Finished, Photographed, and Entered

Although this has been on Val’s Archives for quilting (that I didn’t do), I can’t resist showing it again for crumbs. Each 6 inch square is a crumb block made from left overs from a previous kaleidoscopic quilt. (button in sidebar)

Much as I love my dangling UFOs, I also love a finish. Cracked Ice is the first of my quilts to get a professional photograph.

85 x 100

I had read that bad photography disqualifies quilts, and I know my photos are usually too dark. Plus I didn’t have anywhere to get the required flat shot. Luckily, Bill Volckening advertised quilt photography in the newsletters for both of the guilds I attend. I was even luckier that he had time to get this photo at such a late date for entry into QuiltCon. (My entry is #973; I’ve heard of #1309–wonder how many more they had.) Every time I have this deadline crunch, I swear I’ll start earlier next time.

One design challenge was to create a placements of the blocks that would work either as a wall hanging or on a queen sized bed. Here is a bed view.

Jolene of Good Knight Quilts did the quilting. My contribution was asking for an echo of the blue 9-patch arrangement somehow and free motion work. Jolene showed me some computer options, and we chose the square pattern for the blocks and their echos. She agreed to design curvy FMQ for the rest.  I love the results!

When it was getting close to the deadline and I thought I might miss it, I started thinking of other shows. I checked AQS, and the Paducah deadline wasn’t till Dec. 4 or 5. So I entered it there too. Here’s hoping, but not holding my breath. I remember a talk at a Quilt National show; the curator was giving a history of Quilt National and encouraging entries. She said, “Every quilt in the show was entered.”

If you are visiting from Off the Wall Friday, TGIFF, LAFF, or Finish it up Friday and want to see the beginning of this quilt, click here.

Linking up with Val’s Tuesday Archives. I didn’t do the longarm quilting, but I think Jolene’s work deserves to be looked at. The paisley/swirl/pebble part is FMQ; the squares computer assisted.

ETA a note about naming now that I have a photo to go with it.

At the Chinese Garden, each room has a different mosaic. This one is called Plum Blossom on Cracked Ice. After I had the blocks made, they made me think of this pattern, hence the quilt name. If you want to see more of plum blossoms in the garden, click here.

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Enlarging Quilting Designs

After practicing on 12-inch blocks, I felt ready to expand to 40 x 60 tops. Easier said than done on a domestic sewing machine. That stitch length that I’d begun to get under control is again all over the place. Those curves that are easy to do in one smooth motion when working small need stops and starts and are no longer smooth.  Even though I stopped and put the needle down (by hand; mine is not a new sewing machine) and tried to keep the same angle, I ended up with more zigs and zags than intended. I did learn a couple of things, though.

Paperclips had been recognizable as such when done smaller; not so much larger. This overlapping design tended to get the quilting closer than I wanted it. Whether that is the nature of all overlapping designs or just my lack of control, time will tell. I learned it was harder to plan space coverage with a design that starts large and echoes internally. The opposite of what I would have expected. This top, which has been patiently waiting since August (here), is finally a  finished quilt.

I worked a little more successfully on this top that  has been finished (here), since February. For quilting it I chose a pattern Leah Day calls Hobbit Holes

It was easier to enlarge to fit because it is sewn from inside out.  I could start a motif and evaluate how much larger it needed to be to fit. After each “loop” I could pause and evaluate again. It also kept a nicer distance between rows of stitching. It shows better on the back (and I love the backing print–it is a print, not a batik).

I found the tension changing with speed changes. Interesting. I’ll have to learn to control that. Also it seemed on some fabrics–the Kona solids–I got a nicer stitch than on others.

So far I have not been worrying about that equidistant space between lines. I think that will come with more practice.  I did consciously focus on travel stitching and echoing. Thank goodness kids are not fussy.

The destination has changed. These two quilts will go to a foster care mom who likes to give each fostered child a quilt.

It’s a finish, so I’ll be linking up with TGIFF and Link a Finish Friday. Don’t get to do that  often. And with Leah Day’s FMQ linkup.

 

Architecture Quilt Finished and Given a New Name

Waking this post up to share on Val’s Tuesday Archives (button in sidebar) 1/12/16

I can’t believe how long this quilt has been waiting to be quilted. Victoria of 15-Minutes of Play issued the challenge May of last year!  There were three criteria: size 24 x 30; use photo of architecture as a starting point; include some “made fabric.” (My starting photos are here; progress here.) I was waiting for more confidence in my machine quilting to deal with the solid fabric where the quilting would be more visible. The guild quilt show coming up was the push I needed to pretend to feel confident.

