Vintage quilting,

 I haven't been good at keeping up with my blog..however I thought I really should keep going with it.

So ...this is what I am currently working on .

Its a Vintage table cloth which belonged to my fathers family...

I have so many beautiful pieces here - its a shame to just leave them in the cupboard. 

This is the first corner ..so I have a long way to go.

I never really know how I am going to quilt things until I actually get started

Instead of putting this on a background to show it in a frame - I decided to keep it as  table cloth.

Because of this I needed to work out how to do the edge and still have the lace to show.  

I am thankful to Kelly Cline for mentioning this is how she does the vintage pieces...when not making them for framing.  She does beautiful work..vintage pieces on her longarm!

So this is a first to me...Many thanks to Kelly :) First I pinned and then basted with my Sweet Sixteen,  I cut the background fabric larger than the edge.

and then cut the cotton batting to fit just beyond the lace edge, as I wanted this to show.

I tacked the back fabric down over the batting and then machined them together with the top ..along the lace border

Above is the back after I had tacked it.

 

So this is my tablecloth with the backing secured and the top basted.

I have three more corners left to sew...and then I will work out what to put in the Middle..

A bit slow going as my back is very sore...but its good to have my mind taken off that :)

Foundation piecing

I have been busy a while or so learning and sewing these foundation blocks.

I am doing a BOM with Sit Down Free motion Quilters.

Jeannie Harrison 's videos and instructions are really fantastic.. I couldn't have done this in a million years without her .. in fact its not something I thought i would ever do..

I am addicted.

FMQ, FMQ and playing, Designs, Catching up

Long time since I posted..

So here is some catching up a little.

I made a lot of these for gifts at Christmas time... .

I cant find all the photos I took of them...but here are a few

 

This is the back of the black fabric box... 

where I drew a small design to fit the sewn box

 

 This is the outside of the fabric box.

 

This is inside out - how I put it together

 

completed fabric box.. I sewed down the inside folds to make little pockets

A Vintage Piece to be completed..using my BFF - QP Curved
Template from Linda Hrcka of The quilted Pineapple... I really love this ruler...
its so easy to work with.

 

The last two are practice pieces for a soon to be given quilt which I will show later :)

This is a foundation BOM I am attempting...Slow goin, but very interesting.

Think I am Dyslectic...as it all looks a bit back to front ...lol

That's it for now - I will try to catch a=up a bit more later on.

Designs, Vintage quilting

Thought I would post what I have been doing the last couple of days ago with a doily that I found ...

maybe sewn by my grandmother or one of my Auntie's.

I have a lot of them and thought this would be a great way to go with them

 

First part

Close up of second part -

Now I need to think about what to do next!

I am sewing with YLI 100 silk - top and bobbin..its a pale soft greenish colour.

All sewn on my Sweet Sixteen

Joannes Quilt Along, Machine Quilting, Sewn on the HQ Sweet Sixteen

I have done a bit more quilting on Joannes BOM 

(from way back in 2011!)

Iam also trying to get some things done for Christmas...which I cant post for a while

So this is just a brief view of what I have done recently...

not much to show really.

This is a piece of curtain fabric that I was just playing on...
 I do love these colours

And this is another block - or two of what I have done on
 Joanne Thread Head's 2011
BOM

So in case I cant get to show more here till after the Christmas Season

I would like to wish you all a very happy and Festive Christmas

and a safe and Healthy New Year

House and Family,

Hi everyone.

I have been  moving house with my DH... so you can imagine the chaos that has reigned!

Still some boxes to unpack...and my sewing room/studio has shrunk... so thats not sorted out yet.

I am so looking forward to getting on with my sewing..

No hope yet awhile though!

Hope to get back to it soon,

when I do I will let you know!

I have been unpicking the first block I sewed on the large King sized quilt

I played for a bit with these

This was sewn with YLI 100 silk on top

This and the lower one was top stitched with King Tut

All were sewn on my Bernina 820.

Now some more unpicking to do, and hopefully I can get back to some serious quilting

Sewn on the HQ Sweet Sixteen, Sketchbook, Joannes Quilt Along,

This post is a little quicker than last time

I have been busy with my quilt and have completed another block

Well almost.  As I have been having a problem with tension..I am waiting till

I finish the main quilting ...and will then go back with different colours to go in the block design.

I have also been doing some sketching

the above design was show by a lovely teacher...Jeanie Harrison ..on Facebook

I really like it.

This was practicing some of Jamie Wallen's designs..

I was so lucky to attend his workshop in Perth Western Australia last year...

It was wonderful!

I hope to do a lot more practice.

and this is trying to get my head around McTavishing.

Now - back to my quilting.

FMQ and playing, HQ Sweet Sixteen, Joanne's Quilt Along,

Its such a long time since I posted...lots of things go on here

so time has not been favorable for quilting as much as I would have liked.

