finished just in time

Last night at 11pm I finished stitching down the binding on this basket quilt and this morning I dropped it off for the quilt show.
I asked my DD#3 if she liked her new quilt. She said "um hm, it cute" (she's 2) I had to smile at a response like that! Sometime this summer we'll move her from her crib to a bed.

It's mostly quilted in the ditch, which is not too exciting, so for the border I
decided to go for it and try free motion quilted feathers. They are a bit wonky and the stitch length is not exactly consistent but it was so fun to do! I'm not a very confident machine quilter - I prefer the pace and rhythm of hand quilting but I will be trying this out again.

I had a difficult time deciding what to quilt under the basket handles. I tried hand quilting flowers but they didn't look right. I tried free motion quilted flowers but that wasn't the look I wanted either. I left the space empty for now and I will revisit it when I get the quilt back next week. I used warm & natural batting so it probably doesn't have to be quilted. I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

Happy Quilting!!

a favorite sewing spot

We went camping on the weekend. We had good weather for May! I made sure I had a bit of sewing with me so I could sit and stitch in my favorite spot on this lake.
It's a new applique project using shapes from a Lori Smith pattern. It's progressing quickly - I'll post it again soon.

And, I had to share one more antique quilt from the same exhibit as last post. I love red and white quilts and I love how densely quilted this is - wow that would take a lot of time!

What is also taking a lot of time (for me) is machine quilting my basket quilt! I have to have it done by next Tuesday - I hope I make it!

Happy Quilting!!

some lovely old quilts

I was very happy to be able to see this exhibit of antique quilts - a free exhibit associated with Quilt Canada.
The quilts I found the most inspiring were too fragile to be hung and so they were layered on a bed. The volunteer who folded them back for us to see didn't fold them back very far but far enough to see how marvelous they were. :0) (The grey along the sides is a shadow not damage thank goodness)

I loved this basket one.

I marveled at the tiny pieces in this beauty.

This one was quite old. The colors are so vibrant and bright. I would have liked to study the fabrics in this one longer. Not to mention see the centre medalion.

This quilt had very nice quilting and I just love the background fabric.

I was inspired and I hope you are too!

Happy Quilting!!

some inspiration

Last week my city hosted Quilt Canada. I was so pleased to see the number of quilts that had been quilted by hand. I'll share a couple of them with you.
This one was my absolute favorite! I wish I could have met this quilter - I'd have peppered her with questions. The next picture is the full quilt.

Sorry this one is sideways - I was focusing in on the quilting and didn't notice :0) I wonder what she used for batting - the quilting shows so beautifully. The applique is really lovely as well. I'm inspired to keep at it. One day maybe I'll be able to quilt like this...

This next one was mostly echo quilted as you can see. I've never tried it - I thought it was quite effective.

Here is the whole quilt. I could have spent a lot longer studying these wonderful quilts but I had my 2 youngest children with me and they are very busy! They were very good (with the help of a friend) and I was happy to be able to go.

There was an antique exhibit as well - I'll post some of those pictures next time.
Happy Quilting!!

a feathered finish

I finished my 9-patch quilt!

After looking through my books of antique quilts, I decided that the border didn't need any extra quilting around the feathers. I really enjoyed quilting the feathered border and I will definitely do it again.

I also really liked the silk batting. It was very nice to quilt through and made it easier to make small stitches. It is very lightweight but warm. I haven't tried washing it yet and likely I won't until after the quilt comes back from the quilt show at the end of May. I still have one more quilt to finish machine quilting for the same show - deadlines!!!

So I think I will use the silk batting again. Hopefully this week I can thread baste my 4 block applique quilt and get started on that. Already I miss having something to quilt in front of the tv in the evenings. NBA playoffs means basketball is on nearly every night around here. :0)

Happy Quilting!!