Monday 4 August 2014

The family that quilts together

The last few weeks have seen a lot of quilty activity in this house. Eleanor, after little interest for the past 18 months, suddenly rediscovered an interest and finished the top of her quilt in a burst, decided to add borders, and pieced a back (from a selection of mostly piggy prints) and is about to start quilting it with me:


James, after an extended break after the rush to finish his quilt for publication, finally got around to adding the borders to his latest creation, which we now need to sandwich and quilt:


He then picked this vibrant combination at Riverlea Quilts on Friday:


We just popped in for a few things - it was way past time to replace my original 24 x 6.5in ruler amongst other things, and I let them both browse. He immediately lit upon the floral (it's for a gift) and I helped him find the butterflies to coordinate.


Meanwhile, I've started piecing with this selection of black and whites. I don't have a deadline on this one yet, and it was fun to get back to some piecing. It's a design I've had waiting for a while, and I'm looking forward to seeing it come together.

Splash!

Splash! is my most recently published quilt, which you can find in Australian Patchwork and Quilting Vol 23 No 11.


It is an is an updated version of a swap quilt called Snowdance (below), which I made several years ago.


I've been asked many times about a pattern for Snowdance, and Splash! is the answer. Of course, when you use a pattern, you can change it up how you like, so you might choose to use the brighter colours of the original, or to leave it smaller by not adding the narrow flange and extra border of my new version!


But I love the extra space, which allowed me to add some extra plumes into the quilting, both inside and outside the appliqued wreath.


And the feathered quilting in the border really adds something while staying subtle and keeping the emphasis on the applique.


I enjoyed quilting these small feathers, and found it easiest to mark a perimeter line so I didn't risk quilting beyond where the binding would be sewn on and chopping off the tips of the plumes. Some are mighty close, but they're all there!


The background is McTavishing again. It's interesting to compare how differently I quilt the same style with a several more years of experience!