Minimal Quilting

Working away on the charity quilts. Had two identical panels this time and did one with an overall meander. While this was straightforward and nice I just did not feel like doing exactly the same on the second panel.

So, I decided to do some outlining and stick with some minimal quilting. This proved to be quite hard for someone like me who quilts most things really quite densely.

First things first was the preparation. This is an important step to keep things straight which proved a bit of a hassle with this panel as the center section was slightly bowed out due to the borders having been added. Can't overstate how important it is to take your time...I do pin my quilts probably excessively and then I baste them on the machine with an overall meander.

This is a lot more work but has served me well over the years...never had a pucker and there is nothing that moves in unwanted directions. As you can see the quilt is very pale and when I meandered over the first panel the characters went under a bit, so that is why I decided to outline them on this one to emphasize them a bit, as they were actually quite cute. Was a bit nervous over outlining the boxes and how this would look in terms of straightness but went ahead anyway. Normally I would have outlined the characters and probably put some background quilting inside of those boxes and some sort of design in the sashings. However the brief for the charity quilts is not to over-quilt them which proved to be a bit of a challenge as you really had to think this one through in terms of consistent quilting across the quilt.

The batting is 100% wool which gives this a bit of puff which was nice for bringing out the characters.

Had to decide what to outline and what not to keep the quilting consistent over the surface of the quilt to leave similar areas unquilted. This worked quite well and was very relaxing as most of this was done freehand which I enjoy. Used a small straight ruler for the boxes which I also echoed. Discovered that there were words in the the second border which I did not realise before, just saw a lot of letters. You can't see this properly on this photo but I outlined every heart that separated the words to make that stand out a bit more...really quite cute. The blue sashing looks a bit puffy (is however perfectly flat when smoothed over) but decided not to quilt that down because if I did that then I felt that I would have to go full hog like quilt the background in the boxes, do the borders etc.

Probably not how I would have finished this off for myself but it is a very charming, cuddly quilt which no doubt somebody will love.

Karin

Scrappy Charity Quilt

Working away on my charity quilts.

There is something really charming about these scrappy little quilts. Love looking at all the different fabrics used in these quilts. This one was really pretty with its pastel colours and smallish blocks

Did the basting in no time at all and finished it off with an overall meander which gave this quilt a lovely texture.

Karin

Finished my Little Woodland Quilt

New listing in my Etsy shop...finally finished this little quilt. The pattern has been hanging around for years and I even saved the woodland print for several years for just this quilt. It is a very traditional design with its two common blocks, however it does come out really nicely once you quilt a bit of a design in the alternate block.

The quilt measures 36-1/4in x 36-1/4in and is an ideal play mat for a baby or toddler.

Here is my photo on the bench

A bit dark, but I had to hurry today with my photography as it is a pretty grey and rainy day. There was only that little bit of bright light right in morning between 10 and 11 o'clock, so I was racing against the time to get all my Etsy shots done.

The motif really makes this little quilt

Used Amanda Murphy's Heart template (3-1/2in) for the motif. Easy as and the hearts came out lovely. Really like the effect of this.

This little quilt went straight into the Etsy shop before I changed my mind. Just have to write up the pattern now which should not take too long. I think I am going to incorporate several sizes in this pattern as this would also make a great lap quilt.

Karin

It had to Happen!

Well, finally Covid has caught up with us...after 2 years, we finally managed to catch it. What a bugger. We were not blessed with a mild sniffle, in fact I was out of action for the whole of last week eventually accepting that I could only sit on the sofa and not move much at all. Find that incredibly difficult at the best of times, but being literally confined to do nothing was really quite torturous.

Well, used my time to look into the Procreate program on the Ipad as I had seen that Bethanne Nemesh had offered a Procreate for Quilters mini course. Initially went with the general videos that Procreate offers for free and must say, was totally bamboozled with the possibilities. Had no idea how powerful that program was. So far I had only used it for doodling the odd design and to make a little booklet for my Freemotionquilting class. 

Did some amazing learning through sitting there for hours on end and managed some spectacular drawings but lacked some insight into the use of layers and moving things around in a less haphazard manner.

Love this little sketch. Traced the original design off a drawing and then multiplied it somehow. Reminded me of a Christmas bauble. Might look good on a Xmas table runner stitched out in gold.

I did end up taking Bethanne's online class as I was interested in the possibilities for quilting and designing. Went through most of it today (2hrs) and must say it is very good. Everything you need to know as a beginner from gestures to brushes, colour fills, selection tools and more... and it did answer some of my questions about the use of layers in a drawing program. So this is what I drew today following along Bethanne's example. Basically created a piece of fabric with that single heart design.

Obviously I am not going to make my own fabric but this was good learning in terms of repeating your design in order to get multiples of the same thing. Very handy for wholecloth work in terms of laying down your ideas and playing around with orientation and settings. The class did clarify a few points where I was utterly confused with all the different gestures and possibilities. Bethanne does have the knack to stay focussed on the essentials which is where I am sometimes lacking. Not gone through the whole class but I am a bit excited about the possibilities.

If you have an Ipad and want to learn how to utilize this more effectively for your quilts, I can highly recommend Bethanne's Procreate for Quilters class.

Karin