Tuesday 1 April 2014

Quilting evolution

The applique quilt I was working on before I started the beach quilt is now finished, and is already with the magazine editor. Here's a little peek:



I just love the texture of the McTavishing, and the more of it I do, the happier I become with my version of it. I've loved it since I first discovered Karen's work about five years ago, but the way I quilt it has changed a lot over that period. Below is one of my first efforts:


Looking back, I'm amazed how happy I was with it! This was quilted just by looking at some of Karen's photos. Then I bought some of her books, and watched videos of her quilting it. And practiced - a lot! I've learned not to repeat each line so many times, and to make my lines curlier. For a while my version included lots of spirally-looking bits, but they've worked their way out, too.

Back to the new quilt; I love the small feathers in the outer border; thy finish it off really nicely. No more photos of it until the magazine comes out in a few months, but it's a larger version of Snowdance (below) for which I've been asked to write a pattern a number of times.






Incidentally, Snowdance was McTavished, too, and you can see evidence of the spirally-bits! One of the reasons I use it so often is that it fits easily into the smallest and oddest-shaped spaces, such as between all these appliqued shapes.

And while I'm at it, I thought I'd link up with Amy's McTavishing Monday (even though it's now Tuesday here!). Amy has been posting about McTavishing for a few weeks now, and has some lovely photos, videos, links and tips.

6 comments:

Patti said...

Beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Your work is truly amazing! The appliqué quilt is absolutely stunning!
Esther
esthersipatchandquilt
ipatchandquilt dot wordpress dot com

Rosemary Dickinson said...

Your work is lovely! The applique is beautiful and your free motion quilting complements it perfectly!

Amy @ Amy's FMQ Adventures said...

Thanks for joining in! It's great to see the progression of your McTavishing.

Béa said...

Your work is always amazing !

Wendy said...

Just beautiful!