24 x 30

You can see the spiral and pencil quilting above–below is a detail view for the harder to see quilting. Two quilting designs are from Leah Day’s FMQ site: on the bright orange, Cube Storm, which I still am not getting right, and on the darker orange, Modern Weave, which comes easier.

Saturday is the deadline for turning quilts in for the show.  All five of my entries are bound/faced and labeled, ready to deliver tomorrow, a day early!

The name has been changed to Lines and Circles #1.  That the origin of the quilt was architecture no longer seems relevant to the finished product. As a viewer, I don’t like such redundant names, barely a notch above Untitled. But such names do foreground the abstraction.

I’m linking up with Off the Wall Friday and Link a Finish Friday and TGIFF , guest posted and Leah Day’s FMQ site. Off the Wall friends may be amused that I am showing something not from the masterclass. Finishing up the class project was second to getting the quilts ready for the show.  Every year I say I’m not going to enter anything not completely finished. And every year I make another exception.

Traditional Round Robin Quilted

Time flies. This round-robin quilt was started in May of 2012 (blogged here) by some members of the Sunshine online quilt guild. I received it back around August or September. It lay waiting for me to improve my machine quilting. I had done meandering in the past fairly successfully on a different sewing machine but was having trouble getting a good stitch now on my Featherweight.

Last summer I took a class with Barbara Schapel on Free Motion Quilting fillers. And I’ve been browsing Leah Day’s Free Motion Project as well as taking a couple of her classes on Craftsy.I have a stack of charity quilts to practice on (my quilting is good enough to hold them together, and the kids don’t care about the pattern glitches).

Over a month ago, I was ready to start a binge of quilting. However, all of my tops were at least one or two inches wider than the width of fabric. Sigh. Pieced backs are “in,” but it does make an extra step. So the top was put away again.

Finally I pieced a back, and this weekend I quilted it. In the center I used Leah Day’s River Path.  If you aren’t familiar with her site, go look at all the fillers that she demonstrates.

(You’ll have to look at the half of the quilting that shows and Leah’s sample to get the idea of the design.  I took the photo at the same angle as others that show the quilting, but this is what I got.) The round-robin partners all had fabric to coordinate with the center moth print. Note the dragonflies to the side. And there are other butterflies coming up.

The first and fourth borders got Loopy Line–the dragonfly flight path in the print in the first border suggested it, and it seemed good to repeat it. Besides, it is fast.  The third border, with its distinct divisions, asked for a more blocky treatment, so I browsed some more and finally selected Rain Forest Leaf. Butterflies, dragonflies, and moths need leaves.
 I plan to bind it in navy, and I will post a photo of the whole quilt then.

Free Motion Quilting Finished

The top is finally quilted, though this photo wouldn’t prove it! The plan was to add “pebbles” quilting to the aqua and the large gray areas; it seemed that would link those spaces with the orange-circles patterned fabric and the yellow polka dot. The straight-line quilting lines crossed over and linked to the blue checked fabric. The zig zag on the large gray areas ties to the aqua fabric pattern. Here are two close ups.

I have yet to decide if the pebbles worked to create the unity I wanted on the aqua or if it is just busy. Either way, the quilting is finished. I’ll bind it in aqua or orange or gray…to be determined later.

Also finished is the free motion quilting on the pillows I made with the left over fabrics (challenge fabrics shown here). I’ll put on the walking foot and use light gray  on the striped halves.

All those small spaces were less intimidating for trying out other fillers than the pebbles pattern. I’ve been a frequent visitor to the Free Motion Quilting Project and watched many of the videos. It is fun to finally be using some. Perfect it’s not; rather the category it fits is “85% is usually good enough.” Especially if you stand 4 feet back. Finished is good.

The pillows will fit a 14-inch form. I’ll use aqua or orange fabric over cording for the edge treatment. I still have ten days, plenty of time.

Browse other finishes and free-motion quilting at Link A Finish Friday, TGIFF, and Free Motion Quilting Project.

12/8/15 Linking with Tuesday archives for the zig zag print and quilting. (Button in sidebar). The finish is linked on my Finished Quilts page under “Squares, Circles, and Zig Zags, Oh My!”