Afgeppab

This quilt started with an Appliqued centre block from a Cathy Van Bruggen pattern. I then used it as a Challenge with Sew Creative adding borders around the block in a defined order, each additional border had to be separated by a plain border.
Afgeppab stands for Applique, Flying Geese, English Paper Piecing, Applique and Borders.

My Centre block was a bit too large to fit the outside borders despite me measuring lots!!!!!!!!
So after I had spent six hours just SID all the pieces I cam back to the centre.

Filtec Essence thread, Magna Glide bobbins,  machine light switched off, Glide on.
 The butterfly is 1 1/4".  Before and after photos.  Sorry about the sideways shot!

Something New Learnt Everday

The aha moment when you are doing hooked feathers alternating either side and you realise the echo doesn't need to go all the way back to the beginning of the feather.  Only taken half the quilt, so the rest will be easier.

Back into Quilting

I have been able to get back into quilting, after being away fromit for four weeks.  It has become my sanity saver from the organisation of our State Quilt Show.  I was lucky  enough to do a couple of quick semi customs before I started into a large "Rose of Sharon" quilt that the owner wanted crosshatching and feathered wreaths on.






 Sometimes it helps to have the right tools.  My crosshatch rulers were designed by another APQS machine owner and made by her husband. WhenI ordered them from the US the postage was thesame for two sets so I have a spare set if an APQS owner desires to do crosshatching.

I have tried various tools to help with stitching around the outside of applique but found I kept coming back to using my finger.  So I found an old soft leather thimble I had made, it did a great job and lived on the laser post between uses.









This was a large quilt and I cannot get a full shot even on my bed so just some snippets.  Quilted with Cairo Quilt a Cotton Thread.

Everything Old is New again

I had the opportunity yesterday to visit a display of quilts from the "prestigious London Victoria & Albert Museum" on display here in Brisbane Australia.

The Australian Museum in Canberra has also allowed the "Rajah Quilt" to be displayed for the duration.  This quilt is very significant to Australian Quilters.

No pictures are allowed so sorry can't show you anything.  My pages of scribbled diagrams don't do it justice either.  

BUT can you imagine an almost 60 year sitting on the floor in front of a 1725 coverlet that was equisitely emboidered with back stitches that would make any machine quilter or longarmer drool.  The feathers 1/4" wide in wonderful formations of Dianne Gaudynski's vases, Jamie Wallen flurries etc.

Freehanded baptist fan type spirals like Angela Walters, Judy Madsen only 1/4" apart.

No they are not new ideas we are now using, it was hard to believe the top is almost 300 years old.

Security hovered close by but I think they might be used to people propping and drooling.

25 Shades of Purple Feathers

I am attending a retreat at the end of July, in which participants have been asked to make 25 half square triangle blocks.  Purple on one half, seeded muslin on the other side and then decorate the muslin side.

These are finished size 6" blocks. The feathers are drawn with various Hybrid Gel Roller Pens.

Still to sign them... but mine are complete.

The block without the pins

This customer requested a Feather Wreath in the plain blocks between the Dresden Plates.  I had to mark a few reference points with a Purple Air Fading marker, but it is all stitch Freehand.  Might have been easier on the body with a computer,  instead 20 full size and 20 half size 8" wreaths and 30 Dresden Plates.  There was also a 3 wreath table runner and a one wreath  runner. All down ready to go home now.

Meg's Garden

I found out the name of the Applique quilt I was working on last week.  It is called Meg's Garden by Don't Look Now.  The customer put an additional border on hers to the pattern.
She was pleased when I sent her a photo last week.  I just need to trim it today and get it into the post.
So one last photo, I ended up using Celery a pale green Glide thread to fill the tree with tiny leaves.

Thank you GM for letting me play with your quilt.  The appliques stitches were tiny and fantastic.  I loved the way you fussy cut many of the Kaffe fabrics for your flowers.

Feathers in a Flower garden

Day Two of this customer quilt on my frame.  I finished quilting the Borders, backfilled behind them plus also played with some feathers beneath the tree.

 Hopefully these will stay in order.  After marking the sashing strip with soap to evenly divide the border, I then found two curved edges that would fit my idea. Marked where the edge of the template would need to be against the sashing with the blue tape.
Stitched in the ditch of the sashing, two arcs and the feathers in one direction with only one stop and start.

 Glide thread is really making the scalloped feathers shine.  The background fill stitching I will do with a matt finish thread.

I felt it looked too puffy on the outside and I needed to do something on the inside between the floral border so my Corrugated fill.
The only Piecing on this quilt is the brown sashing strip.  The rest of the quilt is appliqued.

This last picture was taken with theroom  lights turned off last night and just the side lighting coming from my Family room.  Now you can see the texture the quilting is giving to the top.

Lots more SID appliques and background fill today and I may be finished.

Three Thousand Metres of Thread in 8 Different Colours

I have finished the quilt that has been on my machine for the last eight days.

Four different colours of So Fine thread, plus one each of Glide, Invisifil, Premo Soft and Magna Glide Classic bobbins.

I now have it hanging on my wall and can admire it for the weekend as I am too late for the post.

Another couple of blocks  that I really enjoyed quilting.

It is too dark where the quilt is hanging for a really good photo.  Hopefully there will be some sun over the weekend so I can take a good photo of the whole quilt.  It is too big for the wall I hang them on, so I ned the early morning sun through my bedroom window to get a decent shot..

A kilometre of Threads

Almost 500 straight pins to stabilise the top but - The border of feathered cables is finished and the sashings are almost half way done.  I've used over a kilometre of thread already.  Neither of these two threads were ones I had chosen to initally use on the quilt!  That is how it goes  - sometimes the quilt says it needs  something different to initial thoughts so I go with the flow.

Still debating whether to go back and put a fill behind the cable with the same thread as the sashing.  Sititching in the ditch between the red border and the outer feathered border have made it look almost right.  I'll see how I am going for time later on.

My Feathered Friends

Why do I like to put Feathers on my quilts? 

Is it because of the family of Blue Wrens, feeding themselves on the insects outside my sewing room, clinging to the screen door as they catch them, or is it the fact that I can reach out the door of my ensuite and touch this Double Barred Finch nest if I wanted too.  They are just visible sitting on the nest, so soon there will be more babies to join the flocks around here.

Feathers on quilt tops take a little bit more time. 

I have had this top for a while but knew it would be best to not start until after my grandson left.  So yesterday out came the trusty stencil, Bohin white chalk pencil (the outer isn't Bohin but the inside is!).  The clothes brush for the changes and off I went.  Settled myself into a chair and kicked my shoes off.

I am going to use the centre spine of the cable as the spine of some feathers, with an echo on the outer edge of the feathers.  This border is only 4.5 inches wide. I marked the feathers from the corners towards the centre.

 So I have a small problem of them not quite being perfect in the centre of each side,  I've tried some trusty circles,  still not sure it is the way to go, so will see what happens when I put it in the machine and actually start stitching.

I Plan on stitching the border and the blue sashings all the way through the quilt top on my first roll through.  I will pin each of the 90 blocks with 3 or 4 pins to stabilise them as I go.

Once I get to the bottom I will then consider what colour to do next. Will most likely be the colour that I feel that is the next most dominant colour. The threads are already chosen and off the wall.

As this is a long distance customer I hope she can follow the progress of her quilt through these posts.