Wednesday 18 April 2012

Quilt Along #14

Larger scale stippling
I did start my review of stippling prior to Quilt Along #13 to finally finish off my baby quilt. I did decide to use stippling after all (tried different designs but had issues with getting it consistent over a larger area) and straight away ran into some issues around scale. If you read my posts from last week I did start to stipple my quilt only to find that I stippled it far too close together (around the 1/2 inch scale). While this looked nice it did not give me the 'feel' that I wanted for that quilt. I wanted it somewhat softer. I then unpicked it all and started again focusing in on the scale aiming for a 1 inch scale of the stipple. This was much harder than it looked initially and was very good practice of what we had tackled in the earlier Quilt Alongs. I managed overall to keep my stipple larger, maybe not exactly at 1 inch but close enough, and while the unpicking was painful, I am glad that I started again because the 'feel' of the quilt is exactly how I wanted it.

Here is Kool Kats. The quilt measures 30.75 x 36.75 inches.

Kool Kats

As I used fat quarters from 'The tale of 2 Kitties' (by Jacqueline Paton for Red Rooster fabrics)  I did not have enough fabric to use for the binding and had to buy some greenish fabric to match the quilt. Was not quite sure about the green fabric I did choose but once it was finished was absolutely delighted. The difference in the binding sets it off quite nicely and adds interest, given that this is a very simple design. Must admit I did not finish the binding by machine as we had learnt in Quilt Along #13 but went back to my usual method of attaching the binding, i.e. sewing it on from the front and hand-stitching the binding to the back. I did follow Leah's example though and washed the quilt once it was done and then blocked it properly...it really does make for a better finish all around.

Can't wait for the next Quilt Along.

Karin

8 comments:

  1. What a cute baby quilt :) and nice stippling too~ I have done unsewing before, and it is time consuming, but sometimes it just is the right thing to do . Looks so cuddly

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    1. Thanks.. yes, this was a labour of love, but had I not done it I would have agonised over it for weeks to come.

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  2. I love seeing all your free motion quilting!! I have presented you with the Liebster award! Check out my blog for info. Congrats!!
    http://hummingbirdhollowquilts.blogspot.com/2012/04/liebster-blog-award.html

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  3. Really cute quilt! I was wondering what scale to use for the baby blanket I just started. My scale is probably closer to the 1/2 inch, I hope it ends up being big enough to keep the softness.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comment. Yes, I also did not make it to the 1 inch...mine probably sits more around the 3/4 inch, but it did make a difference. Probably depends on the batting as well...I used a cotton batting for this one.

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  4. oh, unpicking is such a pain....good work on the quilting - it looks great! I'm in Australia too.

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  5. Thanks. Yes, the unpicking was not for the faint-hearted.

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  6. You deserve a medal for unpicking! I think I would almost rather remake the quilt than do that! Almost...

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