbone stitches were placed every 3″ or where they don’t interfere with my quilting plan and stencil design.

Important note: I used a packaged batting that had been folded and creased, so I had to take it out of the package the day before and spread it out to let the creases loosen up and relax before I started putting the sandwich together.

I will be so happy to start quilting this monster 106" x 99".

Until next time have fun quilting.

Anne

Final Borders - Insanity quilt

I have been making progress on my sons "Insanity quilt", as you can see I have finished sewing a verity of black and grey hexagons together for the final hexagon border. Then I have appliqued the final border in place.

I decided on a 6½ black border, I used a quilting stencil to trace the Cable Border design onto the quilt top prior to quilting. This 3¼ (8.2cm) stencil has grooves cut into the plastic which forms the diamond designs and cable patterns. The grooves were traced with a "Clover" White Marking Pen to create lines on the black fabric border, they will show me where to stitching once I have sandwiched the quilt top together.

I didn't have a stencil for the corner, below is the design I came up with...

Below is a photo of two stencilled corners.

Until next time happy quilting

Anne

Doctor Who Quilt - Thread Sketching Tardis Panels.

Thread sketching involves using the sewing machine needle as a pencil, stitching with thread over the fabric to create a sketched image, which adds shadows, light, dimension and texture. My machine settings are stitch length set at 0 and the feed dogs up for normal sewing (not down).

Here is the Doctor (Mat Smith) with his sonic screw driver.

and below is my weeping angel transformed into its scarier angel,

The angle is the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life form evolution has ever produced. The Doctor and the weeping angle on the white blocks are meant to imply a reflection, in the Tardis windows rather than them being inside the Tardis looking out.

Gallifreyan was a Gallifreyan language used by the Time Lords.

Here are two of my four Gallifreyan panels, I love the way they are turning out.

First I drew all the main elements of the design. Here I have used a lead pencil on light-blue-coloured fabric. I would have used chalk on dark fabric. I love travel stitching over the stitched lines to make them more defined, which creates shadows and highlight areas on the fabric. Because thread sketching involves a higher thread density in one spot, the process requires more stability to avoid warping the fabric so I have backed my blocks with a tearaway stabiliser. The nicest thing about thread sketching quilting is enjoying the process.

Happy quilting, until next time.

Anne

Mariner's Compass

Today I decided to blog about Foundation-Piecing this process involves stitching pieces of fabric onto a foundation, a drawn pattern. I had wanted to make a large Mariner's Compass for ages.

You can use Fusible Interfancing or freezer paper as the foundation, I have chosen to use a fusible interfacing as my foundation for this project. First I traced the design onto the fusible interfacing, the plan was to use the solid pencil lines as my stitching lines. I numbered all the drawn sections, these numbers will be used as a guide for the piecing sequence and fabric placement. The fabric is added to the unmarked side of the fusible interfacing and the stitching is done on the marked side of the fusible interfacing.

It's a simple process of pining the two fabric together to the unmarked side of the interfacing, then turning it over and sewing on the drawn line. I had to remember to check that the right sides of the fabrics were facing each other before I started stitching and also check that the fabric seam allowance extended beyond the dotted lines of the interfacing on all sides of the numbered area by at least 1/4" so the area was totally covered.

Turning the foundation over and trim this section using the printed foundation line as a guide to fold the fabric back along the seam that I've just stitched and trim the seam allowance to 1/4", then flip open and finger press the fabric over the area to be covered. Then I folded the fabric back using the pencil marked seam line on the interfacing and trimmed the edge of the fabric to a 1/4". I continued pinning, sewing and trimming the numbered sections in numerical order. It was finished in no time'

There are 8 sections to make

Here is the piecing completed for the outer Compass points section.

Only another 7 sections to make.

Ta da three sections sewn together....

Nearly finished

Until next time happy quilting
Anne

Awesome Quilters Cake

Surprise, Surprise, my wonderful sister-in-law made this awesome homemade Quilters Cake for my 60th Birthday... Ronnie is a very talented.

DH and sons lighting candles. The detail on this cake icing was amazing and it was all edible and inside was an OMG.. Red Velvet Cake.

Best Birthday Ever.....Thanks Ronnie.

Until next time, happy quilting
Anne

Quilt Project "Insanity"

We made it home just before Christmas.

As you can see I've been very busy sewing hexagon's together since my last post.

Close up of the corners.

I still have to complete the black and grey borders.

I set myself a deadline to finish this flimsy top in time for my eldest sons 40th birthday. The deadline date is tomorrow, the 14th of February but I just ran out of time to complete it.

Happy quilting until next time
Anne