Dropping off a quilt in Vancouver

I had the most amazing weekend. At the last minute my husband decided to visit his sick brother and so we flew from Ottawa to Vancouver for a long weekend. As you can imagine, my brother-in-law was so happy to see him. We were last there about 5 or 6 years ago with our children. This time it was a short and sweet visit with loved ones. We had a wonderful time reconnecting.

Jewel Tone Quilt after sewing-in-the-ditch

Several months ago, I decided that one of the quilts I've been working on would go to my brother-in-law and his family; Rob, Simone and Maddie. When I asked Simone a few years back about her quilt preferences, she mentioned jewel tones. This winter, as I'm getting ready to start quilting this piece that I had started in the winter of 2011, I realised that it was in jewel tones and the perfect quilt for them.

I had just emailed Simone that I would be finishing the quilt shortly and mailing it when we decided to visit. Thank goodness I only had to finish binding it!

Nine Patch Blocks

As usual, this piece was quilted as a learning project for Cindy Needham's Design it, Quilt it: Free-Form Techniques course on Craftsy. I started quilting it as she advised - "stitch every stinking seam" and stitched most of the seams except for the 9 patch blocks. (See MakingProgress post.) I knew that I would be using a template to quilt motifs within them. Before taking Cindy's course, I would never have used a 7 inch template on a 6 inch square but the pattern going out of the square adds depth (and I didn't have to quilt the sashing!!!).

Details of the feathers and loops

Quilt back

I considered quilting the border but since we ended up leaving for Vancouver (and honestly, after quilting 30 blocks, I was tired!) the borders are just stitched-in-the-ditch. Thank goodness for all that pre-work before the final quilting.

I love the feathers in this motif - even if I didn't realise that they were feathers until I was almost done. After I finished, I watched Cindy's next lesson on quilting feathers....I sure wish I had watched it BEFORE I quilted these. It would of helped.

The look on Maddie's face as she examined the quilt was priceless. She slept with the quilt while we were there. I had to make her promise that she would share the quilt with her mother and father, at least a little bit!

What I learned:

• I had a little bit of tension problems with my red and blue threads. I changed my bobbin, needle and thread as well as adjusting the tension. I got it down to an acceptable level but I'm thinking that it might be time for a machine tune-up and cleaning. I've put a lot of mileage on my Jag since I got her.
• Cindy has some great ideas for working on feathers - I can't wait to practice them.
• It's very cool to quilt outside the box (of nine-patch)!
• There is nothing in the world more wonderful to a quilter than giving a quilt that is going to be loved. Thanks Maddie!

This was posted on Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story. See what others are working on!

Colourful Welcome Door Hanging

Last winter I started a spring door hanging at a retreat (it was very cold and I was very tired of winter). I had a lot of fun putting it together, probably because I did it purely by instinct. I added strips here and there, cut them up and sewed them back on. The colours were totally spring - pinks both bright and soft, greens, orange, small and large floral. Most of the fabrics may have come from the same collection. Let's just say that it wasn't for the faint of heart.

Appliqué - on freezer paper

I had been looking at this thing for over a year. It was fun but it was missing a focus. This spring I decided that it was time to get it done! I went through a bunch of magazines to find something that I could add to the left panel of the project. I found this great looking owl that was supposed to go on a placemat. It was perfect. (It's from Owls All Around by Pearl Louise Krush, Quilter Magazine, April/May 2014)

I copied the pattern onto freezer paper, ironed the freezer paper to the fabric and then cut out each piece with an extra ¼ inch.  I appliquéd the owl by hand using the needle-turn

Appliqué ready to be sewn

appliqué technique I learned last year in Kathy Wylie's workshop.  I didn't do too badly but it was only once I finished it that I remembered the trick she has taught us for making circles (the trick is essentially to make a yoyo and appliqué it). I'm afraid I wasn't keen enough to pull it apart.

I had an awesome time free motion quilting (FMQ) this project. Since I'm presently following Cindy Needham's Design it, Quilt it: Free-Form Techniques course on Craftsy, I wanted to practice some of those techniques.

Quilted using a template

The first thing I did was to use a few quilting templates within the quilt. This photo shows one of the templates I used. It's got a heart in the middle (which is on the house...our home); the second layer looks like a sun and surrounds the home; and finally the outside of the template are feathers. Since I find following lines easier then making designs free style, this suits me well.

On the right top corner I used a corner template of a flower and quilted it in bright purple. One of Cindy Needham's suggestions is to have parts of the motif outside of an area to give it depth. It's hard to see in the image, but the flower is peeking out of the  border.

Beaded flowers and template quilting

I also used a template around the border of the top left quarter of the hanging. These are swirls sewn using Superior's Bottom Line thread. Two years ago, if you had told me that thread made a difference, I probably would have discretely rolled my eyes, but I am now a believer. Thread CAN make a huge difference. I almost always use Bottom Line in my bobbin when FMQ. This is one of the first times that I also use it for the top thread. It makes for very subtle quilting. Next to the owl I quilted "Chez les Faubert" in purple thread. You have to look attentively to see it, but I think that's perfect since we are a pretty quiet and subtle family (except for that hot pink!)

In the right bottom part of the quilt, I practiced some of the patterns that Cindy showed us - the "S" curve, the lines and the circles. Once I was finished quilting, I added beads to the flowers. It's slow work but very peaceful.

FMQ with "S" curves, lines and circles

Quilted Door Hanging

 What I learned:

• A project gets completed when it's ready to be completed - it's pretty hard to rush inspiration.
• On a busy quilt, you need something for the eyes to rest on. 
• I love using templates and my stash is slowly getting bigger!
• Using Bottom Line thread both in the bobbin and on top for FMQ can be very effective. 

Quilters aren't greedy, they’re just materialistic.
Enjoy the summer! When it's too hot out there, stay in and quilt :-)