So I will put up some photos of what I have managed to get done
These photos are what I have just completed...more info further down

This is finally getting done...Joanne Threadhead's BOM

Quiltalong. 2012

I first did the central block

This I will unpick..completely as I had the tension wrong, and I just cant face it now.
I did have a photo of the back of this, but am unable to find it. I think I put it on Facebook.

At the border...I had several mistakes and unpicked two blocks before I got it to what I was happy with.  the border is now completed.

Original design and practice piece

...

I have also been doing some sketches or doodling for practice

but I think that's enough from me just now :)

Enjoy your day

Sewn on the HQ Sweet Sixteen, FMQ and playing,

Not much Blogging .lately due to family health issues...

However 

I have completed this in the last couple of days

I picked up some couching feet for my Sweet Sixteen last weekend during a brief visit to the Quilt West Quilt and Craft Show. 

Tried it out in the last couple of days and completed it tonight.  

Backs a bit Iffy... but I don't mind...

I had fun.

Its 13 1/2 inches square.. and I used some wool that I hand on hand for the couching...

Wool batting and some of my own long ago dyed fabric for the binding.

Now back to the Binding on the DWR quilt... I am halfway done and then need to get basting stitches out.

DWR., FMQ,

Finished the quilting on the DWR quilt tonight - just have the binding to cut and sew on... just I say... think that will take time too.

I used a design I learnt fro a class with Jamie Wallen at Handcrafters House in Midland WA last year.

I will take more photos later...too weary just now...

Its after midnight :)

Mother Superiors BOM 2015

March

Well just to keep up to date...I have begun again the quilting of my DWR quilt.

 So..as I had sadly taken out the first basting stitches...which had been done for me on a friends 

longarm  machine ( and which I SHOULD have left in)

I have redone the basting just in the blocks...with Ella ( my SS) behaving wonderfully

Love those basting stitches.

Then I started on this... Its Mother Superior's ( from Superior Threads) BOM.. and for March there are 12 blocks.. all cut out.. some of them wrongly and I have had to piece together bits to make up for what I messed up

I am NOT a patchworker.... I am a quilter...

don't like piecing.

You may be able to pick up some boo boo's I made.  The dark brown triangle is pieced with an extra bit... and the whole oranangey piece is sewn together in 2 triangles...its a make do... but hopefully it wont be noticed.

I am hopeless with patterns .. always seem to read them incorrectly.  

Thats the sum of my work today... 2 blocks of 12

I will tackle more tomorrow.. at least these two are actually 12 1/2 inches as they are meant to be.

So I will catch up more when I have something more to catch up with!

We have rain at last...result of the Cyclone from up Forth.. which is down to a low here.. and severe weather forecast.. good for sewing!

I will continue today with my DWR... which is really heavy to manage at present, and do more blocks tomorrow.

Free Motion Quilt challenge 2015 MARCH, Designs, HQ Sweet Sixteen, Machine Quilting,

I have just completed this month Challenge.

I must admit this one pushed out my comfit levels, and I really had no idea what I was doing till I came to each new step.

Then I thought, designed and came up with this.

Unfortunately I have the wrong sized pillow...so need to get a 20" one ...instead of an 18" one.

The front  before it went together

I drew the centre on first..and as you may be able to see... I had drawn borders 

which never did eventuate!

I really had a lot of fun using Ella to do my ruler work, though the curves were a bit of a challenge.

As I said previously - This one really challenged me!

Decided to do trapunto

Used washable thread in the top...and cotton on the back..which was not the best thing to do 

it kept apearing in little lumps when the wash-away thread dissolved...

I don't think I will do it that way again. 

However it did work.

Then I used the basting stitch on Ella - my renamed Sweet Sixteen

It worked really well and best of all..

NO pins!

The only problem with the basting - I need to watch the video of Paula Storm where she shows how to use the new basting stitch...no problem getting the top basting stitchwes out, but it was  a bit of a bother getting the underneath thread out.

I used some some aurifil thread, some King Tut varigated and for the filling I used Invisifil thread...alll in the top surface.

In the bobbin I used Invisifil thread... and it worked well

I had fun with new ?Template from Cindy Needham.( which I got in preparation for next months Challenge )   That helped me design the sections around the center Circle.  I did have something else planned for where the leaves are.. but I tend to change my mind a lot in the designing...For me it works to go away from it for a while

Details of the center follow, As it happens I don't think I really needed the trapunto..however I do enjoy doing that.

Details of the center follow,

Although it takes time - I do love to do the micro stitching.

A look at the back - didnt get the tension right for the leaves...

fortunately its OK on the top

The completed cushion  (Pillow)

 And here is a photo of the back - that didn't fit last months one..

Now I just have to make a plain back for that one...and I am all up to date.

Please forgive me not answering posts from my last post...I have had a few ore days in Hospital  and am only just coming good again :)

Catch up with you again soon