Blogger's Quilt Festival

 

Hello and welcome if you are here for the first time and thank you Amy for hosting this quilt competition.

I am entering my Flower Ball quilt for the Home Machine Quilted category. 

                                     

The pattern is from Geta's quilting studio and was quilted on my Janome horizon, it measures 38 inches has hobbs polydown batting and I used isacord thread.

The quilting was inspired by a sketch book design by LuAnn Kessi of interlocking circles with different filler designs in them, my quilt has over 80 differing fillers in the interlocking circles and it was quite a challenge to find a different design for each one.

The English paper piecing made a great take along project and the quilting was a lot of fun to do, a lot of the designs were ones I had never done before.

 

 Thank you very much for visiting please drop by again :) 

A finish and a flimsy

My finish is a mini kaleidoscope quilt,  I made it several years ago but had only quilted it in the ditch, so it was all ready for me to play with.

And my flimsy is an old bargello quilt that needed its borders added.

Ive been having a lord of the rings sewing marathon the last few days so managed to get a lot of sewing time in :)

Ive also started a new appliqué quilt but will post more about that next week.

Flower Ball quilt

Its finished and up on the wall in my hallway, it has turned out way better than I expected :)

The very last photo is of the hanging corner sleeve and my hit and miss (a lot) machine sewn in the ditch from the front binding.

Flower Ball quilt

These are the latest photos of my progress on the borders, its great fun finding then quilting out the different designs, I'm adding in some whimsical ones too that I've found on zentangle blogs.

This post is linked up with Freshly Pieced.

Happy sewing! 

Patricia

Flower Ball quilt

I have started the quilting inside the circles, my plan is to use a different filler design for every one, I have found loads of inspiration on the Internet and Pinterest.

It is such a fun way to quilt :)

Happy sewing!
Patricia

Flower Ball quilt

I have just finished quilting inside the sphere, I chose a dahlia type design for the flowers and only did two rows, as I loved the way the poly batting is making the quilt pop with a lovely puff and I didn't want to flatten it.

 Now I'm ready to start quilting all those circles with lots of different fillers.

Have a great weekend :)

Flower Ball quilt

Just a quick post, I have finished quilting the background hexies, so now its on to the flower centres.
Have a great Sunday and I'm hoping you can squeeze in some sewing time too :)

Isacord on a bobbin

Ever since I started using isacord thread, I've had trouble winding it onto the bobbin, its soooo slippery, many a bobbin has been abandoned because it hasn't wound on nicely or started off ok and then gone pear shaped, starting to wind it on has been a trial too because as soon as I let the thread tail go it unravels!
Anyway through trial and loads of error,  I've mastered it!

Unless the bobbin I just wound successfully is a one off :)

The trick is start off slow, leave the tail go when you are sure that it is well covered by thread build up, then speed up while simultaneously pinching the thread between your finger tips to create a small bit of tension while moving it very slowly up and down to ensure an even feed!

You cannot under exterminate the happiness, you can have from a nicely wound bobbin.... such simple pleasures.

Flower Ball quilt

Right decision made, its marked up ready to baste so the fun bit should be starting soon!

Flower Ball quilt

I still haven't settled on a quilting design for the borders, every time I think I've found the perfect one, doubts creep in and I'm back on the Internet seeking more inspiration.
The latest design is totally inspired by LuAnne Kessi's sketch pad, I can't provide a link, as I'm posting from my phone, but Google her its really worth it :)
This is my version and I think its a keeper, I'm going to play around some more with filler designs for the circles and raid my house for different size bowls etc to draw around.
Have a great day!

Flower ball quilt

I have removed all the papers from the hexies, I did think that it would be difficult but it was like shelling peas :) and it was so satisfying to see how pretty it looked without all the basting stitches, I then discovered that some fabrics were more see through and you could see how messy it was!
So I have given it a trim! and it definitely looks better now.
I have also been playing around with quilting designs, I placed a sheet of glass over the top and then scribbled away until I found some that I liked.
I'm hoping to mark it up and baste it tomorrow.
Have a lovely weekend.

Windows into my world

I've started a new epp quilt, its another sphere wall hanging designed by Geta from Geta's studio called Windows into my world. 
I like to have a portable project in my hand bag.
I am using batik fabrics and the same teal    fabric as my Flower ball quilt and plan to hang them alongside each other in my hallway.
The pattern is a download that you print out and tape together, before cutting it up into the single pieces.

Flower Ball quilt

I'm nearly all set for a bit of quilting, my isacord thread arrived on Friday along with a new batting to try.
I have chosen a polyester one by hobbs, it was really creased coming out of its wrapper, so I popped it in the drier but now it seems too poofy!, when it's sandwiched I think a bit of ironing might help tame it, before quilting.
Hope you enjoy a restful Sunday :)

Flower Ball quilt

Its been a while since I posted my progress on this quilt,  its not been easy to decide on what fabric background to use and in the end I just went with my favourite colour.
The papers are still in and I'm sewing it with a whip stitch to the teal fabric, so it will be ready to be sandwiched and quilted.
I have no idea yet what designs to use, but hopefully a plan will come soon, I am really excited to quilt on my horizon as its sews so beautifully, I have settled on using isacord thread which both me and the horizon love, I bought a isacord colour card so choosing matching threads is easy.
I am also trying out a new to me batting, its a hobbs polyester, it hasn't arrived yet, its only the crib size one in case I don't like it much :)

Happy sewing!