Celebrate!

Hi there again folks - especially hello to those people who have looked at my blog for the first time today. I must start this entry by saying a big thank you to Jennifer Trollope, who did the Twisted Tiffany boxes today at Step by Step. I have had a look at the explanation I gave in my last entry - and I hope that I haven't given too much detail about the technique - I think it is reasonable but not too much! I'm sure you will let me know Jennifer if it is too much.

Today was great - I got to show off the pieces that featured in the previous entry - and Jennifer even said that my kimonos were as good as hers! What more can a gal ask for? We were all looking for the Jacobean Garden fabric panels - but to no avail. It just goes to show that you have to buy the fabric when you see it.

I used a piece of Erté inspired fabric from Woodrow Studios, in the red / yellow / orange / purple colourway for the box today. However - as the design is quite intricate, and I wanted a lot of different coloured threads on the piece, I haven't got anywhere near finishing it yet. It will not remain unfinished for long, and it certainly will not be a UFO. What I do need to do is find somewhere where I can get more shot organza - apparently there is a shop in Barnstaple - on the ring road bit. I shall have to go and investigate!

So - this post - entitled Celebrate! What is the quilt about? Let me show you a photo to start with:

This quilt is based on a pattern in the Patchwork and Quilting magazine, August (I think) 2008. The fabric is mostly pastel colours - pale green, blue, pink and cream. The pattern shows cakes, chocolates - and glasses of champagne. The photo shows the whole quilt spread out on our bed. I've said that the quilt is based on a pattern, as I have adapted the pattern to make it bigger; I used four panels in the centre, rather than one, and then I included an extra border of flying geese units.

I really enjoyed the the fabrics, and once I had seen the pattern in Patchwork and Quilting, I knew that I wanted to make the quilt. However, the pattern in the magazine was really for a lap quilt, and I wanted a bigger quilt - I have a number of lap quilts already. That is why I decided to make the quilt bigger. I also pieced the back of the quilt. However - the back of the quilt is a very random affair, without any measurements at all. I used my quilting frame to quilt the piece - I forget which wadding I used. However - I used pastel YLI threads, and also pastel Coats Star Magic cotton (the Star Magic cotton is not readily available in the UK, but some USA websites supply it at a very good price) to quilt the piece. I free-motion quilted it with hearts and stars on a 'ribbon' - I suppose the hearts could look a little like ivy leaves on a vine. The stars are five pointed stars, with the lines crossing each other.

I really can't explain the delight I have in this quilt! It is so good to have it on the bed, and to be able to snuggle up under it. I can also take it down to my sewing room, and wrap myself up in it - something I haven't been able to do with any of my other quilts - which have been lap sized quilts. I shall let you into a secret now - when I took the photo, the quilt was not finished. There were a few threads left to tie / sew in, and I hadn't added the label either. However, the quilt is finished now - including the label.

So, that is all for this post. New visitors - remember, you can leave comments . I can also moderate the comments. But just to finish this post, I shall show you the remaining Jacobean Garden panels - I suspect that quite a few people will be searching for them high and low for some time to come!

Revelation Burning

I've been 'told off' (!) for not adding to my blog recently - so here I am trying to add something (or two or three things) now! Of course - it's easy to add things to a blog when you are not working on any projects, but when you are eager to get on with things, it is not so simple.

Anyway - the weekend before the start of the summer term, I attended a workshop held at Step-by-Step at South Molton, held by Jennifer Trollope - http://www.jennifertrollope.com/ . It was great! We used a kimono panel, acrylic felt, acrylic shot organza (two layers), a soldering iron, some cotton, cotton thread, and wadding. Having layered the felt, organza and panel, we then decided which elements to emphasize and satin stitched around them. Once happy with the design being created, we burned out the enclosed sections - creating a unique piece of work, from a pre-printed panel. Here is the first of the kimonos I have created:

This is the piece that I started during the workshop. I have another workshop this weekend, at the same place, also run by Jennifer Trollope. This weekend is Twisted Tiffany Boxes.

After the last workshop, I bought a number of other kimono panels, and have almost finished the second panel. However, after the workshop I also looked for other fabric that I could use the revelation burning technique on. I found some other panels - and here they are: