Showing posts with label pillowcase technique. Show all posts

Sunday, November 10, 2024

Newfoundland's colourful houses as a table topper

Hi and welcome! The table topper is finished - some free motion quilting (FMQ) and mostly walking foot quilting. Here is a quick post to celebrate!

Painted fence becomes a table topper

As I mentioned in my last post, I made a table topper based on my friend's Newfoundland (NFLD) colourful houses painted fence.

Our friend in front of the fence!

We attended his retirement party yesterday. It was a lot of fun and it was obvious that he enjoyed every minute! I asked his daughter to take his picture in front of the fence, so here it is.

Quilting the table topper

I used the pillowcase technique to finish it. The batting was on the bottom with the front and backing facing each other. I cut the backing very carefully to ensure that it would be stitched at ¼" along with the front. Before flipping it right-side out, I could tell that the backing wasn't taut and this could lead to puckering😲. Re-stitching one side made everything right!

Above is the pillowcase finish with just the opening to close up. I stitched the ⅛" around the piece with different coloured threads so that it would match the quilting.

I started quilting the yellow house with the walking foot. Each line is 4 stitches from the other. That meant that I could follow the previous line in one of the openings of my walking foot. At the windows, I would secure the thread before and after the window and pass over them. There were a lot of threads to cut once it was over. 😀

Quilting the house with a walking foot

I quilted the yellow and purple houses before attempting the roof. I marked the lines of the grid (see What I learned!) I didn't take any pictures after that 😞- but next came the orange house and then I FMQ the sky in simple wavy lines.

Using the walking foot to quilt the houses and roof.

I mentioned in my last post that I had issues with my zig-zag stitch. When I finished quilting the houses, I went over the zig-zag stitches around the windows and doors twice with straight lines. It helped to emphasize the outline.

Our friend in front of his lovely painted fence.

Our friend and NFLD's
colourful houses

What I learned

There were a few learning moments in the making of this piece.
Designing a quilt late in the evening can lead to artistic interpretations (see previous post).
When using the pillowcase method on larger pieces, it's important to pin the back to ensure that the backing fabric is taut.
Covering parts of the zig-zag stitches with straight stitches may have helped, when the lines actually covered the zig-zag stitches. 😁
When marking lines on a quilt, keep the Crayola gel pens away from the FriXion pens!!!!! The pink lines within the gray roof area just added a little hint of colour but weren't so great on the edge of the sky area!😞
No matter how much I try, my quilts will never be perfect. I should accept this by now...but it is a lovely quilt 😊and my friend loves it!
The moment I saw the painted fence in our friend's backyard, I knew that I would make him a quilt.

Thursday, August 22, 2024

Orange Scraps on Free Motion Mavericks

Hi and welcome! I'm still working on my Tibetan Appliqué piece. I'll show you an update at the end of the post. I just need to add the borders and do the free motion quilting (FMQ). I'll be taking my time on the quilting because I love the quilt and really want to make it proud. 😊

Orange Scraps for Table Scraps Challenge

This mat is made a little differently because I started with an orphan block from my Exit Strategy piece. I have a few extra batik blocks that I didn't use and a couple of them even had some orange - so why not!

Orange Scrappy mat with Syrup and Tri modeling😍

I've outlined the original orphan block in black. I added two scrappy improv strips to two sides and a strip of hand-dyed orange to the third side. For something different, I used asymmetrical strips!

The black outline depicts the original orphan block

It came together very quickly and I only have one progress picture. I finished the mat by using the pillowcase technique. I took a picture to remind myself that the top and backing face each other while the batting is behind the backing fabric. I chose a very funky, colourful backing that includes lots of orange accents. You can see the flannel fabric peaking out at the bottom of the picture - it's from an old, well loved flannel blanket.

The sandwich ready to use the pillowcase technique

Once the piece was stitched and turned inside out, I used my walking foot to stitch around the edges and to secure the opening. Then I just stitched in a square from the outside getting smaller. In the middle, I finished the stitching with a half triangle. If you're not familiar with the pillowcase technique and want to learn more about it, there is a link below to a YouTube video.

Quilting in closing squares and a triangle in the middle

I used a white/orange cotton variegated thread on top for the quilting, with a white cotton thread in the bobbin.

A very colourful back!

I took these glamour shots for Instagram. My two models did a great job!

You can see the improv strip at the front

Another glamour shot with Syrup and Tri!

Update on the Tibetan Appliqué

Here are the various pieces ready to be stitched together. It's just a peak - I'll write a post when I'm done!

Tibetan appliqué pieces ready to be stitched together

What I learned

I'm glad that I found my orphan blocks. I'll be incorporate them into my challenge pieces when I can.
I took the picture of the pillowcase method because I don't think in 3D and of course I had to pull the stitching apart. Reminder - whatever is facing the front fabric will show up as the back. Therefore, it shouldn't be the batting!😁
I'm trying to use up fabrics and scraps. That's why I decided to use a piece of the old flannel blanket as batting. The mat probably shouldn't be used as a pot holder.
I'm having a great time working on the Tibetan appliqué project. I now have to decide on the size of my borders. I'll probably use the pillowcase method to finish it and then I'll be quilting it, probably with my Kimono silk thread.

Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 495 of Free Motion Mavericks! It was a productive week! Thanks for linking up. Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting.

Deb the Scrappy Quilter finished quilting and binding her Scrappy Quilt with time to spare! Here is a peek at the quilt. To label a wedding quilt, Deb used a copy of the wedding invitation - what a great idea!

Deb's Scrappy Quilt

Deb's Scrappy Quilt folded

Donnalee has made more Christmas placemats. Here are the ones that she will be gifting to a family member.

Donnalee's Christmas placemat to be gifted

Preeti of Sew Preeti Quilts made a great political mini quilt. If you don't know the story behind it, read the post!

Read about this great mini made by Preeti!

Frédérique made another cute baby quilt, which she called "Focus", to donate. Those fabrics make the quilt look scrappy :-) Frédérique quilted it in-the-ditch and then used a serpentine stitch to add in between.

Frédérique's "Focus" baby quilt

The serpentine stitching in Frédérique's "Focus" quilt
is a node to Preeti - who designed the pattern

Margo of MY Quilts and Crafts has two amazing modern minis to share with us. The first one, "My Way" was accepted to the Philadelphia Museum of Art Contemporary Craft Show through SAQA. If you're intrigued by how it came about, you really need to read this post!